Providence Bloc Suffers Defeat in S25C-K

S25C-K system, Catch region. Following the fall of 7MD-S1 and UL-7I8 systems, Providence Bloc and HERO Coalition forces clashed over the control of the S25C-K system on the first of the two Infrastructure Hub timers at the 26th of August.

The system saw one of the largest sub capital engagements recently, with more than six hundred pilots in the system at the height of the fighting. Providence Bloc forces were organized in a hundred and eighty Battleship class fleet and set up on the BR-N97 gate in S25C-K system, expecting HERO Coalition forces to jump into them.

Instead, HERO Coalition forces opted to bridge into the system in three fleets: A hundred and forty Brave Collective mixed Moa class Cruisers and Eagle class Heavy Assault Cruisers with Ferox class Battlecruiser support, a hundred and ten The Unthinkables Tengu class Strategic Cruisers and a Test Alliance Please Ignore forty Ishtar class Heavy Assault Cruisers. All told, HERO Coalition forces had two hundred and ninety pilots on the field.

HERO Coalition forces decided to warp to the BR-N97 gate in order to engage Providence Bloc forces, but the Brave Collective fleet was caught by the mobile field disruptors set by Providence Bloc, while The Unthinkables’ Tengus managed to land at range. With both forces on the grid fighting quickly broke out.

While Brave Collective and Test Alliance Please Ignore exchanged losses with Providence Bloc, partly due to their bad positioning, The Unthinkables managed to tank the incoming damage, and with their help, Providence Bloc forces were soon being overwhelmed, losing ships at an alarming pace.

A fleet of sixty Pandemic Legion Proteus class Strategic Cruisers attempted to intervene on Providence Bloc’s behalf at the height of the battle (Though sources within Providence Bloc claim Pandemic Legion shot a few Providence Bloc ships as well) but was quickly brushed aside when its logistics wing was annihilated by the combined Unthinkables and HERO Coalition fleets. Thus Pandemic Legion was forced to retreat from the thick of the fighting, though it did continue and attempt to harass the combatants until the end.

However, the outcome was predictable, Providence Bloc forces were completely decimated by the superior numbers and doctrine fielded by HERO Coalition. Though struggling for almost an entire hour, Providence Bloc was forced to finally concede the field, after most of its fleet was destroyed, with many of the Fleet Commanders and logistics taken off the field during the fighting itself. This loss continues the chain of defeats experienced by Providence Bloc ever since the fall of 7MD-S1 on the 14th earlier this month.

The butcher’s bill saw more than three hundred ships destroyed during the fighting, representing a forty-eight billion ISK loss by all parties. Time Dilation was a factor in the fighting, reaching upwards of more than sixty percent. Bomber activity was high as well, with both sides targeting each others’ logistics wings, though HERO Coalition saw much less success than usual with its bombing runs.

Fixed Battle Report can be found here.

Brave Collective’s Fleet Commander, Blue Ice, commented that The Unthinkables were present mainly in order to deal with any interference made by Stain Wagon forces, which intel indicated were suppose to show for the timer, but did not appear for the fight. Stain Wagon has been an active participant in the fighting since the beginning of the campaign, often aiding Providence Bloc against HERO Coalition.

Though Providence Bloc forces claimed it was overall a good fight, much resentment has been expressed by individuals in the coalition, mainly at the tactics continuously employed by HERO Coalition Fleet Commanders, specifically Blue Ice, such as decapitating Fleet Commanders and eavesdropping coms. These, they claim, run anathema to everything Brave Collective claims to hold dear, such as “Classiness” and “Fun-per-Hour”.

Regardless, since 7MD-S1 the tide of war seems to have shifted strongly in HERO Coalition’s favor, with two systems already captured and another one on the way. One must ask whether HERO Coalition is able to maintain this momentum or will Providence Bloc be able to stem the tide?

https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/CrmkB3xFPJ0&source=uds

a clip of the fighting from The Unthinkables perspective

News: TEST Loses Sovereignty in Catch, Providence Bloc Takes Advantage of the Ensuing Chaos

Catch region. On the 13th of August, Test Alliance Please Ignore lost sovereignty over two systems in the region, which prompted a fight between HERO Coalition and Stain Wagon Coalition over the control of the YHN-3K system.

According to reports, the loss of sovereignty was caused by a rogue director within the Alliance, which resulted in the systems of AOK-WQ and YHN-3K being vulnerable to attack. While HERO Coalition forces scrambled in order to secure these systems, forces belonging to Stain Wagon Coalition quickly organized in order to exploit the situation. Thus, a fight broke out in the YHN-3K system between the two parties.

Apparently, Stain Wagon forces, organized in a seventy pilot Ishtar class Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet, managed to arrive into the YHN-3K system before HERO Coalition as well as anchor and online a Tower in it. They were mostly engaged in clearing Territorial Claim Units while anchoring their own in order to draw a fight from HERO Coalition.

HERO Coalition itself did not shy away from the fight, and brought their signature Moa class Cruiser fleet into the system, numbering at a hundred and thirty pilots. The fight occurred on the GE-8JV gate in the system between the two opponents, as HERO Coalition forces jumped into the system only to find themselves heavily bubbled, with the Stain Wagon Ishtars at a perch, kitting and pouring damage on the HERO Coalition Moas, decimating many of them.

An attempt to retreat was made by HERO Coalition at this point, which proved unsuccessful due to the loss of sovereignty which disabled the Jump Bridge in the system. HERO Coalition forces instead rallied in their Tower and tried to get warp ins on the Stain Wagon fleet’s logistics, but only successfully caught a couple of the vessels, while most of their own logistics wing was annihilated. An attempt to bomb the drones belonging to the Ishtars was taken during the fighting but failed, managing only to destroy Stain Wagon’s main tackle.

Realizing quickly that the fight will not go their way, HERO Coalition forces decided to extract from the system, thus allowing Stain Wagon forces to destroy the last remaining Test Alliance Please Ignore Territorial Claim Unit. Afterwards, Stain Wagon forces safely extracted from the system.

Providence Bloc took advantage of the situation in Catch in order to destroy the defensive Sovereignty Blockade Units deployed by HERO Coalition in the ERVK-P system and replace them with their own, then proceeded to reinforce both the Infrastructure Hub and the Station in the system. A similar treatment was given to the G-AOTH system.

By the end of the day Test Alliance Please Ignore managed to regain sovereignty in the two systems.

This continues the trend of the Northern Catch pocket war, of a back and forth trade, with little gains made by either side. One must wonder what will take in order to break the stalemate achieved so far between the two coalitions.

The fixed battle report can be found here.

Special thanks to Elazar Keon, of Ugandan Hit Squad, Southern Federation Alliance for the battle report, and TheMittani(dot)com for details behind the sovereignty loss event.

Providence Fight Club: Catch 15.7.2014

On the 15th of July, Providence Bloc forces fought two consecutive battles against The Kadeshi Alliance and Test Alliance Please Ignore fleets in the WD-VTV and SV5-8N systems in the Catch region.

The first engagement was fought in the SV5-8N system, where Providence forces received information on the existence of two hostile gangs in the vicinity of that system, an Ishtar class Heavy Assault Cruiser fleet with moderate Logistic support belonging to Test Alliance Please Ignore, numbering approximately sixty pilots, and The Kadeshi Alliance Harbinger class Battlecruiser fleet with moderate Logistic support as well, of an equal size. Providence Bloc forces numbered around sixty-four pilots, mostly in Rupture class Cruisers with light Logistic support.

According to scouts, the two forces were fighting each other, so a decision was made to jump into the WD-VTV system where the engagement was fought. However, with the entry of Providence Bloc forces the two fleets disengaged each other, prompting Providence Bloc forces not to attempt and engage the hostiles in the system but to re-approach the SV5-8N gate. Sure enough, The Kadeshi Harbinger gang warped to the gate in full force.

Not wanting to engage the Harbingers at range, Providence Bloc forces jumped back into the SV5-8N system, hoping to lure the Harbinger fleet after them. Hope turned into reality when The Kadeshi fleet jumped into the system in hot pursuit. A brawl developed on the WD-VTV gate, with Providence Bloc forces inflicting heavy losses to the Harbinger fleet, but taking some moderate damage themselves.

However, this all changed when the Test Alliance Please Ignore Ishtar fleet jumped into the system as well. Unable to break the Logistics of the second fleet, Providence Bloc forces had to concede the field while taking heavy damage, with the Ishtar fleet taking only minor losses.

Original battle report can be found here.
Fixed battle report can be found here.

After a hasty retreat and a trickling of reinforcements, Providence Bloc forces were back to full strength when reports came of a second engagement between The Kadeshi and Test Alliance Please Ignore forces, with a Carrier class Capital ship deployed on the field as well in the WD-VTV system, on the 9KOE-A gate.

Once more, Providence Bloc forces jumped into the WD-VTV system and warped on top of the Cynosural Field beacon. While Test Alliance Please Ignore forces retreated, The Kadeshi fleet, backed up by an Archon class Carrier, stayed on the field and engaged the new arrivals. A prolonged fight erupted, with both fleets taking moderate losses but in the end Providence Bloc could not overcome the Archon’s Logistic capabilities and a decision was made to withdraw.

Original battle report can be found here.
Fixed battle report can be found here.
While traveling back to Providence, a report came of a Brave Collective Alliance fleet, numbering ninety pilots and consisting mainly of Moa class Cruisers in SV5-8N system. However, due to the low fleet numbers, it was deemed unwise to engage. Though a courtesy volley was shot at the Brave Collective fleet as it made its way into T-RPFU system in the Providence region, it was not developed into a full engagement.

Original battle report can be found here.

This marked the last of large scale hostilities in the region, as the remnants of the Providence Bloc fleet dispersed in their staging system.

Providence Fight Club: Assah 20.3.2014 [Update]

The twentith of March saw Providence-Bloc forces destroying a Test Alliance Please Ignore Thanatos class Carrier in the Assah system, Derelik region.

The start of the engagement was innocent enough. republicov, of treu republic, Silent Infinity Alliance, led four Frigate class ships through the Assah system, one of the gateways into the Providence region. In the system, a Test Alliance Please Ignore
fleet, comprising approximately fifteen assorted ships, mostly Frigate
and Destroyer class, contacted republicov and offered him a fight at the
sun. Never one to shy away from a fight, even against impossible odds,
republicov agreed. The result was all too predictable.

However, stated as a gift for republicov, one of the Test Alliance Please Ignore pilots
decided to deploy a cynosural beacon and jump a Carrier class ship unto
the battlefield. Seeing this, republicov broadcasted the information in
all available intelligence channels. Luckily, Aenius Codo, of Die hohen
Himmel, The Fourth District Alliance,
was sorting logistics work at the time, and caught the news. Without
missing a beat, Aenius formed a fleet with the expressed intention of
destroying the Carrier.

An
assorted fleet with a Heavy Interdictor class ship was hastily
assembled and rushed unto the field, warping near the Carrier. Using a
focus script on the Warp Disruption Field Generator, the Carrier was
scrambled and held in place by the Heavy Interdictor, assuring that it
could not jump out of the system so long as the Heavy Interdictor was on
the field. The original Test Alliance Please Ignore fleet was quickly
dispatched, and the Provi-Bloc forces turned their attention to the work
of dismentaling the Carrier, with reinforcements pouring into the
system.

H.E.R.O
Coalition forces did not remain indifferent to the Carrier pilot’s
predicament, and quickly formed a rescue fleet which included Talwar
class Destroyers, Atron class Frigates, Caracal and Thorax class
Cruisers as well as assorted Tech I Logistics Cruisers. Yet, the
effectiveness of the rescue forces was somewhat diminshed due to the
fact many of the rescue fleet’s members entered the field in waves,
rather as one fleet, allowing Provi-Bloc forces to easily dispatch them
while continuing to focus most of their attention on the tackled
Carrier.

Less
than twnety minutes since it entered the Assah system, the Thanatos
class Carrier belonging to SkierX, of Dreddit, Test Alliance Please
Ignore, was destroyed.
After the destruction of the Carrier, Providence-Bloc forces decided to
extract, leaving H.E.R.O Coalition forces to take stock of their
losses.

A fixed Battle Report on EVE-Kill can be found here.

Until
the publication of this article, SkierX, of Dreddit, Test Alliance
Please Ignore, did not respond to attempts to interview him

Special thanks are in order to republicov, of treu republic, Silent Infinity Alliance and Aenius Codo, of Die hohen Himmel, The Fourth District Alliance for granting me interviews.

Breaking News: TEST Alliance Please Ignore Deploys SBUs in Catch

In the last twenty-four hours, Sovereignty Blockade Units have been deployed by H.E.R.O Coalition throughout the Catch region. Sharp eyed observers quickly found out that the majority of said SBUs belonged to TEST Alliance Please Ignore, which piqued many’s curiosity, as rumors stated that the CFC presented TEST an ultimatum: Do not take any sovereignty, or the CFC will immediately intervene.

TEST SBU deployed in G-ATOH

TEST SBU deployed in TA3T-3

Another surprise was the fact Northern CoalitionDot seemed to want in on the fun, and has deployed its own SBUs in Catch.

NCdot SBU deployed in J6QB-P

Though I have not been able to get a confirmation for that rumor or for NCdot’s SBU deployment, I have been able to get an interview with ZheoTheThird, TEST Alliance diplomat, which had the following to say:

ZheoTheThird: Good evening

Salivan Harddin: Good evening to you too, may I get TEST response for SBUing Catch, and whether it was true that H.E.R.O Coalition was warned by the CFC not to allow TEST to deploy SBUs?

ZheoTheThird: Certainly! HERO Coalition has announced their attack on catch. We’ll be assaulting the region and BRAVE have expressed interest in holding sovereignty on their own. To my knowledge, there is no such warning from the CFC. TEST is letting BRAVE decide matters here, and TEST isn’t too eager on holding sov at the current point in time.

Salivan Harddin: So you are SBUing for BRAVE’s sake? And have no plans to take sov?

ZheoTheThird: Any SBUs put down by TEST at the moment are corp- or individual ones, not an alliance effort.

Salivan Harddin: Does TEST have any future plans, if the Catch deployment succeeds?

ZheoTheThird: Since we’ve freed ourselves from the shackles of sov, we’ve gone where content lead us and where we saw opportunities. Right now there are no long term plans, we’d like to see how this works out, and then decided on what to do. We all see HERO as an exciting opportunity to have fun in EVE with our like minded allies from BRAVE, HONOR and Nexus Fleet, and I don’t see us breaking up anytime soon.

Salivan Harddin: IIs there any truth to the claim that H.E.R.O coalition was paid by N3 to assault -A- and RUS coalition?

ZheoTheThird: I cannot say about that than what BRAVE said in their alliance update. All I can say is that rumours are rumours, and should be treated as such.

Salivan Harddin: Do you foresee CFC interference?

ZheoTheThird: Well, I’m no fortune teller, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the CFC moved some forces to Catch, seeing as -A- are formally their allies.

Salivan Harddin: Do you think you are able to go toe to toe with the RUS Coalition capital and super capital fleet? Or do you expect help from PL\NCdot?

ZheoTheThird: Well, we haven’t seen much resistance from -A- yet, so I’m not too worried about that. I can’t speak for PL or N3, they are not participating in this offensive of ours as of now. However, should RUSRUS unite and get CFC capital/supercapital support, then it shouldn’t strike anyone as a surprise that HERO alone couldn’t hold up against that. At least not in capital/supercapital strength.

Salivan Harddin: Last question if you will, do you believe that H.E.R.O Coalition will prevail in this war?

ZheoTheThird: Well, I sure hope so 🙂 I am confident in our abilities, we’ve got a lot of manpower and enthusiasm and are eager to earn our spot in the universe. Whatever happens though, our goal here is to have fun. As long as we manage to provide fun content for our members and make playing EVE worth their time, that’s a win in my books.

Salivan Harddin: Thank you very much for your time

ZheoTheThird: Thank you for this opportunity.

Until the time of publication, Northern CoalitionDot were unavailable for comment.

Update: GoonSwarm Federation has refused to officially comment about the supposed ultimatum to TEST Alliance Please Ignore.

All Screenshots were provided by Findrahis of Apocalypse Now.