First Battle of Geonosis

"This is just the beginning!"

- Count Dooku

The Battle of Geonosis was the first battle between the Confederacy of Independent Systems and the Galactic Republic in the conflict that would become known as the Clone Wars. It would be the first major combat of the Grand Army of the Republic, as well as the first major battle the Jedi would fight in years. It would spark a huge war that would devastate most of the galaxy.

Prelude
"More happening on Geonosis, I feel, than has been revealed."

- Yoda

The battle occurred after Separatist forces captured Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi on Geonosis and charged him with spying for the Republic. Anakin Skywalker and Senator Padmé Amidala attempted to rescue Kenobi, but were also captured and sentenced to death. They narrowly escaped their executions, which involved an acklay, a nexu, and a reek.

In response to Kenobi's report about the Separatists' conspiracy, the Galactic Senate, at the suggestion of Senator Jar Jar Binks, granted Supreme Chancellor Palpatine "emergency powers" to deal with the crisis.

Yoda brought the clone army into use, and sent them to Geonosis right behind a Jedi strike force. The rapid nature of the deployment left Cuy'val Dar sergeants such as Kal Skirata reeling at waking up to discover the commando squads they had trained gone.

Penetrating the defenses
"You call this a diplomatic solution?" "No, I call it aggressive negotiations."

- Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala

A group of about 200 Jedi, led by Jedi Masters Mace Windu, Kit Fisto, Plo Koon, Shaak Ti, Luminara Unduli and Ki-Adi-Mundi were sent to Geonosis by the Jedi Council to rescue Obi-Wan Kenobi and investigate reports that Separatists were constructing an army on Geonosis.



Upon entering the system, the fleet of Jedi starfighters were fired upon by Anti-orbital cannons, taking several casualties. Mace Windu and Luminara Unduli slipped past the firing range of the cannons and commandeered TX-130S fighter tanks, and employed communications jamming to stop any CIS forces from calling for reinforcements. They set off to disable the orbital cannons. The droid defenses, consisting of GATs, Hailfire droids, and STAPs, attempted to hold them off, but were destroyed by the Jedi. The power nodes were destroyed, causing the cannons to explode.

The last cannon, however, was housed in a crashed republic cruiser. Mace set out on foot to disable the cannon. He penetrated the droid defenses and destroyed the last power nodes with his lightsaber. With the orbital defenses disabled, a landing zone had to be made. The Jedi strike team landed in a captured Confederate outpost and moved toward the arena in a convoy of RTTs. Mace and Luminara cleared the way in their tanks. They reached the perimeter of the arena, where they destroyed 6 tunnel catacombs deploying battle droids. The Jedi deployed into the arena quietly.

Arena battle
"This party's over."

- Mace Windu

The three captives, Anakin, Padmé and Obi-Wan managed to avoid the nexu, reek, and acklay beasts that had been set upon them long enough for Master Windu's 200-Jedi rescue mission team to arrive. However, Count Dooku revealed the Separatist's new secret battle droid army, and a heated battle took place. Though outnumbered 50 to 1, the Jedi fought to the end.



It was during the heated battle that followed that bounty hunter Jango Fett attempted to fight and kill the legendary Korun Jedi Master, Mace Windu. However, during the fight, a reek arena beast nearly trampled Jango and damaged his jet pack. After killing the reek, Jango was charged by Mace Windu; at the last second the Mandalorian attempted to activate his jetpack, but failed. Mace Windu quickly beheaded the famous bounty hunter.

"Master Windu, you have fought gallantly. Worthy of recognition in the archives of the Jedi Order. Now, it is finished. Surrender and your lives will be spared." "We will not be hostages to be bartered, Dooku." "Then, I'm sorry, old friend."

- Count Dooku and Mace Windu

The Jedi suffered heavy casualties; 179 Jedi Knights fell in battle before Master Yoda arrived with the newly-created clone army in several LAAT gunships to rescue the twenty or so Jedi who remained. The stadium was littered with droid parts.

The opening battle of the Clone Wars had begun.

Desert battle


After the rescue of the Jedi, the droid and clone armies engaged one another in a complex series of engagements on a number of different fronts. The Republic's army landed in twelve Acclamator I-class assault ships, offloading infantry, armored vehicles, artillery and air support. The Separatist army consisted of droid infantry of varying strength and larger droid-controlled vehicles. Crucially, the Republic conducted an aerial bombardment of the Separatists' fighter craft, allowing the Republic's gunships to have air superiority throughout much of the battle, giving the clone forces a crucial advantage.

Although the clone troopers were vastly outnumbered by droids, the droids were heavily exposed to attacks from the air by Republic gunships. The Republic's armored AT-TE walkers were strong against the lightly armored spider droids employed by the Separatists, but were vulnerable to the rockets on the Hailfire droids. The Republic gunships were instrumental in clearing away the Hailfire droids and allowing the AT-TEs to establish superiority on the battlefield, although the Hailfires were able to shoot down a number of LAATs.

Meanwhile, Mace Windu, who was fighting on the ground, made his way to a LAAT/i and used it to destroy several Hardcell-class interstellar transports before landing and defending SPHA guns bringing down core ships in a TX-130S fighter tank. In this way, three core ships were taken down, before Mace was informed that contact with Master Yoda had been lost.

"If Dooku escapes, rally more systems to his cause, he will."

- Yoda

Having beaten the droid army into retreat, Yoda took note of the fact that much of the Separatist starfleet was still grounded receiving shipments of droids when the Republic attacked. Lightly armored and vulnerable Techno Union starships attempted to withdraw immediately, but many were destroyed in the first wave of attacks from the Republic gunships. The Jedi Master now ordered the army's artillery to attempt to take down as many of the heavily armored Trade Federation Core Ships as possible, as they each held millions of deadly battle droids, while in space the Republic fleet intercepted and destroyed the Separatist ships (that carried scores of combat droids). The Republic was successful in this but despite taking control of the surface of the planet, they were unable to capture the Separatist leadership and stop the war before it began (Commando teams infiltrated the spires holding the Geonosian cities and managed to complete their objectives, however, they suffered heavy casualties).



Meanwhile, Echuu Shen-Jon and a team of other Jedi, including Plo Koon, destroyed several core-ships and Techno Union vessels, before setting off to pursue Count Dooku. However, they were delayed by Sev'Rance Tann, who killed Stam Reath, Echuu's apprentice, angering Echuu. Sev'Rance escaped, and the Jedi pursuit of Dooku was presumably lost.

Above a crevasse, the Republic Commando squad Theta Squad rappelled in and placed charges on a Geonosian door while Delta Squad held off OG-9 spider droids nearby. After the door was blown, Theta and Delta entered the Geonosian caverns and split up. Heading for a droid foundry, Theta squad leader RC-1133 ordered RC-1136 to stay behind and hold a position while the rest moved forward. 1136, or Darman, lost contact with his squad and pulled out. He was the only survivor of Theta.

Delta Squad managed to kill Geonosian Separatist General Sun Fac as he attempted to flee the planet in his personal Geonosian fighter. They also spotted General Grievous's Soulless One. Later, Delta Squad infiltrated and destroyed the underground droid factory that Theta had been aiming for and a Federation Coreship, stealing (under heavy fire) the escape coordinates for the CIS fleet, thus allowing the Republic artillery and fleet to take down the rest of the CIS fleet. Along the way, they also eliminated significant numbers of droids, Geonosian warriors, and an anti-aircraft turret.

Space battle
"Droid transports may yet try to escape. We must protect the planet from space to stop that happening."

- Adi Gallia to Siri Tachi

Following an initial raid on a Geonosian power plant, Adi Gallia and her former Padawan, now Jedi Knight Siri Tachi, flew into orbit in their Delta-7 interceptors, intending to intercept escaping droid transports. Navigating through the asteroid ring, the Jedi received a hyperspace transmission from Nym, warning that Captain Cavik Toth of Sabaoth Squadron was en route to Geonosis with his Hex fleet. With the power of trihexalon, Toth intended to level the battlefield on Geonosis, under the orders of Count Dooku.

Adi and Siri led the fight against Toth's Hex Deployers and Bombers, alongside a squadron of Jedi pilots including A'Sharad Hett and An'ya Kuro. The Hex threat was summarily defeated under Jedi firepower, though the pilots were soon outmatched with the arrival of two Sabaoth Destroyers and complements of Sabaoth starfighters and Defenders. Fortunately, Loyalist aid arrived in the form of Nym and the Lok Revenants, soon joined by three Mere cruisers capable of taking down Toth's capital ships.

Although the two warships were destroyed, a third Destroyer emerged from hyperspace&mdash;Toth's flagship. The Mere cruisers directed their fire on this vessel, though Nym sustained critical damage during the fight, and was forced to leave the battlefield. Nevertheless, the Revenants penetrated the flagship's deflector shields, and the Destroyer's main systems went critical. Toth himself fled his flagship in a personal starfighter, and engaged Adi Gallia in single combat. Toth's weaponry could not overcome the Jedi's mastery of the Force, and his fighter was destroyed moments before his flagship exploded.

Duel with a Sith Lord
"Powerful, you have become, Dooku. The dark side, I sense in you." "I've become more powerful than any Jedi&hellip; even you."

- Grand Master Yoda and Count Dooku



In the midst of the battle the Separatist leader Dooku tried to escape to a hangar where his starship was located. A gunship carrying Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala gave chase. Dooku ordered his Geonosian escorts to take out the pursuing gunship. The resulting attack on the gunship led to Amidala and a clone trooper falling to the desert below (though they escaped any serious injuries), and this led to some brief tension between Skywalker and Kenobi. Upon arriving at Dooku's hangar, Kenobi and Skywalker engaged Dooku in a lightsaber battle where Dooku revealed himself to be a Sith. Skywalker, his anger getting the best of him, charged, only to be hit by Force lightning and thrown aside. Kenobi then attempted to best Dooku in a lightsaber duel using Form III, but was unprepared to combat Dooku's more elegant style of Form II. Despite his wise restraint against Dooku, Obi-Wan, weak from the battle and armed only with an unfamiliar lightsaber, was still defeated. As Dooku raised his lightsaber to kill Kenobi, Anakin, having recovered from the blast of Force Lightning, leapt into action and parried Dooku's strike. Recovering Obi-Wan's lightsaber and using it in conjunction with his own, Anakin dueled Dooku. Dooku cut the green saber open, then swiftly severed Anakin's right arm. Mace Windu also attempted to stop Dooku, but he encountered three of Dooku's Dark Acolytes, who blocked off the ground entrance to the hangar. They engaged Windu in combat, and all three were killed by the Jedi Master's TX-130S fighter tank.

Yoda entered the hangar, preventing Dooku from killing the two Jedi. Their duel started off with a demonstration of Force power. Dooku attempted to kill Yoda by telekinetically ripping objects out of the wall and throwing them at the Jedi, and when that failed, he fired a deadly blast of lightning at him, but Yoda was not to be outdone. He caught the lightning and hurled it at Dooku, who, through the Force, sent it into a nearby wall. Dooku's next blast was absorbed by Yoda. The two then drew their lightsabers and dueled. Dooku unleashed his full mastery of Makashi against Yoda, but Yoda's masterful use of Ataru held off Dooku's relentless attacks, before driving the Sith Lord back. Dooku, realizing that he could not win, distracted Yoda by using the Force to topple a power column onto Kenobi and Skywalker. Yoda was forced to back down and save the two, allowing Dooku to flee to his ship and escape.

Aftermath
"I have good news for you, my Lord. The war has begun." "Excellent. Everything is going as planned."

- Darth Tyranus and Darth Sidious

When the Republic assault ship Implacable was extracted from Geonosis, med triage on board estimated 12,000 seriously injured men and 8,000 walking wounded. Approximately 72,000 clones were deemed combat-fit. Thousands of clone troopers had died in the fighting.

Count Dooku flew to Coruscant, to meet with his master, who was settled in an abandoned district not far from the Jedi Temple. During his meeting with Darth Sidious, the Dark Lord ordered Dooku, now Darth Tyranus, to retreat to Raxus Prime to prepare a second battlefront against the Republic. Meanwhile, the Grand Army of the Republic was mobilized throughout the galaxy as the Clone Wars began.



The main reason for the Separatist's defeat is derived from the fact that they were caught completely by surprise, working against their numerical superiority. Another reason they lost is that despite the fact Sev'rance Tann and General Grievous, arguably the Droid Army's most brilliant commanders, were present, they were not given command of the army, and were instead placed in support positions. Grievous remained unknown to the Republic, for he killed off any of the Jedi or clones he encountered, while Sev'rance Tann escaped Geonosis after killing Echuu Shen-Jon's Padawan, Stam Reath.

While back at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, Masters Kenobi and Windu both expressed their mutual belief that the battle would not have been won without the clones, but Master Yoda retorted at the irony of Obi-Wan's use of the word "victory". The battle was but the first of many in what became known as the Clone Wars.

In the months following the battle Mace Windu would regret his decision not to strike down Count Dooku when he had the chance, and killing Jango Fett without a second thought.

Depa Billaba would later state to Windu on Haruun Kal that by simply bombing the arena on Geonosis, the Republic could have prevented a war that destroyed billions of lives at the expense of only a few hundred Jedi.

Kal Skirata lost nine commandos that he trained in the battle, namely the casualties from Theta Squad, Prudii Squad, and Teroch Squad. He, Walon Vau, RC-1309, and RC-8015 would later reflect that this had been due to the Jedi's ill-advised usage of the commandos as infantry rather than special forces.

Participants
"I may be the only veteran of Geonosis who doesn't have nightmares of that place. [&hellip;] My nightmare is what I find when I wake up."

- Mace Windu

Fate unknown

 * CT-4/163 (Clone trooper)
 * CT-5/373 (Clone trooper)

Victims

 * Sun Fac (Geonosian Lieutenant, aide to Poggle the Lesser)
 * Jango Fett (Dooku's henchman)
 * Cavik Toth (participated in the space battle above)

Behind the scenes

 * A scene where Plo Koon and Ki-Adi-Mundi raiding a droid control ship was originally going to be included, but did not appear in the final cut.
 * Another cut scene was the appearance of the Corporate Alliance tank droid.
 * In LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game and LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga, Padmé Amidala, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Anakin Skywalker faced a battle droid firing squad, rather than the three lethal beasts.
 * At one point in the arena battle, you can see Ki-Adi-Mundi wielding a green lightsaber. He normally wields a blue lightsaber.