The Battle of Crete is a conflict of the Second Alliance-PLANT War, featured in Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny.
Prelude[]
Since the beginning of the Second Alliance-PLANT War, the Atlantic Federation, under the machinations of the anti-Coordinator extremist, Lord Djibril, had mostly failed to achieve any major accomplishment with reluctant allies in the military and an apprehensive public plaguing them. The peak of Djibril's anger focused on the ZAFT warship, Minerva which was acclaimed as an anti-Alliance figure by both ZAFT and even those that rejected the option for war.[1]
Following its recent successes at Gulnahan[2] and at the borders of the Orb Union[3], Djibril demanded for Phantom Pain captain, Neo Roanoke to eliminate the ship. Still working with the Orb forces following the Battle of Dardanelles, Neo planned to ambush the Minerva during its voyage towards ZAFT's Gibraltar Base. Orb's admiral, Todaka had grievances on the information's reliability, but was overruled by Orb's de facto ruler, Yuna Roma Seiran, who supported Neo's plan.[4]
At the same time, the Archangel, which supported Cagalli Yula Athha, the daughter of Orb's previous leader, Uzumi Nara Athha, and a staunch believer of its old anti-war beliefs, looked to intervene to stop the Orb forces from battling once more just as they attempted at Dardanelles.[4]
The Battle[]
Once the Minerva was spotted, both the Alliance and Orb sent out their mobile suits to lead the charge while the Alliance's navy and Orb's carrier, the Takemikazuchi provided support. It was the Takemikazuchi that made the first strike as it launched ballistic missiles that severely damaged the Minerva's deck before it could send out its own mobile suits to defend.
Three Orb ships and a team of nine MVF-M11C Murasame led by Lt. Baba then attacked the Minerva's side while it was distracted by the Takemikazuchi. When Shinn Asuka's ZGMF-X56S/γ Blast Impulse Gundam and Athrun Zala's ZGMF-X23S Saviour Gundam were sent out, they were intercepted by Sting Oakley's ZGMF-X24S Chaos Gundam and Auel Neider's ZGMF-X31S Abyss Gundam. Without the Impulse or the Saviour for protection, the Minerva's remaining units, Lunamaria Hawke's ZGMF-1000/A1 Gunner ZAKU Warrior and Rey Za Burrel's ZGMF-1001/M Blaze ZAKU Phantom were sent out to support and defend the ship's artillery.[4]
Shinn's Blast Impulse struggled to make any progress against the Abyss' superior speed despite its firepower while the Saviour had to deal with both the Chaos and other Murasame providing support. Seeing as the ship was still stubbornly holding, Baba opted to have the Orb forces target the ship's weapons while leaving the Alliance to deal with the mobile suits. Baba's second round on the Minerva yielded better results as several missiles scored direct hits on the ship while destroying the arm of Rey's ZAKU and exposing the ship's main bridge. Upon seeing the attack, Athrun quickly returned, taking out one Murasame and damaging Baba's, but Sting immediately chased after and forced Athrun to continue their fight.
Seeing the enemy units still held up by the numbers, Baba led a third round towards the Minerva in a costly charge, losing three more of his Murasame to the ship's remaining weapons and Rey's ZAKU but succeeding in bypassing its defense and reaching the ship's bridge. Before he could finish the ship with his beam rifle, he was driven off by Kira Yamato's ZGMF-X10A Freedom Gundam and the Archangel, who allowed Cagalli's MBF-02 Strike Rouge a chance to appeal to Orb's forces and withdraw from battle.[5]
Shinn, however, a native of Orb that lost his family in the previous war and blamed the Athha family for dragging the country into the war but failing to protect the civilians that believed in them, lashed out and attacked Cagalli. This invoked a violent response from Kira who stopped the Blast Impulse's missiles and charged straight for Shinn. Athrun reacted to this by stopping Kira while Orb's command was thrown into confusion due to Cagalli's arrival despite Yuna branding her as an imposter at Dardanelles. Sting attempted to join Kira and Athrun's dogfight, only for the Chaos' arms and weapon pods to be swiftly cut off by the Freedom's beam saber, forcing Sting to retreat. Athrun then continuously prevented Kira from advancing any further into the battle against the Minerva's other units.
At the same time, Auel capitalized on Shinn being distracted by Kira and Athrun's battle above by firing the Abyss' beam cannons. Shinn quickly responded to this by detaching his Blast Silhouette to take the attack before hurling his beam javelin at the Abyss' abdomen before it could submerge again. With the Abyss gone, Shinn requested for the Force Silhouette and began to engage the Minerva's attackers in the sky. Yuna, in a panic to end the battle, recklessly ordered all remaining Orb forces to continue the assault on the Minerva.
Upon seeing this, Cagalli attempted to use herself as a deterrent from any more attacks, but Baba rejected her pleas as she was not Orb's current leader and hurled her back towards the Archangel before resuming his attack. Baba's daring attack scorer a direct hit on Lunamaria's ZAKU, crippling her unit and knocking her unconscious. Shinn then tried to retaliate and succeeded in destroying several more Murasame with Rey, but the pair failed to stop Baba's kamikaze attack that greatly damaged the Minerva's cannons.
Shinn immediately swapped out for the Sword Silhouette, moving to quickly attack Orb's ships directly instead. In response, Todaka ordered the Takemikazuchi to the front as well to try and finish the Minerva. Meanwhile, Kira, incensed by Athrun's refusal to acknowledge Cagalli, finally finished their fight by slashing the Saviour apart.[5] Todaka's catastrophic decision to move the Takemikazuchi to the front predictably led to it being severely damaged by the Minerva and Rey's ZAKU while Shinn leapt onboard to carve the ship himself. Cagalli attempted to stop the attack, but was nearly shot by Shinn had it not been for an Orb soldier sacrificing himself for her. Kira could only slow the attack as he failed to reach the carrier in time and only succeeded in destroying the Minerva's beam cannon and crippling Rey's ZAKU.
Inside, Todaka made his frustrations at helping Yuna bare as he ordered for all the carrier's crew to leave, with those willing to honor Orb's true beliefs to join the Archangel. Todaka went go down with his ship as Shinn struck the carrier's main bridge. In respect to the commander's bravery, Orb's soldiers, and even those from the Alliance, saluted Todaka as the carrier sunk below.[5]
Aftermath[]
The grand failure of even the combined fleet stopped any further attacks on the Minerva, with all but one of its mobile suits damaged beyond repair, as it crawled its way to Gibraltar Base for repairs. The ship subsequently headed towards eastern Eurasia, where local garrisons were attacked by the Atlantic Federation.[6]
In Orb, Yuna's defeat only amplified the growing resentment towards his rule and general incompetence. The tear-filled pleas of Amagi, Todaka's second-in-command, who led the minority to join the Archangel on Todaka's orders, would eventually convince Cagalli to return to her country and retake back power soon.[7][8]
Gallery[]
.PNG "Flechette Missiles 01 (SEED Destiny HD Ep28).PNG (2.43 MB)")
.png "Minerva Damaged 01 (SEED Destiny HD Ep28).png (4.15 MB)")
.png "Archangel, Freedom Gundam and Strike Rouge Ootori Gundam 01 (SEED Destiny HD Ep28).png (6.9 MB)")
.png "Chaos Gundam Sliced 02 (SEED Destiny HD Ep28).png (3.2 MB)")
.png "Abyss Gundam Defeated 01 (SEED Destiny HD Ep28).png (3.37 MB)")
.png "Freedom Gundam Defeats Savior Gundam 01 (SEED Destiny HD Ep28).png (4.34 MB)")
.png "Takemikazuchi Destroyed 01 (SEED Destiny HD Ep28).png (3.38 MB)")
.png "Orb Crew Joins the Archangel 01 (SEED Destiny HD Ep30).png (5.51 MB)")
Notes & Trivia[]
- This was the only battle where the Impulse used all three of its silhouettes in the series until the Battle of Requiem.
- The battle is featured in Dynasty Warriors Gundam Reborn as the second stage in the SEED Destiny story though events are partially merged with the incident near the Lodonia Lab and Dardanelles. The player is given the perspective of Shinn who must stop the Orb ambush and foil Stella's attacks from the Lodonia Lab. Once Stella is dealt with, Neo, Sting and Auel charge the Minerva while the Archangel's forces also appear and must be defeated. After Sting and Auel's attack, the player must protect the Minerva and its forces in retreating before having to defeat Kira one last time as he attempts to intervene in the battle a second time.
Appearances[]
- Television Series
- Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny
- PHASE-27, Unfulfilled Feelings
- First Appearance
- PHASE-28, Survivors and Sacrifices
- Conclusion
- PHASE-27, Unfulfilled Feelings
References[]
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny PHASE-22, Sword of the Blue Skies
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny PHASE-18, Attack the Lohengrin!
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny PHASE-12, Blood in the Water
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny PHASE-27, Unfulfilled Feelings
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny PHASE-28, Survivors and Sacrifices
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny PHASE-32, Stella
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny PHASE-30, A Fleeting Dream
- ↑ Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Destiny PHASE-31, The Endless Night
Please read the linked project page before editing this article.
Project Leader: User:CD Freedom
| Cosmic Era Conflicts and Events | |
| Pre C.E. - C.E. 9 | |
|---|---|
| Reconstruction War | |
| C.E. 15 | |
| Coordinator Revelation | Jupiter Exploration Mission | |
| C.E. 30’s - C.E. 50 | |
| Coordinator Boom | |
| C.E. 50’s - C.E. 60’s | |
| Assassination of George Glenn | Flaga Estate Burning | Blue Cosmos Attack on Mendel | |
| C.E. 60’s - C.E. 69 | |
| Mandelbrot Incident | Attack on the Junius Colonies | Mendel Accident | |
| C.E. 70 | |
| First Alliance-PLANT War Tragedy of Copernicus | Bloody Valentine Incident | Invasion of South America | Battle of Yggdrasil | First Battle of Victoria | Operation Uroboros | Battle of Carpentaria | Battle of Coral Sea | First Battle of Jachin Due | Grimaldi Front (Battle of Endymion Crater) | First Battle of Casablanca | Battle of El Alamein | Battle of Nova | First Nova Recapture Operation | October Talks | |
| Unrelated Conflicts First Attack on the Graveyard | |
| C.E. 71 | |
| First Alliance-PLANT War Battle of Kaohsiung | Battle of Heliopolis | Skirmish near Artemis | Battle of Artemis | Second Nova Recapture Operation | Clash at Junius Seven | Skirmish in the Debris Belt | Battle near Junius Seven | Skirmish in the North African Desert | Skirmish towards Earth | Battle of Orbit | Second Battle of Victoria | Blue Cosmos Attack on PLANT | Desert Dawn Campaign (Attack on the Archangel | Attack on Tassil | Retaliation of the Desert Dawn | Blue Cosmos Attack in Banadiya | Battle of Talbadiya) | First Equatorial Skirmish | Second Equatorial Skirmish | Skirmish on an Uninhabited Island | Strait of Malacca Breakthrough | First Battle near Orb | Orb Infiltration Mission | Second Battle near Orb | Battle of the Marshall Islands | Theft of the Freedom Gundam | Operation Spitbreak | Shoot Out at White Symphony | Mission to Recapture the Freedom Gundam | Battle of Porta Panama | Battle of Orb | Assassination of Siegel Clyne | Third Battle of Victoria | Attack on a ZAFT Fleet | Theft of the Eternal | Battle of Mendel | Second Battle of Casablanca | Operation 8.8 (Ayers Rock Landing Operation) | Operation Elvis (Battle of Boaz | Second Battle of Jachin Due) | |
| South American War for Independence Attack on South American Forces Base 12 | Duel at the South American Shore | Battle in the USSA Neutral Zone | Ambush in Low Orbit | |
| Unrelated Conflicts Campaign on the ZAFT Supply Route (Attack on a ZAFT Supply Station | Battle at ZAFT Supply Station 4) | Skirmish at Heliopolis | Pirate Attack on the H.O.M.E. | Recapture of Artemis | Skirmish at Artemis | Second Attack on the Graveyard | Actaeon Hostage Incident | Skirmish at Liteiria | Barnacle Incident | First Attack by the Gundam Astray Gold Frame | First Attack on the Lesseps | Second Attack on the Lesseps | Confrontation in the Deep Sea | Infiltration of the Lesseps | First Battle of the Giga-Float | Second Battle of the Giga-Float | Battle of Ame-No-Mihashira | Battle of the Gundam Astrays | Third Attack on the Graveyard | Find Kira Yamato Operation | Skirmish at Mendel | Raid on the Dreadnaught Gundam’s Transport | Attack on the Serpent Tail Transport | First Attack on the Re.H.O.M.E. | Attack on Supply Station 15B | Escape from Artemis | Assault on Ptolemaeus Port Seven | Attack on the Ortygia | Attack on Ame-No-Mihashira | Battle at the Abandon Colony Zone | Battle at the Mobile Suit Auction | Clash at Mendel | Second Attack on the Re.H.O.M.E. | Assault on the Sahaku Force | Erudou Breakthrough | Third Attack on the Re.H.O.M.E. | First Battle of GENESIS Alpha | First Attack on GENESIS Alpha | |
| C.E. 72 | |
| First Alliance-PLANT War Nairobi Peace Conference (Attack on the Junius Treaty Ceremony) | |
| South American War for Independence Battle for South America | |
| Unrelated Conflicts Battle of the Blue Cosmos Asteroid Factory | |
| C.E. 73 | |
| Second Alliance-PLANT War Attack on Armory One | Battle of the Debris Belt | "Break The World" Incident | Battle of Aprilius One | Operation Spear of Twilight | Ambush of the Minerva | Assassination Attempt of Lacus Clyne | Kidnapping of Orb's Chief Representative | Battle of the Indian Ocean | Attack on Lohengrin Gate | Battle of Gulnahan | Battle in Lunar Orbit | Battle of Dardanelles | Skirmish at Lodonia Lab | Lacus Clyne Shuttle Hijacking | Battle of Crete | |
| Unrelated Conflicts Second Attack on GENESIS Alpha | Third Attack on GENESIS Alpha | Second Battle of Genesis Alpha | Attack on Ed the Ripper’s Shuttle |Attack in Fortaleza | Attack on Kirgitz | Declaration of the Sky | Attack on The Clan Space Station | Assault on the Coordinator Refugee Camp | |
| C.E. 74 | |
| Second Alliance-PLANT War Minerva Breakout | Attack on the Bonaparte | Destroy Crisis (First Attack on Eurasia | Second Attack on Eurasia | Third Attack on Eurasia | Battle of Berlin) | Campaign Against Logos | Operation Angel Down | Desertion of Athrun Zala and Meyrin Hawke | Operation Ragnarök | Eternal Chase | Operation Fury | Battle of Requiem Station Gounod | Battle of Daedalus | Assassination Attempt in Copernicus City | Proclamation of the Destiny Plan | Attack on Requiem Station One | Battle of Messiah | |
| Unrelated Conflicts Attack on Toroya Station | Foundation Shock | Freedom Hijacking Incident | |
| C.E. 75 | |
| Blue Cosmos Campaign Battle of Aldrin City | |
| Foundation Conflict Eldore Incident | Moscow Tragedy | PLANT Coup d'état | Millennium Hijacking | Lacus Clyne Rescue Operation | Battle of Requiem | |