Second Battle of New Tuscany

Second Battle of New Tuscany Conflict Solarian-Manticoran War Date November 17, 1921 PD Place New Tuscany System Result Manticoran Victory Combatants Royal Manticoran Navy 10th FLT Solarian League Navy TG 3021 Commanders Vice Adm. Gold Peak Adm. Josef Byng (†) Rear Adm. Evelyn Sigbee Strength 6 BC 8 CA 5 DD 17 BC 5 DD Casualties none 1 BC destroyed all remaining units surrended

The Second Battle of New Tuscany was an engagement between the Royal Manticoran Navy and the Solarian League Navy in the New Tuscany System as a result of the New Tuscany Incident. (SI2)

Prelude

See: New Tuscany Incident

Order of battle

RMN

Tenth Fleet, CO Vice Admiral Gold Peak:

• Battlecruiser Squadron 106, CO Vice Admiral Gold Peak
• Cruiser Squadron 94, CO Commodore Aivars Terekhov
• Destroyer Squadron 301, acting CO Captain Jacob Zavala

SLN

Task Group 3021, CO Admiral Josef Byng:

• Battlecruiser Squadron 112, CO Rear Admiral Evelyn Sigbee
• Battlecruiser Squadron 302, CO Rear Admiral Liam Chang
• a destroyer element

Course of battle

On November 17, 1921 PD, elements of the Tenth Fleet under the command of Vice Admiral Gold Peak arrived in New Tuscany demanding Admiral Byng to stand down and submit to boarding, pending an investigation into his involvement in the murder of Manticoran naval personnel in an unprovoked attack. Believing that nineteen ships crewed by "neobarbs" were no match for his vessels, Byng led his ships out of orbit to meet the incoming forces.

Thanks to the take from the still-active Ghost Rider platforms Tristram had been monitoring, Admiral Henke knew which was Admiral Byng's flagship. Taking advantage of the fact that the platforms were much farther in-system than she was, she sent Byng several messages, demanding he stand down or be destroyed. Admiral Byng scoffed at her threats, assuming they were bluffs, and kept coming.

At sixty million km, Henke ordered maneuver "William Tell", launching a single volley of twenty-five missile pods (each containing ten Mark 23 MDMs), all aimed at Byng's flagship, SLNS Jean Bart. Seventy-three were destroyed by defensive fire, thirty were EW birds, and one hundred and forty-seven missiles detonated around Jean Bart, instantly disintegrating her.

Gold Peak then directly contacted Rear Admiral Evelyn Sigbee, commanding the 112th Battlecruiser Squadron, and demanded her surrender, noting that she would face the same penalty as Admiral Byng. Sigbee complied and moved her ships back to New Tuscan orbit, then evacuated the majority of their crews. Gold Peak proceeded to board, download and then fry the computer systems on each Solarian ship, retaining two battlecruisers to be sent back to Manticore with prize crews so their intact computer cores (and sensor records) could be inspected by ONI. (SI2)

Aftermath

See: Battle of Spindle