Famous Battles of the Interstellar Age:
Emmitsburg Pike

Battle of Emmitsburg Pike
Conflict: First War of Unification
Date: 23 April 2094
Place: Emmitsburg Turnpike, Mandrake
Outcome: Decisive Terran victory
Combatants
Terran Military Order	Alliance of Sovereign Nations
Commanders
Douglas Feldman, Lorraine Sheridan	Samira Khan, Walter Emerson, Park Seong-gye
Strength
Nine corps, plus supporting divisions	Eight corps, plus supporting divisions
Casualties
21,344 dead, over 35,000 wounded	95,209 dead, over 60,000 wounded

The Battle of Emmitsburg Pike was the culmination of the brutal peninsular campaign on Mandrake which saw the Federals claw their way from the Terran beachhead to the planetary capital, and included much of the fiercest fighting of the First War. Considered by many to be Douglas Feldman's finest and most complete victory, Emmitsburg Pike featured superb planning, coordination, and execution. Additionally, the battle, along with the fall of their national capital three days later, also effectively marked the death of the Republic of Corix.

 
CONTEXT

After more than three long years of war, matters were coming to a head. Despite the Allies' stunning victory at Kharkov, such was the tremendous strength of the Terran war machine that the battle merely resulted in a strategic stalemate. In only a few short months, the Blue Planet's military-industrial complex had the Federal Forces back on the move, while SN forces remained badly understrength from prior losses in material and, especially, personnel.

To begin the 2094 campaign, Commanding General Yale appointed his best fighting general, Douglas Feldman, to field command of all Federal armies. After a string of Terran victories, Allied forces were reeling on all fronts, bringing the key strategic world of Mandrake into striking distance. A vital source of catalytum, both sides realized that losing Mandrake's mines would badly hamper, if not cripple, the Allies' ability to move their fleets and armies between systems.

Through heroic efforts, the Allies massed an army capable of defeating the oncoming invasion force. Knowing the bitter struggle ahead, Feldman took personal command of the Federal descent on Mandrake and brought his brilliant and fiery cavalry commander, Lorraine Sheridan. Meanwhile, the Allies met the blue suits' best with their own: Samira Khan took command of the Army of Mandrake with Walter Emerson as her second, and countered Sheridan with the peerless Park Seong-gye.

 
THE BATTLE

Both Federal and Alliance commands realized that Feldman could win by simply prevent the supply of catalytum from going offworld. To do this, all the Terrans had to do was stop traffic along the 57 kilometer-long Emmitsburg Turnpike. A dense and deadly thicket of AA weapons kept the skies clear so artillery or direct fire was required. General Khan entrenched on the two big hills that were the best spots for artillery along the Pike and deployed the rest of her troops in a long line between the hills, while the Federals moved in to try to push them off.

The Federal attack began just before dawn with a fierce artillery barrage on both Allied flanks. After several murderous hours, Feldman sent the Terran Fifth and Tenth Corps against the SN right and concentrated his big guns against the left. When the right started to crumble, Feldman added two more corps to support the Terran onslaught and dispatched Sheridan on a long loop around the Allied left. To prevent a flanking movement, Khan sent Park after the Federal cavalry. Meanwhile, she ordered divisions from the center of the line to support the right.

When the cavalry chase had moved beyond the strongest part of the Alliance air defenses, Feldman sprang his first surprise. Braving the AA, squadrons of Federal fighters suddenly struck the Allied column. Moments later, the lead Terran cavalry division turned hard right and joined the fight, revealing the second surprise. The lead division had been dragging tree trunks to kick up a giant dust plume behind them. The plume had hidden both two mechanized infantry divisions, which spread out to keep the Allied cavalry from rejoining the main battle, and the fact that the rest of the Federal cavalry had remained with the main body of their attack, and who now sped for the gap in the center of the enemy line.

Even with fire pouring down from all across the Allied line, Sheridan's cavalry smashed their way through, cutting the SN forces in two as Feldman brought up the main body of the Federal army. As the right wing of the Allied army collapsed, the battle turned into a rout. With General Khan killed in action, General Emerson led the survivors back to Emmitsburg. The SN troops kept good order in retreat despite a fierce pursuit led by General Sheridan, thanks in large part to the Akashan Second Corps, which fought off relentless attacks by the Fed cavalry and three enemy corps.

 
AFTERMATH

The Battle of the Emmitsburg Pike was crucial blow to both Allied morale and their war effort. General Emerson was left in a difficult position. In a highly controversial decision, rather than attack the Federals, he decided to husband his remaining forces and abandoned Mandrake, leaving his son Charles to lead the guerilla campaign against the blue suits. After Corix fell to the Terran Second Field Army, the Alliance was on the verge of collapse, setting the stage for the pivotal siege of Hera, while most pundits began counting down the days until Unification.