Perth War

## Overview

The Perth War was a war between the forces of humanity and the Perth Empire. It took place between 13 August 3205 and 4 December 3217. This war was one of the bloodiest conflicts ever known to humanity, and cost over a billion human casualties and the extinction of the entire Perth species, although this could have been prevented if their leaders had chosen to surrender; instead, the entire species committed mass suicide once the tide of the war turned against them. The Perth were an extremely difficult opponent to fight, as they were much larger and stronger physically than humans, being on average three meters tall and weighing 250 kilograms. They also used larger, more powerful weapons, especially weapons that fired explosive rounds, easily causing multiple human casualties with each shot. The Perth's armor was legendary, easily able to withstand hits from weapons that would have shredded the strongest human armor at the time; however, this was eventually neutralized by the use of relativistic disruptors, glitch refractor laser rifles, and handheld HV missile launchers, which easily penetrated Perth armor. In space, the Perth used rapid-fire pulse cannons, which were essentially a combination of pelsers and disruptors but fired nearly five times as quickly as comparable human weapons. Their capital ships had many small turrets equipped with these weapons, which easily destroyed human fighters and other subcapital ships and could also cause severe damage to capital ships, especially in sequence with the Perth's heavy torpedoes, which were based off nuclear weaponry modified to be effective in space. Both of these more powerful weapons, however, had the weakness that they could only be used at short range. For long-range engagements, the Perth relied on slow-moving long-range cruise missiles, which were easily shot down by missile defense systems or disabled by ECM systems on human ships. The Perth did not use fighters; instead, their equivalent subcapital ships were called "gunships", and were much larger than the equivalent human ships, as well as being more heavily armored and shielded and equipped with much more weapons and with higher effectiveness since all gunships had turreted weapons. In the end, the outcome of the war came down to humanity's strategic superiority and unity, the most notable human commander being Bandorian Grand Admiral Sergei Komarov; Komarov controlled capital ship strike forces, while his brothers, Ivan Komarov and Viktor Komarov, controlled carrier forces and ground forces. Sergei Komarov was the protege of Imperial Grand Admiral Ruslan Kusnetsov, and was the youngest person to ever receive the rank of Grand Admiral. His strategies had devastating results against the Perth forces, and the Perth's defeats caused by him were a major cause of ending the war. One major improvement developed by Sergei Komarov and Ruslan Kusnetsov was the Roi Shershnei cluster missile flak weapon, which proved essential for destroying Perth gunships. In addition to the strategies developed by Komarov, Kusnetsov, and their protegees, the Galactic Empire and its allies made a temporary alliance with the Union in late 3207, which was known as the Imperial Alliance and lasted for a decade after the end of the war. In the end, humanity's greater adaptability allowed them to work around the Perth's superiorities and overcome them.

## Factions

Galactic Empire

Union (faction)

Bandorian Protectorate

(13 August 3205- 19 October 3207)

Imperial Alliance

 (19 October 3207-4 December 3217)

vs

Perth Empire

## Timeframe

13 August 3205- 4 December 3217

Result: Human coalition victory, Perth Empire defeat

## Notable Battles

### First Battle of Psi Imperatoris (first encounter of the war)

The Perth entered the Psi Imperatoris star system on 13 August 3205, and attacked the Imperial colonists there in a massive multi-stage battle that took place in space, on the ground, and in several space stations in the system over the course of ten days. The Imperial 4th Fleet and Imperial 1st Supply Fleet were deployed to the system, as well as 35 regiments of ground forces and 10 regiments of space forces. When the Perth had retreated from the system on 23 August 3205, the Imperials had suffered nearly 20,000 casualties in regular troops and lost 4 capital ships and 125 subcapital ships, while the Perth had lost 4,000 troops, 17 capital ships, and 113 gunships (the Perth subcapital ships).

### Battle of Aerater

The Perth entered the Aerater star system on 29 August 3205; the Bandorian system defense force was able to hold off the attacking forces until 1 September 3205, when the 1st Fleet of the Protectorate Navy arrived in the system. The Perth were not able to land any ground forces, and 24 Perth troop transport-type ships were destroyed by ground-based anti-ship cannons. On 3 September 3205 the Perth forces retreated, having lost 9 capital ships and 72 subcapital ships. Each of the destroyed troop transports was estimated to have 100 Perth soldiers on board. The Bandorian system defense forces lost 3 capital ships and 37 subcapital ships; they had fought in a defensive stealthy style, drawing out and delaying the Perth forces. The 1st Fleet lost 2 capital ships, 13 support ships, and 96 subcapital ships.

### Battle of Caska

Perth forces entered the Caska star system on 2 September 3205, and quickly destroyed the system's small system defense forces before any Protectorate Navy units could respond. The Perth landed a force of 10,000 soldiers and many artillery units in a valley 10 kilometers to the east of the Jolkir Mountains on Elame, which were just 7 kilometers away from the massive Bandorian trading center on the moon. Local Bandorian militia mobilized to prevent the Perth from getting through the Wurdun Pass, which would have given their ground forces direct access to the trading center and the surrounding residential and commercial buildings. On 3 September the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Squadrons of the Bandorian 2nd Fleet arrived in the system, along with 3 troop transport fleets each with 10 troop transports, for a total of 30,000 soldiers, and another regular transport fleet carrying supplies and artillery. The Bandorian ground forces consisted of 5 regiments Disruptorguards, 20 regiments Shock Troopers, and 5 regiments Rocket Artillery. The Bandorian fleet managed to fight through the Perth forces in orbit, break the orbital blockade, and land all troops safely. The 189th Disruptorguards and the 73rd, 74th and 75th Rocket Artillery Regiments were deployed to the Wurdun Pass to guard it. However, the Perth set up their artillery on the eastern side of the Jolkir Mountains (which were quite low compared to most mountains, really just hills) and were able to bombard the trading center and surrounding residential areas, causing heavy civilian casualties. The local Bandorian militia were all redeployed to the Wurdun Pass to assist the Bandorian military forces there, while the rest of the Bandorian forces were sent through another pass to the south in an attempt to flank the Perth forces. This attempt failed, as the Perth used bomber aircraft, artillery, and a hastily constructed but formidable array of landmines and traps to halt the Bandorian advance from the southwest. At the same time, the Perth forces attacked the Wurdun Pass constantly with ground forces and aircraft; the Bandorian regiments there took so many casualties that the three Rocket Artillery regiments were reintegrated into a single regiment due to losses of over 2,000 soldiers. The local militia were quickly trained in the use of the Rocket Artillery regiments' weapons (multiple launch rocket systems and handheld rocket missile launchers), and these batteries provided crucial fire support, counterattacking against Perth batteries that were bombarding the trading center and residential areas. This situation continued for several months; as the Perth soldiers wore very thick armor, most of the energy weapons used by the local militia and Bandorian regular soldiers were unable to penetrate it; however, the disruptor assault cannons used by the Disruptorguards and the handheld rocket launchers and HV missile launchers used by the Rocket Artillery soldiers were able to score kills. On 29 December 3205 the Bandorian forces attacking from the southwest managed to break through the Perth defensive network and come within 1 km of their command post; however, they were repulsed with heavy losses. On 2 January, 5,000 Perth reinforcements and a large Perth supply drop arrived, and set up an extensive defensive perimeter with light artillery and rapid-fire weapons, making another frontal assault effectively impossible. The remainder of the Bandorian forces retreated to form a defensive line in the pass and in the mountains near it. Meanwhile the space battle continued to rage; by late December, however, the Bandorian fleet had gained slight superiority, and the Perth had to mount a near-disastrous strike operation in which many ships were lost to punch through the Bandorian lines to land their reinforcements in January. On 5 January the commander of the Bandorian ground forces, speaking jointly with the commander of the space forces, requested reinforcements. On 6 January the Perth launched a massive assault on the Wurdun Pass, killing over 3,000 soldiers in a single day. The line held, but so many of the defenders were wounded that they could barely keep up even a light bombardment of the Perth forces, who rained volley after volley of long-range artillery down into the trading center and residential areas. Perth aircraft also participated in many bombings, adding to the misery. Over 20,000 civilians died in the first week of the new year; the system governor issued an evacuation order, but many stayed and armed themselves, insisting on being allowed to join the defense of the pass. In addition to this, many Bandorian civilian pilots volunteered to join the battle in space with their armed civilian spacecraft, or in the atmosphere with armed civilian aircraft. These additional forces helped to stem the force of the Perth assault, especially in the atmosphere, where their bombers no longer flew unopposed. On 16 January the remainder of the Bandorian 2nd Fleet entered the system, along with 10,000 Disruptorguards aboard the Bandorian 4th Troop Transport Fleet, the 1st Squadron of the Imperial 4th Fleet, and 15,000 Imperial Disruptorguards aboard the 14th Imperial Troop Transport Fleet. These additional forces helped to smash the Perth's space forces, destroying eight Perth capital ships and over 100 Perth gunships in one day. Half of the 25,000 new troops landed on the ground to the northeast of the Perth defensive lines, while the other half landed in a similar landing site to the southeast. These forces immediately began a converging attack on the Perth lines, coordinating with the artillery forces in Wurdun Pass and the Jolkir Mountains, as well as several larger Imperial and Bandorian capital ships in orbit and various Bandorian aircraft units, to make a massive multi-vector attack against the Perth forces. Shockingly, despite the enormous amount of firepower being brought to bear on them, the Perth units did not break. Attacks continued as normal, though the Perth were not able to bombard the civilian areas as effectively as before since many of their artillery pieces had been damaged or captured. On 15 March 3206 the Perth finally retreated; only 15 of their troop transports made it back to the Perth fleet in space, so it was assumed that they lost 13,500 soldiers in the campaign. In addition to soldiers, the Perth also lost 26 capital ships, 230 gunships, 132 troop transports, and 2 regular transports. The Bandorian losses consisted of 19,007 soldiers, 37 capital ships, 5 carriers, and 397 subcapital ships from the Protectorate Navy and ground forces; 4 capital ships, 1 carrier, and 40 subcapital ships belonging to the system defense forces were also destroyed, and 163,995 Bandorian civilians were killed by the Perth bombings over the course of the campaign. The Imperial losses consisted of 6,376 soldiers, 12 capital ships, 2 carriers, and 148 subcapital ships. The result of the battle was considered to be a draw; while the Perth lost many soldiers and ships, they also inflicted severe losses on their enemies, and the trading center on Elame was shut down for nearly a year as it was converted temporarily into a hospital. However, for the first time in the war, the Perth lost space superiority, being forced to retreat quickly to avoid losing more ships to a powerful new flak weapon (the Roi Shershnei) developed by the Imperials and equipped on both Protectorate Navy and Imperial Navy ships; this weapon fired clusters of high-explosive missiles at enemy targets, guaranteeing to damage some critical components.

### Battle of Kerdava

Perth forces entered the Kerdava star system on 14 December 3205. The Perth invasion fleet was relatively small, and the Asgardian system defense force responded by ordering all civilian ships in the system to enter orbit of Kerdava 1. The system government declared a state of emergency and requested reinforcements; because of the system's accelerator jump gate, it was given a high priority for military defense. On 16 December the Asgardian 1st Fleet entered the system, followed by the Asgardian 2nd Fleet and the 1st Squadron of the Bandorian 3rd fleet on 18 December. During the time between the Perth's initial entry into the system until 18 December, the Perth fleet had remained orbiting at a distance of 5 AU from the system's star. On 18 December, the Perth fleet moved in a direct intercept course with the Asgardian and Bandorian fleets, finally meeting them on 20 December. The Perth only had 100 gunships and 20 capital ships; the gunships approached first in a screen formation, keeping the human subcapital ships occupied, while the Perth capital ships moved in close to the human capital ships so they could use their weapons (pulse-guns), which were most effective at short ranges. This strategy proved disastrous; five Perth capital ships and 36 gunships were destroyed on 20 December, and the Perth fleet retreated, the capital ships firing Perth long-range capital missiles as they left, which proved easy to intercept and destroy. The battle devolved into a series of skirmishes after this, with the Perth sending in gunships for quick strafing runs then retreating, the capital ships firing more missiles as they retreated. Most of these missiles were shot down, as they were fairly large and slow, but examination of the debris indicated that the missiles were capable of causing immense damage if they actually hit a target. The Perth lost one more capital ship and 31 more gunships in these skirmishes, and on 12 January 3206 the remains of the Perth fleet left the system. The battle seems to have been a test of human tactics, although given the disproportionately extreme response by the Asgardian Defense Force it is unlikely that the test gave the Perth any accurate information.

### Battle of Kyberon

Perth forces entered the Kyberon star system (at that time, a small colony controlled by the Asgardian Alliance) on 10 January 3206, as the battle in Kerdava drew to a close. The system government declared a state of emergency and mobilized nearly 25,000 militia the same day. The Perth's first action was to land troop transports on Uthuyama on 11 January 3206. There were 200 Perth troop transports deployed, and they used a new stealth system to approach the planet undetected and land their troops, alongside 20 regular transport ships equipped with the same stealth system and carrying supplies, including artillery and other weapons systems, for the Perth ground troops. As they entered the planet's atmosphere, however, they were detected by sensor systems. An Asgardian surface-to-air missile system destroyed one troop transport as it attempted to land. As the troop transports attempted to leave the planet's atmosphere after landing their troops, an orbital defense station detected them and opened fire with its railguns, destroying 103 of the troop transports as they attempted to retreat. The station was destroyed an hour later by Perth gunships. In space, the system defense force engaged the Perth, with most of the battle taking place between human subcapital ships and Perth gunships. The system defense force lost three of its five capital ships and 120 out of its 150 subcapital ships, and were forced to retreat to an orbit close to the system's star. Later on 11 January the Asgardian 3rd Fleet arrived in the system; almost immediately, two-thirds of the Perth forces moved to an orbit around Madrurin, the system's uninhabited third planet. It is unclear what the Perth's objective in doing this was, but they arranged their ships around Madrurin in a close blockade formation. This allowed the Asgardian ships to engage the vastly reduced Perth ships in the vicinity of Uthuyama with long-range lasers and pelsers, retreating whenever the Perth attempted to close to use their formidable, but short-ranged, pulse-guns. The Perth attempted to destroy the human ships using their long-range missiles, but these were easily shot down by the missile defense systems on the Asgardian ships. On 12 January 3206 the Asgardian Defense Forces deployed the 1st Supply Fleet, the 3rd, 7th, and 10th Transport Fleets, and the 2nd and 6th Troop Transport Fleets to Kyberon. On 14 January 3206 the UN Space Command deployed the UN 2nd Fleet to Kyberon. These combined forces quickly landed 20,000 Asgardian troops, and destroyed the 15 Perth capital ships and 80 gunships orbiting Uthuyama. The Troop Transport Fleets left the system again on 13 January 3206 to pick up more troops, returning on 22 January. On the ground, the militia, combined with the first 20,000 Asgardian ground troops deployed on 12 January, had managed to keep the Perth away from major cities; unfortunately, the Perth artillery bombardment was able to reach several isolated human settlements, killing approximately 3,000 Asgardian colonists. By the end of January, the Perth forces were confined in a 25 km by 15 km area, largely due to the use of new armored artillery platforms such as the Razgriz-class supertank, a 58-meter long armored vehicle with six wheels, equipped with two 127mm cannons and a heavy guided missile launcher, as well as a quad 40mm turret in the rear and three 20mm autocannons in the front section. In addition to these heavy supertanks, the Asgardian forces, especially the militia, used light hovercraft equipped with small rocket launchers or 20mm autocannons to conduct mass harassment actions against the Perth defenses. The Asgardian forces also used fixed 20mm autocannons extensively to repel Perth attacks on their defenses, as smaller-caliber machine guns and assault rifles proved ineffective against Perth armor, as did most low-power laser weapons. Plasma weapons (especially plasma shell weapons) and pelsers were very effective against Perth armor, but only 10% of Asgardian troops were equipped with weapons of this kind. The Perth, for their part, used artillery mainly in long-range precision bombardments; it is believed that their artillery shells had some kind of guidance and maneuvering system, as they could easily hit individual buildings and pieces of equipment up to 100 km away from the firing location. To destroy the Perth artillery systems, the Asgardian forces, especially the local militia, manufactured fast suicide drones equipped with a powerful explosive charge. By the end of March 3206, the Perth forces had lost over 80% of their artillery, with only two long-range cannons and several dozen point defense type rapid-fire cannons remaining, in addition to several quad heavy pulse-guns mounted on fixed mountings. The human forces had suffered over 30,000 casualties by this time, and the Perth ground troops had only lost 2,500 troops. On 6 June 3206 the Asgardian Troop Transport Fleets returned to Uthuyama, carrying 20,000 new troops, after they had departed on 30 May. The Perth continued to make sorties out of their positions until late June, when they had lost over half of their forces. On 5 July 3206, the Perth launched a massive assault on the human forces to the east of their position, where their lines were the weakest, and successfully broke out; they were forced to leave their two heavy artillery pieces behind, but booby-trapped them, causing explosions that killed over 200 human troops when they tried to examine the cannons. The Perth forces were now drawn out and more isolated, making them easier targets for the Asgardian troops using 20mm autocannons, especially the harassment attacks by low-height light armed hovercraft. By 10 July, nearly all the Perth ground forces had been killed, and on 13 July the last remaining Perth troops (nearly 2,000) were airlifted off Uthuyama; the Asgardian forces were instructed not to fire on the incoming troop transports, since there were only 20 of them, enough to evacuate the remaining troops but not enough to turn the tide of battle even if they were deploying more troops. Meanwhile, the battle in space had turned into a standoff in early February 3206, with the human forces creating a counter-blockade of Madrurin, where the majority of the Perth ships had been orbiting. The human ship commanders were careful to keep at a long distance so the Perth couldn't use their pulse-guns, and by early June a significant amount of the Perth ships orbiting Madrurin had been destroyed; an action on 7 June resulted in the Perth being able to escape the human counter-blockade, as the human ships tried to keep their distance from the Perth ships, which were moving out of orbit of Madrurin. The Perth ships returned to a distant orbit of Uthuyama, trying to support the ground forces there with bombardments of long-range missiles at Asgardian surface positions. By July, however, the situation on the ground was such that the Perth commanders had realized they needed to retreat. On 19 July 3206, all the Perth ships left Kyberon. The battle is generally considered a Union tactical victory, as the Perth were forced to retreat from the system. The Asgardian and UN forces suffered a total of 94,585 casualties, roughly 3,000 of whom were civilians. In addition, a total of 39 human capital ships, 4 support ships, 1 carrier, 17 transports, 402 subcapital ships, and an orbital defense station were lost. The Perth lost 18,299 ground troops (and an unknown number of space troops on board their ships), 23 capital ships, 167 gunships, 103 troop transports and one regular transport, and were forced to retreat from the system. Key factors in the Perth's defeat include their lack of air support in this operation, and the fact that most of their ships were deployed to a secondary location instead of focusing on blockading the primary location.

### Battle of Cardas

Perth forces entered the Cardas star system on 13 January 3206, engaging with the system defense force in a brief battle which resulted in the destruction of Cardas' entire system defense force in space (one battleship, one carrier, one battlecruiser, four cruisers, ten destroyers, twelve assorted smaller capital ships, and forty fighter-bomber type subcapital ships on board the carrier, as well as an estimated 77 armed civilian ships which were mobilized to assist). 13 Perth gunships were destroyed in the battle, and the human losses in personnel amounted to 7,896. The remaining Perth ships, 50 capital ships, 237 gunships, and 500 troop transports carrying a total of 50,000 Perth troops, entered orbit of Tusdio on 14 January 3206. The Perth troop transports were supplemented by 100 regular transports carrying superheavy artillery, other weapons systems, and supplies. The Perth landing forces landed on the surface just 10 km east of Markan, the capitol city of Tusdio at the time, with a population of 1.8 million citizens plus another 600,000 citizens living in the surrounding area. The Perth's landing forces were heavily supported by bomber aircraft, which conducted massive strike operations to knock out flak batteries and other heavy weaponry, including armored ground vehicles and hovertanks, in the eastern quadrant of Markan city's defense grid. After the Perth troop transports dropped off the Perth soldiers, they immediately left the system along with the regular transports. During the night of 14-15 January 3206, Perth heavy artillery batteries pounded Markan, causing an estimated 180,000 civilian casualties as evacuation efforts started, in addition to 5,433 military casualties caused by the bombings before the Perth landed. The Protectorate Ground Forces commander for the Markan district, Xao Kunyin, ordered all Protectorate Ground Forces units to proceed to east Markan, and ordered an immediate draft of militia to bolster their ranks, as only seven regiments of regular Ground Forces (two Disruptorguard regiments and five Guard regiments) were present. A hovertank regiment, the 19th Hovertank Regiment, had been present in east Markan, but had suffered 90% casualties in the Perth airstrikes. One regiment of Rocket Artillery, the 49th Rocket Artillery, was moved from west Markan to east Markan, and these were the only trained artillery forces in the area at first. Several air regiments were moved to central Markan to give them some protection from Perth artillery bombardment, but they were wiped out within hours by Perth bombers. Through 15 January, the Perth artillery batteries slugged it out with the 49th Rocket Artillery and the remaining 20 hovertanks, with neither side being willing to advance their infantry, although the Perth force of 50,000 infantry vastly outnumbered the 7,000 Bandorian regulars and roughly 15,000 militia that had gathered in east Markan. The 49th Rocket Artillery lost 7 of its 40 Trident MLRS that day, but managed to knock out 34 Perth weapons of various sizes; all 20 of the remaining hovertanks were also destroyed. On 16 January the Perth forces began to advance towards Markan, supported by bomber aircraft. There was heavy fighting between Perth infantry and Bandorian militia, including armed ground vehicles like the "Firebolt" light rocket launcher, which was just a modification to a wide variety of civilian ground vehicles and hovercraft that added four rocket launch tubes welded together on a swivel mount generally placed at the back of the vehicle. These "Firebolt" squadrons allowed for quick strikes and helped the Bandorian forces to maintain a steady rocket barrage on the advancing Perth forces. Combined with many 20mm autocannon emplacements, these artillery devices caused approximately 2,500 Perth casualties on that day. However, the Bandorian forces lost 3,450 troops, mostly to airstrikes. On 17 January 3206 the Bandorian 3rd Fleet was ordered to deploy to the Cardas system, as well as the supercarriers *Slava* and *Sword of Darkstar* and their escort groups. The Bandorian forces on Tusdio were ordered to entrench themselves in east Markan, and additional local drafts for militia were conducted, bringing 70,000 more militia to the front lines. On 23 January 3206 the Bandorian 3rd Fleet arrived in the system and immediately began engaging the Perth fleet in orbit of Tusdio; roughly two-thirds of the Perth ships retreated to deeper space, followed by the Bandorian forces. On 25 January, the 500 Perth troop transports returned to the system and began landing on Tusdio. The Bandorian ships in orbit managed to destroy 113 troop transports, and ground defenses destroyed another 29 troop transports. The battle in space so far had resulted in the destruction of 11 Perth capital ships, 54 Perth gunships, 4 Bandorian capital ships, and 59 Bandorian subcapital ships. On 27 January the Bandorian 1st, 4th, 6th, 7th, and 10th Troop Transport Fleets arrived in Cardas, holding 50,000 troops, and landed in central Markan. On 28 January the Bandorian 9th Supply Fleet and 10th and 15th Transport Fleets arrived in Cardas to assist with supply chain efforts and to transport heavy weaponry to the surface of Tusdio. Fighting continued in the Markan area until 5 July 3206, when the Perth were finally pushed back farther than their original landing site 10 km east of Markan. The Perth continued to retreat slowly and in good order. Throughout July and early August they conducted massive bombardments of civilian population areas from orbit and with their heavy artillery pieces on the ground, as well as with bomber aircraft, which operated from an extremely large Perth aircraft/spacecraft that doubled as a mobile, space capable aircraft carrier. On the night of 16-17 August 3206 the Perth used an unknown number of troop transports and regular transports to evacuate their remaining troops and remove their weapons and supplies. The battle is generally considered a Perth victory, as the Perth retreated in good order, having inflicted massive casualties on the Bandorian ground forces and local civilian population. The Bandorian casualties came to 1,258,058, of which an estimated 1,180,000 were civilian casualties. In addition, the Bandorian forces lost 59 capital ships, 287 subcapital ships, 200 hovertanks, and seven Trident MLRS systems; an unknown number of "Firebolt" light rocket artillery vehicles were also destroyed. The Perth forces lost 19 capital ships, 89 gunships, 142 troop transports, approximately 150 aircraft, and an estimated 20,000 troops.