First Battle of Manaan (Galactic Civil War)

"Where have you been?" "Liberating Manaan."

- Tarvin and Tristan Calaan during the Battle of Rori

The First Battle of Manaan, also known as the Liberation of Manaan was a battle fought between the New Republic and the Galactic Empire in 5.5 ABY. The Battle was part of Admiral Ackbar's campaign through the Inner Rim Territories and resulted in the liberation of Manaan from Imperial control.

The battle
Admiral Ackbar arrived in the Pyrshak system with a task force consisting of Home One, Commodore Tristan Calaan's flotilla and Captain Pash Cracken's Flight Group as well as a detachment of New Republic Special Forces operators. The Imperial commander on Manaan, which had been left relatively undefended by the Empire, was only able to send up to squadrons of TIE/ln starfighters to meet them. Cracken's RZ-1 A-wing interceptors, despite taking a few casualties, made quick work of the Imperial fighters, damaging or destroying all of them within minutes. With the enemy fighters out of the way, Ackbar proceeded to bombard Imperial targets in Ahto City from orbit. With Imperial forces in the city in disarray, many Selkath slaves rose up against their Imperial masters and began assaulting Imperial positions with whatever weapons they could get their hands on. After approximately forty-five minutes of bombardment, a New Republic turbolaser found its mark and destroyed the Imperial command post, killing the Imperial commander. With their fighter cover gone and their commander dead, the remaining Imperial forces on the planet surrendered not long afterwards. After accepting the Imperial surrender, Ackbar proceded to deploy New Republic Special Forces operators to the surface to secure the planet.

Aftermath
Despite the victory, Tristan Calaan's flotilla was forced to depart from Manaan almost immediately after the end of the battle to aid New Republic forces in the Battle of Rori.

Free from Imperial control, Manaan would join the New Republic a few months after the conclusion of the battle. Manaan would go on to provide the New Republic with a steady supply of kolto which could be used as a cheap alternative to Bacta. Manaan's kolto production under the New Republic proved so effective in fact that the planet was assaulted by the Empire again five years later during Operation Shadow Hand in the hopes of halting the planet's kolto production.