Fourth Battle of Coruscant (Galactic Civil War)

The Fourth Battle of Coruscant was waged in 10 ABY, shortly after the death of Grand Admiral Thrawn.

First engagement
"Coruscant is surrounded. Our defenses have been forced to retreat, and we estimate the planetary shield will fail by morning."

- Garm Bel Iblis

Within days of Thrawn's death, and inspired by what he had accomplished with so little in such a short amount of time, the Imperial Ruling Council and four Imperial Warlords agreed to unite for an attack into the Galactic Core.

The New Republic at the time was no match for the military might of the once-more-unified Empire with its fleet facing enough problems in the Outer Rim, and after a short and decisive campaign, the Empire had captured several key New Republic systems in the Core including Ralltiir, Esseles and Chandrila.

This forced Chief of State Mon Mothma to consider a last-minute plan for the defense of the galactic capital Coruscant. However, she never got a chance, since the combined Imperial armada began bombarding Coruscant's energy shield from orbit, damaging the heavily populated ecumenopolis below. The Imperials' first target were Coruscant's comm centers, knocking out the ability of the capital to communicate to its forces throughout the galaxy and requiring a number of commandeered courier ships, such as the Messenger, to break through the blockade and send word.

Mon Mothma ordered a general evacuation of the entire population of the capital, carried out by Garm Bel Iblis. Thus, the Empire had retaken its Center and the New Republic resorted to guerrilla fighting.

Civil war and end
After Imperial control was assured, the warlords attempted to elect a new Galactic Emperor, but the situation quickly degraded, resulting in a civil war between the warlords which lasted for nearly a week. The fighting ended when the warlords eventually attended a meeting called by an Imperial Inquisitor named Julias Randal, who managed to convince them that he could lead their forces to victory against the New Republic. Afterward, the four Imperial factions united under Lord Randal, and Operation Shadow Hand began.