Tsutsuji
Sarna News
| Tsutsuji | |
|---|---|
| Vessel Profile | |
| Type | WarShip |
| Class | Narukami |
History
The Tsutsuji was a Narukami-class destroyer in service with the Draconis Combine Admiralty as the DCS Tsutsuji during the First Succession War. In May 2788 the Tsutsuji was responsible for defeating a counterattack by the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns in the Elbar system; Elbar had been captured by the Draconis Combine during the mass invasion of the Federated Suns that began in May 2787, and the attack on Elbar was one of three major attacks taking place under Operation SOLAR SHIELD, an attempt by First Prince John Davion to disrupt the invasion by attacking on the Terran flank of the invasion route, targeting in particular the front being led by Coordinator Minoru Kurita personally.[1][2]
The AFFS force assigned to recapturing Elbar consisted primarily of the Eighth Syrtis Fusiliers, with support from armor and infantry forces drawn from regional militias within the Marlette Combat Region and escorted by a pair of WarShips, including the Carrack-class transport FSS Port Victoria. The Fusiliers didn't encounter any WarShips on entering the Elbar system, and proceeded to launch their DropShips and proceed with their WarShip escort towards Elbar while their JumpShips recharged. Before the JumpShips could finish recharging the Tsutsuji attacked them, destroying all eight with assistance from two squadrons of aerospace fighters.[1][2]
The destruction of their JumpShips made the Fusiliers aware that they were heading into a trap, with the DCMS forces on Elbar well-prepared and dug in; the two WarShips escorting the Fusiliers didn't have enough docking collars to transport the entire assault force away, so the Fusiliers abandoned more than a dozen DropShips after transferring as many of the crews, passengers and equipment as possible aboard the Port Victoria before jumping back to a safer system. Similar assaults on Cartago and Schedar were also major defeats for the AFFS, leaving SOLAR SHIELD as an abject failure that cost the Federated Suns men, ships and resources it couldn't afford to lose.[1][2]