Kartheman Liberation War

> ***“Expect us.”***
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> **-Commonwealth’s declaration of war against the Biluan Mind, transmitted to Biluan space-**
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## 1st. Commonwealth-Biluan War

### Dates:

Declaration: 12th. of January, 2245Conclusion: 21st. of November, 2248

## Opposing Forces

### Aggressor Numbers:

Around 76 Warships, 14,6 Million Ground Troops

### Defender Numbers

Estimated 45 Warships, Unknown amount of Ground Troops

### Noteworthy Battles:

Commonwealth Conquest of Yadra, Siege of Yadra, 1st. Battle of Mezaka, Battle of Ka'Tanab

## Estimated Casualties

### Aggressor Losses:

15 Warships lost, around 2 Million Ground Forces

### Defender Losses:

19 Warships lost, estimated 6 Billion Biluan drones killed

### Civilian Losses:

Unknown, estimated 2 to 6 Billion killed

Known also as the ***1st. Commonwealth-Biluan War***, the *Kartheman Liberation War* was a somewhat short conflict involving the fledgling Biluan Mind and the Commonwealth, which sought to liberate the occupied Yadran worlds from Biluan control (Occupied by the Mind during the Biluan-Yadran War) and annex them into the Commonwealth’s fold. The war was declared for the claimed systems of Mezaka (Containing former Yadran homeworld, Yadrani) and Bardegan (Containing the planet of Ka’Tanab), in a move that curtailed the Biluan Mind’s ability to feast on the defeated Kartheman and Lluvanux populations of the territories, and, therefore, expand its abilities to wage war in the Cluster.

Hostilities first sprung up with the Commonwealth’s declaration of war, on January 12th, 2245. Capitalising on the fact that the Biluan Mind was occupied waging its own war against the Condign League, up North, the human-led nation decided to take the fight to the hivemind, engaging in a series of battles that turned the tide of the Biluan advance down South. In the fighting, the Commonwealth Conquest of Yadra, the Siege of Yadra, the 1st. Battle of Mezaka and the Battle of Ka’Tanab are the most notable events that defined the war and its outcome - Being a conflict that included not only interstellar combat, but also planetary invasions and orbital bombardments, therefore resulting in a great loss of civilian life as a result of the fighting and atrocities committed by the Biluan Mind.

Fighting ceased on November 21st, 2248, with a Commonwealth victory over the Mind. Having annexed those planets, the liberators now had to contend with the Kartheman starvation crisis, the remaining Biluan presence in the worlds and the growing Kartheman resistance movements in the planet of Yadrani. The Biluan Mind, having suffered its first defeat in the Second Era, redoubled its efforts to consolidate and arm itself properly until the next conflict with the Commonwealth. The war gave enough breathing room for the Condign League, which was fighting on its own struggle to survive against the mind, in the Biluan-Condign War, to push back the invading swarms and capture some Biluan colonies in response. Geopolitically, however, the war caused an even greater sorrowing of relations between the Commonwealth and the Kingdom of Yadra, a move which would later lead to the formation of the Triple Alliance, and the subsequent Great Southeastern War as a whole.

## **Prelude**

At its core, the main motives behind the start of the Kartheman Liberation War were born from the much more obscure Biluan-Yadran War. It was during that conflict that the Kingdom of Yadra lost two of their worlds; Their capital, Yadrani, and a young colony, Ka’Tanab - Forcing the pacifist nation to abandon its ideals in the benefit of survival. It was because of that war that Billions of former Yadran citizens were being starved and consumed by the Biluan Mind, weakened by the heavy bombardment inflicted by the Combat Swarms. It was because of that barbarism that the Commonwealth started to take notice over their borders…

The motivations for the Commonwealth’s entry into the war were numerous, yet it was the follow-up years leading to the conflict that mostly decided the leadership’s decision to attack. Emerging victorious from the Aramathi Liberation War, humanity began to fall into a sense of jingoistic duty, fuelled by men such as General Marek Branicki and the Military Officers Association. In summary, the liberation of the Aramathi brought not only new citizens to the Commonwealth, but also more resources, workers and more claimed territory. It was no wonder then, when the Biluan Mind invaded and conquered two Yadran planets bordering the Commonwealth, that the high command and the population of the young nation were beginning to yearn for another liberation against a barbaric species that enslaved, murdered and ate its captives for its own benefit. When news of the atrocities emerged from the stories of refugees from Yadrani, the peoples of the Commonwealth had their casus-belli to justify their outcries. The council took the opportunity, and after preparations, analysis over Biluan capabilities and general mobilisation of their ground troops, war was declared against the Biluan Mind.

Meanwhile, the hivemind had entangled itself in another one of its drives to feast upon its neighbours. The Jir and Ahadi nations, founders of the Condign League, were its target for hostilities, and amidst the mobilisation order of the Commonwealth, the mind was already engaging the Ahadi’s in open conflict. It was that entanglement, however, that forced the Biluan Mind to overextend in its goals of domination. After the Biluan victory at the Battle of Xandebaan, and the Commonwealth declaration of war months later, instead of retreating from the campaign against the Condign League, the Mind doubled down, increasing warship manufacture and putting a strain on its already fragile mineral and energy production. As the war progressed, this factor would leave lasting consequences for the Biluan Mind...

## **Conflict**

*For further information on the battles, check the Commonwealth Conquest of Yadra, Siege of Yadra, 1st. Battle of Mezaka & Battle of Ka'Tanab articles.*

Following the brief declaration of war by the Commonwealth, on January 12th, 2245, Task Force Manticore entered a state of radio silence and jumped into Mezaka System as the vanguard of the attack. Seeing no opposition to their invasion, Commonwealth army forces moved into former Yadran territory also, laying siege and shortly afterwards occupying the world of Yadrani, in the Commonwealth Conquest of Yadra. Whilst preparing for the invasion of Ka’Tanab, Task Force Manticore and the victorious ground forces were then forced to evacuate, as the Biluan 2nd. Combat Swarm warped into Mezaka System to engage the invading forces head-on. Amidst the retreat, some units were left in Yadrani to give assistance to the newly assembled yadran militia, as the remainder of the armed forces departed for orbit. As Task Force Manticore left and the Biluan Combat Swarm arrived the planet was plunged into the battle known as the Siege of Yadra.

In the following weeks, Task Force Manticore conducted a series of ‘*kiting*’ manoeuvres to instigate a response from the Biluan fleet. Partially successful, the effort bought time for both the ground forces suffering from orbital bombardment from the Swarm and the Commonwealth fleet, which was receiving newer reinforcements and increasing its numbers to take the Biluan force head-on. General Branicki, commander of the Commonwealth Experimental Army, took the opportunity to land on Yadrani amidst one such distraction of the Biluan fleet, tipping the scale of the fighting in the ground to the defender’s favour at last. As Task Force Manticore’s numbers grew, it moved in to engage the 2nd. Combat Swarm in battle, precisely in the moment when the Biluan logistical line crumbled and its fleet began suffering dearly from attrition. It was under those circumstances that the 1st. Battle of Mezaka took place, and it ended as a decisive Commonwealth victory.

With the destruction of the Biluan combat swarm, the war shifted once more to the planetary theatre. In the following months, preparations were finalised, and the Commonwealth was once again on the move. In October of 2248, Task Force Manticore closed into Bardegan System, laid siege to Ka’Tanab and commenced orbital bombardment against the 4 Billion Biluan drone swarms at the surface of the planet. On the 28th. of October, ground forces under the command of General Telaviin landed on the planet, giving way to the Battle of Ka’Tanab. After three weeks of fearsome combat, the planet was taken from Biluan control, and just like that, the Biluan Mind contacted the Commonwealth transmissions and accepted the terms of annexation of both systems. The Kartheman Liberation War had finally come to a close.

## **Aftermath**

Without any peace negotiations or treaties, both planets were then transferred to Commonwealth jurisdiction. Although the conflict was over, their work had just begun. The karthemas and lluvanux residents of Yadrani and Ka’Tanab were spared of extinction, but they were maimed, scarred and starving. Despite the assistance provided by the Commonwealth, many residents of Yadrani resented the presence of humans, who, up to that point, had been demonised by the Kingdom of Yadra’s propaganda against the OCN. The troops of General Branicki, which stayed on Yadrani to quell tensions between humans and the native yadran residents, also had to contend with the presence of Billions of Biluan ‘worker’ drones which were left behind and continued to prey on civilians. In Ka’Tanab, the situation was even more serious, and so the Commonwealth armies were forced to remain in these planets for the following years to assist in the resettling of both worlds in a safe, secure and stable manner.

The war had also taken its toll on the Biluan efforts, however. In the chaos, the Condign League had snatched the initiative, and began its own offensives into Biluan territory. With one of its Combat Swarms in all but tatters the mind had to focus on repairing it into a capable combat unit again, a matter which was next to impossible now that resources were scarce and its territory was being converged upon. In the end, the offensive efforts were halted, and its advances curtailed.

Unfortunately, for the Commonwealth, what was intended to seem like a goodwill gesture by the nation towards the Kingdom of Yadra ended up with a denunciation of the Commonwealth on the Galactic Community, the Yadran royalty claiming that the human nation had simply taken the opportunity to steal their cultural homeland. As their diplomatic efforts backfired, the Commonwealth kept hold of its newly-acquired territories, despite the heavy rioting, the diplomatic pressure and even the terror attacks conducted by the unhappy Kartheman population. These events would be the main reasoning behind the Yadran entry into the Triple Alliance, later on in the years, a matter which would place both nations at odds with each other right up until the end of the Unbidden Emergency, in the 2320s.