Battle of Alue

**JSDF Victory**

* Reconnaissance carried out as planned.

**Battle of Alue** was the opening battle for the Gra Valkas Empire's invasion of Mu on the border town of Alue. The battle ended fairly quickly with the overwhelming victory going to the Gra Valkas Empire.

* 8th Army Commander Gaoggel (also supreme commander)
	+ 4th Division Commander Borg
	+ Air Corps Commander Perth
* Artillery Commander Arts Say

**Japan Self-Defense Force**
* At least 200 tanks
* Infantry
* Armored Vehicles
* Recon Motorcycle

**Gra Valkas Imperial Army Air Services**
* Antares fighters
* Sirius light bombers
* Vega twin-engine medium bombers

**Valkyries Base**
* At least 5 field artillery
* At least 10 field artillery
* Infantry

**Japan Air Self-Defense Force**
* 1 E-767 AWACS
* 3 Antares fighters
* Japan: None

## Background

### The location of the battle

Alue is a town located on a small plateau, surrounded by plains and some small hills. The town was originally surrounded by walls, but because these walls were no longer suitable for modern warfare, it was abandoned and the town itself grew beyond the walls. This is one of the places Mu is expected to be attacked, though not sure.

### Gra Valkas Empire's plan

After a series of efforts to isolate the Second Civilization Area from outside support and communication, Gra Valkas Empire decided it was the right time to start the Mu invasion. By occupying the strongest country in the Second Civilization , Gra Valkas Empire will not only eliminate a potential strong opponent (Emperor Gralux contends that Mu and Japan, due to their ability to develop technology by themselves, need to be destroyed before they progress and become a real threat), at the same time, it also occupies a large territory with abundant manpower and resources, along with developed industrial infrastructure, which is very necessary for their conquest of the New World.

They were well prepared: from January to March 1643 (Central Calendar) a large number of reinforcements were sent to Leifor as the main force of the invasion. The force consisted of very elite units such as the 4th Armored Division, which was the strongest and only armored division of the Gra Valkas Empire. There were no significant obstacles in reinforcements due to the almost absolute control of Gra Valkas Empire both in the air and at sea; although, the efforts of the World Union in the Battle of Baltica made these activities (possibly) a bit difficult.

### Mu's plan

Mu had long predicted a Gra Valkas Empire invasion of their territory, though it was not clear when and where the attack would take place. Mu began to prepare to deal with this supposedly possible invasion by strengthening the border defenses, organizing the evacuation of civilians, etc. However, it seems that at the time of the attack these activities were not completed.

In addition, due to not knowing where the attack would take place, Mu had to spread thin defenses across the border adjacent to Leifor, unintentionally making them more vulnerable, because they had no idea that the Gra Valkas Empire will adopt a new tactic that will make all their calculations turned upside down.

## Battle

The battle began with shelling down the town from Valkyries Base. The range of the Gra Valkan artillery is too far (about 22 km), beyond Mu's anti-artillery range. The shelling caused many casualties in Alue, mostly civilians, who believed that an invasion into the world's second most powerful country was unrealistic until too late.

When the hail of artillery shells ended, the 4th Armored Division immediately attacked, attacking directly on the trenches held by Mu's 24th Task Force with air support. Antares fighters were quick to outperform the Mu's Marin fighters, which had less speed and maneuverability, and even anti-aircraft fire could not help Mu regain air superiority.

On the ground, the 24th Task Force also showed a rapid loss of position before the 4th Armored Division, despite its numerical advantage. Forced to stretch on a 20 km battle-line and, more seriously, not possessing any anti-tank weapons, the Mu infantry desperately fought off the tanks and infantry of the Gra Valkas Empire only to be discovered and in turn destroyed by machine guns and tank guns. Mu's artillery also fired, but its low accuracy, small caliber and no armor-piercing rounds made them nearly useless against the Gra Valkan tanks, although there was a cannon that succeeded in destroying a Hound medium tank.

In the meantime, three Antares Fighters are chasing down some survivors. They manage to destroy a refugee convoy but upon chasing down two survivors on a motorcycle, they engaged a Japan Air Self-Defense Force's Mitsubishi F-2 in a dogfight that is currently on a recon mission briefly before being shot down.

## Aftermath

On the same day, the border town of Alue fell into the hands of the Gra Valkas Empire. A few surviving Mu soldiers surrendered. The Mu people at Alue were later exposed to the inhumane actions, such as rape and looting, of the Gra Valkas Empire soldiers and officers (an act that was deliberately ignored, even responded by officers and generals).

On the Japanese side, the F-2 pilot that chooses to engage is being scolded by higher-ups upon returning to base, fearing their fighting capabilities are being exposed to the Gra Valkas Empire.