Changes: Operation Return

Revision as of 18:38, 17 November 2017

Operation Return

Part of Dominion War

Date:

2374

Location:

Bajor sector

Result:

Decisive Federation Alliance victory

COMBATANTS
United Federation of Planets, Klingon Empire	Dominion
COMMANDERS
Captain Benjamin Sisko, General Martok	Gul Dukat, Female Changeling, Weyoun 5, First Kar'ukan
STRENGTH
600+ Starfleet vessels and a unknown number of Klingon Defense Force warships	1,254 ships, Deep Space 9 and 2,800 ships from the Gamma Quadrant
MATERIAL LOSSES
unknown	Unknown Cardassian Empire and Alpha Jem'Hadar casualties 2,800 Gamma Jem'Hadar warships made to vanish by the Prophets

CONFLICT CHRONOLOGY

Previous

Next

First Battle of Vulcanis

Raid on Coridan

For the Pendragon universe version of this engagement, see Operation Return (PDN).

Operation Return was the codename for the joint attack on Deep Space 9 by the Federation and Klingon Empire in 2374. The objective of the mission was to recapture the station and regain control of the Alpha Quadrant side of the Bajoran wormhole so to prevent Dominion reinforcements from the Gamma Quadrant.

Planning stage

After several months in control of Deep Space 9, the Dominion had yet to bring down the minefield blocking the entrance to the wormhole. However, the longer they remained in control of the station, the higher the risk they would figure a way to bring the field down. Captain Benjamin Sisko came up with a plan to regain control of the starbase.

The plan would involve a joint Starfleet and Klingon Defense Force task force made up of elements from the Second, Fifth, Ninth Fleet and a large contingent of Klingon warships. After getting approval from Starfleet Command the fleets started to rally at Starbase 375.

Operation return departure — The fleet departs Starbase 375.

At the same time the Cardassians had finally found a way to bring down the minefield. The resistance force on Deep Space 9 managed to smuggle a message out to Sisko warning about the imminent destruction of the minefield. Unfortunately Sisko was still waiting for Klingon Chancellor Gowron to commit his forces to the operation and the Ninth Fleet would not arrive at the starbase before the field was due to be deactivated. This news forced Admiral William Ross to order Sisko to take the ships they had and fight their way to Deep Space 9 before it was too late. (DS9: "Favors the Bold")

The Dominion was soon aware of the sortie of the large fleet towards Deep Space 9 and Gul Dukat organised a large Dominion force to hold off the attack. Both fleets met each other roughly three hours high warp from the Bajor system. The Dominion fleet formed a defensive bulwark that blocked the Federation fleet. The Dominion only had to delay the Federation fleet and took a defensive stance.

The battle

Operation Return 2 — Fighters attack the Dominion and Cardassian fleet.

Sisko tried to open a hole in the Dominion formation and spent three hours hammering the Cardassian starships with wave after wave of attack fighters. Dukat decided to allow a hole to appear and draw the Federation fleet and destroy it. Sisko recognised the tactic but with time running out had no choice but to take the bait.

Operation Return 1 — The Federation fleet advances.

Once inside the Dominion formation the Federation fleet's formation fell apart due to communications jamming by the Dominion. For two hours the Federation fleet battled on before the surprise arrival of Klingons reinforcements. The Klingons blasted a hole into the Dominion formation allowing the USS Defiant to break through. With time running out and no other ships also through the Dominion lines the Defiant made its way toward Bajor, alone.

USS Majestic hit — The *Majestic* and *Sitak* are hit.

The Klingons were eventually successful in turning the Dominion's flank which started a general collapse in the Dominion lines, and an additional 200 ships eventually broke through to follow Defiant.

Operation return klingons — The Klingons enter the fray.

Despite the battle turning against the Dominion fleet the main objective was successful as the minefield was destroyed just as the Defiant arrived, too late to stop it. Captain Sisko then took the Defiant into the wormhole to meet the Dominion reinforcements unmolested by the station thanks to sabotage to the station's weapons by the resistance on the starbase. While in the wormhole Sisko was able to convince the Prophets to intervene and they simply made the vast 2,800 strong fleet vanish. The Defiant exited the wormhole alone, much to the surprise to those on Deep Space 9, and attacked the helpless station. (DS9: "Sacrifice of Angels")

During the course of the battle, the USS Vulture took a direct hit, causing an explosion in engineering, which resulted in the death of the ship's chief engineer. Captain Victor Mandrake promoted the junior engineer Ensign Carmen Gomez to a field promotion of Lieutenant and made her the ship's new chief engineer. After the battle, Starfleet Command upheld the promotion. (Star Trek: Pioneer: "Mandrake's Stand"; Star Trek: Far Horizons)

Uss venture docked, ds9 — Starfleet re-occupies Deep Space 9.

With the lack of Gamma Quadrant reinforcements, Deep Space 9's weapons' array offline and a large enemy fleet inbound the Female Changeling opted to evacuate the station and pull her forces back to regroup. The Dominion fleet disengaged from the battle and retreated, handing the Federation and Klingons victory. Starfleet quickly reoccupied Deep Space 9 and regained control of the Bajor system. Gul Dukat's daughter Tora Ziyal was shot dead by Corat Damar for aiding the sabotage of the station, driving Dukat to madness. He refused to leave her body and was captured when the Federation arrived at the station. (DS9: "Sacrifice of Angels")

Aftermath

The victory was a huge morale boost for the allies. Not only did they regain the station but also they defeated a much larger Dominion fleet. It also guaranteed that the Dominion in the Alpha Quadrant would have to fight the war without assistance from the Gamma Quadrant. (DS9: "Sacrifice of Angels")

However, this would be the last successful advance by the Alliance for several months: afterwards the war became bogged down in a bloody stalemate that eventually prompted Sisko to plot to bring the Romulan Star Empire into the war on the side of the allies. (DS9: "In the Pale Moonlight")

The Prophets returned the vanished Dominion fleet to existence in 2409, and it briefly seized control of Deep Space 9 from the Federation. The Dominion government ordered the fleet to return to the Gamma Quadrant in exchange for the repatriation of the Female Changeling, who had been imprisoned for war crimes by the Federation following the end of the Dominion War, after a brief battle with recalcitrant Jem'Hadar that ended in the death of their commander First Kar'ukan. (Star Trek Online; The War of the Masters: "Past Continuous")

Participating starships

Federation

Klingon Empire

IKS Rotarran (DS9: "Sacrifice of Angels")

Major battles of the Dominion War

External links

Operation Return article at Memory Alpha, the canon Star Trek wiki.
Operation Return article at Memory Beta, the non-canon Star Trek wiki.

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 |date= [[2374]]
 |place= [[Bajor sector]]
-|result= [[Federation]] victory
+|result= Decisive [[Federation Alliance]] victory
 |combatant1= [[United Federation of Planets]], [[Klingon Empire]]
 |combatant2= [[Dominion]]
-|co1= [[Captain]] [[Benjamin Sisko]], [[Rear Admiral]] [[Jennifer Douglas]], [[General]] [[Martok]]
+|co1= [[Captain]] [[Benjamin Sisko]], [[General]] [[Martok]]
-|co2= [[Gul]] [[Dukat]]
+|co2= [[Cardassian ranks|Gul]] [[Dukat]], [[Female Changeling]], [[Weyoun]] 5, [[First]] [[Kar'ukan]]
 |strength1= 600+ [[Starfleet]] vessels and a unknown number of [[Klingon Defense Force]] warships
 |strength2= 1,254 ships, [[Deep Space 9]] and 2,800 ships from the [[Gamma Quadrant]]
-|shiploss1= Unknown
+|shiploss1= unknown
-|shiploss2= 2,800+
+|shiploss2=<nowiki/>
+* Unknown [[Cardassian Empire]] and [[Alpha Jem'Hadar]] casualties
-|casualties1= Unknown
+* 2,800 [[Gamma Jem'Hadar]] warships made to vanish by the Prophets
-|casualties2= Unknown
+|casualties1=
+|casualties2=
 |prev= [[First Battle of Vulcanis]]
 |next= [[Raid on Coridan]]
@@ Line 22: / Line 24: @@
 :''For the [[Pendragon universe]] version of this engagement, see [[Operation Return (PDN)]].''
-'''Operation Return''' was the codename for the joint attack on [[Deep Space 9]] by the [[Federation]] and [[Klingon Empire]]s in [[2374]].  The objective of the mission was to recapture the station and regain control of the [[Alpha Quadrant]] side of the [[Bajoran wormhole]] so to prevent [[Dominion]] reinforcements from the [[Gamma Quadrant]].
+'''Operation Return''' was the codename for the joint attack on [[Deep Space 9]] by the [[United Federation of Planets|Federation]] and [[Klingon Empire]] in [[2374]].  The objective of the mission was to recapture the station and regain control of the [[Alpha Quadrant]] side of the [[Bajoran wormhole]] so to prevent [[Dominion]] reinforcements from the [[Gamma Quadrant]].
 ==Planning stage==
-After several months in control of Deep Space 9 the Dominion had yet to bring down the minefield blocking the entrance to the wormhole.  However the longer then remained in control of the station the higher the risk that they would figure a way to bring the field down so [[Captain]] [[Benjamin Sisko]] came up with a plan to regain control of the [[starbase]].
+After several months in control of Deep Space 9, the Dominion had yet to bring down the minefield blocking the entrance to the wormhole. However, the longer they remained in control of the station, the higher the risk they would figure a way to bring the field down. [[Captain]] [[Benjamin Sisko]] came up with a plan to regain control of the [[starbase]].
 The plan would involve a joint [[Starfleet]] and [[Klingon Defense Force]] [[task force]] made up of elements from the [[Starfleet Second Fleet|Second]], [[Starfleet Fifth Fleet|Fifth]], [[Starfleet Ninth Fleet|Ninth Fleet]] and a large contingent of [[Klingon]] [[warship]]s.  After getting approval from [[Starfleet Command]] the [[fleet]]s started to rally at [[Starbase 375]].
 [[Image:Operation_return_departure.jpg|left|thumb|The fleet departs Starbase 375.]]
-At the same time the [[Cardassian]]s had finally found a way to bring down the minefield.  The resistance force on Deep Space 9 managed to smuggle a message out to Sisko warning about the imminent destruction of the minefield.  Unfortunately Sisko was still waiting for [[Klingon Chancellor]] [[Gowron]] to commit his forces to the operation and the Ninth Fleet would not arrive at the starbase before the field was due to be deactivated.  This news forced [[Admiral]] [[William Ross]] to order Sisko to take the ships they had and fight their way to Deep Space 9 before it was too late. ({{DS9|Favors the Bold}})
+At the same time the [[Cardassian]]s had finally found a way to bring down the minefield.  The resistance force on Deep Space 9 managed to smuggle a message out to Sisko warning about the imminent destruction of the minefield.  Unfortunately Sisko was still waiting for [[Chancellor of the Klingon High Council|Klingon Chancellor]] [[Gowron]] to commit his forces to the operation and the Ninth Fleet would not arrive at the starbase before the field was due to be deactivated.  This news forced [[Admiral]] [[William Ross]] to order Sisko to take the ships they had and fight their way to Deep Space 9 before it was too late. ({{DS9|Favors the Bold}})
+The Dominion was soon aware of the sortie of the large fleet towards Deep Space 9 and [[Cardassian ranks|Gul]] [[Dukat]] organised a large Dominion force to hold off the attack.  Both fleets met each other roughly three hours high warp from the [[Bajoran system|Bajor system]].  The Dominion fleet formed a defensive bulwark that blocked the Federation fleet.  The Dominion only had to delay the Federation fleet and took a defensive stance.
-The Ninth Fleet was redirected from Starbase 375 to Deep Space 9, though it would not be able to catch up to the fleet before the battle had already been decided.  It was also rumoured that the [[Starfleet Tenth Fleet|Tenth Fleet]] had been dispatched to make its way to Deep Space 9. {{ep|{{SWF}}|Rode the 600}}
-The Dominion was soon aware of the sortie of the large fleet towards Deep Space 9 and [[Gul]] [[Dukat]] organised a large Dominion force to hold off the attack.  Both fleets met each other roughly three hours high warp from the [[Bajor system]].  The Dominion fleet formed a defensive bulwark that blocked the Federation fleet.  The Dominion only had to delay the Federation fleet and took a defensive stance.
 ==The battle==
@@ Line 41: / Line 41: @@
 [[Image:Operation_Return_1.jpg|thumb|The Federation fleet advances.]]
-Once inside the Dominion formation the Federation fleet's formation fell apart due to communications jamming by the Dominion.  For two hours the Federation fleet battled on before the surprise arrival of Klingons reinforcements.  The Klingons blasted a hole into the Dominion formation allowing the {{pre|USS|Defiant}} to break through.  With time running out and no other ships also through the Dominion lines the ''Defiant'' made its way toward Bajor, alone. ({{DS9|Sacrifice of Angels}})
+Once inside the Dominion formation the Federation fleet's formation fell apart due to communications jamming by the Dominion.  For two hours the Federation fleet battled on before the surprise arrival of Klingons reinforcements.  The Klingons blasted a hole into the Dominion formation allowing the {{uss|Defiant}} to break through.  With time running out and no other ships also through the Dominion lines the ''Defiant'' made its way toward Bajor, alone.
 [[Image:USS Majestic hit.jpg|left|thumb|The ''Majestic'' and ''Sitak'' are hit.]]
+The Klingons were eventually successful in turning the Dominion's flank which started a general collapse in the Dominion lines, and an additional 200 ships eventually broke through to follow ''Defiant''.
-With communications back and the Klingon also involved they tried to get other ships through to join the ''Defiant'' but the Federation fleet was too fractured to make any reasonable headway.  After an hour it was then far too late for any ships to make it to Deep Space 9 and the Federation and Klingon fleets disengaged to reform and the Dominion fleet did likewise.
-Command of the fleet still battling the Dominion fell to [[Rear Admiral]] [[Jennifer Douglas]] of the {{pre|USS|Venture|NCC-71854) (SWF}}.  Despite the arrival of the Klingons and communications coming back online the Federation fleet's formation had seriously fractured and was ineffective at penetrating the Dominion lines.  Admiral Douglas ordered for the fleet to regroup and both fleet briefly disengaged as they adjusted their formations.  With the fleet reformed and the Klingons anchoring one of the flanks the Admiral threw the fleet back into the Dominion lines and restarted the battle. ({{SWF}}: "[[Rode the 600]]")
 [[Image:Operation_return_klingons.jpg|thumb|The Klingons enter the fray.]]
-The Klingons made use of cloaking tactics helped by the added interference of the high amount of weapons' fire and radiation from destroyed ship to make their ships even harder to detect.  This kept the Dominion flank on the defensive allowing the Klingons to be more aggressive.  The Klingons were eventually successful in turning the Dominion's flank which started a general collapse in the Dominion lines. ({{DS9|Sacrifice of Angels}}; {{SWF}}: "[[Rode the 600]]")
 Despite the battle turning against the Dominion fleet the main objective was successful as the minefield was destroyed just as the ''Defiant'' arrived, too late to stop it.  Captain Sisko then took the ''Defiant'' into the wormhole to meet the Dominion reinforcements unmolested by the station thanks to sabotage to the station's weapons by the resistance on the starbase.  While in the wormhole Sisko was able to convince the [[Prophets]] to intervene and they simply made the vast 2,800 strong fleet vanish.  The ''Defiant'' exited the wormhole alone, much to the surprise to those on Deep Space 9, and attacked the helpless station. ({{DS9|Sacrifice of Angels}})
+During the course of the battle, the {{uss|Vulture|NCC-14330}} took a direct hit, causing an explosion in engineering, which resulted in the death of the ship's [[chief engineer]]. Captain [[Star Trek: Pioneer (STP) characters #Victor Mandrake|Victor Mandrake]] promoted the junior engineer Ensign [[Carmen Gomez]] to a field promotion of [[Lieutenant]] and made her the ship's new chief engineer. After the battle, Starfleet Command upheld the promotion. ({{ep2|{{STP}}|Mandrake's Stand|STP}}; {{NH}})
-The {{pre|IKS|Rotarran}} and the USS ''Venture'' then managed to led a mass breakthrough of the Dominion lines of two hundred ships and immediately headed towards [[Deep Space 9]].  The {{pre|USS|Cortéz}} took charge of the reminder of the fleet as it continued to engage the Dominion fleet. {{ep|{{SWF}}|Rode the 600}}
+[[Image:Uss venture docked, ds9.jpg|thumb|left|Starfleet re-occupies Deep Space 9.]]
-During the course of the battle, the {{uss|Vulture|NCC-14330}} took a direct hit, causing an explosion in engineering, which resulted in the death of the ship's [[chief engineer]]. Captain [[Star Trek: Pioneer (STP) characters #Victor Mandrake|Victor Mandrake]] promoted the junior engineer Ensign [[Carmen Gomez]] to a field promotion of [[Lieutenant]] and made her the ship's new chief engineer. After the battle, Starfleet Command upheld the promotion. ({{STP}}: [[Mandrake's Stand (STP)|"Mandrake's Stand"]]; {{NH}})
+With the lack of Gamma Quadrant reinforcements, Deep Space 9's weapons' array offline and a large enemy fleet inbound the [[Female Changeling]] opted to evacuate the station and pull her forces back to regroup.  The Dominion fleet disengaged from the battle and retreated, handing the Federation and Klingons victory.  Starfleet quickly reoccupied Deep Space 9 and regained control of the [[Bajoran system|Bajor system]]. Gul Dukat's daughter [[Tora Ziyal]] was shot dead by [[Corat Damar]] for aiding the sabotage of the station, driving Dukat to madness. He refused to leave her body and was captured when the Federation arrived at the station. ({{DS9|Sacrifice of Angels}})
+==Aftermath==
-[[Image:Uss venture docked, ds9.jpg|thumb|left|Starfleet re-occupies Deep Space 9.]]
-With the lack of Gamma Quadrant reinforcements, Deep Space 9's weapons' array offline and a large enemy fleet inbound the [[Female Changeling]] opted to evacuate the station and pull her forces back to regroup.  The Dominion fleet disengaged from the battle and retreated, handing the Federation and Klingons victory.  Starfleet quickly reoccupied Deep Space 9 and regained control of the [[Bajor system]]. ({{DS9|Sacrifice of Angels}})
+The victory was a huge morale boost for the allies.  Not only did they regain the station but also they defeated a much larger Dominion fleet.  It also guaranteed that the Dominion in the Alpha Quadrant would have to fight the war without assistance from the Gamma Quadrant. ({{DS9|Sacrifice of Angels}})
+However, this would be the last successful advance by the Alliance for several months: afterwards the war became bogged down in a bloody stalemate that eventually prompted Sisko to plot to bring the [[Romulan Star Empire]] into the war on the side of the allies. ({{DS9|In the Pale Moonlight}})
-Following the battle and the retreat of the Dominion fleet Starfleet recovery operations began in the battle zone.  Search and rescue teams combed through the wreckage looking for survivors and recovered bodies.  [[Starfleet Intelligence]] also deployed several teams to investigate the wrecks of Dominion and Cardassians ships in search of classified materials. {{ep|{{SWF}}|Unfinished Business}}
+The [[Prophets]] returned the vanished Dominion fleet to existence in [[2409]], and it briefly seized control of Deep Space 9 from the Federation. The Dominion government ordered the fleet to return to the Gamma Quadrant in exchange for the repatriation of the Female Changeling, who had been imprisoned for [[war crime]]s by the Federation following the end of the Dominion War, after a [[Fourth Battle of Deep Space 9|brief battle]] with recalcitrant Jem'Hadar that ended in the death of their commander [[First]] [[Kar'ukan]]. ({{STO}}; {{ep2|{{Masterverse}}|Past Continuous}})
-The victory was a huge morale boost for the allies.  Not only did they regain the station but also they defeated a much larger Dominion fleet.  It also guaranteed that the Dominion in the Alpha Quadrant would have to fight the war without assistance from the Gamma Quadrant.
 ==Participating starships==
 ===[[Federation]]===
+*{{uss|Beliskner|NCC-71841}} (''[[Star Trek: New Order]]'')
-*{{uss|Aldebaran|Nebula class}}
+*{{uss|Bertram}} ({{srmv1}})
-*{{pre|USS|Beliskner|NCC-71841}}
+*{{uss|Centaur|NCC-42043}} ({{DS9|Sacrifice of Angels}})
-*{{uss|Bertram}}
+*{{uss|Chiron}} ({{srmv1}})
-*{{pre|USS|Centaur|NCC-42043}}
+*{{uss|Cortéz}} ({{DS9|Favor the Bold|Sacrifice of Angels}})
-*{{uss|Chiron}}
+*{{uss|Dauntless|NCC-74658}} (''[[Star Trek: Dauntless]]'')
-*{{pre|USS|Cortéz|NCC-10566}}
+*{{uss|Defiant|NX-74205}} ({{DS9|Favor the Bold|Sacrifice of Angels}})
-*{{uss|Crusader|NCC-43199}}
-*{{pre|USS|Daedalus|NCC-74310}}
+*{{uss|Exeter|NCC-26531}} ({{TQB}})
+*{{uss|Gah'tal}} ({{srmv1}})
-*{{pre|USS|Dauntless|NCC-74658}}
+*{{uss|Gemini|NCC-70328}} ({{srmv1}})
-*{{pre|USS|Defiant|NX-74205}}
+*{{uss|Hood|NCC-42296}} ({{DS9|Sacrifice of Angels}})
-*{{pre|USS|Exeter|NCC-26531}}
+*{{uss|Magellan}} ({{DS9|Sacrifice of Angels}})
-*{{uss|Gah'tal}}
-*{{uss|Gemini|NCC-70328}}
+*{{uss|Majestic|NCC-31060}} ({{DS9|Sacrifice of Angels}})
+*{{uss|Mateo|NCC-63302}} ({{srmv1}})
-*{{pre|USS|Magellan|Galaxy class}}
+*{{uss|Midas|NCC-27078}} (''[[Star Trek: Independence]]'')
-*{{pre|USS|Majestic|NCC-31060}}
+*{{uss|Miyazaki}} (''[[Harry Potter and the Return of James T. Kirk]]'')
-*{{pre|USS|Malinche|NCC-38997}}
+*{{uss|Sarek|NCC-72075}} ({{DS9|Sacrifice of Angels}})
-*{{pre|USS|Mateo|NCC-63302}}
+*{{uss|Sitak}} ({{DS9|Sacrifice of Angels}})
-*{{pre|USS|Midas|NCC-27078}}
+*{{uss|Thomas A. Meyers|NCC-76391}} ({{rem}})
-*{{pre|USS|Miyazaki}}
+*{{uss|Vel'dna}} ({{srmv1}})
-*[[List of miscellaneous Star Trek: Remington ships#USS Myers (NCC-76391)|USS ''Myers'']]
+*{{uss|Venture|NCC-71854}} ({{DS9|Sacrifice of Angels}})
-*{{pre|USS|Sarek|NCC-72075}}
+*{{uss|Vulture|NCC-14330}} ({{STP}})
-*{{pre|USS|Sitak}}
-*{{pre|USS|Swiftfire|NCC-76125-A|-A}}
-*{{pre|USS|Trinculo|NCC-71867}}
-*{{uss|Vel'dna}}
-*{{pre|USS|Venture|NCC-71854}}
-*{{uss|Vulture|NCC-14330}}
 ===[[Klingon Empire]]===
-*{{pre|IKS|Rotarran}}
+*{{iks|Rotarran}} ({{DS9|Sacrifice of Angels}})
 {{Dominion War battles}}
 {{alphabeta}}
-[[Category:Battles]]
 [[Category:Dominion War]]