Solomani Rim War, 990 to 1002

War between the Third Imperium and the Solomani Confederation during which a large portion of the Solomani Rim sector was returned to Imperial control.

Hoping to profit from Imperial preoccupation with the Third Frontier War and the disorganization which followed upon the abdication of Styryx in 989, the Solomani reasserted their control over the complete Solomani Sphere, including those portions reabsorbed into the Imperium (see Solomani Autonomous Region). The Imperium declared war in 990.

Initial Successes

The initial phase of the war went very well for the Solomani. Although the Imperium maintained sizable fleets along the border, they were infenor in strength to the massed naval elements of the Solomani Confederation. In most areas, the Solomani regained the border worlds lost to the Imperium in the last half century and even occupied a number of worlds that had never been part of the Solomani Sphere. However, Solomani fortunes were checked in 993 when a large invasion force attempted to regain the worlds in the Old Expanses sector; it encountered near-fanatical resistance and was repulsed with heavy losses.

Stalemate

The period from 993 to 998 was one of stalemate. The Solomani abandoned their plans for further expansion in order to rebuild their forces. However, their policy of inflexibly defending every border world was a constant drain on their resources, and the Solomani were not able to regain the initiative. By 998, the Imperial Navy had achieved strategic dominance as the greater industrial base of the Imperium made its power felt.

Imperial Advances

The last phase of the war, 998 to 1002, consisted of a near-continual advance by Imperial forces into the heart of the Solomani Sphere. The basic Imperial strategy was to attack along two parallel axes of advance, with lesser task forces spreading out to create a huge pocket of Solomani Territory. Although the Solomani occasionally achieved a tactical success against a task force (such as in the Battle of Kagukhasaggan in early 1002), they were unable to halt the main advances. With the liberation of the Vegan district in 1001, the Imperium gained the secure base envisioned in the reign of Styryx .

The loss of the Vegan district prompted the Solomani to embark on a desperate gamble. Recalling the time when the outnumbered Terran Confederation was able to defeat the Vilani Imperium, the Solomani consolidated their remaining naval forces into a single fleet and struck at the Imperial fleet that was advancing out of the Vegan district. At the Battle of Dingir , in early 1002, the Solomani Grand Fleet was scattered and substantially destroyed. The remnants of the Solomani fleet fell back deeper into the Sphere, and the Imperial forces firmly established themselves in Terra’s own subsector.

Invasion Earth

The Imperial high command decided that Terra ( Sol / Solomani Rim 1872) would have to be invaded in order to end forever all claims of Solomani superiority and thus the use of Terra as a rallying standard elsewhere in the Sphere. In order to invade Terra, a sizable fraction of the Imperial forces in the Solomani Sphere were assembled into an assault force, which effectively ended the pursuit of the defeated Solomani fleet. The invasion began in the second quarter of 1002, and the hard-fought campaign lasted until nearly the end of the year.

In the end, the Imperium conquered the planet. However, the battle for Terra had consumed so much of the Imperial military’s resources that the Imperial high command felt they lacked sufficient strength to resume their advance into the rest of the Solomani Sphere. Accordingly, they negotiated a temporary armistice with the Solomani military commanders, who were glad to gain a respite to regroup their remaining forces. The war ended on this basis as both the Imperial and Solomani civilian governments, who were concerned with the strain placed on their economies by the protracted war, informally agreed to extend the armistice indefinitely.

Analysis of the War

Although scholars have debated the wisdom of invading Terra, some claim that the battle was a marginal if not a pyrrhic victory for the Imperium. The general consensus has been that the war as a whole was a victory for the Imperium. A substantial amount of the Solomani Sphere was reabsorbed by the Imperium, and a vigorous Vegan Autonomous District was set up to oversee Imperial interests along the new border.

While the Solomani Confederation continues to exist, the central tenet of the Solomani Movement is largely discredited. In fact, with the strong Imperial presence along the border, the Solomani Confederation seems to have abandoned any plans to resume the conflict in the near future, concentrating instead on reviving its claims to certain worlds in the more loosely organised Aslan Hierate.

MT Version MegaTraveller update

Major Events and Phases of the War

704 Establishment of the Solomani Autonomous Region (Solomani Sphere)
940 Solomani Autonomous Region dissolved by Empress Margaret
989 Solomani reassert control over the Sphere.
990 Imperium declares war.
990-993 Solomani advances.
993 Solomani halted by Old Expanses sector.
993-998 Stalemate. Imperial build-up.
998-1002 Imperial advances.
1001 Vegan District regained by Imperium.
1002 Battle of Kagukhasaggan .
1002 Battle of Dingir . Solomani fleet scattered.
1002 Invasion of Terra.

Other References

(ADV-3, 1106; SUPP-11: p20, 1107; MT-ENCYC: p38, 1120)

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