Bloody Valentine War
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In the Cosmic Era alternate universe of Gundam, the Bloody Valentine War is a war between the Earth Alliance, an alliance of four major governments on Earth, ZAFT, a nation of space colonies located at L5, and the Three Ships Alliance, an alliance of Earth Alliance moderate defectors, the Clyne Faction, and the neutral Orb Union.
Introduction
Like in other Gundam universes, in Cosmic Era humanity has moved into space and built massive space colonies. In Cosmis Era, conflict arises between the Coordinators, genetically enhanced human, mostly colonists, and Naturals on Earth. Like always, racism is used as an excuse, and the real political motives behind the conflict are of economical nature.
Development of the first mobile suits
Heavy space fighters called "Mobile Armors" had been in use by the Atlantic Federation military since the early fifties, but they had many limitations in capabilities. Their small size meant they were tough targets to hit, but they were also difficult to armor adequately. A larger machine, PLANT strategists theorized, could do more than a Mobile Armor for relatively little more cost and would be able to carry more armor as well. To give these new mecha the best multi-environment combat capacity, a humanoid shape was chosen - an enlargement and upgrade of heavy industrial exoskeletons that had been in use since the closing years of the AD calendar. Because of the humanoid shape, they were dubbed "Mobile Suits", and the first mobile suit, the YMF-01A "Proto GINN", was rolled out in CE 65. The first combat mobile suit, the ZGMF-1017 GINN, was rolled out two years later. In CE 69, the Atlantic Federation's Captain Halberton publishes a paper, "The Combat Effectiveness and Applications of Mobile Suits", which prompts the Atlantic Federation to begin development of its own mobile suits, the GAT-X series. After a short development period, the Earth Alliance rolls out its own first mass-production mobile suit, the GAT-01 Strike Dagger, in late May of CE 71.
January, 71 marked the rollout of the Alliance's first mobile suits (or "Gundams" as pilot Kira Yamato would later dub them): the base unit GAT-X102 Duel, heavy assault GAT-X103 Buster, stealth unit GAT-X207 Blitz, high-powered commander unit GAT-X303 Aegis and most famous of the five, the multi-mode GAT-X105 Strike. The Strike combined aspects of all four of the other units, and was able to change configurations with ease using bolt-on weapon systems called Striker Packs. Many additional units wold be built by both sides during and after the war, see Cosmic Era Mobile Units for a complete listing and developement history.
Bloody Valentine War
Tragedy of Copernicus (February 11, C.E. 70)
The war was declared on 11 February, Cosmic Era year 70, when a terrorist attack on a peace conference on the Moon wiped out the United Nations's leadership.
Bloody Valentine Incident (February 14)
Three days later, on 14 February, the Earth Alliance used nuclear weapons to destroy Junius 7, a PLANT-type space colony in the Junius City area of ZAFT. The incident was called Bloody Valentine Incident and marked the opening of hostilities.
Battle of Yggdrasil (February 22)
The first major battle of the war, was fought near the prewar international space station Yggdrasil. The battle lasted about a month and resulted in the destruction of the space station.
Operation Uroboros - April's Fool Crisis (April 1)
In response to the direct nuclear attack, ZAFT modified N-Jammer technology, initially intended to be used against Earth, as a countermeasure against nuclear weaponry in space. With the modified production schedule, the N-Jammers were not dropped on Earth until 1 April, as the first phase of their Operation Uroboros.
The use of N-Jammers on Earth and the subsequent energy crisis, April Fool Crisis, killed tens if not hundreds of millions in northern and southern regions where reliable power transmission meant the difference between life and death.
The second phase of Operation Uroboros was the actual offensive on Earth surface, that took under ZAFT control most of Africa, all of Australia and many Asian regions, including three of Earth's five major spaceports: Victoria (Africa), Gibraltar and Kaohsiung (China), leaving Porta Panama (Central America) in Alliance hands and Kaguya at Onogoro Island in the Orb Union's control. (A sixth spaceport, the mobile Giga-Float under the auspices of the Junk Guild, did not become functional until late in the war.)
Battle of Carpentaria (April 2)
One of ZAFT's earliest landings took place in the friendly Oceania Union territory. The Earth Alliance Pacific Fleet attacked ZAFT's forces. After two days the Battle of Carpentaria ended in victory for ZAFT, who immediately afterwards began the construction of Carpentaria base.
First Battle of Jachin Due (April 17)
The Earth Alliance ordered its 5th and 6th fleets, stationed on the Moon, to attack PLANT on April 17, C.E. 70. They were intercepted by ZAFT forces and engaged at the resource satellite Jachin Due. In the aftermath of this battle the PLANT Supreme Council decided to convert the entire asteroid of Jachin Due into a defensive base.
Battle of Endymion Crater - Grimaldi Front (May 3 - June 2)
The Battle of Endymion Crater took place on the Moon. The most notable event was the almost complete destruction of OMNI Enforcer's elite TS-MA2mod.00 Moebius Zero mobile armor squadron - the only survivor was LTJG Mu La Flaga, who received the nickname "Hawk of Endymion" for his performance.
First Battle of Casablanca (May 25)
The Mediterranean fleet of the Earth Alliance fought against a ZAFT submarine carrier fleet near Casablanca. ZAFT won the battle and their forces entered the Mediterranean, and advanced further into the south of Africa.
Battle of Suez (May 30)
The Battle of Suez, won by ZAFT invading forces, ensured ZAFT the key Black sea territories and the control of the Suez area.
By late August of CE 70, a territorial stalemate on Earth was reached, with northern Africa and Australia firmly in ZAFT hands, Sub-Saharan Africa, Eurasia, South Asia and the Americas in the Alliance, and the majority of Oceania neutral.
Battle of Kaohsiung (January 15-23, C.E. 71)
The Battle of Kaohsiung took place on the island of Taiwan, where ZAFT forces successfully attacked the Earth Alliance spaceport located in the city of Kaohsiung.
Battle of Heliopolis (January 25)
To put an end to Earth Alliance mobile suit development plans, ZAFT planned an operation to seize the mobile suit prototypes secretly developed on the neutral colony Heliopolis, and to destroy their carrier prototype ship Archangel.
The operation failed. Although ZAFT was able to capture four units, the fifth GAT-X105 Strike unit was activated and engaged them in battle. The resulting Battle of Heliopolis caused the complete destruction of the Heliopolis colony, by ZAFT forces, and was the first of a series of battles between the Rau Le Creuset team and the Archangel crew.
Battle of Artemis (January 27-30)
The Archangel, pursued by the Rau Le Creuset Team, docked at the Eurasian Federation base Artemis. Here the Archangel was taken in custody. Soon after the ZAFT forces attacked the base, and the ship was able to escape.
Battle of Orbit (February 13)
After a long pursuit by the Le Creuset Team, the Archangel finally received reinforcements, the Earth alliance 8th Fleet. The Archangel was then ordered to bring the GAT-X105 Strike to OMNI headquarters at JOSH-A. The 'Le Creuset team' attacked just before the reentry into Earth's atmosphere. Earth Alliance Rear Admiral Lewis Halberton ordered the entire 8th Fleet to defend Archangel at all cost. Though the 8th Fleet was numerically superior to the ZAFT forces, its 130 meter class escort ships and TS-MA2 Moebius Mobile Armors were no match for the stolen units and ZAFT's heavily-armed Laurasia class and Nazca class warships. Admiral Halberton lost the entire fleet and his own life, but achieved his goal, the Archangel successfully completed reentry.
The battle also resulted in the deaths of several hundred Orb Union civilians, refugees from Heliopolis, who were killed as they retreated from the battle in an Earth Alliance shuttle.
Second Battle of Victoria (February 13)
In this battle ZAFT was able to capture the Victoria spaceport.
Desert Dawn (February 15-28)
After descending to Earth the Archangel took part in the Desert Dawn resistance movement's battle with ZAFT. She continued to operate with Desert Dawn until they defeated Andrew Waltfeld in the end of February.
Severely damaged, the ship then went to Orb via the Red Sea, arriving in early April. Repairs to the ship took several weeks and it wasn't until mid April that the Archangel continued to JOSH-A (Joint Operational Supreme Headquarters - Alaska).
Battle near Orb and the Marshall Islands (mid April)
In early June, the Blitz , Strike , Aegis and one of Archangel's FX-550 Skygraspers were destroyed, Skygrasper pilot Tolle Koenig and Blitz pilot Nicol Amarfi were killed. Strike pilot Kira Yamato was missing in action and presumed dead, but the Buster and its pilot, Dearka Elsman were captured and returned to Archangel.
Battle of JOSH-A - Operation Spitbreak (May 8)
The Battle of JOSH-A (Operation Spitbreak) was ZAFT's plan to take the JOSH-A Earth Alliance Atlantic Federation HQ, but failed miserably.
Through a series of betrayals the Blue Cosmos group came to know about the attack and set a trap for both ZAFT, and the Eurasian Federation. The base was primarily staffed and defended by Eurasian Federation personnel, the Atlantic Federation quietly transferred its own personnel elsewhere. When ZAFT attacked, and its attack force was lured into the central bay of JOSH-A, the Cyclops System was activated, killing virtually all of the ZAFT attack force as well as the Eurasian defenders. During this battle, Kira Yamato, with the stolen ZGMF-X10A Freedom reappeared and saved the Archangel. Only a few units escaped, mostly Alliance and ZAFT naval forces and some pilots with aircraft or mobile suits fast enough to outrun the Cyclops shockwave.
The loss of much of the Eurasian military drastically altered the balance of power in the Earth Alliance in favor of the Blue Cosmos-dominated Atlantic Federation, which guaranteed that no further attempts at peace will be made with ZAFT.
Battle of Porta Panama (May 25)
A few days later, ZAFT retaliated by attacking the Panama mass-driver base with a heavy force. While the Alliance forces fought valiantly, deploying the mass-produced GAT-01 Strike Dagger, ZAFT deployed the Gungnir EMP weapon, disabling all Alliance military equipment in the area. Porta Panama, the last mass driver in Alliance hands, was thereby destroyed, cutting off the Alliance space forces from Earth-based resources.
Battle of Orb (June 15, 16)
With the destruction of their last mass driver in Porta Panama, the Atlantic Federation turned its interest on the Kaguya mass driver in the neutral Orb Union, the last mass driver operating on Earth. When Orb's president, Uzumi Nara Athha, denied the Federation the right to use this mass driver, the Federation attacked it, deploying a considerable force. Defending forces were Orb's military, backed up by Archangel and her complement of mobile suits. The AF forces were overwhelming, so rather than allowing the Alliance to take the mass driver, Athha self-destructed the base and the mass driver. Before the nuclear blast the Kusanagi escaped with Archangel into space, evacuating the base. Athha died in the explosion of the base.
Third Battle of Victoria (June 18)
The Alliance managed to recapture the Victoria mass-driver in equatorial Africa.
Battle of Mendel (July 12)
When Lacus Clyne, Andrew Waltfeld, and the Clyne Faction stole the Eternal, they regrouped at their base in the abandoned colony of Mendel, where the Archangel and the Kusanagi soon joined them, forming the Three Ships Alliance. Soon after both Earth Alliance and ZAFT forces attacked but were driven off.
Battle of Boaz – Operation Peacemaker (September 23)
After recovering N-Jammer Canceller technology in October, the Alliance mass-produced and mounted them on nuclear weapons, launching Operation Peacemaker: a gambit to end the war by destroying all of PLANT with nuclear missiles. They started their operation by destroying the ZAFT space fortress Boaz with their nuclear missiles.
Second Battle of Jachin Due (September 26, 27)
The Earth Alliance attacked the PLANT space colonies. The attack was narrowly thwarted by the Freedom and Justice units. ZAFT then counterattacked with their GENESIS superweapon, stationed near the Jachin Due asteroid, destroying Earth's Ptolemaeus Base on the moon and almost destroying half of the Earth. Jachin Due was set to self destruct simultaniously with the firing of the GENESIS aimed at Earth. This was done by Rau Le Creuset whose twisted logic wanted both coordinators and naturals to perish. Eventually the GENESIS was destroyed by Athrun who self detonated his Justice Gundam inside of the GENESIS.
Treaty of Junius
By the start of Cosmic Era year 72, the Alliance's nuclear stockpile was destroyed, as was the ZAFT GENESIS superweapon. More importantly, the instigators of the war - Blue Cosmos leader Murata Azrael, ZAFT Supreme Council Chairman Patrick Zala, and rogue ZAFT commander Rau Le Creuset - were killed in action. Parties amendable to peace were now in control of the major factions. On March 10, CE 72, their representatives met at the ruins of Junius Seven and signed a formal treaty, ending the Bloody Valentine War.
The Treaty of Junius specifically outlined several points:
- The territory of the Orb Union, seized by the Alliance during the Battle of Orb, was to revert back to Orb control.
- Orb was forbidden to transfer any military technology (either in weapon shipments or aid) to either the Alliance or ZAFT.
- Nuclear technologies (N-Jammer and N-Jammer Canceller, as well as the Mirage Colloid) were prohibited from military use.
A black marble monument was placed upon the ruins of Junius Seven on March 10, to both honor those who perished in the Bloody Valentine Incident and as a pledge by the signitories of the treaty to protect peace.
Nuclear power plants on Earth were fitted with N-Jammer Cancellers to restore their operation and satisfy the power needs of the severely crippled terrestrial economy. The long and costly process of digging out the hundreds of N-Jammers dropped on Earth during the war began.
Aftermath
Ultimately, the Treaty of Junius failed because it did not declare Blue Cosmos a terrorist organization. This allowed the remnants to rebuild their powerbase in the Atlantic Federation and manipulate events to eliminate ZAFT once and for all. Two years after the war, in CE 73, the Blue Cosmos had reorganized under the leadership of Lord Djibril, and had major influence on the Earth's political elite. The Armory One Theft incident and soon later the Junius 7 Colony Drop, known as "Break the World", lead again to open conflict between the Earth Alliance and ZAFT, soon followed by the deployment of nuclear weapons.