Previous Sith Civil War Dark Wars Concurrent Kanz Disorders Next Cold War Great Galactic War Beginning 3,681 BBY, Skirmish in the Tingel Arm End 3,653 BBY, Sacking of Coruscant & Treaty of Coruscant Place The galaxy Outcome Sith Empire victory Signing of the Treaty of Coruscant The Republic gives up many outlying systems to the Sith Empire The Republic suffers from a massive economic depression which lasts for at least a decade[1] The galaxy enters a state of Cold War Major battles Assault on the Aparo sector Tingel Arm campaign Fall of Korriban Battle of Sluis Van Darth Vich's insurrection Battle of Begeren Battle of Korriban Battle of Ilum Battle of Hoth Devastation of Manaan First Battle of Bothawui Second Battle of Bothawui Blockade of the Hydian Way Battle of Rhen Var Battle of Alderaan Battle of Balmorra Battle of Dantooine Sacking of Coruscant Combatants Galactic Republic Crusader's Schism† Jedi Order Hylo Visz's smuggling contingent Sith Empire Chiss Ascendancy Mandalorians Puppet governments Belkadan Ruuria Sernpidal Commanders Supreme Chancellor Berooken† Jedi Council Grand Master Zym† Jedi Master Belth Allusis† Jedi Master Dar'Nala† Jedi Master Orgus Din Jedi Master Jerbhen Hulis Jedi Master Satele Shan Jedi Master Ven Zallow† Jedi Master Ngani Zho General Buryn General Garza General Bouris Ulgo Republic Commodore Commander Dael Jicoln Cadera Hylo Visz Sith Emperor Dark Council Darth Azamin† Darth Ekkage (captured) Darth Marr Darth Mekhis Darth Vowrawn Sajar (redeemed) Darth Angral Darth Baras Darth Malgus Darth Vich Lord Adraas Lord Malichose Lord Nankrang Grand Moff Kilran Grand Moff Zellos Mandalore the Lesser† [Source]

The Great Galactic War, occasionally called the Great War or the Sith–Republic War, was a war between the Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic between 3,681 BBY and 3,653 BBY, ultimately lasting for a total of 28 years.

Contents 1 Background 1.1 The Sith Empire prepares for war 2 War 2.1 Return of the Sith 2.1.1 Skirmish in the Tingel Arm 2.1.2 Fall of Korriban 2.1.3 Destruction of the Sluis Van shipyards 2.1.4 Battle of Korriban 2.1.5 Battle of Balmorra 2.1.6 Battles for the Outer Rim 2.2 Stalemate 2.2.1 Republic victories at Bothawui 2.2.2 Capture of the Dread Masters 2.2.3 Battle of Alderaan 2.2.4 Battle of Hoth 2.2.5 The Mandalorian Blockade 2.2.6 Battle of Ord Radama 2.2.7 Republic counter-attack 2.3 The Imperial advance continues 2.3.1 Capture of Serenno 2.3.2 Reconquest of Ord Radama 2.3.3 Battle of Rhen Var 2.3.4 Sacking of Coruscant 2.4 Treaty of Coruscant 3 Aftermath 4 Behind the scenes 5 Appearances 6 Sources 7 Notes and references 8 External links 8.1 In other languages

BackgroundEdit

With the Sith Empire's defeat in the Great Hyperspace War, the Republic decided how to deal with their fallen enemy: the Supreme Chancellor ordered the Republic military to exterminate all remnants of the Sith. But one Sith Lord and a group of survivors escaped the Republic's slaughter of their kind and made it to the Unknown Regions. There, he re-founded the Empire, himself assuming the title of Sith Emperor, and created a council of other Sith Lords. Using the power of the dark side, the Emperor kept himself alive for over a thousand years after the Great Hyperspace War, rebuilding the Empire's strength and promising his people revenge on the Republic and Jedi.

The Republic, meanwhile, was challenged in a number of wars over the next few thousand years. After the war with Exar Kun, the growing Sith Empire goaded the Mandalorians to attack the Republic. A group of Jedi, led by Revan, soon joined the Republic forces in their war against the Mandalorians. During the war, Revan traveled to the ancient Sith academy on Malachor V, where the final battle of the Mandalorian Wars would later take place. During his time there, Revan learned of the True Sith's existence in the Unknown Regions. He then used a Rakatan artifact to start a war with the Republic to prepare for the Sith Empire's invasion, resulting in the Jedi Civil War. The Republic was also burdened by the upheaval of the Kanz Disorders.

The Sith Empire prepares for warEdit

The Sith Emperor had ordered preparations for an invasion of the Republic as early as 3,954 BBY, nearly three centuries before the war began. Four years later, these initial plans were delayed thanks in large part to the efforts of the legendary redeemed Jedi, Revan.

But the Empire would not be dormant in the following years. The Emperor's war preparations continued nonetheless, with only the timing of invasion postponed. As the decades and centuries went by, the Sith fleet grew to enormous numbers while Imperial agents operated in secret, arranging alliances both within and outside of Republic space.

Imperial operatives were successful in securing an alliance with the Chiss Ascendancy, as well as installing puppet governments in key positions in the Republic's Outer Rim systems. Before a shot had been fired, the Empire had already secretly brought the Belkadan, Ruuria, and Sernpidal systems under its control.

In the year 3,681 BBY, the Sith Emperor saw that the chance for revenge against the Republic and the Jedi had come, and launched an invasion of the Republic.

WarEdit

Return of the SithEdit

Skirmish in the Tingel ArmEdit

The Sith Empire's invasion caught the Republic completely by surprise. When Imperial battlecruisers first appeared in the Tingel Arm and subjugated the Aparo sector, the Republic had no idea who had attacked. Naively hoping to resolve the situation quickly, the Republic dispatched a lightly escorted diplomatic team to find out what was happening.

The Emperor saw this as an excellent opportunity to begin a campaign of psychological warfare. The Imperial fleet waited for the Republic's diplomatic team to come to them, and then allowed just enough time to transmit images of their armada back to their superiors before utterly destroying them.

In response to the threat, the Republic immediately mobilized a fleet to the besieged area in the Tingel Arm. Arriving in proximity to Belkidan, Ruuria, and Sernpidal, the first Republic war fleet found itself ensnared in an Imperial trap. Surrounded by Imperial warships and turncoat allies, the Republic fleet was forced to scatter in order to avoid complete annihilation.

Fall of KorribanEdit

For centuries, the ancient Sith homeworld Korriban had been guarded by a vigil of Jedi and a fairly small contingent of Republic troopers. At the onset of the war this garrison was overseen by Jedi Master Kao Cen Darach and his apprentice Satele Shan.

In the midst of the chaos elsewhere in the Rim, a Sith fleet of over 30 warships launched a massive assault on their long-occupied holy world Korriban. The Republic and Jedi defenders quickly fell to the Imperial attack, while Sith Lord Vindican and his apprentice Malgus battled Jedi defenders Darach and Shan on the orbital station.

Shan escaped the fighting on orders from her master, but Darach was slain in a lightsaber duel by Malgus. With a minimal effort due to overwhelming force, Korriban was captured by Imperial forces and brought under Imperial dominion once more. The attack was so successful that an extended period of time passed before the Jedi Council even learned of Korriban's loss.

Destruction of the Sluis Van shipyardsEdit

With the capture of the Tingel Arm and the rout of the Republic forces there, the Sith Empire turned its sights on a valuable new target: the Sluis sector. Sluis Van was the home of significant Republic starship manufacturing facilities which presented a tempting target for the invading Imperial forces.

The Imperial naval forces quickly moved on Sluis Van, which was entirely undefended with the Republic forces still scattered. Various Sith starfighter squadrons attacked the shipyards and destroyed the orbital ring that made up the station.

The Sith forces continued to press, and conquered the world itself. Much as would continue to be the case as the war pressed on, the Imperial forces executed any civilian or government workers who refused to swear fealty to the Empire. The token Republic military personnel were not granted such mercy, they were simply hunted down and summarily executed as enemies of the Empire.

Battle of KorribanEdit

Three years into the war, in 3,678 BBY, a rogue Sith apprentice leaked information on Imperial fleet movements to the Republic. In truth, Kressh was only interested in causing the battle in order to create a diversion so that he could pursue his own personal goals.

Republic forces moved quickly to attack the Sith's holy world. A battle erupted in orbit between the invading Republic forces and the Sith garrison of starships left to guard the planet.

But the Republic's first counter-offensive quickly turned into a rout, and then a crushing defeat. The Republic invasion force was overwhelmed by the Sith defenders and crushed, leaving only prisoners and the dead.

Battle of BalmorraEdit

Balmorra, a world renowned galaxy-wide for its droid- and military-manufacturing capabilities, was targeted for conquest by the Sith Empire early in the war. An invasion soon followed.

Shortly after the invasion began, the native Balmorrans organized a resistance group to defend their world. The Republic soon recognized the threat of the Empire controlling the manufacturing capabilities of Balmorra and launched its own counter-attack as well.

The struggle would become the most protracted and and enduring of the entire war. Though the Republic would eventually be forced to reassign its military assets to other fronts in the war, the Balmorran resistance would maintain the fight throughout the decades of the war and even into the Cold War.

Battles for the Outer RimEdit

The Sith went on to seize many worlds in the Outer Rim Territories and the rich resources of the Minos Cluster, and cut off the Rimma Trade Route. Battlegrounds included Ilum, Dathomir, and Manaan, the latter seeing its surface cities destroyed, despite attempts to remain neutral. The Republic was further defeated at Agamar and Utapau.

StalemateEdit

Republic victories at BothawuiEdit

After a decade of conquering the Outer Rim, ending with the capture of the Seswenna sector, the Sith advanced moved toward assaulting the Mid Rim. Believing the Republic was still recovering from its losses, the Empire rashly sent an invasion force to the planet Bothawui. The squadron was caught off guard by the Republic fleet and obliterated utterly at the First Battle of Bothawui.

Though it had taken ten years of defeats, the Republic had finally claimed its first significant victory over the Imperial war machine. The news of the victory proved a great boon, rekindling hope and generally increasing morale throughout the besieged Republic.

The sweetness of victory, however, would be short-lived. Seeking vengeance for their humiliating defeat, the Empire sent a much larger force back to Bothawui. With powerful planetary shields in place, the Republic defenders, led by Jedi Master Belth Allusis, were able to force the Imperial forces into a ground battle.

An Imperial army of 50,000 soldiers descended on the planet and engaged in one of the bloodiest battles of the war. Imperial forces lost, on average, 10 soldiers for every one of the Republic's they killed. While the Imperial commanders were forced to call for reinforcements due to the losses, the Republic defenders stood defiant to the last man–despite an offer of safety if they were to surrender.

The Imperial victory was Pyrrhic. While they succeeded in destroying the Republic forces, Master Allusis and his forces inflicted such damage on the invading Imperials that they were forced to retreat. The Second Battle of Bothawui was ultimately a draw in terms of material gain and loss, but the heroic sacrifice of Allusis and his troops gave Republic troops galaxy-wide a memory around which to rally.

In retrospect after the war, scholars such as Master Gnost-Dural would come to identify the victory at Bothawui as the only eventual outcome of the war; that the Republic's only hope in the face of the Sith onslaught was survival, not victory.

Capture of the Dread MastersEdit

The Dread Masters were a group of half a dozen Sith Lords who had served their Emperor for centuries, and played an important role in the opening decade of the war. Their mastery of battle meditation allowed them to inflict terror on any Republic target they chose.

For thirteen years of open warfare, the group avoided compromise by consistently being on the move aboard an Imperial dreadnaught. But in 3,668 BBY, an elite Republic strike team led by Jedi Knight Jaric Kaedan was able to infiltrate the Dread Masters' ship.

The Republic announced publicly that the strike had killed the Emperor's valued agents, though secretly they had been spirited away to the Republic prison planet Belsavis. The group of dangerous Sith Lords had been removed from the conflict, and would not be an operational threat to the Republic for the remainder of the war.

Battle of AlderaanEdit

Alderaan was a world renowned as the embodiment of all the principles upon which the Republic rested. This, paired with its being located in the Core, made it an ideal target for the Imperial advance. Not only would it be a key strategic position within the Core, the capture of Alderaan would be a crushing blow to Republic morale.

The mission to conquer Alderaan was spearheaded by Malgus, by that point a seasoned veteran of the war, and recently granted the title of Darth. After luring Alderaan's Republic defense fleet away from the world, Malgus and his army unleashed their attack, hoping for a swift victory.

Malgus was not aware, however, that the Republic had left a sizeable garrison of elite troopers on the planet surface. As on countless other worlds over the past 14 years, a desperate struggle for control of the planet erupted. The Imperial advance claimed some key early victories, such as the capture of the Alderaanian royal family, and set its sights on seizing the planet's capital city.

In one of the planet's many lush forests, the force being personally commanded by Malgus was set upon by the Republic army's Havoc Squad. The skirmish initially appeared to be an Imperial victory, until backup led by Jedi Satele Shan arrived.

Shan and Malgus duelled once more, more than a decade after their first encounter above Korriban, while Republic and Imperial troops fought each other for survival and control of the planet. Shan and the Republic troops ultimately proved victorious, driving the invading Imperial army from the planet and critically wounding Darth Malgus in the process.

Battle of HothEdit

As the war approached its third decade, both Republic and Empire sought to gain advantage by debuting powerful new starships and experimental superweapons. In 3,664 BBY, 17 years into the war, the two militaries clashed over Hoth. The Republic's prototype warship, armed with the experimental starship-disabling Null Cannons was one such vessel.

Many starships from both sides were destroyed in the battle, including one carrying captured Jedi Master Wyellett. Much of the wreckage rained down on the frigid planet below, providing fertile pickings for pirates in the years to come.

The Mandalorian BlockadeEdit

Four years of stalemate passed after the Battle of Bothawui. But the Empire was determined to regain the advantage and press into the Mid Rim and, eventually, the Core. The Imperial war machine was forced to change its tactics.

Operatives of the Imperial intelligence service recognized the potential of bringing a powerful ally into the war and set to work on recruiting them. In centuries past, the Emperor had used the Mandalorians to attack the Republic, and the opportunity presented itself once more.

Imperial agents selected a powerful combatant on Geonosis and did everything in their power to aid in his rise, engaging in activities from gladiator management to outright poisoning his opponents. As this warrior's star was in ascendance, Imperial agents began to spread the idea that he could be the new Mandalore and unite the scattered clans.

Their plan proved fruitful, and the warrior he was able to establish himself as the galaxy's most powerful warrior and claim the title of Mandalore–though at some point, he became a willing servant of the Empire.

After uniting the scattered clans Mandalorians, this new Mandalore encouraged his followers to make war upon the Republic and confront the greatest challenge of all—fighting the legendary Jedi Knights. Following orders from his Sith superiors, he ordered the Mandalorian fleet to blockade the Hydian Way, the Republic's most critical trade route.

With the Mandalorian Blockade in place, the Core Worlds found themselves with no raw goods or supplies to feed the countless trillions of sentients in the Core Worlds. After several pleas from the Republic, a Jedi attack attempted to break the blockade, but was soundly defeated.

The Mandalorians continued the blockade, denying the Republic raw goods and handicapping the Republic's war effort. Eventually, riots broke out on Coruscant, and the Senate began discuss the possibility of surrendering to the Sith.

An unlikely hero proved the savior of the Core Worlds. Hylo Visz, a smuggler motivated by the possibility of great profit in a time of dire need, organized a combined Republic/smuggler fleet to attack the Mandalorian fleet. The assault, led by Visz, was successful beyond the Republic's wildest hopes, and the blockade finally broken.

Battle of Ord RadamaEdit

Sometime later, Imperial forces commanded by Darth Venemal and Malgus attacked Ord Radama in the Outer Rim. The assault was an initial success, as the Sith led their forces to capture the planet's capital city. Holding their conquest, however, would prove to be much more challenging than capturing it had been.

Weeks went by with no resupplies arriving for the Imperial forces. Eventually Republic reinforcements arrived in orbit and destroyed the Imperial fleet tasked there. Damage taken by one of Malgus' Harrower-class Dreadnaughts sent it plummeting into the planetary atmosphere, and it crashed into the capital city–destroying it utterly. With Republic victory certain and Darth Venemal killed, the Sith forces withdrew.

Republic counter-attackEdit

After the Republic victories over the Mandalorian Blockade and at Ord Radama, Republic forces pressed the advantage back into Imperial-held space. Republic strike groups made attacks on Korriban, which Malgus believed to be only feints, while a larger Republic fleet amassed over the Imperial world Ziost.

Republic forces laid siege to the planet, hoping to establish an important foothold inside Imperial space. The Ziost system was within striking distance of the very heart of the Empire; both Korriban and the capital world, Dromund Kaas.

After several months of fighting, Imperial forces regained the upper hand and forced the Republic off the planet.

The Imperial advance continuesEdit

Capture of SerennoEdit

With Ziost defended, the Empire once more turned back on the offensive. Malgus, personally guaranteed by the Dark Council to never again face supply shortages, turned his attention on the Outer Rim world Serenno. Malgus had learned from Imperial Intelligence that a Jedi Master, Ven Zallow, and his contingent had established themselves there.

It was feared that Serenno was a staging ground for establishing a more strategic position, and so Malgus ordered one of the Empire's infiltrators, a high-ranking noble, to do his bidding. Malgus prepared to use his new agent to assassinate Zallow and begin the Jedi's undoing on Serenno.

Moving quickly, Malgus ordered his agent to strike while he mobilized the Imperial fleet under his command. The mission was a partial victory. Zallow had slain the infiltrator and escaped on one of the Republic's ships, but Serenno had been taken with a minimal of effort and resources expended.

Serenno did not welcome the Imperial presence, but Malgus soon put an end to any thoughts of rebellion. Assassins supplied by the Dark Council were unleashed upon the world, and massacred all those who would dare to defy Imperial rule.

Reconquest of Ord RadamaEdit

A few short months later, Malgus was ordered by the Sith Emperor to recapture Ord Radama and avenge the previous Imperial defeat there. Leaving nothing to chance, Malgus decided to personally command a regiment of Force-strong combatants as they moved on the planet's new capital city, New Raido.

The battle dragged on for months, more bloody than the first time the powers had clashed over the planet. Jedi traps repeatedly confounded Imperial efforts, while Malgus enjoyed the bloodbath of wholesale slaughter of both sides.

Battle of Rhen VarEdit

In what would turn out to be the final months of the war, Rhen Var was invaded by Imperial forces under the command of the Sith Lord Darth Mekhis. The swift invasion took the world by storm and the Imperial forces devastated the troops of the Republic.

Imperial victory there, however, would ultimately prove to be short-lived. The remaining Republic troops were rallied by a group of Jedi led by Satele Shan, and drove the Imperial forces back in one of the Republic's last victories of the war.

Sacking of CoruscantEdit

With the Sith Empire's military advance toward the Core halted, Imperial tactics became far more aggressive and desperate as the war entered its third decade. Seven years after the defeat of the Empire's Mandalorian allies at the Hydian Way, the Dark Council stunned the Republic by offering the chance to negotiate a peace treaty.

Senators and Jedi alike agreed that the war could not be won and that, if nothing else, peace negotiations would offer their war-weary troops a respite. Diplomats from both sides traveled to Alderaan to discuss terms of peace. But the Empire's peace overture was a deception.

Even while Republic and Imperial negotiators talked on Alderaan, a large Sith fleet invaded and sacked Coruscant itself, the heart of the Republic. As a team of Sith warriors led by Darth Malgus attacked the Jedi Temple and slaughtered all within, the fleet, led by Darth Angral, bombarded and invaded the planet. Once Coruscant's planetary defenses were destroyed, the Sith destroyed the Jedi Temple outright and blockaded the planet to hold its inhabitants hostage.

Treaty of CoruscantEdit

Faced with no alternatives, the Republic diplomats on Alderaan were forced to agree to the Treaty of Coruscant.

The treaty mandated that all Jedi and Republic forces stand down from combat duties and withdraw into Republic space. It also demanded that the Republic recognize the Empire as the legitimate ruler of half the galaxy, and that the Republic cede to the Empire a number of worlds that had not been conquered by Imperial forces.

While the Republic still stood, the Sith Empire had claimed decisive victory in the war.

AftermathEdit

The treaty forced the Republic to give up many outlying systems to the True Sith Empire.

However, there were forces in the Republic that didn't accept the treaty. There were Republic troops, namely on Dantooine and Balmorra, who refused to withdraw and mutinied to continue the war while another group within the Republic, led by the Jedi Master Dar'Nala, bombed the Senate building to assassinate the Senators who supported the treaty, believing them to be Imperial spies while also planning on ruining the treaty. Dar'Nala also orchestrated a supposed Sith attack on the Envoy in an attempt to neutralize the treaty. However, when Dar'Nala attempted to put the last phase of her plan into action, her madness was revealed to her supporters and they abandoned her, which led to her death. The peace held through after this.

Although his Empire was stronger than ever, the Sith Emperor no longer seemed to desire total conquest. He handed over control of the Empire to the Dark Council, who would oversee the day-to-day affairs of state, and went on to pursue his own mysterious goals as the Sith consolidated their power.

By the end of the war, thousands of Jedi were dead. The Galactic Republic focused its anger on the Jedi, blaming the order for its defeat at the hands of the Sith. Though they were still committed to defending the Republic, the surviving Jedi chose to return to their ancient homeworld of Tython in order to rebuild their strength.

The end of the Great Galactic War set the stage for a Cold War between the Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic in the years that followed. This cold war saw a number of border skirmishes and proxy wars, pushing the two super powers to the brink of another war.

Behind the scenesEdit

The term Great War is an obvious reference to the real-world Great War, which used to be the most common nickname for World War I in the interwar period. After World War II the term fell into disuse though occurs in historical discourse.

AppearancesEdit

• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (First mentioned) (Indirect mention only)
• Return
• Star Wars: The Old Republic, Blood of the Empire
• Hope
• Star Wars: The Old Republic, Threat of Peace Act 1: Treaty of Coruscant (First appearance)
• Deceived
• Star Wars: The Old Republic: Deceived
• Timeline 1: Treaty of Coruscant (Appears in hologram)
• Timeline 2: The Mandalorian Blockade is Broken (Appears in hologram)
• Timeline 5: The Battle of Bothawui (Appears in hologram)
• Timeline 6: Onslaught of the Sith Empire (Appears in hologram)
• Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance (Mentioned only)
• Star Wars: The Old Republic (Mentioned only)

SourcesEdit

• Star Wars: The Old Republic homepage
• Star Wars: The Official Starships & Vehicles Collection 27
• "Class Wars!"—Star Wars Insider 114
• Bouris Ulgo on The Old Republic Holonet
• Chiss on The Old Republic Holonet
• X-70B Phantom on The Old Republic Holonet
• Quesh on The Old Republic Holonet
• Millennium Falcon Owner's Workshop Manual
• The Art and Making of Star Wars: The Old Republic
• "Blaster"—Star Wars Insider 131
• Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side
• The Essential Guide to Warfare
• Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide: Updated and Expanded

Notes and referencesEdit

External linksEdit

• Great Galactic War on Star Wars: The Old Republic Wiki

History of the Jedi Order First Great Schism · Recusal · Second Great Schism Great Hyperspace War · Great Sith War · Mandalorian Wars Jedi Civil War · First Jedi Purge · Great Galactic War · Cold War Second Great Galactic War · New Sith Wars · Republic Dark Age Ruusan Reformation · Great Jedi Purge · New Jedi Order Yuuzhan Vong War · Lost Tribe of Sith emergence Sith–Imperial War · Second Imperial Civil War/Third Jedi Purge [edit]

History of the Sith First Sith Empire · Hundred-Year Darkness · Sith Empire Great Hyperspace War · Old Sith Wars (Great Sith War · Jedi Civil War · Dark Wars · Sith Civil War) Resurgent Sith Empire · Great Galactic War · Cold War · Second Great Galactic War Fourth Great Schism · New Sith Wars (Second Sith Civil War · Republic Dark Age) Order of the Sith Lords · Lumiya's Sith · Lost Tribe of Sith · Lost Tribe of Sith emergence One Sith · Sith–Imperial War · Second Imperial Civil War [edit]