The Central Orbit Campaign

The Central Orbit Campaign was a campaign fought during the Solar War from 2056 to early 2058. The campaign was charcterised by lightning hit and run attacks by vessels from the European Union Commande Espace 1st Raider Squadron.

## Begining:

The Central Orbit Campaign began before the actual Solar War began with the 1st Raider Squadron departing Earth on 30 April 2056 heading for the Asteroid Belt. On 23rd May 2056 the squadron encountered the Imperial cargo vessel MN India, the ship was fired upon and disabled before it was able to put out a distress signal with its crew either dead or captured and transfered onto ships of the Raider Squadron it was destroyed with explosives. Having been travelling through an area of 'dead space' the ships disapearance wouldn't be noticed by the Royal Navy until after the Mars Offensive.

Having reached the Asteroid Belt the Squadron would spend the next two years with its ships largely operating alone or in pairs only receiving aid from home when a supply ship could sneak through the Federations blockade.

## Discovery:

The presence of the 1st Raider Squadron was discovered three days after the destruction of the MN India when HMS Mercury discovered the vessels 'black box' which confirmed its fate. Following this revelation the Royal Navy would implement a convoy policy where when possible ships would not travel alone and without escort.

## Initial Success:

The 1st Raider Squadron encountered some inital success destroying 28 Imperial cargo ships as well as destroying two mining stations on 4 Vesta, 10 Hygeia and even the research and supply post on Castillo. In this twelve month period the Squadron also destroyed 4 Royal Navy patrol vessels and heavily damaged HMS Pretoria with mines.

## Battle of Ceres:

Having been informed by a prisoner that Ceres was being used as a key supply facility for Royal Navy operations in the Asteroid Belt Albert Didier ordered his squadron to gather for its single largest operation yet. The battle turned out to partially be a trap with the prisoner having deliberatly not mentioned the relatively strong fleet protecting the facility or the sensor net which surrounded the Asteroid.

Armed with this information Didier launched his attack on 3rd June 2057 however his Squadron was quickly detected and attacked by the Ceres Defence Squadron which was vastly superior to his own. The resulting battle saw 7 of 12 Avios of the Raider Squadron destroyed and another crippled and abandoned by its crew. In return the Royal Navy suffered only 3 damaged Patrol Craft.

The Battle of Ceres severly crippled the capabilities of the 1st Raider Squadron although it would continue to harrass the Royal Navy until its final vessel was scuttled by its crew when they ran out supplies and were forced to surrender.

## Effect:

The Central Orbit Campain for a while tied down a large portion of the Royal Navy preventing those ships from being deployed to help break the siege of Earth. The campaign also provided a series of potent moral victories for the United Nations, the raid on Ceres was especially well publiscised by the UN. However, at no point did the 1st Raider Squadron pose a serious risk to Imperial activities in the Outer regions of Solar system.