Together, we can end this destructive conflict, and bring order to the Galaxy
—Darth Vader to Luke Skywalker
The Galactic Civil War (approx. 19 BBY–20 ABY) was a major galactic conflict fought between the oppressive Galactic Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic, a rebel faction dedicated to the revival of the Galactic Republic the Empire supplanted.
The conflict traced its origins back to dissent in the Galactic Senate during the Clone Wars against the nearly authoritarian power of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. Armed conflict did not commence, however, until a few years after the Declaration of a New Order and the Great Jedi Purge, when Rebel and Imperial forces clashed for the first time. At first, the Empire saw the Rebel Alliance only as a political threat and not a military one, but after the rebel Luke Skywalker destroyed the First Death Star in the Battle of Yavin, the rebels were taken more seriously and the Empire realized that the rebels were indeed a threat.
The decisive confrontation came at the Battle of Endor, when the Rebel fleet faced that of the Empire and secured victory, destroying the second Death Star and the Emperor. From there, the Empire began a slow decline, and was gradually reduced to the Imperial Remnant, a fragment of its formerly grand self.
Different Wars[]
The later Galactic Civil War was actually made up of many smaller wars. However, long after the war finished, it was decided that it would be more impressive if the leaders of both sides participated in one war, rather than many insignificant ones. The most famous of these smaller wars was the Nimad War, declared in 16 ABY by Grand Moff Seerdon.