Fourth Battle of Yeltsin's Star

The Fourth Battle of Yeltsin's Star took place on 18 August 1907 PD between Task Force 14 of the People's Navy under Vice Admiral Alexander Thurston and elements of the Grayson Space Navy under the command of Admiral Honor Harrington.
It was part of the Havenite Operation Dagger.
== Strategic situation ==
Both commanders were under considerable constraints. Harrington had been moderately injured in a pinnace crash and then faced a sword duel in front of the Conclave of Steadholders less than a day before the battle. Although she was understandably exhausted, her problems were at least known to her. Thurston's plan of attack was contingent upon previous PN attacks on Candor and Minette having drawn all operational units of the GSN's Manticore's Gift-class superdreadnoughts out of the system and he was to learn the truth, that only the Second Battle Squadron had been drawn away, far too late to save his command. ()
== Grayson Space Navy command issue ==
Admiral Wesley Matthews, the High Admiral and Commanding Officer of the Home Fleet was absent during the battle against Havenite Task Force 14. Admiral Honor Harrington activated System Defense One emergency contingency plan after incursion of the Havenite forces. According to that plan Admiral Harrington was entitled to direct command of every unit in the Yeltsin System in support of her BatRon One. Command Central was notified about activation of the System Defense One plan by Admiral Harrington.
Even without powers defined at SD1, Admiral Honor Harrington was in charge with Endicott picket.
== Order of battle ==
=== People's Navy ===
Task Force 14, command team: People's Commissioner Michael Preznikov † and CO Vice Admiral Alexander Thurston †:
* Task Group 14.1 (direct participant), command team: People's Commissioner George DuPres † and CO Rear Admiral Meredith Chavez †:
** wall of battle (BB)equivalent of three battleship squadrons
** a battlecruiser squadron
** a screening elementincluding PNS Vaubon
* Task Group 14.2, command team: People's Commissioner Denis LePic and CO Rear Admiral Thomas Theisman:
** wall of battle (BB)
** a battlecruiser squadron
* Task Group 14.3, command team: People's Commissioner Johnson and CO Rear Admiral Chernov:
** a battlecruiser squadron
** transports
* screen:not certain how divided between the task groups, at least some light cruiser unit at TG 14.1
** heavy cruiser elementequivalent of three squadrons
** light cruiser element
** destroyer element
=== Grayson Space Navy ===
Home Fleet, acting CO Admiral Honor Harrington:
* Battle Squadron 1, CO Admiral Honor Harrington
* battlecruiser elementIncluding probably detached element of the Battlecruiser Squadron 2 (A half squadron - two divisions very likely) and an equivalent of two other battlecruiser squadrons.
* screen:
** heavy cruiser elementequivalent of a squadron
** light cruiser element
** destroyer element
* Battlecruiser Squadron 1 (indirect participant), CO Commodore Mark BrentworthIt is uncertain exactly what RMN units had been assigned, but very likely no battlecruisers; the GSN supported the nearby Endicott picket with at least four battlecruisers
== Course of battle ==
Harrington deduced this miscalculation on her opponent's part and brought her forces out to meet him, masking her superdreadnoughts' emissions with smaller units and stealth, as well as by maintaining a rate of acceleration that Thurston, unaware of the improvements to their inertial compensators, believed would be impossible for such heavy units. Before the enagagement, Task Groups 14.2 and 14.3 were detached to make a similar attack on the Endicott picketwhich saved them in result.
It was after this point that Lieutenant Shannon Foraker, aboard the light cruiser PNS Vaubon, noted anomalies in the GSN formation and reported them to Commander Warner Caslet, who in turn notified Thurston. This information reached the flag bridge almost simultaneously with both sides opening fire at a range of nine million kilometers.
Because of their more powerful vessels and large numbers (for the time) of missile pods, the initial GSN salvo was of approximately fourteen hundred missiles spread across twelve of Thurston's battleships, including his flagship. In return, the PN wall of battle fired only seven hundred missiles, spread evenly across the battlecruisers and superdreadnoughts of their opponents. Several more broadsides (without pods to thicken them) were fired before the first salvos struck. Thurston was able to order subsequent salvos to concentrate upon the superdreadnoughts. As a result, only six GSN battlecruisers were destroyed along with a single superdreadnought during the missile engagement. However, twelve of the PN battleships, including Thurston's flagship PNS Conquistador, were destroyed or disabled in the opening salvo and another five more were destroyed by GSN before the two sides entered energy rangeThe two opposing formations would actually interpenetrate., at which point only one battleship survived to join the lighter units that were by now making for the hyper limit.
Thomas Theisman, his own Task Group still unscathed, proposed and then began closing in to engage the now damaged GSN force, but subsequently agreed with People's Commissioner Denis LePic to withdraw when Battlecruiser Squadron One approached, using drones to simulate that a RMN battle squadron was supporting them. ()
== Aftermath ==
Admiral Harrington was awarded Crossed Swords to her Star of Grayson. ()
== References ==
Yeltsin's Star, Fourth Battle of
Yeltsin's Star, Fourth Battle of