Battle of Bothawui / Legends The Battle of Bothawui was a space battle that took place in 22 BBY , during the Clone Wars . After learning that the Confederate General Grievous was planning to invade the planet Bothawui , the Jedi High Council dispatched Jedi General Anakin Skywalker and a fleet of three newly constructed " Venator " - class Star Destroyers to blockade the Both system in preparation of Grievous ' s arrival . Accompanied by his Padawan , Jedi Commander Ahsoka Tano , as well as a unit of clone troopers , Skywalker engaged Grievous several times before arriving over the gas giant Bothawui Prime . Clone Captain CT - 7567 , nicknamed " Rex , " took multiple AT - TE walkers to the planet ' s asteroid belt , intending to attack Grievous ' s frigates from the rear once they passed by . The Confederate general arrived in the system , and Skywalker led the starfighter unit Gold Squadron in his Delta - 7B fighter . After the Confederate fleet went through the asteroid belt and passed by the walkers , the AT - TEs opened fire , crippling the frigates . Grievous attempted to escape in his personal fighter ; and , as Skywalker and his astromech droid R2 - D2 gave pursuit , the Jedi ' s fighter was damaged by flying debris . Rex was able to save Skywalker , but R2 - D2 was salvaged by the Trandoshan scavenger Gha Nachkt . Prelude . In 22 BBY , during the Clone Wars , the Jedi High Council received intelligence from diner owner Dexter Jettster that the Confederate General Grievous was planning on invading the planet Bothawui . The planet was home to the Bothan people , who possessed extremely adept information - collecting abilities and who were vital to Galactic Republic intelligence . Intending to prevent Grievous from taking Bothawui , Jedi Masters Yoda and Mace Windu devised a plan to blockade the Both system . Grievous would be drawn to the bold offensive , and the Republic would be able to trap and eliminate the cyborg general . Three new " Venator " - class Star Destroyers from the Allanteen Six shipyards were to be sent to Bothawui under Jedi General Anakin Skywalker ' s command . The assignment pleased Skywalker , as it was the first time he was to be given his own battle group . The three Star Destroyers of Skywalker ' s new fleet — " Resolute " , " Pioneer " and " Dauntless " — arrived on the galactic capital of Coruscant , and Skywalker himself took the " Resolute " as his flagship . Admiral Wullf Yularen was assigned to be Skywalker ' s deck officer aboard the " Resolute " , while Commanders Vontifor and Isibray took charge of the " Pioneer " and " Dauntless " . Skywalker was accompanied by his Padawan , Jedi Commander Ahsoka Tano . A unit of clone troopers — under the command of Clone Captain CT - 7567 , nicknamed " Rex " — was assigned to the battle group , and after preparations for the fleet ' s departure were completed , the three Star Destroyers left Coruscant . En route to Bothawui , Skywalker was pursued by four " Munificent " - class frigates under the command of Grievous , and the Republic cruisers were knocked out of their hyperlane s multiple times . In their third engagement with the Confederate frigates , Skywalker was able to delay Grievous before taking a direct hyperspace course to Bothawui . However , Grievous delayed his pursuit of Skywalker to coordinate attacks on Republic forces on separate fronts . The Confederate general picked up two more frigates and invaded the planet Falleen , overwhelming a Republic battle group stationed there , before regaining his original course to Bothawui . Skywalker arrived over the gas giant Bothawui Prime before Grievous and learned of the defeat at Falleen from High Jedi General Obi - Wan Kenobi . Although outnumbered two - to - one in vessels , Skywalker was intent on preventing Grievous from taking Bothawui . Skywalker deployed AT - TE walkers under the command of Rex to the asteroid belt surrounding the planet . Once the Confederate fleet passed through the asteroids , Rex ' s squad would be able to outflank Grievous ' s frigates . The battle . The six Confederate frigates arrived in the system , and Grievous ordered his ships to navigate through the asteroid belt , believing that the asteroids would provide suitable protection from the Republic ' s laser fire . Unaware of Skywalker ' s deployed AT - TE walkers , the cyborg general ordered all of the power of the frigates to be diverted to the forward shields . In his Delta - 7B fighter , Skywalker himself led the starfighter unit Gold Squadron toward the Confederate fleet , in order to draw Grievous ' s attention away from the deployed walkers and make the three cruisers ' defense appear authentic to the Confederate general . As the frigates approached , Skywalker and the V - 19 Torrent starfighters of Gold Squadron held position . Aboard the " Resolute " , Tano ordered the cruisers to hold their fire until the AT - TE walkers could engage Grievous ' s fleet . The Confederate frigates emerged from the asteroids and commenced fire at the Republic cruisers . Outgunned , all of the cruisers sustained damage , and one of the Republic vessels was crippled . Skywalker led his squadron toward the Confederate fleet , but one of the V - 19 fighters was hit by laser fire and crashed into another fighter . While his squadron retreated , Skywalker and his astromech droid , R2 - D2 , headed toward the Confederate frigates to confront the fleet at a closer proximity . The unsuspecting Confederate frigates passed by the walkers , and Rex and his men opened fire . As Grievous realized he had been outflanked , the walkers attacked the frigates ' unprotected sterns . One of the Confederate vessels was destroyed , and Tano ordered the Republic fleet to commence fire at their adversaries . A frigate fell to laser fire from the Republic cruisers , and Skywalker destroyed the bridge of another vessel with his fighter , disabling the frigate . Realizing that he had been defeated , Grievous boarded his personal fighter , " Soulless One " , and fled from his command ship and the rest of his outmatched frigates . As the Republic cruisers targeted what remained of the Confederate fleet , Skywalker gave pursuit of Grievous , but the Jedi ' s fighter was hit by flying debris . While Grievous was able to jump to hyperspace and escape , Skywalker ' s fighter exploded and veered toward the asteroid belt . Aftermath . Rex led the search - and - rescue mission that saved Skywalker from the asteroid belt , and the Jedi was tended to by a medical droid aboard the " Resolute " . However , Rex was unable to save R2 - D2 . Skywalker was left dismayed , as he had developed an attachment to the droid . As such , the Jedi had never wiped the droid ' s memory banks of secret Republic information . When Kenobi — who had been witness to the battle in a Force vision — learned of this , he ordered Skywalker to find the droid , as the information would prove fatal to the Republic in the hands of the Confederacy . Unbeknownst to the Jedi , the Trandoshan scavenger Gha Nachkt found R2 - D2 and promised the droid to Grievous in exchange for credits . Skywalker and Tano were assigned a replacement astromech droid , R3 - S6 , and departing the Republic fleet in Skywalker ' s personal ship , the " Twilight " , the Jedi searched the asteroid field for R2 - D2 . Skywalker and Tano discovered the wreckage of Skywalker ' s fighter but found that R2 - D2 was missing from the fighter ' s astromech socket . The Jedi came across the " Vulture ' s Claw " , Nachkt ' s freighter , and disguised themselves as peasants before entering the ship and searching for R2 - D2 among the scavenger ' s wares . General Grievous ' s loss at Bothawui added to a number of his recent defeats , eventually leading Confederate Head of State Count Dooku to arrange a test for him . Behind the scenes . The Battle of Bothawui was featured in " Downfall of a Droid , " an episode in the of the . The battle was later expanded upon in the December 2008 novel " " , written by Karen Miller . Series Director Dave Filoni and Series Writer Henry Gilroy noted that the element of the AT - TE walkers in space was used to make the battle more dynamic and interesting because of a lack of assets available for producing the episode . The " " sourcebook implies that Skywalker ' s troops were on the surface of Bothawui itself , but no other source expanded upon this or clarified it . The planet that Skywalker defends in the episode , originally identified as Bothawui , was retcon ned to be named Bothawui Prime in the 2009 " The Essential Atlas " . Author Jason Fry established Bothawui Prime to be another name for the gas giant Golm , a planet first created for the 1996 " Shadows of the Empire Planets Guide " .