From: General Rainier Wolfgram

To:       President Hokar Tudo Ayas

            Chief of Staff High Marshal Poe Edwards

            Representative Dashiar Nar’Hallas

            First Speaker Garrak Tre’nis

Re: Full Report, Battle of Endargo Five

As you all know, the battle at Endargo Five concluded last month had a tremendous impact on our armed forces. In all truth, that was an understatement.

90% casualties among all participating units, and a hefty 75% of our total strength. We are still reorganizing our shattered command structures, even a month after the battle’s end.

Despite the terrible losses, it was still a victory, albeit a Pyrrhic one in the starkest terms, for another such victory would render the Star League Defense Force incapable of carrying out its duties.

But the upshot of that victory also showed us the undeniable strength and courage of our soldiers, from the lowest private to the generals. More people are signing up at our recruitment centers than ever before, which I must attribute to the fine example of the SLDF and the sacrifices it made.

Four Enemy Grand Fleets were destroyed, and countless more ground troops eliminated. This leaves our remaining units with a free hand in at least five more sectors, once we can overcome our manpower shortages.

Also, 14 billion people are now alive, where they would have been immolated. On this account, nobody can deny that it was indeed a victory for life and the light.

I know that there were many who had argued against the deployment of the bulk of our forces to that system to save those people, but from a purely objective standpoint, we had no choice. It was the correct strategic, and moral, decision to aid the Yefei Republic in their struggle.

No matter what, the die had been cast, and now we must deal with the consequences. However, to know the impact of this one battle on our future, we must first be familiar with the events that had led up to it.

I was there with the Star League 4th Division as an observer when the first shot of the battle was fired, and I later found myself on Star Marshal Nerys Enkidu’s staff when we discovered the true depths of the Enemy’s plans. As a result, I have a clearer picture than most of what was truly going on in the various stages of the battle, from the initial skirmish over the warp gate to the final climatic escape from the emerging black hole.

Nevertheless, it still took many interviews, hours of gun camera footage, and after action battle reports to piece together this collated volume, suitable for laymen and civilians. This would be released to the public in various languages once you have approved it, which I know in your wisdom you will do so.

The first section, Vapor Trails, presents the reader with a glossary of sorts to the different terminologies that would be used throughout the report.

The second section, Stacking Wood, is a brief account of events leading up the battle, including political and strategic movements. In an added bonus, translators working on captured Enemy data have managed to uncover their movements during this period as well, so we will also present readers with the maneuvers of the other side during this period.

The third section, Inferno’s Pyre, is the bulk of the report, split up into six chapters, one for each month of the battle.

The fourth section, Fuel, describes the key units involved and their commanders, on both sides.

The fifth, and last section, Ashes, will present the reader with the sociopolitical changes that has occurred in the month since the end of the battle, as a conclusion of sorts.

Every one of us involved in this project has been deeply affected by our work. All of us have lost family members and dear friends, respected colleagues and close mentors during the period of this intense and furious battle. Throughout the battle, we saw firsthand the face of our enemy, stripped of all pretense as they sought to grind us down utterly, as well as the terrible victories we gained at such great loss.

For the casual reader who has never seen the crucible of war, I apologize beforehand if you are offended by some of the accounts and events. I can only hope that such a battle never again comes upon us, for a thousand lifetimes.

Rainier Wolfgram, General, AFFS

Commandant,

NAIS College of Martial Sciences

25th May 3082

How about it? Give me your comments!

The Nice Guy