Great Battle of Rodenius Southern Sea

The **Great Battle of Rodenius Southern Sea** is first engagement between the Gra Valkas Empire and Japan in the Great Naval Invasion of Japan. The Japan Self-Defense Forces intercept the invasion of the advance force of the Gra Valkas Great Fleet in the south sea of the Rodenius continent.

* Valcer Captain Resspot †
* Valcer Captain Fitor †
* First Class Engineer Kandall †
* 5th Squadron Captain Kra Daciami (MIA)

**2nd Advanced Fleet**
* Fleet Commander Vice Admiral Aurones †
* Quasar Vice Commander (unnamed) †
* Terra Valka Captain Parbolt †
* JASDF Nahanath Air Base Commander Yagami
* 1st Battlegroup (440 Ships)
	+ 1st Advance Fleet (230 Ships)
		- Hercules-class battleship *Valcer* (Flagship)
		- Battleships
			* *Pitt*
			* *Recarter*
		- Cruisers
			* *Vernante*
			* *Vest*
			* *Drip*
		- Destroyer
			* *Barrister*
			* *Tsurugi*
			* *Meiro*
			* *Mellos*
		- Aircraft carriers
		- Supply ships
	+ 2nd Advance Fleet (210 Ships)
		- Hercules-class battleship *Quasar* (Flagship)
		- Battleships
		- Cruisers
			* *Terra Valka*
			* *Staz*
			* *Molt*
			* *Chio*
		- Destroyers
			* *Itoqua*
			* *Carron*
			* *Hillo*
		- Aircraft carriers
			* *Cerberus*
			* *Capella*
		- Supply ships

**Imperial Navy Air Corps**
* 5th Navy Air Force Squadron
	+ 51 Antares fighters
* Airwolf Patrol Squadron
	+ 15 Antares fighters
* Navy Air Force Squadron (unknown number details)
	+ Antares fighters
	+ Rigel torpedo bombers
	+ Sirius bombers
	+ Altair dive bombers
* A1 and A2 Anti-Ship Attack Group (from Nahanath & Rodenius Airbases)
	+ 35 F-2 fighters
	+ 12 F-15J Kai fighters
	+ 1 E-767 AWACS aircraft
	+ 1 RF-4EJ Phantom II fighter

**Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force**
* At least 5 submarines
	+ Soryu-class submarine *Ōryū* (Flagship)
	+ 4 Soryu-class & Oyashio-class submarines
	+ 9 destroyers escaped
* 210 ships of 2nd Advanced Fleet annihilated
* All aircraft of Imperial Navy Air Corps destroyed
	+ 5th Navy Air Force Squadron
	+ Airwolf Patrol Squadron

## Background

### Gra Valkas Empire

Since their failed attempts at holding their territorial gains after the Battle of Alue and with Japan gradually involved more in the conflict, the sentiment of defeatism loomed over the upper military echelons of the Gra Valkas Empire. Previously, Mu's Navy and Japan's Maritime Self Defense Forces managed to destroy the 52nd Local "Ishtam" Fleet offshores of Otaheit and Mykal, respectively. Additionally, the empire lost its strongest armored division, the 4th Armored Division, in addition to the capture of Valkyries Base. To make matters worse, crown prince Gra Cabal was also captured by the World Union during the loss of their military base.

Upon learning of these tragic events, Emperor Gralux berated every high-ranking officer that was stationed on Leifor, including Admiral Caesar. Angered by the news and having suffered multiple humiliating defeats, he ordered the navy to assemble all of its fleets to hastily dispatch a punitive strike on the Japanese mainland, albeit without the careful knowledge or research of Japan's homeland defenses.

As part of a previously planned strategy, Admiral Caesar began to carry out the attack. Due to the general lack of knowledge of Japan's military defensive measures and partly due to their unchecked confidence, he believed advantages in numbers would turn the tide of battle to his favor. The Great Fleet would overwhelm Japan through sheer the numbers of their warships and aircraft, which he had hoped to overwhelm Japan's (assumed) technological advantage. In addition, he also divided the Great Fleet into several combat groups. Such a division not only made the larger fleet harder to detect but also exerted their numerical advantages. Caesar knew with certainty that the number of Japanese warships was very small, so he believed he could crush Japan's naval warfare capabilities with his battlegroups. The idea was that Japan would regroup and focus on individual battlegroups while the rest would sail to Tokyo without being detected. However, this was under the assumption that Japan would fight with the same direct-ship tactics that his forces would use.

So far, Caesar had been partially successful with his plan: his 1st Battlegroup, consisting of the 1st and 2nd Advanced Fleet, approached Japan by going south sea of the Rodenius continent and was able to get relatively close before being detected.

### Japan

Following the Capture of Valkyries Base and the subsequent capture of Prince Gra Cabal, negotiations between the two countries ended with the Gra Valkas Empire threatening to launch an invasion of Japan directly. For some time, Japan had been monitoring the Gra Valkas Empire's ports and detailing the mass build-up of warships while it pulled back its own forces from the Mu Continent in anticipation of the upcoming attack. The Gra Valkas Empire assembled all of their ships from all fleets, including newly-built warships and reserve vessels to form the Great Fleet, leaving the minimum amount for the defense of Leifor and the Gra Valkas homeland.

Japan has long since predicted a large-scale military operation would be carried out by Gra Valkas, based on diplomatic developments as well as satellite reconnaissance images. However, they were still shocked when the news of a large-scale invasion was confirmed due to the huge number of the Great Fleet that far exceeded their initial predictions. To make matters worse, the Minister of Defense admitted that the upgrades of JMSDF's guided missile destroyers had not been completed as well as their inability to constantly monitor the Great Fleet due to the lack of reconnaissance satellites.

It was later discerned that the Great Fleet had split into separate groups to lower the chances of detection. Each and every one of them headed for Tokyo:

* 56 ships in the Riem Kingdom
* 230 ships in the waters near the Qaiz Kingdom
* 210 ships in the Groot Knightland
* 996 ships (possibly the main force) in the east of First Civilization Area

The situation became dire for Japan when the government was notified of a fishing vessel being attacked by unidentified aircraft about 1,250 kilometers southeast of Okinawa, indicating that the Great Fleet had begun to approach Japan's home islands. To order effectively deal with the Great Fleet, the JMSDF utilized hit-and-run and ambush tactics like in Mu against the 4th Division by sending submarines to harass and thin out the numbers of the Great Fleet's battle groups before JMSDF's escort flotillas and JASDF's air wings could catch up and destroy them.

The Gra Valkas' 1st Battlegroup, deploying days ahead of the Great Fleet, refueled in the recently subjugated Groot Knightland and Qaiz Kingdom and set sail for Japan. Its given mission was to engage Japanese forces and clear the way for the Great Fleet to reach Tokyo. Both Advance Fleets had arranged to combine south of Rodenius and continue on.

## Battle

### JMSDF's Submarine Attack Waves

While passing the Rodenius continent and approaching Japan from the south, the 1st Battlegroup, consisting of 1st and 2nd Advanced Fleet of 440 ships of the Great Fleet from the Qaiz Kingdom and Groot Knightland commanded by General Mirkenses and Vice Admiral Aurones, managed to shoot down 20 scouting wyvern riders from an allied country of Japan. However, Mirkenses received a warning satellite message from a Soryu-class Submarine to turn back or else they would be destroyed. Arrogant with the high number of ships, Mirkenses ignored the warning and forwarded the fleet while trying to track down the Soryu submarine. To matter worse, Mirkenses and her officers also arrogantly stated that the destruction of the Gra Valkas' fleet in Mu by a small number of JMSDF destroyers was fraud information along with the fact that Japan's military technology was above them also a gigantic hoax. She immediately ordered her subordinates to locate the submarine that sent that message and sink it with depth charges. However, their primitive sonar systems would never find the Japanese submarine with its advanced sound-suppression hull coating and the crew were also very trained to deal with warships that were equipped with depth charges, unaware that the submarines were not below them.

Knowing fully well the Gra Valkas would not back down, the captain of the Soryu-class submarine Ōryū ordered a full attack on the 2nd Advanced Fleet. The submarine Ōryū then unleashed a Harpoon missile at the Gra Valkas destroyer Itoqua and successfully sunk it. Vice Admiral Aurones and the rest of the fleet were horrifically dumbfounded by the attack as they couldn't figure out how the JMSDF could strike the fleet without showing any signs of aircraft. As panic ran through the fleet, the fleet scrambled to launch seaplanes to track air attacks while unable to figure out that the attack came from under the sea.

As the submarine Ōryū launched the second harpoon missile, the Gra Valkas air defense network luckily scored a lucky shot and managed to intercept the Harpoon missile, causing it to plunge into the sea and explode. This success allowed the fleet to regain some fighting spirit. However, it did not improve the dire situation, as they were unable to detect the Soryu-class submarines. After the failed second attack, the Soryu pressed on with the attack with concentrated missile strikes, but this time unlike before, Japan's submarines already surrounded them in secret and launched multiple missiles from all directions, driving Aurones and the 2nd Advanced Fleet into a panic.

The concentrated missile strikes successfully sunk seven Gra Valkas ships, including the cruiser Terra Valka, the destroyer Carron and the aircraft carrier Cerberus, while permanently disabling seven other ships. This causes Aurones to scream in anger as the entire anti-air defense network of the 2nd Advanced Fleet punched through so easily, plus their aircraft carrier was sunk by one hit from a single missile. However, Aurones regained his composure as he felt that the attack didn't do much damage to the fleet's massive numbers and ordered two other destroyers to rescue surviving sailors from other destroyed ships. Unfortunately, Aurones and the rest of the fleet once again were pushed into full-blown terror as the submarine Ōryū launched another two missile strikes and sunk both destroyers. At that point, they realized that Japan would not let them do as they please until the 2nd Advanced Fleet either retreated or surrendered.

Taking advantage of the momentum, the Soryu-class submarines then launched two Type 89 torpedoes at the aircraft carrier Capella, and effectively sunk it while disabling the cruiser Hiryo with a Harpoon missile. The loss of two aircraft carriers and the helplessness of being unable to detect the JMSDF submarine fleet sent Aurones to the brink of insanity. Additionally, even after getting a grasp of how JMSDF's torpedoes work, Aurones was unable to send information to the main fleet since Japan already jammed their radio and radar, effectively isolating them. Two more torpedoes were then fired at the Hercules-class battleship Quasar, the flagship of the 2nd Advanced Fleet.

### Destruction of the 2nd Advance Fleet

To decimate the 1st Battle Group, Japan's Ministry of Defense intended to launch 35 F-2 fighter-bombers and 70 BP-3C Orion medium-range bombers with a total of 400 air-to-ship missiles as soon as daybreak came. As an initial assault, JSDF Air Force sent 10 F-2 fighters to assist the submarine fleet and launched 40 Type 93 anti-ship missiles at the 2nd Advance Fleet.

Aiming for the 2nd Advance Fleet, Aurones trembled in fear as Japan's torpedoes that launched from the Soryu-class submarines squadron came at high speed (50 knots) while his ship also tried to avoid it. Eventually, the battleship Quasar hit the starboard, and the water leaked in. Initially, the counter-flooding was successful but due to irreparable damage and most compartments being destroyed, the battleship Quasar once again tilted to the starboard to the right. As the Soryu-class submarines continued thinning out the 2nd Advanced Fleet, Aurones screamed in utter despair as he couldn't believe a powerful fleet of his empire could be decimated so easily without drawing single casualties from the enemy. When the 10 F-2 fighters reached their destination and unleashed the payload of ASM-2 to destroy what was left of the 2nd Advanced Fleet. Aurones watched helplessly as the missiles came to his 2nd Advanced Fleet and decimated the rest of the cruisers and destroyers. One missile was heading straight into the bridge of Aurones' flagship, the Hercules-class battleship Quasar, effectively killing him and destroying the flagship of the 2nd Advanced Fleet. At this moment, the 2nd Advanced Fleet of the Great Fleet was annihilated. The Japanese submarine fleet then was ordered to move to the next operation, most likely to re-fuel and re-arm.

### 1st Advanced Fleet's Countermeasures

Although the communication channel was cut off by JSDF jamming devices, information about the destruction of the 2nd Advanced Fleet was reported to the 1st Advance Fleet using information obtained from previously 20 launched reconnaissance Antares fighters. Hearing the grim news, Mirkenses and officers aborad the Hercules-class battleship Valcer began losing morale. Mirkenses was absolutely enraged and in disbelief with the destruction of the 2nd Advanced Fleet as she couldn't believe that the 2nd Advanced Fleet was destroyed in such a short time.

A radar engineer named Magellan on 1st Advance Fleet's flagship restarted the operation and increased the wavelength output to the maximum, discovering that 50 JASDF's aircraft were coming to decimate them inside the radar that can only be operational from 10 to 2 o'clock. Horrifically impressed and feared by the previous radar turbulence and the swift destruction of the 2nd Advanced Fleet, Mirkenses recalled the documents on Japanese guided weapons she had read earlier. She regretfully began to realize that those documents seemed to be true, not ludicrous propaganda like she and the rest of the Gra Valkas officers initially thought. Starting to take Japan seriously from now on, she then called up an engineer named Kandall, who worked at the Advanced Technology Research Institute. Kandall explained how Japan's arsenal works based on information collected in Japanese weapons books taken at Mu, even though he and Mirkenses were still skeptical about Japanese guided missile technology. According to him, to counter Japan's incoming missile attacks, he would deploy the prototype jammer created by the Advanced Technology Research Institute to disturb the missile guidance. So Japan would have less accuracy hitting them as well as the flares to distract infrared navigation systems, and metal scraps to jam active radar guidance systems. Though Kandall was confident that the prototype would work, it was based on the assumption that flares and chaff were 100% effective and that guided missile technology had not improved in the last 40 years. Furthermore, the GVIA also didn't realize that the books about Japanese weaponry collected by their spies in Mu never include in-depth technical details as well as the latest updates and upgrades in Japanese weapon technology, making all the knowledge they gathered insufficient.

### Air-to-Air Encounter with the JASDF

Around the same time, an Air Strike Group of fifteen F-15J Kai fighters (A2 group) and about 70 BP-3C Orion bombers (A1 group), supported by 1 E-767 AWACS aircraft as a spotter and source of the jammer, began to approach the 1st Advanced Fleet to conduct a saturated attack with anti-ship missiles. Although initially a little surprised because Gra Valkas still spotted them and was launching fighters to intercept, the A2 team quickly split up and flew toward the Antares fighters with orders to shoot them down and protect the A1 group.

The ninety-two Gra Valkas interceptors of the Navy Air Corps led by captain Kra Daciami were dispatched to deal JASDF air attack. Kra Daciami was overconfident with his fighter squadrons since as far as he was aware only the Alpha-3 Fighters of the Holy Milishial Empire could prove to be troublesome to the Antares fighters. Before they reached the interception point, Kra's Antares fighter began showing engine trouble and was trailing smoke. It forced him to turn back toward the fleet or risk ditching into the sea at night. His fellows ridiculed him for missing out on the glorious battle to come.

However, this proved to be a blessing in disguise. Just as Kra Daciami turned toward the fleet, his squadron came under attack from an unknown and unseen source. The enemy jets detected the flight of fighters and began picking them off from beyond visual range using radar-guided homing missiles. Kra Daciami was terrifyingly flabbergasted at the destruction of his fighter squadron since no forces so far could decimate the huge concentration of fighter planes so fast like that. In less than 20 seconds, half of the entire flight fell crashing toward the sea. To add insult to injury, he and the rest of the fighters in the squadron were unable to contact each other as the F-15Js also jammed their radio signal to reduce their combat efficiency. By the time the F-15J fighters came into view, nearly all of the Antares fighters were being shot down. They simply could not compete with the Japanese jets and their firepower. Kra Daciami became the sole survivor of the interceptor flight as the Japanese pilots decided to let him go since he was not a threat to them.

### 1st Advanced Fleet's Attempt at Anti-Missile Warfare

During the time in which the fighters were sent out to intercept the incoming Japanese aircraft, Mirkenses and her general staff Deluncia were speculating as to how large the enemy formation was and what types of aircraft were being used. It was the general assumption that the attacking force was composed of torpedo bombers and escort fighters. The bridge speculated that the 92 Antares fighters were sufficient enough to beat back the attacking planes, but were shocked when the report came in that all of the Antares fighters, save for one, had been destroyed. Mirkenses was furious, but her officers assured her that even though they lost the entire squadron of fighters, they still had the anti-missile countermeasures and the anti-aircraft batteries to deal with the JASDF air attacks.

As the first wave of anti-ship missiles launched, the 1st Advanced Fleet desperately tried to shoot them down to no avail as the Type 93 anti-ship missiles were too fast for their anti-aircraft batteries and fighters to hit. The Gra Valkas Cruiser Vernante, Destroyer Barrister, Battleships Pitt, and Recarter all deployed their jammer devices and threw flares and chaff into the air to deceive the missiles. However, much to their horror, the countermeasures were far too primitive to fool the ASM-2 missiles with an advanced inertial guidance system and infrared image tracking. Each ship was either sunk or disabled. Kandall was shattered in his mind at the uselessness of his latest invention to counter guided missiles to point that he even assumed that Japanese guided missiles were using magic to make chaffs and flare unable to fool them.

### Destruction of the 1st Advanced Fleet

As Mirkenses and the rest of the 1st Advanced Fleet were distraught at their countermeasure, they put so much confidence and hope in failing them in the end. The radar of the battleship Valcer managed to be back online at full strength and detected a massive wave of 250 missiles heading toward the fleet. This causes Mirkenses and her officers to sink further into despair. With their anti-missile strategy deemed as worthless, their only choice was to try to desperately shoot down as many missiles as they could, though the task had been proven to be impossible. As the wave of anti-ship missiles began striking the 1st Advanced Fleet mercilessly, Mirkenses was thrown into the ocean due to the explosion from the anti-ship missile opening a part of the bridge. She managed to grab a large fragment of wreckage to save herself from drowning. Then she sadly witnessed her flagship Balsar and the rest of her fleet destroyed by her own eyes while lamenting her weakness and deeply showing sorrow to all her perished crews. The rest of the 1st Advanced Fleet was ravaged, and only nine destroyers survived the onslaught. By the time Caesar received the news, Mirkenses was officially listed as Missing-In-Action (MIA).

So, with both the 1st and 2nd Advanced Fleets annihilated, the first phase of the Gra Valkas naval invasion failed with the loss of 431 ships in total.

## Aftermath

Admiral Caesar received word from his officer that both 1st and 2nd Advanced Fleets had been obliterated and was utterly crushed and shocked. Despite wanting to withdraw after confirming the rumors that Japan had guided missile technology and capability to strike beyond visual range was all true. Not only did he realize that his direct-ship warfare tactics were obsolete, but he also saw the potential trade-off of 100 guided missiles for 100 ships that were far more expensive. Even more discouraging was the fact that their prototype jammer devices were deemed to be useless. Despite the bad news, Caesar forced himself to continue the attack since retreating would mean a death sentence in the court-martial for him and the rest of his crew by the pig-headed officials back home, especially the Emperor's Office. Caesar then angrily cursed the narrow-minded and stupidity of the higher-ups for forcing his hands to bring the entire fleet to the slaughter.

Caesar then received intel from the intelligence officers on the location of the JASDF Air Wing Squadron in Nahanath Kingdom. He decided to rush the fleet to destroy it while the JASDF attack air groups were still in the stage of refueling and reloading their armaments to shave off JSDF military strength. At the same time, Caesar also correctly guessed that JSDF didn't know the true number of his fleet and didn't prepare enough missiles to attack, so he was quite confident in his strategy to attack. In addition, he sent an order to the Riem Kingdom Garrison Force and Special Extermination Operations Division to conduct a total assault on Japan's home island with the intention of forcing Japan to redeploy its forces to defend its homeland, allowing the Great Fleet (main fleet) to attack Nahanath smoothly.