Battle of Ryloth The Battle of Ryloth , also known as the Ryloth campaign , broke out on the planet Ryloth during the Clone Wars . The battle was between the Galactic Republic and the Free Ryloth movement allies , against the Separatist Droid Army of the Confederacy of Independent Systems . The battle would result in the liberation of Ryloth after the retaking of Lessu , in what became known as the Battle of Lessu . Years later , the recapturing of the capital would be named the Hammer of Ryloth in songs . Prelude . Ryloth was invaded and blockaded by the Confederacy of Independent Systems ' droid army under Techno Union Emir Wat Tambor . The Separatist ground forces then attacked the Republic garrison , which was under the command of Jedi General Ima - Gun Di and Clone Captain Keeli . The Republic troops received help from the Twi ' lek resistance forces under Cham Syndulla . However , supplies started run low and their heavy weapons began going offline . Di then contacted the Republic fleet - two cruisers - under Admiral Dao , but Dao ' s fleet was running low on fuel , ammunition and supplies , therefore no aid could be sent - both ships were later destroyed by Separatist warships . Di ordered Dao to contact the Jedi Council for support . Dao was able to contact the temple telling Masters Yoda , Windu and Kenobi that he would not be able to re - supply the Outer Rim garrison . Dao then died as his flagship was destroyed by Confederacy ' s blockade . The Jedi Council then had the Senate send Naboo Representative Jar Jar Binks with supplies to Toydaria which was close to Ryloth to resupply what remained of the Republic ' s garrison and the twi ' leks . The Council also asked Alderaan Senator Organa to accompany Binks and speak with the Toydarians and their king . However , Dooku was informed by TX - 20 of the Council ' s plan and had Trade Federation Senator Lott Dod d go there to prevent Binks and Organa from convincing Katuunko to send aid . Although King Katuunko officially refused to aid the Republic supply efforts , he allowed Organa and Binks to complete their mission as long as Dod and the Trade Federation did not learn of it . As Binks distracted Dod at a dinner party , Organa then loaded the blockade runners with supplies . General Di , Clone Captain Keeli and their troops then prepped their last gunship to evacuate the resistance fighters ' families . Their plan failed because the gunship was too small . Di and his men decided to turn the gunship into a bomb and then hold off the droid army to allow Syndulla , his men and their families to escape . After the bomb went off , Syndulla then left with his men through the mountains . Di and his men held off the droids long enough for the Twi ' leks to escape , but ultimately Di and Keeli were killed . As the Republic garrison fell , Organa ' s supplies came in , and the Twi ' lek resistance fighters were able to receive the supplies and continue to resist Separatist occupation . The occupation . After the annihilation of the Republic garrison , Ryloth had been completely occupied by the Separatist droid army , and Separatist Council member , Emir Wat Tambor oversaw the occupation from the city of Lessu . He sent his forces to pillage , ravage and rob the Twi ' leks ' villages of anything valuable . He also had TX - 20 capture the city of Nabat and it inhabitants . Once there , TX - 20 and his battle droids set up a battery of 5 proton cannons and used the captured Twi ' leks as a living shield to protect them . During this time however , the Twi ' lek resistance continued to harass the Tambor ' s forces , at heavy cost . They were able to maintain a hideout to ensure their safety . Syndulla also had spies who reported on Tambor ' s theft of their treasure . Many , such as Vice Chair Mas Amedda , considered the invasion a total defeat , and a costly one at that , for the Republic . Nevertheless , the Republic Army would answer the Galactic Senate ' s plea to liberate the planet and free them the Separatist occupation . Thus Jedi Generals Mace Windu , Obi - Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker were sent with their forces to free Ryloth from the Separatists . The battle . The blockade . Skywalker , along with his apprentice , Commander Ahsoka Tano , Admiral Wullf Yularen , Clone Captain Rex , and his forces were then sent to break through the Separatist blockade under the command of Captain Mar Tuuk . General Skywalker then sent in his apprentice and Blue Squadron to engage the blockade ' s droid fighters . At first , Tano and her squadron were able to make their attack run through the droid fighters . However , Captain Tuuk summoned reinforcements . Despite that , Tano disobeyed her master ' s and Yularen ' s orders and continued with her attack . Tuuk ' s forces were able to break through the lines , launching suicide runs on the " Resolute " , " Defender " , and " Redeemer " . Tano finally did obey her master ' s order to return but lost all but two members of her squadron . Admiral Yularen was then injured when a droid fighter crashed into the bridge of his command ship . After Tano ' s Squadron returned to " Resolute " and the " Redeemer " was destroyed , Skywalker retreated . Skywalker then contacted Masters Windu and Kenobi , informing them of his lack of progress and his casualties . Windu warned Skywalker that if he could not break through the blockade the invasion would have to be postponed . Skywalker knew that they could not postpone it much long and assured them that he would break through the blockade . Skywalker then told his apprentice of this . However , Tano told him they could not blast through the blockade . Heeding the words of his apprentice , Skywalker decided to used the " Defender " , which was beyond repair , and ram into the droid ' s command ship . Skywalker then had the " Defender " ' s crew evacuate , leaving only himself and R2 - D2 to pilot the cruiser . Skywalker then left Ahsoka in charge of the " Resolute " and their remaining forces . Skywalker also told her to come up with a plan to finish off the rest of the blockade . After Skywalker left with the " Defender " , Tano and Rex then discussed their battle plans . Tano then came up with a maneuver to entrap the remaining droid forces and use the bombers to finish them off . Though Rex and one of the bridge officers questioned this tactic , Ahsoka told them that they were out of time . Yularen , still recovering from his injury , agreed to using the bold and unorthodox strategy . As Skywalker arrived , he then hailed Captain Tuuk . Skywalker then offered to surrender himself , his crew and his ship to his forces in exchange to delivering supplies to the Twi ' lek . Tuuk was then informed by his droids that only Skywalker was left onboard . As Tuuk told Skywalker this , Skywalker and R2 then programmed the " Defender " to ram Tuuk ' s ship as they made their way to an escape pod . Knowing that there was no stopping the " Defender " , Tuuk qucikly escaped on an escape pod . Tano ' s forces then arrived and started their maneuver to finish off the remaining blockade . At first the droids were slow to attack without Captain Tuuk , but they then began their attack on the " Resolute . " As the droids moved on the " Resolute " , Tano then launched her flanking maneuver and destroyed the remaining frigates , much to the chagrin of Emir Tambor . Ahsoka then contacted Masters Kenobi and Windu , informing them that they may begin their landing on Ryloth . Skywalker and his forces then completely secured the space around Ryloth . Landing at Nabat . As the Republic forces made their descent , General Kenobi , Commander Cody , and the troopers of Ghost Company were sent in by General Windu to secure the landing area near the city of Nabat . As Kenobi and his troopers made their way to Nabat aboard their gunships , the droid commander in charge of Nabat , TX - 20 was ordered by Emir Tambor to ensure that the Republic would not be allowed to land . TX - 20 assured Tambor that the proton cannons would prevent the clones from landing and that the Jedi would not risk a ground assault with Nabat ' s survivors acting as his living shield . As Kenobi and his gunships made their way , Kenobi and Cody made it clear that they would not use rockets or detonators in the city . TX - 20 then opened fire on the gunships and the landing ships , destroying the right engine of three of the landing ships . Windu and Commander Ponds then contacted Kenobi , telling him that they could not risk landing the larger transports until Kenobi destroyed the canonns . Kenobi and his gunships were then able to land on the outskirts of Nabat . Kenobi and Ghost Company were then able to overcome the outer defenses . Kenobi then sent Cody and his best men to scout ahead and report on the droids ' plans . Cody , along with troopers Wooley , Waxer , and Boil then scouted ahead , before splitting up . Waxer and Boil found a little Twi ' lek girl , Numa , in the ruins . Cody and Wooley found the cannons and noticed that the battle droids were using Nabat ' s survivors as hostages . At the same time , TX - 20 then sent out recon droids to learn of the clones ' plan of attack . Cody and Kenobi then informed General Windu of the cannons and the hostages . Windu made it clear that getting the hostages out of the way was the priority . Kenobi assured him that he would still be able to take out the cannons . Upon learning that it was Kenobi leading the attack , TX - 20 decided to release his captured herd of starving Gutkurr upon the clones . Kenobi and Cody decided to start their attack , but Waxer and Boil were late and decided to take Numa with them . After they got a message from Cody , they came under attack by two Gutkurrs . Luckily , they were able to escape through the tunnels in Numa ' s home . As Kenobi , Cody and their troopers were moving forward , they came under attack by the Gutkurrs . At first , the Gutkurrs ate and killed several of the troopers , but Kenobi was able to use a mind trick to lure the Gutkurrs away from his troopers and trap them in an alleyway . After that , Kenobi and Cody then found Waxer , Boil and Numa coming out of a tunnel . Kenobi then asked Numa if there was a tunnel that could get him past the droids to free the prisoners . After Numa said yes , Kenobi then asked Cody to create a diversion . As Cody , Wooley and the remainder of Ghost Company prepared to attack the droids , Kenobi , Waxer , Boil , and Numa then made their way through the tunnels to the Gutkurr ' s cages . Kenobi waited while Cody and his men attacked the droids , leaving only a few guards and the gun crews left . As TX - 20 ' s battle droids and tanks took on the clones , Kenobi , Waxer and Boil freed the prisoners . After the prisoners were safe , Kenobi , Waxer and Boil then took control of one of the cannons , using it to destroy the other four cannons . TX - 20 was informed of Kenobi ' s freeing of the prisoners and turned his tank around . He destroyed the cannon that Kenobi was using and then held him and Numa at gunpoint . During this , the freed Twi ' lek began to run towards his tank . TX - 20 was then pulled out of his tank and destroyed by the Twi ' leks . General Windu and his transports were able to land after the cannons were destroyed . As Kenobi and Windu regrouped , they knew that they had to take the capital and free the rest of Ryloth . Kenobi and his forces continued to liberate other villages from the droids , eventually securing the Jixuan desert and Ryloth ' s southern hemispere . Battle of Lessu . Windu , alongside Commander Ponds , led his forces to liberate the capital of Lessu . En route on a cliff , Windu ' s forces came under attack by a group of AATs . The droids were able to stop the Republic forces briefly , but were defeated by Windu ' s Lightning Squadron . Windu lost 32 men in the attack , including command crews of three walkers . Windu then informed Chancellor Palpatine , Senator Orn Free Taa of Ryloth , Yoda , and Admiral Yularen that his forces would be unable to capture Ryloth without reinforcements . Thus he decided to recruit the resistance fighters led by Cham Syndulla . Palpatine and Taa warned Windu that Syndulla could not be trusted due to his radical nature . Yularen said that there were no Republic reinforcements available , thus Windu insisted that they could not win without Syndulla ' s help . In Lessu , Tambor and his tactical droid , TA - 175 , watched as Windu and his forces were moving towards Lessu . Despite TA - 175 ' s suggestion to prepare for evacuation , Tambor refused knowing that Windu did not have the troops to take Lessu . Tambor then decided to bring his forces inside the city and to secure the bridge . Dooku was then informed by TA - 175 of Tambor ' s " pitiful job " of protecting the Separatists ' investment on Ryloth . Tambor insisted that the droid was exaggerating and that he had not lost yet . Knowing that Tambor was no match for Windu , Dooku ordered him to retreat with valuables that can be taken with him and to destroy everything else on Ryloth . Dooku wanted Ryloth to be a message to demonstrate the cost of a Republic victory . TA - 175 prepared the Hyena bombers for their fire - bomb campaign and Tambor ' s shuttle for evacuation . Tambor still refused to leave , then had the bombers destroy every village in range . Ponds noticed how they destroyed the villages after the droids pulled out of them . Windu and two of his troopers then came across Syndulla and his men after they took out a droid patrol . At first , Syndulla was hesitant to join Windu due to another possible occupation by the Republic , but when the Separatists started to bomb the villages , he decided to speak with Senator Taa . Taa promised him that once the Droid army was gone , the Republic army would leave as long Syndulla did not pursue political power . Thus Windu and Syndulla united their forces . During this time , Skywalker , his apprentice and their bombers took on the Hyena bombers before they could complete their mission . As the Republic was moving onward towards Lessu , Tambor gathered up the last of the valuables . Dooku , growing impatient with the Emir , ordered him to leave before the Republic arrives . He also ordered TA - 175 to bomb the capital after he and Tambor had left . Tambor then waited for his last two MTTs filled with Twi ' lek treasure . As the Republic moved in on the outskirts of Lessu , Tambor then had city inhabitants moved to the outside of the city walls , hoping to slow Windu down . Windu and Syndulla then looked for away across , then Syndulla spotted the two MTTs that were loaded with treasure . Windu , despite the risk of being scanned and discovered , decided to take two of his troopers to get across the bridge . After destroying one of the STAPs , Windu and his two troopers then hid inside one of the MTTs . Windu then ordered Syndulla and Ponds to commence the attack after the bridge was on . The battle droids scanned the cargo on the bridge , and they discovered Windu and his men . After he subdued the droids , Windu pushed the two troopers across the bridge as it was being turned off by the droids . As he fell , Windu was able to jump on one of the STAPs and get to other side of the bridge . Windu then held off the droids as Stak and Razor made their way to the control room . Syndulla , Ponds and their forces then started their attack , charging towards the bridge to Lessu . Stak and Razor made it to the control center and took out the droids and the commander stationed there . They were then able to turn the bridge on and hold it against a few droid reinforcements , including a pair of commando droids . Syndulla and his men fought the battle droids as Windu went to capture Tambor . Tambor and two super battle droids made their way toward his ship . However , TA - 175 got there before him and evacuated without Tambor , calling him a fool . TA - 175 informed Dooku of this , who , despite believing this to be unfortunate , ordered him to bomb the capital immediately . As Windu subdued the super battle droids , Tambor tried to negotiate with him even though Windu knew he had the upper hand . Tambor refused when he saw that they were both going to die for the glory of Separatist Alliance . However , the Hyena bombers were then destroyed by Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka Tano . Tambor was then surrounded by Syndulla ' s and Windu ' s forces , when Syndulla demanded Tambor ' s unconditional surrender , to which Tambor agreed . The Republic forces , as well as the resistance forces , were then joined by Senator Taa . Both forces then held parade in honor of both the Resistance and the Grand Army ' s victory over the Confederacy . Legacy . After the success of the collaboration between local fighters and Republic forces , Republic High Command started to experiment by sending commando squads to Separatist occupied worlds and coordinate with local fighters , the experiment was successful on some worlds like Aridus and Tynna , but it attracted controversy that the Republic was exposing civilians to punishment by Separatist forces . During the early rebellion against the Galactic Empire , the people of Ryloth — now a protectorate and pillaged for slaves and spice by their Imperial overlords — would remember Windu ' s exploits during the Battle of Lessu , immortalizing both his and Cham Syndulla ' s name in songs . Chopper and AP - 5 , two war veterans became friends and allies due to their experience during the campaign . Chopper ' s Y - wing bomber was left as a war memorial near the Syndulla residence in the Tann Province .