Confed Handbook Confusion

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Chris Reid had suggested I get ahold of the Confederation handbook a while back when I was looking for some reference for the wc movie ships, so after a bit of ebay trouble I was able to get one. Some of the best reference available, really cool stuff.

But as I was reading through some of the history section there seems to be a bit of a problem. The book claims that the Kilrathi were first encountered on 2638.229, and then goes on to contradict itself in saying that war was formally declared on 2 different dates; 2641.009 and also 2639.007, neither of which match up with the Action Stations story.

Now I'm left wondering how can this be resolved?
 
I can answer this one (or, at the very least, start a reasonable debate going.)

The "real life" reason isn't very sexy: the Handbook was written to conform to an earlier cut of the Wing Commander movie that moved the start of the war several years later. Fortunately, that reference did not survive to the movie-as-released.

Now, lets deal with how the references work within the Wing Commander universe.

Consider that Wing Commander is an analogue for the Pacific War. So, when did that begin? Does it start with the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931? The invasion of Northern China in 1937? The attack on Pearl Harbor in December, 1941? The formal declarations of war made the next day (by the US and China)? There's no single answer.

Now, Wing Commander. Consider the question before the movie added to this canvas:

When does the Terran-Kilrathi conflict start? Is it with the first act of aggression on the part of the Empire, the 2621 execution of Dr. C.L. Kohl at Ghorah Khar? Is it with the first taking of a human-held planet, Fawcett's World, in 2628? Is it the disasterous 'first contact' attack on the TCS Iason in 2629? Is it the five year terror campaign that followed that incident, now known to be a coordinated offensive on the part of the enemy government?

Is it the attack on the Anna Magdelena on 2634.186 that prompts the President to declare a limited war, pursued against individual clans and families believed to be operating without the approval of the Emperor (something not taken seriously by either side at the time)? Is it not until the massive attack on human space some months later (including the McAuliffe Ambush) that began total war in earnest?

Consider that the Kilrathi had no formal diplomatic relations with the Confederation at any time before 2668. All the declarations of war in the universe weren't good for anythingAdmiral Tolwyn himself claims in 2673 that "we weren’t officially at war with the Kilrathi either, but there were two sides."

Now, the movie material adds three points: two quotes from the Handbook and one from the movie itself.

* "On 2639.007 - less than eight hours after news of the attacks reached Terra - the Confederation Senate passed a formal dec-laration of war against Kilrah." (p.12)

* "On 2641.009, Confed formally declared war. From that day to the present, conflict has cotntinued unabated." (p.10)

* The movie's introduction claims that "as of 6 AM this morning" a state of war exists.

I note this last part simply because it's clearly separate from the 2634.186 Presidential declaration -- which, in fact, went into effect at 6 PM -- presumably it matches up with one of the two Handbook dates.

Now, I think in the context and the specifics of the existing debate these seemingly contradictory quotes actually add to the story. Note that the first (2639.007) has a clear cause and a clear effect different from the 2634.186 declaration: namely, it is in response to a particulraly violent (towards civilians) Kilrathi offensive and it is made by the Senate rather than the President.

The second, which is in all fairness an error in the handbook itself (different parts use different sets of dates), can still be reconciled -- it's simply the point after which the war did not stop. From 2641.009 to 2654 (and beyond, of course), war raged every minute of every day. It's the point at which the war became 'real' to the Confederation -- training and building for war is different from actually fighting it.
 
I had always been confused by the grey area of when the war actually started. About how long have the hostilities - not the war, per se, (I believe) - between the two sides been going on by the time Action Stations happens? And where does the Iason incident(s) come into effect? I had thought that the first contact with the Kilrathi was what sent us spiraling toward war in the first place.
 
Im looking for something more along the lines of a timeline, I guess?
 
I had always been confused by the grey area of when the war actually started. About how long have the hostilities - not the war, per se, (I believe) - between the two sides been going on by the time Action Stations happens? And where does the Iason incident(s) come into effect? I had thought that the first contact with the Kilrathi was what sent us spiraling toward war in the first place.
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The official first contact between the Terran Confederation and the Empire of Kilrah was April 15th, 2629 (2634.105). This is the infamous "Iason Incident". The Odysseus-class Explorer TCS Iason encounters the KIS K'rath'kan while exploring the Vega Sector. Captain Jedora Andropolos orders his ship to attempt contact using wide-band non-verbal greetings. After a 22 minute standoff Kal Shintahr Brath'kar nar Caxki, believing his ship to be under attack, opens fire. All hands on the Iason are lost; deep space tracking computers track the K'rath'kan as it returns to Kilrah. This was (and generally still is) considered the first official contact between the Terran Confederation and the Empire of Kilrah. Even in the light of historical review it is still very important because when war does break out in earnest Captain Andropolos is considered the foremost human martyr.

It is not the first actual contact between human and Kil: this honor belongs eight years earlier. On October 20th, 2621 (2621.293) Dr. C.L. Kohl, a human anthropologist, discovered Ghorah Khar. Observing in secret he recorded data on the Sivar-Eshrad ceremony occuring on the planet. Unfortunately, he was discovered and executed by the Sivarist priestesses. He was considered missing for many years, but by the mid 2650s his actual fate was known. He was holds the dubious honor of being both the first human to discover the Kilrathi and the first to be a victim of Kilrathi aggression. His story is not widely known.

Serious contact on the frontier begins in the year before the Iason Incident, in early 2628. Humans operating on the less reputable frontiers of human siace (in particular the Landreich Sector) begin to encounter Kilrathi merchants and military units around this time. Their claims are generally ignored by or not reported to the authorities... but among pirates and smugglers the Kilrathi are familiar opponents and trading partners by the time the Terran Confederation mourns the death of Captain Andropolos.

There was one more major, unreported event before the Iason Incident: the Kilrathi capture of the Fawcett's World colony ship. A human colony ship landed at Fawcett's World, Landreich Sector in early 2629. The landing was noticed, however, by the planets original claimant: the nar Ki'ra clan. Baron Vakka nar Ki'ra orders the colony taken and the humans made prisoners. This is the first capture of a human settlement by the Kilrathi and in practice if not intention the first incident of full scale warfare. It is also far more important for our purposes: the capture of Fawcett's World is the point in history after which the Empire of Kilrah considers itself to be at war. The databanks of the colony ship are raided and humans with military experience are sent to Kilrah for interrogation: Fawcett's World, captured before the Iason Incident, is what spawns the Empire's war plan. Fawcett's World is maintained as a human colony by the nar Ki'ra clan through the opening of hostilities; Vakka uses it to study humans and to train his clan royalty (including his son, Jukaga nar Ki'ra) about their enemies. Note that this event was unknown to the Terran Confederation, perhaps for the entirity of the war itself. The colony ship was simply considered lost -- otherwise it would certainly recieve far more credit by those studying the coming of the war.

Any one of these events could be considered the start of the Terran-Kilrathi War. Many references use the 2629 "Iason Incident" date - in particular, any source claiming that the war went on for forty years (2629-2669). The other three earlier points (2621, 2628 and early 2629) are not usually cited, but are fascinating from a historic perspective.

That's everything that happens up to first contact - if you're reading this linearly then the Iason Incident (mentioned first) goes here.

For the next five years, from 2629 to 2634 the Empire of Kilrah enacts its war plan - the Terran Confederation remains completely unaware. The Kilrathi test the humans with an organized campaign of assault, piracy, kidnapping and plunder launched deeper and deeper into human space over these five years. Human analysts, in turn, assure the government that this is not an organized campaign: it is believed that these are the actions of individual clans and leaders rather than the Empire itself. At the same time, the Kilrathi government rejects all attempts at diplomatic contact.

Next, in early 2634 the Terran Confederation Congress unanimously votes to issue an edict to the Kilrathi. The communique is bizarre: the Senate simply confirms that they will continue to enforce a non-aggression policy against the Empire... but at the same time warn that another attack could lead to military reprisals against individual clans. The Empire presumably sees this as a sign of weakness and as proof of their plan: that humanity is disorganized and unable to fight a war. Their war moves to the next stage, preparation for a Jak-ta strike that will crush the Confederation in a single multi-front campaign.

Next is an important date: 6:00 PM GMT, July 5th, 2634 (2634.186.2000). This is the first official declaration of war by the Terran Confederation against the Empire of Kilrah. The President of the Terran Confederation, invoking his power under the Articles of Confederation, declares war... with a major proviso: in the announcement of the war he publically states that the Confederation intends to pursue only a limited war against sectors where Kilrathi forces, still believed to be operating individually, have launched attacks on human space. This ultimately means a single, comparatively minor offensive against Kilrathi installations in the Facin Sector. It does not deter Kilrathi war plans, which simply ignore the human offensive. This declaration is made in response to public outcry over an attack: a pair of Kilrathi fighters destroy the Anna Magdelena, a transport ferrying orphans to Dieno.

Finally, we have August 23rd, 2634 (2634.235): the McAuliffe Ambush (the culmination of Col. Schwarzmont's novel). The Kilrathi launch their war plan on several fronts - they capture 153 star systems before human resistance breaks the assault. Carrier warfare changes forever at the flash point of the McAuliffe System. The Confederation is crippled... but the Kilrathi are left shocked that their plan has not acheived the victory they sought. Both sides settle in for a long, bloody conflict...

Summary Timeline:
* 2621 - Dr. C.L. Kohl Killed
* 2628 - Frontiersmen Begin Encountering Kilrathi
* Early 2629 - Fawcett's World Captured
* 2629.105 - Iason Incident
* 2629-2634 - Organized Kilrathi Campaign of Terror
* Early 2634 - Congress Admonishes The Emperor
* 2634.186 - Anna Magdelena Incident, President Declares War
* 2634.235 - McAuliffe Ambush Begins

Then, of course, we have the appendix added by this very thread. At 6:00 AM, January 7th, 2639 (2639.007.0600) the Terran Confederation Senate officially declares war on the Empire of Kilrah, confirming the President's earlier statement and formally affirming what everyone in the galaxy has been engaged in for the past five years anyway. This formal declaration is made in response to an attack the day before in which a Kilrathi carrier group decimated an unarmed settlement of Pilgrims - a system which had officially declared its neutrality in the current conflict. Another similar declaration is made the next year, on January 9th, 2640 (2640.009). This one is of particular note because historians claim that the war continues completely unabated from this moment on (there is constant fighting and no significant hope for peace for another twenty-eight years).

Of course, the final note is that there was no diplomatic envoy on Kilrah -- so all of these declarations are for the citizens of the Terran Confederation and as a marker for history... since Kilrah officially turned away all communications during this period, a state of war never formally existed.
 
1.) Where does the "second Iason Incident" fall into that timeline? (Or does it not?)

2.) Where did you get your "early 2628" date? I don't remember there being a specific date in AS (though it's been some time since I read it and don't have it in front of me either)
 
1.) Where does the "second Iason Incident" fall into that timeline? (Or does it not?)
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August 17th, 2638 (2638.229) -- but I would treat it as a simple case of anti-shipping after the war is already in full swing.

2.) Where did you get your "early 2628" date? I don't remember there being a specific date in AS (though it's been some time since I read it and don't have it in front of me either)
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From President Blucher's conversation with Cmdr. Turner: "We knew about the Cats a full year before any of your official histories will ever acknowledge it." (AS, p.199)

Turner and Tolwyn talk some about how the actual interaction on the frontier has been going for the last five years earlier in the book.
 
The line
"* 2668 - Frontiersmen Begin Encountering Kilrathi"
looks like a typo on the year. 2628?

I only mention it because that looks like some really good reference material.
 
Yeah, that's the "year prior" Landreich stuff that Lehah and LOAF refer to in the two posts above.
 
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