Dalek-Turian War

The Dalek-Turian War was a conflict that occured in 7 BLF, between the Dalek Empire and the Turians and their allies. It coincided with the League Civil War as the final battle of the War, the Battle of Skaro, was said to take place just before the Battle of Inon II. Despite the name of the conflict, there were many more races involved than just the Turians, such as the Asari, the Volus and the Salarians, however, the Turians took presedence in the war and saw it through from start to finish. The establishment of these cross-species alliances eventually prospered into the Tri-Council.

Background
The war had its roots, as many League conflicts do, in territorial disputes. The Daleks, hell-bent on conquest, began encroaching on the Turian space-trade lanes and even began destroying their space outposts to prevent resistance. The Daleks brutal efficiency meant that the Turian high command didn't even know what was attacking them until at least three months into the conflict. Once they did find out what was attacking them the Turian fleet command was frozen with dread. For several weeks the Turians refused to act, the full shock of having to lock horns with the Dalek Empire meant that the Turian high commander, Taillus, had to be replaced due to a decree of lack of confidence. The new Turian High Commander, Gaviarn, was an old enemy of the Daleks and had fought them before, and mobilised the entire Turian fleet against the Daleks.

The War
The War itself took place over three battlefields. Three outposts of the Turian Empire, known as Beta-132, Gamma-16 and Theta-765. These planets were selected by the Daleks as potential conquering worlds but they were already well-defended by Turian fleets, so the Daleks took several days to prepare their full strength for the attack. In the meantime, the Turians called for help from their allies and created massive defensive perimeters around all three worlds.

The Dalek's initial attack was brutal and efficient. Thousands upon thousands of Dalek Assault Ships swarmed the Turian lines and caused massive devastation to their perimeters on Theta-765 and Beta-132, and the defenders of Gamma-16, although faring better, were still heavily damaged. The Dalek Supreme Command oversaw the destruction of the Turian flagship above Theta-765 but a lapse in communications protection meant that the Asari got word of the Dalek Command being there and concentrated all their fire on the command ship.

As the Dalek Empire watched in horror, the Dalek Command ship was destoyed by concentrated Asari fire, leaving the Daleks confused and without commands. As a unit Daleks only operate efficiently with a commander, but since all the commanders were dead, less experienced Dalek Drones had to take up command of their ships and attempt to co-ordinate an effective assault, to no avail. Superior tactics meant that the Dalek Fleet above Theta-765 was routed.

Diverting their defenders to the other two worlds, the Turian alliance reinforced their lines and renewed their assault on the Dalek Empire. However, the situation on Beta-132 was increasingly dire. With little or no reinforcements and with their command ships destroyed, the Turians abandoned the planet with as much speed as they could muster, evacuating entire cities within a matter of days as the last of their battle fleet performed a desperate suicide charge to buy the evacuation time. To make matters worse, the Daleks destroyed many of the evacuation transports meaning that only 1/5th of the population escaped.

Enraged at this, the Turian leadership activated their final option on Beta-132 - an Oblivion Drive at the center of the planet, that tore the planet apart and destroyed most of the Dalek Fleet there. Shocked, the Daleks retreated from the last battleground at Gamma-16 in disarray and back over their border. A victory rally was held on Gamma-16 in celebration of the suprise retreat of the Daleks, which was cut short when they realised that Beta-132 had been destroyed.

Aftermath
The defeat of the Daleks in the war empowered the Turian race and was cemented in their history, but the destruction of Beta-132 was always remembered as a mistake. The entire planet was wiped off the face of the universe for the sake of claiming victory against the Daleks. Gavarin later said as he was ousted from the Admirality: "All you people claim a hollow victory was claimed here against our foes. But let us not forget the overwhelming support for the destruction of Beta-132 that was shown by the Turian population when the idea was first put forward. So I say to you now, on this day, that there is a Dalek within us all, that was let out for just a moment when that planet burnt."

Several years after this, the Turians planned a counterattack against the Dalek Race as part of the League Civil War. This attack on the Daleks became known as the Battle of Skaro as the Turian Fleet infiltrated Skaro and caused heavy damage to the planet, even killing the Dalek Emperor of the age and severely weakening the Dalek's foothold on the Galaxy.