Battle of Ryloth/Legends

"The Twi'leks on that planet can't wait for long, Master. The longer the Techno Union keeps control of Ryloth, the more difficult it'll be to free them." "I agree. We don't have much time."

- Anakin Skywalker and Mace Windu

The Battle of Ryloth took place on the Twi'lek homeworld of Ryloth during the Clone Wars, the galaxy-wide conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Seeking to steal the treasures of Corporate Alliance Magistrate and fellow Separatist Council member Passel Argente, while scoring another victory for the Confederacy, Emir Wat Tambor commanded the invasion of the planet, and subjugated the Twi'lek people. Tambor also blockaded the planet, placing Neimoidian Captain Mar Tuuk in charge of the Confederacy fleet, and tactical droid TX-20 in charge of the proton cannons of the city Nabat. Meanwhile, Tambor himself made headquarters for himself in the conquered capital of Lessu.

Jedi Masters Mace Windu and Obi-Wan Kenobi, along with Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan Ahsoka Tano, were dispatched by the Jedi Council to liberate the planet. The Jedi were accompanied by a contingent of the Grand Army of the Republic, the Republic's clone army manufactured for the war. Emir Tambor commanded the defense from Lessu–a defense which included the use of living shields and indiscriminate bombings. General Skywalker and Commander Tano's forces of three Venator-class cruisers initially suffered losses and retreated, but returned to the system and were able to eliminate Captain Tuuk's blockade. The transports were able to move in; however, they were unable to land in the city of Nabat because of fire from the Confederacy's proton cannons. High General Kenobi, Clone Commander Cody and the GAR unit Ghost Company destroyed the cannons, and after the transports landed, the ground forces were deployed under Windu's command and headed for the capital of Lessu. Meanwhile, Skywalker and Tano secured the space around Ryloth, and General Kenobi headed down to retake the southern hemisphere.

Windu, Clone Commander Ponds and Lightning Squadron headed to the capital in AT-TE walkers, but were attacked on a cliffside path by Confederacy tanks. Windu and his forces defeated the tanks, but suffered losses, and Windu decided to enlist the help of Twi'lek General Cham Syndulla of the freedom fighters&mdash;the planet's resistance against the Confederacy invasion. However, Syndulla was at political odds with his planet's Twi'lek senator, Orn Free Taa. After Emir Tambor began a firebombing campaign of several villages in the area, Syndulla finally set aside his differences with Senator Taa, and joined Windu and his forces. After Windu was able to activate the city's plasma bridge&mdash;the only access to the city&mdash;with ARF troopers Razor and Stak, the combined forces of Lightning Squadron and the freedom fighters entered the city and routed the Confederacy, ending their occupation there. After Tambor's own tactical droid escaped with the Emir's shuttle and left him stranded, Windu was able to capture the Techno Union foreman.

Prelude
"Droid! Is Ryloth one of our targeted worlds?" "Yes, Emir. According to wealth, resources, and overall strategic value, it is currently ranked as number seventy-nine." "Mobilize our troops. We are moving it to number one."

- Wat Tambor and TA-175



During the Clone Wars, the galaxy-wide conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, Techno Union Foreman Wat Tambor came to distrust fellow Separatist Council member and Corporate Alliance Magistrate Passel Argente. Tambor used Trandoshan scavenger and droid dealer Gha Nachkt to place a spy droid close to the Koorivar, and was able to track his movements across the galaxy. Argente arrived in Ryloth's capital city of Lessu to meet with Artruk, a broker hired to conceal Argente's treasures pilfered from conquered worlds. Tambor witnessed the meeting, and seeking to claim Argente's treasures, ordered that Ryloth be moved to top priority for a Confederacy invasion.

Tambor seized control of Ryloth, placing a blockade over the planet under the command of Neimoidian Captain Mar Tuuk. On the surface below, the Twi'leks were forced from their homes and starved. Tambor placed tactical droids in command of occupied Ryloth's defenses while he took up residence in the capital city of Lessu.

Shortly after the invasion, the Jedi Council received a plea from the Galactic Senate for assistance. Ryloth's senator and Loyalist Committee member, Twi'lek Orn Free Taa, requested that his planet be freed from the Confederate oppression, and remained by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's side during the conflict. The Jedi Council devised a plan to invade and liberate Ryloth: Jedi General Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan, Commander Ahsoka Tano, would breach the Confederacy blockade surrounding the planet. This would allow Jedi Generals Mace Windu and Obi-Wan Kenobi to land with the invasion force, consisting of several units of the Republic's clone army manufactured for the Clone Wars, the Grand Army of the Republic.

The Twi'lek resistance
"Isn't this the spot where they were...massacred?" "Looks like it was a hell of a fight."

- Stak and Razor, upon seeing the remains of Cazne



Following Tambor's subjugation of the planet, Twi'lek Cham Syndulla organized and led the Twi'lek freedom fighters, a resistance movement focused on liberating Ryloth from the invaders. His forces were the first to combat the Confederate droids, and the resistance suffered heavily in the confrontation in the Cazne flatlands. The battle resulted in severe scarring and cratering of the land, and many Confederate ships and transports were destroyed. However, Syndulla's forces were forced to go into hiding as the droids continued to hunt them down. The freedom fighters created hideouts within the shells of downed C-9979 landing crafts and destroyed MTTs. The bases not only housed soldiers, but refugees as well, providing a safe haven for any Twi'lek fortunate enough to escape capture.

In the city of Nabat, the Twi'leks were taken from their homes and forced into imprisonment. TX-20, the tactical droid in charge of the town, took it upon himself to have the Twi'leks placed near proton cannons. The prisoners would act as living shields, preventing any liberating forces from attacking the guns. However, the Twi'lek child Numa was able to avoid capture, and hid in the empty town and the tunnels beneath it; the girl would later be of assistance to General Kenobi. TX-20 planned to use gutkurrs&mdash;large, two-legged creatures&mdash;for defense against any attack, and kept the animals starved in cages, so as to make them more vicious when released.

Breaking the blockade
"Our blockade is impenetrable. When the Republic attacks, they will get quite a surprise."

- Mar Tuuk to Wat Tambor

The first wave of the Republic assault was lead by General Skywalker, Commander Tano and Admiral Wullf Yularen. Their task force of three Venator-class destroyers was charged with breaking Captain Tuuk's blockade in orbit of Ryloth. Upon emergence from hyperspace, the Resolute, Defender and Redeemer engaged Tuuk's forces, comprised of a Lucrehulk-class droid control ship flanked by two Munificent-class frigates.

Tano, in her first command position, took Blue Squadron into battle against advancing Vulture droids. With the droid fighters occupied, Tano hoped to be able to make a successful attack run on the blockade. However, Captain Tuuk had planned for an attack, and ordered his reinforcements to join the battle. Four additional Munificent-class frigates arrived out of hyperspace and engaged the attacking Republic fleet, prompting Admiral Yularen and General Skywalker to order Tano back to the cruisers for a retreat. Tano, confident in her ability to break the blockade, disobeyed the order and continued toward the enemy, losing many of her pilots along the way. When Vulture droids began to break Republic lines, Tano acquiesced and attempted to return to the Resolute, but the cruiser was already suffering under repeated impacts from Vulture droids on suicide runs. A single droid fighter slammed into the bridge where General Skywalker and Admiral Yularen stood.

Tano had lost the majority of her squadron by the time she returned, with only two of the original ten fighters in her squadron surviving the battle. Admiral Yularen was critically injured, the Redeemer was destroyed under increasing fire, and both the Resolute and the Defender were forced to retreat in flames. Captain Tuuk had successfully repelled the Republic offensive, and began preparations for Skywalker's inevitable return. The Republic fleet regrouped outside of the combat zone in order to take an accounting of the fallen and tend to the wounded.

After consoling a severely dejected Tano, Skywalker conferred with Generals Windu and Kenobi. He delivered the report of their failure, and was given one planetary rotation to breach the blockade, despite only half his original forces remaining. In an attempt to both bolster Tano's confidence and complete his mandate, Skywalker devised a plan to ram the heavily damaged Defender into the blockade's lead ship. Skywalker evacuated the Defender, moving all crew and supplies to the Resolute, and he and astromech droid R2-D2 took control of the Defender, while command of the remaining fleet was given to Tano.

Skywalker piloted the Defender back to the Ryloth system and offered himself, the ship, and its crew to Captain Tuuk, in exchange for the passage of food and medical supplies to the Twi'lek people. Tuuk accepted, eager for the glory that would come with capturing the famed General Skywalker. Only after a complete scan of the Defender, however, did Tuuk realize that there was only one life form aboard. Tuuk ordered the ship destroyed; however, the cruiser could not be stopped, even by the combined firepower of all the ships in the blockade. The Defender smashed straight into the center sphere of the control ship, shortly after Skywalker and R2-D2 fled in an escape pod. Tuuk escaped the ship before its destruction, leaving the droids in charge of the remaining fleet.

Meanwhile, Tano was to command the Resolute and engage the remaining Confederacy fleet of six Munificent-class frigates. After conferring with Clone Captain Rex, a navigation officer and Admiral Yularen, Tano planned to angle the bottom hull of the Resolute towards the blockade, thereby protecting the bridge and main hangar. This classic Marg Sabl maneuver would draw the frigates in, allowing them to be outflanked by the Resolute's bombers.

The Resolute came out of hyperspace and began to move into position. The confused Confederate forces closed in, and Tano proceeded to lead a squadron of BTL-B Y-wing fighters and V-19 torrent fighters against the Munificent-class frigates. The Republic fighters managed to eliminate the Confederacy blockade shortly before the arrival of Masters Windu and Kenobi's invasion force, comprised of three Acclamator-class assault ships. While Generals Windu and Kenobi prepared to land, Skywalker's escape pod was retrieved by a shuttle, leaving he and Tano to finish securing the space around Ryloth.



Landing on the planet
"We can't risk landing the larger transports until you take out those guns!" "Pull back. We'll take care of it."

- Mace Windu and Obi-Wan Kenobi

General Kenobi landed in the city of Nabat with Ghost Company aboard the Crumb Bomber and other LAAT/i gunships. Although their mission was to retake the city, Ghost Company was forced to limit themselves to blasters and droid poppers, so as not to destroy the Twi'leks' homes. However, the proton cannons attacked the Acclamator assault ships above. One transport was destroyed, and General Windu tasked Kenobi with destroying the cannons to allow the transports to land, before pulling out of the area with the transports to prevent further damage.

After utilizing the EMP grenades and taking out the droids in a bunker on the outskirts of the city, Kenobi and his clone forces entered the village and set up a temporary camp. Commander Cody went to scout ahead with clone troopers Wooley, Waxer and Boil. After discovering that the Twi'leks were being held hostage, Cody and Wooley returned and reported their findings to Generals Kenobi and Windu. Unfortunately, a recon droid sent by tactical droid commander TX-20 was spying on them, and overheard their conference. Soon after, the tactical droid ordered the captured and starved gutkurrs released to destroy the Republic forces.

Waxer and Boil, who had meanwhile stumbled across the young Twi'lek girl Numa, were the first to encounter the creatures, and managed to escape into a secret underground passage in Numa's home. Kenobi and Ghost Company ran into the creatures, but Kenobi managed to lure the gutkurrs into an alley with the Force, and they were trapped after Cody and his men blasted the bridge above the entrance. Waxer and Boil appeared out of the tunnels with Numa. Kenobi conversed in Twi'leki to Numa and learned that she could lead them to the prisoners. Cody and his men went to create a diversion, while Kenobi headed through the tunnels with Waxer and Boil.

After the droids were distracted by Ghost Company, Kenobi and the two clones managed to free the Twi'lek hostages, and the freed prisoners escaped into the tunnels. Kenobi took control of one of the proton cannons, and with the help of Waxer and Boil, he managed to take out the rest of the cannons. However, a shot from TX-20's tank blasted the three aside, and Numa ran over to the clones; after they had recovered, she ran over to Obi-Wan. As the tactical droid aimed his cannon at Kenobi and the young Twi'lek, the former Twi'lek hostages attacked the droid and destroyed him. With the cannons no longer harassing them, the transports were able to land. After Waxer and Boil said goodbye to Numa, Windu's forces headed to the capital city of Lessu to retake it and free the planet, while Kenobi headed down to secure the southern hemisphere of the planet.

Retaking the capital city
"I'll hold them off! Get that bridge back up!"

- Mace Windu to Razor and Stak



Whilst attempting to liberate the capital, General Windu, Commander Ponds and Lightning Squadron took a cliffside path to the city aboard AT-TE walkers. On their journey, they were ambushed by AATs from a nearby hill, and the tanks disabled the two front walkers. Once this was done, the droid commander sought to disable the rear walkers as well, in order to trap the Republic forces on the hillside and make it easier to eliminate them. However, Windu evacuated the disabled lead walker and used the Force to push it over the cliff, allowing Lightning Squadron to move forward and use their AT-RT walkers to attack the Confederacy forces. Leading the assault, Windu was successful in the attack, and the Republic forces continued toward the capital. However, he had lost thirty-two men and three AT-TE walker command crews, and would need further help if he was going to complete his mission.

During a conference with Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, Senator Orn Free Taa, Grand Master Yoda, Admiral Yularen, and General Skywalker, the Jedi Knight reported that the space around Ryloth was secure. General Kenobi had taken control of the southern hemisphere, leaving it to Windu to take the capital. Windu sought to acquire aid from the local resistance force led by Cham Syndulla. Despite the objections of Senator Taa on the Republic's political relations with Syndulla, Windu believed it to be the only way to take the city, as Republic reinforcements were unavailable.

Windu took two ARF troopers, Razor and Stak, to Cazne to find the freedom fighters. Noting a graveyard of Twi'leks and a squad of droids, Windu and the troopers hid in the shadows of an inactive C-9979 landing craft. The Confederacy battle droid patrol was ambushed by the freedom fighters, and Windu finally met Syndulla, who expressed his misgivings about helping the Republic.

Meanwhile, Sith Lord and Confederacy Head of State Count Dooku was not pleased by Tambor's failure in maintaining Ryloth, and urged the Techno Union Foreman to retreat after taking whatever treasures remained behind. Dooku ordered everything to be destroyed &mdash; all villages and even the capital &mdash; with the idea of showing the galaxy the "cost" of a Republic victory. Tambor's tactical droid, TA-175, intended to obey Dooku's orders, but Tambor was not yet ready to leave. The Emir stayed behind and awaited his treasure-bearing convoys to return, not willing to leave until every last treasure was his. As the Republic forces came closer to the city, the Confederacy armed bombers to destroy the nearby Twi'lek villages.

Among the Twi'lek resistance, Windu was given a tour of their base, and asked Syndulla to help free Ryloth. Syndulla was reluctant, believing that the occupation of the Republic's clone army, following the Confederacy's defeat, would not make Ryloth free. Furthermore, Syndulla was a political rival to Senator Taa, and did not trust him. However, a Confederacy bombing of a Twi'lek village witnessed by Commander Ponds and the rest of Windu's forces reminded Syndulla of the death and devastation being wrought on his world, and he agreed to speak with Senator Taa. With the help of Master Windu, Syndulla and Senator Taa reached an agreement: Taa would not let an armed occupation befall Ryloth, while Syndulla promised not to seek political power. Syndulla took his fighters to join with the clone army.

There was still the problem of entering the capital, as a plasma bridge was the only form of acess, and its controls were inside the city itself. Furthermore, Tambor had ordered the civilians out of the city, employing the use of a "living shield" as tactical droid TX-20 had done earlier. As long-range fire would be impossible without taking innocent lives, Windu, Syndulla and their forces were forced to activate the bridge. Noticing several MTTs hauling the last of Tambor's treasures to him, Windu planned to infiltrate the convoys with troopers Stak and Razor. They would only have a few seconds before being detected by the battle droids, and would need those few seconds to get across to the other side, as the bridge would be deactivated once they were detected. Windu and the troopers would reactivate the bridge and allow the Republic forces to cross and take the city.

Windu and the troopers attacked one of the two MTTs and stowed onboard. Halfway across the bridge, they were detected by the battle droids with scanners. The three attacked the droid guards, at which point Syndulla and Ponds commenced the attack to gain time and allow the three to cross. However, the Confederacy managed to deactivate the bridge before Windu and the three crossed. Windu Force-pushed the two ARF troopers across to the other side, while he himself used an STAP to get across. Windu engaged the droid forces alone, and the two troopers fought for the bridge's controls and reactivated the bridge. Syndulla led the charge across, and Windu proceeded to capture Tambor. Battle droids and droid commandos attacked Stak and Razor in the control room, but the two managed to fend them off.

Tambor prepared to escape in his shuttle, but discovered that TA-175, too impatient to wait for his master, had already left without him. Aboard the shuttle, the tactical droid reported Tambor's refusal to leave to Dooku. The Count stated that it was "unfortunate," but ordered the bombers to destroy the capital, even at the risk of Tambor's life. As Windu held Tambor at lightsaber point, the bombers headed toward the city and prepared to launch their explosives. However, the timely intervention of General Skywalker and Commander Tano in their fighters prevented the city from being destroyed. Tambor surrendered to Windu and Syndulla, and Ryloth was free once more.

Aftermath
"I thank you, Master Jedi. Today, all of Ryloth thanks you." "You've earned your freedom, General. All of you."

- Cham Syndulla and Mace Windu

Soon after the battle had ended, Senator Taa, Syndulla, Windu and Commander Ponds watched a parade of the clone forces and the Twi'lek people. With a common enemy, Senator Taa and Syndulla had managed to reach a resolution to their long political debacle that had lasted for years before the Clone Wars. In addition, Wat Tambor had been arrested, and Ryloth was no longer under Confederacy rule. However, Captain Mar Tuuk had escaped, as well as TA-175 and the shuttle containing most of the Confederacy's stolen treasures.

Behind the scenes
The Battle of Ryloth was the first major battle to be featured in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series, as it was spread out over the span of three episodes: "Storm Over Ryloth", "Innocents of Ryloth" and "Liberty on Ryloth". This allowed different characters to be expanded upon, such as that of Ahsoka Tano in "Storm Over Ryloth", who led a squadron for the first time and discovered the "reality of command": being able to suffer losses in battle, and still be able to continue. Troopers Waxer and Boil also served as a different form of character development: clone troopers who had developed compassion in helping Numa during "Innocents of Ryloth". In addition, the battle introduced several characters, such as Neimoidian Captain Mar Tuuk and Twi'lek freedom fighter Cham Syndulla, and also featured the debut of Techno Union Foreman Wat Tambor in the animated series.

The Clone Wras web comic The Ballad of Cham Syndulla, leading into "Liberty on Ryloth," was the only one of the comics leading into the three episodes that featured the actual battle. However, Covetous, leading into "Storm Over Ryloth," portrayed the events directly before the battle, and Curfew took place shortly before the droid invasion of the city of Nabat.

The battle marked one of the Confederacy of Independent Systems' first uses of the Hyena-class bomber. The droid bombers first briefly appeared in the web comic The Fall of Falleen.

Appearances

 * The Clone Wars: The Ballad of Cham Syndulla
 * The Clone Wars: The Ballad of Cham Syndulla
 * The Clone Wars: The Ballad of Cham Syndulla

Notes and references
Schlacht um Ryloth Batalla de Ryloth (Guerras Clon)