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The Cylon War is a fictitious interstellar war that occurred in the Battlestar Galactica universe. Both the original 1978 Battlestar Galactica movie and the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica miniseries are set shortly after that conflict.
Battlestar Galactica (1978) In the original series, the Cylon war is also known as the Thousand Yahren War, the Thousand Year War and the Great Cylon Conflict. Cause of the war The Cylon War began when the Twelve Colonies of Man decided to come to the help of an alien species called the Hasaris. This small and militarily-weak civilisation was under attack by the Cylon army. The reasons for the Cylon-Hasaris war are never made clear; however, given the Hasaris peace-loving nature, it is unlikely they were the aggressor. It is more likely that the Cylon picked them as a target. The Cylons were designed as war robots, and they needed a new enemy after they had destroyed their biological masters. Despite the Colonies' help, the Hasaris civilisation was eventually destroyed by the Cylons. Following their victory, the Cylons set their aim on destroying the Twelve Colonies, who had helped their enemies. The war The war itself has never been discussed in detail. The few facts that are known are that the Colonial Battlestars were constructed shortly after the war had begun, that a large number of battles of all kinds took place, and that, at some point near the end of the war, Count Baltar was chosen to act as a liaison between both sides. End of the war The Cylon War ended nearly a thousand yahrens after it had begun. The Cylons made an unexpected overture for peace through their agent, Count Baltar. The Colonials, weary of the war, accepted. However, the Cylons had no real intention to negotiate peace. Baltar had betrayed the Colonials, and the whole thing was a ruse to catch the Colonials off-guard. It worked almost perfectly, and in one sudden attack, the Twelve Colonies and all but one of the Battlestars were destroyed. Following the destruction of the Twelve Colonies, the last Battlestar, Galactica, gathered the few survivors into a rag-tag fugitive fleet, and set a course for unexplored space, away from the Cylons. Their goal was to reach a mythical Thirteenth Colony, called Earth, in the hopes it had achieved a technological level high enough to protect them from Cylon tyranny. Cause of the war Always seeking new and better technology, the Twelve Colonies created the Cylons - highly intelligent robots designed to make human lives easier. However, the Cylons rebelled against their human masters, causing the war. The war The war itself has never been discussed in detail. What little is known is that Humans fought using the Colonial Battlestars and Vipers, against the first generation of Cylons, called the "Harbingers of Doom". Given the Cylon's artificial nature, they had the ability to infect computer networks. This caused the Humans to shun large computer networks in favour of isolated computer systems. End of the war The Humans and Cylons were an even match for each other, and fought to a stalemate. The war ended after ten years, when a peace accord was signed between the Twelve Colonies and the Cylons. Aftermath Following the peace accord, the Cylons retreated away from Colonial space and cut all contacts with the Colonies. The Colonials, hoping to prevent another war through diplomatic means, built Armistice Station as a place for Humans and Cylons to meet in order to maintain a peaceful dialogue between both races. Each year for 40 years, the humans sent a representative to Armistice Station. The Cylons sent no one. Inter-War Meanwhile, after decades, voices in the Colonies started calling for a lift on the ban on sophisticated computer networks, which had been instituted during the Cylon War. Chief among them was Gaius Baltar, one of the Colonies' most brilliant scientists and an important member of the military's defense research team. Unknown to the Colonies, the Cylons were using this time to prepare a new offensive. They were building an army of new, superior Cylon Centurions, researching organic-based technologies, and bioengineering an army of Cylons who appeared Human down to the cellular level. Cylon attack Forty years after the end of the Cylon War, the Cylons were ready to strike at the Colonies again. Their Human clones had infiltrated the Colonies, most notably Number Six, who was dating Baltar and through him had obtained access to the Colonies' defence network. The Cylons paid their first and only visit to Armistice Station, and destroyed it. They then launched a surprise attack on the Colonies, which were unprepared, and thanks to Number Six's infiltration, undefended. The plan worked almost perfectly, and in one sudden blow, the Twelve Colonies and all but two of the Battlestars were destroyed. Flight Following the destruction of the Twelve Colonies, the last known Battlestar, Galactica, gathered the few survivors into a rag-tag fugitive fleet, and set a course for unexplored space, away from the Cylons. Their goal was to reach a mythical Thirteenth Colony, called Earth, in the hopes it had achieved a technological level high enough to protect them from Cylon tyranny. Later on, Galactica and the fleet were discovered by the Battlestar ''Pegasus'' which also survived the Cylon attack. Pegasus joined the fleet in its search for Earth. Invasion The refugee fleet discovers a harsh planet in a nebula, and settles it. It is named New Caprica. A year after settlement, a Cylon fleet arrives and invades New Caprica, putting it under occupation, and most of the fleet's survivors with it. The Battlestars Galactica and Pegasus, each having been depleted by personnel moving to the planet, manage to escape New Caprica with the other civilian ships before the Cylons can attack them. On New Caprica, the humans organize a resistance movement and begin attacking Cylon facilities, even using humans as "suicide bombers". The Cylons, meanwhile, attempt to crush the resistance by imprisoning, torturing, and even executing humans who are active in the resistance. Eventually, the Battlestars Galactica and Pegasus return to New Caprica to rescue the humans on the planet, and after a fierce battle in which the Pegasus is destroyed and numerous Cylons and humans are killed, the humans are rescued, and resume their course towards Earth. See also | ||||||||
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