| "Battle of Demeter" redirects here. For the in-game depiction of the battle as seen in Titanfall, see The Battle of Demeter |
The Battle of Demeter was a critical battle in the Frontier War, such that it is understood to be the single most pivotal conflict of the entire war. It was fought on and around the eponymous planet Demeter, with smaller conflicts on some of its moons.
Since Demeter was considered the central link for transit between the Core Worlds - the seat of power for the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation - and the Frontier thanks to its refueling facilities, the tactical importance of winning the battle was significant, as controlling Demeter meant controlling access to the greater Frontier.
Ultimately, the Frontier Militia declared victory after successfully destroying said refueling depots, rendering the planet inert and effectively cutting off the Frontier from the Core. The battle was both a major critical blow to the IMC and a key step in uniting the Militia, a crucial shift in momentum that the latter would hold and from which the former would never truly recover for the rest of the war.
Prelude[]
Over 15 years before the battle, James MacAllan and Marcus Graves would conduct war games against each other, to simulate fighting for the other side. Both commanders would always end in a stalemate, with the final objective being Demeter.
With MacAllan's joining of the Militia after the Battle of Troy and massacre of Colony G21, MacAllan would be able to put the strategies he simulated decades ago into use. His plan would involve attacking the planet to cut off the IMC from their reinforcements in the Core Systems. However, doing this would require removal of a major obstacle, the IMC fleet stationed at Airbase Sierra.
Knowing that the Militia could not attack the base on a frontal assault, MacAllan planned to destroy the Repulsor Towers protecting the facility from Leviathans and Flyers. Conscripting his old friend Barker to the cause would provide the Militia with the know-how to sabotage the towers. On one proviso; Barker's insistence on the destruction of the IMC flagship, IMS Sentinel.
The Sentinel's destruction at the hands of the commandeered Orbital Defense Cannon at Outpost 207 would have far-reaching consequences; with the vessel unable to lead the defense at Demeter, the IMS Colossus would be promoted to flagship, and would lead the defense of the planet. The Sentinel's destruction would also trigger the IMC 2nd Fleet to be brought in from the Core, though it is unknown whether these reinforcements could reach The Frontier in time.
The final piece to be put in place would be the destruction of the 1991st Combat Support Group, and the vast fleet of Phantoms and Goblins stationed there. With the majority of all Militia assets on the Frontier rapidly closing on Demeter, only a small covert element - a handful of Pilots and Sarah Briggs - would be sent in to manually take down the Repulsor Towers, destroying the base in the process and depleting a significant portion of the IMC's military power available to defend the base.[1]
Shortly before the battle, IMC troops would be given a short speech by Doctor Hammond himself.[2]
The Battle[]
The Battle of Demeter would start in space, with the IMC Colonial Navy - led by Vice Admiral Marcus Graves and his flagship IMS Colossus - holding a perimeter against the Militia's Birminghams, Tankers and Brick Ships. Before long, however, a small force of Crow dropships would be able to jump through a hole in the IMC defense, crashing near a refinery and deploying its force of Pilots and Riflemen, with MacAllan dropping in his Ogre-Class Titan to detonate the central reactor core of the facility. In response, the IMC would deploy their own force of Pilots, Marines and Spectres. Kuben Blisk would also deploy in a Drop Pod to intercept MacAllan in the tunnels.[3]
Militia (left) and IMC (Right) fleets engage in the skies above Demeter
With the battle now ground-side, it would not take long for Militia vessels to punch a hole in the IMC defense, and for vessels of both fleets to begin fighting each other in the skies above the infantry.[3]
Eventually, MacAllan would reach the reactor core ahead of Blisk, locking the mercenary out of the chamber and beginning to sabotage the core. With only minutes left until the reactor's overload, he would reach out to his old friend - Graves - offering him one final chance to join the Militia and fight for a noble cause. With news of the reactor's unavoidable overload, Spyglass would cancel all evacuation attempts - abandoning the remaining troops on the planet to their fate. The remaining elements of both fleets would jump away from the planet just as a chain reaction of nuclear explosions detonated, rendering the planet uninhabitable and the refueling facilities there useless.[3]
Aftermath[]
The consequences of the Battle of Demeter would be severe for the IMC; Demeter's destruction would prevent fleets from making the extremely fuel-intensive FTL jumps to The Frontier, possibly even having to rely on conventional sub-light speeds for interstellar travel - reinforcements, as predicted by Spyglass, would take at least two years to arrive on the Frontier. However, by the time of the Battle of Typhon, over five years after the battle, the IMC is still on a back-foot.[4]
AL-6 in the Battle of Demeter.
The Battle would also be the first major show of power for the Militia; instead of a simple rag-tag band of terrorists and farmers, the Militia were an organized military force that could oppose the IMC. This fact would lead to mass human defections to the Militia cause, significantly reducing the manpower available to the IMC and prompting the creation of the Stalker, Reaper and Tick alongside the standard BRD-01 Spectre. This would put pressure on what remained of the IMC's supply lines, with automaton production facilities such as the Hammond Industries Regional HQ and Zone 18 production plant becoming prime targets for further Militia attacks. Fuel reserves such as the Black Water Canal and Sand Trap would similarly become important flashpoints.
Overall, the Battle of Demeter was the defining moment of the Frontier War, turning a simple rebellion into a fully-fledged war between powers, with the Militia regaining over a quarter of Frontier territory in the five years since.[5]
A particularly notable defection would be that of Marcus Graves - the highest-ranked officer of the IMC. With Graves, and the knowledge he obtained, now on the side of the Militia, Spyglass would be promoted to Vice Admiral and the leader of the Remnant Fleet, working to ends currently unknown.[6]
The death of MacAllan would also become a Militia symbol, with his name being adorned on a new class of Militia vessel - the MacAllan-Class Carrier - and its maiden ship, the MCS James MacAllan.
AL-6 would deploy as an IMC Pilot in this battle, with his personalized Destroyer-class Titan. He would survive, and later go on to fight on Tristan.
Ultimately, the IMC would never fully recover from the loss at the Battle of Demeter, despite efforts to rebuild their forces in the Frontier. The Frontier War would end in what is understood to be the IMC's loss, even considering both they and the Militia would cede power and leave the Frontier to govern itself.
References[]
- ↑ Titanfall mission - "The Three Towers"
- ↑ Titanfall mission - "The Battle of Demeter" (IMC briefing prior to the mission)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Titanfall mission - "The Battle of Demeter"
- ↑ Titanfall 2 mission - "Effect and Cause" (during Marder's speech)
- ↑ Titanfall 2 mission - "The Pilot's Gauntlet"
- ↑ Titanfall mission - "Made Men"