Operation Matryoshka

## Combatants

UN* 100% of all UN forces stationed in JAPAN.
* UN 1st TSF squadron "Tempest".
* UN 2nd TSF squadron "Abyss".

IJA

* 100% of all IJA forces.
* IJA 1st squad "Horus".
* IJA 2nd squad "Kaibyaku".

Sadogashima Hive BETACheorwon Hive BETA

## Commanders

UN - IJA Joint Command
Sadogashima Hive BETACheorwon Hive BETA

## Strength

1000+ TSF
250000+ BETA

## Casualties

Medium, due to scale of operation
Heavy, due to scale of operation

## Summary

Operation Matryoshka was a counter attack carried out by joint IJA and UN forces throughout the night of November 4, 2021 to the early morning of November 5 (JST). It is considered to be the largest Operation conducted by players during potentiality #40658-2.

## Background

Shortly after the potentiality started, BETA overran the bases at Izumozaki and Nagoya, and quickly poured into what was left of Japan. One by one, bases were overrun, and the BETA advance slowly approached Yokohama base. To make matters worse, Rare Metals were not dropping due to a bug, meaning players were stuck with the derelict first generation F-4J Gekishin and F-4 Phantom, and that it was impossible to rebuild bases.

## Events leading up to the Operation

### Pockets of Resistance

The BETA advance had progressed rapidly, with the last bit of human resistance in Yokota, Imperial City Castle, and Atsugi. In an attempt to stop the BETA advance from the west, the IJA began efforts to intercept the BETA at Susono, while the UN forces focused on cleaning up the BETA in the Yokota-Imperial City-Atsugi trifecta.

With the IJA operations in Susono underway, the UN Commander realized that the Sendai region (North east of the Greater Tokyo Area (GTA)), was also at risk of getting overrun, with the BETA advancing all the way to Soma, putting Iwaki and Hyakuri at risk. However, the IJA commander deemed the Sendai region as low priority, as the BETA had already begun to break through the defense line around the GTA, with Yokota Airbase on the verge of annihilation. It was turning into a battle of attrition; one that the BETA would eventually win.

### Understanding BETA behavior

As the fighting in the GTA intensified, a UN pilot suggested carrying out culling operations in order to reduce the incoming BETA forces, and with approval from the UN Commander, a squadron was deployed in Kumagaya to conduct culling operations, with immediate effect.

Based on this, the UN Commander noted the following behaviors from the BETA:

1. Only nodes that reach 100% BETA Dominance (became fully red) would send a wave to the nodes connected to it.
2. Culling operations (Elimination Missions) reduce Beta Dominance, thus it is possible to stop a node from sending a wave by conducting Culling Operations on them in order to keep the BETA dominance from reaching 100%.

The UN and IJA Commanders begin observing Kumagaya, and would later confirm these behaviors. This theory would later be known as the Kumagaya theory, and would be the basis of anti-beta strategy in Frontier mode.

## Operation Matryoshka

### Planning

Based on the Kumagaya theory, the UN Commander begins selecting candidates for culling operations, with the IJA confirming that BETA in other nodes exhibit the same behavior. It is decided that culling operations should aim to reduce BETA dominance of a node to at least 90% in order to prevent the BETA from advancing past the node.

At 0446JST, Operation Matryoshka was announced, with the following special squadrons formed:

* IJA
	+ IJA 1st Special Squadron “Horus”
	+ IJA 2nd Special Squadron “Kaibyaku” (jp:開闢 lit. “creation”)
* UN
	+ UN 1st TSF Squadron “Tempest”
	+ UN 2nd Orbital Diver TSF Squadron “Abyss”

### Phase 1

Phase 1 of Matryoshka involved retaking Susono to the west, and Kumagaya to the north, as both of these bases were the main entry points to the Greater Tokyo Area.

At 0453JST, Phase 1 of Matryoshka began, with IJA Horus and Kaibyaku advancing to Satta and Matsumoto respectively. With the route secured, UN Tempest began culling operations on Susono, while UN Abyss focused on providing assistance to various areas in order to maintain the defense line. Susono would soon be recaptured, with UN Tempest pushing the BETA out of Susono and into Satta Pass. Capitalizing on this momentum, UN Abyss regroups and attacks the BETA in the north, cutting them off at Kumagaya. After ensuring the safety of Susono, IJA Horus and Kaibyaku moved to assist UN Abyss, liberating Kumagaya shortly after.

### Phase 2

Phase 2 began as soon as Kumagaya was recaptured,with IJA Horus and Kaibyaku advancing to Yaizu, cutting off BETA reinforcements from the west, allowing UN Tempest to recapture Satta pass. UN Abyss began culling operations in Suwa. Phase 2 is completed without issue, and Satta pass is reclaimed.

### Phase 3

Joint UN-IJA command then decided to concentrate their forces on the western front, combining their forces and redeploying them along a temporary defense line of Tonami, Nakatsugawa, and Kosai, with IJA “Horus” in Nagoya, IJA Kaibyaku in Nakatsugawa, UN Tempest in Kosai, and UN Abyss in Tonami.

Tonami would be the first to be cleared, and UN Abyss would move to assist  UN Tempest in Kosai. IJA Horus redeploys in Nakatsugawa to assist IJA Kaibyaku, after it was observed that culling operations in Nagoya were ineffective. However, it was discovered that several other mixed UN and IJA elements were still fighting in Nagoya, and IJA Horus quickly returned to Nagoya in order to relieve the trapped allied forces. IJA Kaibyaku would then clear up the remaining BETA in Nakatsugawa, and join the forces assaulting Nagoya.

#### Unexpected Discovery

The fighting in Nagoya was short lived, however, as the base durability at Suwa reached a critical level, and all squadrons were called back to reinforce it. At the same time, it was observed that Nagoya was not subject to the Kumagaya theory; it would continue to send BETA waves even though its BETA dominance was less than 100%. The Kumagaya theory was then altered, with the understanding that BETA can freely pass over baseless nodes.

### The End of the Operation

With the fighting continuing into the dawn of November 5, many pilots began suffering from fatigue. Realizing that a continued offensive would result in failure, the UN Commander devised a static defense strategy by creating 2 defense lines:

1. Western Defense line: Tonami, Nakatsugawa, Kosai
2. Northern Defense line: Takada,Suwa, Niigata

With the IJA’s approval, the UN forces deployed around the western defense line, with the IJA deploying along the northern defense line. Operation Matryoshka was officially declared over, and the dynamic counter attack transitioned to a static defense.

### Aftermath

The sheer scale and resources that went into Operation Matryoshka would leave a lasting impression on all participating players, giving them a taste of the difficult battle ahead. While the Operation is considered a success, the BETA almost immediately launched an overwhelming counter attack, and the hard-earned ground that the combined UN-IJA forces retook was once again lost to the BETA.

Despite this, the information gained from Operation Matryoshka allowed players to better understand BETA behavior, and how to conduct a counter attack through the use of culling operations. It also demonstrated, through careful communication, how effectively the UN and IJA forces could cooperate. This trust would permeate into future joint Operations, such as Operation Brain Death and Operation Breaking Dawn.

## Image Gallery

BETA movements at the beginning of Matryoshka, Nov 5 0120JSTPre-Matryoshka, Nov 5, 0110JSTPost Matryoshka, Nov 5 0729JST
## Trivia

* The UN 2nd TSF Squadron would later be reformed as the 69th TSF Squadron "Guillotine".
* The IJA 1st Squadron and IJA 2nd Squadron would later be combined to form the IJA "Wolfhounds" Battalion.

## See Also

* Japanese wiki entry of Operation Matryoshka
* Detailed timeline of Operation Matryoshka (pastebin, translated from Japanese)