The Allied Forces struck a costly, yet decisive blow to the Gallic Royal Navy today, after a multi-day protracted battle over the shipping lanes of Cortez and, ultimately, the fate of those desperate for supplies on New London.
Allied operations were undertaken by a combined task group of the Liberty's Alma and Yukon battlegroups, as well as the Bretonian's Harlow battlegroup, with light support from the Crayterian Military. Arrayed against them was the Gallic battleship Betheny and its attendant craft, as well as a raiding party of Corsairs who came to the Royal Navy's aid shortly into the fight.
The Gallic battleship Betheny was the latest in a long line of attempts by the Royal Navy to significantly hamper the supply lines of Libertonian war materiel entering Bretonia. Even with the deployment of Liberty’s Yukon, relief supplies were just as likely to be seized by Gallic raids or destroyed outright as were to safely travel make it into Manchester. The Alberta-Poole jump corridor had made the route largely supplemental, but with the loss of that corridor and the ever-growing threat of New London coming under siege, this long-brewing stalemate became an intense focus for the war planners on both sides, and the Allies were the first to act with the deployment of the Harlow and Alma into Cortez.
The first few days of battle proceeded at range. The battlegroups’ smaller, lighter craft fought over and over in a large-scale stalemate between the deadlocked warships, each side hoping to gain the advantage in indirect fighting. After the fourth day ended in another inconclusive draw, however, the Allied Forces recalled their lighter craft and readied to enter into a close range engagement. According to representatives from the Liberty Navy, the Allies had feared the Betheny might escape should they delay further, or that an unseen savior might come to rescue the vessel before it could be put to rest.
The charge was led by the Libertonian battleship Yukon and its attendant battlegroup. The Alma followed not so distantly in its wake, with the Bretonian Harlow bringing up the rear. According to a source within the Allied military command, the captain and crew of the Yukon moved to engage ahead of the scheduled assault, believing that the Betheny was preparing to withdraw before they had planned to attack.
The resultant clash could be seen quite clearly from Curacao’s surface, a spectacle which has already lit up the social neural-nets. The Yukon and Betheny engaged in a close-quarters melee, duelling with high-powered weaponry. The Alma quickly moved in to bracket the vessel, attempting to take her down before the Yukon suffered critical damage. The Harlow, however, remained outside the effective range of the Betheny’s main cannon, offering primarily bomber support against the Gallic capital ship from distance.
Despite the valiant efforts of the Allies and the Royal Navy, however, both the Yukon and the Betheny fell to hostile fire with all hands. The vast majority of the Betheny’s attached battlegroup were destroyed outright, although some managed to escape deeper into the system, along with their allies in the Corsairs. A good portion of the Yukon’s escort elements were also lost before they could be reinforced by the Alma’s, and the surviving remainder under Rear Admiral Jack Yeager have since been attached to the Alma pending reassignment, Navy representatives told the CNS. Both Harlow and Alma themselves suffered non-critical damage in the fighting, and they have been noted to be receiving materiel from naval logistics vessels in Curacao orbit since the fighting ended.
A joint allied statement has called the operation an unequivocal success, whilst simultaneously lamenting the lives lost, especially aboard the Yukon. Representatives from Orbital Spa & Cruise were quick to applaud the cessation of fighting within the sector, and told the CNS they were hopeful that this would be the start of Curacao’s rebuilding and growth after being struck by the war so directly. For the first time in over three years, traffic advisories posted by Interspace Commerce have dropped to “caution”, the lowest level posted since the destruction of San Diego Border Station. For those watching the skies on New London, this news comes none too soon.
We will keep you updated as the situation throughout the war front develops. This is the Colony News Service.■
War Correspondent Alexander Cooper
Tags: Liberty, Bretonia, Gallia, Gallic War, Curacao, Cortez
