Quasarkrieg

**Quasarkrieg** (Galactic Standard: *Quasar War*) is the modern method of warfare utilized by the Menschlicher Sternenstaat for most of its major wars and battles, with localized tactical and general strategic forms that have been doctrinally created in order to adapt to the rapidly shifting war scenarios and environments throughout the Milky Way. Originally being the brainchild of three *Sternadmirale* (Hanns Fehrenbach, Artur Kozmann, and Aayden Buckler) as a means of initiating *Operation Raumgebunden*against the Kizankai Shimanate during the Second Human-Kizankai War, its syncretisms of ground-based doctrinal thought arising from the brilliant *Generaloberstfeldmarschall* Alexander Marlow and experiences in the war itself hammered the method of warfare into being a hardy, reliable, and effective means of destabilizing and destroying the enemy's power and will to fight.

## Definition

The definition of what *quasarkrieg* is can be hazy and varied from source to source, both within and outside of the Staat. Due to the ever-changing environments and landscapes that naval and terrestrial forces find themselves fighting in, alongside the differing enemy compositions, tactics, and infrastructure, a large degree of flexibility and modularity has been assigned to the method of warfare by both military theorists and commanders directly in the heat of battle. However, most can agree on the following definition as outlined in recently issued military dictionaries:

> ***Quasarkrieg*** *is the de-facto method of warfare utilized by the armed forces of the Human Star State, manipulating the momentum and power of the enemy forces in both land and space to the State's advantage through a series of calculated strikes against weakpoints, into flanks, and from unsuspecting locations in combined, mass offensives.*
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Although having many doctrinal subspecies, all forms of *quasarkrieg* share the same foundation of applying massive amounts of stress - both logistical and psychological - against the enemy through any means necessary and possible.

## Military evolution

### Conceptual origins in the *Konföderierte Streitkräfte*

Although the method of warfare was coined in full during the Second Human-Kizankai War by members of the Oberkommando der Staatswehr, its conceptual origins lie in the doctrinal operations and flexible maneuvers exercised by the armed forces of the Veran Star Confederation, known as the Konföderierte Streitkräfte. During multiple times of civil unrest both before and after the First Human-Kizankai War, lightning operations were committed by the Konföderierte Weltraummarine and Konföderierte Heer to cut off communications and supplies between rebel and/or marauder factions prior to being surrounded and destroyed through shock-and-awe or concentrated offensives.

In the First Human-Kizankai War, many commanders left alive learned of the true power of massive, coordinated, strategic strikes - the Kizankai navies were able to destroy a plethora of orbital and spatial infrastructure integral to the war effort deep inside the territory of the VSC as the KSk struggled to close the gaps left in their light-years long front lines. The First Battle of Vera was the first time a prototypical form of *quasarkrieg* was used to full effect, with the remnants of the Konföderierte Weltraummarine baiting the rapidly approaching Kizankai mother fleet between the orbits of Vera, Heven, and Paimar before striking their flanks with fast-moving attack craft and pounding heavy targets with anti-vessel batteries from the three planemos. The disablement and destruction of the key vessels of the mother fleet lead to a massive "space blitz" against its remnant forces that lead to a total rout, showing the psychological damage that can be done to an enemy.

The Day of the Phoenix was also exemplary in aiding the formation of what would become *quasarkrieg*; massive holdouts of Confederate loyalists and various insurrectionist groups were quickly dealt with through employment of non-stop ortillery, artillery, and aerial strikes reminiscent of modern doctrine that shocked the perceived traitors into an eventual surrender - with collateral damage being a significant issue, as was event by the Battle of Sauthune on Vera and the utter destruction of the city's infrastructure.

## Methods of operation

### *Hauptziele*

All forms of *quasarkrieg* incorporate a form of military thought called *Hauptziele*, or literally "main targets". The *Hauptziele* are all essential enemy items present in a combat situation, both within the battlefield itself and some ways away. This can include anything from enemy command vessels and individual commanders to that of entire supply routes and communications vectors, or FTLi structures. *Hauptziele* are targeted first and foremost by any coordinated offensive through space or on the ground.

#### Spatial combat

*Hauptziele* that incarnate in spatial combat are the primary targets for enemy warships to pursue and destroy. In the terms of conventional enemy fleets, this usually means the fleet's communication vessels, command ships, and specialized warships such as those pertaining to electronic warfare. However, this does not mean that Staat forces ignore the presence of other, lesser enemy items. The ability to destroy *Hauptziele* in space with minimal casualties is emphasized over all else, and is accomplished through various tactics such as *Köderschwarm* (lit. *bait-swarm*) or the manipulation of the enemy's technological capabilities to create ambush scenarios. The environment is also manipulated extensively by Staat forces - impromptu battles near planemos can allow for multi-directional strikes against enemy fleets by utilizing the gravitational influences of said astronomical objects to slingshot torpedoes, missiles, and other projectiles with heightened accelerations. In some instances, this can even be used in a tactic known as *Plötzlicher Schlag,* where torpedoes (launched often from stealth ships, such as I-Boats) can circumnavigate the entire orbit of a planemo and strike targets opposite of the direction of the aggressor force.

When *Hauptziele* destruction is accomplished, it is expected that the enemy will be weakened physically or psychologically, with losses of logistics, command structure, morale, and/or battlefield advantages. The new stage of combat that materializes is known as *Totaleverwüstung,* which seeks to destroy and disable as many enemy warships and pieces of malicious infrastructure as possible before retreat is sounded in full. This is often coupled with the employment of Staat FTLi devices, if present, and is accomplished through cutting off escape vectors with cutter and corvette spacecraft, distant overwhelming firepower from battleships and dreadnoughts, and final assaults accomplished by destroyers, cruisers, battlecruisers, and fast battleships against the rear regions of fleeing enemy ships.

If enemy reinforcements are to be expected either during or after combat, and Staat reinforcements are unavailable to supplement the totality of the ongoing stages of *quasarkrieg*, an alternative stage is engaged known as *Totalerkampf* (lit. *total combat*). In this stage, Staat forces unable to deal with a surge of new enemy units are to retreat through the infliction of massive attrition damage to pursuant vessels - often through the deployment of autonomous torpedo buoys and anti-cutter and corvette vector weaponry, in addition to the sudden strike of exposed enemy locations from lingering Staat vessels to aid in distraction and evacuation. If retreat is not possible due to the weakness of the current standing enemy forces *or* the rare possibility of becoming a final stand, *Totalerkampf* insists on a total devastation of the enemy through massive, efficient shock strikes. All standing combat vessels will maximize the manipulation of enemy vectors and positions to strike weak points through overwhelming *schwerpunkt* stratagems, tearing holes in the momentum of the enemy and grinding them down enough in spatial combat to allow for small-scale manipulations such as torpedo-baiting, missile overpowerment, and hunter-killer pursuits. If emergency warps are not possible, Staat navymen are expected to sacrifice themselves through any deliberate actions necessary to aid in the retreat of helpless vessels such as tenders, tankers, et cetera.

Work in progress.

### Terrestrial combat

The invocation of "terrestrial combat" *quasarkrieg* is, in reality, the consideration of both ground-based and atmospheric operations that act in synchrony and with attention to the state of orbital and air superiority. The assurance of superiority in both sectors of combat will allow for maximum efficacy in ground-based missions, as support will be plentiful and available without harassment. This means that before any ground-based combat can occur, massive devastation will be brought to the surface to rid it of significant anti-vessel infrastructure that can threaten dropships and other landing vehicles, mainly through dedicated orbital siege tactics and usage of special forces.

Once it is known that superiority has been achieved in space and majorly within air - which was previously won through the mass deployment of automated transatmospheric fighter-craft and missiles - the landing of significant amounts of ground forces can occur. These forces will seek to create impromptu bases and supply depots within the landing zone before advancing in directions necessitated, employing a large amount of air and orbital support to destroy enemy targets spotted while setting up land-based artillery.

Work in progress.

### Logistical devastation

An important piece of *quasarkrieg* that does not exactly fall into the realms of spatial or terrestrial combat is known as *logistical devastation.* As the name suggests, its purpose is to destroy the reinforcement and resupply capabilities of enemy forces in either the short term through the destruction of planetary supply lines or present tankers, tenders, et cetera, or in the long term through employed harassment tactics against enemy supply convoys and transportation nodes (particularly gate systems and logistic spatial supply lines). For the latter, this is most often accomplished by special stealth ships known as *I-Boats*.

Work in progress.