Dalek Civil War

The Great Civil War was a civil war fought on Skaro between the Daleks loyal to the Dalek Emperor, and Humanised Daleks, implanted with the Human Factor.

The war was instigated when the Second Doctor implanted the Human Factor into a group of Daleks who became friendly to the Doctor and whom the Time Lords named Alpha, Beta and Omega. The Doctor tricked the Emperor into sending more Daleks into the machine which the Emperor believed would implant the Dalek Factor into the Daleks and thus eliminate the threat. Instead, the machine implanted the Human Factor. Those Daleks who passed through the machine turned on the Emperor and a battle broke out.

The fighting spread into the throne room amid the Emperor's protests and declarations. The Emperor himself was destroyed, although a blinking light on his casing may have indicated his survival.

The Dalek City was devastated by the conflict and began to explode. The Doctor believed this battle to be the Daleks' final end. (DW: The Evil of the Daleks)

However, the battle continued after the Doctor left. The Dalek Emperor survived and the Humanised Daleks were defeated by the Emperor's Daleks, and then the race began to rebuild. A new hierarchy was established; gold Daleks replaced black Daleks as Supreme Daleks, and a Supreme Council began. Improvements were made to the Daleks, such as independance from sources of power, and Time corridor technology was put into use as the Emperor decided the Daleks would have to alter history for conquest. (REF: Doctor Who: The Dalek Handbook)

An account of the conflict was taken by a Dokktor Whit-Arkker. (DWBIT: #35)

Behind the scenes

 * The name "Great Civil War" was used to refer to the conflict in REF: Doctor Who: Aliens and Enemies, which also referred to the Last Great Time War as the "Great Time War", so that book's accuracy is questionable.
 * Dokktor Whit-Arkker is an obvious reference to David Whitaker, who wrote The Evil of the Daleks.