First Battle of Bothawui

"The Republic fleet obliterated the Imperial squadron, and the Battle of Bothawui became the Republic's first major victory in the war."

- Jedi Master Gnost-Dural

The Battle of Bothawui was a conflict between the Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic during the Great Galactic War. Following the return of the Empire and its initial victories in the Outer Rim Territories in the early stages of the war, the Sith Emperor turned his sights toward the Mid Rim, with Bothawui as his first target. Admiral Greik of the Republic Navy predicted the attack however, and so took the calculated risk of stationing the entire fleet of Republic warships over the world. The incursion was a disaster for the Empire, as the Republic force was ready for the attack. The entire Imperial Armada strike fleet was wiped out, but the Empire's defeat during its first attempt at taking Bothawui only served to provoke their second, more aggressive attack.

Prelude
"After the Sith offensive seized the Seswenna sector of the Outer Rim, the Imperial Armada tuned its sights closer to the Core. The Mid Rim."

- Jedi Master Gnost-Dural

Since the start of the Great Galactic War in 3681 BBY, the Sith Empire was widely successful in its campaigns in the Outer Rim Territories. After the Imperial seizure of the Seswenna sector in the Outer Rim in 3671 BBY, the Sith Emperor began planning his military's incursion toward the Core Worlds. The first target was the Mid Rim&mdash;more specifically, the Bothan sector. Admiral Greik of the Republic Navy anticipated this development devised a risky defense strategy; the admiral amassed the entirety of the Republic fleet above the planet Bothawui, where it waited for the Sith attack force.

The battle
"Believing the Republic was still recovering from its heavy losses, Imperial forces charged into Bothan Space where they were caught off guard by the full force of the Republic fleet."

- Jedi Master Gnost-Dural

Believing that the forces of the Republic navy were still recovering from the Outer Rim campaign, the Imperial armada hastily rushed into Bothan Space. Over Bothawui itself, Harrower-class dreadnoughts were engaged by the entire Republic fleet, consisting of numerous Thranta-class corvettes and at least one Valor-class cruiser, the Intercessor. The Imperial fleet was caught completely off-guard and was quickly overwhelmed by the Republic vessels, which obliterated all of the invading forces. The Kel Dor Jedi Knight Gnost-Dural, who had recently been transferred to the Republic Navy after serving for many years in the embattled of the Minos Cluster, served with the fleet during the battle.

Aftermath
"The news spread across the galaxy, rekindling lost hopes and re-energizing exhausted defenders. The Republic fleet moved on, but a courageous force of Jedi and Republic soldiers remained on Bothawui to await the Empire's return."

- Jedi Master Gnost-Dural

The conflict at Bothawui was the Republic's first major victory against the Empire since the war had begun. News of the battle spread across the HoloNet, restoring the morale of the people of the Republic and reinvigorating its jaded military. The bulk of Bothawui's defense forces soon moved on, once again scattering throughout the galaxy to combat the Empire. To protect from retribution, the Republic commissioned engineers to construct a new, high-powered planetary shield on Bothawui's surface. To protect the shield itself, a dedicated contingent of Jedi and Republic soldiers remained on the planet in anticipation of the Empire's retribution.

The Empire indeed returned, this time with a massive invasion army intended to overwhelm Bothawui. The remaining Republic forces under the command of Jedi Master Belth Allusis were wiped out during their fight to protect the planet, but were ultimately able to repel the Sith from Bothawui. The battles at Bothawui restored hope to a discouraged Republic and empowered its defenders to continue fighting the war for several decades. Following the conclusion of the war with the signing of the Treaty of Coruscant, the then-Jedi Master Gnost-Dural made a holorecord that detailed the Empire's attempts at taking Bothawui. Additionally, his journal of war stories, which included an account of the battle over Bothawui, was added to the Jedi Archives on Tython by Grand Master Satele Shan, who also included an anecdote regarding the Bothawui victory.

Behind the scenes
The Battle of Bothawui was introduced in the fifth installment of the Galactic Timeline, an in-universe account of the events leading up to the massively multiplayer online video game from LucasArts and BioWare titled Star Wars: The Old Republic. The timeline is narrated by Kel-Dor Jedi Master Gnost-Dural, whose voice is provided by actor Lance Henriksen. The conflict was later mentioned in The Journal of Master Gnost-Dural, which was released with collector's editions of The Old Republic upon its release on December 20 of 2011. While this battle is referred to as simply the "Battle of Bothawui" in the timeline and book, the following, more prominent battle is also referred to as the "Battle of Bothawui."

Appearances

 * Timeline 5: The Battle of Bothawui
 * Star Wars: The Old Republic