The Dust Wars

**The Dust War** or the **Martian World War** was the first major interplanetary conflict that lasted from September 12th, 2123, to November 9th, 2130. The majority of polities on Mars and their counterparts on Earth fought as part of two opposing military alliances generally based on their membership within either the Federation for the Common Task (FCT) or the United Nations (UN).

The Dust War, even having lasted seven years, was one of the least deadly major conflicts in the last century. Instead, most warring nations suffered economically from the high costs associated with transporting manpower and vehicles to Mars and waging war on another planet. High economic costs also came from the operation of military spacecraft in orbit of Mars throughout the course of the war, which served in a reconnaissance and bombardment role throughout the conflict.

The causes of the Dust War are debated, but contributing factors included the First Corporate War and its aftermath, the collapse of UN colonies on Mars and the emergence of the dusters, and the western response to the formation of the FCT. The Dust War is generally considered to have begun on September 12th, 2123, when United Nations dropships under the Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Blue Skies (CJTF-OBS) first landed on Mars. Combat between UN soldiers and dusters immediately began in the aftermath, though it was not until the Siege of Acra Luzin that the Soviet Union and the FCT officially became involved in the war. Corporations on Mars such as Dynetic Systems Interstellar and the Lasanne Corporation had been involved in skirmishes with the dusters since the end of the First Corporate War, but coincided their own major offensives alongside the UN landings.

## Course of the war

### United Nations Landings (2123)

On September 12th, 2123, a coalition of United Nations members landed over four-hundred dropships across Mars, carrying around 40,000 soldiers of the CJTF-OBS. Hostilities began immediately after UN dropships entered the Martian atmosphere, as Duster surface-to-air missile sites came online. Reports from this initial barrage are limited given the difficulties in recovering dropship black boxes, however, UN estimates place the casualty tolls at as many as 20,000 killed just in these initial landings. More than a hundred dropships across Mars were shot down, with 65 crashing without any survivors. The UN landing sites at Tithonium Chasma, Sinai Planum, Pyrrhae Chaos, Cerulli, and Sklodowska were completely overrun by September 18th. Dropships that had managed to land and offload their soldiers were often unable to return to orbit. Soldiers on the ground were often outnumbered, and placed in positions with little-to-no cover. Vehicles detached by dropships were destroyed or incapacitated by IEDs, missiles, suicide drones, and more. The forces landed at Tithonium and Sklodowska were entirely destroyed. Other failed landings retreated into the Martian dunes, and eventually found their way to UN-aligned forces. UN forces successfully landed at Noctis Labyrinthus, New Helena, Orson Welles, New Virginia, Viking, Pathfinder, Radau, and Pasteur.

#### Pasteur Landing (2123)

Forces at Pasteur engaged in combat first, with a force of around 2,500 soldiers encountering Duster guerillas some five miles south of Acra Pasteur. Over the course of September 13th to 17th, UN forces advanced towards the Acra, supported by orbital bombardment and aerial reconnaissance, before surrounding Pasteur Crater and besieging any Dusters who remained. UN forces stormed the Acra on the 19th, finding only a handful of Duster guerillas inside. Following their success in the Siege of Acra Pasteur, the UN forces advanced due northeast, in an attempt to pursue Duster guerillas who had fled to Acra Luzin and had been carrying out ambushes on UN supply convoys across the region. They reached the official Interkosmos-FCT border on the 21st, and began patrolling the border until the first week of October, when UN Major General Konstantin Denzinger ordered forces in the region to engage Acra Luzin directly, ignoring Interkosmos-FCT border policy. These forces reached Acra Luzin on the 4th of October, and quickly surrounded Luzin Crater, besieging the Acra within. Their siege lasted three days, with a failed breach attempt conducted on the 6th, before Interkosmos-FCT forces arrived from Indus Vallis and engaged entrenched UN soldiers. Outnumbered UN forces were defeated in the Battle of Acra Luzin, and forced to retreat west while constantly pursued by a combination of Duster soldiers and Interkosmos-FCT forces, stopping only when they reached UN allies in Radau Crater.

#### Radau Landing (2123 - 2124)

A force of around 2,000 UN soldiers landed at Radau Crater. This landing was one of the most successful of the war's opening, however, UN forces were unable to break out of their initial landing zone and became besieged by duster forces within Acra Radau. Skirmishes occured at Acras Marth, Earle, and Hass, but by the end of 2123, there was little hope among UN command of a breakout from Radau. Remnants of the force which landed at Pasteur Crater arrived in early 2124, reinforcing the stronghold to around 2,500 soldiers. However, with the entrance of the FCT and Iran into the war, Radau's situation became even more dire. A joint breaching action was conducted by soldiers from the FCT, Iran, and various Duster acras throughout the region, which opened a previously filled subterranean tunnel into Acra Radau on March 19th, 2124. After the success of this operation, close-quarters fighting took place within the acra itself, before around 1,500 surviving UN soldiers surrendered, alongside Major General Denzinger.

#### Viking Landing (2123 - 2124)

A force of around 1,500 UN soldiers landed at the same site as the Viking I lander, in a symbolic showing of Earth supremacy over Mars. The flags of all nations participating in the invasion were raised on either side of the - at the time - 148 year-old probe. Photographs were taken with many leading figures in the invasions, particularly Major General Hans Lauritsen of the United Nations and Lieutenant General Bryanna Goff of the United States. The forces which landed at the Viking site encountered practically no resistance, only engaging in a series of small skirmishes between September 28th, 2123, to November 11th, 2123, when first entering the Simud Valles. Two acras were taken by the Viking force, including one at the northern mouth of the Shalbatana Vallis and one within the Chryse Colles. Neither of these sieges consumed much manpower, with only around 50 casualties reported by 2124.