Battle of Kashyyyk

"The droids have started up their main power generators.''" "''Then now, the time is, Commander."

- Clone Commander Gree and Yoda

The Battle of Kashyyyk was one of the final engagements of the Outer Rim Sieges of the Clone Wars, a pan-galactic conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. It was fought on the Mid Rim planet of Kashyyyk, the homeworld of the Wookiees, and focused on the defense of Kachirho, the capital of the planet.

Confederate assault
Master Yoda ordered the defense of Kachirho as the Separatist shield generator was lowered and the enemy forces rushed across the lagoon with haste. The Wookiee forces rushed across the beachfront to confront the enemy as more warriors swung from the cliffs along the archipelago to place mines on the droid forces. Meanwhile, clone troopers fired from trenches and clone sharpshooters sniped out enemies from along Tree Kachirho. On the vehicle front, Wookiee Oevvaor jet catamarans were aided by Juggernauts, AT-AP and AT-RT walkers and other assault vehicles. They faced enormous opposition from Separatist NR-N99 droid tanks, DSD1 dwarf spider droids and Heavy Missile Platforms.

Atop the seawall were two concussion turrets and multiple Clone Troopers, all of which were defending the seawall. Few attempts from the CIS to destroy the seawall were made, and eventually the tide of the battle turned in favor of the Republic.

Order 66
"It will be done, my lord."

- Clone Commander Gree responding to Order 66

Suddenly, Master Yoda was shocked by a strong disturbance in the Force as Order 66 was carried out throughout the galaxy. Clone Commander Gree received a call on his comlink, in which Supreme Chancellor Palpatine instructed him to execute Order 66 against General Yoda. A scout trooper joined Gree in the attempt to assassinate Yoda. As the clones prepared to execute him, Yoda drew his lightsaber, sensing what was about to happen, and in one fell swoop decapitated his would-be assassins. Yoda then proceeded to escape into the nearby jungle along with Wookiee warriors Tarfful and Chewbacca.

Yoda and the Wookiees would proceed to escape into the nearby mountains. Later that evening, Chewbacca and Tarfful brought Yoda to an escape pod. After exchanging farewells, Yoda left the planet in the pod.

Aftermath
Though the clone troopers won the day, they would soon take the place of the Separatists as an invading force, except they would be successful in conquering the world, and the Wookies would not be able to hold them back. The Empire, the successor state of the Republic, legalized slavery, leading many, the Empire itself in particular, to take Wookie slaves due to their immense strength.

Yoda managed to meet up with Obi-Wan Kenobi, having also escaped Order 66, and the two infiltrated the Jedi Temple to reverse the message being sent to Jedi, warning them to stay away. He then attempted to take down Palpatine, but failed, and exiled himself to Dagobah.

Chewbacca was one of the slaves taken by the New Order from Kashyyyk, and suffered many years as one, until he was freed by, and found himself in the employment of, a smuggler by the name of Han Solo.

Behind the scenes
A climactic battle between the technologically advanced Empire and a race of primitive hairy aliens, the Wookiees, was present in George Lucas's original treatment for A New Hope. As the story changed and the trilogy structure was solidified in Lucas' mind, the battle was postponed until Return of the Jedi, where it developed into a battle featuring Ewoks on the forest moon of Endor. At the same time, the Wookiees developed into a more technologically savvy, though not less hairy, species. Lucas' original conception of the battle featured hundreds of Wookiees on screen. Due to costs, the original idea was scrapped and replaced by a battle featuring relatively few diminutive Ewoks, who did not play a very significant tactical role in the battle. A large-scale battle with hundreds of characters was eventually realized in The Phantom Menace.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Galactic Defense
 * Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
 * Adventures in Wild Space: The Nest
 * Smuggler's Run: A Han Solo & Chewbacca Adventure