One Year War
Encyclopedia
The is a fictional conflict from the Universal Century
timeline of the anime
Mobile Suit Gundam
metaseries. The One Year War is very similar to World War II
, the major difference being that The One Year War is in a science fiction
setting and some major battles occurred in space
. The war was originally depicted in the first Gundam anime, Mobile Suit Gundam
, and later series and OVAs within this same timeline depict this fictional conflict even further.
The fictional war is also seen as a fictional depiction of a battle of social classes. Some view it as a war of wealthy versus poor.
It is the largest military conflict depicted in the Universal Century series, involving tens of thousand of mobile weapons
, thousands of war ships and million
s of combatants. Its casualties, both military personnel and civilians were in the billion
s. Series with its plot coming after this war refers to it as The One Year War or simply The War.
The war is also known as the Zeon's War of Independence to the former soldiers of the Principality of Zeon, such as in a later anime series Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory
and the manga
Char's Deleted Affairs in which some Zeon remnants refused to admit defeat and claimed that the war was still ongoing. Some remnants continue to fight till UC0120 on Mars in the story of Mobile Suit Gundam F90, but the major conflict died out on UC0100 where the Republic of Zeon officially announce they gave up their independency.
Some speculated the war is not really a war of independence since Zeon
claimed independence more than 20 years before the war began. However, official material explained that the war was a front used to stop the Earth Federation's sanctions
against the new independent state because Zeon would not have the military strength to fight for the removal of the sanctions if they continued to exist.
In the current official story, the One Year War begins on January 3, UC 0079 (the Universal Century calendar begins some time after 2045 AD, according to the official timeline). A short period in the first week of the war is known as the "One Week Battle" or the "One Week War", in which most civilian casualties are accrued by the indiscriminate use of WMDs and surprise attacks.
The portion of the war depicted in the original anime, Mobile Suit Gundam depicts mainly the last few months of the "One Year War", where only the introductory narration mentioned the earlier events including destruction of multiple space colonies
and the dropping of an Island 3 type colony from orbit, resulting in the destruction of half of the human population. The war ended on January 1, UC 0080, when the Republic of Zeon, reinstated after the fall of the Principality, signed a peace treaty with the Earth Federation
.
shattered Federation defenses and allowed the Zeon to conquer a large swath of territory, totaling two-thirds of the Earth's land mass (including most of Asia, Europe, and North America). Unfortunately (for Zeon), they did not possess enough troops to maintain control over all of this territory and thus were forced to defend key manufacturing and material centers. Because of this, the Federation was able to catch up to Zeon in terms of technology.
In the original Mobile Suit Gundam, towards the end, Degwin Zabi
compared his son, Gihren Zabi
, to Adolf Hitler
, saying that he is like the remnants of the dictator of the old century.
, where the war is shown from their view point starting in September U.C.0079. The One Year War is not completely told in this series and the earlier events of the War, such as the colony drop and use of WMDs in the One Week Battle, are only briefly told in the introduction of each episode.
After the Earth Federation forced the immigration of the majority of humanity to the space colonies, tensions between the space colonists and the Earth elites were common and ubiquitous. The Republic of Zeon at Side 3 began pushing for a peaceful independence under the leadership of Zeon Zum Deikun
. The Earth Federation considered this a threat to the stability of the greater Earth Sphere
, so they began applying economic pressure in an effort to force Zeon back into the Federation; an effort that ultimately failed. In U.C.0068, Zeon Deikun, a major politician within the colonies, unexpectedly died (though never confirmed, his death is strongly suspected of being an assassination by the Zabi family), and the independent Republic became the Principality of Zeon when Deikun's deputy, Degwin Sodo Zabi
, seized control of the administration. On seizing control of the now-Principality, Degwin Zabi rapidly militarized the state by expanding the size of the Zeon National Guard, elevating it to the status of a full-fledged army. The mobile suits and the majority of the Zeon space force was formed during this time period, as was the Flanagan Institute.
Alarmed at the sudden build-up of arms at Side 3, the Earth Federation launched the 60's Armament Reinforcement Plan and the 70's Armament Reinforcement Plan, both aimed at building up the strength of the Earth Federation Space Force (EFSF). Federation engineers converted the mining asteroid Luna II into a major military base and rolled out the Salamis and Magellan-class warships during this time period.
's plot started in the 9th month into the war, while the prologue tell of the events of what happened earlier. Later publications tell of the full story, about how Zeon dropped a Space colony (Gundam)
onto Earth and during the process, killed half of the population of the whole Earth sphere, including the space colonies, which was retconned to be the One Week Battle and the civilian casualties estimated to be much higher(4.8~5 billion during the war and 3 billion after the war) during the war due to the aftermath of the disastrous event, just like the atomic bombs and communication interference by the introduction of Minovsky particle. Some of that story was later adapted into MS Igloo and come manga
. The war came to an end when the Earth Federation finally gathered enough strength for a full counter attack, in which the few decisive battles were told in Mobile Suit Gundam as well.
The prologue of Mobile Suit Gundam 0083 started from the end of the last battle in the One Year War, and explaint the situation in the same world 3 years after the War, with rogue forces of the remnants of Zeon still lurking around and the Earth Federation still wanted to eliminate them.
, under the regency
of Haman Karn. Others, such as Cima Garahau's Zeon Marines, become pirates while other Zeon soldiers continue fighting inside the Earth Sphere and on the Earth's surface in various guerilla and insurgency actions. Many of these Zeon insurgents become attracted to the various uprisings and movements in the following years, such as the Delaz Fleet's Operation Stardust, Haman Karn's Axis Zeon, Char Aznable's Neo-Zeon and Mars Zeon. Such insurgencies continues until the UC 0120s, but eventually dies out and is replaced by conflicts from new-generation space warlords, such as the Crossbone Vanguard, Jupiter Empire and the Zanscare Empire.
Universal Century
is the original timeline of the Gundam anime metaseries. The official English name U.C. is often used instead in recent production like MS Igloo and Master Grade model instructions and official pages is the original timeline of the Gundam anime metaseries. The official English name U.C....
timeline of the anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
Mobile Suit Gundam
Mobile Suit Gundam
is a televised anime series, created by Sunrise. Created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, it premiered in Japan on Nagoya Broadcasting Network on April 7, 1979, and lasted until January 26, 1980, spanning 43 episodes...
metaseries. The One Year War is very similar to World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the major difference being that The One Year War is in a science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
setting and some major battles occurred in space
Space
Space is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which objects and events occur and have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless four-dimensional continuum...
. The war was originally depicted in the first Gundam anime, Mobile Suit Gundam
Mobile Suit Gundam
is a televised anime series, created by Sunrise. Created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, it premiered in Japan on Nagoya Broadcasting Network on April 7, 1979, and lasted until January 26, 1980, spanning 43 episodes...
, and later series and OVAs within this same timeline depict this fictional conflict even further.
The fictional war is also seen as a fictional depiction of a battle of social classes. Some view it as a war of wealthy versus poor.
It is the largest military conflict depicted in the Universal Century series, involving tens of thousand of mobile weapons
Mobile weapons
In the Gundam terminology, the terms normal suit and astrosuit are used to refer to normal astronaut spacesuits, so as to avoid confusion with mobile suits....
, thousands of war ships and million
Million
One million or one thousand thousand, is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The word is derived from the early Italian millione , from mille, "thousand", plus the augmentative suffix -one.In scientific notation, it is written as or just 106...
s of combatants. Its casualties, both military personnel and civilians were in the billion
1000000000 (number)
1,000,000,000 is the natural number following 999,999,999 and preceding 1,000,000,001.In scientific notation, it is written as 109....
s. Series with its plot coming after this war refers to it as The One Year War or simply The War.
The war is also known as the Zeon's War of Independence to the former soldiers of the Principality of Zeon, such as in a later anime series Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory
Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory
is a 13-episode anime OVA series set in the Gundam universe. The first volume containing two 30-minute episodes was released in Japan on May 23, 1991. Subsequent volumes, containing one 30-minute episode each, followed every one or two months; the final volume went on sale on September 24, 1992...
and the manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
Char's Deleted Affairs in which some Zeon remnants refused to admit defeat and claimed that the war was still ongoing. Some remnants continue to fight till UC0120 on Mars in the story of Mobile Suit Gundam F90, but the major conflict died out on UC0100 where the Republic of Zeon officially announce they gave up their independency.
Some speculated the war is not really a war of independence since Zeon
Zeon
In the television anime Mobile Suit Gundam universe, Zeon can refer to the Republic of Zeon, the Principality of Zeon or Neo Zeon. It is also referred to as the Duchy of Zeon or the Zeon Dukedom...
claimed independence more than 20 years before the war began. However, official material explained that the war was a front used to stop the Earth Federation's sanctions
Economic sanctions
Economic sanctions are domestic penalties applied by one country on another for a variety of reasons. Economic sanctions include, but are not limited to, tariffs, trade barriers, import duties, and import or export quotas...
against the new independent state because Zeon would not have the military strength to fight for the removal of the sanctions if they continued to exist.
In the current official story, the One Year War begins on January 3, UC 0079 (the Universal Century calendar begins some time after 2045 AD, according to the official timeline). A short period in the first week of the war is known as the "One Week Battle" or the "One Week War", in which most civilian casualties are accrued by the indiscriminate use of WMDs and surprise attacks.
The portion of the war depicted in the original anime, Mobile Suit Gundam depicts mainly the last few months of the "One Year War", where only the introductory narration mentioned the earlier events including destruction of multiple space colonies
Space Colony (Gundam)
In the fictional Gundam anime metaseries, space colonies play a pivotal role in ever-changing stories. Below is an explanation of the colonies in each of the Gundam timelines.-Universal Century:...
and the dropping of an Island 3 type colony from orbit, resulting in the destruction of half of the human population. The war ended on January 1, UC 0080, when the Republic of Zeon, reinstated after the fall of the Principality, signed a peace treaty with the Earth Federation
Earth Federation
The is a fictional organization in the Universal Century timeline of the Gundam anime series. The name also made a reappearance outside of the Gundam series in following media.* Godzilla vs...
.
Similarities to World War II
The One Year War closely resembles World War II and the conflict between the Axis Powers and the Allied Nations. The war was started by a dictator in a country with few resources and an inferior economy. Like WWII Germany, the Zeon had the advantage of technologically advanced units at the beginning of the war. The ensuing blitzkriegBlitzkrieg
For other uses of the word, see: Blitzkrieg Blitzkrieg is an anglicized word describing all-motorised force concentration of tanks, infantry, artillery, combat engineers and air power, concentrating overwhelming force at high speed to break through enemy lines, and, once the lines are broken,...
shattered Federation defenses and allowed the Zeon to conquer a large swath of territory, totaling two-thirds of the Earth's land mass (including most of Asia, Europe, and North America). Unfortunately (for Zeon), they did not possess enough troops to maintain control over all of this territory and thus were forced to defend key manufacturing and material centers. Because of this, the Federation was able to catch up to Zeon in terms of technology.
In the original Mobile Suit Gundam, towards the end, Degwin Zabi
Degwin Sodo Zabi
is a fictional character in the anime Mobile Suit Gundam universe. He was the absolute dictator of the Principality of Zeon and came to power in UC 0068 after the suspicious death of Zeon Zum Deikun.- Rise to Power :...
compared his son, Gihren Zabi
Gihren Zabi
is a fictional character, and antagonist from the universe of the Gundam anime series. He was voiced by the veteran seiyu, Banjo Ginga in the original Japanese version. In the English dubbed series and movie adaptations the character was voiced by Hiro Kanagawa and Doug Stone respectively.American...
, to Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
, saying that he is like the remnants of the dictator of the old century.
Introduction
In Mobile Suit Gundam, the story focuses on a small group of survivors and Federation soldiers aboard the new Federation space warship, White BaseWhite Base
The White Base is a fictional spaceship from the Japanese science fiction anime series Mobile Suit Gundam. It serves as the mothership of the protagonist crew members and the famous mobile suit Gundam...
, where the war is shown from their view point starting in September U.C.0079. The One Year War is not completely told in this series and the earlier events of the War, such as the colony drop and use of WMDs in the One Week Battle, are only briefly told in the introduction of each episode.
After the Earth Federation forced the immigration of the majority of humanity to the space colonies, tensions between the space colonists and the Earth elites were common and ubiquitous. The Republic of Zeon at Side 3 began pushing for a peaceful independence under the leadership of Zeon Zum Deikun
Zeon Zum Deikun
is a philosopher and politician in the fictional Gundam stories, in which he developed Contolism, which was both about Ere-ism and Side-ism . This philosophy was welcomed by Side 3 , which made him leader of the Side...
. The Earth Federation considered this a threat to the stability of the greater Earth Sphere
Earth Sphere
In the Gundam anime metaseries, the Earth Sphere refers to Earth, the Moon, and all artificial satellites orbiting them. Space colonies are located at areas of gravitational stability known as Lagrange points...
, so they began applying economic pressure in an effort to force Zeon back into the Federation; an effort that ultimately failed. In U.C.0068, Zeon Deikun, a major politician within the colonies, unexpectedly died (though never confirmed, his death is strongly suspected of being an assassination by the Zabi family), and the independent Republic became the Principality of Zeon when Deikun's deputy, Degwin Sodo Zabi
Degwin Sodo Zabi
is a fictional character in the anime Mobile Suit Gundam universe. He was the absolute dictator of the Principality of Zeon and came to power in UC 0068 after the suspicious death of Zeon Zum Deikun.- Rise to Power :...
, seized control of the administration. On seizing control of the now-Principality, Degwin Zabi rapidly militarized the state by expanding the size of the Zeon National Guard, elevating it to the status of a full-fledged army. The mobile suits and the majority of the Zeon space force was formed during this time period, as was the Flanagan Institute.
Alarmed at the sudden build-up of arms at Side 3, the Earth Federation launched the 60's Armament Reinforcement Plan and the 70's Armament Reinforcement Plan, both aimed at building up the strength of the Earth Federation Space Force (EFSF). Federation engineers converted the mining asteroid Luna II into a major military base and rolled out the Salamis and Magellan-class warships during this time period.
The One Year War
Mobile Suit GundamMobile Suit Gundam
is a televised anime series, created by Sunrise. Created and directed by Yoshiyuki Tomino, it premiered in Japan on Nagoya Broadcasting Network on April 7, 1979, and lasted until January 26, 1980, spanning 43 episodes...
's plot started in the 9th month into the war, while the prologue tell of the events of what happened earlier. Later publications tell of the full story, about how Zeon dropped a Space colony (Gundam)
Space Colony (Gundam)
In the fictional Gundam anime metaseries, space colonies play a pivotal role in ever-changing stories. Below is an explanation of the colonies in each of the Gundam timelines.-Universal Century:...
onto Earth and during the process, killed half of the population of the whole Earth sphere, including the space colonies, which was retconned to be the One Week Battle and the civilian casualties estimated to be much higher(4.8~5 billion during the war and 3 billion after the war) during the war due to the aftermath of the disastrous event, just like the atomic bombs and communication interference by the introduction of Minovsky particle. Some of that story was later adapted into MS Igloo and come manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
. The war came to an end when the Earth Federation finally gathered enough strength for a full counter attack, in which the few decisive battles were told in Mobile Suit Gundam as well.
The prologue of Mobile Suit Gundam 0083 started from the end of the last battle in the One Year War, and explaint the situation in the same world 3 years after the War, with rogue forces of the remnants of Zeon still lurking around and the Earth Federation still wanted to eliminate them.
Aftermath
Many loyalists to the Zabi family, dedicated soldiers, war criminals, and others who could not integrate with the new government voluntarily, leave the Zeon homeland and go on an exodus to the asteroid Axis, which is a previously used waystation for the Jupiter Energy Fleet, which is nominally ruled by Dozle Zabi's infant daughter Mineva Lao ZabiMineva Lao Zabi
In the TV anime Gundam universe, is the last surviving member of the Zabi family and heir to the Principality of Zeon; she is the daughter of Dozle Zabi and Zenna Zabi.Mineva was born during the One Year War...
, under the regency
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
of Haman Karn. Others, such as Cima Garahau's Zeon Marines, become pirates while other Zeon soldiers continue fighting inside the Earth Sphere and on the Earth's surface in various guerilla and insurgency actions. Many of these Zeon insurgents become attracted to the various uprisings and movements in the following years, such as the Delaz Fleet's Operation Stardust, Haman Karn's Axis Zeon, Char Aznable's Neo-Zeon and Mars Zeon. Such insurgencies continues until the UC 0120s, but eventually dies out and is replaced by conflicts from new-generation space warlords, such as the Crossbone Vanguard, Jupiter Empire and the Zanscare Empire.
External links
- Anime Radar (archiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
link, was dead) - UC timeline including OYW