Menkent/Battles

First Battle of Menkent

First Battle of Menkent
Faction	Automatons
Start Date	April 9th
End Date	April 10th
Planet	Menkent
Operation
Group
Casualties	approximately 45,000,000 K.I.A.
Major Order	The Reclamation
Summary	Menkent successfully defended.

Background

Menkent was a planet under control of Super Earth in the Hydra Sector ever since the First Galactic War. The planet was engulfed in conflict on April 9th due to the Automaton efforts in The Reclamation. The enemy swept the entire Valdis Sector under their control in mere hours, and easily took control of Choohe in the Lacaille Sector before Menkent saw its first battle in approximately 100 years.

Strategy and Importance

Menkent has possible Supply Lines to two planets in the Lacaille Sector: Choohe & Chort Bay. Holding this planet at the time meant limiting enemy advancement options. Since the Major Order at the time was to successfully defend 5 planets, Menkent became a hotspot for Helldiver activity.

Battle

The majority of Helldivers deployed to Menkent's defense during start of The Reclamation. Because of this, Menkent was first planet to be successfully defended from the Automatons during the Major Order. The Helldivers continued their vigilance after their first victory on the 10th of April. Now that Lesath & Chort Bay were taken, it was only a matter of time until more waves of Automatons would continue the assault on Menkent in the near future.

Second Battle of Menkent

Second Battle of Menkent
Faction	Automatons
Start Date	April 10th
End Date	April 14th
Planet	Menkent
Operation
Group
Casualties
Major Order	The Reclamation ; Halt the Automaton Advance
Summary	Menkent is loses its initial defense; sees liberation a few days later.

Background

Not long after a successful defense, Menkent finds itself under attack by another wave of Automatons. Another planet in the same sector, Vernen Wells, is also under attack at this time. The Major Order: Halt the Automaton Advance is announced on the 12th of April.

Strategy and Importance

Menkent continued to stay an important planet in holding back the Automaton advance, however, the Helldivers sent the majority of their forces to Vernen Wells initially. On the 12th of April, a new Major Order was issued to establish the Menkent Line. Menkent & Lesath had to be liberated and completely defended for Super Earth Armed Forces to install rudimentary orbital defenses to deter the Automaton advance into Super Earth territory.

Battles

Since the majority of the Helldivers were deployed in Vernen Wells, the remaining forces left on Menkent focused on evacuation and the crippling of Automaton forces heading to Vernen Wells. At around midnight, the initial defense of Menkent was lost as the majority of the planet belonged to the Automatons. As Vernen Wells saw a successful defense, Ship Modules were expanded due to the increase of threat level, and a new Major Order: Halt the Automaton Advance was issued. This revitalized efforts in liberating Menkent and a surge of reinforcements to establish the Menkent Line arrived to reclaim the planet. In the early hours of the 14th of April, Menkent was fully liberated and the creation of Menkent Line was in progress. This would later be disrupted by another Automaton assault on the same day.

Third Battle of Menkent

Third Battle of Menkent
Faction	Automatons
Start Date	April 14th
End Date	April 15th
Planet	Menkent
Operation
Group
Casualties
Major Order	Halt the Automaton Advance
Summary	Menkent is successfully defended.

Background

After a successful liberation of Menkent, the majority of Helldivers quickly moved in to take Lesath in the Lacaille Sector according to the Major Order: Halt the Automaton Advance. While the Menkent Line was being started on Menkent, another wave of Automatons arrived on the planet and began their assault on the same day a few hours after it was liberated.

Strategy & Importance

Menkent was pivotal in the success of the current Major Order at the time. The Helldivers needed to not only liberate Menkent and Lesath to succeed, they needed to also hold the planets until the end of the operation's duration to give Super Earth Armed Forces enough time to establish an effective orbital defense. If Super Earth did not establish a defensive formation here, it would be even more difficult to mount an effective offensive later.

Battles

Since the majority of the Helldivers were focused on their efforts to liberate Lesath at the time, a smaller but capable contingency stood by and defended Menkent. Their goal was to ensure that the whole planet was not taken over by the Automatons. The battle was fierce, but the moment that Lesath was liberated, Menkent started to receive reinforcements - almost doubling the number of forces defending the planet. In just a few hours, Menkent succeeded in its defense against the Automatons and the enemy was forced to retreat away from the newly formed Menkent Line on the 15th of April.

Fourth Battle of Menkent

Fourth Battle of Menkent
Faction	Automatons
Start Date	April 22nd
End Date	April 23rd
Planet	Menkent
Operation
Group
Casualties
Major Order	Defense on Two Fronts
Summary	Menkent fails its defense.

Background

Amidst the fall of Lesath, a large battalion of Automatons set their sights directly towards Vernen Wells which was acting as a forward base supporting Lesath and Menkent. At this time, Menkent was the only planet left with rudimentary orbital defenses which discouraged the enemy from directly engaging a battle on the planet itself. Additionally on the 21st of April, the destruction of long-ranged communication arrays on Vernen Wells caused liberation % to not display correctly for the Helldivers. After the failed defense of Vernen Wells, Menkent saw battle on the 22nd of April as it was surrounded by hostile planets from multiple sides.

Strategy & Importance

Although the Menkent Line was an effective way of staving off the Automaton's advance, the fall of Lesath punched a hole through the defense. The enemy focused on Vernen Wells itself - exploiting this advantage. Menkent's orbital defenses was able to discourage enemies from laying siege to Menkent itself for a few days. That gave Helldivers time to focus on the defense of Vernen Wells which was held as high priority at the time. Although many Helldivers rallied to the defense of Vernen Wells, its initial defense eventually fell, and the Automatons were able to gain a sizable foothold on the planet. Menkent now facing invasion, once again held the role to continue to give time for the Helldivers to liberate Vernen Wells, as with its orbital defenses, it would've been difficult for the Automatons to conquer the planet easily.

Battle

During the Fourth Battle of Menkent, many Helldivers arrived to reinforce the planet. Unfortunately, as the Major Order: Defense on Two Fronts stated, planets threatened by the Terminids and Automatons were threatened across the galaxy and the Helldivers were spread too thin. Even though the defense of Menkent by the Helldivers was valiant, the presence of the newly mass-produced Factory Strider combined with the Automatons sending attacks from multiple sides was simply too overwhelming. Eventually, the defense fell on the 23rd of April as the Automatons gained a large amount of ground on the planet.

Fifth Battle of Menkent

Fifth Battle of Menkent
Faction	Automatons
Start Date	April 23rd
End Date	May 21st
Planet	Menkent
Operation	Operation Legitimate Undertaking
Group
Casualties
Major Order	Phase I: Citizen Rescue ; Decommission Automatons for Mines ; Hold Planets for SEAF conscription ; Kill and Dismantle Freedom's Enemies
Summary	Menkent eventually fell into Automaton control.

Background

Not long after losing a large amount of ground on Menkent, the Automatons tightened their grip on the planet. The liberation % continued to drop to dangerously low levels. By now, the orbital defense system installed on the planet no longer functions. Vernen Wells is finally liberated once more near the end of the day on the 24th of April, lightening some of the pressure on Menkent. Meanwhile, the Major Order: Defense on Two Fronts is successful on the morning of the 25th of April as Ustotu saw liberation from the Automatons - further allowing Helldivers to reinforce a position on Menkent.

On the 26th of April, the Major Order: Operation Legitimate Undertaking, Phase I: Citizen Rescue was announced, making Menkent a point of interest for Helldivers wanting to liberate Choohe for early access to the MD-17 Anti-Tank Mines and saving the scientists responsible for its creation.

After the conclusion of Operation Legitimate Undertaking, Phase I: Citizen Rescue an emergency broadcast stating the failure of the Terminid Control System and the creation of Meridia into a Supercolony was announced. Helldivers focused efforts in stabilizing the situation until the 10th of May, when a new Major Order: Decommission Automatons for Mines was announced.

After that Major Order was concluded, Menkent continued to see conflict as the Automatons kept most of the planet under their control. The Major Order of the creation of SEAF training facilities was announced on the 16th of May. On the early hours on the 21st of May, Vernen Wells loses its defense against the Automatons during the Major Order: Kill and Dismantle Freedom's Enemies which has cut off Menkent's Supply Lines.

Strategy & Importance

After initially losing the defense, the Helldivers put the liberation of Menkent on low priority as the Major Order of the time needed Helldivers to focus on the defense of planets rather than liberation. Estanu, Mort, Varylia 5, and Ustotu were given higher priority as they needed to have successful defenses to accomplish the Major Order. The moment Vernen Wells was liberated, it became favorable for Helldivers to start liberating Menkent.

Presumably, the new Major Order highlighted the fact that Menkent had possible Supply Lines to Choohe - a planet which evidently housed the scientists responsible for creating the Anti-Tank Mines. Despite this, only a small number of Helldivers in comparison reinforced Menkent and opted for the RL-77 Airburst Rocket Launcher - by deploying into Lesath instead. Menkent continued to be largely unimportant and low priority for the rest of that particular Major Order.

When the Major Order to Deactivate the Terminid Control System was announced, Menkent's liberation was put into low priority and slowly lost ground as Helldivers scrambled to help contain this new Terminid situation. Even after the completion of the Major Order, Menkent continued to be put at low priority as another Major Order pertaining to the Terminids was announced shortly afterwards concerning the Supercolony's ability to create spores and spread outbreaks in other planets.

Around the 10th of May, the Major Order: Decommission Automatons for Mines was announced and Menkent was finally given a slightly higher priority once Vernen Wells was liberated.

However, this was short lived. The new Major Order to hold Aesir Pass and Vernon Wells to help create SEAF training facilities drew many Helldivers away from Menkent, lowering its priority. This downward trend of liberation continued unto the next Major Order: Kill and Dismantle Freedom's Enemies. Vernen Wells lost its defense on the 21st of May - cutting off all available Supply Lines to the planet.

Battles

During the 23rd to the 24th of April, Menkent slowly lost ground. It gained a small number of Helldiver reinforcements when Vernen Wells was liberated, following an even bigger spike in reinforcements once the Defense on Two Fronts Major Order was completed around the 25th of April. There was a trend of positive liberation up until the announcement of the next Major Order.

When the Major Order: Operation Legitimate Undertaking was announced, many of the Helldivers chose to deploy to Lesath then continued onwards to Penta for access to the Airburst Rocket Launcher Stratagem. This action resulted in only a minimal number of Helldivers assigned to Menkent's liberation. Chort Bay was also chosen by many Helldivers instead of Menkent for liberation to access Choohe at the time for its favorable conditions in comparison to Menkent. Unfortunately, this decision caused a failure in the Major Order and research on the Anti-Tank Mines was halted on the 29th of April. By the end of this Major Order, Menkent saw slow but steady progress in its overall liberation.

However, the rise of a potentially lethal situation in the form of the failure of the Terminid Control System forced many Helldivers away from Menkent on the 30th of April. The slow progress that was made to liberate Menkent was slowly becoming undone by the Automatons during this time. By the 1st of May, Super Earth was only able to hold about 30% of the planet's liberation in combination with the meager number of Helldivers present on the planet. Menkent continued to lose liberation % all the way into the end of the Major Order and the following Major Order: Contain Supercolony Outbreaks which continued focus away from the planet's defense.

At this point, liberation was at an all-time low on Menkent, with Super Earth only controlling less than 1% of the planet's territory during the 4th of May to the 9th of May. The Helldivers that remained on Menkent continued to gain experience on the fiery planet while clinging to the small stretches of liberated land until the day more reinforcements would arrive. Eventually, on the 10th of May, a spike of Helldiver reinforcements would arrive after the successful defense of Vernen Wells. The new Major Order: Decommission Automatons for Mines called for the destruction of 2 billion Automatons. This allowed some Helldivers to choose liberation efforts on Menkent and on the 14th of May, Menkent found itself on a gradual gain of liberation - currently having approximately 14% by the time of the end of the Major Order.

Unfortunately, with the rise of a New Major order: Hold Planets for SEAF conscription, on the 16th of May, Menkent once again saw a decline of Helldiver activity as it became more important to protect Vernen Wells and Aesir Pass. This reduced the liberation well below 1%. Despite successful defenses of Vernen Wells during the last Major Order, it still loses its defense on the 21st of May during the new Major Order. This crippled any remaining liberation efforts happening on Menkent even further. Menkent eventually finds itself unavailable for liberation as the failed defense of Vernon Wells stops all Helldiver access to the planet. The long and gruesome fifth battle of Menkent was lost on the early hours of the 21st of May.

Sixth Battle of Menkent

Sixth Battle of Menkent
Faction	Automatons
Start Date	June 14th
End Date
Planet	Menkent
Operation
Group
Casualties
Major Order	No
Summary	Battle is ongoing.

Background

Vernen Wells is finally liberated during the Major Order: Rescue Children or Explosives - successfully saving the lives of 4311 children on the 14th of June which opens a path towards Menkent.

Strategy & Importance

Menkent is a planet in the Hydra Sector that connects to several planets in the Lacaille Sector. It is currently not the target of any Major Order so the priority to liberate the planet is low.

Battles

Helldivers made contact with the enemy the moment Vernen Wells was liberated. At that time, around 2,000 Helldivers attempted to maintain a slow and steady liberation rate despite the majority of the Helldivers focusing on Marfark. The battle is ongoing.