The Age of the Central Continent War
- The Battle of Ardannes
- The Battle of Ardannes
Since the arrival of Earthlings on Planet Zi, the modernisation and conversion to high-tech of both the Republic and Empire's weapons advanced rapidly. The Zoids that were once wild beasts were armed with scientific weaponry, their controls were computerised, and they were transfigured into complete combat mecha.
They transitioned from their former battles, where bravery and intuition dictated things, to an age of electronic warfare where things were dictated by the unification of a system of command and data. The soldiers experienced this fact for themselves in the "Battle of Ardannes".
In October 2032, a heavily-armed Imperial Zoid squad decided to break through a valley in the Central Mountain Range during a stormy night and launch a surprise attack on the eastern side. The Republic sensed their movements, and Captain Balan of the 2nd Division Assault Battalion took roughly a dozen Zoids and laid an ambush for the enemy's invasion in the valley.
However, this battle was a first-time experience even for Captain Balan, who had plenty of experience as a Zoid pilot.
First, the Empire opened hostilities by releasing jamming waves from electronic warfare Merdas. The Republic's communication abilities were disrupted by these jamming waves, and they were unable to get a grasp on the Empire's movements.
In the stormy, nighttime conditions, the active investigation of releasing their own radio waves to search for enemy movements had a danger of being traced, so the Earthling technical leaders had instructed them firmly not to use it if at all possible. Captain Balan ordered his subordinates to use the only remaining method, thermosensors that detected the enemy Zoids' exhaust heat.
Any kind of machine or creature invariably generates heat by moving. With thermosensors, devices to sense this heat, they should have been able to detect the enemies lurking in the forest.
However, the Empire had installed enforced coolers on all their Zoids, and possessed systems to lower the exhaust heat of their engines and motors to the same temperature as the outside air.
Unable to get a grasp on the enemy's movements, the Republic Army encountered them suddenly and were routed, almost to the point of allowing an enemy invasion, but thanks to an offensive by three heavily-equipped Gojulas that had arrived late, they narrowly managed to push back the Empire.
This decisive battle between Zoids was also a confrontation between new weapons.
The guided missiles launched by the Empire were equipped with figure-recognising AI, and even if they were fired towards the centre of a free-for-all between enemies and allies, they would always hit the enemy. This was because the AI clearly remembered the shape of enemy and ally Zoids.
Using computers, the automatic focusing beams equipped on the Republic Zoids would invariably connect the trajectory intersection point of two energy beams at one point on the armour of the subject (i.e. the enemy Zoid)! The power of these high-tech weapons was tremendous; Zoids' arms were blown away, and their tails were ripped off!
When the two-day-long battle ended, the valley had become a spectacle almost like a Zoid graveyard.
A note by Captain Balan, who directed this operation, is left here.
"When the battle ended, it strengthened the sense that I had been present at the arrival of a dreadful era. There no longer remains any margin for bravery, pride, honour... or even human judgement, to come into battle. Pilots entrust their lives to the computerised fire control system, and amid the white trails of guided missiles and the rain of beams and lasers brighter than lightning, they can do nothing but wait for the battle to end.
The strength of Zoids has also increased beyond any comparison to how it was before, thanks to the installation of Power Assists, Energy Boosts and Superchargers. On this battlefield, a tenth of a second of negligence can be fatal.
When the fierce battle had ended, I realised that the command Gordos I was aboard could no longer move.
After coming down from the cockpit and standing beside the Gordos, I noticed for the first time. On its flank were two large holes where intense thermal beams had pierced it. The Gordos probably didn't even have time to scream... No doubt the next machine I pilot will have progressed further.
And what awaits my exhausted self is a 300-item manual on new weapons created by the Earthling engineers.
The diffusion rates of lasers in the atmosphere, the durability of anti-ballistic reactive armour, the theories of optical weaponry-resistant armour, the methods of dealing with intelligent landmines, training in enumerating the regulating biorhythms of Zoids' wild instincts, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera... A commander must study many new technologies to prepare for subsequent battles.
In the olden days, when a battle ended, we would have a drink with our comrades and then sleep.
Am I so old? No, I'm sure the enemy commander is thinking the same thing.
My sole hope is the words that the Earthlings spoke. If we have superior weapons, the battle will end quickly... Maybe all I can do is trust in those words.
Am I becoming sentimental because I'm getting too old? At the very least, the age when I yearned to be a Zoid pilot is now a thing of the distant past..."
- Army Organisational Charts in the Middle Stage of the War
- The Helic Republic
- Strong National Power and Abundant Zoids
For the purposes of cooperating with the Republic, with its great overall national power, and taking back peace, Doctor Kronenbourg and his subordinates, the Earthling engineers, freely provided the Republic with excellent technology. These high-tech products were not entirely devoted to military purposes; there were also many that could be used as consumer technology which would be helpful in people's lives when a peaceful age came. In particular, computer-based encryption software was useful for transmitting secret orders between commanding officers. This was a means of communication that could never be analysed by the enemy as long as they lacked the exclusive decryption software.In addition, they considered it essential to search for the enemy's movements and gain definite data, and introduced detection systems that could not be implemented without excellent software, such as laser range finder systems, motion sensors, passive wave sensors, enemy power source acoustic signature detection systems, and enemy future position calculation systems. They developed Zoids equipped with these and organised a division exclusively for electronic investigation to prepare for enemy attacks.
In addition, valuing human life, they proposed installing ejection systems in cockpits to let pilots escape when their Zoid's body was destroyed.
- Army Organisational Charts in the Middle Stage of the War
- The Zenebas Empire
- Zoids With High Offensive Abilities and Excellent Engineers
In contrast to the Republic Army, the Empire Army gave its undivided attention to defeating the enemy, and poured its effort into remodelling various Zoids as attack specialists and improving their offensive abilities. As a result, their Zoid formations are not composites including defence, investigation and special manoeuvres but formations that focus on assault and direct engagement, and the various intrinsic functions possessed by Wild Zoids are instead lost.As the war lengthened, the tones of militarism and totalitarianism in the Zenebas Empire deepened further, all of the citizens were soldiers, and the political stance stressing the military over daily life grew stronger. This was truly favourable for the Venture Merchants, who plotted to make huge profits in the defence industry. The Emperor purchased the high-priced, high-tech weapons they produced, even if it meant raising the citizens' taxes, and reinforced the military's armaments more and more. As a result, battles increased in intensity, and the losses of Zoids also increased.
- Navigation
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- Page Scans
Differences in the Monthly Zoids Graphics
There were quite a few differences between the Zoids Bible, printed and released through the Zoid Core Box, and the Monthly Zoids Graphics, which included pages from the Bible. We'll go through and list those below. The differences are in a bold, italic font.
- Differences
Original Text:| The Battle of Ardannes
Since the arrival of Earthlings on Planet Zi, the modernisation and conversion to high-tech of both the Republic and Empire's weapons advanced rapidly. The Zoids that were once wild beasts were armed with scientific weaponry, their controls were computerised, and they were transfigured into complete combat mecha. They transitioned from their former battles, where bravery and intuition dictated things, to an age of electronic warfare where things were dictated by the unification of a system of command and data. The soldiers experienced this fact for themselves in the "Battle of Ardannes". |
They transitioned from their former battles, where bravery and intuition dictated things, to modern warfare where things were dictated by the unification of a system of command and data. The soldiers were faced with this fact in the "Battle of Ardannes".
Original Text:
| The Republic sensed their movements, and Captain Balan of the 2nd Division Assault Battalion took roughly a dozen Zoids and laid an ambush for the enemy's invasion in the valley. |
Sensing their movements, Captain Balan of the Republic Army 2nd Division Assault Battalion took roughly a dozen Zoids and laid an ambush for the enemy's invasion in the valley.
Original Text:
| First, the Empire opened hostilities by releasing jamming waves from electronic warfare Merdas. The Republic's communication abilities were disrupted by these jamming waves, and they were unable to get a grasp on the Empire's movements.
In the stormy, nighttime conditions, the active investigation of releasing their own radio waves to search for enemy movements had a danger of being traced, so the Earthling technical leaders had instructed them firmly not to use it if at all possible. Captain Balan ordered his subordinates to use the only remaining method, thermosensors that detected the enemy Zoids' exhaust heat. Any kind of machine or creature invariably generates heat by moving. With thermosensors, devices to sense this heat, they should have been able to detect the enemies lurking in the forest. However, the Empire had installed enforced coolers on all their Zoids, and possessed systems to lower the exhaust heat of their engines and motors to the same temperature as the outside air. |
First, the Empire Army opened hostilities by releasing jamming waves from electronic warfare Merdas. The Republic Army's communication abilities were disrupted, and they were unable to get a grasp on the Empire's movements.
The Earthling technical leaders had warned Captain Balan strongly that in the stormy, nighttime conditions, the active investigation of releasing their own radio waves had a danger of being traced, so he ordered his subordinates to use the only remaining method, thermosensors.
Any kind of machine or creature invariably generates heat by moving. With thermosensors to sense this heat, they should have been able to detect the enemies lurking in the forest. However, the Empire Army had already equipped low-temperature exhaust devices on all their Zoids as a thermosensor countermeasure.
Original Text:
| The guided missiles launched by the Empire were equipped with figure-recognising AI |
The Empire Army's guided missiles were equipped with figure-recognising AI
Original Text:
| Using computers, the automatic focusing beams equipped on the Republic Zoids would invariably connect the trajectory intersection point of two energy beams at one point on the armour of the subject (i.e. the enemy Zoid)! The power of these high-tech weapons was tremendous; Zoids' arms were blown away, and their tails were ripped off!
When the two-day-long battle ended, the valley had become a spectacle almost like a Zoid graveyard. |
Using computers, the automatic focusing beams equipped on the Republic Zoids would invariably connect the trajectory intersection point of two energy beams at one point on the armour of an enemy Zoid.
The power of these high-tech weapons was tremendous; when the two-day-long battle ended, the valley had become a spectacle almost like a Zoid graveyard.
Original Text:
| Pilots entrust their lives to the computerised fire control system, and amid the white trails of guided missiles and the rain of beams and lasers brighter than lightning, they can do nothing but wait for the battle to end.
The strength of Zoids has also increased beyond any comparison to how it was before, thanks to the installation of Power Assists, Energy Boosts and Superchargers. On this battlefield, a tenth of a second of negligence can be fatal. |
Pilots entrust their lives to the fire control system, and amid the white trails of guided missiles and the rain of beams and lasers brighter than lightning, they can do nothing but wait for the battle to end. On this battlefield, a tenth of a second can be fatal.
Original Text:
| On its flank were two large holes where intense thermal beams had pierced it. The Gordos probably didn't even have time to scream... No doubt the next machine I pilot will have progressed further.
And what awaits my exhausted self is a 300-item manual on new weapons created by the Earthling engineers. The diffusion rates of lasers in the atmosphere, the durability of anti-ballistic reactive armour, the theories of optical weaponry-resistant armour, the methods of dealing with intelligent landmines, training in enumerating the regulating biorhythms of Zoids' wild instincts, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera... A commander must study many new technologies to prepare for subsequent battles. |
On its flank were two large holes where thermal beams had pierced it. The Gordos probably didn't even have time to scream... What awaited my exhausted self was a massive manual on new weapons created by the Earthling engineers.
The diffusion rates of lasers in the atmosphere, the theories of optical weaponry-resistant armour, dealing with intelligent landmines, enumerating the regulating biorhythms of wild forms' instincts, etcetera, etcetera... A commander must study many things to prepare for subsequent battles.
Original Text:
| At the very least, the age when I yearned to be a Zoid pilot is now a thing of the distant past... |
At the very least, the age when I yearned to be a Zoid pilot is now undoubtedly a thing of the distant past...
