The fall of the Noelist Empire
| The Wide War |  |
|---|---|
| General information | Date | 33 485 to 33 490 | Location | Northern half of the known space |
Result | ODEC victory | Territorial changes | Entire known space under ODEC rule |
Belligerents |  Noelist Empire | ODEC |
Commanders | Palanvir Mescatel ???-vir | Averner Eridel |
Strength | Several fleets and about 10 million men | Several fleets and about 15 million men |
Casualties and losses | High | High |
The "fall of the Noelist Empire" refers to the events that have ended the Noelist hegemony on the Northern half of the known space. These events climaxed with the Wide War in 44 485, opposing the Noelist Empire and the ODEC forces. The actual disapearance of the Noelist Empire happened at the very end of the Wide War, when the ODEC took control over all of the known space.
Origin of the conflict
When the ODEC was officially established in 33 461, it was clear that its first goal was to end the Noelist Empire, and that the ODEC would have to do it by strength of arms. From 33 461 to 33 485 the Empire was well aware of the intentions of the ODEC but it couldn't do much about it. All the Empire did was simply waiting and watching the ODEC's military getting stronger every year. Melavir did strongly suggest that the Empire intervene in the South, but the emperor Escavir didn't want to risk a military intervention. All Melavir managed to do was getting Escavir to order the design and production of more modern firearms for about 10% of the army. Indeed the Imperial army was very poorly equipped, as its battalions were formed to occupy and maintain order in Imperial territories rather than to wage offensive war. The same could be said (but to a lesser extent) about the starfleet, which backbone was mainly formed by 400 year old Phalandra-class warships.
In 33 485 the ODEC finally sent a formal declaration of war to Prevalor.
Beginning of the war
ODEC's first order of business was to take Novalgrin. Its position right at the center of the known space would prove vital for ODEC forces, to spring offensives deeper into the northern half of the known space. The battle was short and the ODEC was overwhelmingly victorious, as it had used all its forces in the attack. Then, as planned, ODEC forces began to delve deeper into Imperial territories. The Noelist fleets were scattered but Melavir tried its best to merge as many fleets as possible. Melavir was convinced that the only way to stop the ODEC was to give the soldiers proper war equipment and to have the occupation armies moved to the frontlines. However Escavir thought that it would open the door to possible insurrections in Imperial occupied territories if the occupation armies were to leave their posts.
In any case, Averner and its forces were waging war on several fronts and were advancing on all of them. ODEC fleets had much more modern warships than the Noelist fleets, namely they had those "space cutters" ships which looked like a giant pair of scissors and could slice through old Phalandra-class cruisers. Noelists were quick to dispatch their old Insterity-class superbattleship, but it couldn't do much against ODEC own battleships and was most of the time stationned at the rear. About six month after the beginning of the war, ODEC forces were already holding one third of the North.
33 486 to 33 488
Because of its many early defeats, the Noelist Empire had to make a lot of its soldiers retreat back. However this resulted in making the Imperial battalions near the frontlines more compact and blocky as retreating soldiers were merged into local garrisons, making advancing more difficult for enemy forces.
With most of the Imperial economy now turned to war, Escavir finally agreed to mass-produced modern firearms like machineguns and such. Melavir was relieved but it was still not enough. He wanted Escavir to also allow production of more modern spaceships.
Space battles were especially revolving around attacking or defending convoys and since it was the ODEC which was advancing, it made sense that Noelists spaceships would have to be designed for attack rather than for defense. However, since the Empire had mainly been willing to defend its territories for the last 400 hundred years, its starfleet was mainly consisting of ships designed for defense. Melavir desperately wanted this to change and was practically begging for Escavir to order the construction of attack ships. It was all the more frustrating for Melavir, that excellent designs for low-cost attack ships had been already drawn almost ten years prior.
With ODEC forces ever advancing, Melavir's main goal was to reduce the speed of the enemy advance.
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