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Disambiguation:

The One Year War (一年戦争 Ichinen Sensō?), also known as Zeonic War for Independence (ジオン独立戦争 Jion Dokuritsu Sensō?), was the first major conflict of the Universal Century timeline, fought between the Principality of Zeon and the Earth Federation from January 3, 0079 to January 1, 0080. Mobile Suit Gundam, Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team, Mobile Suit Gundam 0080: War in the Pocket, Mobile Suit Gundam MS IGLOO and the season one of Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt all take place during the One Year War.

Prelude[]

The One Year War was the culmination of the hostilities between Side 3's Principality of Zeon and the Earth Federation. Relations between the two had been strained since Side 3 declared themselves the independent Republic of Zeon under the leadership of Zeon Zum Deikun, and had only worsened since Deikun's death and the Zabi family's rise to power. Declaring themselves the Principality of Zeon a year later, and brutally purging Zeon Deikun's remaining followers, Side 3 became increasingly hostile to the Earth Federation. Zeon entered a state of national mobilization, dividing their military into a Space Attack Force under the command of Dozle Zabi and a Mobile Assault Force under the command of Kycilia Zabi. In January UC 0079, the Principality of Zeon officially declared war on the Earth Federation.

Overview[]

The One Year War was the single largest and most devastating conflict of the Universal Century, in both the number of military casualties, civilian deaths, and devastation across the entire Earth Sphere. It began on January 3, UC 0079, when the Principality of Zeon launched surprise attacks against the Earth Federation-controlled Sides. During the fierce fighting in the first month of the war, weapons of mass destruction were used indiscriminately, with Zeon forces deploying G3 Gas in inhabited colonies, attempting a colony drop against the EFF's headquarters at Jaburo during Operation British, and the Principality of Zeon using nuclear weapons during the Battle of Loum. During this period of fighting, each side lost nearly half of their respective populations. After this, both parties agreed to sign the Antarctic Treaty which, among other things, forbade the use of weapons of mass destruction.

With the Earth Federation Space Forces devastated, Zeon pressed its advantage by staging an invasion of Earth, dropping mobile suit forces onto the planet during several operations in March of UC 0079. This began a long stalemate period between the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon, with the Earth Federation slowly giving ground until Zeon had control over approximately two-thirds of Earth's surface. In September, the Earth Federation's Project V was scheduled to undergo secret testing in Side 7, but was discovered by Zeon forces under the command of Char Aznable. This marks the beginning of the events of Mobile Suit Gundam.

The turning point of the war was in early November, when the Earth Federation launched Operation Odessa, a counteroffensive against Zeon forces in eastern Europe. Using almost entirely conventional forces, the Earth Federation was victorious, successfully defeating Zeon forces, forcing much of their force to retreat or surrender. Soon after, the Earth Federation launched its counteroffensive into space, attacking the Zeon Space Attack Force headquarters at the Solomon asteroid base on December 24 UC 0079, and then defeating the Zeon forces gathered at A Baoa Qu on New Year's Eve, December 31. After Zeon's defeat at A Baoa Qu, Zeon officially surrendered, ending the war on January 1, UC 0080.

Chronology[]

One Week Battle (January 3–10)[]

The Principality of Zeon launched a surprise attack against Side 1, Side 2, and Side 4 on January 3, UC 0079.

Colonydropsydney

The colony drop on Sydney at the end of Operation British

Attacking a mere three seconds after officially declaring war (a fact that was sardonically referred to as the "three-second warning"), Zeon used their mobile suit forces to eliminate Earth Federation Space Forces resistance before killing the civilian inhabitants of a number of colonies with G3 Gas. This period of initial slaughter became known as the One Week Battle or One Week War. It was during this time that Side 6 declared its neutrality in the conflict.

The peak of the One Week Battle was Operation British, which took place on January 10, UC 0079. Zeon forces used the depopulated colony cylinder Side 2, Bunch 8 Island Iffish in an attempt to destroy the Earth Federation Forces main headquarters, Jaburo, in South America. Though the Earth Federation Space Forces dispatched a fleet of their surviving warships, and even made at least a nuclear strike, in an attempt to stop the operation, Zeon military successfully defended the colony, and the EFSF was forced to withdraw after taking near-total losses. Upon entering the atmosphere, however, Isle Iffish broke apart, missing Jaburo but causing widespread destruction across Earth. The largest remaining piece of the colony, consisting of approximately the entire front half, hit Sydney, Australia, completely wiping out the city and causing massive damage across the entire continent. Operation British was a complete failure.

Battle of Loum (January 14–17)[]

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A battle in space during The Battle of Loum (January 15, UC 0079).

After the failure of Operation British, Zeon forces attacked Side 5, also known as Loum, on January 15, UC 0079. Beginning as an attempt to drop a second colony, the operation quickly turned into a full-scale fleet battle when the majority of the surviving Earth Federation Space Forces, commanded by General Revil, counterattacked. Zeon used nuclear weapons in this battle, causing horrific loss of life not only among the combatants, but resulting in the complete destruction of Side 5 as well. The Earth Federation managed to halt the attempted colony drop and inflict significant losses on the Zeon forces but they were unable to prevent the destruction of Side 5. While the EFSF were able to evacuate a few million Side 5 inhabitants before the battle began, in the end, their forces were annihilated during the battle. The Battle of Loum marked the first time that mobile suits showed their true potential in combat, proving to be terrifyingly effective against the Earth Federation fleet. General Revil was captured by the Black Tri-Stars and several other Zeon pilots (most notably Char Aznable, Shin Matsunaga, and Johnny Ridden) first made a name for themselves as mobile suit aces.  

During the battle, Zeon's 603 Technical Evaluation Division set up and deployed a massive cannon, the QCX-76A Jormungand. The Special Forces operatives who were in charge of the cannon had high hopes that the Jormungand, with its immense power and tremendous firing range, would be the weapon that gave Zeon the edge it needed to win. However, despite the fact that Jormungand's operators were ordered into position for the battle they were never given the needed targeting data, and in fact, it appeared that Zeon command never had any intention of using the weapon, instead relying on the new MS-06 Zaku II. The Jormungand's gunner did fire three shots using visual data and managed to destroy one Magellan-class battleship, and possibly disabled one Salamis-class cruiser.

The Antarctic Treaty[]

After the atrocities of the One Week Battle and the Battle of Loum, with nearly one-third of humanity dead, the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon met in Antarctica to discuss terms of peace. The Federation, having suffered major losses to its space forces at Loum as well as the loss of more than one billion of its citizens in less than a month, was ready to consider surrendering to the Principality of Zeon. However, during the negotiations, General Revil escaped from Zeon's custody and returned to the Earth Federation, giving his famous, "Zeon is exhausted!" speech detailing the poor condition of Zeon's military after the heavy fighting. In large part due to this speech, the Earth Federation refused to surrender at Antarctica, instead negotiating for several important agreements. The use of weapons of mass destruction—including the use of nuclear and chemical weapons, as well as colony drops—was declared forbidden, rules for the humane treatment of POWs were agreed upon, and the neutrality of uninvolved parties such as Side 6 and the Jupiter Energy Fleet were guaranteed.

The Earth Invasion[]

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Zeon forces occupy North America (circa February, 0079 UC).

Following the bloody One Week War, the Federation and Principality signed the Antarctic Treaty, forbidding the use of Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical (NBC) weapons. While this narrowed the range of strategic options, it also gave a distinct advantage to the Zeon military, whose plans were centered on the use of Mobile Suits. Upon realizing that the war was becoming a long, drawn-out battle instead of a sudden, quick strike, Zeon decided to invade Earth. One week later, the Principality commenced its assault on Earth itself, using the Mass Driver, an electromagnetic "catapult" on the lunar surface, to send their MS into space and Earth. In February they began to organize an Earth Attack Force under the command of Garma Zabi, the youngest member of the Zabi family, divided into five MS divisions with distinct goals. Beginning on March 1, UC 0079, the newly formed Earth Attack Force began staging drop operations to land troops on Earth; over the course of the next month, they would complete a total of five drops, landing in central Asia, North America, Australia, and northern African and the Middle East.

The first group dropped on Central Asia, wiping out the Federation's Baikonur spaceport. They then advanced to the Caspian Sea, moving west into Europe and south into the Middle East. The second and third groups were dropped on both coasts of North America with two objectives: 1) to subjugate the Federation's industrial military complex. 2) To take over the Federation food supply. The California Base (a generic term for the more than 20 military bases along the West Coast) became the staging ground for subsequent terrestrial assaults. As the bases were captured without damage, they were soon converted to production of Zeon MS. The fourth group, aided by support troops already on Earth, occupied many islands of the Oceania region for the procurement of resources. Up until then, the Principality faced a distinct disadvantage in resource availability, having to rely on Lunar and asteroid mining. The fifth and final group landed in the largely unprotected deserts of North Africa. With facilities, food, and resources at their disposal, the Principality was set for global conquest.

From these drop locations, the Zeon army spread across the planet, using captured facilities and material (notably including the Earth Federation's massive California Base) to strengthen their military power. Within a few months, Zeon controlled most of Europe, Asia, and North America. With the Federation forces scattered and their numbers decimated, their outlook was grim though the efforts of special units like the Semovente Corps and anti-mobile suit special tactical squads helped stem the tide on Earth.

Operation V[]

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The RX-78-2 Gundam in Side 7 (September 5, U.C.0079).

During Zeon's offensive on Earth, the Earth Federation was desperately trying to develop mobile suits of their own. Project V was a result of this; a top-secret Earth Federation Forces research project aimed at producing mobile suits for the Earth Federation, while the Vinson Plan was enacted to rebuild the Earth Federation Space Forces. A major breakthrough of Project V was the development of compact, mobile suit-sized beam weapons, giving a mobile suit the effective power of a battleship cannon. Three prototype designs were completed under Operation V; the long-range tank-like RX-75 Guntank, the mid-range support RX-77 Guncannon, and the close combat-oriented RX-78-2 Gundam. The suits would be stored on the Federation's newest battleship, the SCV-70 White Base, the first Federation warship to not only carry mobile suits, but also able to operate on Earth and in space. Unfortunately for the Earth Federation, while the new Pegasus-class ship White Base was traveling to Side 7 with a number of RX-series prototypes for space testing, they were discovered by a Zeon Musai commanded by Char Aznable. Aznable's subordinates attempted to destroy the Operation V prototypes while on a recon mission inside Side 7, and during the attack the civilian Amuro Ray managed to enter the cockpit of a Gundam unit.[1] This point marks the beginning of the story of Mobile Suit Gundam. It also set into motion a series of events that would send the White Base to Earth crewed almost entirely by civilian refugees. On October 4, Earth Attack Force commander Garma Zabi was killed while leading an attack against the White Base in North America.

Operation Desert Dragon (October 19)[]

The G-4 Project, a next-generation MS development project jointly conducted by the Federation Space Force, Army, Navy, and Air Force in October. Three Gundam Pixy units were known to have been constructed, with Unit 1 being sent to Belfast, Unit 3 assigned to Africa, and Unit 2 being stored at the Albatross Base in the Gobi Desert specifically in preparation to be transferred to the Pegasus-class assault carrier White Base for use at Odessa.

Zeon forces in the Gobi Desert commenced Operation Desert Dragon and attacked Albatross Base. The Gundam Pixy was commandeered by Captain Bork Cry of the Albatross Transportation Team to fight off the legions of Zeon mobile suits. The ultimate fate of the Gundam Pixy is uncertain. The unit may have been destroyed on the night of October 19, U.C. 0079, engaged in a fierce battle against Captain Henry Boone, leader of Zeon's Wolf Gar Team, piloting his MS-08TX Efreet, and the rest of the Wolf Gar Team, which had successfully infiltrated Albatross Base. Major Nacht Gaddish, commander of the Albatross Base, fled in a Medea, abandoning Bork and the Gundam Pixy. In the end only one thing is certain: the Gundam Pixy never arrived on the White Base as planned and Amuro's continued prowess as a Newtype meant the White Base needed supplies at this time more so than reinforcements.

Operation Odessa (November 7–11)[]

EFGF troops Battle of Odessa

EFGF troops during the Battle of Odessa.

Operation Odessa was the Earth Federation Force's first major offensive campaign on Earth. The opportunity for the Federation to strike back opened up with the death of Garma Zabi. Operation Odessa used 30% of the Federation Army to take out the Zeon mining facilities in the Odessa region; the lynchpin of the Principality supply network. Launched in early November, the objective of the campaign was to capture the Zeon mining facilities at Odessa and drive Zeon forces out of Europe and Asia. The operation was launched on November 7, ending two days later in victory for the Earth Federation. This was remarkable for the fact that the Earth Federation Forces consisted almost entirely of conventional troops, tanks, and aircraft, yet managed to defeat a Zeon force consisting of many mobile suits. The Earth Federation did deploy a small number of mobile suits, but they were mainly used in mop-up

RGM-79s Trench

RGM-79G GMs taking up positions in a trench during the Battle of Odessa.

operations and contributed relatively little to the battle. Operation Odessa marked the turning point of the One Year War; the beginning of the end for Zeon's forces in Europe and Asia. However, the leader of the Zeon mining operations, Colonel M'Quve, had enough mining material sent to the Zeon homeland to allow the Principality to continue the war without the danger of supply shortages. This battle was the largest and the bloodiest on Earth, where the Earth Federation relied heavily on conventional weapons such as tanks, bombers, fighter craft, a small number of MSs (30 units), and a large number of troops (3,700,000) compared to the smaller but much better equipped Principality of Zeon army; who fielded only a relatively small amount of fighters, bombers, tanks, and artillery, but over a hundred MSs which were more advantageous. (The complete statistics of the battle can be seen in Operation Odessa)

RGM-79Gs Advancing

A Group of RGM-79G GM's Advancing.

In the TV series version of Mobile Suit Gundam the White Base played a more important role. M'Quve had the aid of a traitor within the Federation, General Elran, who through his associate Judock, planned to sabotage the operation by holding back the troops led by Elran to allow M'Quve's forces to attack the troops belonging to General Revil. White Base pilots Amuro Ray and Sayla Mass accidentally witnessed Judock's Federation-commissioned plane leave a Zeon base without incident and they followed it to Elran's location where both were arrested, allowing Revil to take direct command of Elran's forces and use both armies to easily overpower M'Quve's unsuspecting soldiers. In desperation, M'Quve tried to break the Antarctic Treaty by launching a nuclear missile from a Dobday-class battleship but Amuro and the Gundam disabled it before detonation. From there, the determined Earth Federation Forces emancipated Europe, Asia, and eventually North America. The remaining Zeon troops regrouped for a massive assault on Jaburo base, hoping to kill the heart of the Federation.

Battle of Jaburo (November 30)[]

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Zeon forces descend upon Jaburo (late November, U.C.0079).

On November 29, UC 0079, the White Base finally reached the HQ of Earth Federation forces, Jaburo. At the same time, Char Aznable found the main entrance of Jaburo. Zeon began their initial attack by launching air raids. Char led a commando squad to infiltrate Jaburo through another way after wiping out a guard post with a squad of MSM-04 Acguys. Char's squad found the GM manufacturing factory inside Jaburo and planted bombs on the GMs, which were found by the orphans from White Base. The following morning, California Base sent several Dopps and Gaws to attack Jaburo, air-dropping many MSs while several amphibious mobile suits attacked Jaburo through the river. However, Zeon underestimated Jaburo's defenses. The Federation officers agreed that the White Base's presence would lure their enemy to Jaburo and had prepared a heavy defense against Zeon, part of which included introducing some of the newly mass-produced GMs to overpower them, though not without losses. The defenses at the spaceport were the strongest, since the White Base was docked there, and the defenders put up stiff resistance as it was expected that the White Base would bring the war to an end. On the other side of Jaburo there was a new Gundam, RX-78-6 Mudrock Gundam, defending it. However, it was destroyed by Zeon's Midnight Fenrir Corps. Char, defeated in a duel against the RX-78-2 Gundam piloted by Amuro Ray, retreated from Jaburo alongside the other Zeon forces. After the Battle of Jaburo, most of the Zeon military began retreating to space, leaving only the Zeon troops in North Africa and Australia to continue their resistance. The White Base also launched into space to provide a decoy operation.

The Fate of Zeon' Ground Forces[]

After the loss at Odessa, failure at Jaburo, and loss of California Base shortly afterward under the combined assault of EFGF Forces (including SCV-73 Blanc Rival, RX-78-6 Mudrock Gundam, RX-79BD-1 Blue Destiny Unit 1); Zeon was left with a huge problem: Its deployed ground forces and AMBAC lacking ground-type mobile suits became useless in relation to the fight for space, in addition, many were stranded across the Earth with few having the means to an HLV and thus limited to guerilla operations (as with Kimbareid Forces, Hughenden Fortress, Rommel Corps, and Midnight Fenrir Corps). To address this, Zeon decided to attempt rescuing retreating HLVs as best they could, intercept EFSF ships deploying from Jaburo, then hoped to utilize the Apsaras Project to outright destroy Jaburo and knock out the federation high command. In this interest the 603rd Technical Evaluation Unit embarked on rescue operations using the EMS-10 Zudah then was assigned alongside the 604th Evaluation Unit to deploy the MSM-07Di Ze'Gok to the task of interception. This was met with limited success, as the entirety of the 604th was lost, which quickly ended once Federation forces had finished deploying to space thus such operations were rendered impractical.

Meanwhile in Southeast Asia, Ginias Sahalin would continue working on the Apsaras I and then Apsaras II with the hopes of deploying a superweapon that could destroy Jaburo from low earth orbit; however EFGF forces would catch wind of the project and send the 08th Mobile Suit Team to destroy both. Their destruction mixed with the loss of Odessa at this time caused Zeon to cancel the project (shortly after the Apsaras III being completed) Zeon ground forces would make one last ditch attempt to evacuate via the remaining Zanzibar and HLV brought to earth, most of which would be destroyed leading up to the war's end. With the failure of all attempts, Zeon abandoned its ground forces remaining on Earth largely to their fates, yet some of these forces would survive; continuing to operate well into the 0080s without the coordination of Zeon or the Zabi Family.

Battle of Baldur Bay[]

After the Battle of Jaburo ended and EFSF forces regrouped around Earth orbit the Federation strategy demanded that the White Base and SCVA-72 Thoroughbred serve as two decoys (the named 11th and 16th Autonomous Corps) that would distract Zeon forces and disrupt Zeon logistics respectively in the tactical interests of Operation Cemballo and strategic interests of Operation Star One. The White Base would move to Side 6 and then proceed to Solomon with the EFSF Fleet, meanwhile the Thoroughbred would travel along the dark side of the Moon, attacking the Zeon Supply Corp, moving towards A Baoa Qu; It was planned to link up with the fleet then.

The White Base launched back into space, a Zanzibar commanded by Char Aznable caught up with it, only to let the nearby Zeon patrol, the Camel Patrol Team led by Char's ex-lieutenant Dren engage the White Base. By this time, Zeon had replaced their Space Attack Force's mainstay mobile suit, the Zaku II, with newer MS-09R Rick Dom. Instead of cutting of thef White Base's route of providing decoy, the whole patrol team was wiped out by White Base's forces. After the battle, the White Base went to Side 6 for repairs. Zeon Space Attack Force's commander Vice Admiral Dozle Zabi, worried about the Earth Federation Space Forces build-up at Luna II, dispatched the Conscon Fleet to trap the White Base while he remained stationed at Solomon to observe Federation's movements.

On December 5, UC 0079, Dozle's Conscon Fleet reached Baldur Bay of the neutral Side 6, as the White Base was docked in that neutral colony side. The White Base left Side 6 and engaged the Conscon Fleet. The White Base attacked a Musai-class cruiser and destroyed it a very few moments after it exited Side 6's perimeter. Conscon berated the White Base for playing dirty and ordered a full-out attack, but lost 12 Rick Doms within 3 minutes, most of them to the Federation's infamous Gundam. The Rick Doms were no match for Amuro, as his Newtype abilities were growing stronger, making his reaction time much faster. Conscon's Chivvay-class was destroyed by Amuro, who charged it after destroying the Rick Doms.

It was the first time Side 6 saw an actual conflict of the war on their doorstep, clearly captured by a TV camera shuttle rented by Cameroon Bloom. As the battle ended with the White Base successfully destroying the Conscon Fleet, Side 6 had aligned itself closer to the Federation while keeping its sovereignty as an autonomous republic, retaining its neutrality in the war, a move that irked the Zeon forces. This explained why there was a larger presence of Federation garrisons in Side 6 when Operation Rubicon (detailed below) started a few weeks after the White Base departed.

On The Dark Side of the Moon[]

The Thoroughbred would valiantly fight against the Granada Special Forces led by Mallet Sanguine which made up the defense of Granada in the absence of Kycilla's Mobile Assault Force which at that point moved to reinforce Dozle's forces. the 16th Autonomous Corps crippled Zeon's logistics in space and struck terror into their forces with the RX-78-4 Gundam Unit 4 "G04" and RX-78-5 Gundam Unit 5 "G05". In order to stop an additional reinforcing fleet from Granada directed for Solomon the RX-78-4 was outfitted for anti-ship operations and used its mega beam launcher against them, though the launcher was successful in destroying the fleet, the load it put on the RX-78-4's additional energy pack was too much, resulting in an explosion that destroyed the unit and killed its pilot, Luce Cassel.

With the loss of the G04, the Thoroughbred was reassigned from its original course of A Baoa Qu and instead redirected to finish off Zeon forces stationed at Granada; they succeed in helping condone Granada as the formal site of peace negotiations leading up to January 1, UC 0080 and remain there for the remainder of the war.

Operation Rubicon (December 14–23)[]

In December, Zeon intelligence learned of the Federation's secret project in the Arctic: The development of the RX-78NT-1 Gundam NT-1, the intended successor for Amuro's RX-78-2 Gundam. Zeon sent the Cyclops Team, a special task force, to capture the project materials before they were sent to space. However, things went badly for Zeon as the Federation launched the materials into space before the Cyclops Team could stop them. On December 14, UC 0079, Gray Phantom arrived at Side 6's Ribo colony Federation base. The Cyclops Team infiltrated Ribo to learn the location of the Gundam in preparation for an attempt to capture it. On December 19, UC 0079, The Cyclops Team launched an attack with their MS-18E Kämpfer as a diversion, while other members of the team infiltrated the Federation's base, disguised as Federation soldiers. Most of the Cyclops Team members, including the leader Hardy, were killed in action. Christina MacKenzie sortied in the Gundam NT-1 "Alex" to stop Zeon's Kämpfer, piloted by Mikhail Kaminsky, and prevent it from causing more damage to Ribo. With the mission apparently ending in failure, Colonel Killing ordered the destruction of Ribo colony with a nuclear missile.

The last remaining member of the Cyclops team, Bernard Wiseman, in an effort to save the colony by completing the mission, launched an attack against the Federation base on Christmas with his MS-06FZ Zaku II Kai. Christina again launched in the Gundam NT-1 "Alex" in an attempt to stop him without further damage to the colony. At the end of the battle, both machines were severely damaged, and Wiseman was killed. Operation Rubicon ended in failure, as the Cyclops Team had failed to capture or destroy the Federation's new Gundam, and Von Helsing's Fleet was captured. The Gundam, however, was in no condition to be sent into battle, and the war ended only a week later. The operation itself saw the violation of two points in the Antarctic Treaty, as Zeon had attacked a neutral colony and later attempted to destroy it with nuclear weapons.

December Sky[]

The Moore Brotherhood took the offensive striking at Side 4, at this time in L5. It was said that the space colony dropped on Earth during Operation British originated from this Side; since that time throughout the war Zeon forces had littered the region with various traps like the OP-02c Observation Pod, YOP-04 Balor. By this phase of the war, Zeon assigned snipers of the Living Dead Division to harass EFSF forces in the shoal zone. Whilst in the Federation's rear 603rd Evaluation Corp using GM Camouf conducted false flag operations against unsuspecting Federation Forces. Zeon strategy at this point hoped to utilize a mix of such raiding tactics and various small strike units through technology supplied by the Flanagan Institute and Zeonic to slow down the EFSF battle fleet through attrition and through this attrition, Zeon forces could decisively destroy the weakened fleet at Solomon or A Baoa Qu; this was a general strategy applied by Zeon for the remaining duration of the war and not limited to just Side 4, Side 6, or the Thunderbolt Sector.

The Moore Brotherhood's perceived trump card to defeat the division and reclaim Side 4 was an FA-78 Full Armor Gundam piloted by Io Fleming. In the end, this operation ended in something of a pyrrhic victory for the EFSF as the Moore Brotherhood was entirely destroyed or captured in the fighting as was most of the Living Dead Division. However, between their losses and Zeon's increasingly precarious war situation, the remains of the Division withdrew from Side 4 and went on to defend A Baoa Qu; with Federal Forces soon retaking all of Side 4 in their absence. The 603rd would suffer similar failure as the GM Camouf Squadron, despite it's success in destroying a Colombus and several Salamis cruisers, would be destroyed by friendly fire from a Musai and the 603rd would move on to conduct a lunar-orbit patrol mission with the MP-02A Oggo, before falling back to use MA-05Ad Big Rang in defense of A Baoa Qu.

At around this same time Nimbus Schterzen would lead a commando raid to kill Chlust Moses and steal the RX-79BD-2 Blue Destiny Unit 2. Yuu Kajima, alongside the 11th Autonomous Mechanized Composite Corps then pursued Nimbus to a colony in Side 5 where they cornered Nimbus and his entire Commando unit was destroyed. Alongside both RX-79BD-2 Blue Destiny Unit 2 and RX-79BD-3 Blue Destiny Unit 3

Operation Cemballo (December 14–24)[]

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An Earth Federation space launch as part of Operation Cemballo (December, UC 0079).

On December 14, UC 0079, Operation Cemballo began with the launch of a new Earth Federation fleet from Jaburo. Sending their new fleets into space, the EFSF moved towards the Zeon homeland at L2. Standing in their way was the Zeon defensive line, consisting of the asteroid space fortresses Solomon and A Baoa Qu, as well as the lunar city Granada. On December 24, UC 0079, the EFSF fleet launched an attack on the asteroid base Solomon, the headquarters of Zeon's Space Attack Force. Using their Solar System superweapon, the Earth Federation inflicted heavy damage on the enemy fortress and was able to capture Solomon. When it was clear that the battle was lost, Zeon Space Attack Force's Vice Admiral Dozle Zabi gave the order to evacuate the base and sortied in the MA-08 Big Zam to fight a delaying action. He succeeded in allowing many Zeon forces to retreat, but was killed by Amuro Ray in the process. The capture of Solomon marks the end of Operation Cemballo, and this event is also known as 'Battle of Solomon'.

The Plot to Assassinate Gihren Zabi[]

In light of the loss of Solomon and Granada, a series of attacks on high-ranking public officials begins to consume Side 3 by the organization known as Valkyrie. In Side 3 Public Safety Department investigations a computer transmitter linking the bombings to a far larger plot to kill Commander-in-Chief Gihren Zabi and come to a peace with the Federation comes to light. Believing they have the upper hand, Valkyrie attempts to attack Zum City but are annihilated by the Capital Defense Division aka Shield of Zeon. Valkyrie's perceived belief in their success was in fact a ploy by Gihren to destroy political dissidents and secure his power despite Zeon's military setbacks; interestingly during this time Gihren revealed his suspicions of Kycilla's ambitions though he did not act on these suspicions before A Baoa Qu when it would be to late.

Battle of A Baoa Qu: Operation Star One (December 31)[]

Using the newly captured Solomon (later renamed Konpei Island) as a staging area, the Earth Federation Space Forces continued their offensive toward Side 3 in Operation Star One; Zeon Forces during this time would attempt last ditch raiding (though the attempts differ based on the original Mobile Suit Gundam show and the compilation movies) against the staging area and the White Base. On December 30, UC 0079, with the Earth Federation Forces en route to the Zeon asteroid base A Baoa Qu, Zeon leader Sovereign Degwin Zabi approached the EFSF fleet with the intention of negotiating an end to the war. Feeling betrayed by his father, Gihren Zabi gave the order to fire the Solar Ray at the EFSF fleet which was assembling at Geldova Line, knowing that his father was in the line of fire. This attack destroyed a full third of the Earth Federation fleet present, and killed both Degwin and Revil.

Despite the cumulative losses of Star One, the Earth Federation continued their attack on A Baoa Qu. They assaulted the asteroid base on December 31, UC 0079. With their remaining forces, the EFSF fought against the gathered forces of Zeon's Mobile Attack Force and A Baoa Qu's garrison forces (see also: Battle of A Baoa Qu for a full military breakdown of present forces). During the battle, Kycilia Zabi executed her half-brother Gihren for the crime of patricide, murdering their father Degwin, and took command of the Zeon military herself. In the confusion this caused, some Zeon forces—notably the Delaz Fleet and Invisible Knights—fled before the battle was over. When it became clear that the Zeon forces would lose, Kycilia herself attempted to retreat; however, she was killed by Char Aznable before she could escape; soon after the fierce battle had ended swiftly in decisive EFSF victory.

War's End[]

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A toppled statue of Zeon sovereign Degwin Sodo Zabi. (February, UC 0080).

After Zeon's defeat at A Baoa Qu, and the death of the leadership on both sides of the conflict, the newly restored Republic of Zeon surrendered to the Earth Federation. The two parties signed a peace treaty at Granada on New Year's Day, January 1, UC 0080. By the terms of the Granada Treaty, Side 3 was allowed to keep its independence. However, some of Zeon's remaining military was dissatisfied with the conclusion of the war. Some of these forces retreated to the Zeon base Axis in the asteroid belt, while others, such as the Delaz Fleet and various remnant forces on Earth, remained in the Earth Sphere, hiding from the Earth Federation with the hope of one day striking back at them.

Federation Forces would be plagued for decades with so-called "Clean Up Operations". Almost immediately after the war ended it reappropriated much of its newly built or remaining mobile suits and warships to form new units including the Phantom Sweep Corps to destroy post-war Zeon remnants on and around Earth that never gave up their resistance.

Aftermath[]

Despite its relatively short length, the One Year War had a greater cost in human lives than all previous conflicts in human history put together. With 5.9 billion people killed during the war, the post-war population was left at 5.4 billion, less than half of the pre-war population. By comparison, the previous deadliest human conflict, World War II, cost 70-85 million lives, roughly 3% of the pre-war population of 2.3 billion. The complete destruction of Sides 1, 2, 4, and 5 left the majority of the remaining population concentrated on Earth, the Moon, and Sides 3 and 6. Many refugees displaced on Earth would sew the seeds of later conflicts like those seen in Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway where the Earth Federation would struggle with this issue for long after the war.

Because of the colony drop, thirty percent of the Australian continent was flooded, and cities along the coast of the Pacific and the Indian Ocean suffered catastrophic damage; The colony drop helped inspire more devastating acts by Axis Zeon and Neo Zeon in dropping outright asteroids instead of space colonies on the earth.

The hostility between Earthnoids and Spacenoids remained, mostly due to Operation British, which had caused an environmental disaster on Earth and heavy casualties among Earthnoids. There were many Earthnoids who blamed their suffering on Spacenoids for starting the war. This caused a kind of ethnic divide where Earthnoids considered themselves to be the elites and wanted to teach the Spacenoids a painful lesson; this attitude was exacerbated several times from UC 0080 onward but arguably the most by Operation Stardust, when another colony was dropped on Earth by the rogue Delaz Fleet, which in turn fueled the formation of the Titans and growth of Axis Zeon.

The One Year War set the stage for many of the Universal Century's later conflicts. The Delaz Fleet's Operation Stardust was a direct result of renegade Zeon soldiers' dissatisfaction with the outcome of the war. The Titans were created to counter this threat, which lead to the Gryps War. The Axis Zeon faction, which later became the First Neo Zeon, was also formed as a result of the One Year War, and their actions heavily influenced the Gryps War and the First Neo Zeon War. Other groups, such as the Second Neo Zeon, the Neo Zeon remnants, and the "Sleeves", were not spawned directly from the One Year War, but can trace their roots indirectly back to the conflict.

Major Battles of One Year War[]

One Week War (January 0079)[]

Earth Drop Operations (March 0079)[]

Stalemate (April - October 0079)[]

Turning Point (November 0079)[]

Endgame (December 0079)[]

Notes & Trivia[]

  • This war is actually based on the real world's World War II, however, what differs between them is that One Year War is set in the future and a fictional war, whereas humanoid robots (Mobile suits) and mobile armors replacing WWII's vehicles, i.e. MS as tanks or fighter aircraft and MA as tank destroyers or attacker/bomber aircraft. The book Gundam and World War II analyzed MS as tanks and MS development record stated MA are tank destroyers compared to MS as tanks. While official settings often state the use of MS in space warfare in the One Year War is comparable to the use of aircraft in navy battles in WWII.
    • Additionally, the concept of the Federation's "Big Gun" ships is similar to the "Kantai Kessen" battle doctrine adopted by Japan in WWII, with the Japanese Navy having a similar "big-gun" fleet consisting of mostly battleships. However, this doctrine was rendered outdated by the introduction of MS (aircraft carriers in the case of WWII). This doctrine also saw the pretext of a "decisive battle", which took place several times in the One Year War.
  • Zeon's use of G3 Gas to kill the garrisons of Earth Federation and the inhabitants within Side 1, Side 2, and Side 4 was an allusion to real-life Nazi's methods of gassing Jews in its concentration camps, most notably Auschwitz.
  • Operation Odessa/Battle of Odessa resembles the real-life Battle of Stalingrad. Both turned out to be the bloodiest battle in history and also served as the turning point of their respective wars. The victor of the battles turned out to be the forces to suffer the heaviest casualties, as the Soviet Union and Earth Federation took the most losses during the battle to achieve victory while the losers of the battle, Nazi Germany and the Principality of Zeon began to fall back on every front and eventually lost the war. The statistics of the Battle of Odessa can be seen on Odessa..
  • Darcia Bakharo's role in the Principality of Zeon is similar to that of Georg Michaelis' in Germany although Michaelis was in charge after World War I, not II.

Similarities with World War II[]

In several official sources and interviews with the staff and Tomino regarding the story writing of this war, it has been revealed that Tomino took inspiration from World War II. The Principality of Zeon takes most inspiration from the Wehrmacht during World War II, with German terms being used in their weaponry, such as MS-18 Kämpfer, their Earth Attack Forces’ Kubelwagen, etc. In some sources, manuals and decals for Zeon MS gunplas, German words were apparent as well. Likewise, Earth Federation takes inspiration from the Allied forces as well, as their weaponry being named in English, although their land forces, like the Asian Forces, takes after the Imperial Japanese Army/Navy. Unlike Zeon’s uniforms, which is a mixture of pre-WW1 imperial and Wehrmacht’s uniforms, Earth Federation’s uniforms, while different in design, takes after WW2 imperial Japanese uniforms, whereas field soldiers, volunteers, cadets, and their officers wear completely different uniforms. The Plot To Assassinate Gihren parallels the real life Operation Valkyrie/1944 Plot whilst in the setting of Side 3.

The final battles of One Year War, namely the battle of Solomon and A Baoa Qu, are uniquely similar to real life’s Battle of Saipan Island, Iwo Jima and Okinawa: The Federation Forces, having mainly defeated Zeon’s strongholds on Earth, starts to turn their attention to space and attacks Zeon’s position on space, weakening them, before attacking the Solomon space fortress. There, the Zeonic defenders, who were the strongest forces during the first days of the war, are now far weaker and resort to desperate attacks and improvised tactics that endanger both themselves and their enemies, with the Federation delivering the most crippling attack with their Solar System energy burner. Despite the deployment of Big Zam, the battle was lost. It was even more desperate in A Baoa Qu, where the defenders even resorted to suicide attacks and brutal on-ground gunfights and ambushes trying to stop the landing Federation soldiers when it was inevitable that A Baoa Qu was falling. Before the battle of A Baoa Qu began, Zeon had tried to reduce the Federation space fleet’s strength as much as possible, with the deployments of Elmeth and Solar Ray. In its real-life comparison, the Americans fought the brutal fights in Saipan, Iwo Jima and Okinawa against the weakening Japanese defenders, who by that time were equipped with weapons considerably outdated in class against their American opponents, their tanks were much lighter and less suitable to fight their enemies’ tanks, their air forces were a shadow of its former glory and redirected as suicide bombers or even worse, the infamous suicide rammers. However, they still wanted to defend their territories and gave hell to their enemies, even going as far as conducting suicide raids on enemies’ posts, charging against the enemies’ tanks with their insufficient bayonets and anti-tank/personnel grenades and the aforementioned kamizakes. The Solar System that the Federation used and its counterpart, Zeon’s Solar Ray, were references to the nuclear bombs used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as both caused high casualties; albeit in the One Year War, they were used on military targets instead of civilians, and didn’t use nuclear technology because nuclear and related biochemical weapons were banned in the Antarctic Treaty, hence Zeon and the Federation turning to the development of solar-based weapons.

Appearances[]

References[]


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