Second Battle of Iridonia

"I've never seen such a one-sided victory. Not even the Mandalorians were able to overpower an enemy with such seeming ease."

- Captain Fullar of the

The second Battle of Iridonia was one of the first major victories for the in the first half of the. Planned initially as a raid on a supply base and intended to demonstrate that the invading was not invincible, it involved distracting the Sith military with a small-scale attack on a shipyard in the  prior to the main thrust on the  homeworld of. The ground assault, conducted by the 3rd Marine Battalion under Captain Laera Reyolé, initially met with little resistance, quickly securing the facility and driving most of its staff and guards into the countryside.

However, as the command center fell, a small fleet of Sith warships dropped out of in the space directly overhead. The four were initially unaware of the Republic presence, as they had simply intended to replenish their stores there. Fortunately for the Republic forces on the ground, the task force of Kedlis Hetton had been stationed behind one of the planet's two moons as a contingency plan. With his warships and s in perfect ambush position, Hetton ordered his task force to attack the rear flank of the Sith formation while the two squadrons that had been assigned to combat aerospace patroll assaulted the vanguard. It was at this point that demonstrated her mastery of, guiding the Republic forces in space and on the ground to a decisive one-sided victory.

Prelude
"Throughout the galaxy, things are looking grim; one doesn't need the Force to see that. However, it is my sincere hope that we can do something to affect the current situation in a positive way."

- Laera Reyolé addresses the officers of the Third Battalion

As the erupted with Darths  and 's declaration of war and subsequent invasion of the, the  put together a number of victories that carved out a wedge of  that reached to the. Captain Laera Reyolé, the new commander of the 3rd Marine Battalion, who had been killed during the only to be brought back to life at Revan's orders, sought to find a way to take the initiative for the Republic. Reyolé, who had also trained as a during the time between the two conflicts, put together a plan involving a series of limited actions aimed at the flanks of the newly-occupied Sith worlds. Using her unusually acute -sense, which allowed her to discern the auras of sentient beings at incredible distances, she systematically scoured the homeworld of  for signs of its Sith presence, while her small scout ship hid in the shadow of the planet's smaller moon. The four-day mission exhausted her powers, but she was able to obtain, with help from the vessel's sensors and on-board computers, the approximate makeup and layout of the Sith supply base that had been established there.

During this time, the first part of her plan was put into effect. The 23rd Marine and 52nd Naval squadrons, acting in concert, carried out a raid on the formerly Republic-operated shipyard and repair facilities at Cobalt J-27. With surprise and superior tactics on their side, the two units rendered the asteroid facilities unusable, in addition to destroying a half-squadron of, a battle-damaged , a transport, and a fully-laden bulk freighter. Retreating from the area without having suffered any losses, the two units returned to their home vessel, the Stalwart Defender. Buoyed by the unexpected success of the diversionary raid, the troops, pilots and crewers of Kedlis Hetton's task force eagerly awaited the main attack.

The battle
"Maybe today we'll get to put the old girl to good use."

- Admiral Hetton ponders the upcoming battle

Behind the scenes
The Second Battle of Iridonia, while a ical battle within the Jedi Civil War, is only described in the reference work. Star Wars: Saber Battalion, written by Sean "Goodwood" Nash, was intended, in part, to establish a possible fan-canon chronicle of the engagement. As in canon, the events of this battle lead up to the Republic's at .M

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Saber Battalion