Tingel Arm campaign In the first year of the Great Galactic War , the Galactic Republic went on the offensive against the revitalized Sith Empire in a military campaign for the Tingel Arm . The campaign was the result of the Empire ' s initial foray back into the known galaxy after centuries of exile in the Unknown Regions . Following its invasion and capture of the Republic ' s Aparo sector , the Empire settled into the Tingel Arm , much of which had already defected to the Sith cause . Without knowledge of the defection , the Republic called upon its Navy to retake the region of space . Although they had hoped to capitalize on their alliances with the peoples of Belkadan , Sernpidal , and Ruuria in the Tingel Arm , the Republic forces instead found themselves in a battle for survival , as those worlds had already been overtaken by the Empire . Despite being reinforced with ships from the rest of the Navy , the Republic fleet was overwhelmed when the Imperial Navy arrived to aid the Empire ' s puppet governments on the Tingel Arm worlds . With Belkadan , Sernpidal , and Ruuria secure , the Sith were able to move their naval fleets to Korriban — their ancestral homeworld and the true target of their early campaigns . The Republic withdrew from the Tingel Arm shortly thereafter , defeated once again by the Imperial Military ' s blitz . Prelude . After the Great Hyperspace War , the ancient Sith Empire fled the known galaxy and worked to reconstruct itself into a new empire in the Unknown Regions . During that time , the Sith Emperor meticulously planned and prepared his invasion of Galactic Republic space . The Empire made secret alliances with Republic - aligned worlds in the Tingel Arm and installed its own puppet governments on the planets to ensure their subservience . In 3681 BBY , the Imperial Navy made its presence known on the fringes of the Tingel Arm , luring in Republic observers before destroying them in the first conflict of what would become known as the Great Galactic War . In the immediate wake of the opening shots of the war , the Republic was slow to organize its forces to defend the worlds of the Outer Rim Territories . As a result , the Aparo sector fell to the Sith before the Republic Navy even reached the region . Finally , in response to the Imperial Military ' s sudden and swift attacks , the Republic rallied its naval forces and charged headlong into the Tingel Arm , but were unaware that many worlds in the region had already surrendered to the Empire and allied with the Sith . The campaign . The Republic fleet entered the Tingel Arm on a vector inbound from an exterior arm of the galaxy . The fleet positioned itself between the worlds of Belkadan and Sernpidal of the Dalonbian sector , and Ruuria in the Xappyh sector . Unbeknownst to the Republic forces , those planets were among those that had already defected to the Empire and were now firmly under the command of the Sith . Caught between the collective forces of the puppet governments set up by the Imperials , the Republic fleet was forced onto the defensive . In response to the surprising disadvantage , Republic leaders called upon all available vessels to reinforce the fleet in the Tingel Arm . Despite the additional Republic firepower and personnel , the Sith were still able to overwhelm the Republic when the Imperial Navy joined the forces of the Imperial governments of the Tingel Arm . To avoid complete destruction , the Republic fleet plotted escape routes around Sernpidal and fled the region . The bulk of the fleet found sanctuary at the planet Mirial in the Illisurevimurasi sector . Aftermath . The scattering of the Republic fleet was one of many signs that the war was not going to be an even contest . After the failure of the foray into the Tingel Arm , Republic military leaders were unable to come to a consensus regarding where the dispersed fleet should regroup , which allowed for further losses in the region . As a result of the Republic vessels ' abandonment of their posts to aid in the Tingel Arm campaign , many strategic regions across the galaxy were left undefended . One such location was the ancient Sith homeworld of Korriban , which was left under the protection of only a few Jedi security ships . The Empire , having secured a hyperspace route to Korriban by capturing Belkadan , Ruuria , and Sernpidal , led a fleet of warships to the planet and retook it during the conflict in the Tingel Arm , without the Jedi High Council even realizing that they had lost it . These events , along with the loss of the Aparo sector and several other worlds in the Outer Rim , caused a panic on the Republic capital world of Coruscant . The Galactic Senate and Jedi Council met in an emergency session to organize the defense of the galaxy , but the meeting became mired in politics , with senators openly refusing to participate in the proceedings after their worlds were delegated little or no protection from the Republic ' s armed forces . The disorganization of the Republic ' s government and the growing power of the Empire in the Outer Rim allowed for the Sith Emperor to prepare his forces for the long fight toward the Galactic Core . The Republic was on the defensive for the following decade , up until a historic stand at Bothawui in 3671 BBY . The Kel Dor Jedi Master Gnost - Dural recorded his experiences during these early days of the war in a personal journal , which included records of his concern over the defeat in the Tingel Arm . The volume was later the first work entered into the new Jedi Archives on Tython . Following the conclusion of the war with the Alderaan peace conference , Gnost - Dural made a new , more scholarly holorecord on the events surrounding the beginning of the Great Galactic War and again included information on the Tingel Arm campaign . Behind the scenes . The Tingel Arm campaign was first introduced in " " , the sixth installment of the " Galactic Timeline " . The " Galactic Timeline " is a series of web videos presented as historical accounts on the story behind LucasArts ' and BioWare ' s massively multiplayer online role - playing game , " " . The installments are available on the game ' s official site and are narrated by the Kel Dor Jedi Master Gnost - Dural , who is voiced by actor Lance Henriksen . The campaign was later mentioned in " The Journal of Master Gnost - Dural " — an in - universe account of the Great Galactic War that was released with the collector ' s edition of " " . In 2012 , the defection and capture of the planets Ruuria , Sernpidal , and Belkadan by the Sith Empire was mentioned in the " " .