Battle of Ragnar Anchorage
the breakout from the blockade
The Battle of Ragnar Anchorage was an engagement between Colonial and Cylon forces during the Fall of the Twelve Colonies. It came as Galactica re-armed at the anchorage and gathered the first survivors of the Fall, then held off the Cylon basestars while the civilian fleet escaped.
The Battle of Ragnar Anchorage was an engagement between Colonial and Cylon forces during the Fall of the Twelve Colonies. It unfolded at the Ragnar Anchorage, the military surplus depot where the battlestar Galactica had gone to re-arm and where the first refugees of the Fall had gathered before the survivors abandoned the Colonies. (Battlestar Galactica miniseries)
Background#
The successful penetration of the Command Navigation Program allowed Cylon forces to introduce computer viruses into the warships and craft of the Colonial Fleet that relied upon it. Having only recently been decommissioned, Galactica was unarmed and unable to assist the main fleet under Admiral Nagala, which was swiftly destroyed for the same reasons that had crippled the rest of the fleet. (Battlestar Galactica miniseries)
With Commander Adama assuming command over what remained of the Colonial Fleet, all surviving colonial forces were ordered to rendezvous at Ragnar, where Galactica was to re-arm from the Ragnar Anchorage military surplus facility. While docked, the battlestar was approached by a civilian refugee fleet led by the constitutionally appointed President Laura Roslin. The two leaders agreed that, in the absence of surviving warships capable of mounting a defense, they would abandon the Colonies' home star system entirely and head away, never to return. (Battlestar Galactica miniseries)
The blockade#
As the survivors prepared to flee, the gathered ships were blockaded by two Cylon basestars. Kara Thrace found them, with hundreds of Raiders, waiting outside the radiation of Ragnar's atmosphere, which interfered with both FTL calculations and Cylon systems, so the fleet had to leave its cover to jump. Galactica went out first and shielded the civilian ships while its Vipers fought the Raiders, and a third basestar joined the attack. Once the last civilian ship was clear and the Vipers were back aboard, Galactica jumped away. The battle is the climax of the 2003 miniseries that launched the show. (Battlestar Galactica miniseries)
Frequently asked questions
- What was the Battle of Ragnar Anchorage?
- The Battle of Ragnar Anchorage was an engagement between Colonial and Cylon forces during the Fall of the Twelve Colonies. It took place at the Ragnar Anchorage, where Galactica had gone to re-arm and where the first refugee fleet had gathered before the exodus from the Colonies.
- Why was Galactica at Ragnar Anchorage?
- The penetration of the Command Navigation Program let the Cylons disable Colonial warships through computer viruses, and the newly decommissioned Galactica was unarmed. Commander Adama, taking command of the Colonial Fleet, ordered all remaining forces to rendezvous at Ragnar, where Galactica could re-arm from the military surplus stored at the anchorage.
- How was the fleet trapped at Ragnar?
- While Galactica re-armed, it was joined by a civilian refugee fleet led by President Laura Roslin. Kara Thrace found two Cylon basestars and hundreds of Raiders waiting outside the protective radiation of Ragnar's atmosphere, which the fleet had to leave in order to jump. Galactica shielded the civilian ships as they escaped, then jumped away itself.
Sources
- EpisodeBattlestar Galactica miniseries, Two-part miniseries, Sci Fi Channel (2003)
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry
Fall of the Twelve Colonies
A single day of Cylon attack killed billions of people across Colonial space. Barely fifty thousand escaped in a refugee fleet.
Battlestar Galactica (2003) Miniseries Explained: Plot Summary and Ending
The 2003 miniseries is where the reimagined Battlestar Galactica starts: the Cylons come back after 40 years, the Colonies burn, and one old battlestar leads about 50,000 survivors into the dark. Here's what happens across both nights, what the ending means and where it fits in the watch order.
Basestar: the Cylon carrier
The modern Cylon basestar was partly organic and run by a Hybrid, not a crew. It launched swarms of Raiders and healed battle damage like a wound.
Colonial Fleet: 120 battlestars
The navy of the Twelve Colonies, which fought the Cylon War. One software exploit cut it to two surviving battlestars on the day of the Fall.
Cylon
The Cylons were a race of sentient machines created as military robots by Graystone Industries on Caprica. Built from research into artificial consciousness, they rebelled against their human masters, fought a long war, and forty years later returned to annihilate humanity.
Galactica
Galactica was a Jupiter-class battlestar that served the Colonial Fleet from the Cylon War until the discovery of Earth. Never networked, it survived the Fall of the Twelve Colonies and shepherded the last fifty thousand humans across uncharted space before being scuttled into the sun.
Mentioned in2 entries
Battlestar Galactica (2003) Miniseries Explained: Plot Summary and Ending
The 2003 miniseries is where the reimagined Battlestar Galactica starts: the Cylons come back after 40 years, the Colonies burn, and one old battlestar leads about 50,000 survivors into the dark. Here's what happens across both nights, what the ending means and where it fits in the watch order.
Recon Drone
The Recon Drone was a type of Cylon vessel that entered service after the Cylons' technological evolution in the years following the Cylon War. Its only known encounter with Colonial forces came in the prelude to the Battle of Ragnar Anchorage.
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