THE KUNTRIAN WAR
The Kuntrian War was a conflict in 2426 AT between the Federation of Kuntree and the Kuribayashi Shogunate.
The Federation landed a significant force of infantry in Ingen Province on the planet of Laptev, and after two days of heavy fighting were driven off. The war concluded with the dismantling of the Kuntrian state by various third-party nations as part of the wider fall of the Federation of Kuntree. BACKGROUNDUpon first encountering Shogunate trading vessels, the Federation of Kuntree sent a missive to the Jade Palace demanding that the Shogunate become a protectorate state of the Federation, offering military and economic protection in exchange for control of the political and financial institutions of the fledging interstellar state. The Shogun Tadamichi Kuribayashi refused the demand with the famous 'Lyne Letter'.
Governor Lyne
Regarding your demand that the Federation be granted administrative and political control of the Shogunate and her territories, please see my response below. I have chosen to reply in the form of a haiku, as I have read your original poetry and hope to provide you with some small measure of artistic enlightenment. The poet claims power, yet- His words are incoherent How could this man rule? Yours sincerely, Shogun Tadamichi Kuribayashi of Ingen The Federation declared war the following day, dispatching a fleet of several hundred capital class warships to the Laptev System.
ORDER OF BATTLE
The Shogunate Navy at the time numbered only twenty-one capital hulls and was outnumbered by the Kuntrian Fleet by a magnitude of more than ten to one. The Navy was ordered to withdraw to preserve its firepower, allowing the Kuntrian Army to land uncontested on the surface.
On the ground, the invaders also had a superior force, employing nearly a million soldiers and combat droids against roughly half as many Shogunate infantry and militia forces. |
In terms of ground forces, the Shogunate Army had approximately 165,000 trained infantry and 400,000 militia. The Shogunate Army was outdated compared to the advanced armoured units and cyborg regiments the Federation had put into the field. In particular, the Shogunate militia were haphazardly equipped with melee weapons and whatever ranged equipment could be provided.
Outgunned and outnumbered, the Shogunate strategy hinged around deployment of a series of Stasis Field emplacements purchased from the Sovereign Imperial Monarchy. By utilising these systems after the Kuntrian Army had made landfall, the Shogunate would be able to negate the invaders' technological advantage and conduct the battle on their terms, in a form that they were more familiar with.
Outgunned and outnumbered, the Shogunate strategy hinged around deployment of a series of Stasis Field emplacements purchased from the Sovereign Imperial Monarchy. By utilising these systems after the Kuntrian Army had made landfall, the Shogunate would be able to negate the invaders' technological advantage and conduct the battle on their terms, in a form that they were more familiar with.
COURSE OF BATTLE
The Kuntrian Fleets arrived in-system at 0400 hrs local time on the 3rd of Sapphire, 2426 AT, and began landing troops which led to a series of skirmishes outside of Seiiki as the Shogunate forces attempted to stall the leading elements of the Kuntrian Army, whilst Ystovian armoured units slowly moved into position in the forests west of the city.
By the late evening of the 4th, the majority of the Kuntrian invasion force had made landfall and their leading elements had pushed the defenders back to the suburbs of the city. At this point the Shogunate general staff ordered the Stasis Field be activated, forcing the Kuntrians to abandon their armoured vehicles and rendering all ranged weapons within the field useless.
As the Field was activated, the Shogunate mounted a pre-planned cavalry attack which Shogun Tadamichi personally commanded. The Tengoku Regiment tore into the leading ranks of the Kuntrian Army on biological mounts, carrying out repeated manuevers throughout the evening until falling back to the city center close to midnight. The Kuntrians were eventually able to capture the city walls and push through the streets of the Old Town, where fierce hand-to-hand fighting saw the invaders advance as far as Shussan Plaza before being halted by reserves of heavy samurai infantry defending a makeshift barricade across the plaza, supported by archers in the surrounding buildings.
At this point in the battle the Kuntrians had largely abandoned their ranged weapons in order to fight more effectively, leaving them at forward operating posts outside the city walls. During a lull in the fighting early on the morning of the 5th, Shogun Kuribayashi ordered the Stasis Field deactivated. Mechanized units in reserve for this precise moment, armed with laser weapons and conventional firearms, launched a counterattack which caught the Kuntrians unprepared, their bayoneted rifles and shortswords no match for the firearms of the Shogunate reserves.
The invaders were driven back with heavy losses into the fields west of Imperial City where the two Ystovian Armoured Battalions were waiting in ambush. The Kuntrians were able to recover some of their armoured vehicles and rally around them, but Shogunate Mark I Sai Fighters scrambled from the Dragonspire Mountain Range achieved local superiority for a crucial half-hour during which they were able to strafe key elements of the remaining Kuntrian armoured units. The surviving Kuntrian ground forces, badly mauled, assumed defensive positions and were able to repel further attacks by the Axis forces, but having suffered heavy losses and lost much of their logistical and armoured assets they were in no position to resume their assault on the city. At approximately 1500 hrs on the 7th, the Kuntrian fleet began evacuating its ground forces. Shogunate forces began rounding up isolated pockets of resistance and pulled back to Imperial City, and by 1630 hrs the Kuntrians had fully evacuated.
Instead of withdrawing from the system, the Kuntrian Fleet began launching high-yield Mass Reaction Devices, nicknamed 'Black Bombs', towards the surface. Katasian fast-attack corvettes were able to intercept and destroy four of these devices before targeting a fifth as it launched from the hold of the GRK Bred In Captivity, the Kuntrian flagship. Their fire successfully detonated the Mass Reaction Device whilst it was still in the Kuntrian hangar, sinking the flagship with all hands, including Governor Lyne. Leaderless, the Kuntrian Fleet withdrew from the Laptev System.
By the late evening of the 4th, the majority of the Kuntrian invasion force had made landfall and their leading elements had pushed the defenders back to the suburbs of the city. At this point the Shogunate general staff ordered the Stasis Field be activated, forcing the Kuntrians to abandon their armoured vehicles and rendering all ranged weapons within the field useless.
As the Field was activated, the Shogunate mounted a pre-planned cavalry attack which Shogun Tadamichi personally commanded. The Tengoku Regiment tore into the leading ranks of the Kuntrian Army on biological mounts, carrying out repeated manuevers throughout the evening until falling back to the city center close to midnight. The Kuntrians were eventually able to capture the city walls and push through the streets of the Old Town, where fierce hand-to-hand fighting saw the invaders advance as far as Shussan Plaza before being halted by reserves of heavy samurai infantry defending a makeshift barricade across the plaza, supported by archers in the surrounding buildings.
At this point in the battle the Kuntrians had largely abandoned their ranged weapons in order to fight more effectively, leaving them at forward operating posts outside the city walls. During a lull in the fighting early on the morning of the 5th, Shogun Kuribayashi ordered the Stasis Field deactivated. Mechanized units in reserve for this precise moment, armed with laser weapons and conventional firearms, launched a counterattack which caught the Kuntrians unprepared, their bayoneted rifles and shortswords no match for the firearms of the Shogunate reserves.
The invaders were driven back with heavy losses into the fields west of Imperial City where the two Ystovian Armoured Battalions were waiting in ambush. The Kuntrians were able to recover some of their armoured vehicles and rally around them, but Shogunate Mark I Sai Fighters scrambled from the Dragonspire Mountain Range achieved local superiority for a crucial half-hour during which they were able to strafe key elements of the remaining Kuntrian armoured units. The surviving Kuntrian ground forces, badly mauled, assumed defensive positions and were able to repel further attacks by the Axis forces, but having suffered heavy losses and lost much of their logistical and armoured assets they were in no position to resume their assault on the city. At approximately 1500 hrs on the 7th, the Kuntrian fleet began evacuating its ground forces. Shogunate forces began rounding up isolated pockets of resistance and pulled back to Imperial City, and by 1630 hrs the Kuntrians had fully evacuated.
Instead of withdrawing from the system, the Kuntrian Fleet began launching high-yield Mass Reaction Devices, nicknamed 'Black Bombs', towards the surface. Katasian fast-attack corvettes were able to intercept and destroy four of these devices before targeting a fifth as it launched from the hold of the GRK Bred In Captivity, the Kuntrian flagship. Their fire successfully detonated the Mass Reaction Device whilst it was still in the Kuntrian hangar, sinking the flagship with all hands, including Governor Lyne. Leaderless, the Kuntrian Fleet withdrew from the Laptev System.
AFTERMATH
As news of the Kuntrian attempt to destroy the planet of Laptev began to spread, various third-party nations declared war on the Federation in response to their war crimes. The New Free Planets Alliance, the Great Houses of Xie, Imperial India, and Levant al Asad all dispatched fleets to various systems under Federation control, including Kuntree itself, Mercior, Laos II and others. The Federation was formally dismantled and its territories absorbed by the Great Houses and Levant al Asad throughout the summer of 2426 AT.
HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE
In the long-term, the Kuntrian War shaped Axis foreign policy, emphasizing the need for a strong and proactive military. The threat of invasion spurred all Axis nations to begin investing heavily in their militaries, resulting in a rapid fleet expansion and technological development. Followed by the Vong Wars of two years later, the invasion resulted in a more militaristic and aggressive foreign policy for the Laptev Axis, cementing their position as an interventionist faction.