Operation: Knightfall

"I want you to go to the Jedi Temple. We will catch them off balance. Do what must be done, Lord Vader. Do not hesitate, show no mercy."

- Darth Sidious

Operation: Knightfall, also known as the Raid on the Jedi Temple, the Assault of the Jedi Temple, the Attack on the Jedi Temple, the Siege of the Jedi Temple, the Fall of the Jedi Temple, or the Jedi Temple Massacre was one of the first conflicts of the Great Jedi Purge. After assisting in the death of Mace Windu and submitting to Palpatine's teachings, the newly anointed Darth Vader and the clone troopers of the 501st Legion stormed the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, initiating a massacre under the authority of Order 66, a galaxy-wide hunt of the Jedi by their former clone comrades. During this attack, most of the Jedi within the Temple were killed and the building itself was set ablaze. The men of the 501st protected the Jedi library while the Jedi tried to destroy the knowledge contained there to keep it out of the hands of the Sith. After the fighting, Vader set up a beacon that alerted Jedi all over the galaxy, the ones that had not already fallen to the clones in their ranks, that the Clone Wars were over and ordered them back to the temple, not knowing that it was a trap. All of the Jedi who complied with the beacon's mandate were killed by squads of clones, some of whom were disguised as Jedi themselves. To prevent more deaths, two surviving Jedi Masters, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, infiltrated the Temple and altered the beacon, changing the message to warn any and all surviving Jedi to flee and go into hiding. After this battle, the bodies of the slain Jedi were publicly burned in a massive pyre in front of the Jedi Temple Public Entrance.

Prelude
After Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker helped Darth Sidious eliminate Mace Windu, he pledged himself to Sidious's teachings and was given the name Darth Vader. Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, the guise Sidious took to gain power in the Galactic Senate, declared the Jedi Order a threat to the Galactic Republic. Darth Vader was assigned the task of rampaging through the halls of the Jedi Temple and stopping this growing "threat." The troopers of the 501st Legion were transferred to Coruscant from war theaters like Felucia, Mygeeto, Utapau, Kashyyyk, and other planets to serve Lord Vader during the mission.

The battle
"You have done well, my new apprentice. Your skills are unmatched by any Sith before you. Now, Lord Vader, go and bring peace to the Empire."

- Emperor Palpatine to Darth Vader

Marching silently to the gates of the Temple with a legion of elite clones, Darth Vader was met by Gate Master Jurokk, who asked Vader about Master Windu's safety. Ignoring the question, Vader asked him where Shaak Ti was, as she was the Temple commander. The gate master replied that she was in the Temple meditating. Noticing the mass of troopers just outside the gate, he once again asked Vader if something was wrong. Vader responded by igniting his lightsaber through Jurokk's head.

As the troopers dispersed throughout the Temple's vaulted halls, Vader began to eliminate the most powerful Jedi within. He took a small group of clones to capture the Jedi Communication Center via the Jedi Archives. Upon entering the Temple's Library with the clones, he ordered Jocasta Nu, the Chief Librarian of the Archives, to grant him access to the communication room. Sensing something suspicious, she ignited her blue lightsaber, but Vader used the Force to impale her with his lightsaber.

Operation: Knightfall
"What I remember about the rise of the Empire is&hellip; is how quiet it was. During the waning hours of the Clone Wars, the 501st Legion was discreetly transferred back to Coruscant. It was a silent trip. We all knew what was about to happen, what we were about to do. Did we have any doubts? Any private traitorous thoughts? Perhaps, but no one said a word. Not on the flight back to Coruscant, not when Order 66 came down, and not when we marched into the Jedi Temple. Not a word."

- Extract from the Journal of the 501st

Duels erupted in the library. The Jedi attempted to destroy the holobooks in the library to prevent the 501st troopers from learning any confidential Jedi information. However, the troopers managed to preserve a few bookcases from destruction long enough for a scan to take place. In the ensuing carnage, one of the Jedi activated a ray shield system and hid in a shield protected room. Vader disabled the shield system and killed the Jedi; proceeding into one of the surrounding halls. While Vader was at the library, some clones took over a Council Chamber as an outpost and destroyed a turret gun nearby before moving on to rejoin the rest of the troopers. As Vader moved into a hall, Jedi snipers ambushed the clone attackers. Vader, at a clone's advice, toppled a hulking statue, crushing many of the Jedi. Using a piece to break down the door into a study hall, the group proceeded to kill many students, snipers, and Jedi brutes. After battling his way across an outdoor cat walk, the raid continued into the hangar bay, where Vader shot down fleeing Jedi Interceptors with an anti-aircraft gun erected by the clones.

When Darth Vader reached the top of the High Council quarter, he moved to the Communication Center and activated a beacon telling all Jedi to return to the Jedi Temple; the war was over. A clone private then informed him that a Jedi, Cin Drallig, had managed to penetrate upper-level defenses. Vader told him that he would deal with Drallig and ordered the nearby clone assassins to guard the beacon with their lives.



Before tracking down Drallig, Vader took the ancient elevator in the High Council Tower to the High Council Chamber, and slaughtered a group of younglings upon his entrance when they mistook him for the Jedi Knight he had once been. Vader then made his way through the First Knowledge quarter to one of the many briefing rooms, where Drallig's former apprentice, Serra Keto, confronted Vader and engaged him in a duel. Jumping on a balcony that looked over a training veranda in the Tower of First Knowledge, Darth Vader cut down a pillar, and used it to crush her. Drallig, sensing Keto's death, hoped to avenge her in a duel.

As the remaining Jedi Masters realized that the Temple was lost, they began to send Knights and Padawans out through the Temple Precinct. Vader made his way to the base of the Temple where he found Drallig guarding a group of fleeing younglings in the Room of a Thousand Fountains. After murdering two of Drallig's trainees, Bene and Whie Malreaux, the Sith slashed Drallig in the shoulder, leaving him to die. The squad of clones accompanying Vader than blasted at the other Padawans Drallig was protecting, killing most of them. A Zabrak Jedi had also been assigned to protect a group of younglings. He was caught by Vader and, after a breif duel, struck down. With his last words he told Vader that this betrayal would hurt the new Sith Lord the most.

As the clones continued the attack, Darth Vader discovered Shaak Ti within her chambers. After dueling and disorienting the Sith Lord, she managed to lead a band of Padawans and their Masters out of the Temple. Though Shaak Ti managed to secure a small number of her charges passage through the Undercity. Along with Master Ti, Council Member Even Piell managed to flee into the depths of Coruscant. Leader of the Special Operations Brigade, Arligan Zey had gone to the Temple upon hearing of General Grievous' death, only to be caught in the battle within the halls of his sanctuary. He managed to flee the Temple and make it back to his offices in Arca Barracks, where he was executed by his aide, ARC Maze. Among the other survivors were Jedi Kazdan Paratus, who ran away in fear; Jax Pavan, a Jedi Padawan; and the Last Curator of Records.

The raid continues
"I saw thousands of troops attack the Jedi Temple. That's why I went looking for Yoda."

- Bail Organa



Meanwhile, the 501st Legion secured all four Council chambers and engaged the Temple Security Force in the main hall. Darth Vader then returned from his duel with Cin Drallig, and collected several holocrons containing Jedi and Sith information. Cleaning up most of the remaining Temple Security guards and Jedi Knights.

However, three Jedi Masters, who had taken something of a military command over the remaining Jedi, led the last of the Jedi Knights into the main hall in an attempt to repel the 501st one last time. The Jedi came out in a sudden, tremendous charge against the clones. The three were eventually killed by the insurgents.

As the Temple burned, Bail Organa, Senator from Alderaan and Jedi sympathizer, landed on the landing platform of one of the Council Tower hangars to investigate the fire. After being turned away by the clones guarding the hangar, the retreating Senator witnessed the brutal execution of Zett Jukassa, a young Padawan. The clones had orders to leave no witnesses and Organa narrowly escaped their blaster fire with his life.



Aftermath
As the clones secured the Temple, they collected the bodies of fallen clones and Jedi. Checking off their dead against barracks rosters, and the fallen Jedi against Archive records, they began to burn the bodies on the steps of the public entrance of the Temple.

The Jedi mission
"Have we had any contact from the Temple?" "Received a coded retreat message, we have." "It requests all Jedi to return to the Temple. It says the war is over." "Well, then we must go back. If there are any stragglers, they will fall into the trap and be killed."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda and Bail Organa

Bail Organa intercepted a transmission while housing two survivors of Order 66. The message told all Jedi that the war was over, and they were allowed to return to the Jedi Temple. Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi, the survivors, knew it was a trap, and left for the Temple to modify and reactivate the trasmission so as to inform all Jedi to stay away.



Upon arrival, Jedi ambushed a squad of clone troopers of the 501st Legion on sentry duty. Fortunately an emergency session of congress was being held, reducing security at the Temple. More clones ambushed Kenobi, and a squad of elite clone assassins attacked Yoda. They both managed to defeat their attackers. A clone heavy trooper crept up behind Kenobi, ready to kill him, but Yoda appeared and lifted him off the ground with the Force. In a panic, the trooper fired his rockets up at the roof, which came crashing down. The two Jedi moved the debris using the Force and headed to the beacon room. There, Kenobi was forced to eliminate the clone assassins that guarded it. Yoda also noticed that the younglings were killed by lightsabers, not blasters.

After reprogramming the beacon to order all Jedi to flee, Obi-Wan decided he needed to see who was behind the attack. He felt he needed to know who had slain the younglings. He could only watch in horror as he viewed a hologram of Anakin, slaughtering his fellow Jedi without mercy or hesitation. Overwhelmed with emotion, Obi-Wan could not watch anymore and pleaded with Yoda to let him kill the Emperor. He could not bring himself to kill Anakin, who was like a brother to him. Yoda told Obi-Wan that he was not experienced enough to face Palpatine. He also explained that Anakin was gone and Darth Vader had risen in his place. Knowing this to be true, Obi-Wan knew what he had to do&mdash;kill Darth Vader.

Yoda headed to the Senate to confront Palpatine, while Obi-Wan stowed-away on Padmé Amidala's flight to confront Anakin on Mustafar. Though he did not want to, he knew he had to face Darth Vader in order to bring the Sith threat to an end.

Public and non-clone military response
As the fires burned through the night, the citizens of Galactic City could only watch in shock, as the symbol of the Jedi was engulfed in flame. Skylanes were shut down around the Temple Precinct, with all traffic being directed away from the district. As the order circulated to non-clone military forces, such as Coruscant Security Force officers, shock and awe was felt by those who had known Jedi over their careers on Coruscant. Their standing order to help Jedi in any way possible, an objective the organization had held since its founding, was rescinded, and they were ordered to alert the 501st upon observing a Jedi. Coruscant Rescue Ops were forbidden from extinguishing the fires engulfing the Temple, and any ship attempting to approach the Temple was assumed to be doing so with treasonous intent. Names of fleeing Jedi were sent out on all military channels; Tru Veld was just one of several major threats perceived during the fight at the Temple and he was killed for it.

Checkpoints were set up on large bridges, that crossed the chasms of the city, leading to major spaceports. Clones and CSF officers patrolled nearby areas attempting to root out the fleeing Jedi. A group of Padawans were discovered fleeing the Temple via the Shinarcan Bridge Extension and upon discovery they attempted to fight their way free, hoping to make it to Chancellor Palpatine Spaceport in order to get off world. Jedi Etain Tur-Mukan happened to be passing through at the same moment and, in a shocking move, sacrificed her life in order to protect one of the attacking clones. The Jedi who slew Tur-Mukan leapt off the bridge, fleeing into the city below. Several of the other Jedi died, though some did escape.

Jedi casualties


As the Temple became secured, the clones began to count the dead. Piling Jedi bodies and checking them off from the Archives rosters, the clones burned the majority of the bodies on the steps of the public entrance. Among the dead were Jedi Master Cin Drallig, killed by Lord Vader himself, along with Drallig's apprentices Padawan Bene, Padawan Whie Malreaux and Jedi Knight Serra Keto. Vader also personally executed Jedi librarian Jocasta Nu, Jedi Master and Gate Master Jurokk, Younglings Sors Bandeam, Shia Letap, Jeswi Ele and rest of the clan. Padawan Zett Jukassa and Jedi Knight Olana Chion were both killed by clone troopers. Jedi Master Ali-Alann was also killed.

On top of these casualties, the entire security force of Jedi Brutes and Jedi snipers were killed, as well as most of the Temple Security Force and Temple Caretakers.

Legacy
Several decades later, in a rebuilt Temple during 40 ABY, the Jacen Solo flow-walked back to the time of the Raid on the Jedi Temple to understand the motive for the actions of Anakin Skywalker, his grandfather, in order to ensure that his own reasons for joining the Sith were not selfish. It is possible he was seen by a clone trooper. Jacen was horrified by Vader's actions after seeing his massacre of the younglings, and determined that he had a much better reason for turning to the dark side.

Behind the scenes
The eradication of the Jedi Order and the turning of Anakin Skywalker was indirectly mentioned in the original trilogy though the circumstances of this event were not. It finally was with the release of LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith which depicted the main protagonist of the prequel trilogy, Skywalker, and his marching on the Jedi Temple with hundreds of clone troopers in file behind him. It was further explored in Star Wars: Battlefront II and the Episode III video game which made the massacre playable and showed some of the secondary objectives of the transforming Republic such as the acquisition of data from the Jedi library. The Episode III novel, however, barely touches this event, skipping to Bail Organa after Vader killed Jurokk.

In Star Wars: Battlefront II, during the story mission "Operation: Knightfall" Darth Vader is playable, under the name Anakin Skywalker, and wears a cloak over his Jedi robes with the hood up as he did during Episode III. During Instant Action and Conquest modes of the game, he is seen only wearing his robes.

Cut Content
Originally, Obi-Wan and Yoda were to be greeted by a squad of clone troopers disguised as Jedi in the Episode III movie. A promotional image of Temuera Morrison as one of these clones is in the special features of Episode III's second disk suggesting that they were considered for the movie. These clones were included in LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game and in the compiliation game LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga as well as in the Episode III novel where they were aproached by Obi-Wan who was disguised as a hunchbacked old man and tried to pass off Yoda as a Jedi baby to get close enough to attack and all of the squad was dead within six seconds. This group of clones' appearance in the novel does make them canon, however.

Appearances

 * Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
 * Star Wars: Battlefront II
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith comic
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith novel
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith video game
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith junior novel
 * The Life and Legend of Obi-Wan Kenobi
 * Republic Commando: Order 66
 * Republic Commando: Order 66
 * Tag & Bink: Revenge of the Clone Menace
 * Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
 * Star Wars Dark Times 7: Parallels, Part 2
 * Coruscant Nights I: Jedi Twilight
 * The Last of the Jedi: The Desperate Mission
 * The Last of the Jedi: Death on Naboo
 * Star Wars Rebellion 6: The Ahakista Gambit, Part 1
 * The Courtship of Princess Leia
 * Dark Nest II: The Unseen Queen
 * Bloodlines
 * Inferno

Notes and references
es:Operación: Caída del Caballero