First Battle of Chin'toka

First Battle of Chin'toka
Part of Dominion War
The USS Galaxy fires on a Cardassian orbital weapon platform.
Date:	2374
Location:	Chin'toka system
Result:	Federation Alliance victory
COMBATANTS Federation Alliance Dominion, Cardassian Union COMMANDERS General Martok STRENGTH Hundreds of starships, tens of thousands of ground troops. Hundreds of OWPs, five squadrons of Jem'Hadar attack ships, planetary defense forces MATERIAL LOSSES Dozens of starships total CASUALTIES unknown unknown
CONFLICT CHRONOLOGY
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The First Battle of Chin'toka was the first offensive launched by the allied forces of the United Federation of Planets, the Klingon Empire, and the Romulan Star Empire into Cardassian territory during the Dominion War.

Planning stages

The invasion plan.

The inclusion of the Romulan Star Empire into the Federation Alliance stretched the Dominion's forces opening up the possibility for an invasion of Cardassian territory. Captain Benjamin Sisko was given the task by Starfleet Command to select the location of the attack, he chose the Chin'toka system. (DS9: "Tears of the Prophets")

Orbital weapon platforms.

The Chin'toka system lay in the crucial Dorvan sector, which was a vital link between Cardassian space, the Kalandra sector and Betazed. (Star Trek: Swiftfire: "Into the Fire") The system was defended by a meagre force of five squadrons of Jem'Hadar attack ships due to the Dominion needing extra ships on the Romulan front. The allies started to gather their forces at Deep Space 9 in preparation for the attack. This included the Starfleet Ninth Fleet and Starfleet Task Force 59. During the preparations the allies learned that a new planetary defense system had been deployed within the system, the Orbital weapon platforms were heavily armed and would make the attack far tougher then expected. The allies agreed to deploy as soon as possible. (DS9: "Tears of the Prophets"; Star Trek: Swiftfire: "Into the Fire")

To keep the Dominion guessing the bulk of the personnel involved were not told the fleet's taget until the fleet left Deep Space 9. The fleet made the transit from the space station to the edge of the system unopposed. (Star Trek: Swiftfire: "Into the Fire")

The battle

A Vor'cha-class attack cruiser is destroyed by the Jem'Hadar.

The fleet arrived in the system to find the platforms still disabled. The meagre Dominion forces engaged the Klingons, despite being heavily outnumbered they caused significant damage to the Klingon fleet through the use of suicide tactics. The losses did not deter the fleet and it continued on and engaged the outer platforms, easily destroying them.

The platforms open fire.

The battle that took a turn with the entire weapons platform system coming online. The fleet was suddenly surrounded by active and very powerful platforms. The platforms immediately took a toll on the fleet, particularly the Romulans as their larger warbirds were immediately designated primary targets when the system came online. Despite the losses the allied fleet continued to press on through the platforms.

The platforms' power generator explodes.

The USS Defiant was able to find a weakness with the system. All the platforms shared a single power source. The Defiant was successful in destroying the power source, instantly disabling every single platform. The fleet then quickly dealt with the offline platforms, though several were preserved for study by the allied militaries.

With the space within the system secured the allies went about the second phase of the operation, the capture of the planets. The allies brought in the invasion force that was waiting just outside the system. Dozens of starships carrying thousands of ground troops and equipment entered the system. (DS9: "Tears of the Prophets"; Star Trek: Swiftfire: "Into the Fire")

The fleet bombarded the surface of the planets destroying military bases and installations before launching the ground invasion. Tens of thousands of troops descended on the planets. With support from attack fighters in the atmosphere and starships from orbit the invasion went fairly quickly with the allies securing the major population areas, gaining control over the planets. (Star Trek: Swiftfire: "Semper Fidelis")

The Aftermath

The Dominion was able to bottle up the alliance in the Chin'toka system, stopping a grand push into Cardassian territory. The system would turn into an vast battleground with Dominion forces constantly trying to wrest back control of the system. (DS9: "Image in the Sand", "The Siege of AR-558")

The allies would eventually be forced from the system almost a year after they first took control during the Second Battle of Chin'toka. (DS9: "The Changing Face of Evil")

Participating forces

• Starfleet Ninth Fleet
• Starfleet Task Force 59

Participating starships

• USS Adirondack
• USS Daedalus
• USS Defiant
• USS Concord
• USS Cornwall
• USS Fascenelli
• USS Galaxy
• USS Kalvos
• USS Paiute
• USS Tian An Men
• USS Tucana
• USS Valley Forge
• USS Venture
• USS Veracruz

External links

• First Battle of Chin'toka article at Memory Alpha, the canon Star Trek wiki.
• First Battle of Chin'toka article at Memory Beta, the non-canon Star Trek wiki.