Battle of Coruscant

"This is where the fun begins!"

- Anakin Skywalker

The Battle of Coruscant was a battle that took place over Coruscant during the final days of the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The battle began when the Separatists launched a massive assault on Coruscant, the Republic's capital. It was orchestrated by the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, who was secretly Supreme Chancellor Palpatine of the Republic. Sidious arranged for himself to be kidnapped, as Palpatine, by the cyborg General Grievous as part of a plot to bring Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker closer to the dark side of the Force.

The battle
General Grievous and Count Dooku managed to reach Coruscant with a massive fleet and proceeded to attack the Republic Navy vessels defending the planet. During the battle, Skywalker and Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi led a mission to rescue the Supreme Chancellor, who was held aboard Grievous's vessel, the Invisible Hand. This brought the two into a lightsaber duel with the Sith Lord Count Dooku, who, at Palpatine's goading, Skywalker executed. Although briefly detained by General Grievous, the Jedi and the Chancellor were able to escape with the help of R2-D2. During the ensuing fight, Grievous managed to flee the crashing vessel in an escape pod, while Anakin safely piloted the ship towards a landing strip on Coruscant.

Aftermath
"Soon I will have a new apprentice, one far younger and more powerful."

- Darth Sidious, conferring with General Grievous after the battle

With the loss of Dooku, Grievous assumed the title head of state of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, but it greatly destabilized the Separatist control structure. Without the assurances of victory from Dooku, the members of the Separatist Council began to doubt the abilities of their new leader to keep them safe for much longer. Back on Coruscant, the Jedi Council made tracking down Grievous and bringing him to justice their utmost priority.

The Jedi Order would go on to track him to Utapau, where they launched a battle in which Kenobi confronted and killed him. Palpatine, meanwhile, successfully achieved his goal of converting Skywalker to the dark side and took the fallen Jedi Knight as his new apprentice, replacing Dooku. The Chancellor dubbed Skywalker as Darth Vader and executed Order 66, branding the Jedi as traitors. With the Jedi Order destroyed, Palpatine transformed the Republic into the Galactic Empire.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Journeys: Beginnings
 * Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
 * Lords of the Sith
 * A New Dawn