AZN-D2 system, Feythabolis region. On the 19th of August at 19:01 EVE time a second battle erupted in the system between Circle-Of-Two [CO2] and Drone Regions Federation (DRF) forces.

The battle was fought over a slew of timers, including E-PR0S system‘s station which had become a freeport and was up for grabs. Drone Regions Federation forces assembled a 230 pilot Ferox battlecruiser fleet in order to guard entosis operations and keep the constellation under their control as they captured nodes. Circle-Of-Two formed an estimated 110 pilot Hurricane battlecruiser fleet to contest it, with a secondary 80 pilot combat carrier fleet organized as well.

The Ferox fleet bridged into the AZN-D2 system above the QBH5-F gate and set up there at range. Meanwhile, the Hurricane fleet took gates and arrived at the QBH5-F system where it waited on the AZN-D2 gate. For a few minutes the two fleets kept their positions, neither willing to engage the other. Finally, the Ferox fleet warped to the gate and jumped into QBH5-F only to see the Hurricane fleet cross jump it to AZN-D2. The Drone Regions Federation ships quickly burned to the gate and jumped after the Circle-Of-Two fleet. The two fleets broke cloak and regrouped on the QBH5-F gate before opening fire on one another.

it was obvious the Ferox fleet had the upper hand

Battlecruisers on both sides exploded as the two fleets exchanged fire. The Ferox fleet burnt away from the Circle-Of-Two fleet, its railguns firing volley after volley into the ranks of the Hurricanes. The Hurricane fleet didn’t remain silent however, and returned fire with barrages of artillery shells. The DRF Feroxes gained distance, reaching 100 kilometers from their hostile counterpart, firing all the while. The two sides traded rather evenly as the combined firepower of each side was enough to overwhelm the opposing battlecruisers’ shields and annihilate the fragile hulls beneath them. However, as minutes passed it was obvious the Ferox fleet had the upper hand as it had twice the number of mainline ships as its opponent.

…ushered in the combat carrier reinforcements

In order to even out the playing field, the Circle-Of-Two lit a cynosural beacon near the gate and ushered in the combat carrier reinforcements. The capital ships materialized on field and launched their fighter squadrons, targeting the Feroxes. Hundreds of fighters rushed over to catch up with the battlecruisers and apply damage. With the addition of the fighters the balance of power changed in favor of Circle-Of-Two as more and more Drone Regions Federation battlecruisers were destroyed by the two fleets. The Feroxes fleet didn’t relent and continued to target hostile battlecruisers and fighters, destroying a few but suffering many losses in the process.

Surprisingly, the Hurricane fleet was the first to warp off to regroup. With the hostile battlecruisers gone, the Ferox fleet followed suit. This left the combat carriers on the grid. The capital ships clustered around the QBH5-F gate and waited for the Hurricane fleet to return. In the meantime, Drone Regions Federation forces also used the opportunity to assemble a dreadnought fleet. Approximately four squadrons of dreadnoughts and another mixed squadron of combat carriers and force auxiliaries were organized in Drone Regions Federation’s forward staging. The capital build-up did not go unseen by Circle-Of-Two as its scouts reported and relayed the information to high command.

The DRF Ferox fleet in the meantime returned to the field, landing at a ping above the QBH5-F where the Circle-Of-Two combat carriers continued to loiter. The Feroxes remained at their ping, waiting while the combat carriers aligned towards it. The Circle-Of-Two Hurricane fleet had sorted itself out and probed down the DRF battlecruisers. Once it had a clear result it warped its interdictors on top of the hostile force, the rest of its fleet following suit. The two fleets resumed their brawl, firing at point blank range.

The combat carriers also attempted to warp in and join the fight but the Drone Regions Federation interdictors had been waiting for that exact moment. As the combat carriers made to warp off, the interdictors swooped in and deployed warp disruption probes, effectively trapping half of the fleet near the gate. This meant that half the combat carriers landed near the Ferox fleet while the rest remained stranded temporarily at the gate. With the combat carriers numbers’ halved, the Drone Regions Federation lit its own cynosural beacon near those newly arrived, ushering in its capital support. The dreadnoughts came through near the hostile combat carriers and entered their siege cycles, opening fire on them at close range.

There was little the combat carriers could do

There was little the combat carriers could do to defend themselves against the onslaught. The dreadnoughts destroyed carrier after carrier, their volleys overwhelming the thick armor plating and breaking through with ease. Circle-Of-Two tried to organize a response and lit another cynosural beacon in the melee, bringing forth a squadron of dreadnoughts, but to no avail. The reinforcements proved inadequate to challenge the Drone Regions Federation and soon suffered the same fate as their brethren. All the while the Ferox fleet and the Hurricane fleet continued their fight, but were relegated to a side show as the capital brawl escalated.

Still streaming in dreadnoughts, Circle-Of-Two decided to commit its super capital assets. Super carriers and titans jumped through the still lit beacon, joining the fray immediately. Fighter bombers descended upon capital ships while titans unleashed the fury of their doomsday devices, targeting dreadnoughts. Within moments the situation had reversed itself with Drone Regions Federation on the receiving end as its capital ships were destroyed in rapid succession. After a few minutes the Drone Regions Federation capital force was in tatters and the Circle-Of-Two super capitals turned their attention to the Ferox fleet. Fighters once again swarmed the battlecruisers, ripping them apart while sustaining losses as the Ferox fleet fought back.

With its capitals destroyed, the hostile Hurricane fleet almost wiped out and the Circle-Of-Two super capitals on field, the Ferox fleet decided to withdraw. The battlecruisers burnt away and warped off, leaving stragglers to be dispatched by Circle-Of-Two’s forces. Circle-Of-Two for its part cleared the field before extracting as well, its pilots looting the field where they could. With this the battle in AZN-D2 came to an end.

Circle-Of-Two managed to win the field in both engagements but failed to achieve the overall strategic objective as Drone Regions Federation entosis squads used the battle as a convenient distraction to capture nodes and claim the E-PR0S outpost among others.

The battle report for AZN-D2 can be found here.

All told the battle lasted 42 minutes with Time Dilation not reported by any of the combatants as being a major factor in the fighting. The system saw 467 pilots at the height of the second engagement.

Circle-Of-Two lost 150 ships in the battle, including 18 dreadnoughts, 4 force auxiliaries, 17 combat carriers and 63 battlecruisers for a total of 96.69 billion ISK damage.

Drone Regions Federation lost 159 ships including 41 dreadnoughts, 3 combat carriers and 88 battlecruisers for a total of 138.3 billion ISK damage.

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