Solar Shield 2217

Solar Shield 2217 (SS17) was a naval war games exercise conducted by the Fourth German Reich Navy in October 2217. 182 ships from all 5 German fleets participated in the exercise making it the largest naval exercise the Fourth German Reich has ever organized. The main objective of the exercise was to repel a simulated United American Federation Navy invasion fleet, but there were also several secondary objectives for the ships to accomplish.

Ships by Type

 * 8 Dreadnoughts
 * 2 Fleet Carriers
 * 2 Battlecruisers
 * 12 Heavy Cruisers
 * 18 Light Cruisers
 * 90 Destroyers
 * 50 Frigates

Fleet Organization
The participating ships were organized into two fleets, Battle and Escort. The Battle Fleet was the main group of ships responsible for all combat operations during the exercise. The Escort Fleet was responsible for protecting convoys and supply lines during the exercise.

Major Participants

 * Chief Admiral Niklas von Katterfeld as commander of the UAF invasion fleet
 * Admiral Heinrich Schulze as commander of the Combat Fleet
 * Admiral Walter Schmidt as commander of the Escort Fleet

Prelude to the Exercise
Although the official statement from Kaiser Ferdinand von Wilhelm regarding the exercise stated "Our glorious navy will conduct this historic exercise to showcase our dedication to defending the Sol system from outside threats.", the election of Abigail Jacklyn Dawn as UAF president and her Hawk party rising to power are speculated to be the primary reasons for conducting the exercise.

Objectives

 * Repel the UAF invasion fleet
 * Prevent the fleet from moving past Pluto's orbit
 * Reinforce strategic bases on Ganymede, Titan, and Neptune
 * Protect supply lines to GGR colonies outside of the Sol system

Start of the Exercise
The exercise was meant to simulate a surprise invasion by a large UAF fleet without any prior tensions or mounting hostilities. The exercise therefore started with elements of the Combat Fleet doing standard patrol missions emulating the Outer Sol Fleet's routine activities. The fleet was not told exactly when the simulated invasion would begin to preserve the element of surprise. After 2 days of patrols the fleet received reports from GGR listening posts in interstellar space that a large UAF fleet was approaching the Sol system.

UAF Fleet is Spotted
After the interstellar listening posts detected the invasion force the Combat Fleet was ordered to assume defensive positions near the predicted entry point of the UAF fleet. However, it would take several days for the full defensive force to arrive and it was unlikely that there would be enough ships to counter the UAF fleet.

Heroics of the Expulsion Class Cruisers
Two Permanent Expulsion class heavy cruisers, DKM Final Victory and DKM Everlasting Glory, were patrolling the GGR's border with Pluto when reports of the invasion force came in. The two heavy cruisers were closest to the fleet's point of entry as the simulated UAF fleet hoped to use Pluto to screen their advance. With the UAF fleet about a day away from the Sol system, and the bulk of the Combat Fleet taking slightly longer than that to assemble, the captains of the two cruisers decided that they must delay the invasion fleet's advance by any means possible. The two cruisers, without any screening vessels, ventured outside of Sol to attack the UAF fleet. They performed constant hit and run attacks on the UAF fleet for two days severely slowing their advance into Sol and giving the rest of the Combat Fleet time to assemble. With the Combat Fleet in position, the two cruisers were given orders to return to Sol and rejoin the defensive formations. As they prepared to enter FTL a starfighter strike from a UAF carrier caught the ships by surprise and destroyed both of them.

Decisive Engagement
The ships of the Combat Fleet split up into two task forces on either side of Pluto about 7 AU from the planet. As the UAF fleet entered weapons range, heavy guns from the dreadnoughts opened fire on the invasion force. Several UAF cruisers and destroyers were destroyed during the initial exchange by the dreadnought's heavy weapons. UAF carriers now launched a massive starfighter strike to cripple the Combat Fleet. Starfighters flying from the DKM Saturn blunted the strike on the DKM Tirpitz led task force, but the DKM Jupiter covering the DKM Fatherland led task force failed to launch enough starfighters to counter the UAF strike. With minimal starfighter resistance, UAF strike craft managed to slip through the screening vessels of the Fatherland's task force and inflict massive damage. The Fatherland, a battlecruiser, 2 heavy cruisers, 4 light cruisers, and 7 destroyers were knocked out of the exercise by the attack. Despite the devestating loss, both task forces regrouped after the strike was over and began an assault against the remaining UAF ships. Several more UAF cruisers were destroyed by another salvo of dreadnought mass accelerator fire and both task forces now began the assault to drive the UAF away from Sol. With their starfighter strike blunted and many cruisers destroyed, the UAF decided to retreat from the battle. The Combat Fleet now closed on the UAF ships getting close enough for even the light cruisers to fire on the invasion force. Before the UAF fleet could jump to FTL, several more cruisers and destroyers were crippled and a fleet carrier was badly damaged. With the UAF fleet forced to retreat the exercise was declared a GGR victory.

Aftermath
Because the GGR was expected to lose the exercise, its unlikely victory caused quite a shock in the German high command. German naval doctrine had been validated by the war game and the new Bismarck class dreadnoughts were able to show off their enormous potential for destruction. Kaiser Wilhelm awarded special commendations to the crews of 15 different ships and admirals Schulze and Schmidt for their exemplary performance during the exercise. The results of the exercise were highly publicized in German media for several months after its completion.

UAF Reaction
The German victory in the exercise and its subsequent media promotion prompted a response from UAF President Dawn stating "The outcome of scripted military propaganda exercises are of little concern to the United American Federation and have absolutely no bearing on our armed forces".