Battle of Alderaan

"For centuries, Alderaan stood as a beacon of hope in the Republic. But the Empire came, and with one savage strike, brought Alderaan to her knees. Now, time is running out as few are left to face the enemy. For those that remain, there is but one choice. We must fight&mdash;to victory, or death&mdash;for the Republic!"

- A Republic trooper

The Battle of Alderaan was a major conflict between the Galactic Republic and the reconstituted Sith Empire that occurred during the height of the Great Galactic War. The peaceful and verdant Core World of Alderaan was a Republic member world, and widely viewed as an embodiment of the ideals and principals that the Republic was founded upon; it was that reputation that made it a military target for the Sith Empire. As the Great Galactic War dragged on elsewhere in the galaxy, the Sith formulated a plan to crush Republic morale by invading Alderaan and shattering its serenity. The incursion was led by the Sith Lord Darth Malgus, who planned for it to coincide with a diversionary feint that would pull the ships of the Republic Navy far from Alderaan. As the planet sat undefended by the Republic fleet, it was beset by a massive Sith invasion force which quickly obliterated local defense forces and took the royal family of Alderaan hostage.

Unknown to the Sith forces, the Republic had stationed groups of Republic troopers across the planet prior to the invasion. These troopers took to the mountains and forests of Alderaan during the Sith attack, and proceeded to wage a guerrilla war against the enemy. As Darth Malgus led his forces in a march towards the planet's capital of Aldera, he was ambushed by the troopers of Republic Special Forces' Havoc Squad. Much of the squad was killed during the battle, but with the timely arrival of a Jedi to aid the men of Havoc Squad, Malgus and his Sith forces were routed. Following the skirmish outside of Aldera, the Republic fleet returned from the diversionary feint to drive the Empire off of Alderaan. The battle was a major victory for the Republic, but had grave consequences for the future of Alderaan. Although historically a voice for peace, the Alderaanian government became a vocal proponent of harsh military actions against the Empire in the aftermath of the battle. This new stance came in conflict with the peace established by the Treaty of Coruscant in 3,653 BBY, which ultimately led to a bloody planetary civil war.

Prelude
"While Coruscant has always been considered the heart of the Republic, to some extent, Alderaan has been its soul."

- A HoloNet dossier on Alderaan

After its return to galactic prominence in 3,681 BBY, the reconstituted Sith Empire stabbed into Galactic Republic space in a brutal campaign for domination. As the Great Galactic War dragged on, the Sith continued to advance towards the Republic's bastion worlds near the galaxy's center, known as the Core Worlds. In this region lay Alderaan, a verdant and historically tranquil planet that had long been a voice for peace in the Republic's Galactic Senate. Alderaan was seen as the soul of the principals the Republic had been founded on, and it was that reputation that made it a military target for opportunistic Sith commanders hoping to capitalize on what would be a major blow to Republic morale.

The plan for an Imperial invasion of Alderaan was headed by the Sith Lord Malgus, who had recently been granted the honorific title of "Darth." Malgus specialized in surprise assaults, and utilized that ability in planning the attack on Alderaan. The Sith Lord manipulated the forces of the Republic Navy into all but abandoning the planet in order to deal with a situation light years away&mdash;a situation that was in fact nothing more than a diversionary feint fabricated by Malgus to pull defenses away from his target. However, unbeknown to the Sith, the Republic had stationed numerous groups of Republic troopers on Alderaan's surface, a number of which were part of the Republic Special Forces division of the military.

The battle
"While the sacrifices are heavy, we fight knowing that a single spark of courage can ignite the fires of hope, and restore peace across the galaxy."

- A Republic trooper

With Alderaan's naval defenses far from their charge, the forces of the Empire invaded the world in a swift and savage assault. Darth Malgus himself led the incursion force, which consisted of several thousand assault droids, hundreds of fellow Sith, large numbers of Sith troopers, and a bounty hunter. The ground forces were joined by vessels of the Imperial navy, including starfighters and battlecruisers. Once his forces were on the planet, Malgus began a devastating campaign across the once-tranquil world. The Sith forces obliterated the local Alderaanian defense forces and continued on to burn entire cities to the ground. During the assault, the Sith forces captured Alderaan's royal family, holding them hostage for a period of time and earning the ire of the Alderaanian government. As Malgus continued his brutal campaign across the planet, he set his sights on Alderaan's capital city of Aldera. While he led his forces in a march towards the city, the Republic forces that had been stationed on Alderaan's surface mobilized. Up until the Sith advance on Aldera, the soldiers of the Republic Military had been recovering from the wounds of battle and awaiting orders from their superiors. In response to Malgus's overtures, they took to Alderaan's forests and mountain ranges in preparation to fight a guerrilla counter-campaign against the Sith invaders. While the rest of the Republic personnel on the planet set out to repel the Sith across Alderaan, it fell to the elite Special Forces group Havoc Squad to defend Aldera by engaging the Imperial forces under the direct command of Darth Malgus.

A commander of Havoc Squad led his forces into position on a ridge overlooking the forest route that would be traversed by Malgus's troops. As the Imperials marched pass the Republic's position, the trooper commander opened fire with a blaster cannon, initiating the ambush. The rest of Havoc Squad leaped down from the ridge to join their commander in battle against the Sith through the forests of Alderaan. The troopers were able to destroy a number of assault droids with thermal detonators and blaster fire, but were eventually engaged by Darth Malgus himself. Upon seeing the Sith Lord impale one of his comrades, the commander took aim at Malgus, though his first several shots were ineffective. The trooper's final cannon shot engulfed the enemy commander in flames, badly damaging his face. When the trooper attempted to rush the Sith Lord and finish him off, Malgus assaulted him with Force lightning and threw him across the battlefield. The remaining Sith forces gained the upper-hand in the skirmish, eventually forcing the Republic soldiers on the defensive. Havoc Squad troopers that fell behind were systematically killed by the Sith execution-style, until intervention from a female Jedi. The Jedi allowed Havoc Squad the opportunity to press their attack once more while she engaged Sith Warriors, their war droids, and Malgus himself. The Jedi and the Sith Lord's fierce melee was nearly ended when Malgus disarmed his opponent and attempted to stab her with his lightsaber. His attack was unsuccessful however, as the Jedi was able to absorb the energy from Malgus's lightsaber instead of being stabbed. While the Sith attempted to penetrate the Jedi's defenses, he was tackled by the Havoc Squad commander he had faced earlier. While they grappled with one another, the commander activated a grenade, sparking a blast that threw the two combatants apart from one another and grievously injured both.

The Havoc Squad commander was rendered unconscious while Malgus was able to quickly recover. Despite surviving the explosion, the Sith Lord was again assaulted by the Jedi, who threw him with the Force into a large rock face. As Malgus struggled against her telekinetic attack, the Jedi mustered power through the force and delivered a powerful Force Wave, impacting the Sith Lord and shattering the rock around him. With the Imperial commander incapacitated, Republic forces continued to wipe out the Sith forces both in the forest battle and across the rest of Alderaan. The Havoc Squad commander later recovered to find the Imperials defeated, along with many of his own men. Upon being joined by the Jedi who had saved him earlier, the trooper fired a signal flare into the sky to indicate the Republic victory. The flare was matched by dozens of others across the planet which were immediately followed by the arrival of the Republic fleet, which had returned from addressing Malgus's diversion.

With the full might of the Republic Military focused on Alderaan, the Sith were driven from the planet and the royal family was rescued from captivity.

Aftermath
"The Imperial invasion was not forgotten, though. For the first time in history, Alderaan’s leaders became a voice for aggressive military action in the Senate."

- A HoloNet dossier on Alderaan during the Cold War

Although Alderaan was safe from Imperial aggression for the remainder of the war, the invasion had a profound effect on the once-peaceful planet. Alderaan's leaders, who had previously been renown for their pacifism, began to advocate aggresive military operations against the Empire in the Republic's Senate, as a response to the damage the Sith had inflicted on their homeworld. In 3,653 BBY, the Sith Dark Council called for a peace summit to convene on Alderaan to discuss the terms of a possible termination of hostilities between the Republic and Empire. The summit ultimately yielded a peace agreement known as the Treaty of Coruscant&mdash;a document that would have severe consequences for the galaxy at large, and Alderaan in particular.

By all measures, the Sith had won the Great Galactic War, and the Treaty of Coruscant was little more than a consession of defeat for the Republic. The agreement was heavily biased towards Imperial interests&mdash;a fact which outraged Alderaanian politicians who had taken a hardline stance against the Sith. In protest of the Republic's establishment of peace with the enemy, Alderaan's crown prince stormed out of the Senate and declared his planet an independent system. The secession was met with mixed reaction from the people of Alderaan and chaos broke out on the planet following the prince's assassination. The queen died in the following days, leaving the Alderaanian throne vacant and Alderaan's parlaiment unable to appoint a new ruling family. Several noble houses competed to become the new royal family, but the competition quickly became violent, with Republic and Imperial interests both trying to influence the outcome of what became one of the bloodiest planetary civil wars in galactic history.

Appearances

 * Hope