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- "With all due respect, General, if someone comes to our home, they'd better be carrying a big blaster."
"I concur with Captain Rex, sir. This is personal for us clones." - ―Captain Rex and Commander Cody, to Obi-Wan Kenobi
The Battle of Kamino, a key campaign of the Clone Wars, was fought for control of the planet Kamino in 21 BBY. Also known as the Invasion of Kamino or the Defense of Kamino, the battle occurred when the Confederacy of Independent Systems launched a massive assault aimed at crippling the Grand Army of the Republic's main cloning facilities in Kamino's capital, Tipoca City. Having collaborated during a thwarted attempt to invade Kamino several months earlier, rivals General Grievous and Dark Acolyte Asajj Ventress were assigned by Count Dooku to lead the Separatist attack on Kamino. Joining Jedi General Shaak Ti and Prime Minister Lama Su in coordinating the Galactic Republic's defense of Kamino were Jedi Generals Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker who, unwilling to lose the vital cloning factories, brought their clone troopers of the 501st Legion to reinforce the Grand Army defenses.
Ventress had already infiltrated Kamino by the time Grievous arrived to beleaguer the Republic's naval blockade with an invasion fleet of his own. Although Skywalker led the Republic's starfighter squadrons against the Confederate armada, the resulting space engagement only served as a cover for elements of the Separatist Droid Army to land on Kamino via re-entry capsules disguised as starship debris. After being reassembled by Ventress's aqua droids in the ocean of Kamino, the Separatist Trident-class assault ships launched their troops against Tipoca City, and the Jedi and clones rushed to repel Grievous and the invaders. Ventress went after a DNA sample of the Grand Army's prime clone Jango Fett but was intercepted by Skywalker, who dueled the Dark Acolyte for the DNA sample. In a similar fashion, Grievous was confronted by Kenobi while spearheading a droid assault on Tipoca City's clone barracks.
As the Separatist battle droids pressed further into Tipoca City, Kamino's elite Advanced Recon Commandos played a critical part in repulsing the enemy forces from the clone troopers' homeworld. While Clone Commander Cody and Clone Captain Rex organized a defense of the barracks, Ti led other troops in pushing back the droids to Tipoca City's main hangar, where the invaders were eliminated. Ultimately, Grievous and Ventress failed to cripple Tipoca City as they had hoped thanks to the intervention of Kenobi and Skywalker, the latter of whom recovered the stolen DNA sample from Ventress. Skywalker attempted to have his clone troopers execute Ventress, but she escaped with Grievous aboard a Kamino flight pod. Despite heavy losses, the Jedi and clones were able to drive the Separatists from Kamino. Two 501st troopers, Fives and Echo, were awarded ARC trooper status for their performance in the battle.
Prelude[]
Targeting Kamino[]
- "The clone planet of Kamino will be a dangerous target."
"Just make sure you hold up your half of the mission. We must stop the production of new clones if we are to win this war." - ―Asajj Ventress and General Grievous, in a transmission leaked to the Republic
During the Clone Wars, the Wild Space planet Kamino, being home to the Galactic Republic's vital cloning facilities for the Grand Army of the Republic, remained a prominent target for the Confederacy of Independent Systems.[2] The Republic Navy blockaded Kamino with a heavily fortified fleet as protection against the Confederacy, which hoped to cripple the Republic war machine and win a decisive victory in the galactic conflict by stopping the Republic's production of clone troopers at its source.[3] Having failed to eliminate Kamino's cloning facilities[12] early on in the war,[2] the Confederacy staged another invasion of Kamino[13] in 22 BBY, the first year of the war.[14] With the Dark Acolyte Asajj Ventress serving as a spy on Kamino, Confederate General Grievous proceeded to the Kamino system with a massive invasion fleet. Yet he failed to silence Rishi Station, a Republic listening post monitoring enemy activity near Kamino, and the Republic Navy was subsequently warned of the impending attack.[13]
Grievous and Ventress, rival agents of Dooku, were tasked with the invasion of Kamino.
Although forced to retreat from the Rishi moon,[13] the Separatists remained determined to eliminate Kamino's cloning facilities.[3] In 21 BBY,[4] only several months after their previous attempt,[9] Confederate Head of State Count Dooku authorized another plan to attack Kamino, assigning rival commanders Grievous and Ventress to lead the invasion. While Grievous engaged the Republic blockade of Kamino, the Separatist fleet would be allowed to sustain heavy losses. Under that cover, the main invasion force of battle droids would be sent down to the ocean of Kamino aboard modules of Trident-class assault ships[3] in re-entry capsules.[11] As the capsules would be disguised as debris from the destroyed starships, the Republic would not realize the deception until too late.[3]
Once the Separatist Droid Army was planet-side, Ventress—who was already on Kamino aboard her personal starship,[3] the Trident[8]—would have her detachment of aqua droids reassemble the assault craft for the attack on Kamino's capital, Tipoca City,[3] where the main cloning facilities were located.[9] As part of her espionage tasks, Ventress determined the exact locations of the clone trooper barracks and the DNA archive room in Tipoca City's Military Complex, both of which would be primary targets during their assault. While Grievous led the droid assault on Tipoca City, specifically focusing on the clone barracks, Ventress would steal a DNA sample[3] of Jango Fett, the Grand Army's prime clone. With a copy of Fett's DNA, the Separatists hoped to uncover and exploit a weakness in the genetic code, with potentially catastrophic consequences for the Republic's clone troopers.[15]
Jedi reinforcements[]
- "I wish our arrival wasn't under such circumstances. We believe Grievous is planning a Separatist attack on Kamino."
"But the Republic blockade is far too strong. They would not dare." - ―Obi-Wan Kenobi and Lama Su
To draw the Republic and the Jedi Order into their plan, the Confederacy allowed Republic forces to intercept[9] an encoded transmission of Grievous and Ventress discussing their impending assault on Kamino. The communiqué was received aboard the Venator-class Star Destroyer[3] Resolute, the flagship of Jedi General Anakin Skywalker and the 501st Legion of clone troopers,[9] who were hosting High General Obi-Wan Kenobi aboard their Star Destroyer. After their crew decrypted the transmission's audio, Skywalker and Kenobi learned of the Separatists' targeting of Kamino, and their respective clone officers, Clone Captain Rex and Marshal Commander Cody, were adamant about aiding the defense of their homeworld. Skywalker and Kenobi resolved to return to Kamino with the 501st Legion to notify the Republic defenses of the imminent attack[3] and to provide extra protection against Grievous's battle group.[16] Once they had transferred their troops to an Acclamator-class assault ship, Skywalker and Kenobi proceeded to Tipoca City with the 501st Legion, while Admiral Wullf Yularen took[3] the Resolute to join[9] the nine other Venator-class Star Destroyers in the Republic's blockade of Kamino. Upon their arrival in Tipoca City, Skywalker and Kenobi met with Prime Minister Lama Su of Kamino and High General Shaak Ti,[3] a Jedi Master who had been stationed on Kamino as the Jedi General in charge of clone trooper training.[17]
Kenobi and Skywalker meet with Shaak Ti and Lama Su while the 501st Legion disembarks.
Upon learning of the impending invasion, Su could not believe that the Separatists would risk pitting themselves against the fortified blockade of the world, though all of them took the threat seriously and made preparations to defend Tipoca City. Skywalker and Kenobi's troops from the 501st Legion disembarked from the Acclamator-class transport,[3] and Rex and Cody took their men directly to the Military Complex, which was being prepared for the attack.[9] In addition, the Republic's starfighter squadrons were mobilized to mount an air strike against a Separatist attack.[3] Meanwhile in deep space,[9] Grievous made his own final preparations for the assault, commanding his fleet of three Recusant-class light destroyers and ten Munificent-class star frigates from his command ship, a Providence-class carrier/destroyer. The re-entry capsules containing the landing force of battle droids and pieces of Trident-class assault ships were affixed to the main hulls of the Munificent-class star frigates as planned. The Separatists planned to attack Tipoca City first, while Grievous and Ventress were interested to meet each other on the battlefield for the first time, face to face.[3]
The battle[]
Distraction in space[]
- "I'm going to press the attack, Master."
"No, Anakin. Wait! It's too easy. Not even Grievous would attack so recklessly."
"Master, the battle's up here in space, not down there."
"The debris from the destroyed Separatist ships is the key." - ―Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi
Grievous's frigates endure extensive damage to deploy the disguised re-entry capsules.
Emerging from hyperspace, Grievous's invasion fleet entered the Kamino system. Aided by the T-series tactical droid[3] TV-94B,[8] Grievous deployed his armada in attack formation Echo-3, with his Recusant-class light destroyers spearheading the assault. As the enemy fleet began its offensive, the ten Venator-class Star Destroyers of the Republic blockade held their position and returned the heavy turbolaser fire, supplemented by a pair of Arquitens-class light cruisers as well as Skywalker and Kenobi's Acclamator-class transport. Commanding the Republic fleet with clone naval officers[3] from the bridge of the Resolute, Admiral Yularen was intrigued by Grievous's head-on assault, as such a move was odd for the Confederate general, and included the anomaly in a report to the command at Tipoca City.[9] The update was received by Kenobi, Ti, Su, and Cody and Rex, who were overseeing the battle from the Military Complex's command center. As the Separatist armada pressed its attack, Cody had the Republic fleet shore up on defenses, while Ti—who had expected a larger invasion fleet—issued the order for the Republic's air strike.[3] Kenobi meanwhile pondered why Grievous had forgone the element of surprise in favor of a direct approach for the attack.[9]
Responding to Ti's command, Skywalker led the Republic's starfighter squadrons[3]—including his own personal group, Shadow Squadron,[9] with clone pilot Broadside among them—from Tipoca City into space aboard his Delta-7B Aethersprite-class light interceptor.[3] Taking up position at the head of Shadow Squadron,[9] Skywalker led groups of BTL-B Y-wing starfighters and ARC-170 starfighters against Grievous's opposing fleet, which responded by launching Vulture droid starfighters to combat the Republic squadrons. At the same time, V-19 Torrent starfighters were marshaled in the defense of the Republic blockade from Separatist Hyena-class bombers.[3] Skywalker worked with another Jedi Knight, who was also flying a Delta-7B interceptor, to prevent the enemy ships from reaching the surface of Kamino. The two Jedi Knights spearheaded the assault on the frigates and destroyers of the Separatist armada,[5] which quickly began to take heavy losses. The damage was intentional, however, as it allowed the re-entry capsules to detach from the frigates while giving credence to their cover as debris. To the Republic, it simply appeared that Grievous was sacrificing the frigates to protect his command ship. Grievous joined his aqua droids and B1-Series battle droids in the re-entry capsules and fell from orbit, through the atmosphere of Kamino, and straight into the waters surrounding Tipoca City, where they were received by Ventress.[3]
Once Grievous and his reinforcements had arrived, Ventress sent out her aqua droids to begin work reassembling the Trident-class assault ships in preparation for the assault on Tipoca City.[3] Back in space, the Republic fleet and starfighter squadrons held strong against the Separatist armada and its defenses, which began to take a beating from the intense fire. Skywalker led Shadow Squadron into the heart of the battle,[9] pressing his attack by focusing on the Separatist frigates. The offensive allowed more wreckage-disguised capsules to reach the ocean floor of Kamino, ready for reassembly.[3] As the Separatist armada began to retreat from Kamino,[16] Kenobi sensed through the Force[9] that something was amiss, as not even Grievous would mount such a reckless attack on the blockade. Because Grievous knew that they had been ready to defend Kamino, Kenobi believed that the starship debris was key to uncovering whatever the Separatists were planning. To that end, he decided to take a single-seater submarine to investigate the downed starship wreckage, keeping in contact with Skywalker as he did so. It was not long before Kenobi discovered Ventress's aqua droids reassembling the Trident-class assault ships, many of which had already been completed by that time. Realizing the Separatists' deception, Kenobi attempted to warn Skywalker and Ti of the underwater assault craft, but he was too deep for his signal to be transmitted.[3]
Reassembled by Ventress's aqua droids, Trident-class assault ships attack Tipoca City.
Shortly thereafter, one of the aqua droids noticed Kenobi's submarine and ordered him to stop. When a team of aqua droids clambered onto his ship and targeted its window and engines, Kenobi ejected from his submarine via an escape pod, but the aqua droids continued to pursue him. After being forced to abandon his escape pod, the oxygen-low Kenobi made for the surface,[3] using the Force to call to a nearby aiwha for aid.[15] With the help of the aiwha, Kenobi returned to the surface, gasping for breath. His relief was short-lived, as it was at that moment that Ventress led her Trident and the completed Trident-class assault ships out of the ocean to attack Tipoca City. As soon as Kenobi made him aware via comlink of the Confederacy's assault on Tipoca City,[3] Skywalker ordered all of the Republic's starfighter squadrons back to the Resolute[5] while he immediately made for the surface in his Delta-7B interceptor.[3] The Separatist fleet continued to retreat,[16] though the battle over Kamino was no longer of concern to the Republic forces. The battlefield now became Tipoca City.[3]
Assault on Tipoca City[]
- "Keep playing with your droids. I'll handle breaking into the DNA room."
"Shall I provide you with a droid escort?"
"My dear General, there's nothing you have that I could want." - ―Asajj Ventress and General Grievous, separating to complete their mission objectives
Clone troopers defend Tipoca City from Separatist aqua droids and assault ships.
As the Trident-class assault ships moved into position to deploy their battle droid troops, Tipoca City was put on alert, and clone troopers rushed to defend the Military Complex.[3] Clone Commander Colt was placed in charge of his fellow elite Advanced Recon Commandos who were assigned to the defense of Tipoca City,[18] and they took up position within the Military Complex. While the defense of Tipoca City's main hangar was being organized,[3] ARC Commander Havoc[7] sent 501st troopers Echo and Fives to take up sniper positions on the bridge[3] connecting the hangar deck to the cloning factories.[9] Another of the Advanced Recon Commandos joined his clone brethren in fortifying the main hangar just as several Trident-class assault ships clambered onto the facility.[3] The assault ships rammed their drill-spikes[11] into the walls of the hangar's roof, penetrating the building to deploy their battle-ready aqua droids. A furious firefight ensued in the hangar, with the clones attempting to hold out against the seemingly never-ending line of aqua droids. Having arrived in one of the assault ships, Grievous personally led the assault on the clones, ordering his troops to spare none of the Republic troopers.[3]
Several Advanced Recon Commandos, including ARC Commanders Havoc[3] and Blitz,[6] oversaw the defense of the main hangar against Grievous's invading troops. Maintenance clone 99 helped resupply the clones with DC-15A blaster rifles, though he was forced to abandon his post as the casualties around him mounted, particularly as Havoc fell to enemy blaster fire. Besieged by the Trident-class assault ships, Tipoca City began to take heavy damage, with a large amount of its factories' cloning chambers breaking apart as explosions gripped the city. While Grievous pushed further into the Military Complex, Ventress led her aqua droids against clone troopers on the city's outer decks, with the Confederate assault ships going so far as to smash through the clones with their heavy leg units.[3] Elsewhere, Grievous ordered another attack on Tipoca City, but Commander Cody and the Jedi Knight[10] who had assisted Skywalker in the space battle over Kamino[5] prepared a defense of the area. Cody had a series of platforms constructed in the ocean so that their forces could utilize tower-mounted blaster turrets against Grievous's battle group. The Republic detachment was supplemented by a number of Advanced Recon Commandos, who took up positions in bunkers along the Separatists' intended path. Cody and the Jedi Knight were able to push back Grievous's initial force of battle droids and Armored Assault Tanks, and Grievous was forced to recall his forces to regroup for their next assault.[10]
Striking swiftly, Grievous bolstered his forces with shielded droidekas, BX-series droid commandos, and NR-N99 Persuader-class droid enforcer tanks, while he hoped to catch the clone detachment unprepared by deploying aerial droid-manned Single Trooper Aerial Platforms and droid starfighters. Nevertheless, Cody and the Jedi Knight held out against his attack, shooting down the dispatched Vulture droid starfighters and droid tri-fighters and prompting Grievous's forces to retreat a second time. With a storm brewing over Tipoca City, Grievous organized a final push against the Republic forces. While Cody and the Jedi Knight attempted to hold the line, Grievous had a number of Trident-class assault ships emerge from the ocean and land even more battle droids across the facility. After noticing that the Republic's rear defenses were weak, Grievous launched a surprise attack by ordering his assault ships to target a position well behind the Republic's front line, forcing Cody and the Jedi Knight to readjust their defenses. The Republic detachment ultimately prevailed over Grievous's battle group, and the Separatists recalled their forces from that battlefront.[10] Yet the battle for Tipoca City was far from over.[3]
Kenobi and Skywalker lead clone troopers in defending Tipoca City from aqua droids.
Across the Military Complex, young clone cadets were ushered to safety while their older brethren held out against the invading battle droids.[9] With Shaak Ti and Lama Su coordinating defenses from the city's command center, Skywalker and Kenobi proceeded into the fray, leading a squad of clone troopers against a group of aqua droids. Both Jedi Generals soon came to the conclusion that there were not enough battle droids to capture the entire city. Realizing that the Separatists were distracting them, Kenobi resolved to confront Grievous while Skywalker proceeded to secure the DNA archive library. Echo and Fives fought on their own battlefront, defending the bridge from squads of aqua droids. 99 arrived to supply them with more ammunition, at which point Fives inquired if there was a better vantage point in the area. At that moment, four B1 battle droids ambushed them, but Fives summarily tossed one of 99's thermal detonators at their attackers. What were thought to be more droids approaching through the smoke turned out to be five clone cadets who had been separated from their group en route to the barracks. Fives and Echo decided to escort them there, with 99 leading them on a shortcut through the city.[3]
In one of the city's hallways, Grievous pressed through clone defenses led by Commander Colt with a group of B1 battle droids. When the rest of his men fell to droid fire, Colt mounted a last stand against the battle droids, but he was interrupted by Ventress, who had arrived to rendezvous with Grievous. Ventress gripped Colt in a Force choke, then activated one of her lightsabers and pulled him onto her blade with the Force, impaling and killing him. Although Grievous was impressed with her display of power, Ventress had no respect for the cyborg general, refusing his offer for a droid escort on her mission to steal the clone DNA sample. Grievous meanwhile continued on to destroy the barracks, which would further seal a Separatist victory on Kamino.[3]
Republic retaliation[]
- "Look around, we're one and the same. Same heart, same blood. Your training is in your blood. And my blood's boiling for a fight."
"This is our home. This is our war." - ―Fives and Echo, rallying clone cadets to defend their home
Shaak Ti heads the clone troopers' defense of the main hangar from the battle droids.
The Separatists continued to push back the clone forces across Tipoca City, with troops on the outer platforms losing ground. One squad of aqua droids breached the Military Complex's command center, where Ti, Su, and several clones were still overseeing the battle. Ti made quick work of the droids with her lightsaber, even destroying some of them by hurling them against a wall with the Force. She then ordered the Republic forces to push their offensive, as the droids were spread thin across the city. Fives, Echo, and 99 reached the barracks with their group of clone cadets, where Captain Rex and Commander Cody arrived to rally the young cadets to defend their homeworld. Fives and Echo also encouraged them to take up arms to protect their home. 99 brought Rex and Cody to the nearby armory to equip the cadets with weaponry for a defense of the barracks. The three of them returned with enough DC-15Ss for the cadets, whom Rex positioned in the barracks' retractable sleeping chambers so that they could surprise the droids from behind. They were just in time, as Grievous arrived with his detachment of B1 battle droids and aqua droids. While the droids pressed into the barracks and began a firefight with Rex, Cody, and their men, Kenobi arrived to confront Grievous in the hallway outside, with the two rivals beginning a lightsaber duel.[3]
As he dueled with Kenobi, Grievous grabbed his opponent and threw him to the ground, then attempted to crush him beneath his mechanical feet. Kenobi managed to avoid the cyborg's powerful stamps, but he was then tossed against the ceiling and hit the ground hard. Although winded, Kenobi refused to concede to Grievous's assertion that Kamino had fallen, reaching out with the Force to slam Grievous against a wall. Taken off-guard by the offensive, Grievous retreated from the barracks, with Kenobi following close behind. Meanwhile, Ventress infiltrated the DNA archive room and stole a canister containing Jango Fett's DNA. Just as she secured her objective, Skywalker arrived, lightsaber in hand, to retrieve the DNA sample. The pair of familiar adversaries briefly reacquainted themselves before engaging in lightsaber combat. Ventress somersaulted over Skywalker and Force-pushed him against the DNA archive shelf, though Skywalker recovered quickly and re-engaged her.[3] As their fierce duel[16] moved into the hallway, Skywalker made a grab for the DNA canister on her utility belt, but Ventress was too quick for him and thwarted his attempt at retrieval. Skywalker responded by pressing his attack, driving Ventress backward before locking blades with the Dark Acolyte in an effort to overpower her. However, Ventress simply kicked Skywalker backward, taking advantage of his brief distraction to escape with the DNA canister, with Skywalker in hot pursuit.[3]
While the Jedi were pursuing the Separatist agents out of Tipoca City, Rex, Cody, Fives, and Echo mounted a defense of the barracks from the invading battle droids. The clones took up positions behind several crates to return the droids' blaster fire, with 99 supplying Rex and Cody with thermal detonators to launch at the droids. Once the droids had passed the cadets' hiding spots in the sleeping chambers, Rex commed the cadets to open fire on the droids, effectively surrounding the droids and locking them in a crossfire. Cody soon used up their supply of thermal detonators, at which point 99 opted to restock their explosives[3] from the armory.[9] As 99 abandoned his cover behind the crates, much to his fellow clones' alarm, one of the droids' blaster shots caught him in the leg. Desperate to protect their injured comrade, Echo and Fives increased their blaster fire, with Fives forgoing his cover to eliminate the droids with his heavy blaster rifle. Yet 99 took two more shots, this time fatal, to his back. The battle left no time for the clones to mourn their fallen comrade, as Cody received word from Ti that the rest of the droids throughout the city had been pushed back to the main hangar. Ti entered the fray in the hangar, joining the Republic troops in battling the remaining groups of aqua droids.[3]
An outnumbered Ventress unleashes a Force repulse to escape from Skywalker and his men.
With Kenobi trailing him, Grievous reached one of the outer landing platforms and climbed onto its underside, surprising Kenobi from behind once he arrived. As Grievous and Kenobi circled each other, a Trident-class assault ship clambered onto the platform, and the droid gunship used one of its leg units to compromise the platform's supports. Kenobi fell toward the sea many meters below, while Grievous reached an adjacent platform. Believing that Kenobi had drowned, Grievous boarded[3] a Kamino flight pod[1] to retrieve Ventress, unaware that[3] Kenobi had summoned the aiwha that had saved him earlier to be pulled out of the water.[9] In the main hangar, Ti and her men continued to cut through the trapped droids, with the clones using blasters, Z-6 rotary blaster cannons, and RPS-6 rocket launchers to annihilate the remaining assault ships. Once their hold on the hangar wall was compromised, the drill ships tumbled into the ocean below. On the outside platforms,[3] ARC Commander Blitz[6] led a squad of Advanced Recon Force troopers to target an assault ship that was about to penetrate a city wall with its drill-spike. Blitz had one of his troopers fire a rocket at the craft, causing it to crash onto a platform below.[3]
The compromised Trident drill fell in the path of Ventress, who was being pursued by Skywalker onto the outer decks. Dueling furiously, both adversaries avoided the ship and paid it little attention. A number of nearby clone troopers caught sight of Skywalker and went to his aid just as he kicked Ventress to the ground, then used the Force to retrieve the stolen DNA canister. The infuriated Ventress immediately retaliated, forcing Skywalker backward and knocking him to the ground before pulling the canister toward her with the Force. At that moment, the clone troopers arrived to assist Skywalker, and one of them grabbed the DNA sample in mid-air before it could reach Ventress. Now outnumbered by Skywalker and his men, the Dark Acolyte expected to be forced to surrender, though Skywalker intended to have the clones execute her on sight. Receiving a signal that Grievous was approaching in their escape vessel, Ventress refused to submit and unleashed a powerful Force repulse, knocking the Jedi and clones off their feet. Dodging the clones' blaster fire, Ventress jumped aboard Grievous's craft. The rival Separatist commanders escaped from Kamino, neither of them having completed their objective. The remaining Separatist forces in Tipoca City were routed, resulting in a Republic victory.[3]
Aftermath[]
- "I don't think the Separatists will be coming back here anytime soon. But if they do, Kamino will be lucky to have clones like you defending it. Good job, men."
- ―Captain Rex, as part of Fives and Echo's promotion to ARC trooper status
Fives and Echo are promoted to ARC trooper status by Rex and Cody for their performance.
The Battle of Kamino, as it came to be called,[5] became known as one of the key campaigns of the Clone Wars.[19] It was also referred to as the Invasion of Kamino[11] and the defense of Kamino.[20] The death of 99 during the battle saddened many of his clone brethren; in the words of Commander Cody, the Grand Army lost a true soldier that day, for 99 had a warrior's heart despite his malformation as a clone. Although the Confederacy had failed to cripple the cloning factories or steal a sample of Jango Fett's DNA, they left extensive damage to Tipoca City, particularly to a number of cloning chamber towers. Following the Republic's victory, the clone cadets and troopers of Tipoca City, supervised by several Advanced Recon Commandos, set to work restoring the Military Complex, as well as recording the large amount of casualties and taking the injured to receive medical treatment. Additionally, some of the Kaminoan cloners set to work assessing the damage to the main hangar.[3]
For their display of valor in defending Kamino, Fives and Echo were promoted to the rank of ARC trooper by Cody and Captain Rex.[3] Having been squadmates in Domino Squad during their training,[21] the two 501st troopers were honored to become the Grand Army's newest Advanced Recon Commandos.[3] Jedi who participated in the Battle of Kamino recorded their experiences in datafiles that were published in the collection known as the Jedi Battle Logs.[22]
Behind the scenes[]
- "Trident drill ships rise out of the water and attack the Kamino facility, while clones are desperate to save their home. That's worth doing. Absolutely."
- ―Supervising Director Dave Filoni, on the task of portraying Kamino for the television series
The Battle of Kamino was created for the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series and was featured in the episode "ARC Troopers," which aired on September 17, 2010 as part of the series' third season premiere.[8] Prior to then, the battle was featured in promotional material for the season in April 2010[24] and was confirmed in Star Wars Insider 120.[25] "ARC Troopers" served as a sequel to "Rookies," an episode from the series' first season that focused primarily on such clone trooper characters as Captain Rex, Commander Cody, Fives, and Echo. Originally, the Battle of Kamino was to have immediately followed the battle at Rishi Station depicted in "Rookies," but it was moved farther down the timeline to allow Fives and Echo to have more experience prior to their promotion to ARC troopers. The battle featured the debut of the aqua droids, an aquatic battle droid model developed for the series.[8] A September 18, 2010 update to the Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures video game depicted the battle in the mini-games "Republic Defender"[10] and "Starfighter," in addition to attributing the battle its official name.[5]
Grievous and Ventress meet each other in person for the first time during the battle.
During production for the space portion of the battle, Series Supervising Director Dave Filoni made sure to have the episode's director, Kyle Dunlevy, raise the bar in terms of its scale.[26] In keeping with established Star Wars canon, the battle was written so that Anakin Skywalker would not encounter General Grievous, as the film Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith established that they were introduced to each other at the later Battle of Coruscant.[8] A scene of Asajj Ventress kissing Commander Colt on the cheek just after killing him was removed from the episode due to insistence from Cartoon Network;[27] the sequence was included in the episode as part of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars The Complete Season Three DVD release.[23] Grievous and Ventress's meeting during the battle[8] represented a retcon to previously established continuity from the Expanded Universe,[28] as it was stated to be their first face-to-face meeting[8] despite the fact that such an encounter had already been depicted in the short comic Rogue's Gallery in 2005.[28]
Star Wars Insider 125 ranked the Battle of Kamino alongside the earlier Battle of Christophsis, the Battle of Ryloth, and the Second Battle of Geonosis as one of the largest battles depicted in the series.[29] In April 2012, The Ultimate Visual Guide: Updated and Expanded placed the battle within a timeline of the series' events, between the events of the episodes "Sphere of Influence" and "The Mandalore Plot."[30] The battle's placement was revised in the 2013 Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Episode Guide, which moved it between the events of "Assassin" and "Sphere of Influence."[1]
Inconsistencies[]
Visible in the Tipoca City command center scenes in "ARC Troopers" is a hologram of a trio of Lucrehulk-class Droid Control Ships that are part of Grievous's fleet. However, since they do not appear in the space battle scenes, this article assumes this is an animation error.
The portrayal of the Battle of Kamino in the young readers' novel The Clone Wars: Defenders of the Republic differs in numerous places[9] from the battle's depiction in "ARC Troopers."[3] In all cases, this article follows the episode's presentation of the battle.
During the Battle of Kamino, a 501st Legion Clone Trooper wearing Mixer's armour appears in the battle. This however cannot be right because Mixer dies by an assassin probe droid in the episode "Voyage of Temptation" which takes place before the Battle of Kamino. This is either an animation error or another clone with the exact same markings.
In Defenders of the Republic, Skywalker, Kenobi, and their men travel to Tipoca City in a Republic shuttle[9] instead of an Acclamator-class transport.[3] After the invasion of Tipoca City begins, Skywalker is assigned to take some of the young clone cadets to a secure location to wait out the fighting. He eventually comes upon Fives, Echo, and 99 on the bridge, and the three clones decide to take the cadets to the barracks while Skywalker departs to protect the DNA archive library.[9] This is not the case in the episode, in which the cadets are separated from their group and come across Fives, Echo, and 99 on their own without Skywalker.[3] Just prior to Grievous's rendezvous with Ventress in Tipoca City, some advanced clone cadets concentrate their fire on a nearby Trident-class assault ship. Ventress makes her entrance by killing the cadets[9] instead of Commander Colt in the episode.[3] For the defense of the clone barracks, the book depicts a larger number of clone cadets—an "army"—serving under Captain Rex and Commander Cody,[9] whereas in the episode the cadets only amount to five.[3] Rex does not instruct the cadets to take up position in the sleeping chambers; the clones engage the battle droids from one direction for the entirety of the firefight.[9]
Ventress and Skywalker's duel was adjusted in Defenders of the Republic.
While assisting in pushing the droids back to the main hangar, Shaak Ti protects a group of inexperienced cadets from a large octuptarra magna tri-droid, which she charges and destroys. Immediately thereafter, Ventress arrives in the hangar with Skywalker in pursuit[9] instead of on one of the outer platforms.[3] ARC Commander Blitz is present in the hangar and orders his men to fire at Ventress, who deflects the blaster fire.[9] On the other hand, the episode depicts Blitz on an outer platform, where he has one of his ARF troopers fire a missile at a Trident-class assault ship.[3]
Non-canon history[]
Star Wars: The Clone Wars Comic UK 6.16 published an Infinities version of "ARC Troopers" in which the Battle of Kamino is depicted differently. In that version, Skywalker confronts General Grievous on an outer landing platform, while Obi-Wan Kenobi intercepts Ventress at the DNA archive room. During his duel with Ventress, Kenobi slices off her right arm and Force-pushes her other lightsaber out of reach, allowing her to be taken prisoner by a squad of Advanced Recon Commandos. Meanwhile, Skywalker fiercely duels Grievous and eventually manages to sever all four of his mechanical arms, and the cyborg is taken into custody alongside Ventress. Following the battle, Grievous refuses to submit to Jedi interrogation and is imprisoned by the Jedi High Council in the deepest level of the galactic capital of Coruscant, left in his dismembered state. The Jedi Council also attempts to bring Ventress back into the light, seeing if they can purge her anger so that she might be able to offer intelligence on Count Dooku's Sith Master, Darth Sidious.[31]
Appearances[]
- The Clone Wars: Defenders of the Republic
Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "ARC Troopers" (First appearance)- Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures — "Starfighter" (First identified as Battle of Kamino)
- Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures — "Republic Defender"
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars — "A Friend in Need" (In flashback(s))
