Battle of Onderon The Battle of Onderon took place for control of the planet Onderon in 20 BBY , the final year of the Clone Wars . Having instigated Onderon ' s secession from the Galactic Republic at the war ' s outset , King Sanjay Rash found his regime , which was being backed by the Confederacy of Independent Systems , challenged by a grass - roots group of rebels organized by the young insurgent Saw Gerrera , who hoped to restore the deposed King Ramsis Dendup to the throne . Seeing an opportunity to engage the Confederacy on another front , the Republic funded the rebels with credits and arms to combat Rash ' s occupational forces from the Separatist Droid Army , while the Jedi High Council sent a team of advisors to train the rebels . Jedi Generals Obi - Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker , Commander Ahsoka Tano , and Clone Captain Rex of the 501st Legion were covertly inserted onto Onderon and oversaw training sessions at the insurgency ' s jungle camp , though the training escalated into actual combat when a battle droid squad attempted to exterminate the rebels . The newly trained rebels eliminated the enemy droid squad and infiltrated the Separatist - occupied capital Iziz , conducting strikes on droid patrols throughout the city . Kenobi , Skywalker , and Captain Rex thereafter withdrew from Onderon , while Tano stayed as an advisor , working primarily with the rebels ' core group : Saw , his sister Steela , and Lux Bonteri , the former senator of Onderon in the Separatist Parliament . As King Rash publicly portrayed them as terrorists , the rebels decided to make a show of strength , targeting Iziz ' s main power generator to extinguish the battle droids ' recharging source while also proving they were capable of challenging the Separatists . Their attack went as planned , with public support rallying to them in opposition to Rash ' s sponsored occupation of Iziz . Steela was elected to replace Saw as the rebels ' leader and oversaw continued offensives against the battle droid forces . Confederate Head of State Count Dooku subsequently sent Rash reinforcements under the command of the super tactical droid General Kalani . General Tandin and his royal guards sided with the rebels during Rash ' s attempted execution of ex - King Dendup , helping Steela and her insurgents rescue Dendup and pledging the Royal Onderon Militia to their forces . With Steela appointed by Dendup as their commanding general , the joint rebel and royal soldiers pulled out from Iziz , hoping to preserve civilian lives by isolating armed conflict to the eastern highlands . As full - scale fighting began , Kalani dispatched HMP droid gunships alongside battle droid battalions to strike a decisive blow against the rebel forces . The rebels used the mountain terrain against the Separatists and , despite heavy casualties , retaliated with a supply of rocket launchers — illegally provided by the Republic via the pirate Hondo Ohnaka — that could penetrate the droid gunships ' ray shielding . Although Steela was lost in the battle , the rebels won out over the Confederate forces , which withdrew from Onderon once Kalani executed Rash on Dooku ' s orders . Dendup was thus re - installed as ruler of the liberated Onderon . Prelude . Rebellion on Onderon . Unhappy with King Sanjay Rash ' s rule and the occupation of Onderon by the Separatists ' droid army , a group of rebels , including the former Onderonian senator Lux Bonteri , hid themselves in the jungles outside the Onderon capital . Lacking any hardware and supplies to directly fight the Separatist Droid Army head on , the rebels made contact with the Jedi Council petitioning for assistance . Most of the Council viewed the struggle as an internal affair , even mentioning that Onderon had officially sided with the Confederacy . Sending a Republic fleet would cause the Separatists to know that they sided with the rebels and retaliate . However Anakin Skywalker argued that the rebels just need guidance , with Mace Windu agreeing that the least the Jedi can do is to teach the rebels to defend themselves . Jedi assistance . The Jedi Council sent an advisory team consisting of Anakin , Ahsoka Tano , Obi - Wan Kenobi and Captain Rex to the surface of Onderon . Meeting up with Steela Gerrera , she led them to the insurgents ' hideout . The Jedi immediately began training the rebels in guerrilla warfare , although Obi - Wan made it clear that they cannot fight this war for the rebels . Rex trained the insurgents how to disable a tank , droidekas and droids efficiently . The battle . Defense of the insurgent camp . The Jedi ' s insertion did not go unnoticed to the occupying Separatists , so the sent a group of recon droids to probe jungle sector S11 . After one recon droid discovered the rebel ' s base , the Separatists sent a battalion of droids and a tank towards their hideout . The droid battalion caught the rebels in the middle of their training , and the battle began . Anakin , Obi - Wan , Rex and Ahsoka can do no more than protect the insurgents , however the rebels ' ingenuity and training resulted in them defeating the two waves . Lux and Saw , having earlier did not work as a team to disable a tank , successfully disarmed the tank with Ahsoka ' s support . All the droids were defeated , providing a much needed morale boost for the minor victory . However Obi - Wan pointed out that the Separatists now knew of their position . The defense did prove though that the rebels were ready to engage the droids at Iziz . Rebel strikes in Iziz . The rebels along with the advisors took advantage of the droids ' dim intelligence and disguised themselves as traveling merchants to infiltrate Iziz . Once inside , Saw went off to gather any allies in the city while the rebels prepared a hideout . After establishing themselves in the city , the rebels begun targeting individual droid patrols and checkpoints , using EMP grenades and accurate sniper fire to help prevent civilian casualties . In a meeting within a safe house , the rebels decided they needed to win the support of the people . Anakin , Obi - wan , and Rex left the planet while Ahsoka remained behind to supervise the insurgents ' activities . Attack on the power generator . Despite their efforts , the rebels saw that their small attacks did nothing to change the civilians ' opinion of them . Ahsoka and Lux believe that the civilians do not think that the rebels can win and therefore needed a bigger target . The rebels eventually decided on the city ' s main power generator , which was vital for the droids in the city to receive their electricity supply . Since nothing in their current arsenal could destroy a large generator , the rebels needed to hijack a tank . To draw out what they needed , a group led by Steela , Lux and Saw , accompanied by Ahsoka , ambushed a droid patrol . They left one droid alive long enough for it to call for reinforcements before destroying him . They were first however confronted by two droidekas , which gave the rebels trouble until Saw and Steela knocked them out by slowly rolling EMP grenades through their shields . After that , a tank finally showed up , accompanied by a group of super battle droids . Steela knocked out the droids with devastating sniper fire , while Saw and Lux knocked out the tank with an EMP . After restarting the tank , Steela left the tank to provide sniper cover while Saw and Lux continued with the tank . At the generator , Steela destroyed a majority of the droids guarding the entrance , and Saw destroyed the rest by running them over and the two gates at the entrance . While waiting for the main gun to recharge , a squad of commando droids attacked , inflicting no casualties . With all of the droids guarding the generator destroyed , Saw fired the main gun and destroyed the generator , plunging the city into darkness . The blackout caught the droid patrols off guard , allowing the rebels to easily massacre the droids in the city . Seeing that the rebels had succeeded , some civilians were given hope that they could win . The insurgents themselves were vitalized by the result and briefly celebrated their victory . Because of Steela ' s leadership skills during the attack , one of the female rebels elected her to be their leader . The group was unanimous with the decision , even Saw who congratulated his younger sister but was still visibly upset by it . Separatist retaliation . King Rash saw that the rebels had grown bold with the attack on the power generator , and believed that his predecessor was behind the rebels ' activities . Rash ' s demand for more droids was accepted by Count Dooku , who agreed to send Rash better battle droid reinforcements under the command of General Kalani , a super tactical droid . To draw the rebels out , the Separatists had put out the news that the former king , Ramsis Dendup , was to be executed soon . Steela wanted to put together a plan to save the king , but Saw instead decided to save Ramsis himself . He snuck over the palace wall , destroyed a battle droid guard and freed Ramsis , but his plan backfired when he found the palace had a one - way shield . Saw was captured and tortured into giving the rebels location , but refused to break . At the execution the next day , Steela , Lux and the rebels attacked in an attempt to free Saw and Ramsis , but were forced to surrender when a group of super battle droids and droidekas showed up and surrounded them . Before Ramsis was even executed , General Tandin , having been persuaded by Saw earlier , decided to defect from Rash ' s regime to the rebels ' cause . He , along with the Onderon Guard s of the Royal Onderon Militia , freed the rebels from facing execution . Tandin then took King Rash hostage , allowing the rebels and the royal guard to escape . Ahsoka then intervened and knocked over the droids with a Force Push and escaped with Tandin into the crowd . The droids tried to pursue , but were stopped by the angry crowd . The rebels ' final stand . The rebels escaped the city with Ramsis and the rebels in tow and took cover in the eastern highlands . Ramsis had Ahsoka and Lux deliver a holographic communicator to the city and he gave a speech to the citizens and told them that the rebels were patriots seeking to liberate them all . Desperate to rid himself of the rebels and regain power , Rash had Kalani readied a force of droids , tanks , and new HMP droid gunships to eliminate the rebels once and for all . Meanwhile , Steela , Saw , Lux , Ahsoka , and the other rebel leaders tried to figure out a plan to decisively defeat the Separatists . Saw wanted to lay siege to Iziz , but Steela was concerned this would endanger the civilians and destroy their reputation as liberators . She wanted to lure the droids into the highlands , where they would have the advantage of high ground and additional cover than on the flatlands surrounding Iziz . Once the droid forces reached the highlands , the rebel soldiers and the royal guard were waiting in ambush . At first , they managed to inflict heavy casualties on the droids , but when the gunships attacked , with their heavy armament and ray shields , they made it difficult for the rebels and they fell back to their camp . Anakin meanwhile , traveled to Florrum and managed to convince Hondo Ohnaka to deliver a shipment of rocket launchers to the rebels . These weapons allowed the rebels to take out the gunships . One gunship however crashed into area where Steela and Ramsis were standing and Steela was left clinging for life over a sheer cliff . Lux attempted to save her but nearly fell himself . He was saved by Ahsoka using the Force and tried to do the same for Steela . However , the gunship wasn ' t fully knocked out and shot Ahsoka in the left shoulder . Lux disabled the gunship with a laser blast to the gun . The wound to Ahsoka caused her to drop Steela to her death and they stood reeling in shock and horror . Even with the death of rebels ' leader , the remaining droids were defeated , turning the tide of the battle against the Separatists on Onderon . Aftermath . After the rebels ' victory in the highlands , Count Dooku ordered General Kalani to withdraw the remnants of the Separatist forces to Agamar , not long after Kalani shot King Rash to death . After the Separatists retreated from Onderon , a funeral was held for Steela Gerrera with thousands of Onderonians grieving the loss of the leader of the rebels . As the memorial was being held , Lux revealed to Ahsoka that the re - installed king of Onderon , Ramsis Dendup , has appointed him the new senator of Onderon , which , he states , will allow him to lead his people back to the Republic .