Sieh system, Domain region. On the 22nd of October at 21:50 EVE Standard Time, forces belonging to Providence Bloc clashed with Honorable Third Party [THIRD] over a tower in the system, only to be dropped on by Northern Coalition. [NC] and Pandemic Legion [-10.0] forces.
The tower in question was part of two towers reinforced by Providence Bloc in the system the previous day. While Providence Bloc Fleet Commanders maintain this was done in order to provoke a fight from Honorable Third Party and their allies, sources within Honorable Third Party claim this was retribution for killing Nihilists Social Club [NULL] ratting Battleships a few hours before.
The So-Called Reason for the Attack on the Honorable Third Party Tower
Regardless of the actual reason, it was clear both sides were gearing up for a fight. Providence Bloc assembled an 80 pilot Apocalypse Navy Issue Battleship fleet with 4 Triage Archon Carriers. Honorable Third Party had a 25 pilot Proteus Strategic Cruiser fleet which included 3 Triage Carriers of its own. Northern Coalition., which was called in by Honorable Third Party assembled a 65 pilot Proteus fleet as well. Pandemic Legion was also contacted and had prepared a separate 70 pilot Proteus fleet.
Honorable Third Party’s fleet remained docked in the system’s station, as it wasn’t clear which tower Providence Bloc would attack first. As the towers were about to exit reinforced mode, Providence Bloc bridged into the system in a safe location and warped on top of one of the towers. Once the Providence Bloc fleet was set on the tower, Honorable Third Party un-docked its fleet and warped on top of the Providence Bloc force, signaling the start of the fight.
As the battle started at point blank range, a cynosural beacon was quickly lit in the middle and into the system bridged the Northern Coalition. fleet. It linked up with the Honorable Third Party force and the two started brawling the Providence Bloc fleet. However, as the minutes ticked by, it was soon discovered that both forces were able to tank each other relatively well. The two sides did exchange a few losses, but it became quite apparent that the force assembled on the Honorable Third Party side was not enough to break the 4 Triage Carriers belonging to Providence Bloc.
The Two Sides Fighting over the Tower
Facing mounting pressure as the assembled fleet bled Logistics ships and even lost one of its Triage Carriers, Northern Coalition. Fleet Commanders considered bringing in Dreadnoughts in order to break the Providence Bloc’s Logistics wing. However, before they could do that, Pandemic Legion’s fleet bridged to the grid at a perch from the tower. The fleet had been delayed due to a skirmish near its staging system, making it late for the engagement. Once in the system, it warped at close range of the fight and started adding its own considerable firepower to Honorable Third Party’s side.
With the Pandemic Legion reinforcements present, Providence Bloc Fleet Commanders realized the battle was lost. Outnumbered and outgunned, they made the call for the fleet to align towards the station, use their MicroJumpDrives to escape the enemy fleet and dock up immediately. While a few pilots got caught and subsequently destroyed, the majority of the fleet was able to escape, leaving behind the 4 Triage Carriers. One by one they were overwhelmed by the combined damage output of the three fleets and destroyed, leaving Honorable Third Party and its allies to claim victory.
Honorable Third Party and Its Allies in the Process of Destroying the Remaining Providence Bloc Triage Carriers
Once done looting the field, the allied fleets departed, each to its staging system, leaving Providence Bloc to extract home without further incident.
The Battle from the PoV of Northern Coalition,’s Proteus
Battle report for the Sieh system can be found here.
The battle lasted 15 minutes and saw approximately 240 pilots in the system near the end of the fighting, with Time Dilation not reported by any of the parties involved.
Providence Bloc lost 4 Carriers and 10 Battleships. With other support ships the total lost reached 18 ships for 14.73 Bil ISK. Honorable Third Party and its allies lost 1 Carrier and 3 Strategic Cruisers. With other support ships the total lost reached 9 ships for 4.9 Bil ISK damage.
*All Screenshots used in this article were supplied by amymuffmuff with his explicit permission.
Salivan Harddin is a member of Reikoku, Pandemic Legion, and covers battles across New Eden
