Posted by: Þórgrímr
« on: May 05, 2009, 09:46:54 PM »History of the United States of Terra
The United States of Terra has a long and distinguished history in space, including the landing on Luna, the colonization of Mars, and the first probes to the new solar systems around Sol, among others. The latest example, the United States was the first nation without a colonial interest in the Roman Republic to battle the Denevans.
World War Three
On October 10th 2060, in a surprise move the People's Republic of China invaded The Republic of Vietnam, which drew in the only available US forces in the region, from the states of Phillipines and Japan. Although the US had slowed the Chinese advance into SE Asia, they did not know the full extent of the Chinese plans. Which became painfully obvious within a month.
On November 15th 2060, in a move that completely takes the United States by surprise the Chinese Jump across the Straits of Tsushima and invade the American state of Japan. They complete the conquest in record time, then jump across the North Pacific and invade Alaska. In the retreat from Anchorage they catch the 2nd Marine division in a trap and encircle them. They eventually destroy the Marines, but the Marines delay the Chinese long enough for 50,000 AADP troops to escape south.
The war was long and bloody, but eventually the AADP technology began to turn the red tide of communist advance. On November 24th 2077 in a desperate attempt to halt the advancing AADP and EA forces, the People's Republic of China and The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics launch, what they hope it will be, a surprise nuclear bombardment of their respective enemies. They were wrong, and all it did was to nearly cause the extermination of Mankind. Within 6 months 95% of the world's 10 Billion people were dead from the exchange, disease, and famine.
What forced the hands of these two Communist superpowers was that they were both involved in wars with the Democratic superpowers. The Soviet war with the European Alliance began as a proxy war with the EA supporting the anti-Communist rebels of Poland. The revolt in Poland had begun on January 10th after the Communist government, in conjunction with the Soviets, had opened fire on a peaceful Christmas Mass being held by the Cardinal of the Diocese of Warsaw. The government forces had tried to break it up with water hoses and dogs, but the faithful refused to move till the cardinal gave the word, which he refused to do till the mass was over.
After about twenty minutes of this pushing and shoving a shot rang out, and a soldier fell dead. That was the spark that broke the Polish governments refusal to fire on fellow Poles. Later it was proven that the soldier had been shot from behind, from his own troops. Nobody knew who had fired that fatal shot, but when the Polish forces had finished over 8,000 Poles had been killed by their own troops.
The revolt devolved into an extremely nasty and bitter struggle as reprisal followed reprisal. Eventually the EA decided to step in and support the anti-Communist rebels. Once EA training and weapons began to arrive in number, the Polish troops had no choice but begin to cede the countryside to the rebels as their losses mounted. Once this began the EA started to supply special forces and advisors to help the rebels overthrow the Communist government.
This kept up for about a year, and then the city of Krakow fell to the rebels. This had two major and long lasting effects.
1.) it caused a rash of rebellions against the Communists to spring up in all the members of the Warsaw Pact.
2.), in reaction to this event the Soviet Union, which had tried to remain out and let its proxy finish off the rebels, began to intervene and sent troops out to combat and squash the rebellions.
This caused the EA to begin to send in 'volunteer' units to help the rebels who were closest to the member nation's borders. Since most of the EA forces sent in were elite units trained to combat the Soviets, the Soviet troop losses began to skyrocket. As the Soviet losses began to mount ever higher, the reprisals against civilians began to escalate, which only drove more rebels into the countryside. The Soviets first realized that the EA was helping the rebels when they had lost the entire 347th Motorized Rifle Regiment to a well executed ambush in the mountains of Czechoslovakia.
In reaction to this revelation, the Soviets attempted to seal their proxy's borders with the West. They found out just how utterly impossible that was when they lost another MRR in the mountains of northern Yugoslavia. This continued till the Soviet losses had been so great that the people back home began to get restless at the endless list of the dead that were supposed to be only putting down 'worker's strikes.'
They eventually had to start pulling troops back to Belarus, the Ukraine and the Baltic states, as revolts began to spring up there. And of course these were supported by the EA. Then it happened, Prague was liberated by the anti-Communist rebels, and proclaimed itself the Republic of Bohemia, and then immediately applied to the EA for admission in the Alliance.
The long march towards the Soviet frontier had begun. When the Soviets and Chinese launched their nukes, Latvia had just proclaimed itself independent from Moscow.
***
The China-US war had been going badly for the Chinese ever since the Americans had introduced their Power Armored Gauss rifle wielding troopers to the conflict. The Marine Raiders and Army Green Berets landed at will along the entirety of the Chinese coastline, and that of occupied Southeast Asia. These troopers were armored and unstoppable, along with having made living along the coastlines deadly for Chinese forces.
The American equipping of their Vietnamese and Cambodian rebel allies had turned SE Asia into a meatgrinder for the Chinese. Yet what worried the Chinese the most was the sporadic outbreaks of rebellion in their own nation. The last one in Sezchuan province had only been put down with the cost of 5000 troops and 30,000 civilians.
The Chinese had watched for years as the Soviets lost control of their proxy nations, and worried that the same thing would happen to them. When they had finally been pushed out of Alaska and Japan, with the Korean rebels pushing for the Americans to invade and recruits by the ten's of thousands fleeing to Japan, they were horrified and finally saw the handwriting on the wall. They then came up with that desperate plan and proposed a first strike on their respective enemies to the Soviets. In the hope that they would catch their enemies by surprise; they were wrong.
The nuclear phase of World War three began on Thursday, November 24th, 2077. In a coordinated assault on their respective enemies, China and the Rump Soviet Union launched a full-scale nuclear barrage on the Anglo-American Defense Pact by the Chinese, and the European Alliance by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
As the superpowers were exchanging nuclear gifts, the rest of the world joined in the exchange, using the war as an excuse to end ages-old disputes with other countries.
When the rest of the world joined in the nuclear madness, The Chinese missiles had begun to impact on the US. The first targets in America were the bomber and missile launching points, so that any remaining military strength could be destroyed with ease. As these missiles fell, others began to target on population and manufacturing centers with devastating results. As the rockets fell, it was found that a number of them targeting civilian areas were carrying biological warheads containing virulent man-made diseases designed to decimate the population, and leave the buildings along with the war materials intact.
As the days rolled on, the lingering radiation and disease took their toll. When the bodies began to pile up, civilization collapsed. Due to the destruction of the transport systems and the spread of nuclear induced fires, food became scarce and famine began to stalk the land, slaying at will.
The survivors found that the medical centers were either swamped or destroyed, so the death toll from disease began to climb. Within six months 95% of the world's population was dead. Out of a population of 12 Billion, only a few million were left alive, scattered around the globe in small groups. Those who remained were characterized by being self-centered, selfish, and were guided by man's baser instincts as civilization's thin veneer was stripped away.
Then in 2343 an event happened that changed the fate of mankind, Gunnery Sergeant Deshane awakened from his stasis sleep and the unification wars began. (See the Gunny Saga for details on this time period)
By the middle of the 25th century Earth had been united and recovery was complete. Now mankind turned their eyes towards their last frontier, The stars of the milky way.
By the turn of the 26th century a strong Space-faring power the United States of Terra had become. But, they realized Terra was on its own and would be forced to develop its own interstellar drive system or be forever confined to the Sol System. By 2534 the Atheri had come calling and offered to help the young star nation develop its own star drive, for certain trade concessions, of course. Eventually the Atheri became a close ally of Terra, and both star nations jointly developed a successful Warp Gate drive system powered by Terran Tri-Admantanium.
The successful establishment of Terran colonies led to a modest expansion of Terra’s space forces, which were renamed the United Terran Star Navy in 2575.
The formation of the United Terran Star Navy was an act of Congress in 2575 at the urging of the President. Upon formation the UTSN drew its personnel largely from the Wet Navy, but it requested and received significant transfers from the Air Force, and Army. For most of the 26th Century the UTSN was largely a colonial defense force equipped with frigates and a few destroyers. However, Terra found its forces increasingly outclassed by other star nations, and with its considerable tri-admantanium resources from Lalande 21185, began a crash build program to regain parity.
For most of the UTSN’s history it consisted of a few anti-piracy vessels, Star Fighters, and escort ships, but that all changed in 2684 when the Terra First Party rode a wave of patriotism during the Bi-Centennial celebration of United Terra’s birth and was elected the majority party in the Senate and House of Representatives, one of their primary platforms was the rebuilding of Terra's military and the formation of a Star Navy second to none.
2703: The Denevans attack the Republic of Rome and begins the Denevan War. (See A Test of Wills Saga for details on this time period.)
2732. The current year. The Terran Numerian War has been raging for four long years.
Relations
Media:
The United States does not have direct relations with Media, but their allies and rivals strain the relations between the two nations. Median relations are strained over Terran relations with the Atheri, a hated rival of Media. Further strain has been added by the fact that Terra is a major arms supplier to the Roman Republic. The UTSN monitors Median shipping towards the Rim from Roman space, and shares intelligence with the Atheri and Romans about Median military activity.
Atheri Empire:
The Atheri Empire is Terra’s closest ally in space, and the Atheri and her colonies are Terra’s second largest trading partner. Both star nations have actively cooperated in space since the late 25th Century, and have jointly explored and opened the galactic rim for colonization. Terran-Atheri economic and military links are very close, and both nations’ forces frequently use each other’s facilities in Terran space, while the UTSN consults and coordinates its defense planning with the RASN.
Roman Republic:
Terran relations with the Romans are friendly, and both star nations cooperate with each other whenever possible. Trade and communications links with the Roman colonies is well developed, and Terran mining corporations have a large presence in Rome’s mining sector, while trade is growing. Terran mega-corporations are major investors in the Roman national and colonial economies, and Terra is a major arms exporter to the Republic. The UTSN shares intelligence about Median military activity with its Roman counterpart.
Terran relations with Rome have been close since the 26th Century. Today relations remain close, only the Atheri are a closer ally than Rome. Both countries are major investors in each other’s national and colonial economies, and Rome is Terra’s largest trading partner. Terran forces frequently use Roman facilities in their space, and have begun planning possible operations with the powerful RAC in defending against the Medians. The RAC shares intelligence about Media and Numeria with the UTSN and guards the approaches to Terran space; while Rome is the only star nation that America is willing to help to establish a colony on New Idaho in the Lalande 21185 system.
Ch’thpch:
Terran relations with the Ch’thpch are cordial, although neither star nation has quite forgotten how their rivalry led to the Ch’thpch War at the end of the 26th Century. Terra views Ch’thpch intentions in space with some suspicion since the Ch’thpch have developed a sophisticated defense capability and is expanding its star forces with alarming speed. The Ch’thpch are also developing close links with the Denevans, and have reincorporated the breakaway Ch’thpch Republics into their political sphere once again. Ch’thpch interference in the Atheri Empire has also begun to concern Terra and others star nations about Ch’thpch motives.
Wegman-Yamashiro Corporation:
The giant Wegman-Yamashiro Corporation is a significant player in space in its own right. W-Y has a major presence in the Terran and Roman colonies, while in the other star nations it is the most visible symbol of Terra. Wegman-Yamashiro is heavily involved in Terra's tri-admantanium mining industry, which has given it the financial resources to build the largest non-governmental merchant fleet in space.
Numeria:
As far as Terra knows, nobody has any relations with the Numerians. They keep to themselves and warn the other races to mind their own affairs. That is until the Numerians finally agreed to trade talks with the UST. And the Terran-Numerian relations went downhill from there.
Organization and Bases
Units are organized by Flights and Squadrons for Fighters, and Divisions, Squadrons, Task Group, Task Force, and Fleet Commands for ships. Flights are 4 Fighters while 1 Squadron consists of 3 Flights. Divisions usually consist of 2 or more combat vessels, Squadrons are larger formations consisting of several divisions. A Task Group is only organized when a mission is needed.
A Squadron is organized from the requisite Divisions it is felt that are needed for the mission to succeed.
Task Forces on the other hand are the administrative headquarters that parcels out the Divisions to any Squadrons that have been formed.
A Fleet Command is every US Starship and Spacecraft operating in that region of space. Currently the Fleet Commands are the Earth/Core Command (ECC) based at Offutt SFB, Nebraska, Earth, the Atheri Border Command (ABC) based at Mahan SFB, New Idaho, the Roman Border Command (RBC) based at Sullivan SFB, New Iowa, and the Ch’thpch Border Command (CBC) based at Nimitz SFB, New Alaska. The UTSN is also constructing a major base on New California and it will be the logistics hub and repair base on the Numerian Border and is seeing a massive influx of Terrans and their equipment. Most Fleet Commands have several Divisions, Squadrons, and Task Forces assigned.
The UTSN is headquartered at Offutt SFB in orbit above Omaha Nebraska on Earth. The UTSN also shares many facilities with the USAF, USMC, and NASA, including Minot Star Force Base on New Dakota, Vandenberg SFB on New California, McCarthy SFB on New Florida, and Kaneohe Bay MCAS/SFB on New Hawaii. The UTSN has many offworld facilities; Nimitz SFB New Alaska, Sullivan Station at New Iowa, and Mahan SFB at New Idaho.
Offutt SFB is located in orbit above Earth. Offutt SFB is a massive spherical construction with 120,250 UTSN, 20,000 USAF, 5,000 USMC, and 2,500 Star Guard personnel. It has extensive docking, logistics, and repair facilities. This base is the current homeport for the Earth/Core Command (ECC), and as such it is the homeport for the bulk of the UTSN ships in the core. This base coordinates all U.S. activity with its allies. The United States also has a considerable ship construction industry, which despite the recent expansion of the UTSN is larger than it needs.
Terra’s excess star yard capacity is used to build ships, largely commercial freighters, for other star nations, which helps Terra to keep up with modern ship construction without having to build large numbers of ships of its own.
Adjacent to Offutt SFB is the large Aldrin construction yard, owned by the UTSN, but operated by Mid-Lothian and New Bath Ironworks; this is where many UTSN capital ships are built. Wegman-Yamashiro owns and operates a large star yard at the L-5 LaGrange point in Earth Orbit. It is used for commercial and military construction. In the orbit of New Boston, New Bath Ironworks operates a huge complex of construction facilities used for both commercial and military ship construction. At New Iowa, W-Y is constructing a huge new multi-slip starship construction yard.
Numerous facilities are under the command of Offutt SFB. Adjacent to Tranquility, the Terran colony on Luna is Armstrong SFB. Armstrong has a USMC training facility and a survival school for all the services crews and pilots, the base also stores US Army, USMC, and UTSN ordinance and vehicles for deployment to locations outside of the solar system. Major UTSN Earth solar system facilities include the Lovett Star Fighter Training School on Titan (used by all the services and to train other star nation’s pilots), the Conrad Hostile Environment Training School on Titan used by the UTSN, USMC, and the US Army. The UTSN along with her allies the Atheri and the Roman Republic operates a series of early warning bases and minefields to guard and warn against Median and Ch'thpch incursions.
On New Idaho’s moon of New Boise is the huge Mahan SFB, which guards the approaches to the Atheri border and the tri-admantanium mines of New Idaho. Because of the importance of New Idaho to America’s economy and national security, the defenses in the Lalande 21185 system are formidable. Mahan SFB is the largest Terran military facility outside of the Core and hosts 200,000 UTSN, USAF, and USMC personnel. Mahan SFB is also the Fleet command center for dozens of defense installations stretching across the Atheri border, including early warning stations, logistic bases, armed sensor drones, and orbital repair yards.
The UTSN also has small orbital defense stations at New Iowa, New Tennessee, New Kansas, and New Wyoming, while there are UTSN bases on large asteroids in the New Maine and New Louisiana systems. The UTSN and USAF operate the Chaffee Fleet Training Facility in New Durango orbit, with a smaller training facility at New Boise, and at New Laramie in the New Wyoming system. The USMC also has a training facility at Zephyr Hill, a satellite moon of New Tampa in the Rigel Kentaurus system, while there are also USMC bases at New Roanoke, New Bakersfield, and New Earth. The UTSN and NASA operate the Deep Exploration station and they are building a refueling station in the Sigma Draconis system to aid the exploration of the New Europe sector.
The UTSN is responsible for the defense of all UST territory and assets outside of geosynchronous orbit, this includes all US flagged vessels and any vessel operating in Terran space. The USAF is responsible for state and colonial planetary aerospace defense out to geosynchronous orbit. This sometimes leads to USAF and UTSN craft working together, such as in OQC duty. The UTSN has large resources that it can draw upon in time of war. The assets of the USAF, USMC, NASA, and ARMY can all be conscripted in time of war, the US government also pays a stipend to civilian merchants in peacetime, and in time of war these vessels can be drawn into the UTSN for the duration of the war. Independent merchant vessels as well as Wegman-Yamashiro and many other large Mega-Corporate entities receive this stipend. The UTSN has access to large numbers of all manner of vessels in time of war.
Most nations rely on their star force crews for ship maintenance at the core, colonies, and space stations, but the UTSN uses a combination of the ship’s crews, UTSN Reservists and civilian technicians. This practice is a holdover from the NASA and Naval roots. The UTSN also has two sets of ship’s crews, Blue and Gold for each ship, missions are often many months and sometimes years in length and when a crew returns to their home base their vessel undergoes repairs by both crews and then the rested crew takes the vessel back out on a new mission, the resting crew has an extended leave and then maintains their edge by using simulators.
This two-crew system is a holdover from the US Navy submarine personnel that were transferred to the UTSN at its formation. The UTSN is also unique in its use of reservists; over half of the UTSN is made up national guardsmen and reservists. Most ships have a small crew of full time personnel that maintain the ship’s readiness with the rotation of the reservist and guard members. Oddly enough it is the capital ships that have the largest number of part-timers; the fighters and patrol craft are almost entirely reservist operated: the Close Escorts have the smallest number as they embark on long anti-raider patrols.
The 820th Reconnaissance Regiment, a Marine Special Forces and security Regiment was transferred to the fledgling UTSN and was re-designated the 820th Stellar Security Force. Since the formation of the UTSN the 820th Stellar Security Force have been greatly expanded and can be found at every UTSN space station. The 820th forms the Navy’s Shore Patrol security forces of the UTSN and is known as Eight-Two-O’s. The Eight-Two-O’s have had a great deal of practice in spaceship boarding tactics in the anti-piracy sweeps of the UTSN and are some of the best in Terran space. On the other hand, because of the spread out nature of the Eight-Two-O’s, orbital drops have not been conducted in over a century. The Marines are very good at planetary assaults and boarding actions and these roles bring them in frequent contact with the Eight-Two-O’s.
The Eight-Two-O’s and USMC train extensively together in boarding and drop operations. The Eight-Two-O’s are the ones who provide the Marines with forward observers to direct orbital ground support.
Tri-Admantanium & Technology
Terra is a tri-admantanium rich nation, producing a tri-admantanium surplus that is largely directed towards the expansion of the UTSN and the construction of civilian freighters. Most American tri-admantanium comes from New Boise in the Lalande 21185 system, which has the largest known tri-admantanium resources in Terran space. Smaller quantities of tri-admantanium are also mined elsewhere along the Eastern Roman Corridor, and at New Bakersfield, Mars, and from beneath the Pacific on Earth. Terra is a major industrial power with a large shipbuilding industry, and has the technological capability to produce a full range of warships and equipment. Practically all UTSN ships and weaponry are Terran designed and built.
The United Terran Star Navy has gone though a remarkable transformation in the last thirty years, from a thrid rate colonial defense force to a first rate star force as well-trained and equipped as any in any alien empire. The UTSN has seven large ship-manufacturing slipways and five large ship repair bays at the Collins Construction Yard. Of the construction slips, two are devoted to very large ships such as the America’s and New York’s, three are devoted to the construction of Revolution, Indianapolis, and McCarthy class Cruisers, and two are committed to the construction of Fletcher class Destroyers and Perry class Frigates. Currently the Idaho occupies one of the largest two slipways, the San Diego is under construction in the other; the Cowpens, New Madrid and the Reagan are in the Cruiser slips, and the Ainsworth and McClusky are under construction in the Destroyer slips.
Attritional vs. Maneuver Warfare
There are two main theories that govern space warfare; attrition and maneuver. Attrition warfare stresses the use of shields and armor and of always being the more durable force. The Median MSF is a typical example of one designed with attritional warfare in mind. The opposite view stresses the use of speed to achieve what is called in UTSN Doctrinal Speak; ‘Dominant Maneuver’. This allows ships to concentrate strength against isolated enemy pockets, driving in attacks quickly, so as to minimize the damage taken. It was this path the Terrans took in their ship design.
The UTSN initially used a very extreme form of maneuver doctrine, influenced by their experience in operations against pirates. The ultimate aim of the design is for speed and sensor superiority, anything else is secondary to this. Thus the McCarthy class has no armor, no shields and for most of the time her point defense weapons are powered down. The McCarthy’s operate by locating isolated enemy vessels, driving at high speed and releasing missiles at the opportune moment. Timed correctly, the missiles will strike before the enemy sensors have activated to paint it for the point defense.
In this manner, US tactics are similar to Atheri tactics. However because of its light armor, the McCarthy’s can find themselves in great difficulty if the attack goes wrong. Screening fighters and missiles can rake the ships with fire and a poor commander can misjudge his run, especially if facing an unknown adversary. It was just this that caused the loss of the USS Clinton with all hands in the 36 Ophiuchi System to raiders.
If executed successfully this tactic has proven very effective. McCarthy’s cannot stand in the battleline as a conventional Cruiser can, as much as US politicians would like them to, but they often act as ‘cavalry’ for Terran Squadrons; scouting, screening and providing vanguards and rearguards. Future designs will stress more armor and better survivability but for now the McCarthy’s excellent skippers make the most of the strengths of the design while doing their best to avoid potentially catastrophic close combat.
Starships
The new America class starships are designated as BB(S) and will be the flag of most Task Forces and above. The New York class starships were originally designated as CA(S), but have since been re-designated as BC(S) and until the America class enters service they are the largest vessels in the UTSN and are usually the flag of a squadron or Task Force. The Essex class is the first CV(S) to enter UTSN service and uses many New York parts. The Revolution, Indianapolis, and McCarthy classes are all missile cruisers, CG(S) for the Revolution, CCG(S) for the Indianapolis’ and CGL(S) for the McCarthy’s. The Des Moines class ships are UTSN-Reserve starships and have recently been down rated from CA(S) to CL(S).
The Fletcher class is designated as a DDE(S) and is designed to escort heavier ships. The Perry class ships are designated as FF(S) and are also designed to escort heavier ships. The Knox class is designated as a DDE(S) and with the Des Moines class, was the combat backbone of the UTSN till the introduction of the Revolution Class. All three ship classes, the Fletchers, Perry’s, and Knox’s are escorts for larger ships such as Revolutions, New York’s, and America’s.
The United States of Terra has a long and distinguished history in space, including the landing on Luna, the colonization of Mars, and the first probes to the new solar systems around Sol, among others. The latest example, the United States was the first nation without a colonial interest in the Roman Republic to battle the Denevans.
World War Three
On October 10th 2060, in a surprise move the People's Republic of China invaded The Republic of Vietnam, which drew in the only available US forces in the region, from the states of Phillipines and Japan. Although the US had slowed the Chinese advance into SE Asia, they did not know the full extent of the Chinese plans. Which became painfully obvious within a month.
On November 15th 2060, in a move that completely takes the United States by surprise the Chinese Jump across the Straits of Tsushima and invade the American state of Japan. They complete the conquest in record time, then jump across the North Pacific and invade Alaska. In the retreat from Anchorage they catch the 2nd Marine division in a trap and encircle them. They eventually destroy the Marines, but the Marines delay the Chinese long enough for 50,000 AADP troops to escape south.
The war was long and bloody, but eventually the AADP technology began to turn the red tide of communist advance. On November 24th 2077 in a desperate attempt to halt the advancing AADP and EA forces, the People's Republic of China and The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics launch, what they hope it will be, a surprise nuclear bombardment of their respective enemies. They were wrong, and all it did was to nearly cause the extermination of Mankind. Within 6 months 95% of the world's 10 Billion people were dead from the exchange, disease, and famine.
What forced the hands of these two Communist superpowers was that they were both involved in wars with the Democratic superpowers. The Soviet war with the European Alliance began as a proxy war with the EA supporting the anti-Communist rebels of Poland. The revolt in Poland had begun on January 10th after the Communist government, in conjunction with the Soviets, had opened fire on a peaceful Christmas Mass being held by the Cardinal of the Diocese of Warsaw. The government forces had tried to break it up with water hoses and dogs, but the faithful refused to move till the cardinal gave the word, which he refused to do till the mass was over.
After about twenty minutes of this pushing and shoving a shot rang out, and a soldier fell dead. That was the spark that broke the Polish governments refusal to fire on fellow Poles. Later it was proven that the soldier had been shot from behind, from his own troops. Nobody knew who had fired that fatal shot, but when the Polish forces had finished over 8,000 Poles had been killed by their own troops.
The revolt devolved into an extremely nasty and bitter struggle as reprisal followed reprisal. Eventually the EA decided to step in and support the anti-Communist rebels. Once EA training and weapons began to arrive in number, the Polish troops had no choice but begin to cede the countryside to the rebels as their losses mounted. Once this began the EA started to supply special forces and advisors to help the rebels overthrow the Communist government.
This kept up for about a year, and then the city of Krakow fell to the rebels. This had two major and long lasting effects.
1.) it caused a rash of rebellions against the Communists to spring up in all the members of the Warsaw Pact.
2.), in reaction to this event the Soviet Union, which had tried to remain out and let its proxy finish off the rebels, began to intervene and sent troops out to combat and squash the rebellions.
This caused the EA to begin to send in 'volunteer' units to help the rebels who were closest to the member nation's borders. Since most of the EA forces sent in were elite units trained to combat the Soviets, the Soviet troop losses began to skyrocket. As the Soviet losses began to mount ever higher, the reprisals against civilians began to escalate, which only drove more rebels into the countryside. The Soviets first realized that the EA was helping the rebels when they had lost the entire 347th Motorized Rifle Regiment to a well executed ambush in the mountains of Czechoslovakia.
In reaction to this revelation, the Soviets attempted to seal their proxy's borders with the West. They found out just how utterly impossible that was when they lost another MRR in the mountains of northern Yugoslavia. This continued till the Soviet losses had been so great that the people back home began to get restless at the endless list of the dead that were supposed to be only putting down 'worker's strikes.'
They eventually had to start pulling troops back to Belarus, the Ukraine and the Baltic states, as revolts began to spring up there. And of course these were supported by the EA. Then it happened, Prague was liberated by the anti-Communist rebels, and proclaimed itself the Republic of Bohemia, and then immediately applied to the EA for admission in the Alliance.
The long march towards the Soviet frontier had begun. When the Soviets and Chinese launched their nukes, Latvia had just proclaimed itself independent from Moscow.
***
The China-US war had been going badly for the Chinese ever since the Americans had introduced their Power Armored Gauss rifle wielding troopers to the conflict. The Marine Raiders and Army Green Berets landed at will along the entirety of the Chinese coastline, and that of occupied Southeast Asia. These troopers were armored and unstoppable, along with having made living along the coastlines deadly for Chinese forces.
The American equipping of their Vietnamese and Cambodian rebel allies had turned SE Asia into a meatgrinder for the Chinese. Yet what worried the Chinese the most was the sporadic outbreaks of rebellion in their own nation. The last one in Sezchuan province had only been put down with the cost of 5000 troops and 30,000 civilians.
The Chinese had watched for years as the Soviets lost control of their proxy nations, and worried that the same thing would happen to them. When they had finally been pushed out of Alaska and Japan, with the Korean rebels pushing for the Americans to invade and recruits by the ten's of thousands fleeing to Japan, they were horrified and finally saw the handwriting on the wall. They then came up with that desperate plan and proposed a first strike on their respective enemies to the Soviets. In the hope that they would catch their enemies by surprise; they were wrong.
The nuclear phase of World War three began on Thursday, November 24th, 2077. In a coordinated assault on their respective enemies, China and the Rump Soviet Union launched a full-scale nuclear barrage on the Anglo-American Defense Pact by the Chinese, and the European Alliance by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
As the superpowers were exchanging nuclear gifts, the rest of the world joined in the exchange, using the war as an excuse to end ages-old disputes with other countries.
When the rest of the world joined in the nuclear madness, The Chinese missiles had begun to impact on the US. The first targets in America were the bomber and missile launching points, so that any remaining military strength could be destroyed with ease. As these missiles fell, others began to target on population and manufacturing centers with devastating results. As the rockets fell, it was found that a number of them targeting civilian areas were carrying biological warheads containing virulent man-made diseases designed to decimate the population, and leave the buildings along with the war materials intact.
As the days rolled on, the lingering radiation and disease took their toll. When the bodies began to pile up, civilization collapsed. Due to the destruction of the transport systems and the spread of nuclear induced fires, food became scarce and famine began to stalk the land, slaying at will.
The survivors found that the medical centers were either swamped or destroyed, so the death toll from disease began to climb. Within six months 95% of the world's population was dead. Out of a population of 12 Billion, only a few million were left alive, scattered around the globe in small groups. Those who remained were characterized by being self-centered, selfish, and were guided by man's baser instincts as civilization's thin veneer was stripped away.
Then in 2343 an event happened that changed the fate of mankind, Gunnery Sergeant Deshane awakened from his stasis sleep and the unification wars began. (See the Gunny Saga for details on this time period)
By the middle of the 25th century Earth had been united and recovery was complete. Now mankind turned their eyes towards their last frontier, The stars of the milky way.
By the turn of the 26th century a strong Space-faring power the United States of Terra had become. But, they realized Terra was on its own and would be forced to develop its own interstellar drive system or be forever confined to the Sol System. By 2534 the Atheri had come calling and offered to help the young star nation develop its own star drive, for certain trade concessions, of course. Eventually the Atheri became a close ally of Terra, and both star nations jointly developed a successful Warp Gate drive system powered by Terran Tri-Admantanium.
The successful establishment of Terran colonies led to a modest expansion of Terra’s space forces, which were renamed the United Terran Star Navy in 2575.
The formation of the United Terran Star Navy was an act of Congress in 2575 at the urging of the President. Upon formation the UTSN drew its personnel largely from the Wet Navy, but it requested and received significant transfers from the Air Force, and Army. For most of the 26th Century the UTSN was largely a colonial defense force equipped with frigates and a few destroyers. However, Terra found its forces increasingly outclassed by other star nations, and with its considerable tri-admantanium resources from Lalande 21185, began a crash build program to regain parity.
For most of the UTSN’s history it consisted of a few anti-piracy vessels, Star Fighters, and escort ships, but that all changed in 2684 when the Terra First Party rode a wave of patriotism during the Bi-Centennial celebration of United Terra’s birth and was elected the majority party in the Senate and House of Representatives, one of their primary platforms was the rebuilding of Terra's military and the formation of a Star Navy second to none.
2703: The Denevans attack the Republic of Rome and begins the Denevan War. (See A Test of Wills Saga for details on this time period.)
2732. The current year. The Terran Numerian War has been raging for four long years.
Relations
Media:
The United States does not have direct relations with Media, but their allies and rivals strain the relations between the two nations. Median relations are strained over Terran relations with the Atheri, a hated rival of Media. Further strain has been added by the fact that Terra is a major arms supplier to the Roman Republic. The UTSN monitors Median shipping towards the Rim from Roman space, and shares intelligence with the Atheri and Romans about Median military activity.
Atheri Empire:
The Atheri Empire is Terra’s closest ally in space, and the Atheri and her colonies are Terra’s second largest trading partner. Both star nations have actively cooperated in space since the late 25th Century, and have jointly explored and opened the galactic rim for colonization. Terran-Atheri economic and military links are very close, and both nations’ forces frequently use each other’s facilities in Terran space, while the UTSN consults and coordinates its defense planning with the RASN.
Roman Republic:
Terran relations with the Romans are friendly, and both star nations cooperate with each other whenever possible. Trade and communications links with the Roman colonies is well developed, and Terran mining corporations have a large presence in Rome’s mining sector, while trade is growing. Terran mega-corporations are major investors in the Roman national and colonial economies, and Terra is a major arms exporter to the Republic. The UTSN shares intelligence about Median military activity with its Roman counterpart.
Terran relations with Rome have been close since the 26th Century. Today relations remain close, only the Atheri are a closer ally than Rome. Both countries are major investors in each other’s national and colonial economies, and Rome is Terra’s largest trading partner. Terran forces frequently use Roman facilities in their space, and have begun planning possible operations with the powerful RAC in defending against the Medians. The RAC shares intelligence about Media and Numeria with the UTSN and guards the approaches to Terran space; while Rome is the only star nation that America is willing to help to establish a colony on New Idaho in the Lalande 21185 system.
Ch’thpch:
Terran relations with the Ch’thpch are cordial, although neither star nation has quite forgotten how their rivalry led to the Ch’thpch War at the end of the 26th Century. Terra views Ch’thpch intentions in space with some suspicion since the Ch’thpch have developed a sophisticated defense capability and is expanding its star forces with alarming speed. The Ch’thpch are also developing close links with the Denevans, and have reincorporated the breakaway Ch’thpch Republics into their political sphere once again. Ch’thpch interference in the Atheri Empire has also begun to concern Terra and others star nations about Ch’thpch motives.
Wegman-Yamashiro Corporation:
The giant Wegman-Yamashiro Corporation is a significant player in space in its own right. W-Y has a major presence in the Terran and Roman colonies, while in the other star nations it is the most visible symbol of Terra. Wegman-Yamashiro is heavily involved in Terra's tri-admantanium mining industry, which has given it the financial resources to build the largest non-governmental merchant fleet in space.
Numeria:
As far as Terra knows, nobody has any relations with the Numerians. They keep to themselves and warn the other races to mind their own affairs. That is until the Numerians finally agreed to trade talks with the UST. And the Terran-Numerian relations went downhill from there.
Organization and Bases
Units are organized by Flights and Squadrons for Fighters, and Divisions, Squadrons, Task Group, Task Force, and Fleet Commands for ships. Flights are 4 Fighters while 1 Squadron consists of 3 Flights. Divisions usually consist of 2 or more combat vessels, Squadrons are larger formations consisting of several divisions. A Task Group is only organized when a mission is needed.
A Squadron is organized from the requisite Divisions it is felt that are needed for the mission to succeed.
Task Forces on the other hand are the administrative headquarters that parcels out the Divisions to any Squadrons that have been formed.
A Fleet Command is every US Starship and Spacecraft operating in that region of space. Currently the Fleet Commands are the Earth/Core Command (ECC) based at Offutt SFB, Nebraska, Earth, the Atheri Border Command (ABC) based at Mahan SFB, New Idaho, the Roman Border Command (RBC) based at Sullivan SFB, New Iowa, and the Ch’thpch Border Command (CBC) based at Nimitz SFB, New Alaska. The UTSN is also constructing a major base on New California and it will be the logistics hub and repair base on the Numerian Border and is seeing a massive influx of Terrans and their equipment. Most Fleet Commands have several Divisions, Squadrons, and Task Forces assigned.
The UTSN is headquartered at Offutt SFB in orbit above Omaha Nebraska on Earth. The UTSN also shares many facilities with the USAF, USMC, and NASA, including Minot Star Force Base on New Dakota, Vandenberg SFB on New California, McCarthy SFB on New Florida, and Kaneohe Bay MCAS/SFB on New Hawaii. The UTSN has many offworld facilities; Nimitz SFB New Alaska, Sullivan Station at New Iowa, and Mahan SFB at New Idaho.
Offutt SFB is located in orbit above Earth. Offutt SFB is a massive spherical construction with 120,250 UTSN, 20,000 USAF, 5,000 USMC, and 2,500 Star Guard personnel. It has extensive docking, logistics, and repair facilities. This base is the current homeport for the Earth/Core Command (ECC), and as such it is the homeport for the bulk of the UTSN ships in the core. This base coordinates all U.S. activity with its allies. The United States also has a considerable ship construction industry, which despite the recent expansion of the UTSN is larger than it needs.
Terra’s excess star yard capacity is used to build ships, largely commercial freighters, for other star nations, which helps Terra to keep up with modern ship construction without having to build large numbers of ships of its own.
Adjacent to Offutt SFB is the large Aldrin construction yard, owned by the UTSN, but operated by Mid-Lothian and New Bath Ironworks; this is where many UTSN capital ships are built. Wegman-Yamashiro owns and operates a large star yard at the L-5 LaGrange point in Earth Orbit. It is used for commercial and military construction. In the orbit of New Boston, New Bath Ironworks operates a huge complex of construction facilities used for both commercial and military ship construction. At New Iowa, W-Y is constructing a huge new multi-slip starship construction yard.
Numerous facilities are under the command of Offutt SFB. Adjacent to Tranquility, the Terran colony on Luna is Armstrong SFB. Armstrong has a USMC training facility and a survival school for all the services crews and pilots, the base also stores US Army, USMC, and UTSN ordinance and vehicles for deployment to locations outside of the solar system. Major UTSN Earth solar system facilities include the Lovett Star Fighter Training School on Titan (used by all the services and to train other star nation’s pilots), the Conrad Hostile Environment Training School on Titan used by the UTSN, USMC, and the US Army. The UTSN along with her allies the Atheri and the Roman Republic operates a series of early warning bases and minefields to guard and warn against Median and Ch'thpch incursions.
On New Idaho’s moon of New Boise is the huge Mahan SFB, which guards the approaches to the Atheri border and the tri-admantanium mines of New Idaho. Because of the importance of New Idaho to America’s economy and national security, the defenses in the Lalande 21185 system are formidable. Mahan SFB is the largest Terran military facility outside of the Core and hosts 200,000 UTSN, USAF, and USMC personnel. Mahan SFB is also the Fleet command center for dozens of defense installations stretching across the Atheri border, including early warning stations, logistic bases, armed sensor drones, and orbital repair yards.
The UTSN also has small orbital defense stations at New Iowa, New Tennessee, New Kansas, and New Wyoming, while there are UTSN bases on large asteroids in the New Maine and New Louisiana systems. The UTSN and USAF operate the Chaffee Fleet Training Facility in New Durango orbit, with a smaller training facility at New Boise, and at New Laramie in the New Wyoming system. The USMC also has a training facility at Zephyr Hill, a satellite moon of New Tampa in the Rigel Kentaurus system, while there are also USMC bases at New Roanoke, New Bakersfield, and New Earth. The UTSN and NASA operate the Deep Exploration station and they are building a refueling station in the Sigma Draconis system to aid the exploration of the New Europe sector.
The UTSN is responsible for the defense of all UST territory and assets outside of geosynchronous orbit, this includes all US flagged vessels and any vessel operating in Terran space. The USAF is responsible for state and colonial planetary aerospace defense out to geosynchronous orbit. This sometimes leads to USAF and UTSN craft working together, such as in OQC duty. The UTSN has large resources that it can draw upon in time of war. The assets of the USAF, USMC, NASA, and ARMY can all be conscripted in time of war, the US government also pays a stipend to civilian merchants in peacetime, and in time of war these vessels can be drawn into the UTSN for the duration of the war. Independent merchant vessels as well as Wegman-Yamashiro and many other large Mega-Corporate entities receive this stipend. The UTSN has access to large numbers of all manner of vessels in time of war.
Most nations rely on their star force crews for ship maintenance at the core, colonies, and space stations, but the UTSN uses a combination of the ship’s crews, UTSN Reservists and civilian technicians. This practice is a holdover from the NASA and Naval roots. The UTSN also has two sets of ship’s crews, Blue and Gold for each ship, missions are often many months and sometimes years in length and when a crew returns to their home base their vessel undergoes repairs by both crews and then the rested crew takes the vessel back out on a new mission, the resting crew has an extended leave and then maintains their edge by using simulators.
This two-crew system is a holdover from the US Navy submarine personnel that were transferred to the UTSN at its formation. The UTSN is also unique in its use of reservists; over half of the UTSN is made up national guardsmen and reservists. Most ships have a small crew of full time personnel that maintain the ship’s readiness with the rotation of the reservist and guard members. Oddly enough it is the capital ships that have the largest number of part-timers; the fighters and patrol craft are almost entirely reservist operated: the Close Escorts have the smallest number as they embark on long anti-raider patrols.
The 820th Reconnaissance Regiment, a Marine Special Forces and security Regiment was transferred to the fledgling UTSN and was re-designated the 820th Stellar Security Force. Since the formation of the UTSN the 820th Stellar Security Force have been greatly expanded and can be found at every UTSN space station. The 820th forms the Navy’s Shore Patrol security forces of the UTSN and is known as Eight-Two-O’s. The Eight-Two-O’s have had a great deal of practice in spaceship boarding tactics in the anti-piracy sweeps of the UTSN and are some of the best in Terran space. On the other hand, because of the spread out nature of the Eight-Two-O’s, orbital drops have not been conducted in over a century. The Marines are very good at planetary assaults and boarding actions and these roles bring them in frequent contact with the Eight-Two-O’s.
The Eight-Two-O’s and USMC train extensively together in boarding and drop operations. The Eight-Two-O’s are the ones who provide the Marines with forward observers to direct orbital ground support.
Tri-Admantanium & Technology
Terra is a tri-admantanium rich nation, producing a tri-admantanium surplus that is largely directed towards the expansion of the UTSN and the construction of civilian freighters. Most American tri-admantanium comes from New Boise in the Lalande 21185 system, which has the largest known tri-admantanium resources in Terran space. Smaller quantities of tri-admantanium are also mined elsewhere along the Eastern Roman Corridor, and at New Bakersfield, Mars, and from beneath the Pacific on Earth. Terra is a major industrial power with a large shipbuilding industry, and has the technological capability to produce a full range of warships and equipment. Practically all UTSN ships and weaponry are Terran designed and built.
The United Terran Star Navy has gone though a remarkable transformation in the last thirty years, from a thrid rate colonial defense force to a first rate star force as well-trained and equipped as any in any alien empire. The UTSN has seven large ship-manufacturing slipways and five large ship repair bays at the Collins Construction Yard. Of the construction slips, two are devoted to very large ships such as the America’s and New York’s, three are devoted to the construction of Revolution, Indianapolis, and McCarthy class Cruisers, and two are committed to the construction of Fletcher class Destroyers and Perry class Frigates. Currently the Idaho occupies one of the largest two slipways, the San Diego is under construction in the other; the Cowpens, New Madrid and the Reagan are in the Cruiser slips, and the Ainsworth and McClusky are under construction in the Destroyer slips.
Attritional vs. Maneuver Warfare
There are two main theories that govern space warfare; attrition and maneuver. Attrition warfare stresses the use of shields and armor and of always being the more durable force. The Median MSF is a typical example of one designed with attritional warfare in mind. The opposite view stresses the use of speed to achieve what is called in UTSN Doctrinal Speak; ‘Dominant Maneuver’. This allows ships to concentrate strength against isolated enemy pockets, driving in attacks quickly, so as to minimize the damage taken. It was this path the Terrans took in their ship design.
The UTSN initially used a very extreme form of maneuver doctrine, influenced by their experience in operations against pirates. The ultimate aim of the design is for speed and sensor superiority, anything else is secondary to this. Thus the McCarthy class has no armor, no shields and for most of the time her point defense weapons are powered down. The McCarthy’s operate by locating isolated enemy vessels, driving at high speed and releasing missiles at the opportune moment. Timed correctly, the missiles will strike before the enemy sensors have activated to paint it for the point defense.
In this manner, US tactics are similar to Atheri tactics. However because of its light armor, the McCarthy’s can find themselves in great difficulty if the attack goes wrong. Screening fighters and missiles can rake the ships with fire and a poor commander can misjudge his run, especially if facing an unknown adversary. It was just this that caused the loss of the USS Clinton with all hands in the 36 Ophiuchi System to raiders.
If executed successfully this tactic has proven very effective. McCarthy’s cannot stand in the battleline as a conventional Cruiser can, as much as US politicians would like them to, but they often act as ‘cavalry’ for Terran Squadrons; scouting, screening and providing vanguards and rearguards. Future designs will stress more armor and better survivability but for now the McCarthy’s excellent skippers make the most of the strengths of the design while doing their best to avoid potentially catastrophic close combat.
Starships
The new America class starships are designated as BB(S) and will be the flag of most Task Forces and above. The New York class starships were originally designated as CA(S), but have since been re-designated as BC(S) and until the America class enters service they are the largest vessels in the UTSN and are usually the flag of a squadron or Task Force. The Essex class is the first CV(S) to enter UTSN service and uses many New York parts. The Revolution, Indianapolis, and McCarthy classes are all missile cruisers, CG(S) for the Revolution, CCG(S) for the Indianapolis’ and CGL(S) for the McCarthy’s. The Des Moines class ships are UTSN-Reserve starships and have recently been down rated from CA(S) to CL(S).
The Fletcher class is designated as a DDE(S) and is designed to escort heavier ships. The Perry class ships are designated as FF(S) and are also designed to escort heavier ships. The Knox class is designated as a DDE(S) and with the Des Moines class, was the combat backbone of the UTSN till the introduction of the Revolution Class. All three ship classes, the Fletchers, Perry’s, and Knox’s are escorts for larger ships such as Revolutions, New York’s, and America’s.