Costolle system, Verge Vendor region. On the 5th of August at 21:03 EVE Standard Time, forces belonging to Snuffed Out [B B C] and That Escalated Quickly. [M8WTF] clashed with Shadow Cartel [SHDWC], Dead Terrorists [IKILU] and Cynosural Field Theory. [MOROS] over a moon in the system.
The battle started with [B B C] forces assembling a 120 pilot Megathron Navy Issue Battleship fleet with Capital support, namely Triage Carriers and Dreadnoughts. The force had Super Carriers on reserve, in case things escalated further. The fleet bridged into the Costolle system off a [B B C] tower alongside an Erebus Titan. The Titan itself was used as both a lure and boosts for the [B B C] fleet, who wished their opponents engaged them on their own turf.
This plan worked well, as the combined enemy fleet of 180 pilots in various Battleships including Apocalypse Navy Issue, Megathron Navy Issue and Machariel warped to the cynosural beacon at zero, starting the fight.
The battle was from the outset a brutal close range melee, with both sides exchanging ships at a dazzling pace. While the [B B C] fleet concentrated fire on the enemy Battleships, the [SHDWC] fleet tackled the Dreadnoughts first, as they represented an immediate danger to its ships. The four Phoenix Dreadnoughts present were taken care of quickly, but at the same time [SHDWC] were exchanging 2-3 Battleships for each of the Dreadnoughts taken down.
With the biggest threat taken care of, [SHDWC] began targeting the [B B C] sub capitals. The two sides fell into a pace of quickly switching between primaries as the Logistics teams of each fleet struggled to keep ships alive. For nearly 15 minutes both fleets exchanged heavy blows, [B B C] managing to take down 2 Battleships for each one they lost.
However, at this point the [SHDWC] fleet switched targets to the Triage Carriers on the [B B C] side. One by one they each caved in against the onslaught of the [SHDWC] fleet. At the same time, the [SHDWC] Logistics wing, comprised of Guardians, managed to remain safely out of the reach of the [B B C] fleet.
As time went on, the loss of Triage Carriers and mainline ships was starting to hurt the [B B C] side, while the Logistics on the [SHDWC] stepped up and managed to negate much of the remaining [B B C] damage, catching many ships at low armor. At some point the [B B C] fleet lost the ability to apply damage to the [SHDWC] fleet, losing ships by the minute.
After sustaining heavy losses, the [B B C] Fleet Commanders ordered a retreat, conceding the field to [SHDWC] and their allies to hold thus ending large scale hostilities in the system.
The Battle from Snuffed Out Battleship PoV Courtesy of Tyr Dolorem of Snuff Box
The Battle from Shadow Cartel Logistics PoV
Battle report for the Costolle system can be found here.
All told the battle took nearly 70 minutes from start to finish. Time Dilation was not reported, with system hosting nearly 320 pilots at the peak of the fighting.
[B B C] and its allies lost 87 ships, including 8 Dreadnoughts, 17 Carriers and 32 Battleships for a total of 127.27 Bil ISK damage. [SHDWC] and their allies lost 62 ships including 57 Battleships for a 69.49 Bil ISK of damage.
[B B C] had a Super Capital wing on reserve during the fight, in case [SHDWC] and their allies escalated further, but in the end it did not come into play as the fight remained between sub-capitals only.
The battle had been a close struggle between the two entities, and though [B B C] ultimately lost, it appears that both parties enjoyed the fight. Whether this trend continues or takes a bad turn is up to anyone’s guess, as things seem to be heating up in Low Security space.
