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Battle of Telemantros
Part of First Lampardian War
Date July 14th, G2062 / 122nd day, 0 Y.B.O.
Location Eastern shore of Trinakrie at outskirt of Telemantros, Sikelia, Aphrantis
Result Decisive tactical and strategic Eleutheroi victory
  • Beginning of the counteroffensive that ultimately leads to the Battle of Oxys
Belligerents
Eleutheroi Evil Baby Corporation
Commanders and leaders
Sematia Aiakida, Maion Arinthides Phovellios, Xenophon Massonides Telemantreus Militius, Cornelius†, Marcus†, Decius
Strength
Mikroteros Aiakides, 12 Polemarchos +133 Airships, +200 jet planes
Casualties and losses
4 KIA and 4 WIA on Mikroteros Aiakides, 12 KIA and 8 WIA on Maion's ship, ~10 KIA and ~15 WIA elsewhere 48 airships totaled, 18 airships severely damaged, 24 airships lightly damaged, +150 jet planed shot down

Battle of Telemantros is a major battle in the First Lampardian War, and one of the most remarkable victories that the Eleutheroi won against the Evil Baby Corporation. It was here that Sematia Aiakida shrugged off the pariah status, and this battle was a big contributor to the outcome of the Battle of Oxys.

Prelude[]

Main Article: Operation Action Ranger

The Operation Action Ranger proved to be a great success for the EBC, as the EBC was able to strike the weak point that Areus had been worried about. The subsequent defeat of the TIA's central force after the ambush left much of the TIA forces fragmented, and sentiments in favor of recalling troops back to the respective poleis started to grow.

Distraught as Areus was, he was to be faced with another bad news provided to him by a ninja: the EBC wished to take the polis of Telemantros, which would subsequently result in a two-pronged attack on Phovellis, effectively crushing one of TIA's largest power base. Telemantros was fortified well, but the problem was that the enemy was reported to build a huge fleet of airships to attack the polis from the air, which meant its fortification and terrain advantages would be rendered null.

Deeply troubled by the news, Areus was interruped by reports of a large flying ship from the sky, and thus started his introduction to a Sentinel outcast, Sematia Aiakida. The Sentinel personnel immediately tried to hoot Sematia away, but Areus was interested in what Sematia had to offer, so he shrugged off the Sentinels' protests. Sematia offered to take the battle to the air, to intercept the EBC in the air, requesting a crew to protect her ship and 12 remaining Polemarchos-class aerial cruisers. The council shouted words of rejection, saying that those cruisers are needed to defend against the eventual attack on Phovellis. Areus on the other hand was quite marveled by the novelty of the idea to have an aerial ship battle, and thought Sematia was on to something: Telemantros would be vulnerable if the troops were allowed to land onto the mesa or the city itself, and if Sematia is able to deter the ships and force the airships to land the troops unto the foot of the mesa, the EBC would be placed in a difficult situation. So, Areus agreed to provide Sematia the crew and the fleet, and so became the forces that took part in the Battle of Telemantros.

With the marvelous victory at the Second Battle of Argyria, EBC morale was higher than ever. Given the crippled status of the TIA, Militius believed that it was the time to take Phovellis: however, a direct assault on Phovellis would prove to be bloody as the battles near poleis have proved themselves to be, thus he believed that to take a polis, attack must come from multiple direction as to either split the defensive forces or to take them by surprise. However, Phovellis is covered on one side by the seas, and Phovellis itself is built close to the river, meaning it was nearly impossible to attack from multiple direction by land. He then notices the polis of Telemantros on the map, and instantly thought, "oh yeah! We should get the bad bunnies in that city and from there attack with the ships!" And thus he prepared his aerial fleet in a novel attempt not seen ever before in Infantid history.

Battle[]

Preparations[]

While Areus believed that Sematia would position the fleet close to the polis ot Telemantros itself as to force the EBC to prematurely land the troops, Sematia had a different plane of thought: the weather had been more turbulent at the seas than ever before: Sematia observed that wind first initially starts blowing in the direction of Telemantros from the southeast, then reverses later on. If this change in wind proves to be strong and sudden enough, this could cause a condition troublesome for the rickety airships that the Evil Baby Corporation employs. As such, Sematia chooses to fight at the shore: Sematia's bet on a sudden shift in wind conditions necessary for the strategem was not unfounded, as the winds in the morning proved to be unusually strong, especially for a calm planet that is Polysiton. Sematia did not hope without a reasonable basis, taking the liberty of recording the meteorological condition of Polysiton. It turned out that Polysiton had grown increasingly windy, even if it was just for the past few months of the exile before Sematia's descent towards Polysiton.

First Phase[]

The contacts at the Telemantros' observatory reported to Sematia that EBC's forces have started to move towards Trinakrie: reports claim hundreds of airships followed by looted jet planes. Thus Sematia positions the fleet towards the shore. However, the captains of the other ships did not confide in Sematia's abilities, so Sematia led the flagship, Mikroteros Aiakides, forwards while the other ships stayed behind, just beyond the foot of the plateau. Sematia was faced directly by the vanguard of the EBC forces led by Cornelius, who was taken by surprise given the EBC assumption that the Lagikoi wouldn't provide all but token resistance on the way towards Telemantros. The jet planes were thus not equipped for aerial combat (equipped with primarily bombs), and subsequently shot down quickly by first of Sematia's novelty weapons, the oistoi, which is described as an accelerated mass weapon shaped like an arrow. Likewise, the EBC airships were never designed with aerial combat in mind, meaning the EBC could do only so much as shooting their pistols at range, which proved ineffective against the heavily armored hull of Sematia's flagship. Sematia on the other hand had equivalent of cannons in the flagship's repertoire of arms, and thus was able to total the airships at will. However, the wind was favorable to the EBC, and eventually the airships were able to close in on the Mikroteros Aiakides to try boarding. Nonetheless, Sematia held out, and the valor and ability that the new commander had displayed started to have effect on the remaining captains, causing Maion and his ship to move onward to join the fight.

Second Phase[]

The battle was not to end with just Maion, however. When Militius observed that the airships were able to board the Eleutheroi crafts, Militius sent more crafts onward, believing that sheer numbers would eventually tire the opposition out, leaving the ships to be captured. And so, more airships were sent, many were damaged or totaled, but some managed to reach Maion's ship, resulting in a melee between the two sides. Seeing that the airships' crew were able to cause confusion among Maion's crew, Militius took heart, urging the ships forward.

However, Militius found that the wind was changing, and as the winds shifted to the west, so did the benefit that they enjoyed to advancing towards Eleutheroi airships. Worse, the change in the wind was very sudden, resulting in minor twisters that proved dangerous to the EBC airships. As the airships went out of control, many crashed with one another, making the dense cluster easy target for Sematia. Sematia and Maion was joined by Xenophon, who ventured out forward to Maion's aid. The 3 ships continued to lash out at the enemy airships, continuing to deal damage unto the invaders. When the twisters subsided, most of the airships' captain refused to advance, but the repeated orders from Militius eventually got them to move. But to their dismay, Sematia was joined by the remaining 10 Polemarchos cruisers, and their advance was insurmountable by the poorly built EBC airships, which were forced to withdraw.

Aftermath[]

While Sematia had several key advantages over the EBC forces that made victory seem certain in hindsight, the victory nevertheless seriously dampened the EBC troop's morale. Not only did Militius's novel plans failed, EBC spent prodigious amount of supply in the crafting of the airships, and this massive defeat led to withdrawal so fast that they neglected to take the supplies prepared for the invasion of Telemantros and Phovellis, later reclaimed by Sematia and the TIA.

The Eleutheroi victory in Battle of Telemantros reversed most of the key strategic gains that the Evil Baby Corporation made in the Second Battle of Argyria: Sematia's victory restored the morale of the Eleutheroi which were dampened after their defeat at Argyria, while also making Telemantros a more active participant in the war. Telemantros agreed to bring much needed fresh troops, vehicles and supplies to the Territorial Independence Army, helping it replenish its forces. Not only that, separatist opinions at the various poleis died quickly, allowing the Lagikoi to organize their forces quickly to swiftly reclaim lands lost at the aftermath of the Second Battle of Argyria as the EBC withdrew to shorten the supply lines that they could no longer maintain. Likewise, the EBC's command structure was again thrown back into chaos, with Viferus distrusting Militius's ability to command rendering a coordinated strategy nearly impossible, ultimately sealing the war for an Eleutheroi victory.

Furthermore, Sematia's readmission to the Eleutheroi granted the Posterity access to Euxeine's industrial capacities, a most welcome news since the surprise attack at the antebellum destroyed much of Posterity's industrial capabilities. Not only that, the Cadets could be moved away from frontlines where they were at risk of being hypnotized by the Dazzling Orb, not only because of the supplies to replenish the men, but also by allowing the Posterity to divert technologically gifted Cadets to the safety of Euxeine (including the likes of Luna Argenta and Athena Lancaster), whereas Cadets serving medical roles were moved to the field hospitals as experienced soldiers started to rise up and took officer roles in their stead.

The supremacy of Sematia's ship was also demonstrated on the battle. The few EBC jet aircrafts which were equipped with autocannons for air-to-air combat did only nominal damage to Mikroteros Aiakides, which was well noted by the other captains of the aerial forces. This also meant that the EBC feared the airship: later attempts to take it down with flak also failed, and the Battle of Oxys also sealed the deal as even heavy flak barrage failed to repel the ship. As a result, the ship was a sight of terror for the Infantids, in a fashion similar to how Yi Sun-Shin was viewed by the Japanese navy in the Imjin Invasion, and to a lesser degree, Spartacus in his successful years towards the Romaioi.

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