After nearly seven days of being subjected to a relentless hellcamp, Pandemic Legion, Winter Coalition, and TRUMPY extracted what appears to be the majority of their supercapital forces from UALX-3. The break-out occurred in the early hours around downtime on Wednesday, July 25, after a long night of preparations clearing anchored bubbles and hazing fighters with Muninn and Cerberus fleets under Elo Knight and Doomchinchilla.
Over the last several days, Elo Knight and other Northern FCs had run fleets, primarily of heavy assault cruisers and assault frigates, into the bubbled zone to clear away anchored bubbles. Yesterday evening these fleets were able to clear sufficient bubbles for a sizable contingent of dreadnoughts to jump out of the system. This morning, following an all-night operation to clear bubbles, the Northern fleets logged in en masse and were able to jump a large number, and possibly even the majority, of trapped supercarriers, titans, and force auxiliaries out of the system.
As the hellcamp had carried on, the resolve of the Legacy coalition appeared to dwindle. HAC forces with ECM drones continually destroyed wave after wave of Legacy and Legion of xXDeathXx fighters as well as anchored bubbles, usually before withdrawing. Earlier in the week, bubbles would be quickly replaced, but in the last few days the rate of replacement was decreased. Additionally, fewer Legacy forces were on grid, with numbers during last night’s raids less than a hundred. Meanwhile, Northern resolve remained strong, as the bulk of its strategic assets remained out of commission so long as they were trapped within the bubbles.
The bulk of the extrication was streamed and commentated on by Russian streamer observerv.
Strategic Considerations
The successful break-out of the Northern fleet is a tremendous strategic boon for the North, though the extraction does not mean the camp was for nothing. There are considerable implications from UALX-3 broadly as well as acutely. Though the North now has access to its super fleet again, it did not win its original objective of preventing Legacy Coalition from establishing a forward base in Tenerifis from which it can stage its own capital fleets. Additionally, it demonstrated that Pandemic Legion is not unbeatable. While there was never any expectation that Legacy Coalition could be threatened by Winter Coalition, TRUMPY, or even the Holy Rental Empire, the introduction of the Pandemic Legion supercapital umbrella to the region had cast considerable doubt on Legacy’s chances for success. The battle of UALX-3, and the ensuing hellcamp, proved that Legacy is prepared to defend itself and able to put up a fight.
The well organized and rapid extraction of Pandemic Legion’s supercapital forces is, ultimately, still a retreat – withdrawing from a field that they neither won on nor held, despite the initial success in destroying the first keepstar to anchor in the system. The North’s disengagement is an acute victory, but ultimately it serves only as a stop-loss on a humiliating defeat at the hands of opponents it only recently claimed were incapable of defending themselves. It also represents the second time PL has had to engage in a rapid retreat from Legacy Coalition, following their retreat from Providence earlier this year.
Looking forward, it’s possible that following a week of being unable to log in, as well as a strategic loss, that Pandemic Legion will withdraw its super fleet to the North in order to protect their rapidly disintegrating renters. However, prior to UALX-3, PL had vowed to teach Legacy Coalition a lesson following its humiliation in Providence. It is yet to be seen if PL is ready to accept Legacy’s dominance in the region and acknowledge that they have been squarely beaten not once, but twice, while trying to project their influence outside of the North.
If PL withdraws its super fleets to the North, Northern allies in Winter Coaltion, TRUMPY, and even the Holy Rental Empire, are not likely to be able to hold a line against a dedicated and now victory-motivated Legacy Coalition. If Pandemic Legion resolves to try again in another supercapital engagement with Legacy, it’s likely that Imperium forces in the North will continue to complete their strategic objectives in destroying Northern infrastructure with little opposition.
Though the supercapital fleet is free, Pandemic Family military leadership now must answer a different question: what do?
