Battle of Utapau/Legends

"In our bones, we knew the war was almost over. The galaxy held its breath, waiting to see which side would make the final, daring move. As fortune would have it, the Republic moved first. After the Chancellor informed the Jedi Council that General Grievous and the Sep leaders were hiding on Utapau, General Kenobi gathered an army large enough to capture three star systems. When the orders reached the 501st, our morale soared. For better or worse, this would be the beginning of the end."

- Entry from the Journal of the 501st

The Battle of Utapau was one of the final battles of the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and Confederacy of Independent Systems, and was one of the last battles of the Outer Rim Sieges. It would prove pivotal due to the death of General Grievous at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi. This was the last major battle before the destruction of the Jedi Order and the fall of the Republic.

Prelude
"There's no war here, unless you brought it with you."

- Tion Medon

After three years of fighting, the Galactic Republic began to gain an advantage over the Confederacy of Independent Systems, many of whose leaders were dead, with the most recent being founding Head of State Count Dooku. Republic Clone Intelligence soon managed to discover the location of General Grievous, who succeeded Dooku as Head of State.

Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi organized a fleet of Venator-class Star Destroyers carrying an army of clones large enough to capture three star systems, led by clone Commander Cody. Some members of the famed 501st Legion were among the clones in Kenobi's force, tasked to set up perimeter defenses around Hangar 10.

Making contact
"Tell your people to seek shelter, and if you have warriors, now is the time."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi, to Tion Medon

Kenobi arrived on Utapau in his Eta-2 Actis-class interceptor under pretense of refueling his ship. He was greeted by Tion Medon, the Port Administrator of Pau City, observed from a distance by one of Grievous' MagnaGuards. Medon revealed that the city was being used as a hiding place by Grievous and his army of battle droids. Not only that, but the droid army was aware of his presence and had ordered Medon to tell Kenobi of their position here. Kenobi sent the droid R4-G9 fly back to the forces and inform the clones of the situation, but he stayed in Pau City to engage Grievous. Kenobi commandeered a varactyl beast named Boga as a mount, and rode in secret to the tenth level of Pau City, where Medon had told him the Separatists were hiding. Infiltrating Hangar 10 of the Lucrehulk core ship Unlimited Projection that served as the Separatists de-facto command center, he went to a platform overlooking the hangar where he witnessed a meeting of the Separatist Council.

Engaging Grievous
"Back away! I will deal with this Jedi slime myself!"

- Grievous

During the meeting with the Separatist leaders, Grievous informed them that he expected an attack by the Republic and was therefore moving them to the planet Mustafar.

After the Separatist Council departed, Kenobi revealed himself. Dropping from the catwalk above the hangar, Kenobi was immediately surrounded by battle droids and confronted by four of Grievous' IG-100 MagnaGuards. Kenobi defeated them quickly, using the Force to dislodge a cargo module hanging from the ceiling and crush three of them, and casually decapitating the lone survivor.



Grievous's troops prepared to open fire on Kenobi, but Grievous called them off. Deciding to challenge Kenobi himself, the cyborg split his arms along their lengths into four separate appendages. Drawing four lightsabers, he then spun them rapidly in a buzzsaw motion and advanced on Kenobi. However, Kenobi slowly retreating before the General before thrusting his lightsaber into the swirling energy blades, engaging Grievous in a spectacular, though brief, display of swordsmanship.

Grievous unleashed a flurry of unpredictable attacks and blows, ramping up the attack until he was demonstrating over twenty blows per second. However, he remained unable to penetrate Kenobi's defense, so he ramped up his attacks even further. Kenobi, his defense finally beginning to get overloaded, altered the angle of one of his parries. Kenobi's blade, instead of intercepting Grievous's blade, sliced the cyborg's left lower wrist.

Staring in surprise at his smoking stump, Grievous lunged in another attack. After another brief bout of fencing, another of Grievous' lightsabers, still clutched in his metal hand, bounced on the deck.

At that moment, Cody and the clone army arrived. While Kenobi and Grievous battled, several dozen clones managed to infiltrate the Unlimited Projection and they quickly attacked the droid soldiers.

Clone cavalry
"Army or not, you must realize you are doomed!"

- Grievous

Commander Cody led the 212th Attack Battalion in the assault on the Separatist forces in Pau City, aided by native warriors who also wished to drive the Separatists away. Two battalions attacked full force, with the third in reserve to provide reinforcements and cover escape routes. Hailfire droids attempted to repel the clones quickly, but they were destroyed by the clone flagship, Vigilance.

Troopers of the 501st captured several security posts in the Utapaun cities themselves, linking up with Kenobi in the Unlimited Projection hangar. Once they took down two AA turrets, heavy LAAT/i firepower support wiped out droids in the hangar. They dealt a final blow by taking out a large CIS power complex, leaving the troops in Utapau in disarray.

Grievous in retreat
"One more leap, Boga! Bring me even with him!"

- Obi-Wan Kenobi encourages Boga during his pursuit of Grievous.

When the Republic forces arrived, Grievous prepared to resume the duel, advancing on his opponent. However, Kenobi Force Pushed the general, sending him flying up and crashing against the ceiling. Dropping his two remaining lightsabers as he plummeted to the hangar floor, an unarmed Grievous chose to flee. Grievous crawled insectlike to his wheel bike and mounted it, speeding out of the hangar and dropping to the lower levels of the city, crushing everything in his path as he raced towards the docking platform where his private ship waited. Kenobi pursued on his varactyl, Boga, but lost his lightsaber after the jarring impact on the way down.

Kenobi pursued Grievous in a furious chase through the streets of Pau City as the battle raged around them. As Kenobi caught up to the General, Grievous thrust at Boga with an electrostaff he stashed in the wheelbike. Kenobi managed to grab hold of the shaft of the weapon and wrench it from the cyborg's hands. Kenobi then attempted to destroy the wheels on Grievous's vehicle with it before attacking the General himself with it. Grievous managed to regain hold of it, and pulled it back, and Kenobi along with it. As the two grappled for control of the wheel bike, Grievous pulled out a blaster and attempted to shoot Kenobi, though the Jedi evaded the shots. Unfortunately, Kenobi's movements off-balanced the wheelbike, causing it to flip as they arrived at Grievous' landing platform. While they were thrown off, the bike skidded off the platform and fell into the sink hole below.

The death of Grievous
The two opponent's recovered quickly, Kenobi brandishing the electrostaff against the blaster-wielding Grievous. Disarming the General, Kenobi began unleashing a series of jabs against the cyborg's torso, knocking Grievous over. Grievous retaliated with a kick that threw Kenobi across the platform. As Kenobi regained his feet, Grievous closed the distance, engaging Kenobi in a melee. While Grievous' mechanical exoskeleton provided him with a clear advantage, Kenobi managed to pry apart the armorplast plates protecting Grievous's internal organs before being thrown to the ground. Kenobi counter-attacked by kicking Grievous's leg, but only injured himself against the hard durasteel.

Grievous grabbed Kenobi by the collar and threw him across the platform, with Kenobi barely managing to grab onto the edge. Grievous retrieved the electrostaff and advanced on Kenobi to deliver the killing blow. Desperately hanging from the edge, Kenobi used the Force to summon Grievous' blaster to his hand. Blasting through the gaps in the general's armorplast chestplates at the exposed organs, he ignited the tissue. Grievous's internal organs combusted violently, painfully killing the Separatist general.

Continued fighting
"Now, let's get a move on. We've got a battle to win here."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi

Despite the destruction of the Droid Control antennae aboard the Unlimited Projection, the droid army continued fighting. However, they were hammered into submission by the persistent fire of the LAAT gunships. Hangar 10 was secured by the 501st. Anti-aircraft turrets stationed in the hangar opened fire on the incoming LAAT reinforcements dropping off tanks in the hangar, but the 501st disabled the threat. From the hangar, they launched an attack on another Confederate outpost with TX-130S fighter tanks.

The outpost was pelted by LAATs and hover tanks and was destroyed. The destruction of the CIS main ATX energy pillar assisted a rousing Republic victory. Kenobi, astride Boga, rejoined the clones, having his lightsaber returned to him by Commander Cody before charging up a cliff ledge towards the Separatist headquarters.

Order 66
"Commander Cody, the time has come. Execute Order 66.''" "''Yes, my Lord."

- Palpatine and Commander Cody

It was then that Commander Cody received a message from Palpatine, instructing him to execute Order 66. Cody ordered an AT-TE walker to fire its main cannon at Obi-Wan, who was ascending the cliff heading up to the Separatist headquarters. Boga somehow sensed the danger and jumped in front of the shot, saving Kenobi, who fell into the sinkhole below. Cody dispatched probe droids to the sinkhole floor find the Jedi's body and ascertain whether he was dead or alive. However, Cody's probes were devoured by the local cave-monsters, which Kenobi had Force-tricked into believing were actually delicacies. Kenobi then used stealth and discreet violence to make his way up to Pau City and to Grievous's starfighter. He then fled Utapau.

Aftermath
"With the death of General Grievous at the hands of General Kenobi, the Utapau raid had broken the back of the Separatists."

- 501st clone trooper

The clones, after a long period of fighting, eventually triumphed in Pau City. However, as the CIS controlled other sinkhole cities on Utapau&mdash;as to control the entire planet&mdash;the fighting would continue until the deactivation of the droid army by Darth Vader on Mustafar a short period of time later.

Behind the scenes
In the video game adaptation of Revenge of the Sith, the Utapau levels of the game totally disregard Boga. Also, Grievous is killed after being stabbed in the gut by Kenobi and roasted as his armor malfunctioned. During the Order 66 level, the clones fire at Kenobi from a LAAT rather then firing an AT-TE cannon at him, which would result in Kenobi retreating through the battlefield, killing many clones and walkers and disabling a Juggernaut.

In the novel version of Revenge of the Sith, it is said that Darth Sidious planned this battle to keep Anakin's mentor away from him and to possibly eliminate Grievous.

Appearances

 * LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
 * Star Wars: Battlefront II
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith novel
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith video game
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith junior novel
 * Order 66: A Republic Commando Novel
 * Star Wars: Grievous Getaway
 * Republic Commando: Order 66