| “ | A crimson algae has propagated wildly across this entire planet, coating its rocky hills with a constant red that masks the spilt blood of the heroes who defend it from tyranny. | „ |
| ~ Official Description |
Gatria is one of the six planets that reside within the Jin Xi Sector. Up unti December 2184, Gatria held the longest successful streak of consecutive, cross-operational defensive victories, having been defended 7 times through 4 major orders. This record remained uncontested until October 2185, when Hellmire managed to reach its 7th successful consecutive defense after the establishment of Gloom Base Alpha.
Topography and Astrography[]
Similar to Crimsica, Gatria's surface consists of a marble-like white rock covered in a mysterious type of alien crimson algae. Gatria's terrain is mostly docile, consisting of slopes that will often lead to massive beaches or seaside cliffs. The valleys of Gatria are dotted with the occasional hill or mountain that often surround and overlook the urban settlements scattered across its surface.
Gatria is home to 2 Mega Cities, which have been listed below. Mega City tiers have no effect on level generation and only serve to determine a city's health pool in the galactic war map.
- Altonburg (Tier 1 - Settlement)
- Erzats (Tier 3 - City)
The Gatria System sits at one of the final corners of the Terminid Front. Along with Phact Bay and Gacrux, it is one of the only 3 planets that allow Helldivers access to the Sten Sector through its FTL Line with Trandor. Besides that, Gatria also is one of the only two planets, Gar Haren being the other, with an FTL Line into the Farsight Sector through Pherkad Secundus.
History[]
Second Galactic War[]
A Helldiver scouting the crimson valleys of Gatria, spotting a hill of a particular shape in the distance, just beyond their mission area.
Operation Jin Xi-Falstaff Lockdown[]
Gatria was, up until June 2184, a peaceful planet colony in the Jin Xi Sector, its colonists thriving amongst the crimson grasslands, herding Terminids and producing E-710 without much trouble. Having been first settled by citizens of Sector 4 ancestry during the Great Expansion Era after the end of the First Galactic War, Gatria's first colonists would come to fully dominate their environment, their succeeding generations slowly amassing wealth and prospering until, at some point, they managed to build the cities of Altonburg and the planetary capital of Ersatz. However, all it takes is one small spark of tyranny for a haystack of freedom to be lost to the flames of fascism.
Due to unknown reasons, a spontaneous Terminid outbreak would immediately overrun Gatria amidst a lockdown of the Jin Xi and Falstaff sectors, ordered by the Super Earth High Command shortly after victory at Meridia during Operation Enduring Peace. The savage insectoids could not have chosen any worse time to pounce onto innocent Gatria with such viciousness.
Starting on June 30th, shortly after the fall of Crimsica, the Helldivers would begin to send small combat groups towards Gatria in order to begin culling the numbers of the Terminids while the operation was ongoing. Then, once the lockdown was lifted after the successful capture of Erson Sands, the Helldivers would divert towards Gatria in greater numbers, but still facing heavy resistance, with victory only coming by July 11th after heavy casualties.
Operation Overrun[]
Gatria, given its distance from frontline planets like Gacrux or Acamar IV, would remain peaceful following its liberation, its colonists beginning resettlement and repairs in an attempt to return to normal. However, the Terminids, genetically envious of peace and prosperity, would force Gatria back into the war from a side they would not expect.
The nearby Sten Sector had been lost during the initial Terminid outbreak in February 2184. By September 1st, 2184, Gatria hadn't been connected to the Sten Sector for months. However, its colonists would finish their lunch and find a horrid surprise. The Terminids nestled in Trandor had suddenly made planetfall on Gatria and were now invading the planet. Super Earth High Command would issue a Major Order for the defense of Gatria, Phact Bay and recently reconnected Gar Haren.
Helldivers immediately began deploying to the scarlet world, defending colonists of all citizenship ratings from the fascist menace. The defense was swift, and by the evening of September 2nd, clean up operations would already begin in earnest. But this was just the beginning, as around 06:00 SEST of September 3rd, a massive cloud of spores reached Gatria system from Trandor, heralding another defense campaign. Scanners both orbital and on-the-ground confirmed the density of said cloud among the greatest recorded, only being second to the Terminid Superonslaught encountered in Socorro III weeks prior by mere quirk of the numbers.
The colonists of Gatria would find themselves fighting shoulder to shoulder with the Colonial Defense Force and almost every Helldiver in the corps as they combined their forces to take on the enormous Terminid onslaught that pounced upon their sufficiently sized homes, for they had already suffered too much just for a pack of alien insects to snatch their hard work off their hands without consequence.
Gatria would successfully repell the second Terminid Superonslaught without much incident, securing it firmly under the control of Freedom for the remainder of the operation.
Operation Critical Mass[]
Gatria would be attacked one more time during Operation Critical Mass. However, this poorly timed attack by the Terminids would only result in failure, as the Helldivers, having orders to cull the bulk of the Terminid forces such as Warriors and Bile Spewers, would deliver a great display of Super Earth's military might, repelling the invading bugs for a fourth time and in under 12 hours.
Operation Liberty Tide[]
However, the Terminids in Trandor seemed to be incapable of surrendering to Managed Democracy, as some 4 days later, they would launch yet another attack onto Gatria. This time, the result would be no different, with the Helldivers successfully repelling a fifth Terminid attack onto Gatria, a feat only achieved once before in Estanu during Operation Enduring Bulwark.
Shortly after, the Helldivers would liberate Trandor, allowing the colonists at Gatria to finally breathe a sigh of relief as justice had finally been delivered upon those that had once brought them terror.
Operation Ring of Freedom[]
Gatria would remain loyal and free ever since its courageous defense during Operation Liberty Tide. However, the colonists of Gatria were not going to be able to fully live in peace as the Terminids soon recaptured Phact Bay and, later, recaptured Trandor. Then, some days later, the bugs captured Gar Haren, leaving Gatria besieged on all of its FTL Supply Lines. Yet, Gatria's colonists stood strong, digging trenchlines along the hillside and building lines of bunkers into the cliffs overlooking its seas. Then, on October 15th, the Terminids launched an assault of Gatria, once more from Trandor.
And as with any lesson that hasn't quite yet been thoroughly taught, the Helldivers would turn up en masse to Gatria's defense as, once again, the attack on Gatria happened mere hours after Gacrux had been liberated and the 35,000 Helldivers there were now left free to take on any secondary objectives now that the target planets of the Major Order had been secured.
In just a little over 12 hours, Gatria had once more been defended against Terminid incursions, marking the 6th consecutive defensive victory on the planet as a whole, earning Gatria and its colonists a reputation of being among the most capable defenders that the Federation has to offer.
Interim (October 22nd-October 28th)[]
Gatria would have rebuked the Terminids once more. Yet, despite their victory, the colonists of Gatria were still under siege from all available directions, as neither Gar Haren, Trandor nor Phact Bay had been liberated. As such, they hunkered down in their fortifications, awaiting an eventual attack. This attack would come just 7 days after the previous attacks, timed almost perfectly with an Automaton attack at Zefia. However, this attack also happened pretty much an hour before Estanu had been fully liberated once more, which would reflect shortly after the initial defensive operations concluded.
As Estanu's last Terminid hives were appropriately cleansed, many Super Destroyers turned up to Gatria's aid en masse, as not only did many Helldivers take a liking for the crimson planet, but Gatria also stood at an important crossroads in the Eastern galactic fringe, in addition to its admirable resistance in the face of Terminid expansion serving as an inspiration for some Helldivers among the corps.
After some 17 hours of fighting, Gatria had once more been defended, though at the cost of losing Zefia to the robotic tide. Nevertheless, once more had the Gatrians defied all odds and defended their home planet from invasion despite being completely surrounded, making an enviable display of their fighting spirit and commitment to the cause of liberty.
However, the Gatrians wouldn't get to spend much time in peace. After some quick reparations, the Gatrians would spend their time restablishing their settlements and, given how their siege still hadn't been relieved, digging more trenches and laying down miles of barbed wire in preparation for a future invasion. On Liberty Day, they would gather together to salute Super Earth and have what little cake and brewed freedom they had in stock, the candles being the only light in the shadow of their defensive bunkers as they celebrated another year of Managed Democracy.
However, this solace would be as fragile as the peace that accompanied it and, on October 27th, the Terminids at Trandor would once more strike at Gatria, the bugs proving to be as relentless as they were foolish, as they had once more picked the wrong time to attack Gatria. Not only had the Helldivers been given a "license to kill" during Liberty Day, as no major orders would be issued, but both Gacrux and Pandion-XXIV had been lost a couple days prior, leaving Gatria as the only remaining foothold in the sector.
As such, the Helldivers were focused mostly on the liberation of Phact Bay. However, when the defense alerts came from both Gatria and Yed Prior, the Helldivers opted to defend Gatria, as its loss would signify the complete loss of Jin Xi Sector.
In detriment of Yed Prior's defense against the Automatons, the main fleet of the Helldivers Corps turned up on Gatria to aid its defense one more time. By the early hours of October 28th, the Gatrians had defended their home once more against the fascist menace, marking yet another victory for the crimson planet against the Terminid scourge that besieged them on all sides.
Operation Bughammer[]
Gatria would remain unbothered by its neighbors ever since its final defense in October. Once the Helldivers turned the situation around and liberated Phact Bay a day later and then, on November 20th, liberated Gar Haren, Gatria would remain pretty much unbothered, its horrid siege finally being relieved and its citizens able to be resupplied at long last, after 2 long months of constant defiance against the fascist tide. However, true respite was still out of the Gatrians' reach, as Trandor still remained under the control of the Terminids.
On December 11th, nearby Achernar Secundus had been chosen to become the new site of a multi-complex factory hub for AM Defense, the new defense contractor for Super Earth. In response, the Terminids would launch an offensive in the Jin Xi and Sten Sectors in an attempt to capture Achernar, meaning that planets like Gatria, Phact Bay and Darius-II would become targets of interest for the bugs.
On December 12th, mere hours after the Helldivers successfully repelled a Terminid assault at Phact Bay, the Terminids attacked Gatria from Trandor, in a move that the Gatrians had already seen 6 consecutive times by this point. With the help of the Helldiver fleet, the Terminids were expected to be repelled well before the first day of the invasion even passed.
But then, the impossible occurred.
Return of the Illuminate[]
Out of nowhere, all SEAF forces, both active and in reserve duty, got ordered into LIBCON 1. Immediately, every single Helldiver in the galaxy would begin to deploy onto Calypso in response to an emergency distress beacon that cited things that would have previously been thought unreal: The 
Illuminate were attacking the planet.
On the face of such an ancient and dangerous foe, virtually all SEAF forces would mobilize towards Calypso, leaving essentially all other planets completely devoid of any Super Earth military presence. It would be this redeployment what would seemingly doom the defense of Gatria. Yet, the Gatrians were not going to give up their homes, which by now they had given many thousands of lives to defend.
Even as most other frontline planets were essentially abandoned, a small garrison of Helldivers decided to stick by the side of the Gatrians, determined to at least evacuate as many of them as possible, in order to alleviate the loss of the planet so that it could later be recovered with more ease.
Gatria would fall on December 14th, 2184, after a long battle that, while a defeat for the Gatrians, it didn't mean devastation. Gatria had fallen, but its colonists stood firm and determined to one day reclaim their homes from the horrid hordes that had now pounced onto them.
Gatria fell before its wardens did.
Operation Impending Gloom[]
Ever since the shocking, unjustified, and deadly invasion by the vile xenophobic Illuminate and the subsequent fall of Gatria, the planet would remain under Terminid control for roughly a month after its fall. Despite some ephemeral attempts by the Helldivers to liberate it, the planet would never be freed as the Helldivers would have to pull away to the galactic south consistently to stop the vile raids by the squids.
Gatria would eventually find itself closed away from the light of liberty. Following the successful breach of Pherkad Secundus by the bugs at Gatria, activity on the planet would remain relatively quiet until the early afternoon of January 27 when Gatria and Partion sent 12 invasion fleets toward Phact Bay. Few would come to the defense as most went to contain the Terminid infestation at Terrek, and by the next afternoon, Phact Bay had fallen, and in the process had closed off Gatria from the FTL network. The once innocent and free world for the entirety of the war so far had now fully fallen to the disgusting Terminid plague, its beautiful rolling red fields awaiting for their shot of liberty.
A Helldiver advances towards their objective amidst the battle of Altonburg. Picture taken July 4th, 2185.
Operation Pillar of Dawn[]
Gatria would remain in bondage ever since its full loss in January. However, this loss was but a temporary grievance for the stalwart planet, as the Helldivers would manage to ultimately repel the Illuminate assault on Calypso. From January to June, as the Helldivers fought across the galaxy and on the heart of Managed Democracy itself, Gatria laid dormant, awaiting its chance for liberation. And on July 3rd, 2185, that chance came.
A Helldiver searches the streets of a long abandoned urban settlement for their objective. Picture taken July 5th, 2185.
With the passing of the Freedom to Serve act, High Command had to meet its objectives for projected force in order to guarantee galactic security. With the Helldiver Training Facilities on Mars having been razed by the Illuminate, new installations were to be constructed on Zegema Paradise, which naturally required the Helldivers to obtain enough Terminids and samples to aid with the construction and to help secure enough Terminids to be used as live targets for weapons training in the new facilities.
As such, High Command ordered the Helldiver Corps to liberate 2 planets: Gar Haren and Gatria. Immediately, the Helldivers got to work, capturing Gar Haren by the afternoon of January 4th and immediately pivoting towards the once proud bastion of Freedom in the Eastern Galactic Rim. 8,000 Super Destroyers turned up on Gatria's orbit immediately and began to deploy on the city of Altonburg, its beauty defiled by months of Terminid occupation. Yet, where Gatria had fallen, the Gatrians still stood. SEAF personnel on the ground, alongside many Gatrian SEAF Troopers in exile, would join the Helldivers in the monumental effort of retake their home planet.
Altonburg was successfully retaken by the Helldivers in the midnight of July 5th, establishing a crucial beachhead from where the SEAF could truly begin the bulk of their military operations. However, the planetary capital of Ersatz would remain off their reach for the time being. Throughout July 5th, the Helldivers would continue to deploy onto Gatria, destroying and expunging Terminid nests and securing crucial swaths of territory as they advanced. Survivors found of urban settlements would be rescued after months, as the Helldivers made great progress. By the midnight of July 6th, Ersatz had come into reach of SEAF forces, with a final push to recapture the capital commencing immediately.
A Helldiver squadron advances towards a Terminid-Infested Tower in Ersatz. Picture taken July 6th, 2185
The final battle for Ersatz would be nothing short of righteous retribution delivered upon the Terminids. The Helldivers would deploy onto the streets, breathing freedom into the abandoned skyscrapers once again with the highest quality chlorine gas available. For 24 hours, the Helldivers and SEAF ground troops would battle throughout the city as the remaining regions of Gatria were appropriately cleansed of any remaining Terminids. By the midnight of July 7th, Ersatz was liberated and Gatria was once again, after half a year of horrors under Terminid control, free.
The Gatrians, alongside the Federation at large, rejoiced. Where the Gatrians had now reclaimed their once lost homeworld, the Helldivers had successfully secured the assets required for the live fire training of their coming brethren. The construction of the new Helldiver Training Facilities on Zegema Paradise proceeded on schedule, with the captured Terminid specimens ensuring that the Helldivers' peerless martial standards would be upheld by those who would later come to be trained in said facility. The expansion of the Super Destroyer Fleet continued as planned, while citizens flocked towards legally-mandated volunteer drives.
Operation Ultrakill[]
The Gatria encirclement, 27th of August, 2185
Gatria would remain 
Terminid free for the rest of July, however the sudden loss of Gar Haren on the 2nd of August would see Gatria cut off from the rest of the federation. Life under siege would not be easy for the Gatrians, though it would soon get a lot worse as in the latter half of the month, multiple large-scale Terminid incursions would be reported on planets surrounding the Gloom as spore outflow from the Gloom rose to unprecedented levels and continued to grow exponentially.
Xenobiologists at the 
Centre of Science would quickly conclude that the Terminids were undergoing a population explosion -- with only way to stop the assault being to incur a drastic reduction in the Terminid population. Unfortunately this was easier said than done, especially once the 
Automatons and Illuminate took advantage of the Federation's weakness to launch their own offensives into federation space, spreading the 
S.E.A.F. and 
Helldiver Corps to breaking point.
By the 25th of August, the Borgus Sector had completely fallen, cutting off the Jin Xi Sector from the rest of Federation Space and putting the highly populated Korpus Sector in danger of being invaded for a second time via Inari. Although Gatria was spared the initial Terminid, everyone in the Federation knew that it was only a matter of time until spore-fall was reported on the besieged world. Sure enough the worst would come to pass the following day on the 26th, as the Terminids invaded the crimson world.
Even with the activation of the expanded Helldiver fleet, the defense of Gatria was lost before it even began. Although the S.E.A.F. would continue fighting regardless, the planetary defense network collapsed by the midnight of the 28th, leaving Gatria trapped away from the light of Freedom once more.
FTL Lines[]
- Gar Haren (Re-established on September 2, 2184)
- Phact Bay
- Pherkad Secundus - Farsight Sector (Established on January 10, 2185)
- Trandor - Sten Sector (Established on September 2, 2184)
FTL Timeline[]
- February 8th, 2184: Gatria is connected by FTL to Gar Haren and Phact Bay.
- June 25th, 2184: FTL line to Gar Haren is destroyed.
- September 2nd, 2184: FTL line to Gar Haren is re-established, plus a new line to Trandor.
- January 10th, 2185: New FTL line to Pherkad Secundus is established.
Trivia[]
- Altonburg is likely named after Altenburg, a city in Thuringia, Germany, located 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of Leipzig.
- Ersatz is a term, meaning "substitute" or "replacement" in German. It can also refer to a coffee substitute, often made from roasted grains, acorns, chicory, or other ingredients, used when coffee beans were scarce or unavailable.