Battle of Wolf 359

Battle of Wolf 359
Date
Location	Wolf 359
Result	Borg victory
Combatants
Borg	United Federation of Planets
Commanders
Locutus	Admiral Hanson
Forces
one Borg Cube	thirty-nine Federation starships
Casualties
None	Entire fleet lost

The Battle of Wolf 359 was the Federation's first major fleet engagement against the Borg Collective. The battle was a devastating defeat for the Federation.

Sequence of Events

Very little is known about how this battle transpired. After the Borg captured Captain Picard from the Enterprise, they continued toward Earth, passing the star system Wolf 359 on their route. A fleet of 39 Federation starships intercepted the Borg Cube there. Using knowledge of Federation assets and tactics acquired when they assimilated Picard, the Borg easily defeated the Federation fleet. All ships in the Federation fleet were destroyed or disabled, and only a few personnel escaped in life pods to be picked up later.

Observations

That Starfleet could only muster 39 starships to defend the Federation against a threat as dire as the Borg shows the limits of Federation propulsion and fleet strength. Given months of logistical preparation, the Federation would be able to deploy fleets of hundreds of ships in the Dominion War, but with only days of warning, they could not gather even a tenth of that number to defend the Federation capital against the Borg invasion.

Years later, the Federation would have sufficient warning or strategic depth to intercept another Borg cube with dozens or hundreds of ships, resulting in the cube's destruction.