Beerat Battles
(Copied straight from .XML 'backup' file, needs formatting and corrections. ZM User (talk) 15:11, 22 April 2024 (PDT))
(This page is complete as of the end of "Independent Command". I don't think it will need additions for "Ending This Mess". -ZM)
First Sa'arm Scout Probe
This battle had no ships survive; some crew from Maiden Castle were picked up several weeks later in their escape shuttle.
Second Sa'arm Scout Probe
This battle had two fatalities on the Confederacy side, and no Sa'arm escaped.
Third Sa'arm Scout Probe
This battle was split into two separate actions when the Sa'arm force split. There were three fatalities but no major ship damage on the Confederacy side, and all Sa'arm ships were destroyed.
- Confederacy: Two Task Forces (Taffies), each with 1 Raptor, 1 Europa, 3 Asian, 3 Africa, 2/3 Castle.
- Sa'arm: Two separate units, each with 3 Vacuna and 1 Courier ship (all destroyed)
First Battle of Beerat
This battle occured while the Asians were in the shipyard getting their new "Baby Hero" guns installed. The Africas had just returned to the Task Forces. The Raptor was a complete loss, and the Europa was crippled but no other ships were damaged. There were 505 total Human fatalities, not counting Majorca.
- Confederacy: Task Force 2 with 1 Raptor, 1 Europa, 3 "Africa-Plus", 2 Shiros, 1 Patrician, 1 Castle, 1 Folk-Hero experimental gunboat
- Sa'arm: 3 ships, a Volumna and two Vervactors. The Volumna launched 2 Vacunas and 9 Lima bombers after an early hit. All Sa'arm forces were destroyed.
After the battle our sensor shell detected another scout force with 4 ships in the outer system. The Patrician which chased them off destroyed one and damaged two others, then followed them into hyperspace. We never heard from it again.
Fourth Sa'arm Scout Probe
This battle also had two fatalities on the Confederacy side, and no Sa'arm escaped.
- Confederacy: 1 Patrician, 2 Castles (one damaged)
- Sa'arm: 3 Vacunas (all destroyed)
Note that the three Vacunas were disabled and 'killed', not vaporized. Two hulks were later boarded and recovered for analysis and training.
Second Battle of Beerat
This battle occurred soon after the first run of "Snake" class 4-turret large assault cruisers joined the fleet. The new class had significant teething problems but without their firepower we probably would not have had as many survivors and may have even lost Beer. We had several large ships armed with turret guns, but all of our smaller and/or older ships had limited ability to fire in any direction except straight forward, what is called the "Chase" orientation.
- Confederacy: 8 Snakes, 1 enhanced Raptor, 3 enhanced Europas, 6 "Kent" heavy cruisers, 6 Africas, 6 Asians, 3 "Turtle" monitors, 60 "Shiro-II" large corvettes, 3 "Folk Hero" gunboats, assorted smaller scouts, and various fixed defenses divided into a main blocking force tethered to Beer, three mobile task forces, a command group, a scouting force, and three concentrations of fixed positions.
- Sa'arm group 1: 1 Virtus, 2 Volumnas, 2 Vestas, 10 Vervactors, 51 Vacunas, 36 Limas
- Sa'arm group 2: 3 Volumnas, 6 Vervactors, 27 Vacunas, 18 Limas
This battle was the only one in Beerat where the defenders took infrastructure damage. One Sa'arm colonizer ship from the first group, the Virtus, was finally destroyed while attempting to land on Beer and the hulk impacted at high speed causing large-scale casualties on the ground. In addition, Task Force 1 was almost a total loss. The second group succeeded in destroying the shipyard complex including most manned defensive positions and all unfinished ships. One key "victory condition" that the defenders achieved was that there were no Sa'arm escapees; the Sa'arm systems which built the two invasion forces would not have any way to learn what happened and thus could not plan an answer.
Fifth and Sixth Sa'arm Scout Probes
These "battles" were more of an ambush, with no fatalities, injuries, or even equipment damage on the Confederacy side, and no Sa'arm escaped.
- Confederacy: 2 Shiro-IIs
- Sa'arm: 3 Vacunas (all destroyed)
