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The Second Fleet was a major naval force of the Havenite Navy, established following the downfall of the Committee of Public Safety and the restoration of the Republic of Haven.
History[]
Operation Thunderbolt[]
Under the command of Admiral Lester Tourville, the fleet was detached to Silesia to attack and destroy the Manticoran naval forces and installations in the Marsh System, as part of Operation Thunderbolt. For this operation, Second Fleet's flagship was the superdreadnought RHNS Majestic.
Tourville's attack ended in defeat, as the Manticoran Task Force 34 commanded by Admiral Honor Harrington had (unknowingly to Haven) been reinforced by the Protector's Own Squadron of the Grayson Space Navy. Thus trapped between both the Manticoran and Grayson fleets, Second Fleet was ultimately defeated in the Second Battle of Sidemore, and Admiral Tourville's badly-damaged ships returned to Haven in a two month-long travel. (HH10, HH11)
After this failure, Tourville moved his flag to the superdreadnought RHNS Guerriere and remained in command of Second Fleet. While Admiral Giscard's First Fleet was redeployed within Havenite space in reaction to Admiral Harrington's attacks on Republican systems, Second Fleet continued to operate offensively against the Manticoran Alliance. (HH11)
Operation Gobi[]
One of Second Fleet Task Force 21's most resounding successes was Operation Gobi, an attack on Zanzibar which resulted in the complete destruction of the Zanzibaran and Manticoran naval forces stationed in the system and the subsequent devastation of the Caliphate's space industry.
As the planned peace talks between President Eloise Pritchart and Queen Elizabeth III collapsed, and following the debacle of the Battle of Lovat, Second Fleet was greatly reinforced for Operation Beatrice: a full-scale assault on the Manticore System itself, which would be commanded by Admiral Tourville. (HH11)
Operation Beatrice[]
Second Fleet's initial attack against Manticore succeeded in destroying the Manticoran Home Fleet first, and later Third Fleet, this time with the assistance of Admiral Genevieve Chin's Fifth Fleet.
However, the tide of the battle changed when Eighth Fleet entered the action with its technological superiority, and after the utter destruction of Fifth Fleet and its own severe losses, Admiral Tourville was forced to surrender the remnants of Second Fleet to the Manticoran Alliance. (HH11)
Second Battle of Manticore[]
Talbott Quadrant[]
Second Fleet was reorganised[1] and sent to the Talbott Quadrant in mid 1922 PD to support Admiral Gold Peak's Tenth Fleet. When it deployed, it had a total 231 warships including 32 SD(P)s. With its fleet train of attached ammunition and service ships, it consisted of over 250 starships. (SI4)
Organization[]
Staff[]
- Captain Molly DeLaney – Chief of Staff (1922 PD)
- Commander Jeff Marston – Operations Officer (1920, 1922 PD)
- Commander Frazier Adamson – Operations Officer (1921, 1922 PD)
- Lieutenant Commander Anita Eisenberg - Communications Officer (1922 PD)
- Lieutenant Berjouhi Lafontaine – Flag Lieutenant
Flag captains:
- Captain Caroline Hughes, Commanding Officer, RHNS Majestic – Operation Thunderbolt
- Captain Celestine Houellebecq, Commanding Officer, RHNS Guerriere – Operation Beatrice
Order of Battle[]
Talbott Quadrant[]
- Task Force 21 – CO Vice Admiral Jennifer Bellefeuille
- Task Force 23 – CO Vice Admiral Oliver Diamato
References[]
- ↑ Vice Admiral Sampson Hermier's task force was reassigned and each of its remaining task forces was stripped of one superdreadnought squadron. But in return each of its task forces received two additional squadrons of battlecruisers and a flotilla of light cruisers.