Second Battle of Geonosis/Legends

The second battle on Geonosis took place early in the Clone Wars when the Jedi Order and Galactic Republic launched a full-scale planetary invasion of Geonosis to shut down several Separatist battle droid foundries that Archduke Poggle the Lesser had built on the planet with funding from the InterGalactic Banking Clan and Trade Federation. Following Senator Padmé Amidala's discovery of the droid factories, the Jedi High Council dispatched a massive Jedi-led detachment of the Grand Army of the Republic to retake Geonosis and halt the facilities' production of droids. Tasked with the challenge of landing on the planet and establishing a staging area, the Jedi mounted a three-pronged attack on the Geonosian defenses. Jedi Generals Ki-Adi-Mundi, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Anakin Skywalker each led an assault force and rendezvoused at a site a short ways from the ray shield protecting the factories. The Republic army regrouped and took out the shield generator, making way for the rest of the troops to land.

In order to destroy Poggle the Lesser's near-completed main droid foundry, Generals Skywalker and Luminara Unduli engaged the battle droids outside the factory in open warfare while their respective Padawans, Ahsoka Tano and Barriss Offee, sneaked into the facility via the catacombs beneath it. As their Masters battled the droids and newly-designed super tanks on the bridge leading to the factory, the Padawans were intercepted by Poggle the Lesser and his tactical droid, TX-21. Tano and Offee were forced to use a super tank to blast the facility's reactor, but were rescued by Skywalker and Unduli from the rubble of the factory once the droid foundry had fallen. Poggle the Lesser, however, had survived his factory's destruction and was still at large. As the Republic mounted a campaign to apprehend the Separatist leader, Unduli spearheaded the search, leaving the other Jedi to complete the cleanup on Geonosis.

Following Poggle the Lesser to the abandoned Progate Temple, Unduli herself was captured by the Archduke and taken to the lair of the legendary Geonosian Queen Karina the Great in the catacombs below. Tracking Unduli's last known location, Kenobi and Skywalker set out with a clone platoon to rescue the Jedi Master. After battling hordes of "undead" Geonosian warriors that the Queen was controlling through her brain worm parasites, the Jedi and their troops found Unduli, who was being held hostage by the Geonosian Queen and Archduke at the former's underground lair. Although Queen Karina wished to induct the captive Jedi Master and her newly-arrived comrades into her ranks of mind-controlled warriors, Skywalker, Kenobi, and their men managed to save Unduli and escaped with a captive Poggle the Lesser. The Jedi and their troops destroyed much of the Geonosian Queen's lair on their way out, burying her and her warriors beneath the Temple.

Intrigue on Cato Neimoidia
"This investment by the Banking Clan will create unimaginable new war profits. The largest droid factory ever built.''" "''As long as the Republic doesn't find out."

- Senators Rush Clovis and Lott Dod conspire on Poggle the Lesser's newly-rebuilt primary droid foundry

After the historic opening battle of the Clone Wars on the planet Geonosis, the Confederacy of Independent Systems built a series of new battle droid foundries on the Outer Rim world. As the new factories began to manufacture thousands of droids for the Separatist Droid Army, the facilities were kept secret from the Galactic Republic. Both the InterGalactic Banking Clan and Trade Federation conglomerates of the Confederacy made investments in the primary droid foundry rebuilt by Archduke Poggle the Lesser &mdash;who had been humiliated during the Battle of Geonosis and saw the factory as his redemption &mdash;to profit from the factory's war earnings, with the Trade Federation signing its holdings off to the Banking Clan and thereby becoming indebted to its fellow Separatist-allied corporation.

As Senator Lott Dod of the Trade Federation and Senator Rush Clovis of the Banking Clan delegation prepared to meet on the former's homeworld, Cato Neimoidia, to discuss their investments in the foundry, the Jedi High Council&mdash;correctly suspecting Clovis of involvement in a Separatist conspiracy&mdash;recruited Senator Padmé Amidala to spy on the Banking Clan Senator. Amidala, who had previously had a personal relationship with Clovis, agreed to the mission. Amidala was able to secure a personal invitation to accompany Clovis and, with her secret husband, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, as her bodyguard, went with the Banking Clan Senator to Cato Neimoidia.

Arriving at Dod's palace, Clovis met in secret with Dod and Poggle the Lesser, who had also arrived to participate in the deliberations. The Trade Federation Senator and Archduke both attempted to negotiate for greater shares in the investment, but Clovis refused to change the terms of the agreement. However, Dod, witnessing Clovis's affection for Amidala, secretly poisoned the latter to force the Banking Clan Senator to change his mind. Shortly after stealing a disc containing the droid foundry's tactical coordinates from a hologram projector in the palace's library, Amidala fainted from the effects of the poison. Threatening Dod with a blaster, Clovis secured the antidote to the poison and gave it to Skywalker. Helping Amidala to her J-type star skiff and administering the medicine, Skywalker departed Cato Neimoidia with the Senator and the disc, leaving the stranded Clovis to face Dod, Poggle the Lesser, and a squad of B1 battle droids.

Preparations for an invasion
Returning to the galactic capital of Coruscant, Skywalker and Amidala reported their findings to the Jedi Council. Clone Captain CC-7567, nicknamed "Rex," was dispatched with a contingent of the Grand Army of the Republic's 501st Legion to perform a reconnaissance of Geonosis. Upon arrival in orbit of the world, Captain Rex and his men were unable to establish contact with the clone troopers on the planet's surface but discovered the droid foundries being constructed in the planet's northern and southern hemispheres. Rex transmitted his planetary scans to the Jedi Temple with the advisement that a full-scale invasion would be required to retake Geonosis. Receiving the report, the Jedi Council decided to send High Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi Generals Ki-Adi-Mundi and Luminara Unduli to lead the Grand Army's attack on the droid foundries. Generals Plo Koon and Skywalker and the latter's Padawan, Commander Ahsoka Tano, were meanwhile assigned to reinforce the planet Dorin, which had been attacked by a Separatist fleet led by Confederate General Grievous in an effort to keep the Jedi's attention away from Geonosis.

Mundi, Kenobi, and Unduli departed Coruscant alongside Admiral Wullf Yularen with a massive invasion fleet comprised of Venator-class Star Destroyers and Acclamator I-class assault ships. After the invasion force had arrived in Geonosian space and entered the planet's orbit, Skywalker and Tano&mdash;having who had met with success in their intervention at Dorin, joined Mundi and Kenobi on the bridge of a Star Destroyer at the head of the fleet. With their ships in position, the four Jedi opened a communication to the Outer Rim Command and conferred with Jedi Generals Unduli, Yoda, and Mace Windu, and Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. Based on intelligence they had received, Mundi and Kenobi concluded that Poggle the Lesser was holed up within his primary droid factory, which was protected by a massive ray shield.

With their primary target being the shield generator, the Jedi planned to execute a three-pronged attack on the Geonosian defenses. Mundi and Clone Commander Jet would lead the northern advance, while Kenobi and Clone Commander CC-2224, nicknamed "Cody," commenced the central push. Skywalker, Tano, and Captain Rex, meanwhile, would execute the southern assault with their forces. The troops would rendezvous at a point a short distance away from the shield and converge on the generator to eliminate the threat and establish a defensive perimeter to their staging area. Although Tano noted that the defenses were heavily fortified, particularly a large wall armored with artillery emplacements, Skywalker believed that their approach would not lead them to the barricade. With their planning complete, the Jedi split up to mobilize forces for the coming battle.

Rough landing
The Republic's capital ships descended upon Geonosis and began disgorging BTL-B Y-wing starfighters, LAAT/i gunships, and LAAT carriers ferrying All Terrain Tactical Enforcers to the surface in heavy numbers. Kenobi's assault force was the first to take flight, with Kenobi leading the way in his gunship, Bad Kitty. Kenobi and his gunships were attacked heavily by Geonosian proton and LR1K gun emplacements below as well as Nantex-class territorial defense starfighters from above. The Y-wing starfighters provided covering fire, initiating an attack run on the Separatist gunners. With Kenobi's operation underway, Skywalker's detachment&mdash;including Captain Rex and Commander Tano&mdash;departed shortly afterward, followed by General Mundi's and Commander Jet's forces. The gunship carrying Skywalker, Tano, and Rex was one of the first to be shot down, but the Jedi's team managed to break free from the wreckage and used the fallen craft as cover from the nearby Geonosian gunners and blaster cannons. Meanwhile, Mundi ordered Commander Cody to release the AT-TE walkers shortly before the Jedi Master's gunship, Separatist Nightmare, fell from heavy fire as well.

Cody landed with his troops and AT-TEs to be greeted by incoming Geonosian fighters. Although the clone commander told Kenobi not to land because of the Separatists' imposing danger, the Jedi Master was forced to land anyway when Bad Kitty was shot down by the Geonosians. The gunship hit the surface and skidded across the ground before coming to a stop, leaving only Kenobi and trooper Trapper to survive the crash. An injured Mundi and Commander Jet pulled themselves out of the remains of their gunship, which was just one of many to have been shot down in the area. Jet reported that only Kenobi's forces had made it to the landing zone, while Skywalker's AT-TE walkers had been decimated in his ongoing firefight with the Geonosians. Skywalker would continue to press on to the rendezvous point to meet with Kenobi. Mundi ordered the injured men among his forces to be loaded onto the AT-TE walkers with the objective of pressing on through a nearby bridge to meet up with the rest of the troops. Meanwhile, Captain Rex reported to Skywalker that Kenobi would be unable to give support, as the Jedi Master himself had been shot down. Left on their own, Skywalker and Tano provided cover for Rex and the rest of their troops to rush the Separatist blaster cannons.

In the meantime, Cody organized his LAAT/i gunships and AT-TE walkers in a circular defensive formation. In the midst of exchanging heavy fire with the attacking sonic blaster–wielding Geonosians and their Armored Assault Tanks, Cody ordered troopers Waxer and Boil to search Kenobi's gunship &mdash;which had been located five kilometers away &mdash;for survivors. The two Advanced Recon Force trooper scouts raced across the battlefield and were able to find and rescue Kenobi and Trapper from the gunship's wreckage. As Waxer and Boil helped the injured pair back to the established base, Cody had his men provide the group covering fire from the advancing Separatist tanks and Geonosian-mounted Flitknot speeders. Upon his arrival, Kenobi was treated by a medic and updated on the situation by Cody. Surrounded by the Geonosians, Kenobi noted that they simply had to hold out until Generals Skywalker and Mundi arrived. Mundi was in the process of cutting through a massive caltrop field so that his AT-TE walkers could move through the obstacles. Commander Jet conferred with Admiral Yularen via comlink and requested air support, but the starfighter forces were engaged in the planetary invasion elsewhere. Yularen was only able to offer his vantage point as a resource to locate Skywalker, whom he found to be pressing toward the eastern barrier&mdash;the site of the Geonosians' armored barricade

Skywalker, Tano, Rex, and their men arrived at the massive gun emplacement fortress and were forced to take cover from the assailing B1 battle droids and B2 super battle droids high above. With the large amounts of laser barrages from above, Skywalker and Tano each took a backpack filled with thermal detonators and ran toward the adjacent cliff, used grappling hooks to scale the face in order to set their charges to topple the wall. Captain Rex joined the two Jedi on the top of the barrier, helping them to defeat a pair droidekas that were soon deployed from hatches. After Skywalker and Tano had tossed their primed detonator–full backpacks into the hatches, they and Rex jumped off the wall shortly before it exploded. The Jedi used the Force to slow their fall and hold back the rubble. With the wall destroyed, Skywalker, Tano, and their forces pressed toward Kenobi's position. Meanwhile, Mundi split up his own troops, sending his AT-TE walkers to take a longer route to the rendezvous point while he himself went with a squad to examine a shortcut through a cave. There, the Jedi Master and his men were besieged by several groups of Geonosian warriors.

Although his men sustained heavy losses from the Geonosians, Mundi was able to cut through the grotto. At the other side of the cave, the Jedi Master had his flamethrower-wielding clone troopers fire their weapons at the Geonosians, killing most of them and unblocking the path out of the cave. Skywalker, Tano, Rex, and their detachment arrived to find the smoldering Geonosians falling out of the clifftop cave. Joining forces with Mundi, Skywalker contacted Admiral Yularen to request air support. Having reallocated resources since Commander Jet's previous request, Yularen dispatched a free Y-wing squadron to the rendezvous point, where Kenobi and Cody were suffering numerous casualties at the hands of the Geonosians initiating flying attacks from the sky and attack runs on the ground. As the Jedi Master prepared to take up arms alongside his men in what he believed would be a final stand against the Geonosians, the Y-wing bombers arrived, dropping their munitions on the advancing Separatist tanks. With the rest of his troops pressing on, Kenobi was greeted by the arrival of Skywalker, Tano, Mundi, and the rest of the forces.

The Jedi and their clone officers convened on the task still at hand: the destruction of the shield generator. Skywalker would lead a small squad into the shield and jam the Geonosians' scanners, rendering them unable to target the incoming AT-TE walkers. Once the walkers had taken out the shield, Mundi would then bring the rest of the troops in with the gunships. After all of the Republic forces were in position, Skywalker and Tano initiated their attack and charged through the shield with their men. Exchanging fire with the Geonosians, the Jedi and troopers took cover and threw EMP grenades at the proton and LR1K cannons, temporarily disabling the Separatist guns. Unopposed by heavy fire, the AT-TE walkers marched through the shield and blasted the artillery stations and shield generator. As the shield was deactivated, Mundi and his gunships landed with additional reinforcements. All of the Geonosians in the area were forced to surrender, and the injured Generals Kenobi and Mundi were taken away in the gunships with Skywalker's expectations to see both of them back in action by the time the main droid foundry had been destroyed.

Attack on the foundry
"Every Geonosian building has a series of catacombs beneath it that run deep underground.''" "Some of the tunnels are close enough to this cliff wall that you could cut an entry point." "''Once inside, we could find the main reactor, plant the explosives, and blow the factory inside out."

- Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee

Skywalker's forces combined with Mundi's remaining troops and formed a staging area a short way from the only bridge that crossed the deep canyon isolating Poggle the Lesser's near-completed primary foundry. Anticipating stiff resistance from the factory's Geonosian defenders, Republic commanders dispatched General Luminara Unduli and her Padawan, Barriss Offee, with reinforcements. Leading the way in their gunship, Dooku Boot, the two Jedi arrived with more troops and gunships and met with Skywalker and Tano to discuss the impending attack on the droid foundry. Although Skywalker had been preparing for a direct assault on the factory via the bridge, Unduli offered an alternative to minimize their casualties. The catacombs under the facility provided a means to infiltrate the building and plant explosives at the main reactor, effectively destroying the foundry from the inside. As Unduli had already had her Padawan memorize all 200 of the labyrinth's junctions, the mission to sneak into and destroy the droid factory fell to Tano and Offee. Unduli and Skywalker, meanwhile, would launch a forward assault on the facility's main entrance to provide the Padawans with a distraction.

The four Jedi set their plan into motion, synchronizing chronometers in order to monitor the Padawans' progress. While Tano and Offee began to descend the chasm to reach the entry point to the catacombs at the bottom of the canyon, Skywalker, Unduli, and Captain Rex mobilized their men and marched their troops and AT-TE walkers toward the bridge parade-style. Despite the Republic's risky lack of cover, the Jedi intended to make their attack tempting. Poggle the Lesser and his T-series tactical droid, TX-21, rose to the bait and deployed a large force of B1 and B2 battle droids to defend the factory. As the two Jedi Generals led their men to charge the droids, they found themselves confronted by groups of flying Geonosians launching surprise attacks from several spires behind them. In the canyon, Tano and Offee made it to the other side of the trough, where the latter cut a hole in the canyon wall and opened the entrance to the catacombs. The two Padawans made their way through the dense labyrinth and through a room of sleeping Geonosian warriors, remaining unaware that they were being followed by a Geonosian that they had accidentally awoken.

Back on the surface, Skywalker and Unduli continued to cut through the opposing battle droids, and a clone used a Z-6 rotary blaster cannon to take out the attacking sonic blaster–wielding Geonosians. With the appearance of several droideka squads, Rex sent a trooper forward with a rocket launcher, who quickly destroyed the Separatist droids. The Geonosians' advance forces were further depleted by heavy fire from the Republic's AT-TE walkers. In response, Poggle the Lesser authorized TX-21 to send out twenty units of their newly-developed super tanks. The massive vehicles were deployed from the foundry, and despite their attempt to halt the tanks' advance with AV-7 Antivehicle Cannons, the Jedi and troopers were unable to stop the ray shielded tanks' approach. Inside the droid factory, Tano and Offee arrived at the control room and planted their thermal detonator charges at the main generator. Learning of the two Jedi's presence from the Geonosian spy, Poggle the Lesser and TX-21 personally took a squad of Geonosian warriors and a super tank to greet the intruders. After activating their explosives, the Padawans' escape was cut short by the arrival of Poggle and his defense forces.

Outside the foundry, Skywalker and Unduli learned from their chronometers that Tano and Offee had placed and activated the bombs. Immediately thereafter, the Separatist tanks released a barrage of fire that wiped out the Republic's artillery line and AT-TE walkers, causing heavy casualties all the while. While the super tank kept Tano and Offee occupied, the Geonosians collected the primed explosives. Poggle the Lesser entrusted his troops to halt the Jedi's plan while he himself departed. Tano threw an explosive charge at the tank that destroyed TX-21 but barely put a scratch in the massive vehicle. Although Tano attempted to retrieve the bombs from the Geonosians, jumping and hanging onto the flying warriors, she was knocked against the reactor and temporarily rendered unconscious. Forced to defend the fallen Padawan from the super tank's laser fire, Offee was unable to prevent the Geonosians from escaping into a hatch with the bombs. In the meantime, Skywalker and Unduli ordered their men to fall back in order to lure the tanks onto the bridge, which the two Jedi Generals intended to destroy and eliminate the tanks in the only way they saw possible. The clones' retreat baited the tanks onto the pass, and the Jedi Generals swung under the bridge and across its underbelly, planting explosives along its length.

Reaching the other side, Skywalker and Unduli detonated the charges, collapsing the bridge and sending the tanks tumbling into the abyss. Even with the arrival of evacuation ships, Skywalker refused to leave without his Padawan, who was unresponsive to his transmissions. The two Jedi Generals' refusal to retreat forced them to face the lines of B1 battle droids deployed from the foundry. Inside the control room, Offee commandeered the super tank and disabled its droid operators. A revived Tano joined Offee inside the vehicle, where the pair contemplated their dilemma: without the bombs, they would be unable to destroy the foundry. However, the Padawans chose to employ the alternative of using the tank to fire at the generator, despite knowing that they would be unable to escape the explosion. Once the Padawans had relayed their decision to their Masters, who were battling the droids outside, Tano and Offee opened fire on the reactor, causing a massive chain of explosions to bring the foundry down.

Unable to help their Padawans, Skywalker and Unduli took cover as their droid adversaries were crushed by debris and watched in shock as their Padawans' sacrifice blasted the droid foundry to pieces. Once the dust had settled and the smoke cleared, Skywalker desperately tried to contact Tano with his comlink to no avail. The determined Jedi General ordered the Republic's LAAT carriers to begin lifting the debris to search for the Padawans. Trapped with Offee in the tank deep below the surface with a limited air supply, Tano used a power cell to boost her communicator's reception and signal Skywalker to their position. Receiving the pulse on his Padawan's comlink channel, Skywalker led Unduli and the clones to site of the trapped pair. With time running out, the two Jedi Generals chose not to wait for the Republic's heavy machinery to move the debris and instead used the Force to levitate it themselves. Tano and Offee emerged from the wreckage, coughing and grimly but alive, and were reunited with their Masters.

Notes and references
Zweite Schlacht von Geonosis Second Battle of Geonosis