The Battle for MarsSino-American relations have been heavily strained since US intelligence revealed that the Chinese are building a large military base on the surface; Mars has a population of nearly a million people split roughly equally between the US, China, and India. In early 2031, the Chinese began flexing their military muscles in Mars orbit, boarding and harassing US-flagged merchant ships. By March, it had become a general blockade as the Americans refused to concede to Chinese demands. By May, the United States issued China an ultimatum, demanding an end to the blockade by the end of the month. This request was ignored.
On June 1st, the United States' entire combat-capable fleet departed Earth orbit. The PLAN's second frigate squadron attempted to pursue, but was unable to match the speed of the American cruisers.
Order of BattleUnited States Space Force
CRURON 1
Four
San Francisco-class cruisers:
USS Philadelphia
USS Phoenix
USS San Francisco
USS Santa FeSenior officer: Captain Lorraine Orme
People's Liberation Army Navy
DESRON 1
Three
Luhu-class missile destroyers:
LuhuGuangzhouYaiyuanSix Q-1-class frigates
Senior officer: Lieutenant Commander Liang Jiao Zhu
4 June 0957The Chinese detect the US squadron at a distance of 6 million kilometers. The Chinese commander's demands for an immediate withdrawal are ignored. She issues a warning that if the squadron proceeds to Mars, it will be fired upon. At a distance of 4.5m km she opens fire, launching most of her forces' complement of missiles.
At 1041, the US force detects the enemy missile volley, and Captain Orme orders the fleet to reverse course. Every incoming missile is brought down by concentrated point-defense fire from the squadron's railguns.
At 1114, the two fleets meet. The Chinese have a precious range advantage, but it is squandered for want of training - never before have two fleets fought in space, and these precious seconds slip by before they are able to open fire. The Americans close the distance.
The battle is short and furious. The Chinese focus their fire on the flagship
Philadelphia, the Americans, on
Guangzhou. In the first ten seconds,
Guangzhou is ripped apart by American railgun fire, but
Philadelphia is devastated by laser hits to her drive section that leave her dead in space, unable to fight.
The Americans shift fire to
Luhu, the Chinese, to
Santa Fe, and both are rapidly rendered combat-incapable,
Santa Fe losing four of her five engines.
San Francisco is badly damaged, next, but remains in the fight, knocking out the
Taiyuan, while
Phoenix engages the frigates. The
Q-1-class's lasers pack a punch, but are slow to fire and they are unarmoured, making them extremely vulnerable to railgun fire. They are able to inflict moderate damage on
Phoenix before all are disabled or destroyed.
The entire engagement lasts less than five minutes before the surviving Chinese ships, crippled and unable to fight, scuttle themselves and abandon ship in order to preserve the lives of their crews. Survivors on both sides are left stunned. Both opponents had expected the other to blink - and no one did. The Americans have won a pyrrhic victory; the entire enemy force has been destroyed, but the entire American space force is combat-ineffective, and the Chinese have four more squadrons of frigates and another squadron of destroyers at their disposal. Without supplies, the American cruisers have little chance of returning to the safe harbor of Earth orbit.
The political leadership on both sides are stunned as well. A cease-fire is reached soon after word of the battle reaches Earth; China saves face by placing the blame by forcing LCDR Liang Jiao Zhu, who survived, to admit to "firing without proper authorization", while Washington, knowing the hopelessness of the military situation, agrees to many of the concessions sought by China. Nevertheless, the surviving American ships return to Earth with a hero's welcome; CDR Chris Garber and CPT Lorraine Orme are awarded the Silver Star. The Chinese survivors are quietly repatriated, but none ever serve in space again.
Casualties and Losses:
China:
Guangzhou destroyed. 75 KIA.
Luhu scuttled. 72 KIA.
Taiyuan scuttled. 60 KIA.
Q-113 destroyed. 27 KIA.
Q-114 destroyed. 31 KIA.
Q-115 scuttled. 24 KIA.
Q-116 scuttled. 19 KIA.
Q-117 destroyed. 27 KIA.
Q-118 destroyed. 26 KIA.
Total: 152 survivors, 361 dead.
United States:
Philadelphia heavily damaged. 30 KIA.
Phoenix moderately damaged. 10 KIA.
San Francisco heavily damaged. 30 KIA.
Santa Fe heavily damaged. 33 KIA.
Total: 297 survivors, 103 dead.
Strategists and intelligence analysts in every nation keenly analyze the results of the battle; chief lessons-learned include: The United States had a crucial advantage in armament. Their railgun armament was extremely effective against the unarmoured Chinese frigates, and their dual fire controls allowed them to effectively sweep them from space once the Chinese destroyers were dealt with. The Americans were faster, but once the battle was joined, this had little impact on the outcome, as most of the action occured in a less than two minute window - both sides had to close to very close range to attack, and after the first pass, neither side was able to withdraw. Neither side had adequate armour protection to fight a pitched battle. The Chinese did have one important technological advantage, in that their ships were equipped with Duranium armour, as opposed the conventional material used in the American's ships.
However, the Chinese may well have won if they would have been able to open fire immediately on the American fleet, before they closed into railgun range. The Chinese acquitted themselves well, considering they had a 3/4 tonnage disadvantage, not taking into account the Chinese missile launchers, which were essentially wasted tonnage.A few missile hits were scored once the Americans entered knife-fighting range, but none of the missiles fired from range made it past the American railguns. Perhaps missiles can be made into a useful ship-to-ship combat weapon, but not without significant investment in research and development.