Side 2

Side 2, also known as Hatte (ハッテ), was a space colony cluster located at Lagrange point L4 during the Universal Century. Side 2 suffered devastating casualties during the One Week Battle of the One Year War and later became strategic territory contested during the Gryps Conflict, representing the civilian populations caught in space warfare.

Description

Side 2 consisted of multiple O’Neill cylinder colonies:

Located at stable L4 Lagrange point
Mixed residential and industrial colonies
Significant civilian population
Strategic position in Earth Sphere

One Year War

One Week Battle

Side 2 suffered catastrophically during early One Year War:

Principality of Zeon targeted during initial offensive
Multiple colonies destroyed
Massive civilian casualties
Part of 5.8 billion deaths in war’s first week

War’s Impact

The devastation left Side 2:

Partially destroyed colony infrastructure
Traumatized survivor population
Strategic importance despite damage
Symbol of war’s civilian costs

Gryps Conflict

Side 2 became contested territory:

Titans Occupation

Titans controlled Side 2:

Military occupation of remaining colonies
Oppressive governance
Strategic position for controlling L4
Demonstration of Titans’ reach

Operation Apollo

AEUG launched Operation Apollo:

Offensive to recapture Side 2
Liberation of civilian population
Strategic objective for AEUG
Part of broader Gryps Conflict campaign

Significance

Side 2 represented:

Civilian Vulnerability

The cluster showed:

Space colonies’ vulnerability to warfare
Civilian populations as war casualties
How strategic locations endangered inhabitants
Impossibility of neutrality in total war

Strategic Geography

Side 2’s L4 position made it:

Strategic objective for military forces
Part of controlling Earth Sphere
Contested territory across conflicts
Example of how geography shaped space warfare

War’s Persistence

Side 2’s involvement in multiple conflicts demonstrated:

Strategic locations remained valuable across wars
Civilian populations couldn’t escape conflicts
That wars’ impacts lasted generations
Cycle of violence affecting same locations

Legacy

Side 2’s history illustrated:

Long-term costs of warfare on space populations
How strategic colonies became perpetual battlegrounds
Civilian suffering across multiple conflicts
Warning about space colonization’s vulnerabilities

Behind the Scenes

Side 2 was created for the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise as one of the original Sides, suffering massive casualties during the One Week Battle. Its reappearance in Zeta Gundam as contested territory during the Gryps Conflict demonstrated that strategic locations remained important across conflicts.

Director Tomino Yoshiyuki used Side 2 to show how space colonies – humanity’s hope for the future – became targets and battlegrounds, with civilian populations suffering repeatedly.

Appearances

External links

Side 2 on the Gundam Wiki