THE BATTLE WON
The first months of 2177 saw the Alliance rear echelon soldiers move out of 'Cassandra's Bastion' on Uralis, and onto transports for preparation of the next part of the war. Replacing them were millions of refugees, mostly batarians from Dahshur but including ex-slaves of all species. Once they were secured, the combat troops of the Fifth, Tenth, Fourteenth, and Twenty-First legions were also moved to garrison positions elsewhere, while the Thirteenth and Thirty-Second legions guarded the refugee camps and the main spaceports. Conditions in the refugee camps were far better than what could be seen on the streets of many of the broken cities across Anhur, but the lack of work, quartering of different political groups together, and discrimination by Alliance soldiers in favour of humans pushed tensions higher. Riots were put down hard on three separate occasions, and the population was segregated into Council and non-Council species by decree in February.
The Alliance also collected some ten million prisoners over the course of the invasion, and these had to be dealt with. The solution was to spread out them over the planet, a precaution taken for a number of reasons. Another was to segregate human pro-slavery troops from the batarians and turian mercenaries who were to be sent to Sidon. The former were to be tried and imprisoned for treason, the latter would be interned as prisoners of war for release after the war. The reason for this separate arrangement was that word had arrived in the closing stages of the fighting that the Batarian Hegemony had declared Anhur part of its sovereign territory, in an attempt to muddle post-war ownership of the colony should they lose. Both were put to work in cleaning up rubbled streets and blasted buildings, however.
Irregular resistance to Alliance occupation began as soon as regular combat concluded, as did inter-community fighting. Due to the rapid advance across New Cilicia, Waset and Dahshur, there was a huge proliferation of weapons in the black market on the planet, particularly in the first weeks when military government had yet to be fully established. The weapons spread to every corner, not least to the refugee camps. Insurgency attacks against Alliance forces were repulsed with contempt, and in areas controlled by the Thirteenth Legion, they were met with immediate reprisals once the offending parties were identified and located.
Alliance losses for the invasion stage of the fighting were the heaviest in any engagement until the Eden Prime War of 2183. Of the thirty-six million troops deployed, more than a million were incapacitated at some point by disease or wounds. Some three hundred thousand lost their lives, a number thought of as massive by almost all galactic observers save for some of the more hardline turian generals, but one that humanity was willing to give. A few thousand more would die in the insurgency in the months afterwards.
Na'hesit losses were total. It is estimated that at least a quarter of their forces were killed in action, the great majority by the precision orbital bombardments against their bunkers. The rest surrendered at various points in the campaigns or are listed as missing, presumed dead. Despite calls for investigations into this data anomaly, Field Marshal DeRuyter refused access for independent investigators, and the civilian government that succeeded her governance of Anhur followed suit.
AFTER THE BATTLE
Soon after the successful invasion of Anhur, the Batarian Third Fleet attempted a breakout of the Viper Nebula against the Alliance Eighth Fleet, in an attempt to re-establish trade lines with the Terminus Systems and return the naval conflict to a mobile state. The attempt utterly failed, as the Alliance Navy had set up a series of ambush points along likely jump zones and discharge sites. The Batarians were beaten back despite superior numbers, and limped back to the orbit Arahoht to lick their wounds. It would be the last time the batarians would attempt a breakthrough operation during the war, as they attempted to wait until their new line of dreadnoughts and carriers were constructed.
This had an immediate benefit for the Alliance however; Field Marshal DeRuyter now had the full use of Admiral Hunt's Second Fleet to continue offensive operations in the Terminus Systems. Using Anhur as a base, she kept her formations from Troop Commands Afrika and Europa to accompany her newly freed up naval capability, and took advantage of the situation. This was the beginning of the famous march of the 'Grand Army' around the northern edge of the galactic core, a relentless advance that liberated or seized dozens of worlds in a crescent from asari space all the way to the border with the Verge. This would slowly cripple the ability of the Terminus warlords to pursue continued hostilities with the Alliance, as well as add important outposts to humanity's territory. The advance would continue through 2177 until it ended in 2178 on Torfan.
The success of the invasion also encouraged Alliance offensives elsewhere. To the south of the Verge, Troop Command Columbia under Field Marshal Martinez was dispatched to enter and defend the highly independent Yuki Cluster, a sector of space accessible to the Hegemony by regular FTL from their own southern clusters. The batarians would contest the space until the armistice itself, and the US, Mexican, South American and Brazilian forces stationed there would be hard pressed throughout. Most notable was the Akuze Incident, when troops of the US 101st Orbital Assault Division were attacked by a nest of Thresher Maws after receiving a false signal from a Cerberus operative. The dual offensive strategy restored Army confidence and prestige, lending it significant public support and ending talk of its subordination to the Navy.
The swiftness of the victory over the Corporate Congress shocked even Alliance analysts. The Citadel Council was no less surprised. Humanity had shown that the war wouldn't necessarily be a stalemate that would last for decades, as the asari and salarians had feared. The possibility of a complete human victory was now firmly in view, and none of the Council species wished to be seen as siding with the losing party. A motion to restore full access to all Council space was passed soon after the success, with the turians and salarians voting in favour and the asari abstaining. This helped to facilitate the war in the Terminus, which was an absolute necessity for the prosecution of the fighting against the pirate lords. This repaired much of the damage done to the Council's reputation in human circles, augmented in late 2177 by the addition of logistical support during the latter part of the Terminus offensives.
The political consequences within humanity were great as well. With Anhur in her pocket and Alliance forces on the advance in all sectors, Consul Nozomi Taro won a decisive wartime election victory in August 2177, assuring her rule until after the end of the Second Verge War. Alexander deBankole rose to be her right-hand in the coming term, the heir apparent With the political situation stabilised, planning for the final offensive against the heart of the Hegemony could begin. These plans could not be put into action until after the defeat of the pirates however, and so it would be late 2178 before the killing blow could be delivered.
The Batarian Hegemony's reaction to the liberation of Anhur was muted. Their commitment to the campaign was minimal to start with, but they still understood its value to their enemies. Anhur was the gateway to much of the space occupied by their Terminus allies, who would now face the full wrath of the Alliance without support. However, with the defeat of their Third Fleet in the attempted breakout of the Viper Nebula, there was nothing to be done about it. Arch-Hegemon Ar'dra is reported to have been entirely indifferent when news of the planet's fall reached his ears, remarking that "Anhur is nothing and nowhere." Nothing could be further from the truth.
Anhur saw great change in the years after the invasion, and not entirely for the better. Unable to control the increasing racial hatred, and nonetheless determined that the planet was to be one for humans primarily, Field Marshal DeRuyter took a fateful decision. Confronted by increasing violence from the batarians, she ordered their deportation en masse.
The moderate factions would be removed to a newly discovered garden world in the Attican Traverse, provided with colonisation equipment and logistical support, but removed nonetheless. Unsurprisingly, there was great resentment among these groups initially, but they came to appreciate the move. They named their new world "Shan'Kharit", or "Home of the Great Ones". This would later become the epicentre of batarian anti-Hegemony resistance in the years between the end of the Second Verge War and the Great Upheaval. The Hegemony loyalists and the extremist factions were not so lucky. They were scheduled to deported to the Terminus Systems via an Illium transportation contract brokered by the Eclipse. They resisted, albeit in different ways. The Hegemony loyalists went along with the deportation orders until they were aboard the passenger transports on Illium, at which point they broke free of their bonds and hijacked the ships. They would later join with the Anhur Protection Forces' fleet, which was still on the run from the battle and would become a menace to Alliance shipping until Torfan. The extremists resisted violently from the beginning, and were put to the sword by General Petrovsky's troops at every turn.
After the deportations, Anhur's human population began the hard process of rebuilding. Once the prisoners of war and human traitors were moved to Sidon, this became a difficult process. Unlike Elysium, there would be little funding for reconstruction, as it was still unsure whether or not the Citadel would allow the Alliance to keep the colony once the war was over. Things improved after the war, but reconstruction was still under way when the Reaper War began in 2186. The Reapers found the fighting on the planet more difficult than usual, as large numbers of bunkers and caves remained intact from the Verge War era. By the time of the Reapers' defeat, much of the work to restore Anhur was undone, and its population relies heavily on support to this day.
The International Tribunal for Anhur and Korlus began proceedings on Sidon in early 2178 with a large set of tasks ahead of it. First, it would need to deal with the captured leadership of the Corporate Congress. Second, some determination about the criminality of the actions of lower ranking pro-slavery humans would need to be made. Third, the actions of the Alliance's own military commanders would need to be examined. All three were controversial, particularly on the subject of jurisdiction.
In the case of the Na'hesit leaders, it was argued that the Citadel Council's own judiciary held the right to trial as opposed to the nations of the Alliance, as Anhur was a Citadel-chartered colony when the war began. After due consideration, the court decided that this was a valid argument, and suspended all charges of the Na'hesit leadership save for those that had refused surrender in the final days. Those that had offered to capitulate were transported to the Citadel for trial. Those that had refused and ordered the continuation of hostilities were tried for murder, slavery, and crimes against humanity. Seventeen were found guilty on the death penalty charges of slavery and crimes against humanity for the attempted genocide at Tarsus after a nine month trial. They were executed by firing squad in 2179. The remainder received life sentences either on murder charges or as part of negotiated settlements regarding their capital assets.
The human soldiers and officers of the Protection Forces were also tried by the tribunal. The prosecution wished to see them follow their masters either in front of rifles or into prison for the rest of their lives. Their defence attorneys argued that they were prisoners of war regardless of their species, and that they should be interned until the end of the war just like the turians and batarians captured in the invasion. The tribunal rejected both viewpoints. While the humans were indeed sworn soldiers of a belligerent state, they also remained human. As the Alliance was and is the sole legal representative of humanity, fighting against it as a human is treason regardless of their loyalties. All humans who fought for the Corporate Congress were sentenced to a minimum of fifteen years in prison in addition to any other charges relating to war crimes that individuals may have been found guilty of. This was a reduced sentence across the board, the sentencing hearing acknowledging that the prisoner-of-war issue was a serious mitigating factor.
The Alliance command staff were also questioned during the course of the tribunal as to their actions during the fighting, particularly with regard to orbital bombardments of civilian-occupied areas and the actions of the Thirteenth Legion throughout operations. DeRuyter appeared in person before the judges, and argued executive privilege in wartime to have the charges dismissed. The tribunal conceded this point, and no Alliance officer was tried as a result. However, the use of executive privilege to cover up what were effectively murders was extremely controversial among the more pacifist elements of the Alliance Parliament and public. The final word on the military conduct of the soldiers during the invasion would be heard later.
Field Marshal Cassandra DeRuyter was awarded the Star of Terra for the speed and completeness of the victory over the Corporate Congress. She remained Military Governor of Anhur until the end of the war, though allowed the planet to be ruled first by the leadership of the Anhur Republican Army and then by an elected parliament. She intervened only to safeguard Alliance interests on the planet. She would lead her troops on a glorious set of campaigns that linked both sides of Citadel space with a corridor through the Terminus, defeating independent colonial lords and pirate barons alike.
After the Second Verge War, she would be appointed as Chief of Staff of the Alliance Army, humanity's highest military position alongside her counterpart from the Navy. She would serve in this position through the Eden Prime War, the Great Upheaval, the Collectors' Crisis and the Reaper War, remaining at the heart of human military affairs through the galaxy's most crucial years. Her leadership during this time would be an essential factor in the victory that followed.
Colonel-General Oleg Petrovsky would remain in command of the Thirteenth Legion throughout the Terminus offensives until the end of the war. It was rumoured that he would eventually replace Field Marshal Martinez upon the retirement of the latter, but it was not to be. In 2182, the pressure to have him removed and tried for war crimes built up steam during a crucial election campaign. The Labour Party, unsure of victory, attempted to placate the Confederalists and Greens, both of whom were dovish in their sentiments. Unable to try Petrovsky for war crimes and keep DeRuyter, they simply removed him from command before the election itself. The General was furious, feeling betrayed by the Alliance utterly for the simple act of protecting humanity and its values. He was soon approached by Cerberus, and became the leader of their military forces in 2183. A General once again, he was largely responsible for their seizure of key human-majority Terminus colonies in the years leading up to the Collector Crisis and the building of their fleet. He would command the invasion and occupation of Omega during the Reaper War, until Shepard arrived to liberate the station.
Lieutenant Karla Haider was promoted to Captain for her actions on Anhur. She also received the Iron Cross of Honour for her intervention in Tarsus; Germany's highest military award, granted only to soldiers who risked their lives to defend civilians. However, her habit of interpreting orders liberally was deemed dangerous in a combat officer, and she was reassigned to the Intelligence section of the Twenty-First Legion where she excelled. Haider's abilities saw her move up to DeRuyter's intelligence staff, where she coordinated with naval intelligence operatives and discovered Torfan as the last redoubt of the Terminus pirates.
After the Second Verge War, she transferred to the Defence Intelligence Directorate and was promoted to colonel, her rapid rise assured by her political contacts and her genius for her duties. In 2181, she personally foiled an assassination plot by a ultraleft terrorist against the leader of the conservative People's Party and head of the parliamentary opposition, Alice Dennison. The terrorist planned to use an omnigel-created explosive device to bomb a party meeting. Haider burst in just in time with a team of First Legion specialists and shot the terrorist dead personally. Dennison never forgot who had saved her. When Dennison won the 2182 elections and forced a coalition government, Haider was promoted again to Major-General and became Army Director of the DID as well as chief intelligence liaison to the Consuls. This was a position she would keep until the start of the Reaper War, when circumstances would force her to take up political power in her own right. The rest is history.
General Sickle's fate remains as unknown as his real identity does. Given the circumstances of the end of fighting on Anhur, it seems unlikely that he could have escaped during the first few months after his defeat. This has led to great speculation that he either died during the last days of fighting or that he took on the disguise of a lower ranking officer in order to be taken prisoner and then flee. Historians favour the former view, given that almost every bunker on Waset and Dahshur was bombarded with penetrating orbital bombardments during Operation Augustus. Many of the higher ranking officers were killed in such a manner. Extranet conspiracy theorists prefer the latter theory, pointing out that many officers also survived the bombardments and the war generally, with those believing that Sickle was human being the most zealous in their belief that he got away to fight another day. These theories often connect with talk of shadowy commanders in the Terminus during the Reaper War, but are entirely without merit in the available evidence.
The Corporate Congress, or those members that were not tried by the International Tribunal, were tried by the Citadel Council Judicial Board on Colonisation in 2180 after years of protective custody. The delay in their trial was deemed necessary for the purposes of objectivity, but was also an expression of the power of the Council over humanity's demands for an immediate set of charges. When the members of the Congress were finally charged, they were again divided. Those who had voted for slavery were convicted of criminal breach of a Citadel treaty, depriving sentients of their freedom and fraud. Non-asari received thirty years, the few asari members and single krogan member received three hundred. Those that had voted against the motion to transform contracts into bonds of slavery were released, even if they had in fact cooperated with the slavers after the motion had carried. This division was grudgingly accepted by the Alliance on the condition that the assets of those released be transferred to a victims' fund. The Council agreed, having no wish to see the sharp end of private lawsuits if they refused.
Minister for Defence Alexander deBankole became a political star overnight as a result of the victory on Anhur, rising from an obscure member of cabinet to the would-be successor to Consul Taro. His strategic and logistical plan to take the planet worked out better than he had hoped, thanks in no small part to the tenacity of Field Marshal DeRuyter and the insight of Lieutenant Haider. Although he disapproved of the deportation of batarians from Anhur, he oversaw the resettlement of the moderates on Shan'Kharit and assured they were not simply left to their own devices. This won him support from the moderates in his own Parliament, who were left uncomfortable by the total war strategies of the Consul. By 2183, he had succeeded Taro as leader of his party and had held onto power, albeit in coalition, just in time for the Eden Prime War to begin. His paramount role in that conflict, particularly in preparing the Alliance economy for war once again and in negotiations with the quarians have secured his place in history, as the importance of those two factors cannot be understated in the final victory during the Reaper War itself.
Author's Note: The next chapter shall be "The Alliance Military: 2176-2183", an examination of the structure, size and leadership of the Alliance Army and Navy. This is in response to several questions about what a legion is exactly, why the two branches of the military are separate in this canon unlike the mother canon, etc etc.
The next battle will be Torfan.