The Second Extrasolar War also known as the Second Helghan War was the second major war between the ISA Alpha Centauri/United Colonial Nations and the Helghan Empire that lasted from 2357 to 2360.
The war began in 2357 when the Helghast, under the leadership of Scolar Visari, sought to dramatically expand their empire by reconquering Vekta, and then invading Earth and destroying the UCN. Any opposition from the ISA-controlled systems would be crushed in a subsequent invasion of all other colonies. However, the combined forces of ISA Alpha Centauri and the United Colonial Army repelled the Helghast from Vekta.
In 2359, the ISA launched a counter-invasion of Helghan in an attempt to end the conflict by capturing Scolar Visari. But the assault failed with the death of Visari and the ISA forces were routed and forced to retreat. In 2360, the Helghan Empire plotted to directly invade Earth and bombard the planet with irradiated petrusite warheads. However, the Helghan government, without Visari's leadership, fell into civil war over who was to be Visari's successor. Combined with the in-fighting, remnants of the ISA invasion force prevented the Helghast plot and inadvertently detonating a payload of petrusite over Helghan, utterly devastating the planet in what became known as the Terracide, which marked the end of the war.
Background
The roots of the Second Extrasolar War trace back to the First Extrasolar War. The first war from over one hundred years ago resulted in the dismantlement of the Helghan Corporation and Vekta, once a planetary holding of the Helghan Corporation, was turned over to ISA control. Colonists from Earth were brought to Vekta to supplement the planet's corporate-affiliated population. The introduction of the colonists brought violent tensions between the Earth minority and Helghan corporate majority, and resulting in the Helghan corporate colonists relocating to the planet Helghan, where they declared their sovereignty.
The colonists endured Helghan's harsh environment, transforming the later generation into the current day Helghast, and was subjected to ISA blockades and restrictions until diplomatic relations were normalized. From 2330 to 2350, Helghan was hit hard by a major economic depression, leading to widespread poverty and famine across the planet. The dire situation gave rise to Scolar Visari, who staged a successful popular coup against the ruling Helghan Administration in 2347, and declared himself the "Autarch". Under Visari, he reforged Helghan into a militaristic and xenophobic society, and later renewing hostility with the ISA and UCN, and determining to reconquer Vekta and expanding his empire across the stars.
The ISA had grew complacent of Helghan's re-militarization and long abandoned containment of Helghan. Instead, the ISA High Command constructed the Orbital Defense Network as Vekta's main defense against the Helghast and being seen as cost effective over maintaining their navy. However, two high ranking ISA officers, Generals Stuart Adams and Dwight Stratson, were secretly convinced by Scolar Visari to side with the Helghast and plotted to sabotage the ISA's defenses from within.
Invasion of Vekta
The UCA fleet destroying the SD Platform.
The first stage in the Helghast's expansionist plans was the reclamation of the ISA controlled world of Vekta beginning in August 2357. Initially the ISA suffered massive casualties and territorial losses on Vekta after the Orbital Defense Network was shut down, opening up the planet to a mass invasion force of the Helghast Third Army led by General Joseph Lente. With a pair of high ranking double agents in the ISA, the Helghast managed to take large swaths of territory and inflict severe ISA casualties in a savage blitzkrieg. By late August, the invasion incurs casualties on both sides. The Helghast's ground campaign is disrupted by their failure to capture Vekta City and the death of Lente by the actions of four unlikely heroes, led by Jan Templar.
The UCN dispatched a UCA fleet to reinforce Vekta, which the Helghast anticipated on their arrival and planned on ambushing the fleet with the defense platforms. However, Templar's group thwarted the Helghast's ambush, and the UCA fleet destroyed the Helghast's hold over the defense network. The few remaining Helghast of the Third Army were then forced to fall back and regroup.
Two months later, Scolar Visari appointed General Armin Metrac to take full command of the Third Army along with the Eighth and the Ninth Helghan Army in taking southern Vekta. Under Metrac's leadership, the Helghast were able to establish a stronghold in the Adlez Mountains and relentlessly taking over the eastern continent. However, by January 2358, the Helghast were forced into retreat before making one last decisive battle in the Redavni Plains which cost Metrac's life at the hands of Jan Templar.
All remaining Helghast forces left on Vekta fell under the leadership of Helghast collaborator Dwight Stratson and continued their resistance until Stratson was also defeated by Templar and arrested by the ISA. Despite of the Helghast having failed to reclaim Vekta, they managed to stole nuclear weapons and other high-tech weapons from the ISA, and brought them to Helghan.
The UCA deemed the situation on Vekta stabilized and withdrew its fleet from Alpha Centauri after issuing the ISA to restore the Helghan blockade and not taking any other offensive action against the Helghast, and await the arrival of a Judge Advocate General's inquisition team to investigate the matter. However, the ISA and Vektan Council refused to allow the Helghast go unpunished for the deaths and destruction they had brought to Vekta, and began drafting plans to defeat the Helghan Empire.
Operation Archangel
Helghast infantry during Operation Archangel.
Two years later, the ISA launched a counter-invasion of Helghan in November 2359 in an attempt to end the war and neutralize the Helghast by capturing Visari and establish an easy-to-control puppet state on Helghan. However, the ISA invasion was to fail due to unexpected fierce resistance from the Helghast, culminating in the nuclear devastation of their own capital, killing the ISA forces attacking it, and in turn the bulk of the ground invasion force. Furthermore, the destruction of many of their cruisers, including the flagship New Sun, and finally the death of their fleet commander Colonel Jan Templar, by a large counterattack led by Colonel Radec has handed dominion of space and air to the Helghast, who bombarded the remaining ISA forces and overwhelm the few remaining ships.
ISA forces in action on Helghan's bleak urban slums.
Finally, Scolar Visari, the ambitious emperor of the Helghast and the objective for the entire campaign, was gunned down by ISA soldier Rico Velasquez before he could be taken into custody, causing the ISA to stage a frantic evacuation, which quickly devolved to a total rout, in a hurried and unsuccessful effort to withdraw from Helghan. Roughly six months after their defeat on Helghan, the Vektan government capitulated to the Empire, formally ending the war in a status quo ante bellum as neither side could counterattack after that time, although the Helghast government played it off as the Empire's victory. However, conflict persisted between the Empire and ISA remnants on Helghan.
Helghan's Civil War
In the wake of Visari's death, a political conflict over who will assume the role of Autarch was waged between Admiral Orlock of the Helghast Military and Jorhan Stahl, influential chairman of the private weapons manufacturer, Stahl Arms. As the remnants of the ISA fought to survive, Stahl developed weapons using irradiated Petrusite gathered from the Pyrrhus nuclear blast zone, such as a new Arc Cannon or irradiated Petrusite-based perimeter defenses and energy shielding. In particular, an experimental flagship built by Stahl carried hundreds of missiles whose warheads were filled with irradiated Petrusite and, alongside a massive Helghast invasion fleet, planned to eradicate all life on Earth by saturating the entire planet with the new Petrusite missiles.
However, the political struggle between now-Autarch Orlock and Jorhan Stahl began to escalate, with successful operations conducted by the ISA remnant only making the situation worse. Eventually, the political conflict came to a climax aboard a Helghast space station, resulting in the death of Autarch Orlock and the Helghast race being plunged into civil war. This allowed the remaining ISA forces to destroy Stahl's cruiser with hijacked Helghast strike fighters, causing it to plummet to, then explode in low orbit over Helghan. The cruiser's destructive payload of irradiated Petrusite missiles then detonated due to secondary explosions, with the resulting wave of energized radiation incinerating the entire Helghast invasion fleet, a large space station, and violently irradiating all life on Helghan in what became known as the Terracide. Managing to avoid the cataclysmic explosion in time, the remaining ISA troops onboard hijacked ships then made their way back home to Vekta.
Aftermath
The war ends with Helghan's destruction.
The Second Extrasolar War ended with the death of an entire world. With the devastation of the Helghast species and complete destruction of their military, industry and leadership, the ISA have emerged as a pyrrhic victor.
The flight to Vekta, and so ends the war.
Out of pity, the ISA granted refuge to the Helghast survivors on Vekta, allowing them to colonize half the planet, with that half of the planet dubbed New Helghan. However, resentment strongly persisted between the Helghast and Vektans over the war, and both civilizations refused to seek peaceful coexistence. Subsequently domestic violence became increasingly common between humans and Helghast. As a result a massive wall was constructed to separate the Helghast and human communities, setting the stage of a highly tense cold war between the Vektans and New Helghan.
Unknown to the public, only a portion of the Helghan population took refuge on Vekta. Others had remained on Helghan, having established military facilities deep underneath the planet's shattered surface. Jorhan Stahl survived the Terracide and led the Helghast in rebuilding their military and armada for the next three decades, preparing for their final war with Vekta.
See also
References
- ↑ Killzone: Ascendancy, "During the invasion over 100,000 men, women and children were slaughtered by the Helghast."