Earth Liberation Staging Base “Bogolyubov”

Large Jungle Base
Owner: ZAFT
Location: Jungle, Coastal
Add-Ons:
- None
Mobile Suits (0):
- None
Mobile Armors (0):
- None
Defenses:
- None
Occupants:
- None

Madagascar’s strategic location made an attractive target for ZAFT’s Earth Liberation Army as a major launching port for the offensive into southern Africa. After finding out (with disastrous results) that the northern half of the island was within range of the Atlantic Federation’s monstrous Noventa Cannon at Mogadishu, a second landing operation took place at the flatlands near the pleasant tropical beaches of Tuléar along the island’s southwestern coast. The relatively small local population was quickly rounded up and deported, and orbital drops of prefabricated components and structures enabled the space rebels to set up a fully functional base of operations in time to ward off a counter-offensive by the Federation.

Named in honor of Soviet theoretical physicist Nikolay Bogolyubov, the staging base is a hardened fortification intended to serve as a bastion against Atlantic Federation counterattacks from air or sea as well as a major launching point for offensives into Africa. Great chunks of the beaches were literally blown away by explosives to quickly dredge out portions of the local coastline to facilitate construction of submarine pens, with a seawall hastily constructed to create an ocean-side perimeter and Old Earth Federation-era hydroelectric dams further inland in the hills brought back online to provide power. More permanent installations were built on site, though the base’s expansion was abruptly halted after the spectacular overrunning of most of South Africa effectively turned it into a supply base, rather than a major staging ground.

Bogolyubov’s most unique feature is a “Tactical Linear Lifter” – in essence, a shrunken Mass Driver intended to fire objects short distances; specifically, far enough to land in South Africa. This device allowed a virtual swarm of ZAFT mobile suits to bypass the Atlantic Federation fleet blockading the approach to Cape Town, without offering them time to prepare a suitable defense as a large-scale orbital drop operation could. With the South African coast secured, the Linear Lifter is now used to quickly send cargo over to waiting ZAFT forces on the continent, a safer alternative than sending submarines through the waters of the Mozambique Strait that are still dangerously mined.

The base’s location amid (mostly) pristine, shallow-water beaches and its tropical environs make it a very popular location for ZAFT personnel to be stationed, and has also produced a tropical uniform variant featuring low boots and rather short shorts.

Recent: Bogolyubov has suffered major damage by yet another attack from independent operators, but it’s tactical linear lifter remains in operation, at least for the moment.