The Aurelian War was a large-scale conflict between the Federal Republic of Aurelia and the Democratic Republic of Leasath.
Background[]
Prior to the Aurelian War, a civil war broke out in Leasath when their economy collapsed at the time when the government were planning to export future arms industry markets all over the world. The result of the civil war was unknown, but General Diego Gaspar Navarro managed to unite the remaining troops. Its neighboring country, Aurelia aided the country's people with vital supplies.
Invasion[]
In October 2020, the Democratic Republic of Leasath invaded the Federal Republic of Aurelia. Aurelia's border defenses immediately fell to the Leasath forces. Within just a few days, 60% of Aurelia was under Leasath control. Phuku Lagolla Air Force Base, located to the south-west of Griswall, was one of the last military bases still under Aurelian control. To defeat Aurelia once and for all, Leasath dispatched several bombers to destroy the base. They were intercepted and destroyed by Falco Squadron, an experimental aircraft testing squadron. The leader of the squadron, Falco 1, quickly gained the nickname The Southern Cross, a name that would be shared with the later Gryphus One. After this defeat, Leasath launched an attack on army base Sallqa, the Aurelian army field HQ, but was defeated by Falco Squadron. Leasath then launched a naval invasion on the port of Challwa, located to the south of Griswall, but this attack was also repulsed by Falco Squadron.
Counterattack[]
As revenge for their previous defeat, the Leasath Air Force attempted to destroy Sallqa, but was defeated by Falco Squadron. By now the Aurelian's war strategy was based on maintaining a supply line between Sallqa and Griswall. Giving up on trying to destroy Sallqa, the Leasath Air Force instead decided to cut off this supply line. They sent a number of fighters, including the legendary Chimera Squadron, to gain air superiority, but they were all shot down by "The Southern Cross".
The Tide Begins To Turn[]
With Leasath's invasion running out of steam, Aurelia decided to go on the
Gandr
offensive. Falco 1 was sent to destroy several supply warehouses protected by an anti-aircraft system and succeeded. Aurelia then decided to move a fleet of undamaged warships from Port Patterson to defend Griswall. Leasath sent a huge fleet to stop them, but with the help of Falco Squadron the Aurelian fleet survived and left the port. With defeat now starring them in the face, Leasath high command decided to deploy the Gandr, an experimental prototype of the Gleipnir. Intercepting the Aurelian fleet, the Gandr fired a single SWBM and instantly destroyed the entire Aurelian fleet. Falco Squadron immediately engaged. Despite having to fight through the Chimera Squadron and dodge numerous SWBMs, Falco Squadron destroyed the Gandr. Despite that, the loss of the naval fleet was a crippling blow that Aurelia didn't manage to recover from until the end of the war. Not long after, Griswall fell. Falco Sauadron would be withdrawn from the front lines for a time, and Leasath’s advance continued.
Brink of Defeat[]
Leasathian IFVs and tanks advancing through an unnamed Aurelian city
Navarro launched a surprise invasion of Aurelia in October 2020, justifying it as "retribution for years of exploitation" for Aurelia's alleged profiteering amidst the Leasath Civil War the previous year. Overwhelmed by the strength and size of Leasath's armed forces, and the tremendous firepower of the Gleipnir, the Aurelian defences collapsed rapidly. Just 10 days after the start of the invasion, Leasath had occupied 95% of Aurelian territory[2], save for a number of isolated pockets across the country.[4][5]
Leasath T-90S's during a live fire exercise.
One of the final bastions of Aurelia's resistance was Cape Aubrey in the country's north-west, home to Aubrey Air Base - Aurelia's last remaining air base. In an attempt to finish off the Aurelian Air Force, Leasath dispatched a small bomber force from a hastily constructed base in the Puna Plains to destroy Aubrey Air Base. The force was intercepted and destroyed by Gryphus Squadron, which was in turn almost annihilated by an SWBM attack from the Gleipnir shortly after - a spectacle broadcast proudly around the world by a triumphant Navarro to demonstrate the power of the Gleipnir, which withdrew precipitously southeast following the battle.
The Battle of Aubrey Air Base proved to be a pyrrhic victory for the Aurelians; the immediate threat to Cape Aubrey had been lifted but Gryphus Squadron had suffered heavy losses, severely limiting Aurelia's ability to counterattack effectively. Nevertheless, the survival of Aubrey Air Base allowed Aurelia to maintain their footing and plan out their next strategy. Admist reports of more Aurelian units surrendering, this last stand against Leasath's brutal blitzkrieg was deemed futile by several newspapers in their coverage of the war.[2]
Pursuit of the Gleipnir[]
When the news of the near decimated Gryphus squadron at Aubrey Air Force Base, it was claimed resistance was futile by some newspapers, as Aurelia's final troops surrendered. However, not long after Gryphus One and two Aurelian fighters were launched for a surprise attack on Puna Base, which was a great success and the Aurelians managed to get hold of vital supplies. An Aurelian Army assault team then moved to retake Port Patterson for their forces, in an attempt to mount a counterattack with the help of the Gryphus Squadron. Despite a Leasath amphibious fleet preparing to land vehicles and tanks, it was sunk thanks to Gryphus squadron. The Gleipnir had returned to a replenishment base in Terminus Island, Southern Aurelia.
Gryphus Squadron was then deployed to Kingshill to stop a Leasathian counterattack to recapture Port Patterson. The deployed forces, including the elite Miller Unit, were all destroyed.
Gryphus One was then deployed to Stand Canyon in order to defend the Davis Unit, which were being cut off from the main force. He protected the ground unit while it was being attacked by Gleipnir's SWBMs. The unit was successfully defended. After this, the Gleipnir has flown to Santa Elva.
Gryphus Squadron was deployed to Terminus Island. Alongside an allied diversionary fleet, the squadron was tasked with destroying a Leasathian fleet while the Aurelian submarine, Naiad, travelled to the area where a friendly scientist was being held captive. When the fleet was destroyed and the Naiad reached the area, enemy E-767s were deployed to detect the submarine. They were ultimately destroyed by Gryphus One. After the commandos rescued the scientist, the Naiad had struck an undersea mine, forcing it to surface. The control system was also destroyed, which put the submarine on a collision course towards an iceberg. At this point, Leasath had deployed stealth bombers to destroy the Naiad. Gryphus Squadron successfully destroyed the iceberg and the incoming bombers.
Gryphus Squadron was then deployed to Santa Elva in order to destroy the Gleipnir once and for all. The squadron first destroyed the optical camouflage system, which rendered its stealth capabilities useless. Gryphus Squadron then targeted the SWBM ports, which dealt severe damage to the Gleipnir. The crew of the airborne fortress made one final stand, which was using the Shock Cannon on the city. Gryphus One dealt the final blow at the Gleipnir by destroying the cannon. The Gleipnir, whose engines were failing, finally crashed into the Lenal River.
Liberation of Griswall[]
The Battle of Santa Elva proved to be a turning point in the war. While Leasath's leadership had originally been confident of victory despite Aurelia's recent successes in the west and south, the destruction of the Gleipnir and the loss of Santa Elva as a key logistics hub placed Leasath at a strategic disadvantage. In response, Navarro began preparations to fortify Griswall against the resurgent Aurelian military, which was beginning to push Leasath back on all fronts.[6]
Leasathian forces that had managed to retreat from Santa Elva attempted to regroup at the Kalana Steppes whilst awaiting supplies and reinforcements from Sachana Air Base for a counterattack to retake the city, but were defeated by Gryphus Squadron. Now unable to reinforce their comrades at the Kalana Steppes, Leasath's elite Skylla Unit was redeployed from Sachana to defend the Nevera Jammer - a Leasath jamming facility built atop Mount Nevera to provide blanket radio and communications interference over Griswall and Aurelia's northeast.
Aurelian reconnaissance units operating in the Monte Breeze Industrial Area uncovered that Leasath was shipping supplies to the occupied Monte Breeze Industrial Complex to construct, unbeknownst to the Aurelians, MBSRs for use in the defence of Griswall. Exploiting Leasath's own jamming to mask their approach and assisted by the recon units Seagull, Jaguar and Puma, Gryphus Squadron successfully intercepted and shot down the transport aircraft carrying the MBSRs before they could escape. The exact nature of their cargo was only uncovered by the Aurelians after the battle.[7]
The recapture of Sachana Air Base, Aurelia's largest airfield, deep in the Raven Woods was a major objective for the Aurelians in their push to liberate the capital. Unwilling to risk a costly ground offensive through unfavourable terrain to recapture the base, Aurelia instead deployed a helicopter unit to bypass the Leasathian forces within the forest. Escorted by Gryphus One, the unit successfully captured the base with minimal losses.
Before the final push to the capital, Gryphus 1 went alone to destroy the Nevera Jammer preventing radar interference from affecting the upcoming battle. However, the Skylla Unit managed to escape both attacks at Sachana Air Base and the Nevera Jammer and headed towards the capital.
Before a plan to retake Griswall was formed, it was discovered that a civilian militia force known as the Aurelian Liberation Corps had managed to infiltrate Griswall via the railway. With the citizens' support, they managed to push the occupying Leasath forces out of the city. However, Leasath had surrounded the city setting their sights on crushing the ALC and retaking Griswall. Aurelian forces headed by Gryphus One, now known by the Leasath military as "Nemesis", launched an emergency operation to save the ALC from utter annihilation. The battle then took a turn for the worst when the Skylla Unit appears determined to destroy Griswall since they were unable to recapture it. They began launching cruise missiles at the city. Gryphus 1 defended the city by shooting down the missiles.
During the attack, Leasath commander Diego Navarro had fled Griswall and retreated to nearby Leasath territory. Meanwhile, Leasath forces and all remaining cruise missiles were destroyed and the Aurelian capital was retaken. Soon after this, all Leasath forces were pushed out of Aurelia.
After a few days of regrouping and reestablishing their flow of supplies, the Aurelian military was on the move once again, this time to stop Diego Navarro once and for all. General Navarro and his remaining forces had fled to an unknown complex at Sentry Island. It was confirmed that a secret Leasath attack aircraft was under development there, code-named Fenrir according to Leasath reports. The Aurelian forces were then sent to Leasath territory at the Danern Islands to put a stop to Leasath's plans.
Destruction of Archelon Fortress[]
With Griswall lost, Navarro fled to Leasath via Sentry Island hotly pursued by Aurelian special forces, and Leasath's surviving forces began to withdraw from the country. Gryphus One and a fighter squadron flew East of the Danern Straits and destroyed a large research facility in Cobalt Cave, which was developing technology to make this new super weapon even more powerful. The technology would have used microwave energy to target an aircraft's fuel tank and force it to ignite. Unfortunately, this let Leasath's elite aerial fighter unit known as the Alect Squadron to fly to Archelon Fortress in S-32s (Su-47 Berkut prototypes) within the Danern Straits, where Navarro and this new super weapon were waiting.
In an effort to limit the capabilities of the Alect controlled Fenrirs, the Aurelian Navy sought to launch an amphibious assault onto Sentry Island itself and disable the electrical transmitter which was used to power Fenrir's optical camouflage. However, before the assault was carried out, Gryphus One and the rest of the fighter squadron were sent to the Danern Straits to intercept a large Leasathian Navy sent to reinforce Archelon Fortress. Despite the fierce resistance from both ships and carrier-borne aircraft (F35s), Gryphus One was successfully able to destroy the entire Armada and limit the forces stationed at Sentry Island.
When Gryphus One and the Aurelian forces reached the area, they were attacked by the Alect Squadron in an aircraft known as the 'Fenrir' equipped with optical camouflage. The advanced fighters, Fenrir, were Navarro's reason for initiating a war between neighboring Aurelia. It was found that the point of the war was to gather battle data from the Gleipnir, steal funds and resources from Aurelia and develop and export Fenrir around the world.
Gryphus and Aquila Squadron engaged Alect Squadron and other elements of the Leasath Air Force over Sentry Island, whilst an Aurelian Navy task force landed a unit on the island to open up the electrical transmitter for Fenrir's optical camouflage to aerial attack, and then go on to destroy Archelon Fortress from the inside. Gryphus One destroyed the transmitter, eliminating Alect Squadron's optical camouflage and exposing them both on sight and radar. With their stealth lifted, Alect Squadron were ultimately shot down by Gryphus One.
The landing unit proceeded to open Archelon Fortress' front gate and discovered several Fenrir prototypes, and a single pilot flying off in one of them. The escaping Fenrir contained data collected from the battle which, if allowed to escape back to Leasath, would have prolonged the Aurelian War indefinitely. With the landing unit unable to pursue the escaping aircraft and forced to withdraw, Gryphus One flew into the facility and shot down the escaping Fenrir, destroying Archelon Fortress in the ensuing chain reaction as he escaped unharmed from the other side.[8]
Epilogue[]
The destruction of Archelon Fortress proved to be final act of the Aurelian War. With the destruction of the fortress and Fenrir broadcast for the world to see, and his true motives for the war exposed to the public, the enraged citizens of Leasath stormed Navarro, tearing apart the model of Fenrir on the stage and purportedly killing him in an angry mob.
With the war over, Aurelia enjoyed the Christmas season in peace. Gryphus One returned to his former base at Cape Aubrey, reporter Albert Genette once again failing to have an interview with the famed Southern Cross.[3]
Gallery[]
Aurelian forces on the offensive
Leasath prisoners of war
References[]
- ↑ Ace Combat X Progress Report. IGN. Published July 14, 2006. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Cutscene 01, Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Cutscene 06, Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception
- ↑ Briefing, Prelude, Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception.
- ↑ Briefing, Rolling Thunder, Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception.
- ↑ Cutscene 03, Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception
- ↑ Debriefing, Joint Operation, Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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