The Klingon-Cardassian Proxy War BEGINS | Dominion War Chronicles #3

[@crownprincesebastianjohano7069]

The Invasion of Cardassia turned into Gowron's _Spanish Ulcer._ Like Napoleon, Gowron got mired in a war he couldn't win. It was a terrible idea to begin with for a number of reasons. One has to look at this from a military perspective in terms of how wars are actually fought: 1) Order of Battle, 2) Logistics, 3) Operational Realities. Whereas Star Trek fans see war as an extension of games like Bridge Commander, that is tactical dimension only, individual ship performance is the least important aspect of war. By the way that War ended, we can discern a lot: The sneak attack caught the Cardassians in a bad position, but the Klingon advance stopped, Gowron picked a war with the Feds, it became a war of attrition. Due to several reasons, mostly favoring them, over 18 months the Cardassians recovered to the point that by the point Dukat returned with the first wave of Dominion ships, no more than 85, the Cardassians had planned, supported and were ready for a major offensive and *routed a large Klingon expeditionary force in less than 78 hours.* The Klingons had little hope for victory unless the were able to decapitate Cardassia right off the bat. Firstly, Klingon space is at the closest 80 light years from Cardassia, and through now hostile Federation territory, forcing their ships to either run the Starfleet gauntlet or take lengthy detours. Planning is not a Klingon strong-suit and neither is logistics and is not difficult to imagine that their support system was in shambles and unable to supply such a large force so far from home. Secondly, once Gowron attacked the Federation his goose was cooked. Undoubtedly he had to either deprive his forces in Cardassia of the replacements they needed, or even draw off forces. The relative stalemate during the rest of their War indicates that any advantages in concentration and numbers they had in the first days dissipated. Even at their low point, the Cardassians were using superior tactics and a Fabian strategy to wear down Klingon forces as mentioned in the episode *Soldiers of the Empire.* Aside from numbers, Klingon ships are not any more advanced than the Cardassians. BoPs are old, and Vorchas are thin on the ground. Cardassians already know how to detect cloaked ships. Unless the Klingons have a large advantage in numbers, they won't have an edge. Meanwhile, clearly the Cardassian Fleet recovered and was building ships quickly. The first months of the Dominion War were fought mostly with ships the Cardassians already had and it was a lot. Finally, Operationally the Klingons were not enjoying many advantages. The Cardassians were fighting in their own space, benefitting from immediate support zones, immediate re-supply and reinforcement, and able to use their fortified systems as pivot points from which to maneuver. Fortified systems also allow for an economy of force when on the defense. Attrition set in and due to his war with the Federation Gowron couldn't maintain a superiority in numbers while the Cardassians were rebuilding and gaining strength. By the time Dukat arrived with the Dominion fleet, which only had around 85 ships, the Cardassians already had an edge in numbers over the Klingons. That Dukat was able to eject the Klingons after only a few days, with relatively few Dominion ships, indicates the Cardassians had done the intel prep, logistics support and marshaled superior numbers and were ready to launch a massive offensive before the Dominion came through the wormhole. The balance must have been tenuous for Dukat to so quickly and decisively defeat the Klingons only using 80 Dominion ships as a spearhead. The rest of the force was Cardassian.

[@robertcapet9132]

Klingons didn't do so well after their totally honorable sucker punch. Didn't finish the job and started another war. Who needs enemies when you have Gowron as leader?

[@lerneanlion]

More videos of this series, please! I like it!

[@JA-kr7bn]

Excellent series, I’m just so perplexed by how you pronounce Bajoran. Saying “Badg-oh-Ran” makes it sound like an AI that’s never seen the show

[@whatthefish2082]

He’s not an AI, but this narrator is the original guy from their Star Wars channel, Geetsly’s. I wouldn’t be surprised if he hasn’t seen and doesn’t care about Trek.

[@poil8351]

the klingons and cardassians had already had a long border conflict over the Betreka Nebula.

[@james_baker]

Absolutely enjoying this series. More please

[@richardchild6708]

I like to more like this

[@shanenolan5625]

Kappla