| Battleship Yamaguchi | |
 |
|
| Owner | |
| Kusari Naval Forces | |
| Status | |
| Wreck | |
| Location | |
| 2D, Languedoc |
CLASS: Bakumatsu
CREW: N/A
ARMAMENT: N/A
The Battleship Yamaguchi was among the first generation of the Bakumatsu class, deployed in 813 AS to bolster Kusari's ambitions in the Taus. The Yamaguchi -- as all Bakumatsu battleships -- was criticized for the lack of innovation in its design, which Samura had produced as a minor modernization on the much older Meiji class. The Battleships Yamaguchi and Nagasaki were the speartip of the KNF's expeditionary force during the 813 AS Tau War with Bretonia. This culminated with the Invasion of Leeds in 816 AS, and the capture of Stokes Mining Station the following year. During a tour of the front lines by Emperor Jien Kogen in 818 AS, disaster struck when Gallia launched the Invasion of Sirius.
The Gallic Royal Navy poured into the Taus, slamming into the flanks of Kusari's supply lines. Caught between the Gallic fleet and Bretonian defenses, the 8 Day War saw much of Kusari's Tau fleet destroyed, and the expeditionary force stranded abroad. When a coup toppled the government in the Emperor's absence, the Yamaguchi and Nagasaki refused to recognize the new Republic's legitimacy. The so-called Exiles pledged their service to the Emperor, and swore to retake their home. The Yamaguchi was then contacted by Council Gallic dissidents, who provided a route to their new refuge in Roussillon. They hoped the Exiles would restore a Kusari that was hostile to the Gallic crown, opening another front in the war.
For several years, the Yamaguchi resupplied from Council bases, while striking Gallic and Kusari collaborator targets across the Taus. In 824 AS, both Exile battleships reunited to initiate the Kusari Civil War with the Kyushu Uprising. Following reunification and restoration of the Imperial line the following year, the Yamaguchi received extensive repairs and modernization. This delayed its deployment to the Saigon War against Rheinland, which saw Kusari repulsed from Sigma-21. The Yamaguchi instead reinforced the Hyono in Honshu, cutting Rheinland supply lines and helping to force the eventual peace. She then patrolled the Sigma border, before being recalled to Kyushu in 827 AS, amid disputes with the Crayter Republic.
The KNF expelled the Republic from Tau-31, however this was a pretext to maneuver their fleets closer to the Gallic border for a surprise invasion. Gallic Confederal forces were shocked when the Hyono, Nagasaki, and Yamaguchi fleets swung north into Tau-23, rapidly breaching Languedoc. The Yamaguchi then led a flanking assault, decisively defeating Confederal forces at the Battle of Sete. The Battle of Agde marked the turning point of Kusari's campaign -- after dispatching the Le Fierte and pressing towards the Ile-de-France Jump Gate, the Yamaguchi was crippled by the Battleship Embrun. Decloaking and launching salvos of torpedoes and trebuchets at short range, the Yamaguchi's reactor detonated before the crew could react.