(An interim analysis of the Vektan invasion for the Emperor's Staff, prepared by Colonel Mal Himeon.)
The recapture of our Vektan colony from the forces of the upstart ISA was meticulously planned in 2357. Care was taken to maintain operational security, agents were established at the highest levels of the military command of the ISA forces and their secrets were laid bare. A simple nine step plan was formulated:
1. Utilize deep-cover agent ISA General Stuart Adams to neutralize the orbital defense platforms.
2. Utilize deep-cover agent ISA General Dwight Stratson to gain access to intelligence and lure the ISA troops out of the cities into the field.
3. Mount an invasion of Vekta whilst the orbital defense platforms are down, under the command of General Joseph Lente.
4. Reactivate the defense platforms in time to defend Vekta against the inevitable support fleet sent by the UCA.
5. Declare the system to be under Helghast control and sue for peace with the UCN whilst the UCA is still reeling from the loss of its fleet.
6. Use the resources of Helghan and Vekta as well as technology captured from the wrecked UCA Navy fleet to build a Helghast fleet capable of defending the system from the UCA Navy.
7. Begin charging trade tariffs for passage through Helghast space to Earth again.
8. Blockade the Earth and strangle the UCN into submission.
9. Capture the UCN Navy yards and orbital defenses. Leave Earth's population to starve to death. Build an enormous fleet and establish Helghast hegemony over all colonies.
In light of the failure of the invasion, I have carried out an analysis of the steps of this plan in order to discern whether high level planning was the cause of the failure. I am happy to say that the Emperor's plan is faultless in every aspect. The worst risk was that the ISA would sabotage the orbital station before we took it - but the Emperor's belief that the ISA lacked the will for such an action, and the presence of our agent Stuart Adams, who commanded the platform for the ISA, indicated that such an act was unlikely.
The plan is simply constructed and logically follows on - step by step. If the orbital platform had been operational when the UCA Navy taskforce arrived then we would still be in possession of Vekta. For that reason I have deduced that no blame can be attached to the high level planning and that the errors lie at a lower level of command.
Next I turned to General Lente's operational strategy. The Third Shock Army was in training for six months before deploying, and was one of the first units "reforged" in our program of modernization. Under his command it was considered elite - and was well equipped and supplied throughout the invasion.
General Lente's training program was extensively examined by the General Staff and considered to be cutting edge. His basic operational strategy prior to the invasion was authorized by high command, and thoroughly examined before the operation commenced. No flaws were detected.
In August of that year the first steps were taken. Our navy gloriously defeated the ISA picket force in open battle and routed a UCA Navy patrol that was also in sector. Now we had complete space superiority and the invasion fleet was dispatched to Vekta - landing the first division of the Third Army in the first day of operations.
Agent Adams shut down the defense grid on schedule. The first division landed on schedule and proceeded to secure the beachheads, holding the line until the second division was landed - also on schedule. Reinforced by the second division, the Third Army captured the ISA headquarters and drove the ISA Commander in Chief, General Vaughton, into the field and eventually up to the orbital defense platform, where he was executed by General Lente's men.
To date everything had proceeded perfectly, but before his death General Vaughton dispatched a Special Forces unit with orders to undermine Lente's operations on Vekta. This unit is said to have been made up of only four personnel, but I believe this to be an obvious propaganda ploy, as the unit seems to have covered a lot of ground during its operational deployment, and accounted for at least two companies of troops and a firebase. The unit's commander is believed to have been a Rapid Reaction Force Captain by the name of Jan Templar, which would place this Special Forces unit at either a platoon or a company of RRF soldiers.
Anecdotal evidence recovered from reports indicates that Captain Templar could also draw upon personnel from the regular ISA garrison - which means a reinforced platoon or some new designation of unit assembled from Special Forces and regular infantry units. Considerable intelligence assets have been expended to try and find out more about this mysterious Captain Templar, but it seems clear that he was present when General Lente was assassinated by an ISA Shadow Marshal near the end of August. The Shadow Marshals are assassins and saboteurs whose existence is often denied by the ISA - this one appears to have used information from the traitor Gregor Hakha.
Here Lente's few mistakes become evident. He exposed himself to this assassin, lured into a trap by Hakha, with whom he had been on good terms in the past. Despite Lente's actions towards Hakha's family after Hakha deserted, it is possible that he retained some vestige of compassion towards this half-breed misfit. Lente's bodyguard unit was destroyed, and he was executed personally by Gregor Hakha - it is believed he died honorably in combat.
Whilst Lente would deserve censure if still alive, the public reception to his death means that he should retain his hero status. Soldiers at all levels of the Helghast Army fight in his name and, I understand, the Brotherhood of Lente is an unofficial soldiers organization whose members swear to die before surrendering in battle. We should consider these the final gifts of a gifted Commander, and allow him to retain his honors in death.
After Lente's death, the situation on Vekta rapidly disintegrated. The various divisional commanders failed to unify their efforts or choose a successor in time to prevent Captain Templar's unit from reaching the orbital command station and neutralizing the orbital defense network. Instead of ambushing the UCA Navy fleet, when it arrived, the UCA Navy fleet was allowed to deploy without hindrance - whereupon it defeated the invasion task force and established orbital superiority over Vekta.
It is my opinion that Lente's invasion failed not because of inherent flaws in the planning of the operation, or even in the way which he carried out the first stages of the invasion plan. Instead it was due to the treason of Gregor Hakha, and a failure of company-level commanders to carry out field operations in a properly ideological manner. If the innate superiority of Helghast soldiers had been unleashed without mercy onto the weak Vektan foe, then he couldn't possibly have withstood the fury of our attack. Templar's unit would have been crushed before it ever reached the orbital station or ambushed General Lente.
I recommend increased ideological training at the company, platoon and squad level. The men must be properly incentivized to fight with maximum zeal. In addition the remaining family of the traitor Hakha must be publicly executed.
In September the Marshal's Council appointed General Metrac to replace Lente. His first task was to unify the divisional commands still fighting on Vekta and take the fight back to the ISA. Agent Stratson, another highly placed field agent in the ISA hierarchy, used his authority to push the ISA troops into open field conflicts with the renewed Helghast units, whereupon the ISA units were decisively beaten again and again.
At this point the situation reversed yet again - and again, it was due to the interference of Captain Templar and his unit of Special Forces troops. Within the matter of a few short weeks, Metrac was killed along with his command staff. Agent Stratson was unmasked and killed as well. With our intelligence apparatus on Vekta ruined, our general slain for the second time and our armies decisively broken, we had little choice but to evacuate the planet.
Many of our soldiers would never see home - but at least we were able to recover much advanced weapons technology from the laboratories of scientist Evelyn Batton. Amongst these were several high grade nuclear weapons, which we successfully shipped back to Helghan for future operations. These weapons can only have been devised for use against the Helghast homeland - and I pray to the Emperor that we never see such horrors used against our cities.
By January of 2358 the last Helghast had been retrieved from the surface of Vekta. No more would be forthcoming.
I believe that General Metrac's invasion strategy failed for two reasons. Firstly, the existing weaknesses within the remnants of General Lente's army (see my examination of the failure of Lente's invasion). Secondly, I believe that General Metrac placed too much emphasis on special units of troops and upon the Agent Stratson. In future operations, I recommend that we not rely on agents whose motives and ideology are impure and suspect.
Fortunately the ISA, in their gutless pacifism, are still reeling from our blow. Intercepted communications indicate that the UCA Naval taskforce has withdrawn and that local ISA forces are focused on disaster recovery and rebuilding projects, rather than upon establishing a firm defense again. I believe that as the sting of the invasion fades, the ISA resolve will diminish too. We may have up to five years before we face reprisal. Indeed, I believe that the ISA are far too cowardly to ever attack us on our own ground, and that our navy would defeat them even if they were to make the attempt.
This concludes my report to the Emperor's Staff. I make myself available to you in the event of further questions or requirements and remain his Imperial Majesty, Emperor Visari's most faithful servant.