Battle of Solomon

The "Battle of Solomon" was a major engagement in the anime and manga series "Mobile Suit Gundam". It was one of the most decisive battles of the devastating One Year War and often considered the turning point of the war in space (Operation Odessa being the equivalent on Earth itself).

With Federation forces having largely liberated Earth from Zeon control, the Earth Federal forces now looked to assault the Zeon home colonies of Side 3 itself. To accomplish this, the Zeon defensive asteroid bases of Solomon and A Boa Qu had to be neutralized. The Federation choose to assault Solomon first. The fighting saw the Federation deploying a number of highly advanced weapons, including the Solar System (essentially a solar powered weapon of mass destruction) and their mass produced RGM-79 GM mobile suits.

The Zeon forces put up a desperate but skilled defense, inflicting extremely heavy casualties on the Federation Fleet. They too had a secret weapon, the MA-08 Big Zam mobile armor. Piloted by Dozle Zabi and two co-pilots, the weapon destroyed large numbers of Federation Mobile Suits, Mobile Armors, and spacecraft before finally being dispatched by the Federation's RX-78-2 Gundam, piloted by Amuro Ray. The Fortress fell to the Federation shortly after. The Battle can be seen as essentially ending any hope of a Zeon victory in the war and ultimately sealed the fate of the Principality.