Battle of Cardassia
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The Battle of Cardassia, known to some as the Invasion of Cardassia, was the final battle of the Dominion War, fought in 2375.
During this battle, the forces of the United Federation of Planets, the Klingon Empire, and the Romulan Star Empire launched an invasion of the Dominion-held Cardassian Union.
Their goal was to capture the Dominion's headquarters on Cardassia Prime. The battle lead to the Dominion's surrender of all their forces in the Alpha Quadrant.
At the same time this battle happened, an uprising was happening on Cardassia Prime. The Cardassian Rebellion, an uprising of Cardassian citizens against Dominion rule, helped to distract the Dominion and the Founders, though they paid for it dearly.
More than 800 million Cardassian civilians were be killed by Dominion forces (the Jem'Hadar).
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By the end of 2375, the Dominion's advances in the Alpha Quadrant had stalled, leaving its forces anxious. Unable to call for reinforcements due to the barricade of the Bajoran Wormhole, and with the Federation and Klingon Empire creeping in on its territories, the Founders forged an alliance with the Breen Confederacy. Breen weapons proved highly effective at the Second Battle of Chin'toka, but the Federation and its allies adapted soon after. This, coupled with the distraction of the Cardassian Rebellion, weakened the Dominion's foothold in the Alpha Quadrant. The Dominion was forced to reroute resources to deal with the uprising, and the Founders realized their war would not end in their victory.
Ordering Dominion forces to fall back behind Cardassian space, the Federation and its allies saw this as a move in their favor. They launched their own offensive, and aimed their forces at Cardassia Prime. Making the journey from Deep Space 9 to the Cardassian homeworld in less than two days, the Founders ordered the bulk of their forces to meet them there. However, Dominion forces were spread too thin, and the Cardassian Rebellion made their move, disabling the power from virtually all Dominion installations on Cardassia, cutting the fleet off from any instructions from the surface. Now instead of fighting the Federation and their allies, the Dominion brought hellfire down on the Cardassian citizens, ordering the Jem'Hadar to raze the capitol city. Two million Cardassians were murdered in a matter of moments, but still the people persisted.
In space, the large-scale battle fumbled, degenerating into mano a mano. Hearing of the rebellion down on the planet, the Cardassian fleet switched sides halfway through, and the Battle of Cardassian became utter chaos. When the news of the switch got back to Dominion leaders, the furious Founders ordered the rest of their forces to disengage and retreat. The Jem'Hadar were then ordered to commence with a mass genocide against Cardassia Prime, to which they quickly obliged. With Federation and allied forces now in orbit of the planet, the Jem'Hadar and Breen aimed thousands of orbital weapon platforms at the opposing forces. The Federation plan: Starfleet would attack the weapon platforms, Romulan and Cardassians would battle the Jem'Hadar, and the Klingons would do battle with the Breen.
The Founders had their own plan, too: by ordering the Jem'Hadar and the Breen to fight until there were none of them left, they sought to make the Allies' victory so costly that it "would taste as bitter as defeat." The Founders did not want any Alpha Quadrant powers to even think about invading the Gamma Quadrant in retaliation. But finally, the Federation's own "Founder," Odo, was able to contact the Founder in charge of it all. Odo linked with the female Changeling, curing her of a degenerative disease she had long been suffering from. His act of compassion convinced the Founder to order a full retreat, and a surrender.
