The Cylon occupation of New Caprica lasted for a period of some four months and saw the deaths of thousands of colonial civilians during constant conflict between the Cylon occupying force and an insurgent network led by Colonel Saul Tigh.
Background[]
Almost two years prior to the occupation, the Cylons killed billions in a coordinated strike on the Twelve Worlds with the intent on exterminating the entirety of mankind. Over the course of the following year, growing resentment among the Cylons towards the conflict led to an armistice, in which the Cyons abandoned the Cyrannus Star System entirely and ceased pursuing Galactica; Pegasus and the Fleet.[1]
One year later, EM radiation was detected by a Cylon ship a lightyear away, caused by the Cylon Gina's detonation of a nuclear device in orbit over New Caprica. They made the decision that offering co-operation and providing aid to the colonists was the best thing to do, and promptly jumped into orbit, driving away the fleet.[1]
Initial phases[]
In the first few weeks of the occupation, the Cylon force committed to improving the farming sector and humans and Cylons worked together to grow food and irrigate water.[2] These accomplishments in good faith were, however, overshadowed by the construction of New Caprica's detention facility.[3] Saul Tigh's resistance group had control of a series of weapons caches and kept them hidden, preparing for an uprising to coincide with Galactica and Pegasus' arrival. Expecting this, the Cylons hunted down weapons caches and killed anyone suspected of guarding them.[2] To keep public opinion apathetic or even hopeful, the Cylons ordered the Centurions to cease making regular patrols in New Caprica City, replacing them with the New Caprica Police.[2] The NCP however was vilified by the colonists, who saw them as a collaborationist organisation intended to deflect attention away from Cylon atrocities.[2][3]
Bombing campaign[]
In response to the increasing pressures and the lack of interest in the resistance, Saul Tigh ordered for weapons caches to be moved to the Temple of Aphrodite, accepting the Cylon promise not to interfere with holy ground. Soon after, the authorities got a tip-off about the weapons cache, and a Centurion patrol party massacred the attendants, believing them to be fighters. The massacre proved a propaganda blow and boon for both sides. The following day a thousand civilians gathered outside Colonial One to protest the Centurions' actions, with two hundred people joining the resistance. Cylon propaganda meanwhile stressed that the Centurions were overzealous in their actions and apologised for it, with the ultimate blame being directed towards the resistance for placing weapons there in the first place. The Cylons were able to gain two hundred recruits for New Caprica Police in response.[2]
With the resistance's tactics switching to bombing campaigns, Saul Tigh ordered for attacks on storage depots as well as civilian buildings, seeing the collateral injury of farmers and hospital patients as a small price. Already the suspected leader, Tigh was arrested and tortured in the detention facility.[3] The Cylon administration, sensing the collapse of law-and-order, began considering the mass, public execution of suspected resistance fighters as a means of pacifying the colonists through fear.[3] When resistance fighter, "Duck", blew himself up at a New Caprica Police graduation ceremony,[3] the surviving NCP members were given orders to round up 200 suspects, drive them out of the city and hand them over to a Centurion firing squad.[4]
Uprising[]
The resistance was able to make contact with Galactica on the day of the NCP graduation bombing, and began making plans to rescue the colonists.[3]