McAuliffe Ambush - 2634

The McAuliffe Ambush was a major battle that took place in 2634 between the Terran Confederation and the Empire of Kilrah, the first large-scale engagement of the Terran-Kilrathi War.

On 2634.228, Ches M. Penney partially decoded the current Kilrathi cipher. An intercepted message indicated that a fleet was preparing to attack McAuliffe and Alexandria. Terran Confederation High Command dispatched an ambush fleet twice as large as the reported invasion force. On 2634.235, the Kilrathi fleet arrived at McAuliffe, but four times the expected size, an intelligence failure resulting from an incomplete translation. The battle raged for several days, ending with the remnants of the Kilrathi strike fleet retreating so that they might regroup and continue their offensive. Meanwhile, the Confederation Space Navy was nearly obliterated in the opening volley as many of its ships, among them the fleet carrier TCS Coral Sea were destroyed by torpedoes and numerous fighter wings. The Confederation was forced to retreat in an effort to reorganize its surviving forces.

After reeling from their tremendous losses in the opening stage of the battle, the Confederation fleet attacked McAuliffe again on 2634.236.

The Terran Confederation fleet was nearly destroyed, but demonstrated an unexpected ferocity to the invading enemy.