Warfare & Tactics

Introduction

I am a Caldari pilot. I joined the Caldari Militia in July 2010 and had the opportunity to fly under some of the best Caldari faction warfare corporations of my time.

Seeing the amount of memories I had in the Gallente/Caldari war between July 2010 and July 2011 I always had it in the back of my mind to have them written down somewhere; might as well let it be here.

Please bear in mind much of what I will be writing will be what I saw and completely from my perspective which may be (and I am sure is) wrong in certain aspects so please before you tear into what I write keep in mind it is the view I had at the time that I am writing down.

While I do mention a few names any names I miss are by no means meant to downgrade anyone’s importance in this history but the sheer number of pilots I flew with and against are just too many for me to mention. I have the utmost admiration for all that flew against me and with me on the field of battle.

Interesting read. Looking forward to the rest.

If that is the case I stand corrected. By the time I joined CDI was in full swing by I.BS., PINK, COLDWING,Space-Marines among others so please feel free to correct me if I make a mistake and give credit where credit is not due.

I am fully aware that some of the things I will mention might need correction but again I am only writing from my limited perspective and too many a pilot has helped shape the history the modern history of the Caldari let us hope I am fare to all.

This pilot feels blessed to have flown under their wings and love him or hate him, I will always feel a sense of gratitude to Hidden Snake for not only giving me the chance but truly being one of the movers and shakers of Modern Caldari history and one that has set his thumb print firmly into the Caldari Militia legacy.

But all good things come to an end and the end of the Inglorious Bastards brought me back down to earth from the high I was on flying with them. As to how they fell………..

---

To Be Continued

Chapter Three

The Gallente Armada

As mentioned in chapter one the days of Caldari Glory were over. Gone were the days of complete control of both Caldari and Gallente space in the conflict zone. It is said that the pendulum of power within the Caldari Gallente conflict is always swinging one way or the other.

When I joined the Caldari the pendulum was fully tilted towards the Gallente creating an Armada of power that was born from the battle hardened veterans of the Glory Days of the Caldari. No other faction has accomplished the feat of complete control of the conflict zone aside from the Caldari. If you look closely through the medals of the most senior Caldari pilots you will see a medal given out by the Caldari State Itself to those that were Caldari soldiers at the time of this amazing feat. But those days sadly were long gone.

After months of being on the receiving end of the Caldari surge a new breed of Gallente was born. Meaner, Smarter, More Bloodthirsty and Vengeful Gallente pilots now made up what I can best describe as the Gallente Armada.

To understand the nature of the beast one must understand that in the period from June/July 2010 (when I joined) The Gallente have exerted complete control of the main space-lanes used by both combatants.

Villore was the main staging point for new Gallente pilots. Just a few jumps out of Dodixie it provided the main base of operations for fleets leaving into the conflict zone through Old Man Star (the closest conflict zone entrance to Dodixie). Unlike the Caldari version of Old Man Star (Tama) any Caldari force projection to the Old Man Star choke point was short lived as it would usually be in the form of a fleet that would fly out of Nourv and could not hold up a camp on the Villore side for long before the fleet was either disbanded or had to run from an overwhelming Gallente response. The main reason for this is the fact that After the Cult Of War corporation left Enaluri and the conflict no Caldari corporations have set up forward Caldari bases so essentially most if not all of the Caldari Fleets had to either be short lived fights in Tama (under the iron fist control of both Gallente and Pirates) or had to take the long route into Blackrise Low Sec through Ichoriya providing a little element of surprise every now and then but seriously cutting down on response time if that route was taken.

Further down the conflict zones pipes two Gallente corporations set up the the core of the Gallente’s forward base of operations in Heydieles, percussive diplomacy (AKA SLAPD) and the Quantum Cats Syndicate (QCATS). Gallente pilots easily set up shop and an advanced base in this low security space with easy Access to Tama from the two pipes that led to Tama. Specifically the Deven pipe and the Abune pipe.

Another base was set up in a State Protectorate station of all things in Nisuwa by Shadows of the Federation, a famous Gallente corporation that was the main powerhouse of the Gallente Armada. The Nisuwa Base (essentially deep into Caldari Space). From a tactical standpoint this was yet closer to Tama (only two jumps away) and provided rapid reshipping options for Gallente Fleets patrolling and responding to any Caldari Force being prepared from Nourv to go through the Tama Choke point. It was also a slap in the face to any Caldari by the Gallente and served as a constant reminder of exactly who was in control at this point and time in the conflict.

The forward most Gallente Base was set up in Tama (as previously mentioned) by the Bi-Polar Bears. This base provided constant pressure on the Tama chokehold for any Caldari pilots entering the conflict zone and an easy forward scout post for the Gallente to report any Caldari Fleet composition to the remaining Gallente pilots based out of Heydieles, Nisuwa and on the rare occasion of need Villore.

From an outsiders point of view the Gallente seemed much more in harmony than the Caldari with much less internal bickering on who was in charge each Gallente corporation was contempt with having a base of operation and a flight of pilots that can easily rely on reinforcements from other corporations. As well as a relatively safe passage route to Gallente highsec all the Gallente Corporations had easy access to the pool of new Gallente pilots if they chose to recruit as well as a reliable logistics chain.

I was always perplexed by this as from inside the Caldari it always seemed a struggle between Caldari CEO’s and corporations as to exactly who was in charge was going on at one time or another. To me the Gallente seemed much more in sync than the Caldari.

To add to the Caldari woes at the time very few caldari pilots were willing to set up base outside of nourv as any attempt to move in the conflict zone by Caldari pilots was quickly dismissed when faced with the Gallente Armada in firm control.
Again I point to Hidden Snake for pushing the Inglorious Bastards hard to set up a base in low security space to get beyond the Tama choke point as he fully understood that repositioning his fleets to have a launch point that could come into Tama from another gate, any gate, other than the Nourv gate which as previously mentioned has turned into a harvesting ground for not only the superior Gallente Armada but the droves of Pirates looking for easy ganks from the much younger and less experienced Caldari Pilots. The Space Marines (another Caldari Corp) set up shop in Ichoriya if I am not mistaken as well as Dark Pangolin and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse setting up shop in Enaluri. The only hindrance to those lonely Caldari outposts was the lack of pilots willing to move out there from nourv.

As it stood, something drastic needed to happen in the general Caldari pilots mentality of hording together like sheep in Nourv and change was on the way.

---

To Be Continued

I second This.

Very good read so far.

Now would you please stop being so ******* lazy and start typing the rest!

Draketrain had little time for infighting and ego’s in their corporation (something that long plagued the Caldari Corporations, said Corporation Officers and CEO’s). They simply had a strict military code. This is how you fly a drake! This is where you will be at whatever time we say and if you don’t like it tough luck you’re out...NEXT…….as simple as that.

By setting up base in Villore Draketrain did the impossible. They cut off the Gallente Armada in lowsec, any pilot that was part of that Armada had better get used to being in low security space for a long time as the days of easy resupply trips to Dodixie for both pilots and gallente corporations was over. On multiple instances Draketrain would flaunt themselves so much they would camp the main Dodixie Market Stations Undock point turning both Dodixie and Villore local chat in to some of the most hilarious reads I ever had in EVE.

Did I mention Draketrain rolled in the low security space of the conflict zone?

When Draketrain rolled through a system anywhere in placid, blackrise or even Tama. People docked up VERY FAST. I was in Tama the first time Draketrain rolled through Tama. For the First Time in Months I saw Tama completely and firmly under Caldari Control for a few hours while draketrain flaunted themselves. They were leading by example in a time where the Caldari were fighting about what kind of fleet to run and who would FC, Draketrain was showing one and all that the mighty Gallente Armada is not invicible. Something that many a Caldari pilot (especially the new ones) was absolutely convinced of prior to Draketrain. They showed that the boogieman known as Gallente spies was nothing to be afraid of.

This breathed more life into the Caldari than anything in recent memory as more and more pilots flocked to Draketrains ‘all are welcome to join’ bosom. Finaly the newer Caldari pilots did not have to jump through hoops to prove that they are worthy to fly with the Caldari’s elite. With one click of the ‘apply to corp’ button they were instantly granted membership to what was by now the De Facto Eilte of the Caldari, they were part of the Draketrain.

Draketrains assertion of themselves as the leaders of the Caldari did not sit well with many of the Caldari Old Guard. Mainly the CDI officers and CEO’s would sneer in internal intelligence and communication channels at Draketrain if for nothing else but for the simple fact that they (Draketrain) was swinging the tide of the war, and sadly they were achieving what the CDI was never able to, that being to go on the offensive and knock the Gallente Armada back a step or two. The CDI was a reaction, A Defense against an overwhelming enemy. Draketrain was the Offensive Line.

The Caldari, long being broken into a million factions and cliques, was now in the post Draketrain era firmly split into two camps. The ‘cool ones’ that were made of the old CDI guard guided by the ever so daft hand of Hidden Snake, Gunny, Dark Pangolin and company and the ‘lol RP’ers’ of Draketrain guided by the hand of Lacco, Bad Messenger and Damar. This was not a two party political structure. This was an outright political struggle for the leadership of the Caldari.

Someone had to go......

---

To Be Continued

i was thinking about joining caladari FW, hope to fight by your sides one day, depends if CCP makes it better or keeps it the same.

I specifically recall a fleet on the Deven gate led by FIRST GENERAL in his Tengu. The fleet was made up of assorted General Milita pilots in drakes/canes cruisers and frigates. The caldari Militia pulled range from the Deven gate and the gallente sat on the gate waiting. Someone in fleet yelled on comms ‘sister combat probes on scan’ and in a flash the gallente horde was perfectly within 10K of our fleet. We all knew we were screwed and unlike anything I was accustomed to FIRST GENERAL did not call primaries but gave instructions for everyone to ‘GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT’ knowing full well that he was sacrificing his Tengu for the rest of the fleet to get out as the Gallente fire would be drawn to him right off the bat.

Any other FC would have tried his best to save his ship by calling primaries in a desperate attempt to save his bling. This was not any other FC. Kind of hard not to respect him after that. I was sold on him being the real deal.

Two problems were in the way of the Fox of Yria’s plan to rise to the top. Draketrain and Hidden Snake.

---

To Be Continued