COMM ID: Vice Admiral Remus Sius
TARGET ID: Liberty Navy Primary Fleet Reporting Center
SUBJECT: Defensive action in Magellan
ENCRYPTION: HIGH
PRIORITY: MEDIUM
Greetings all,
Exactly two days ago, the alarms blared as a Gallic force appeared in Magellan. Intelligence teams onboard Freeport Four spotted a large fleet approaching their position. They reported the enemy fleet to be 5 Valors, 1 Obstinate Cruiser, 1 Gunboat, 1 bomber and the rest fighters.
We hastily assembled various ships from the different fleets. Our fleet disposition prior to the battle is as follows:
Other Fleets:
LNS-McClusky - DESTROYED
LNS-Nova_Scotia - DESTROYED
Adam:Gibson - Shot down, Pod recovered
Reenao- LIGHT DAMAGE
Caedere- LIGHT DAMAGE
Carrier-Louisville,KY- LIGHT DAMAGE
Bowex)Teutonic - Shot down, Pod recovered
Bowex)Miranda.O'Neal - LIGHT DAMAGE
BPA)Waldorf.Salad. - Shot down, Pod recovered
To match the Gallic forces, Captain Morse, new transferee Commander Reaser and I boarded the Durango, Cloverfield and Maryland respectively. Admiral Jack O'Neil from the Fifth Fleet arrived onboard the Odyssey, he was accompanied by his subordinate Commander Mark Webb in a Guardian.
Using the same tactic we utilized on our attack on the Oubli, we baited the Gallics into assaulting our non-cloaked capitals, while approaching the Gallics from the flank in our cloaked ships: [X]
Our first target was their flagship, the Tonnant. It is worth noting the bravery of a certain Bowex pilot, Teutonic. He charged the Gallic fleet to attract their fire. Within minutes of revealing ourselves; unfortunately, he was shot down. Captain Morse onboard the Durango positioned himself too close to the Gallic armada. His ship took heavy damage as the Gallic returned fire and was crippled soon after.
The Gallic forces focused on Commander Reaser, on the Cloverfield and subsequently took heavy damage as well and was crippled soon after.
What followed next was a ferocious attack from our non-cloaked capitals. The Maryland was unable to record the crippling of two enemy Valors as she suffered heavy fire from numerous ships.
Communication Logs Wrote:[22.06.2015 21:53:38] Death: B}RNS-Pantheon was put out of action by [LN]-LNS-Maryland (Gun).
[22.06.2015 21:54:30] Death: B}RNS-Versailles was put out of action by 5th|LNS-Odyssey (Gun).
We retreated from the field soon after but not before recording the destruction of another valor: [X]
I gave operational command to Admiral O'Neil afterwards. He spent no time in taking out another Valor: [X]
A secondary fleet Captain managed to score a kill too:[X]
After giving of the Maryland command to my XO, I proceeded to transfer to my fighter and cover the retreat of the capitals. As I arrived, remnants of our fleet included pilot Adam Gibson, 2 Carriers and 1 Assault Cruiser which was taking heavy fire from Gallic snubcraft: [X]
I was not able to prevent the destruction of our Assault Cruiser and pilot Adam Gibson was also shot down while trying to fend off the enemy fighters. The Carriers were able to head back home.
Post-analysis of the battle revealed that the Gallics have adapted to our tactics and accordingly developed counter-measures to this effect. The Gallics managed to turn their ships towards us in an astonishingly fast rate as seen when the Durango was crippled fast. The Gallic Warwolf cannons were also used to devastating effect at such a close range. I strongly advise that engagement be taken at a considerable, safe distance even when surprise and numbers are on our side.
Another matter worth considering is that the average pilot skill of the enemy far outweighs ours. They managed to eliminate most of our fighter support without losing theirs. I strongly advise holding more training sessions for our pilots and including pilots from the other fleets.
This concludes my report.
For Freedom and Justice, Vice Admiral Remus Sius , Liberty Naval High Command.