Earth-Romulan War

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Earth-Romulan War

A Romulan Bird of Prey in service during the war

Date	2156 - 2160
Location	Systems in the area between Earth and Romulus, notably Cheron
Result	Military stalemate First treaty negotiated between Earth and Romulus Creation of the Romulan Neutral Zone
Casus belli	Romulan covert and overt attacks provoked Earth into declaring war

Combatants

United Earth
With support from Vulcan, Andor and Tellar

Romulan Star Empire

Strength

Limited number of NX class starships
Large number of less sophisticated ships

Unknown number of Bird of Prey

In the Star Trek fictional universe, the Earth-Romulan War was a major conflict fought between the United Earth and the Romulan Star Empire in the 22nd century. It is credited as leading to the formation of the United Federation of Planets.

1 Canon references
2 Known facts
- 2.1 Dates
- 2.2 Ships
3 Chronology
4 External links

[edit] Canon references

The only information considered canon comes from dialogue and props in episodes of the five Star Trek series and the movies. Unfortunately, information gathered in this manner is very sparse.

[edit] "Balance of Terror"

The first mention of the war was made in the episode "Balance of Terror":

Spock: Referring to the map on your screens, you will note beyond our vessel a line of Earth outpost stations. Constructed on asteroids, they monitor the Neutral Zone established by treaty after the Earth-Romulan conflict a century ago. As you may recall, this conflict was fought, by standards today, with primitive atomic weapons and in primitive space vessels which allowed no quarter, no captives, nor was there even ship-to-ship visual communication. Therefore, no human, Romulan, or ally has ever seen the other. Earth believes the Romulans to be warlike, cruel, treacherous, and only the Romulans know what they think of Earth. The treaty, set by sub-space radio, established this Neutral Zone, entry into which by either side would constitute an act of war. The treaty has been unbroken since that time.

This episode also established that there had been no contact with the Romulans since the war, and that Romulans during the war painted bird-like figures on their ships:

Kirk: If we intercept Romulans now... After a century, what will a Romulan ship look like? I doubt they'll identify themselves.

Stiles: They're painted like a giant bird of prey.

[edit] "The Defector"

The war was mentioned again in the episode "The Defector". Information was given by two characters at different points in the episode:

Setal: The humiliating defeat at the Battle of Cheron has not been forgotten. The new leaders have vowed to discard the treaty and claim the Neutral Zone.

[...]

Data: Commander, it would not be an atypical Romulan ploy. In their long history of war, the Romulans have rarely attacked first... they prefer to test their enemy's resolve.

[edit] Star Trek: Generations

In addition to this, a newspaper clipping shown in Jean-Luc Picard's family album in the movie Star Trek: Generations relates the founding of the Federation. The article, dated 11 October 2161, references the Earth-Romulan War twice:

"Following the end of your world's war with the unseen Romulan enemy, such a union as we create here today is the most logical course of action any of our peoples can take," added Ambassador T'Jan of Vulcan.

[...]

Today's events were but the ceremonial endgame for the often-tumultuous negotiations, which began in earnest after the defeat of hostile forces at Cheron effectively ended the Romulan War only a little more than a year ago.

[edit] "The Pegasus"

A common misconception about the Earth-Romulan War is that the treaty ending it was the Treaty of Algeron. However, dialogue in the episode "The Pegasus" established that this treaty was signed around 2310, long after the war was over:

Picard: In the Treaty of Algeron the Federation specifically agreed not to develop cloaking technology.

Pressman: And that treaty is the biggest mistake we ever made. It's kept us from exploiting a vital area of defense that —

Picard: That treaty has kept the peace for sixty years.

[edit] "In a Mirror, Darkly"

A viewscreen display in the episode "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II" featured a historical overview of mid-21st to mid-23rd century. It gave the following information on the Earth-Romulan War:

2156: Romulan Wars begin between Earth forces and the Romulan Star Empire.

2160: Romulan Wars ended by the Battle of Cheron. The Romulans suffer a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Earth/Andorian/Vulcan/Tellarite alliance.

However, the display was illegible in the episode, and the information above was gathered from a behind-the-scenes picture of the prop. This calls into question whether or not it was meant to be taken as canon information.

[edit] Known facts

[edit] Dates

Although the exact date the war began and ended are unknown, some boundaries can be set. It is known the war had not yet broken out by 2155, when the events of "Terra Prime" take place. On the other hand, the newspaper clipping in Star Trek: Generations mentions that the war had been over for a little over a year when the Federation was founded in 2161, which means it ended before October 2160.

[edit] Ships

By 2155, Earth operated two NX class starships, the Enterprise (launched in "Broken Bow") and the Columbia (launched in "Affliction"), and two others were planned but uncompleted (mentioned in "Fortunate Son"). As these ships are more advanced than those described by Spock in "Balance of Terror", Earth must have used a number of less sophisticated ships to aid the war effort. Another Starfleet ship class known to have been in use around the time of the war is the Daedalus class which were in operation in 2167.

By the 2150s, the Romulans had an unknown number of Bird of Prey in service, and at least some of them were equipped with a cloaking device, as seen in the episode "Minefield". According to "Balance of Terror", the Romulan ships used in the war were painted as giant birds of prey.

[edit] Chronology

Based on the information given above, it is possible to construct a tentative timeline of the Earth-Romulan War.

2152: First contact between Earth and the Romulans. ("Minefield")
2154: The Romulans launch a secret mission to ignite a war between various Alpha Quadrant races. The mission fails miserably, as it leads to the Andorians, Tellarites, Humans, and Vulcans forming an unprecedented military alliance to fight back against the Romulan threat. ("Babel One", "United", "The Aenar")
2155: Earliest year the War could have started.
2156: Likely year the War started ("In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II").
2160: The Battle of Cheron. It is a powerful victory for Earth and a humiliating defeat for the Romulans, and effectively ends the War. ("The Defector", Star Trek: Generations, "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II")
A treaty proclaiming the end of hostilities and the creation of the Romulan Neutral Zone is negotiated by sub-space radio around this time. ("Balance of Terror", "The Defector")
2161: Founding of the Federation.
The Earth-Romulan War is officially over at this point.
Around this time, the Romulans retreat into isolation. ("Balance of Terror")
2266: The Romulans end their century of isolation by sending a single ship across the Neutral Zone, to test the resolve of the Federation. ("Balance of Terror")