Difference between revisions of "Siege of AR-558"

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When the Allies captured the Chin'Toka system at the end of 2374, one of the planets seized was AR-558. The Starfleet contingent which invaded the planet found that it housed a communications array, the largest in the entire sector. Starfleet realised it had a possible way to access Dominion communications over a wide area, gaining vital intelligence.
{{Infobox Battle
|prev=[[First Battle of Chin'toka]]
|conc=
|next=[[Second Battle of Chin'toka]]
|name=Siege of AR-558
|image=[[Image:AR-558 title.jpg|300px|center]]
|conflict=[[Dominion War]]
|date=2375
|place=Planet AR-558
|result=[[Federation]] victory
|side1=[[United Federation of Planets]]
|side2=[[Dominion]]
|commanders1=[[Benjamin Sisko]]
|commanders2=unnamed [[Jem'Hadar]] commander
|forces1=[[Starfleet]] [[Red Shirt|security personnel]] deployed as [[away team|ground troops]] 
|forces2=[[Jem'Hadar]] troops outnumbering the Federation force 3-to-1
|casual1=Substantial, but not specified
|casual2=All troops lost
}}
The '''Siege of AR-558''' was a prolonged battle between the [[United Federation of Planets]] and the [[Dominion]] during the [[Dominion War]]. It is also the name of the [[DS9]] episode that depicts the resolution of the conflict.


Unfortunately, the Dominion was just as aware of the array's importance. Even five months after the Chin'Toka invasion the entire system was a battleground, with space and surface battles on a daily basis. Starfleet ordered the USS Defiant to land some supplies on AR 558, scene of some of the fiercest ground fighting.
==Sequence of Events==
The Federation took control of a [[Dominion]] communications facility five months prior to the events depicted in the episode. [[Jem'Hadar]] troops had been unsuccessfully attempting to take it back ever since.


The Defiant was attacked by a Jem'Hadar ship on the way in, but was able to destroy it and reach orbit safely. Captain Sisko beamed down to find the situation on the planet desperate. Starfleet regulations require troops to be rotated off the front lines after 90 days; those on AR 558 had spent five months on the planet without relief. Starfleet had assigned 150 troops to protect the array - they were now down to 42, having suffered 72% casualties. Those remaining personnel were both physically and mentally exhausted. Communications within the unit were breaking down, resulting in friendly fire incidents. Both senior officers had been killed, leaving Lieutenant Larkin in command.
[[Captain]] [[Benjamin Sisko]] visited the planet to re-supply the Federation forces.  Finding the troops there demoralized, he elected to remain on the planet indefinitely to assist them.


When the Defiant again came under attack, Captain Sisko chose to stay on the planet and take command of the situation. The Jem'Hadar landed troops some nine kilometres from the communications array and began to organize another attack. When the assault came, it at first appeared to be poorly executed and easily defeated - unfortunately, the Jem'Hadar were using holographic soldiers in order to provoke the Starfleet soldiers into opening fire and revealing their location and strength.
The Jem'Hadar launched an assault to retake the the communications station. The Federation prepared an ambush for them at a choke point, but the Jem'Hadar managed to overrun the position. Fortunately for the Federation forces, the Jem'Hadar lost enough troops in the choke point that the Federation troops were able to defeat those remaining in the close combat that followed.


Sensor jamming was common on the planet, so Captain Sisko sent out a three man scouting team to locate the enemy. Ensign Nog used his Ferengi hearing to locate the Jem'Hadar base three kilometres from the array. Unfortunately the scouting party came under attack, resulting in the death of Lieutenant Larkin and severe injury to Ensign Nog, who later lost half of his left leg. Meanwhile, Sisko was faced with constant attrition by anti-personnel mines within the compound. The Dominion had deployed devices nicknamed 'Houdinis'. These mines sit within subspace, rendering them invisible and all but impossible to detect. They reappear at random, killing whoever disturbed them.
==Significant Observations==
* The Dominion employed cloaked [[mine]]s (called "houdinis" by the Federation troops) during the conflict.  Hidden in [[subspace]], these mines would occasionally emerge into normal space, where they would explode if there were enemy personnel present.  These mines are widely criticized as failures, since they did not actually deny Federation personnel passage through the mined area, merely causing a small number of casualties instead.  The Federation troops eventually managed to gain control of the mines and turn them against the Dominion troops (yet another example of poor [[information security|computer securit]]y in [[Star Trek]]).
* The [[Jem'Hadar]] used [[hologram|holographic]] troops to test the Federation's defenses without risking their own soldiers. This appears to be a unique occurrence.  The information they gathered did not provide them any noticeable advantage, however, and holographic troops played no part in the final battle.
* The Federation forces had no support weapons capable of holding the choke point against the Jem'Hadar charge. Critics have frequently observed that a couple of 20th-century machine guns could have filled the choke point with enough fire to completely deny passage to the Jem'Hadar.
* Neither side had artillery weapons capable of bombarding the enemy from beyond line of sight.


Meanwhile, Lieutenant Dax and one of the local Engineers was successful in disabling the Houdinis and gaining control of them. Commander Sisko moved all of the devices to the ravine leading from the Jem'Hadar camp to the communications array. When the Dominion forces launched their own attack they lost one third of their forces to the Houdinis.
==External Links==
 
* [http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/DS9/episode/103945.html Synopsis] of the episode on StarTrek.com
Despite this, the Jem'Hadar attack on the communications array pressed the Starfleet forces to their limit. There was no attempt at complex tactics - the Jem'Hadar simply attacked en masse. The fighting rapidly degenerated into bloody hand to hand combat, with casualties heavy on both sides. Despite being heavily outnumbered, somehow the Starfleet forces somehow held onto the array.
 
Shortly afterwards, the USS Veracruz arrived with replacement troops. The wounded were evacuated to Starbase 371, leaving AR 558 in the hands of the reinforcements.


[[Category: Star Trek]]
[[Category: Star Trek]]
[[Cattlegory: Wars, Battles and Conflicts]]
[[Category: Battles]]
[[Category: ST Episodes]]

Revision as of 17:24, 15 December 2016

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First Battle of Chin'toka

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Second Battle of Chin'toka

Siege of AR-558
AR-558 title.jpg
Conflict:

Dominion War

Date:

2375

Location:

Planet AR-558

Result:

Federation victory

Combatants

United Federation of Planets

Dominion

Commanders

Benjamin Sisko

unnamed Jem'Hadar commander

Forces

Starfleet security personnel deployed as ground troops

Jem'Hadar troops outnumbering the Federation force 3-to-1

Losses

Substantial, but not specified

All troops lost

  [Source]

The Siege of AR-558 was a prolonged battle between the United Federation of Planets and the Dominion during the Dominion War. It is also the name of the DS9 episode that depicts the resolution of the conflict.

Sequence of Events

The Federation took control of a Dominion communications facility five months prior to the events depicted in the episode. Jem'Hadar troops had been unsuccessfully attempting to take it back ever since.

Captain Benjamin Sisko visited the planet to re-supply the Federation forces. Finding the troops there demoralized, he elected to remain on the planet indefinitely to assist them.

The Jem'Hadar launched an assault to retake the the communications station. The Federation prepared an ambush for them at a choke point, but the Jem'Hadar managed to overrun the position. Fortunately for the Federation forces, the Jem'Hadar lost enough troops in the choke point that the Federation troops were able to defeat those remaining in the close combat that followed.

Significant Observations

  • The Dominion employed cloaked mines (called "houdinis" by the Federation troops) during the conflict. Hidden in subspace, these mines would occasionally emerge into normal space, where they would explode if there were enemy personnel present. These mines are widely criticized as failures, since they did not actually deny Federation personnel passage through the mined area, merely causing a small number of casualties instead. The Federation troops eventually managed to gain control of the mines and turn them against the Dominion troops (yet another example of poor computer security in Star Trek).
  • The Jem'Hadar used holographic troops to test the Federation's defenses without risking their own soldiers. This appears to be a unique occurrence. The information they gathered did not provide them any noticeable advantage, however, and holographic troops played no part in the final battle.
  • The Federation forces had no support weapons capable of holding the choke point against the Jem'Hadar charge. Critics have frequently observed that a couple of 20th-century machine guns could have filled the choke point with enough fire to completely deny passage to the Jem'Hadar.
  • Neither side had artillery weapons capable of bombarding the enemy from beyond line of sight.

External Links

Retrieved from "http://www.stardestroyer.net/wiki/index.php?title=Siege_of_AR-558&oldid=27273"