Battle of Wolf 359

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Battle of Wolf 359

Part of the Borg Invasion

The Borg cube that fights at the Battle of Wolf 359

Date	2367
Location	Wolf 359
Result	Decisive Borg victory

Combatants

Borg Collective

United Federation of Planets

Commanders

The Hive mind

Admiral J.P. Hanson †

Strength

1 Borg cube

40 Starfleet vessels

Casualties

Unknown

11,000+ casualties, 39 starships

In the fictional Star Trek universe, the Battle of Wolf 359 is the first major battle between the United Federation of Planets' Starfleet and the Borg. Although the battle's results are depicted in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II", the actual combat does not appear until Star Trek: Deep Space Nine's pilot, "Emissary".

1 Lead-up and engagement
2 Survivors
3 Identified participating starships
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Lead-up and engagement

See also: Q Who? (TNG episode)

In 2367, Starfleet assembled a fleet of 40 starships under the command of Admiral J. P. Hanson, near the star Wolf 359 to intercept a Borg cube ship travelling to Earth (TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds"). The Borg, having assimilated Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his vast knowledge of Starfleet tactics and technology into its collective consciousness, are able to overpower and obliterate the Starfleet force: 39 of the 40 ships are destroyed, with the loss of over 11,000 lives (TNG: "The Drumhead"). Following its victory, the Borg ship continues on its course to Earth, where the crew of the Enterprise-D rescues Picard and stops the cube (TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds"). After his rescue, Picard experiences intense guilt because of the many thousands whom the Borg killed or injured by using his knowledge (TNG: "Family").

[edit] Survivors

Benjamin Sisko serves as executive officer aboard the USS Saratoga at the Battle of Wolf 359. Sisko's wife Jennifer is killed during the battle, but Sisko and his son, Jake, escape aboard one of several escape pods that depart the ship before the Borg destroys the ship.(DS9: "Emissary").

Additionally, one starship is known to have survived the battle intact, as 40 starships were sent to the battle (TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds") and 39 were reported destroyed (TNG: "The Drumhead"). However it is unknown which ship was the survivor.

[edit] Identified participating starships

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Name	Registry	Class	Appearance
USS Ahwahnee	NCC-73620	Cheyenne	TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II"
USS Bellerophon	NCC-62048	Nebula	DS9: "Emissary"
USS Bonestell	NCC-31600	Oberth	DS9: "Emissary"
USS Buran	NCC-57580	Challenger	TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II"
USS Chekov	NCC-53702	Springfield	TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II"
USS Firebrand	NCC-68723	Freedom	TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II"
USS Gage	NCC-11672	Apollo	TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II"
USS Kyushu	NCC-65491	New Orleans	TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II"
USS Liberator^[1]	NCC-67016	Unknown	TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II"
USS Melbourne^[2]	NCC-62043	Excelsior	TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II" DS9: "Emissary"
USS Princeton	NCC-59804	Niagara	TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II"
USS Roosevelt	NCC-2573	Excelsior	Voy: "Unity"
USS Saratoga	NCC-31911	Miranda	DS9: "Emissary"
USS Tolstoy	NCC-62095	Rigel	TNG: "The Best of Both Worlds, Part II"
USS Yamaguchi	NCC-26510	Ambassador	DS9: "Emissary"

Many of these ships are kitbashes, of classes that have rarely or never been seen again on-screen.

Although not part of Star Trek canon, Peter David's novel Vendetta mentions that a Galaxy class starship was destroyed at Wolf 359.

Although not accepted as Trek canon, the protagonist (player) of the interactive movie/computer game Star Trek: Borg is given the opportunity by Q to take the place of a crewman on board the Excelsior-class USS Righteous (NCC-42451), his father's ship, during the events leading to the battle of Wolf 359, and change history to prevent the ship from being destroyed and save his father's life.

^ The ship itself is not visible on screen, but one of its shuttles — with the ship's name and registry printed on its hull — is.
^ In the "graveyard" sequence of The Best of Both Worlds, the Melbourne wreck is depicted as as Nebula class variant. However, in Emissary, the Melbourne is seen close up as an Excelsior class starship. Because the appearance in Emissary is much clearer, it is this that is taken as showing the class of the Melbourne, despite its high registry number for an Excelsior class unit.