Battle of Cardassia The Battle of Cardassia ( also known as the Invasion of Cardassia ) was the final battle of the Dominion War , fought in late 2375 . The Federation Alliance , 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 , with the goal of capturing the Dominion ' s capital on Cardassia Prime . The battle would ultimately lead to the Dominion ' s unconditional surrender of all forces in the Alpha Quadrant . The events of the battle were related to concurrent events on Cardassia Prime in the final stages of the Cardassian Rebellion , led by Legate Damar . The sabotage committed by the Cardassian insurgents played an important role in disrupting Dominion communications and support behind the front lines , and ultimately led to the Cardassian military switching sides . Before the battle was over , however , more than 800 million Cardassian civilians would be killed by Dominion genocide , leaving the once - proud capital planet in ruins . Prelude . By late 2375 , the Dominion ' s offensives in the Alpha Quadrant had stalled , leaving its forces embroiled in a war of attrition along several fronts . Reinforcements through the Bajoran wormhole had been blocked since the beginning of the war , and the existing industrial infrastructure in Cardassian territory was insufficient to maintain an offensive posture for a prolonged period of time . In addition , the Chin ' toka system had been lost to the Federation Alliance in 2374 and more recently Septimus III had been taken by the Klingon s , so even Cardassian territory didn ' t provide a completely secure base of operations . ( ) The Dominion ' s last hope for a quick victory was its alliance with the Breen Confederacy and their energy dampening weapon , against which the allies initially had no defense . Although the Breen ' s weapon had a major effect in its first uses , particularly at the Second Battle of Chin ' toka , a chance tritium intermix modification on the , intended to compensate for a containment problem , had rendered the ship immune to the weapon prior to the battle at Chin ' toka , making it the only Allied ship to survive . However , this modification only worked on Klingon ships , requiring the Klingon Defense Force to hold the line until countermeasures could be developed . This nearly failed when Chancellor Gowron attempted to take the initiative and place General Martok in losing almost impossible to - win battles in order to eliminate him as a political rival . However after Gowron was killed by Worf and Martok became chancellor , the Klingon forces again held the line . The Dominion ' s chance at a quick offensive during this time was lost by the start of Legate Damar ' s rebellion , which caused massive disruptions behind the lines and forced the Dominion to devote considerable resources to quelling the uprising . By the time Damar ' s resistance cells were eradicated , the Federation and the Romulans had developed countermeasures , after acquiring an example of the weapon stolen by Damar , with the help of Odo , Elim Garak and former resistance fighter Kira Nerys , effectively negating the biggest tactical advantage that the Dominion had in the war . ( ) Apparently becoming disillusioned with the war , and at death ' s door due to the effects of the morphogenic virus , the Female Changeling ordered Dominion forces to effect a complete withdrawal from all territories held outside Cardassian space . It was hoped that by reverting to pre - war territories , the Dominion would be able to build up a defense perimeter in which it could rebuild its forces quickly , shorten its supply lines , and survive longer than it would in its current position , which was severely overstretched with the Romulan , Federation , and Klingon fronts to maintain . With less territory to defend , the Dominion could repel any attack and build up its forces for a renewed invasion several years later . This move could have signaled an end to the war – the withdrawal of all enemy forces from conquered territories was one of the major aims of the war for all allies . However , the Founder seriously miscalculated the allies ' resolve to win the war at any cost . In addition , Captain Benjamin Sisko and Admiral William Ross recognized the threat of allowing the Dominion to remain in Cardassian space unchallenged . Therefore , the allies agreed to launch an invasion of Cardassia Prime itself , with the aim of decapitating the Dominion leadership and throwing its hierarchy into chaos . ( ) The battle . Phase one : invasion . Launching their attack fleet from Deep Space 9 , the Alliance made a beeline for Cardassia , crossing the distance in approximately one and a half days . The Female Changeling ordered as many ships as possible to meet them , perceiving that the coming battle would be the final , decisive engagement of the war . On the allied side , Chancellor Martok prophetically spoke of the allied victory , having brought a barrel of bloodwine , vintage 2309 – the finest , in preparation of the celebration . As the two enemy fleets made their final approach , the Female Changeling , the Vorta Weyoun , and Breen Thot Pran were inside Dominion Headquarters making final plans for the attack . Noticing that the Dominion Fleet was spread too thin , particularly in the middle of their lines , Weyoun prepared to order the Jem ' Hadar to reinforce their position . But suddenly , nearly every Dominion installation on the surface of Cardassia lost power – the Cardassian Liberation Front , led by Legate Damar , had inspired the Cardassian populace to rise up and overthrow their Dominion occupiers . The Dominion fleet was completely cut off from any support or instructions from the surface of Cardassia . As the Dominion attempted to regain access to their long range communications , they launched hard and swift punishment for the Cardassians ' betrayal . The Female Changeling ordered Jem ' Hadar forces to bombard Lakarian City , destroying it utterly and killing two million men , women , and children in a matter of seconds . Weyoun announced to the public that another Cardassian city would be destroyed for each further act of sabotage . However , rather than cowing the Cardassian people back into submission , the opposite effect was achieved and the people began to revolt against their oppressors . In space , the two fleets bore into each other with abandon , with the battle degenerating into a melee of close - quarters combat . Although the Dominion ' s lines were spread relatively thinly in the center of their formation , the Dominion forces were able to destroy the Romulan flagship . Captain Sisko marshaled several attack wing s to reinforce the Romulan lines , while Ross and Chancellor Martok ' s forces targeted the Dominion center . With the battle still raging – the Cardassian fleet switched sides , turning on their Dominion allies in response to the destruction of Lakarian City , much to the benefit of the crew of the . Taking advantage of the sudden chaos amid the enemy forces , and with the help of the Cardassians , the allies were able to punch through the core of the defending Dominion fleet . Back at Dominion Headquarters , the Dominion command staff finally reestablished communications with their fleet , only to discover that the Cardassian squadrons had completely turned against them . Furious , the Female Changeling ordered the Dominion and Breen forces to disengage and retreat to Cardassia Prime , proclaiming " " there will be no more running . " " The defending forces withdrew from the battle , leaving the allies victorious . ( ) Phase two : final resolution . The battle was not yet over , however . Captain Sisko and Chancellor Martok convinced Admiral Ross to press their advantage , despite having already lost a third of their forces during the battle . Even with the Dominion ' s influence restricted to Cardassia Prime itself , its " " impressive " " ability to rebuild its forces would only prolong the inevitable . Recognizing this , and with the Cardassian ships on their side , the allies chose to press onwards . On Cardassia , the Female Changeling , suffering from the final stages of the debilitating morphogenic virus , seemed to grow completely frustrated with the Dominion ' s allies , and ordered the Jem ' Hadar to begin exterminating the entire Cardassian population . The Jem ' Hadar summarily began executing every civilian they came across , and destroying residences building by building . Among the Cardassians killed was Legate Broca , who tried to reaffirm his loyalty to the Dominion to no effect . Damar , along with Kira Nerys , Elim Garak , had at one point been captured , but as they stood in the firing line a Cardassian unit gunned down their Jem ' Hadar executioners , with the leader , Ekoor , proclaiming " " That ' s for Lakarian City " " as the last one fell . Bolstered by the Cardassian volunteers , the three mounted an assault against the Dominion headquarters compound , seeking to capture the Founder alive and force an end to hostilities . With so many of the Jem ' Hadar guards sent to destroy the Cardassians , there were only a few left to guard the Founder . Although Damar was tragically killed during the short but sharp fight , the remaining rebels fought their way to the headquarters ' briefing room , capturing the Female Changeling and killing the last Weyoun . In orbit , the allies found thousands of Jem ' Hadar and Breen warships , plus thousands of the Cardassian orbital weapon platform s , notably encountered at the first Battle of Chin ' toka a year before , waiting for them . Unwilling to turn back , they prepared to launch a three - prong attack on the Dominion ' s defenses , Federation vessels would attack the platforms , the Romulans and the Cardassians would hit the Jem ' Hadar forces while the Klingons would take on the Breen – an attack that was projected to cost up to 40 % of their remaining forces , without even accounting for the following ground assault . As the rebels on the surface tried to convince the Founder to surrender , her chilling plan became clear – by ordering the Jem ' Hadar and the Breen to fight to the very last man , she sought to make the allies ' victory so costly that it " " would taste as bitter as defeat . " " She hoped to ensure that the Alpha Quadrant powers would never again threaten the Dominion , believing that the Alliance would attack the Gamma Quadrant despite claims that they would not . Before the final assault began however , Odo , recently cured of the disease affecting the rest of his race , volunteered to try to convince the Female Changeling to surrender to the allies . By linking with her , Odo managed to cure her of the disease and persuade her to call for an end to the fighting . The Dominion forces in orbit and on the surface stood down and surrendered . The battle – and the war – was suddenly and finally over . ( ) Aftermath . The instrument of surrender , the Treaty of Bajor , was signed at Deep Space 9 only days later . In it , the Dominion agreed to withdraw all of its forces to the Gamma Quadrant , all border s and territorial sovereignty would be returned to their pre - war states . The Female Changeling agreed to stand trial for war crime s committed by the Dominion in exchange for Odo returning to the Great Link to cure the rest of their race of the morphogenic virus . Had the Founder not chosen to surrender , the Jem ' Hadar and Breen were expected to have fought to the last man . This would have resulted in a costly fleet engagement with a projected loss of an estimated 40 % of the Alliance fleet , along with a ground invasion expected to result in many casualties itself . As it was , the battle , and the war itself , was nothing short of a disaster for Cardassia and its people , devastating a huge portion of its surface and killing over 800 million civilians . It was only in avoiding the final assault that more bloodshed was averted . ( )