Order 66

"The time has come. Execute Order 66."

- Palpatine to clone commanders

Order 66 was one of a series of contingency orders that the Clone troopers of the Grand Army of the Republic were secretly trained to prepare for during their growth. The order branded the Jedi as traitors of the Republic and called for their immediate execution without question. Its issuing by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine marked the formal beginning of the Great Jedi Purge, which started the Galactic Civil War. Almost all of the Jedi were killed by Order 66, and most of the survivors were killed in the Great Jedi Purge that followed. The Jedi Order survived through acts of Jedi, such as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda teaching Luke Skywalker the ways of the Force. In 8 ABY Order 66 was issued again and the Confederation of Free Planets began hunting the Jedi arcoss the galaxy that marked the formal beginning of the Fourth Jedi Purge.

Prelude to Order 66
Order 66 could be found in the document entitled Contingency Orders for the Grand Army of the Republic: Order Initiation, Orders 1 through 150, GAR Document CO(CL) 56-95, a document containing a series of special contingency orders that covered any and all emergency situations, which the clones that comprised the GAR were prepared to execute, immediately and without question, and only in specific cases of extreme necessity. Some of these orders concerned contingencies any armed force could conceivably face. Many dealt with contingencies specifically involving the GAR Supreme Commander — in this case, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine — and the effect on the chain of command were he ever to become incapacitated or declared unfit to issue orders. Sufficiently buried among the other one hundred forty-nine orders so as to almost escape notice, Contingency Order 66 specifically dealt with the effect on the chain of command were issues to arise involving the Jedi.

In 19 BBY, Order 66 was issued by Darth Sidious toward the end of the Clone Wars. The official reason given for its execution was the onset of an attempted Jedi coup against the Republic; in reality, it was the culmination of a chain of events orchestrated by Palpatine himself over a period of decades, all designed to end the Jedi Order and to bring about the domination of the Sith. Just days earlier, the Senate had passed the Security Act amendment, which gave Palpatine authority to disband the Jedi Order. After the destruction of General Grievous at the hands of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Masters Mace Windu, Kit Fisto, Agen Kolar, and Saesee Tiin stormed the Supreme Chancellor's office, intent on arresting Palpatine, who had been revealed to them as the elusive Sith Lord Darth Sidious by Anakin Skywalker. Kolar, Tiin and Fisto were quickly cut down by Sidious, but Windu was able to hold him off and eventually disarm him. Skywalker then arrived to find the Supreme Chancellor, looking defeated, attempting to surrender in exchange for his life.

When it became evident that Windu was going to kill Sidious, Skywalker intervened, which gave the Sith Lord the opportunity to destroy the Jedi Master. Windu's "assassination attempt" provided the chancellor with the excuse he needed to have Order 66 carried out. Anakin Skywalker, for his part, was in a state of shock and confusion. Sidious, now scarred from the "attempt on his life," took advantage of young Skywalker's emotional distress and pressured him to turn to the Dark side of the Force. Unsure what to do, feeling he could never be forgiven for what he had done and desperate to save his wife Padmé Amidala from the possibility of a presaged demise, Skywalker complied and was "knighted" by Sidious as his new apprentice, Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith. Vader would have an important role to play in carrying out his new master's plan.

Execution of the Order
At 2100 hours local time, on the one thousand, eighty-ninth day of the Clone Wars, Palpatine retired to his private office in the Republic Executive Building, activated his comm unit and, with much relish, issued the command for which the Sith had spent a thousand years waiting: “Execute Order 66”, thinking to himself that his only regret was that he couldn't be there personally to watch them die. He employed a channel that would make the authenticity of the order unquestionable, but ironically, the signal was encrypted using a Separatist code – one of the rare giveaways that he was in fact the hidden hand behind both sides of the war. Palpatine sent word out via the office of the Chancellor to all of the clone commanders in the army. The commanders displayed a variety of reactions to the surprising order, but since it came from the Chancellor himself, virtually all of them carried it out without question or hesitation. On countless planets, Jedi were cut down by their troopers. The Jedi, who had been spread throughout the galaxy across disparate battlefields, were almost all caught totally unaware and easily gunned down. Three years of non-stop galactic warfare polluted the Force with the dark side, clouding Jedi perception even further. Because the clones had no malice nor hatred, but were merely following a legal order, they had no ill intent in their heart, which might have given some warning to the Jedi via the Force.

Although it was impossible for Palpatine to have issued the order to every single commander individually, he did take the time to contact several personally before the Order was relayed throughout the army as a whole. Within the first minutes of the Order, several members of the Jedi Council had been killed; including Plo Koon on Cato Neimoidia at the hands of Captain Jag, Stass Allie on Saleucami at the hands of Commander Neyo and CT-3423, Aayla Secura on Felucia at the hands of Commander Bly, Commander Typhuss and members of the 327th Star Corps, 52nd Star Corps, Alpha Company, 42nd Assault Squad and Ki-Adi-Mundi on Mygeeto by Commander Bacara and the Galactic Marines. On Utapau, Obi-Wan Kenobi was riding a varactyl named Boga when Commander Cody executed the order, ordering an AT-TE to fire on him, but Kenobi managed to survive and escape the planet. He soon reunited with Grand Master Yoda, who had also managed to escape an attack by Commander Gree on Kashyyyk.

As noted, not all clone troopers obeyed the Order. On Murkhana, Roan Shryne and Olee Starstone were rescued from Order 66 by members of a clone commando unit. Led by Climber, they initially questioned the validity of the order, and even upon confirmation, refused to side with the government over those who had fought alongside them, having developed an affinity for the Jedi. Omega Squad, Delta Squad, and Ordo Skirata did not even hesitate to disobey the order, though all of them feign compliance to avoid suspicion, as they had already formed doubts about Palpatine and his new Centax Clones. Captain Maze, as well, did not execute Arligan Zey. In all other recorded instances, Commandos and ARC troopers obeyed it.

Raid on the Jedi Temple
On Coruscant, Senate Emergency Response announced a state of martial law over Coruscant, and declared the Jedi Temple under military lockdown. Order 66 authorized the newly christened Darth Vader and the 501st Legion to attack the Jedi Temple; however, deciding to take a more surprise-attack approach, a mission named Operation: Knightfall was devised where the 501st attacked any Jedi they found in the Temple — Masters, Padawans, even younglings. They also massacred non-Jedi staff, including administrators, trainers, and guards. Bail Organa was able to escape because the 501st were "tired of killing". No Jedi within the building were spared, but some escaped, including Shaak Ti, Kazdan Paratus and Jin-Lo Rayce.

Unknown/MIA
There were some Jedi whose fate after Order 66 was unknown. Among many reasons, either no body could be discovered or all troops present were killed. Among the lost were Depa Billaba, who was believed to be recovering from past wounds at the time of the attack on the Jedi Temple. Master Coleman Kcaj was believed present on Coruscant during Operation: Knightfall, and likely died in the conflict. It was assumed by Obi-Wan Kenobi that his long time friend, Bant Eerin was killed. Glynn-Beti, Ulu Ulix, Voolvif Monn, and Saldith were all assumed to be active during the war and possibly died, though it was also possible that they survived and went into exile along with many of the other Jedi.

Aftermath
Although Order 66 greatly depleted the Jedi Order's ranks, with an estimated less than 100 Jedi surviving it, it was only the beginning of the Great Jedi Purge, which stretched on for years. Nearly all of the surviving Jedi Knights were hunted down and murdered by Darth Vader, while Order 66 itself remained in effect indefinitely among the ranks of the Galactic Empire's newly-christened stormtroopers. Masters Kenobi and Yoda, like many others, chose to go into exile—on Tatooine and Dagobah, respectively. There they managed to elude Imperial forces for many years; a feat few of their contemporaries could claim.

Second Order 66
In 8 ABY Order 66 was issued again and the Confederation of Free Planets began hunting the Jedi arcoss the galaxy that marked the formal beginning of the Fourth Jedi Purge.

Known clone commanders

 * CC-8956 "Viktor"
 * CC-4815 "Ryan"
 * CC-1306 "Snake"
 * CC-3179 "Ash"
 * CC-9779 "Vill"
 * Varrant
 * CC-9090 "Sword"
 * CO-1212
 * Unidentified clone officer
 * "Bazooka"
 * CC-4516 "Cleaver"
 * CC-3468 "Kal"
 * CC-1010 "Fox"
 * CC-1119 "Appo"
 * CC-2009 "Typhuss"
 * CC-1009 "Worf"
 * CC-1243 "Mark"
 * Alpha 373 "Faie"
 * Alpha 210 "Hevy"
 * Alpha 821
 * Alpha-66 "Tarkov"
 * Alpha 822
 * CC-2299
 * CC-4822 "Ace"
 * CC-1138 "Bacara"
 * RC-7289 "Reynolds"
 * CC-4793 "Reek"
 * CC-9999 "Nines"
 * CC-7777 "Ghine"
 * CC-1710 "Theo"

Jedi victims

 * Lee Terence
 * Deakr Cueve
 * Eeth Koth
 * Gerax Moret
 * Quec Ackhmed
 * Shaak Ti
 * Voolvif Monn
 * Unidentified Jedi Master
 * Yod Ali Em
 * Vel Orset
 * Tina-Jill
 * Platt Nanostarter
 * Masami Kayoko
 * Zajik Xael
 * Many Jedi in the Jedi Temple in Operation: Knightfall

Clone victims
Clones killed by Jedi during Order 66
 * CC-4815
 * CC-4516
 * CC-32-1920
 * CC-9858
 * CT-0911
 * Tel
 * Tsunami
 * RC-7289
 * CC-3179
 * CC-9999 "Nines"
 * CT-4019 "Ave"
 * CT-3829 "Splodge"

Known survivors

 * Lor-Dane Roga
 * Far'katar Fazio (Killed in 17 BBY)
 * Hasti Zaadvala
 * Mace Windu
 * Nathaniel Kenobi
 * Scout
 * Whie Malreaux
 * Camil Fon
 * Regy Orfec
 * Asajj Ventress
 * Mefikran Rokinat
 * Ryas Mor
 * Camil Fon
 * Julias Randal
 * J.K.Burtola
 * Raja Seb
 * Ozzik Ozzel
 * Yoda
 * Obi-Wan Kenobi
 * Arwen Xalrich
 * Rahm Kota
 * Jaln
 * Aayla Secura (went into hiding as a pirate)
 * Noah Microboiler
 * Neelah Cosmicslash
 * Ahsoka Tano
 * Harko Jax (killed two weeks later)
 * Unidentified female Human Jedi (killed two weeks later)
 * Lie-See
 * Iguni

Known units that were in Order 66

 * Shadow Company
 * 302nd Division
 * 908th Elite Sharpshooter Battalion
 * 212th Attack Battalion
 * 501st Legion
 * 909th Snow Detachment
 * 482nd Siege Battalion
 * 910th Snow Detachment
 * Division 66
 * Cato Neimoidia Garrison
 * 88th Star Corps
 * Alpha Squad
 * 911th Snow Detachment
 * Arctic Spaceport Garrison
 * Ithaqua Station Garrison
 * Coruscant Guard
 * 52nd Star Corps
 * Rhea Company
 * 42nd Assault Squad
 * Alpha Company
 * Theta Squad
 * 9th Battalion
 * Weapon Squad
 * Terra Team
 * 186th Elite