Earth Federation

The Earth Federation was the global government of Earth in the Universal Century.

Organisation

The Earth Federation was government for Earth. The wealthy nations pushed for the concept of a global governing body. The subsequent merger of the countries resulted in the formation of the Federation.

It was governed by the civilians during peacetimes but when war broke out, the military controlled the Federation.

The Earth Federation Capital was located in Lhasa, while the Earth Federation Assembly was situated in Dakar. The Federation’s military headquarters was a secret underground base Jaburo in the Amazon jungle. A prominent Federation military academy was situated in Nijmegen.

History

Before the formation of the Earth Federation, the world was plagued with shortage of food leading to famines, outbreaks of diseases, dwindling raw materials, and wars over living space.

The wealthy nations lobbied for the formation of a global governing body that would be able to deal with the issues of the world better through a centralised effort. That marked the beginning of a new era, the Universal Century.

Space colonization

The Earth Federation initiated the Space Colonisation Plan to ease the burden of a burgeoning world population on the Earth to allow its healing. The Federation began the construction of space colonies to be placed at the Earth-Lunar Lagrangian Points.

These colony clusters were known as Bunches and they were divided into administrative sectors known as Sides. As part of the colonisation plan, many people were forcefully relocated to the colonies while wealthy and influential individuals remained on Earth. This led to the social segregation between Earth-born elites and Spacenoids.

The Federation launched solar power station satellites to harness solar energy. It also launched the Jupiter Energy Fleet to collect helium-3, hydrogen and methane from the upper atmosphere of Jupiter.

Republic of Zeon and Principality of Zeon

The colony cluster Side 3 at Lagrangian Point L2 declared independence from the Earth Federation in UC 0058. It was named the Republic of Zeon, after its founder Zeon Zum Deikun. The Federation applied economic pressure on the Republic in an attempt to force Side 3 back into the Federation.

After the sudden death of Deikun, his advisor Degwin Sodo Zabi came into power. Zabi renamed the republic as the Principality of Zeon and expanded Zeon’s guard units into a full-fledged army.

Wary of Zeon’s increasing militarisation, the Federation embarked on armament programs to strengthen its military. The escalating tensions between the Federation and Zeon culminated in inevitable conflict that would come to be known as the One Year War.

One Year War

Main article: One Year War

The arms race between the Earth Federation and the Principality of Zeon amid rising tensions resulted in the outbreak of a year-long armed conflict. This would later be known was the One Year War.

Zeon officially declared war against the Federation on 3 January UC 0079. Zeon forces immediately struck at several locations after the declaration. Having gained the upper hand with the element of surprise, Zeon captured a colony and dropped it on Earth. This devastating act alone killed more than 2 billion people. Indiscriminate use of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons caused the deaths of 3 billion people in the first week of war from 3 January to 10 January, later known was the One Week Battle.

The heavy casualties on both sides led to the signing of the Antarctic Treaty on 31 January 0079 by the Federation and Zeon, agreeing to ban the use of weapons of mass destructions and colony drops.

By the middle of UC 0079, Zeon controlled more than 70% of the Earth’s surface. Several successful operations such as Velvet and Odessa allowed the Federation to regain lost ground.

The Federation forces launched a major campaign Zeon’s space fortresses Solomon and A Baoa Qu and captured both fortresses. This led to Zeon’s surrender with the Treaty of Granada on 14 January UC 0080. The Zeon army was disbanded and the Republic of Zeon was re-established as a puppet government under the Federation.

Remnant Zeon loyalists continued to wage guerilla war against the Federation. The most famous terrorist incident was Operation Stardust by the Delaz Fleet in UC 0083. It involved a colony drop that destroyed extensive arable land in North America.

In the aftermath of Stardust, the Earth Federation created the elite task force Titans to prevent future insurrections.

Gryps Conflict

Main article: Gryps Conflict

The Titans was formed as a counter-insurgency task force but evolved into an organisation that ruthlessly killed anyone that demanded equal rights for Spacenoids. This stirred anti-Titans sentiments among those with Spacenoid sympathies. The Anti-Earth Union Group (AEUG) and Karaba were the most prominent rebel groups that opposed the Titans.

In the mid UC 0080s, the Titans massacred the civilians of Side 1’s 30 Bunch colony with G3 nerve gas to suppress demonstrations against the Federation’s policies. In retaliation, the AEUG launched a surprise attack on Side 7’s Green Noa 2 colony, which was later renamed Gryps, and stole three RX-178 Gundam MK II prototypes. This led to a full-scale civil war between the Titans and AEUG that would later be known as the Gryps Conflict.

The Axis Zeon was made up of Zeon remnants that retreated to the giant asteroid Axis at the end of the One Year War. It returned to the Earth Sphere on 12 October UC 0087 at the height of the Gryps Conflict.

Both the Titans and AEUG were eager to ally with the Axis fleet led by Haman Karn as it would guarantee them the upper hand in the war. The Axis sided with the Titans initially before switching sides to assist the AEUG.

Karn’s intention was to weaken both sides so that the eventual victors would be unable to stop the Axis Zeon from seizing the Earth Sphere. After the war, the Titans space fleet was completely destroyed while the AEUG suffered heavy losses.

First Neo Zeon movement

Main article: Neo Zeon

The Axis Zeon renamed themselves as Neo Zeon and begun its conquest of the Earth Sphere. This would come to be known as the first Neo Zeon movement. Weakened by the loss of the Titans forces, the Earth Federation relied on the aid of the AEUG and Karaba to battle against the Neo Zeon incursion.

The Neo Zeon dropped a colony in Dublin and prevented the evacuation of the civilians in Dublin, resulting in massive casualties. Despite these atrocities, many civilian members of the Earth Federation government chose to appease the Neo Zeon instead of stopping them.

The emergence of Glemy Toto, a self-proclaimed clone of Gihren Zabi stirred unrest within the ranks of the Neo Zeon and eventually led to a civil war. The deaths of Karn and Toto in the final battle against the AEUG brought an end to the first Neo Zeon movement.

Second Neo Zeon movement

Main article: Neo Zeon

After defeating first Neo Zeon movement, the Earth Federation was able to regain its military might. However, when the second Neo Zeon movement begun under the leadership of Char Aznable in UC 0093, the Federation lacked political will to go against it.

Although the Fedreation Forces saw the need to defeat the Neo Zeon, the civilian government sought to negotiate with them instead. The Neo Zeon used this to their advantage by attacking Earth directly and planned to drop several asteroids to make the Earth inhabitable.

The Neo Zeon threat was elminated by the Federation’s Londo Bell task force led by veteran Bright Noa. Char was killed in the final battle and with the loss of their leader, the Neo Zeon was defeated.

Reunification

The Republic of Zeon officially rejoined the Earth Federation in UC 0100 after decades of conflict.

Decline

The Earth Federation was under the leadership of the civilian government in peacetimes. The dwindling Zeon threat led to the Federation’s decline in military might. The Federation ignored most conflicts in its colonies, dismissing them as terrorist acts and minor battles.

The Federation eventually ceased funding its military and armaments development. By UC 0122, the Federation Forces had become inferior to the rogue space movements. A group known as the Crossbone Vanguard attempted to seize several colonies in UC 0123.

The decline of the Federation Forces continued and by UC 0153, the Federation was weakened to the point of relying on militia forces in the Zanscare conflict. Despite the odds, the Federation was victorious.

In early UC 0200, the Federation was plagued with external and internal conflicts. It finally collapsed in UC 0223 and was succeeded by the Congress of Settlement Nations (CONSENT).

Military

Main article: Earth Federation Forces

The Earth Federation Forces were made up of several professional service branches: the Earth Federation Ground Force (EFGF), the Earth Federation Naval Force (EFNF), the Earth Federation Air Force (EFAF) and the Earth Federation Space Force (EFSF).

The central command of the Federation Forces was located in a secret underground base Jaburo in the Amazon jungle. It was the target of many Zeon attacks.

The EFSF had its space headquarters at Luna II, a former mining asteroid in Lagrangian point L3 that was converted to function as a military base. It was often used as a staging area for the Federation Forces.

A prominent Federation military academy was situated in Nijmegen.

Behind the scenes

The Earth Federation is loosely based on the United Nations. Like the UN, it has a Security Concil and a General Assembly. However, it is not a successor to the UN.

Its emblem is a golden or white north star above a crescent. This is similar to the emblem of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).