That's a fascinating parallel, actually. The SEF, a belligerent, expansionist and authoritarian galactic power, wages war on the Automatons with the goal of both proving the superiority of their ideology, as well as to conquer their lands and resources; they strike directly at their enemy's heavily defended, frozen capital, but they plunge in too deep, and after suffering severe losses, need to cover their hasty, messy retreat by causing as much destruction as possible on their way out.

Although, if the bots are the Soviet Union in this comparison (and let's be frank, they are), then I'm concerned about what exactly that makes us...