Universal Calendar 799,
Reich Calendar 490, May 5th, 2240:
The Yang Fleet had just about trapped
within the firing range of its guns.
Reinhard von Lohengramm's flagship Brünhild
Sir, an emergency message Heinessen!
Unconditional surrender?
What are those Heinessen bastards thinking?
no, we are winning!
We're on the verge of winning-
and we're putting the screws to them,
We've got our hands around their throat,
so why do we need to stop the battle?!
What's the meaning of this?
The Alliance forces have halted all their ships.
That's not all, they're also requesting a ceasefire.
Commandant, I need to have a word.
so please don't say a thing.
I know what you want to say,
If you understand, then just let me confirm!
and order an all-out attack.
Please ignore the government's command
If you do, then three things will fall into your hands.
Duke Lohengramm's life,
all of space, and future history to come!
Be resolute!
walking down the main path of history.
If you just keep advancing, then you'll be
Yeah, that's also an option,
but those clothes don't really seem to fit my size.
Lt. Commander Greenhill.
Order all our forces to retreat,
Yes, Sir.
Absurd.
Why is this happening all of the sudden?
Were they not one step away from victory?
of justifiable reason
Are you saying there's some sort
to abandon the victory right before your eyes?!
with an incident in the Eleuthera Stellar Region.
That reason began three days earlier
To the approaching unidentified vessel:
of the Imperial military.
This is the Mittermeyer Fleet
Heave to at once.
If you do not, we shall open fire.
We're allies!
We request a meeting with your commander!
Fräulein Mariendorf, why are you here?
Vermilion system right now, we won't be in time?
So you're saying that even if we head to the
Yes, even with the speed of the Sturm Wolf,
to rescue Duke Lohengramm.
you won't make it in time
Then what are you saying we should do?
an alternate plan, Fräulein.
I'd guess that you must have
a single ship may be one thing,
To make it from here to the Vermilion system,
it would easily take four days, right?
but to move a fleet there,
Today is May 2nd, so you'd arrive on May 6th.
the progress of the battle in Vermilion,
Before coming here, I checked on
was nothing ordinary.
but the Alliance military's offensive
and arrive at the battlefield on May 6th,
Most likely, even if you continue to transition
will already be decided, right?
the outcome of the battle
Heinessen, is two days away from here.
However, the Alliance capital world,
have put all of their military might
And furthermore, the Alliance forces
into the battle at Vermilion,
it's most likely defenseless.
so even though it's the capital planet,
government surrender in a single stroke,
We should attack, have the Alliance
to halt battle on the front lines.
and then have them order the Yang Fleet
I see.
isn't the only way to provide aid, is that it?
Acting as reinforcements on the field of battle
Duke Lohengramm and it was rejected.
To be honest, I proposed this to
in fighting and winning.
He believed there was meaning
I think those values are correct,
will have all been for nothing.
but if we lose then this
Do you think that Duke Lohengramm will lose?
Yes, if things continue as they are,
that Duke Lohengramm shall experience it.
then it will be both the first and final time in his life
I understand now that we've reached this point.
But Fräulein, there's one problem right now.
will follow the government's order to cease fire.
In other words, whether or not Yang Wen-li
when his victory is so close at hand,
From his point of view,
and accept a ceasefire?
why should he throw that away
And if the government is one step from collapse,
for him to gain political power.
it will become quite easy
Is that not so?
I've also considered that.
fire order will be effective against Yang Wen-li.
However, I've come to the conclusion that a cease
he's had countless opportunities up until now.
If he were aiming to seize political power,
And yet he's let those chances slip by,
as a single soldier defending the frontier regions.
and instead contented himself with his lot
more precious to him than political power.
And I believe that Yang Wen-li likely has something
something he feels in his skin.
Not an ideology, but rather
I believe that's an admirable trait,
we have no choice but to use this chance.
and while I know it's cowardly,
to a desire for political influence
But he may suddenly awaken
and ignore the government's orders.
for such a large and attractive opportunity.
At any rate, there's no precedent in the past
Yes, I won't say that it's impossible.
useless, and not worthy of consideration?
But would you say that makes my proposal
No, I understand, Fräulein Mariendorf.
Let's follow your plan.
There don't seem to be any other options, after all.
from the bottom of my heart.
Thank you, I appreciate your decision
But I alone will not be sufficient.
I assume you understand the reason.
and instead independently attack Heinessen,
Yes, if you don't head to save Duke Lohengramm
regarding political treachery.
there will be concerns
and share in this achievement?
So, who do you intend to be our fellow traveler
as he's in the neighboring star system,
A man who's easy to contact
terms of ability and trust:
and one who is quite worthy in
Oskar von Reuenthal.
Do you have any objections, Fräulein?
No, I also believe he's the obvious choice.
And that's how it is.
I wonder what Admiral Reuenthal will think?
with Imperial forces fighting one another?
Don't you think this might end
You have a surprisingly rich literary imagination.
Reuenthal is my friend,
with a dull-witted man for ten years.
and I am not so gentle a person as to be friends
of your imagination,
You are free to spread the wings
that invites needless misunderstandings.
but please refrain from speech and conduct
Sir! My apologies; I've said too much.
preparations for battle.
Our unit is to assume level one
Why, sir?
constantly prepared for a surprise enemy attack?
Isn't it common sense for a soldier to be
We're in the middle of an enemy nation,
playground back home.
not on your elementary school's
under the teacher's gaze!
It's not like we're trying to steal a midday nap
Right, my apologies; we'll do it at once.
I don't believe that I've gone too far.
the adjacent Mittermeyer Fleet
Rear Admiral Bayerlein's forces of
have taken an unusually rigid formation.
about an enemy ambush?
Do you think they obtained some information
Incoming call from Admiral Mittermeyer.
Put it on screen.
I see, so if I were to not just refuse,
then he'd be willing to fight.
but take steps to interfere with this proposal,
These don't seem to be Mittermeyer's instructions.
has done on his own?
Is this something that novice Bayerlein
I may be doing something that is the height of folly.
unusual aspiration and ability
Perhaps I've told a man of
of the existence of his ideal opportunity.
in time to save his master,
If he's unable to reach the battlefield
even in those without ambition?
wouldn't that cause daring intentions to sprout
What would happen if I were to not turn around?
"Bright Jewels of the Empire,"
Though they are both called the
Admiral Mittermeyer rather than Admiral Reuenthal
the reason I chose to bring this proposal before
was because I recognized this potential danger.
Understood.
Fräulein Mariendorf's proposal.
As you say, I'll also follow
Heinessen at once to support your attack,
I shall have my full forces head for
but I shall leave it to you to scrutinize the details.
Of course, that will be after our fleets join up.
with the intention of taking him hostage,
If I were to call for Mittermeyer
may have an extreme reaction.
the hot-blooded Bayerlein
There's no need to push myself, at least for now.
called the "Bright Jewels of the Empire,"
Mittermeyer and Reuenthal,
with a total of 30,000 ships between them,
of the Free Planets Alliance, on the 5th of May.
attacked Heinessen, the capital world
of the Imperial military.
I am Senior Admiral Wolfgang Mittermeyer
under the control of my troops.
The skies of Heinessen are already
the government of the Free Planets Alliance.
I demand an overall peace treaty from
and deactivate your armaments.
Cease all military actions at once,
will face indiscriminate assault.
If you do not, the capital world Heinessen
I'll give you three hours to respond...
some entertainment before that.
so let me provide you with
This is sufficient, right?
if the general public's houses are ravaged by fire,
The people in power may not raise an eyebrow
should make them go pale.
but the destruction of government buildings
the citizens as much as possible, yes?
You're thinking you wish to avoid harming
Well, I was born a commoner, after all.
Admiral, may I say something here?
the crimes of their chief executive won't matter.
Tell them that, if they surrender,
direction for their decision.
I believe that would suggest a
It's a shameful line of reasoning.
But, as you say, it should be effective.
Let's tell them that.
Let me tell you my decision.
We'll accept the demands of the Imperial forces.
we have no other choice.
Now that they've threatened indiscriminate assault,
Chairman!
Has my position been officially recalled?
That hasn't happened.
to reach a resolution in this war
In that case, the responsibility and means
are in my hands.
I'm only exercising that responsibility and means.
Please stop.
our republican government,
If you intend to abuse the institution of
bring an end to its history and its spirit.
then you don't have the right to
glory our democratic nation has built
Do you intend to singlehandedly destroy the
since Ahle Heinessen?
in the two and a half centuries
for you to say, Islands.
That's a pretty arrogant thing
You may have forgotten, but I certainly remember.
to become a cabinet minister,
That night when you wanted
you brought me an expensive silver vase.
kickbacks from businesses,
How often you took donations and
for the elections to purchase a villa,
or used some of the funds allocated
with women other than your wife...
or used public expenses to write off trips
I know about it all.
As you say, I'm a third rate political hack,
is because of you.
and the reason I have my current position
I owe you a debt of gratitude.
I can't let history sully your name,
That's precisely why
of some ruined country.
turn you into the statesman
Please, reconsider this!
If you refuse to surrender, then we may die here,
in that time, the Alliance will be saved.
but if Admiral Yang destroys Duke Lohengramm
Imperial forces will return to their country,
If Duke Lohengramm dies, then the
who will lead their hegemony next,
and while they're fighting over
our national defense systems.
Admiral Yang will be able to rebuild
cooperate with him-
If the political leaders to follow us
Yang Wen-li, huh?
Think about it.
the Artemis Necklace which protected this planet,
If that fool Yang Wen-li hadn't gone and destroyed
we could've protected ourselves from the invaders.
things have turned out this way.
It's Yang Wen-li's fault that
Some "great commander"!
who couldn't see what lay ahead?
Is he not a huge fool
The Artemis Necklace, Iserlohn Fortress...
Do you all not realize yet?
the people who use it are what's essential.
No matter how mighty the hardware is,
Hasn't Yang always pointed out this danger?
that we ended up in this situation?
Isn't it because you didn't listen
Yang is trying to recover from this hopelessness,
And in this worst of situations,
to do nothing but hinder him?
and yet you would dare
In exchange for nothing but your own safety?
The point is...
the Alliance has used up its lifespan.
Politicians toyed with their political power,
in speculative adventures like Amritsar.
and the soldiers got absorbed
hacks without participating in it themselves,
No, by entrusting politics to a group of political
even the public is to blame.
we've neglected the effort to maintain it.
While we paid lip service to democracy,
and his senior statesmen that are to blame.
When an autocracy fails, it's the monarch
then it's the fault of all its citizens.
But when a democratic government collapses,
Is that the end of your speech?
Yes, the time for speeches is long past.
It's already the time for action.
Chairman Trunicht,
I'll see you stopped even if I need to use force.
Commander...
Please wait!
Commander...
Please wait!
Commander!
This is the same as a coup d'état!
Commander!
This is the same as a coup d'état!
The Church of Terra!
Have them confined.
The Imperial forces are attacking!
What in the world is happening in the capital?!
They surrendered, a complete surrender.
Those bastards gave in to the enemy.
Threw their hands up and asked to be saved.
Then what will happen to the Alliance?
We'll just become part of the Empire.
What will happen?
but that's all it will be.
We may be allowed self-government in name,
And it won't last that long.
What comes after that?
Ask Duke Lohengramm, that golden-haired brat.
How should I know?!
He'll be our master from now on.
We're supposed to be righteous!
before the power of dark despotism!
Justice isn't supposed to fall on its knees
Something's wrong with this world!
that benefits the enemy!
The government's taking action
That's right! The government sold us out!
and expectations of the people!
They betrayed the trust
They're traitors!
orders of guys like that!
We don't need to follow the
Yeah! Right!
That's right!
You said it!
That's right!
But my family's on Heinessen.
there will be an indiscriminate assault.
If they refuse to surrender,
then my family will...
If the government agrees to surrender,
Bastard!
What'd you say?!
Let's ask Admiral Yang to stick with true justice!
that unreasonable order for a ceasefire!
We'll tell him that we don't want to follow
Yeah, let's do that!
That's right!
We'll ask Admiral Yang, Magician Yang!
Right!
Vice Admiral Schönkopf...
can I keep my expectations high?
Since you've come all this way to meet me,
I was hoping that you agreed with me
the order to call a ceasefire.
that Admiral Yang should just ignore
I certainly understand how you feel.
But if he does that, it would leave a bad precedent.
own decisions and ignore the government's orders,
If a military commander is allowed to follow his
this democratic nation will lose the crucial ability
to control the forces of the military.
that allows the representatives of the people
could set that sort of precedent?
Do you think Admiral Yang
Then let me ask this:
to kill a non-resisting populace en masse,
If the government gives an order
does a soldier need to follow that?
That would be unforgivable, of course!
when your very dignity is being questioned,
I think at a time like that,
a person rather than a soldier.
you should think of yourself as
even if it is a government order.
At that time, you'd have to disobey,
in times other than those,
But that's precisely why I think
as soldiers of a democratic nation,
the orders of the government.
our actions should obey
it could be criticized as arbitrary, right?
Otherwise, even if it's for the sake of mankind,
Kid...
what you say is exactly right.
Sorry, Sublieutenant Julian Mintz,
Even I understand that degree of logic.
I may understand it, but it needs to be said.
Yes, I understand.
political ambitions in the first place.
Admiral Yang doesn't have any
He may not have any ability for politics,
makes the nation into his private property
but when someone like Job Trunicht
and treats political power as an accessory,
that betrays the expectations of the people, right?
then Admiral Yang wouldn't do something
Yes...
compared to the great politicians of history,
Admiral Yang's ability may be trivial when
needs to be Job Trunicht.
but at this time the only object of comparison
I agree; I do agree.
by the majority of the people.
But Chairman Trunicht was chosen as ruler
That may have been due to a delusion,
people themselves who correct it.
but it needs to be the
No matter how long it may take.
I may be a soldier,
to correct the mistakes of the people.
but I still think it's wrong to use force
coup d'état by the war council two years ago.
In that case, it would be the same as the
leading and controlling the citizens.
It would result in the military forces
Admiral Yang's life in exchange for peace.
The Galactic Empire may demand
Admiral Yang to die, what will you do then?
If the government agrees to that and orders
obediently go along with that?
Are you going to readily and
I won't let that ever happen!
orders of the government, right?
But you need to follow the
That's the admiral's problem.
This is mine!
a government that's yielded to Duke Lohengramm.
I have no intention of following the orders of
I only follow the orders of Admiral Yang Wen-li.
then I need to as well.
Since the admiral has accepted the ceasefire,
but you've become an adult.
Julian, this may sound rude,
I'll follow your example, and accept what I have to,
but there are some things that I just can't concede.
That's also just like you said, though.
I see, so Duke Lohengramm is all right?
Fräulein Mariendorf,
the military power of a single fleet.
your ingenuity surpasses
for the sake of Duke Lohengramm.
I'd like you to continue using that resourcefulness
My thanks.
It's because I had the help of both you admirals.
Duke Lohengramm by serving as his wings.
I'd also like both of you to save
I didn't think things would go this well.
To be honest,
It was quite brilliant.
were even more cowardly than expected.
Those bastards in the Alliance government
Indeed.
I was worried about what we'd have to do
in defiance of their own lives.
if the Alliance elite refused our demands
but they're a pitiful bunch.
It's a strange thing to say,
course of a century by a hundred million people
To think that what was established over the
was destroyed by a single man in a single day.
Is this what it's like for a country to fall to ruin?
Fezzan, and the Free Planets Alliance...
The Goldenbaum Dynasty's Galactic Empire,
the three great powers
We're witnessing the collapse of
that have divided and controlled all of space.
Regardless of what anyone may say,
will be quite jealous, wouldn't you say?
I'd imagine that historians to come
We must accept the ceasefire.
It's the government's decision, after all.
Free Planets Alliance forces
However, if you of the
as a scapegoat to save yourselves,
are thinking of offering Admiral Merkatz
that sort of egotism.
then I do not intend to put up with
Schneider!
what the commander is saying is correct.
No, Admiral Merkatz,
Admiral Merkatz.
I'd like you to disembark from this ship,
I can't predict the future.
But as Commander Schneider has said,
may try to sell you off to the Imperial forces
it's very plausible that the Alliance government
in order to appease them.
go along with the folly of the government.
As a citizen of the Alliance, I have to
But you don't have that obligation.
this sinking ship, I'll regret it.
If I don't help you escape
as you can with you.
Please take as many battleships
Fuel, food, and personnel too, of course.
If we stand in the position of the losers,
to retain the same level of power that we once had.
then it's out of the question for the Alliance military
the Imperial forces someday,
If they're going to be destroyed by
then I think it would be better to hide them away.
destroyed in battle or self-destructed,
If we report that they were
then it will be difficult to confirm that, right?
I'm grateful for your words, Admiral Yang.
to take responsibility,
But do you think I can leave you
while I alone flee and plot for my own safety?
I thought you'd say that.
But Admiral Merkatz,
I don't think I'm just asking you to take it easy.
much more insolent.
In fact, I'm thinking of something
I want you to take a fraction of the Alliance forces
for the sake of the future.
and preserve a deep bit of that essence
in terms of the old tale of Robin Hood,
In other words,
like a moving Sherwood Forest.
I'd like you to lead them
I'm in.
is about independence and autonomy.
The "Free" in the Free Planets Alliance
reduced to being just a territory of the Empire.
I don't have any attachment to an Alliance that's
doesn't have any appeal, right?
It's like how a woman without self respect
Let me go with Admiral Merkatz.
I would like to go as well.
If I have Your Excellency Schönkopf's permission,
I'm the child of refugees.
position to the Empire now.
I can't stand in a subordinate
Please let me accompany Admiral Merkatz.
for Admiral Yang to resume command over us.
But personally, I would absolutely wish
will swear their allegiance to you.
As long as you're around, the Rosen Ritters
This is the first step towards a military faction.
or government, but to a person.
Pledges of loyalty not to a country
That's a problem.
Vice Admiral Cazerne?
Speaking of which, what will you do,
I will stay.
Or more accurately, I need to stay.
If the admirals disappear en masse,
to get suspicious, right?
it will be like asking for the Imperial forces
I'll wait alongside Commander Yang.
We may not be able to avoid it,
since you're so crucial to this?
but what do you think, Admiral Merkatz,
When I defected, I entrusted everything to you.
then I'll gladly go along with your hopes.
If you say to do this,
Thank you. You've done well.
let's hurry up and get ready.
Well then, now that that's decided,
Imperial fleets will come running,
If we linger too long, then the other
and we won't be able to slip away.
I'm sorry, Frederica.
I'd think they were an idiot for sure.
If someone else was doing this,
But in the end, I don't know any other way to live.
it will cause trouble for the people that I love.
Even though I know that when I get back,
what you're doing is right or wrong.
I don't know whether
But there is something I do know.
no matter what you do.
And that's that I can't help but love you,
So, I was handed this victory, then?
How pathetic.
that wasn't mine, haven't I?
In essence, I've accepted a victory
As though I'm a beggar!
Universal Calendar 799,
Reich Calendar 490, May 5th, 2240:
that had lasted nearly twelve days came to a close.
The Battle of the Vermilion Stellar Region
The damages to the Imperial fleet were 87.2%,
the officers and men.
with casualties of 72% among
The Alliance military lost 81.6% of its fleet,
and suffered casualties of 73.7%.
Combining both forces, 2,500,000 lives were lost.
A Sudden Turn
It was truly a life or death struggle.
NEXT EPISODE
meet face-to-face for the first time.
With the ceasefire, the two arch rivals
Reinhard invites Yang to join his camp.
Reinhard returns to the Empire,
Having conquered the Alliance,
and is finally enthroned as kaiser.
Next time, on Legend of the Galactic Heroes,
"Sieg Kaiser!"
Episode 54:
another legend of the galaxy begins to rise.
As one era ends, the curtain on
Sieg Kaiser!
Next Legend of the Galactic Heroes