The Destruction of Atravis II, known by survivors as the Decimation, was a battle over and subsequent destruction of the planet of Atravis II at the edge of Independent League of Free Systems space. A fleet of Sith warships dropped out of hyperspace and launched a surprise attack against what few League ships were in orbit. A blockade of the planet was quickly established, through which only several small freighters and transports made it, and after some deliberation by Sith admiral Sharr Makesa, he ordered the planet destroyed via orbital bombardment. Every known settlement on the planet's surface was annihilated, and after the planet was purged Makesa ordered further destruction of much of the planet's ecosystem. Hundreds of species of animal and plant went extinct and much of the planet's ability to support life was extinguished.
The attack came at the height of the Sith's invasion of the known galaxy. The League had maintained a policy of neutrality under the direction of President Dut Kol, despite his own misgivings about the Sith. Darth Ominus ordered a provocation against the League to draw them into the war. Ominus chose the planet Atravis II, a flourishing agricultural planet which exported foodstuffs to many other nearby sectors, and which played host to an up-and-coming shipyard owned by Sluis Van Star Corporation. The loss of both the planet and the shipyard – a long-term and expensive investment of the Star Corp – left Chancellor Tardon Rutian the strongest supporter in the Free League Council for a declaration of war against the Sith. Despite being worried that his military was not fully prepared for a conflict of such magnitude against the powerful Sith armada, Kol acquiesced, and one week later the Council issued the Declaration of Retaliation, announcing the League's entry into the Civil War against the Sith.