Lakfakalle Campaign

The Lakfakalle Campaign was a strategic counter offensive launched by the now Four Nations Alliance after the Federation of Hania sprung a trap, either instigated by a war-hawk government coup, military mutiny, or deliberate intention. The Alliance started a simultaneous thrust against the Kingdoms of Kryb, Skiil, and Ilysr, the chief objective being the Abh capital of Lakfakalle within the Abriel system.

Prelude
Prior to the Abh offensives of Operation Twin Thorns the then formally Three Nations Alliance began developing new operations with the intention of assaulting the capital to attempt to disrupt the Humankind Empire of Abh war effort. The Laburec had the upper hand with most of its facilities intact, one of the largest being in system Abriel proper. Knowing how Abh military intelligence operated generally, they anticipated being able to slip an entire operational fleet past Abh front lines given the right opportunity, but they were running out of operational space and time to work with.

Hania's Dillema
Following Twin Thorns, the Alliance had new options open to them. Hania found itself in the desperate position where it had to weigh being the only independent human nation in the galaxy versus potentially being conquered as a consequence of standing alone. Given the Battles of Mairal and Elkon Gates, the Hania High Military Command saw an opportunity to attempt to join now since the myth of Abh invincibility had been broken. This put the military at odds with the government which had its own infighting concerned with whether or not a diplomatic solution remained on the table with such damage taken by the Three Nations Alliance.

Aftermath of Mairal and Elkon
The government on the other hand had its hawks and doves combating each other. The Hania dove lobby argued that if the Laburec could soak such damage yet acquire victory, they needed to negotiate now with the Empire to join them nominally and hopefully maintain independence. The Hania hawk lobby proposed utilizing their relatively untouched and built up strength to join the Alliance in a surprise attack. This unrest spilled into intrigues where a diplomat had been sent to Empress Abriel Ramaj to propose becoming a client state; however, the military began making moves to embark on the Lakfakalle Campaign with the Alliance.

Ramaj decides on Operation Snow Crystal
Once Ramaj recieved the officer, she convened a council of war with Admiral-in-Chief of the Laburec Faramunsh Rusam and acting Prime Minster Burash. Faramunsh proposed three separate plans, all intending to potentially launch a preemptive strike against Hania in the event this defection proposal was treachery. Ramaj believed that potentially Hania had sincere elements that intended to defect and intended to exploit her advantage while Hania seemed unready for an all out assault.

Selecting Plan No. 3, she appointed Admiral Kotoponi Razelia as the principal commander of Operation Snow Crystal with the intention of have Imperial Admiral, Prince Abriel Dusanyu to act as commander-in-chief of a reserve force to join her shortly after start of the operation. This left Kryb at the time dangerously exposed along its entire border with Hania; however, this would be potentially be made up by reserves deploying from Skiil within the next 72 hours of the offensive.

The Trap is Sprung
Either by officially sanctioned action or sudden mutiny from within the government and military, Hania would join the now Four Nations Alliance against the Abh empire. They seemed prepared with the preliminary plans to assault Lakfakalle. With border skirmishes erupting, but a clear focused assault along one line of the Kryb-Hania border, the Alliance spotted a key chance to slip behind Kotoponi's force and seize the inside gate of Kryb to deploy upon system Abriel as soon as possible.

Hania's responsibility with the bulk of its forces was to bog down the Abh empire with counterattacks as soon as the inside track had been secured. This would prevent the Abh operational force from concentrating and trying to break out, thus sealing them inside Kryb Kingdom in a single massive pocket. Hania had fleets joining the main thrust, but the force aimed at Lakfalalle primarily consisted of the other three allied nations.

Battle of Kryb
Unphased by their relative easy advance upon Hania, stiffening only in some hotspots, Operation Snow Crystal persisted until unusual reports began arriving in 13th Fleet Snow Crystal about a massive flanking force of unknown size piercing the outer defense of Kryb. By the time Kotoponi received enough information to bring her fleets about, Hania began a main counter-attack against her fleets to bog them down before they could reach the Alliance spearhead.

An estimated 10 partial fleets at most attempted to oppose the crossing of an Alliance battle fleet composed of 120 combat partial squadrons. Unsurprisingly, the security and defensive units broke almost en masse without being able to gather detailed intelligence right away, slowing Abh response to the threat even further. A handful of internal pockets at separate gates held, such as Admiral Jamupeel at Dinin Gate; however, this resistance posed no threat to the strategic advantage seized. The Alliance would soon begin its assault of system Abriel and the capital Lakfakalle.

Operation Phoenix and the Battle of Lakfakalle
Broken defense units began scattering, and a handful managed to make it to the imperial capital with reports of a giant approach enemy fleet. With no word of Kotoponi's position or response, Empress Ramaj activated emergency Operation Phoenix, handing down orders to evacuate the capital and escape to the nearest secured and defensible position at the Sotoryuru system. With some speed, the evacuation began rather quickly and the armed convoys began their escape.

During the evacuation, large amounts of the fleet ended up intercepted by Alliance forces at first, which folded what resistance existed in the capital. Only by virtue of a suicide assault by the mobile fortresses ordered by the Empress did the advance temporarily halt. Empress Ramaj ventured out with the Imperial Guard Fleet and she proceeded to make a last stand against the enemy. This Stand of the Imperial Guard resulted in her death and the annihilation of her command down to last serving personnel.

Eventually the Alliance did succeed in driving the Humankind Empire of Abh out of the capital; however, could not capitalize on their victory right away; stopped decisively by Admiral Beneej Spoor during her counterattack against pursuing Alliance elements that had destroyed the 6th Fleet Phoenix. While Spoor managed to bottle up the enemy in system Abriel, the Alliance had fleets free to continue their strategic offensives. At this time large Abh units remained trapped or unable to communicate to stop the alliance.

Second Stage, Squeezing the Pockets
Most of the strategic objectives of the Four Nations Alliance had been achieved except for potentially destroying most of the upper echelons of the Abh imperial line of succession. Additionally, the Alliance had not broken out of Lakfakalle, but the units surrounded in system Abriel were considered expendable by this point. The second stage now focused on the only units that may help reverse the Abh situation.

The Alliance now applied focused pressure against the Laburec with the intention of destroying any surrounded fleets in detail.

The Kryb-Hania Front
The pocket formed within Kryb had been under constant pressure since the start of the campaign. As a consequence of this; however, Hania had trouble trying to squeeze the pocket and destroying Kotoponi's force. Kotoponi took up defensive positions along the inside border of Hania and Kryb and resisted Hania advances for every single area of space surrendered back to Hania. That being said, she understood this state of affairs could not continue, for one of the two forces would run out of ammunition first.

With her imperial decree from Ramaj but no further orders, she would attempt to get the 5th Fleet over to her headquarters in order to secure Prince Abriel Duhir. The Snow Crystal fleets stood strong against Hania's military which had not seen much war yet. Both sides awaited reinforcements to consolidate their advantages and attempt to turn this prolonged battle over Hania and Kryb.

Battle of Dinin Gate
5th Fleet Snow Crystal, a logistics fleet, had been at Dinin when the campaign started yet surrounded shortly after orders arrived to deliver Prince Abriel Duhir to Kotoponi alive. Admiral Jamupeel in command found his fleet under attack. Luckily his ships were armored enough to deal with the enemy attack. Additionally, Hania's identification of enemy ships may have been lacking, given their lack of decesive focused attacks on him; perhaps mistaking his large cargo ships as patrol vessels.

Eventually, Jamupeel linked up with elements of 1st Fleet Snow Crystal, a combat patrol squadron cut of with him at Dinin. With no way of knowing if Hania intended to summon reinforcements to destroy them, he unified the fleets under his command for the time being and made a break out through Dinin gate for the Skiil Kingdom. He likely suspected that Abh reinforcements had not yet come from the staging area there because they did not know of the dire situation. He intended to relay his orders and report so that may fulfill his objective.

Hania failed to contain the 5th fleet, and thus word slowly spread of the situation as Jamupeel retreated. The advantage of surprise had been worn out by now, and Hania had to cope with fighting two pockets at once along its borders while awaiting Alliance reinforcements.

Battle of Skiil
The Skiil-Hania front took a tertiary priority over Kryb and Lakfakalle, but had begun enduring serious attack once the imperial capital fell. Despite Jamupeel's successful retreat with 1st Fleet's patrol unit and his own 5th Fleet, he arrived directly in a battlefield. Being the only organized unit, he began to effect change and put up determined resistance to stem this Alliance assault. The overall strategic value of this remains unseen as Imperial Abriel Dubeusec remained missing in action due to the break up of cohesion in the area.

Analysis
This operation concluded effectively with the fall of the capital of Lakfakalle; however, the residual operations continue. The Battles along the Kryb-Hania front, and the Battle of Skiil continue presently.

Aftermath
Abh military cohesion was all but destroyed in one surprise attack. Combined with this, the Empress, and several additional Abh VIPs were killed in action and a King, Abriel Dubeusec, remains missing. This assault may not have intended to target the line of succession, but this campaign had a demonstrable terrifying effect upon Abh political stability.

That being said, both the Four Nations Alliance and Humankind Empire of Abh are launching large scale counter-offensives against each other. The United Mankind and the People's Sovereign Union appear poised to retake Kemal, while Hania, Alcont, and the United Mankind prepare to pressure Mairal and Elkon.

The Humankind Empire of Abh also begins to consolidate its positions and prepare for a counter attack out of Kryb and Skiil to attempt to finish of Hania so that way they can resume the war at a pace suitable to the Laburec. This would call for reevaluation of the importance of seizing space, as it appears the Alliance used it to great effect to interdict Abh supplies and communications; giving ground at the front so they may strike at the rear.