Editing Battle of Cimtar

{{disline|This article details the destruction of the Twelve Colonies in the {{TOS|Battlestar Galactica|Original Series}}. For information on the fall of the Twelve Colonies in the [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|Re-imagined Series]], see [[Fall of the Twelve Colonies]].}}

{{Battle Data
| name= Battle of Cimtar
| image= Battleofcimtar.jpg
| description= Cylon raiders begin the ambush on the battlestars
| conflict=[[Thousand-Yahren War]]
| date=During the Peace Conference
| place={{TOS|Cimtar|Cimtar}}, {{TOS|The Twelve Colonies|Twelve Colonies of Man}}
| result=Decisive Cylon victory, destruction of the Twelve Colonies
| combatant1={{TOS|The Twelve Colonies|The Twelve Colonies of Man}}
| combatant2={{TOS|Cylons}}
| co1={{TOS|Adar|President Adar}} <br/>{{TOS|Adama|Commander Adama}}
| co2=[[Imperious Leader]]
| strength1={{TOS|Columbia|At least}} five {{TOS|Battlestar|battlestars}} (and their complement of {{TOS|Viper|Vipers}})
| strength2=1000 {{TOS|Raider|Cylon Raiders}}, Unknown number of {{TOS|Basestar|basestars}}
| shiploss1=All battlestars and vessels except ''{{TOS|Galactica}}''.
| shiploss2=Unknown, minimal
| casualties1=All Colonies destroyed by basestars except for {{TOS|The Fleet|220 civilian ships}}.
| casualties2=Unknown, minimal
| prev=[[Battle of Molecay]]
| next=[[Clean Operation at the Path to Carillon]]
| series=TOS
}}

The bulk of the Colonial military is lured into a trap by the promise of peace, only to find themselves and the {{TOS|The Twelve Colonies|Twelve Colonies of Man}} in a fatal trap {{OS|Saga of a Star World}}.

== Background ==

After 1000 [[yahren]]s of [[Thousand-Yahren War|war]], the humans of the {{TOS|The Twelve Colonies|Twelve Colonies}} vie for peace with Lord {{TOS|Baltar}} acting as diplomat. The peace is to become official at {{TOS|Cimtar|Cimtar}},<ref>The signing never takes place. In the [[Re-imagined Series]], a [[Cimtar Peace Accord|peace accord]] was signed at a place known as Cimtar, but this should not be confused with its Original Series counterpart.</ref> a moon believed to be neutral territory.  Instead of peace, the Cylons launch their largest onslaught ever against the Colonials. The Cylons use a two-pronged attack, striking at both the peace delegation (including the {{TOS|Battlestar|battlestars}}) as well as the Twelve Colonies.

== Battlestar Entrapment ==

Cylon fighter groups of {{TOS|Raider|Cylon Raiders}} (numbering a thousand total, along with support fuel tankers) hide near the Cimtar moon in wait for their chance at attacking the battlestar fleet. The {{TOS|basestar|basestars}} are left free for bombardment of the Colonies.

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Commander {{TOS|Adama}} of battlestar ''{{TOS|Galactica}}'' receives reports that a {{TOS|Viper}} patrol has discovered the massive, hidden [[Atlantia Death Squadron|Cylon Raider fleet]] near Cimtar. Adama warns President {{TOS|Adar|Adar}}, President of the Colonies and commander of battlestar ''{{TOS|Atlantia|Atlantia}}'' of an imminent attack, but Lord Baltar sways Adar from ordering a defensive posture for the battlestar fleet under the pretense that they are a "welcoming committee."

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Adama readies ''Galactica'''s defenses against orders under the guise of a battlestations drill. The battlestar is able to defend herself when the Cylons arrive, but the other battlestars, following President Adar's pacifist lead, are not so fortunate and can launch only a fraction of its fighters in time.

The Cylon fighters use a variety of tactics, including [[Wikipedia:kamikaze|kamikaze methods]] to destroy the battlestar fleet. The Cylons destroy battlestars ''{{TOS|Atlantia|Atlantia}}'' (with President Adar aboard), ''{{TOS|Triton|Triton}}'', ''[[Pacifica]]'', and ''[[Acropolis]]''.<ref>If [[Vulpa]] is to be believed, battlestar ''{{TOS|Columbia|Columbia}}'' is also destroyed at the Battle of Cimtar. However, this brings the count of battlestars to six, where only five are shown on-screen.</ref>

== Bombardment of the Colonies ==

Leaving her {{TOS|Viper}} pilots behind temporarily after getting reports of bombardment of the Colonies, ''Galactica'' heads towards Caprica in a vain effort to protect her homeworld. 

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During ''Galactica'''s flight to the Colonies, the battlestar received reports as the Cylons cleared the jamming to allow their own targeting and communication equipment to function. In one broadcast, 31 cities were "known to be under heavy attack" on an unknown colony<ref>At ~00:28:39, a male reporter can be heard giving the following statement: 
:'''Reporter''': ... 31 cities are known to be under heavy attack ...
</ref> while another report mentioned a second wave coming in.<ref>At ~00:29:22, a female reporter gives the following:
:'''Woman''': The central area is under attack. A second wave is coming in. We have no defenses!</ref>

Cylon basestars sneak by Colonial defenses, allowing an undefended attack on the Colonies. The home planets are bombed and the Cylons exterminate almost all of the human population of the Colonies. Caprica's destruction is assured through the efforts of [[Karibdis]], one of Baltar's agents, who disables Caprica's defense systems and is held responsible for a million Caprican deaths {{OS|Murder on the Rising Star}}.<ref>Karibdis's actions parallel the actions of [[Caprica-Six]] in disabling the defense systems of the [[Twelve Colonies of Kobol]] in the [[Miniseries]] in the [[Re-imagined Series]] continuity.</ref>

== The Flight to Earth ==

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A handful of humans are tasked by Adama, now commanding the last {{TOS|Pegasus|known}} surviving battlestar,<ref>''Pegasus'', believed destroyed in the [[Battle of Molecay]], finds the Fleet in the two-part episode, "[[The Living Legend, Part I|The Living Legend]]."</ref> to flee the Colonies in whatever spaceworthy ships they can find to create a {{TOS|The Fleet|motley caravan}} that abandons Colonial space, initially for the nearby planet of [[Carillon]] where they obtain supplies for the long journey to Earth. Their exodus&mdash;via the dangerous but poorly defended [[Nova of Madagon]] rather than the logical waypoint of [[Borallus]]&mdash;takes the Cylons by surprise, who change their tactics to eliminate an now-elusive, moving target.

Lord Baltar is initially considered expendable by the [[Imperious Leader]] after the human's traitorous work and set up for public execution. However, the Leader's successor reconsiders Baltar's execution and provides him with the means to chase ''Galactica'' and her fleet to finish humanity once and for all.

[[File:BattleOfCimtar_map.png|center|thumb|720px|
Battle of Cimtar main events and locations. 

Cylon [[Basestar (TOS)|basestars]] located near [[Virgon]], [[Sagitara]] and {{TOS|Caprica|Caprica}} annihilate the Colonial homeworlds while the Colonial [[Battlestar (TOS)|battlestar]] fleet is attacked by Cylon [[Raider (TOS)|Raiders]]. The civilian survivors, lead by battlestar ''[[Galactica (TOS)|Galactica]]'', regroup and then flee to [[Carillon]] via the [[Nova of Madagon]] rather than the expected longer route via [[Borallus]] proposed by Sire [[Uri]] {{OS|Saga of a Star World}}. ]]

== Notes ==

* The [[non-canon]]ical publication, ''[[Encyclopedia Galactica]]'', refers to this event as the "Final Destruction"<ref>{{cite book|last=Kraus|first=Bruce|authorlink=|authorlinkurl=|coauthors=|year=1979|title=[[Encyclopedia Galactica]]|publisher=|location=|id=|pages=35}}</ref>, which does have some merit. More precisely, the battle can also be refer to as the "Final Annihilation," since this can be derived from the order of the [[Imperious Leader]].<ref>''The Imperious Leader orders the the final strike against the Colonials in "[[Saga of a Star World]]":''
: '''[[Imperious Leader]]''': The '''final annihilation''' of the life form known as Man, let the attack begin.
: '''{{TOS|Centurion|Cylon Centurion}}''': [[By your command]].</ref>

== Tie-in Material Information ==

* ''According to ''[[Encyclopedia Galactica]]'' (a non-canonical piece of merchandise published in 1979):''
: The Final Destruction is the name given to the massive [[Cylons (TOS)|Cylon]] attack on the [[The Twelve Colonies of Man|twelve human Colonies]] that ended the [[Thousand-Yahren War|Great Cylon War]]. With the human fleets idled, and all of mankind expecting its first peace in one thousand [[yahren]], massed Cylon forces appeared, as though from nowhere, and blasted the defenseless Colonial civilian populations out of existence. Major population centers were vaporized instantly. Nutron-cased missiles spread [[Pluton poisoning|deadly radiation]] that guaranteed a slow, painful death for billions more. Cylon extermination squads, shielded from the deadly rays, hunted down the survivors like animals. Ninety-eight percent of the seventy billion humans inhabiting the Great Colonies were killed in a matter of months. The survival rate in the outer provinces may have been much higher, but only because the Cylons have not yet given these remote areas their direct attention.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kraus|first=Bruce|authorlink=|authorlinkurl=|coauthors=|year=1979|title=[[Encyclopedia Galactica]]|publisher=|location=|id=|pages=35}}</ref>

: The Final Destruction of the Colonies by Cylon forces occurs in yahren 6570.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kraus|first=Bruce|authorlink=|authorlinkurl=|coauthors=|year=1979|title=[[Encyclopedia Galactica]]|publisher=|location=|id=|pages=59}}</ref>

== References ==

{{reflist}}

[[Category:A to Z]]
[[Category:Colonial]]
[[Category:Colonial Battles]]
[[Category:Colonial Battles (TOS)]]
[[Category:Events of the Thousand Yahren War]]
{{indicator|TOS}}[[Category:TOS]]

[[de:Schlacht bei Cimtar]]
[[fr:Bataille de Cimtar]]