Battle of Muunilinst

The Battle of Muunilinst was a battle that took place four months after the Battle of Geonosis.

The Battle
The battle was arranged in a meeting between Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Yoda and Chancellor Palpatine. Anakin and Obi-Wan were enlisted by Palpatine to lead an assault on Muunilinst, home of the Intergalactic Banking Clan. The Intergalactic Banking Clan was a heavy monetary and battle droid contributor to the Separatists.

The Republic fleet of Acclamator-I class cruisers led by Anakin and Obi-Wan, encountered resistance as it entered the orbit of the planet Muunilinst. The Republic's attack gunships managed to land on the planet, where they encountered the Droid Army of the Separatists. ARC troopers of Muunilinst 10 were deployed on a special mission within the city of Harnaidan, but their ship was shot down behind enemy lines.

The ARC troopers led by Captain Fordo, who had cut off from their original drop zone, made their way to an enemy command center. Along the way, they faced off against the Droid Army in this urban battleground.

The Republic's initial success panicked San Hill, the CIS commander. The CIS army's fortunes were improved when Count Dooku's bounty hunter, Durge, arrived on Muunilinst with reinforcements. Durge led a band of IG lancer droids toward the heart of the Republic's forces, causing huge casualties in the Republic ranks and destroying nearly all the SPHA-M walkers.

General Kenobi led a team of Lancer troopers out to meet Durge's forces. After defeating Durge, he proceeded to join the ARC troopers. Meanwhile, Voolvif Monn and the Third Army battled through the Droid Army in Harnaidan.

Obi-Wan and the ARC troopers raided the InterGalactic Banking Clan's Command Center, taking San Hill into custody, which broke the CIS army.



Meanwhile, Anakin Skywalker was leading the clone army in a fierce space battle above Muunilinst. Several Republic Acclamator-class Assault Ships engaged the Confederacy's gun platforms. The Republic's V-19 Torrents were engaged by hundreds of Nantex-class starfighters. Skywalker ordered the clone pilots to disengage, and destroyed dozens of the enemy fighters with his proton torpedoes. Pursued by yet more enemy fighters, he ordered his clones to fire all their concussion missiles across the bow of Cruiser 8. He flew past the ship as the missiles started arriving; the missiles hit the swarm of fighters pursuing him, destroying hundreds. Trailed by missiles, Skywalker flew through the hanger of one of the gun platforms. The missiles destroyed the gun platform from the inside. Sustained turbolaser fire from the Republic ships destroyed another one.

Only a few Separatist fighters remained, but a mysterious ship engaged the Republic forces, destroying Blue Squadron. Skywalker personally engaged the fighter. When the pilot, a mysterious Force-sensitive protégé of Dooku called Asajj Ventress, jumped into hyperspace, the impetuous young Jedi followed, disobeying a direct order from Obi-Wan.

Aftermath
The Republic won the battle, San Hill was captured, and Anakin tracked Asajj Ventress down to the fourth moon of Yavin. There, Ventress killed the clone troopers accompanying Skywalker and destroyed his ship. Anakin and Ventress engaged in a lightsaber duel through the jungles and on top of the Massassi temple. In the end, Ventress was defeated, though not killed.

Galactic Republic

 * ARC-77
 * Obi-Wan Kenobi
 * Voolvif Monn
 * Anakin Skywalker

Confederacy of Independent Systems

 * Durge
 * Asajj Ventress
 * San Hill

Behind the scenes
The Battle of Muunilinst is said to have involved hundreds of assault ships and millions of clone troopers, judging by the reference in The New Essential Chronology.

The book described the GAR landing thusly:

"San Hill, the arrogant chairman of the InterGalactic Banking Clan, had worked to make his homeworld of Muunilinst an unassailable castle keep. The Republic countered with sheer numbers, sending hundreds of assault ships, each one groaning from the weight of troopers and war machines. Many vessels reached the surface only as smoldering hulks; others found themselves cut off from their drop zones, forced to make landings behind enemy lines."

Although at least one other type of assault ship did exist in the Republic Navy (Admiral Tarnese Bleyd used a 28m Conqueror-class assault ship), these tiny vessels did not fit the description given, of "each one groaning from the weight of troopers and war machines". They were also only given as gifts, not sold, to non-Surronians (the makers of this ship-class), and would therefore not be present en-masse in any Republic operation.

Since the Inside the Worlds of Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and later on Star Wars: Complete Locations stated 1 million clone-divisions at the start of the war, with millions following on later, there is no contradiction with having hundreds of Acclamators carrying millions of troops to a single battle. No other type of Republic assault ship has ever been described, and no mention was ever made of the assault ships participating in this particular battle, as being of different models.

The debate over numbers at Muunilinst is part of a wider disagreement among fans as to the size of the Grand Army of the Republic and the scale of forces involved in the Clone Wars: some fans believe that the canon evidence indicates that only three million clone troopers were involved in battles across the Galaxy (and only 1.2 million at this stage in the war), while others hold the opinion that the clone forces numbered in millions of Divisions (without specific numbers given, at that), based on quotes from the ITW:AOTC and SW:CL  reference books.

For fuller discussion, see here.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Clone Wars