Siege of AR-558

Previous: First Battle of Chin'toka Next: Second Battle of Chin'toka Siege of AR-558 Conflict: Dominion War Date: 2375 Location: planet AR-558 Result: Federation victory Combatants United Federation of Planets Dominion Commanders Benjamin Sisko unnamed Jem'Hadar commander Forces Starfleet security personnel deployed as ground troops Jem'Hadar troops outnumbering the Federation force 3-to-1 Losses Substantial, but not specified All troops lost

[Source]

The Siege of AR-558 was a prolonged battle between the United Federation of Planets and the Dominion during the Dominion War. It is also the name of the DS9 episode that depicts the resolution of the conflict.

Sequence of Events

The Federation took control of a Dominion communications facility five months prior to the events depicted in the episode. Jem'Hadar troops had been unsuccessfully attempting to take it back ever since.

Captain Benjamin Sisko visited the planet to re-supply the Federation forces. Finding the troops there demoralized, he elected to remain on the planet indefinitely to assist them.

The Jem'Hadar launched an assault to retake the the communications station. The Federation prepared an ambush for them at a choke point, but the Jem'Hadar managed to overrun the position. Fortunately for the Federation forces, the Jem'Hadar lost enough troops in the choke point that the Federation troops were able to defeat those remaining in the close combat that followed.

Significant Observations

• The Dominion employed cloaked mines (called "houdinis" by the Federation troops) during the conflict. Hidden in subspace, these mines would occasionally emerge into normal space, where they would explode if there were enemy personnel present. These mines are widely criticized as failures, since they did not actually deny Federation personnel passage through the mined area, merely causing a small number of casualties instead. The Federation troops eventually managed to gain control of the mines and turn them against the Dominion troops (yet another example of poor computer security in Star Trek).
• The Jem'Hadar used holographic troops to test the Federation's defenses without risking their own soldiers. This appears to be a unique occurrence. The information they gathered did not provide them any noticeable advantage, however, and holographic troops played no part in the final battle.
• The Federation forces had no support weapons capable of holding the choke point against the Jem'Hadar charge. Critics have frequently observed that a couple of 20th-century machine guns could have filled the choke point with enough fire to completely deny passage to the Jem'Hadar.
• Neither side had artillery weapons capable of bombarding the enemy from beyond line of sight.

External Links

• Synopsis of the episode on StarTrek.com