Bismarck (Individual Atreus-class WarShip)
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- This article is about the Free Worlds League battleship. For other uses, see Bismarck.
| Bismarck | |
|---|---|
| Vessel Profile | |
| Type | WarShip |
| Class | Atreus |
History[edit]
The Bismarck was an Atreus battleship in service with the Free Worlds League Navy. The Bismarck was one of an increasingly small number of Atreus-class WarShips to remain in service as the First Succession War progressed, and in late 2805 was the lead ship of a five-WarShip squadron dispatched to assist Oriente during the third and final attempt by the Capellan Confederation Armed Forces to invade and capture the planet. With the bulk of the planetary defenses destroyed or damaged during the first two invasions, the CCAF task force—escorted by every WarShip the CCAF could assemble quickly—comprised a total of four Vincent-class corvettes, two Essex-class destroyers and the damaged Du Shi Wang-class battleship CCS Duncan Liao.[1]
Arriving at the Oriente zenith jump point, the Bismarck's task force attacked the Capellan JumpShips there, capturing two and destroying the remainder within twenty minutes of their arrival. The Bismarck then dispatched two League-class destroyers to escort the Free Worlds League Military ground forces on their approach to Oriente, before moving to intercept the Capellan WarShips, flanked by the other two ships from her squadron - the Soyal-class heavy cruisers FWLS Karka and FWLS Makara. The three WarShips made an in-system jump to a pirate point between Oriente and its two moons, surprising the Capellan WarShips; as the Bismarck moved swiftly to engage the Duncan Liao, the Karka and Makara began making long-range attacks against the Capellan ships, while all three WarShips launched their aerospace fighters.[1]
The resulting naval engagement lasted thirty minutes; the Capellan forces enjoyed a numerical advantage, but the League ships were in much better condition and had the advantage in terms of number of fighters. The Duncan Liao was destroyed, with her shattered remains left to fall into Oriente's gravity well; one of the Essex-class destroyers had surrendered, while the other Capellan WarShips had all been destroyed, and only a single squadron of Capellan aerospace fighters managed to make it to the surface of Oriente to join the ground forces. The Capellan forces had managed to destroy the Makara and a third of the League aerospace fighters, as well as crippling the Bismarck's K-F drive, but the League now had control of Oriente's orbital space, leaving the ground troops free to break the siege.[1]