Following a year of bloody fighting, Guild marines succeeded in defeating the enemy. No civilians were found on the planet, only hostile military forces, many of which were deeply entrenched. Following initial successes, the aliens launched a massive planet-wide counteroffensive against Guild forces. The marines were pushed back to their boarding craft, but were not defeated and though losses were heavy, victory was achieved. Platoon casualty rates were as high as 60%, with an average for all attacking forces about 50%. Guild military planners were criticized heavily by the surviving elements for deploying an excess of supply caches and a lack of anti armor weapons with marine squadrons. Future Guild marine detachments will receive more anti-armor weapons and fewer front-line supplies as a result.
Notably, artillery and supply detachments sustained relatively few casualties compared to front line troops. Marine artillery squadrons proved highly effective and were likely a critical element in the success of the invasion, achieving consistent destruction of enemy armor formations and sustaining almost zero casualties.
The enemy fought tenaciously and no prisoners were taken, despite several attempts at communication and peaceful resolution of the conflict. It was discovered after recovering the remains of several defeated alien soldiers that the 'aliens' appeared fully human in their physiology, though somewhat better adapted to the extreme cold of Eta Cephei-A II than the colonial marines. This discovery has been kept secret by order of Guild Central Command until the nature of these mysterious and destructive creatures is better understood.
Several installations and munitions depots were also recovered intact. Xenoarchaeology groups are en-route to unlock the mysteries of the newly acquired alien technologies. Survey craft have also been dispatched to Eta Cephei to complete the geological and gravitational survey of the system.
With the Eta Cephei threat neutralized, Guild strategists look now to developing new colonies in other, better explored regions of Guild territory.
