I put this together because of the numerous requests for any information about the story. I also wanted to correct some of the theories or misinterpretations of what little information is available to the English only speaking world. I have heard it described as anything from Retro World War II to Nazis in Space. Neither of these descriptions are accurate, and part of this is due to creative translations by TCI. The storyline created by Kow Yokoyama and expanded upon by Hiroshi Ichimura is far more colorful and detailed than these simple explanations allow. This is only because there is so little translated information available and not because people misunderstand it. I hope this brief introduction and timeline help shed light on the extensive SF3D/Maschinen Krieger world.
SF3D Background Story
In the year 2807, World War IV broke out on the Earth. Up to 80% of the Earth’s population was killed in the holocaust. The destruction was so great that human life could no longer survive on the decimated planet. The few survivors left to settle on other colony planets and created a new civilization in space. The Earth remained in a near primordial state.
Forty-eight years after the war, the Galactic Federation sent an investigative team to Earth to determine the condition of the planet. To their surprise, in that brief period of time, the regenerative properties of the planet had returned the Earth to a natural paradise that was able to again support human life. In 2859, the first colonists selected and trained by the Galactic Federation from the planet K-156 settled in Western Australia .
The conditions at first for the settlers were harsh. They were blessed with lush forests, wide open prairies and beautiful vistas, but no infrastructures existed. The Galactic Federation provided a two year supply of foodstuffs and necessary farming equipment, but even with this assistance, many did not survive to the first spring.
A twenty year period of growth had occurred since the first colonists were settled on Earth. In that time a small number of cities had grown and flourished. Following the cities expansion, criminals, AWOL soldiers, political criminals, terrorists, and other people who had decided to drop out of civilized society began to make their way back to Earth as a suitable place for refuge. The civil unrest which resulted from their presence created a great many problems for the original colonists who were able to make a new home for themselves. Colonists were able to form small militias to maintain order, but there was no localized government or police force to maintain order.
In 2877, the Galactic Federation Committee well aware of the disruption caused by the criminal activity and with no local Earth government in place, gave the Strahl Democratic Republic (SDR) the right to return public order to the lives of the colonists. The SDR sent in three Strahl Military Police Battalions and three Strahl Foreign Legion Battalions to help restore peace. The SDR returned order with a strong hand. They subjugated the bandit groups with overwhelming force. All ruffians were arrested and suspicious slum towns were destroyed. Those who didn’t have jobs or who couldn’t prove their identity were sent to hard-labor reform camps. The colonists were happy to see a restore to order, but their own lives were now affected by the presence of the SDR police forces.The SDR imposed strict travel restrictions. Anywhere they went within a village, or left or entered a village, they were checked for identification. All weapons were confiscated by police and local militias were disbanded. The colonists soon realized that the price for safety was their own freedom.
With growing resentment against the restrictions placed on their lives, the first terrorism against the SDR forces occurred in 2880. The SDR quickly responded with even harder restrictions on the colonists. An unstoppable current had begun. There was common characteristic among the new settlers who were calling themselves colonists. There were suspicions among the SDR that these new settlers were actually troops hired by the original colonists.
They were the decedents of the mercenary troops who were forced to become refugees after the end of World War IV. Their fathers had fought in the First Interplanetary Dispute and they themselves had fought in the Second Interplanetary Dispute. They were the most feared and strongest of all troops. After the settlement of these disputes, they had been disbanded and scattered about the galaxy. They began to return to Earth, the home of their grandfathers, once they began to hear the stories of conflict on Earth.
Unrest was growing with the colonists over the SDR strong arm police tactics. They had realized that if they wanted to rid themselves of the SDR presence, they would have to use force. In 2882, the colonists banded together with the hired troops to form the Earth Independent Provisional Government. They declared independence from the Galactic Federation. The SDR, having predicted such a move, erected a puppet government the very next day and mobilized additional battle corps in the name of suppressing a rebellion.
The Earth Independent Provisional Government organized the Independent Mercenary Army (IMA) and immediately declared war against the occupying forces. They attacked police offices, communication networks, and military safe zones. Their surprise attack resulted in many SDR prisoners and stockpiles of captured military equipment. In a surprise move, the three Strahl Foreign Legion Battalions, defected the SDR and sided with the IMA. Nearly all of the managing staff of the Foreign Legion was backed by former mercenaries who had infiltrated into the staff by taking advantage of the tradition of not looking into the backgrounds of Foreign Legion applicants. The swiftness of the surprise attack resulted in quick occupation of nearly all essential SDR points. The SDR Police forces, whose communications and supplies were cut off, couldn’t survive a lengthy defensive battle with out reinforcements.
On September 25, 2882, the SDR deployed the 7th Armored Mobile Infantry Division onto the Australian continent. The unorganized Mercenary counterattack had little impact on the heavily armed and mobile SDR forces. The SDR established a wide beachhead and troops and supplies were brought in. The battle for colonist’s independence quickly spread to eventually include major conflicts on every continent.
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SF3D/MaK3000 Time Line - Major Events and Conflicts
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Date |
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Event |
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2807 |
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Earth - World War IV breaks out. The resulting destruction kills up to 80% of Earth’s inhabitants. The few survivors depart on transport ships to Colony Planet K-156. |
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2825 |
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Galactic Federation - First Interplanetary Dispute |
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2855 |
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Galactic Federation - Immigrant Survey Party reports that Earth is hospitable again |
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2859 |
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Galactic Federation - The 1st Earth Colonization Team arrives |
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2860 |
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Galactic Federation - Second Interplanetary Dispute |
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June 15, 2865 |
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Galactic Federation - Eugen Johannes Amsel receives notification that his family can participate in the 7th Earth Colonization Team. Conrad Amsel is born on colonization planet K-156 |
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2866 |
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Earth Colonies - The 7th Earth Colonization Team arrives. |
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2871 |
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Earth Colonies - The Amzel family farm prospers. Galactic Federation - Sends the Strahl National Defense Army to suppresses a civil war on K-156 |
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2875 |
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Earth Colonies - Crime and lawlessness are epidemic in the new cities. |
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March 1, 2875 |
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Strahl National Defence Army - Evaluates the XPK40 at Archmar Aerodrome |
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March 2, 2875 |
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Strahl National Defence Army - Approves the XPK40 and begins production of the PK40 "Fledermaus." Earth Colonies - Eddie Amzel is born. |
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2877 |
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Strahl National Defence Army - The Galaxy Federation gives the Strahl Republic a mandate to rule the Earth. Strahl National Defence Army - Three Strahl National-Defense Army Police Battalions and three Strahl Army Foreign Legion Battalions are deployed on Earth to maintain order. |
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2880 |
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Earth Colonies - The first occurrence of terrorism against Strahl National-Defense Army. |
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August, 2880 |
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Strahl National Defence Army - The research team at Bomvul & Zionel is formed. The program to develop a 2-legged walking tank begins. |
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2882 |
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Mercenary Army - The new Earth Independent Provisional Government declares independence from the Strahl Republic Strahl National Defence Army - A puppet government is formed by the Strahl Republic in response to the Earth Declaration of Independence. Strahl troops are deployed to quell the independence movement. Mercenary Army - War is declared by the Earth Independent Provisional Government Strahl National Defence Army - The three Army Foreign Legion Corps, which were staffed by former mercenaries from previous interplanetary wars, defected from the SDR and joined the Mercenary Army. |
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September, 2882 |
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Mercenary Army - Maintains control of much of Earth’s surface. Mercenary Army - The Spandau College of Engineering begins research on composite armor. |
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September 1, 2882 |
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Strahl National Defence Army - First operational sortie against the Mercenary Army is launched. |
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September 25, 2882 |
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Mercenary Army - Attacked the Strahl 56th Armored Army Corps with Y-15 medium tanks. Strahl National Defence Army - The 7th Armored Mobile Infantry Division is dropped into Australia . |
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September 26, 2882 |
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Mercenary Army - Launches a counter attack against the Strahl Army. |
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September 29, 2882 |
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Strahl National Defence Army - Succeeds in forming a bridgehead in Australia . |
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November 15, 2882 |
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Mercenary Army - Earth Independent Provisional Government surrenders capital New Canberra |
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February, 2883 |
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Strahl National Defence Army - Bomvol und Zionel Engineers finish a mockup of a two legged walking tank. |
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March, 2883 |
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Strahl National Defence Army -Development of unmanned reconnaissance equipment begins. |
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June, 2883 |
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Mercenary Army - Dr. Robert Fulman of the Optical Weapons Research Center prototypes the indirect vision system. Mercenary Army - The Spandau College of Engineering completes its composite armor defense system development. Mercenary Army - Dr Gerstine, manager of the Laser Weapon Research Center , develops the Excimer high output laser. Later to be installed in SAFS units. |
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June 9, 2883 |
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Mercenary Army - The first prototype of the AFS is completed. |
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June 15, 2883 |
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Mercenary Army - The 1st Special Infantry Company (composed of 14 AFS) participates in the first battle with armored suits. The success in battle is beyond expectations. |
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July, 2883 |
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Mercenary Army - Mass-production of the AFS starts in the Mercenary Army Central Arsenal in the North American Continent. Strahl National Defence Army - First trial evaluations of an automated two legged walking tank are completed. |
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November, 2883 |
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Mercenary Army - Development of the next generation of AFS begins. Mercenary Army - Armored aircraft Chaika enters service. National Defense Army - Two prototypes of the unmanned reconnaissance walker T.W-47V1 are completed. |
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December, 2883 |
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Mercenary Army - Launches " Operation Sherbet Garden " an attack on the Strahl navel port of Archangles . Lack of equipment and cold weather training result in losses for Mercenary Army. |
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January, 2884 |
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Strahl National Defence Army - Adopts the first production units of the T.W47 Krote |
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February 14, 2884 |
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Strahl National Defence Army - Production delays of the PKA suit force the development of an unmanned hover tank. PKH103 Nut Cracker development begins. |
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June 9, 2884 |
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Mercenary Army - New Canberra is surrounded. Attempts to retake former capital begin. Strahl National Defence Army - The PKH103 unmanned hover tanks make their first battlefield appearance. They are given the nickname Nut Cracker. Mercenary Army - Using an AFS MkII Corporal Robert Bush was able to defeat a Nut Cracker by climbing on the back to disable the turret. |
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June 21, 2884 |
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Strahl National Defence Army - PK41 Hornisse public test flight is carried out. Modified from a PK40 by Dr. Ferdinand Lipish. |
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July, 2884 |
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Mercenary Army - The 54th Fighter Group (JG54) 3rd Regiment is composed in New Zealand . |
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August, 2884 |
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Mercenary Army - SdKfz 222/232 SandStalker weapons are upgraded from the 2.3cm machine guns to the 4cm medium infrared laser Pgr 40 and put back into service. |
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August 31, 2884 |
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Mercenary Army - The Y-615 DollHouse is deployed as a counter measure against the PKH103 “Nut Cracker” |
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September, 2884 |
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Mercenary Army - Research begins for the next generation AFS at the Spandau College of Engineering. The Super AFS Prototype Arms development office obtains good results with the three prototypes of the Archeleon Mercenary Army - The Archeleon units test the new indirect vision system. Strahl National Defence Army - Production of PK40 ends. Strahl National Defence Army - Production of the NS465 Neuspotter begins. Production was slow due to the shortage of antigravity equipment. |
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September 3, 2884 |
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Strahl National Defence Army - 200 PKA Ausf H0 initial mass-production models are thrown into the front lines. |
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September 17, 2884 |
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Strahl National Defence Army - PK41 Hornisse development is completed. |
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September 23, 2884 |
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Strahl National Defence Army - Hornisse is assigned to the 362nd Assault Scout Company. |
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October, 2884 |
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Mercenary Army - Attempts to retake New Canberra end with out success. Strahl National Defence Army - Deployment of Neuspotter begins. |
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October 22, 2884 |
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Strahl National Defence Army - Unit reorganization in preparation for the next large offensive. |
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October 24, 2884 |
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Mercenary Army - Production trials of the SAFS begin. |
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November 1, 2884 |
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Strahl National Defence Army - The first phase of the new offensive ends. Strahl Army takes control of most large cities and the majority of Australia . |
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December, 2884 |
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Strahl National Defence Army - Camp Group Bark is sent to North America to suppress Mercenary guerrilla activity. |
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December 10, 2884 |
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Mercenary Army - SAFS production starts. |
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December 14, 2884 |
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Mercenary Army - Four suits of the newly completed SAFS are delivered to the 14th Armored Hunting Regiment. |
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December 25, 2884 |
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Strahl National Defence Army - Launches major offensive against Torifujio-grad, one of the few Mercenary controlled cities. Mercenary Army - First encounter between SAFS and Nut Cracker ends in a Nut Cracker being destroyed with a single shot by 14th Armored Hunting Regiment's First Company's Corporal Robert Bush |
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January, 2885 |
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Mercenary Army - Trial productions of HAFS Jerry are completed. Limited mass production begins. Mercenary Army - Are having a successful campaign in Buenos Aires. |
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January 1, 2885 |
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Strahl National Defence Army - Flight tests begin at the 362nd Assault and Recon Company training grounds for the experimental antigravity aircraft XK-427 Fire Fly, flown by Sergeant Pinge |
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March, 2885 |
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Mercenary Army - The 45th Independent Armored Regiment is lost in combat in North America. |
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March 3, 2885 |
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Mercenary Army - An intact XK427 Fire Fly antigravity aircraft crash lands and is captured intact and evaluated by scientists. Strahl First Lieutenant Holtzmann, Sergeant Pingel, and others who were aboard, were captured by the Mercenaries. |
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April, 2885 |
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Mercenary Army - The production of AFS MkII ends. Mercenary Army - Production of the DollHouse ends to give priority to SAFS. Final DH production numbers 9,376 units |
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April 1, 2885 |
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Strahl National Defence Army - SDR recovers a seriously damaged SAFS and begins to evaluate the technology. |
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May, 2885 |
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Mercenary Army - Production lines shift from AFS to new SAFS MkI. Mercenary Army - DollHouse active units fielded at front lines number 5,900. Of these, 900 have the new ceramic armor. Mercenary Army - HAFS Gladiator battlefield experiments begin. |
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June 14, 2885 |
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Mercenary Army - First successful flight of the antigravity fighter PKf.85 Falke |
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July, 2885 |
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Strahl National Defence Army - Establishes an early watch radar system for Northern Australia |
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August, 2885 |
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Mercenary Army - The 44th Armored Army Regiment in Northern Europe receives eight HAFS Jerry Strahl National Defence Army - Launch attack against Mercenary shuttle repair facility in Japan |
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September, 2885 |
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Strahl National Defence Army - PKA Ausf G Gustav is introduced in limited numbers. First supplied to 150th Armored Hunting Regiment attached to the Camp Group, and to the 300th Armored Mobile Infantry Battalion. Strahl National Defence Army -The 501st Independent Heavy Tank Battalion reconnaissance equipment is changed from Krote to Neuspotters. |
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September 23, 2885 |
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Mercenary Army - Operation Super Hammer begins. |
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September 27, 2885 |
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Strahl National Defence Army - The Operation Super Hammer is defeated due to SDR use of satellite imagery to concentrate troop strength at key points on the front. |
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October, 2885 |
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Mercenary Army - Launches Operation Peel Banana in an attempt to destroy Strahl military satellites. Strahl National Defence Army - Unmanned reconnaissance hover tank Oscar is deployed in Australia and North America . |
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End of 2885 |
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Strahl National Defence Army - XPK 43, a modified Hornisse to accept a Gustav, takes its first flight. |
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November, 2885 |
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Mercenary Army - 128 initial production HAFS Gladiator are delivered. Strahl National Defence Army - Frontline deployments of unmanned hover patrol vessel F-Boot and unmanned reconnaissance drone Neuspine begin. |
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November 18, 2885 |
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Strahl National Defence Army - Battlefield experiments of the heavy fighter Ze145 Salamander begin. |
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December, 2885 |
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Mercenary Army - Counterattacks in North America are launched. Most Strahl Army bases in Canada are surrounded. |
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December 31, 2885 |
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Mercenary Army - Field tests are performed for the HAFS Goblin |
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January, 2886 |
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Strahl National Defence Army - PKA ausf K (W) Fliege is assigned to the Totenkopf Battle Team which deploys on the Lunar surface. |
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February, 2886 |
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Mercenary Army - The military satellite communications network between North America and North Africa is restored. Strahl National Defence Army - Deployment of the PKA ausf K (W) Kauz begins on the Lunar surface. |
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February 5, 2886 |
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Strahl National Defence Army - 100th Mechanized Infantry Division attempts to break out of encirclement of the city Super Henburke on North American continent. |
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March 18, 2886 |
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Mercenary Army - Operation Faserei is launched in Europe to expel SDR forces. |
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April 30, 2886 |
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Mercenary Army - Operation Faserei ends in South Ukraine . Mercenary Army has gained control of 70 percent of Europe . |
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May, 2886 |
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Mercenary Army - SAFS SnakeEye mass-production begins. Strahl National Defence Army – Operational tests of PKA ausf M Melusine are performed in South America |
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June, 2886 |
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Mercenary Army - SnakeEye units are deployed to Lunar surface. Successful in establishing a Lunar base. |
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August, 2886 |
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Strahl National Defence Army -Nighttime operation "Nekker Exercise" is launched Mercenary Army - SAFS MkIII Raptor mass-production begins |
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September, 2886 |
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Mercenary Army - Assault plan "Dynamo Strategy" ends in failure on the Lunar surface Strahl National Defence Army - Totenkopf Battle Team reorganizes and is deployed to South America with the new PKA Ausf M "Melusine" |
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September 17, 2886 |
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Strahl National Defence Army - Attack on Shannon Village in Eastern Europe to drive guerillas out. |
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October, 2886 |
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Mercenary Army - The “Raptor” is delivered to the Balkan Peninsula . Mercenary Army - The convoy transportation strategy "White (FUROGGU?) Strategy" starts to the Lunar surface. Mercenary Army - Existence of an SDR unmanned command tank Konig Krote is discovered in Yugoslavia . |
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December, 2886 |
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Mercenary Army - Begins operation to recapture New Canberra. Mercenary Army - Large counterattack strategy "Pokey Pineapple Strategy" begins. "Ice Breaker Strategy" by Special Forces is performed simultaneously. It succeeds in destruction of the command and communications network of Konig Krote by an introduction of a computer virus. The malicious virus creates the artificial intelligence One of Pluto on the Lunar surface. |
Note on the sources
I used a number of sources to compile the introduction and timeline. These sources include online machine translations of Japanese web based SF3D timelines, fan club written translation of the background story that appeared in the HJ SF3D special edition, fan translations from HJ articles, fan transliterations from model kit camo cards, and suit histories from model boxes. Most of my limited material covers the series as it was known as SF3D. I lack sufficient translated materials from the Ma.K. series to include those events into the time line. Not being able to read Japanese, I had to rely on the translated materials that were donated to me or I have gathered over the years. I do not make any claims that the information presented is completely accurate. I did cross reference dates as best I could and I am pretty happy with the results. If you know of any errors or have additional translated materials, please contact me so I can expand on the time line.
Note on the Time Line
The SF3D/Ma.K. series does not have a ending, since 1999, photo stories published in Model Graphix add new models and events within the current established time frame. Most of the dates presented in this time line cover events that were created when the series was called SF3D. Where available, events that are published under Maschinen Krieger are included.
