Sol post Dominion War.

[Captain Seafort]

Besides the minefield was up and it would take time to bring back down. So all the Dominion got was a heavily armed station... and that's about it.

They didn't even get that much - they got a station all right, but one with all the important stuff thoroughly wrecked.

[Deepcrush]

Agreed. After Kira set off those minibombs around the station. DS9 was a floating hulk.

[McAvoy]

Besides the minefield was up and it would take time to bring back down. So all the Dominion got was a heavily armed station... and that's about it.

They didn't even get that much - they got a station all right, but one with all the important stuff thoroughly wrecked.

Yeah, eventually would be fixed but the minefield would still be up.

[Deepcrush]

So, in the end it was still a good day for the UFP/KDF. Even though it didn't work quite the way they wanted it to. They still scored a huge victory.

[McAvoy]

50 ships lost in taking the station with nothing in return, a major shipyard destroyed that would set back the Dominion for a long time, and the Allies on the offensive (at the time.)

[Deepcrush]

Sad to say that offensive didn't last long.

[McAvoy]

No I guess not. I'm thinking that was pretty much the end of the offensive once the Dominion counter attacked.

[Deepcrush]

That was pretty much it. DS9/Shipyard went well then they spent 3 months in reverse. Followed by SotA. Which itself followed by a stalemate.

[kostmayer]

Exactly how many ships did the Dominion bring through then before they mined the wormhole. The war could have been shortened even more if the Federation had shown some courage and mined the wormhole a lot sooner.

The Dominion had already learned from The Federation in The Search that the Federation wouldnt stand for the Dominion encroaching on the Alpha Quadrant - even peacefully. The Federation should have realised then that the Dominion intented to take over the Quadrant by force if neccesary.

[McAvoy]

Exactly? Who knows.

But what we do know is if the Federation mined the wormhole early enough, then 0 Dominion ships could have gotten through. But honestly that would have delayed the war. The war would still come soon or later.

[kostmayer]

Why?

If they mined it early enough they could have prevented the Dominion forces in the Alpha Quadrant from building up to such a threatening level. And with DS9 still in Federation hands, the Dominion would have struggled to bring down the minefield.

They'd already tried to destroy the entrance to the Wormhole altogether - why then were they so long in deciding to mine it?

[McAvoy]

Why?

If they mined it early enough they could have prevented the Dominion forces in the Alpha Quadrant from building up to such a threatening level. And with DS9 still in Federation hands, the Dominion would have struggled to bring down the minefield.

They'd already tried to destroy the entrance to the Wormhole altogether - why then were they so long in deciding to mine it?

A threat in the Alpha Quadrant, yes. A threat coming from the Beta Quadrant, no. The Dominion already had their sights set on the Alpha Quadrant long before the wormhole was 'discovered'. A war was going to happen, just not in 2373.

[Mikey]

Why?

If they mined it early enough they could have prevented the Dominion forces in the Alpha Quadrant from building up to such a threatening level. And with DS9 still in Federation hands, the Dominion would have struggled to bring down the minefield.

They'd already tried to destroy the entrance to the Wormhole altogether - why then were they so long in deciding to mine it?

The longer it's up, though, the greater chance that the Dominion finds a way to bring down the minefield.