Battle of Colla IV ( Clone Wars ) Late in the Clone Wars , a battle took place on the Colicoid spawnworld of Colla IV when the Galactic Republic launched a strike on the Colicoid Creation Nest , a corporation that manufactured battle droids for the Confederacy of Independent Systems . While Republic assault ships shelled the planet ' s surface , four platoons of clone troopers infiltrated the Colicoids ' shielded factory . There , they were attacked by a Scorpenek annihilator droid that took out three platoons within minutes . After the surviving members had fled from Colla IV , ARC trooper Sergeant Stec reported on the failed mission to his superiors and brought back information on the first - ever encounter with the annihilator droid . Meanwhile , expecting the return of the Republic forces , the Colicoids brought the droids to the front lines to support the Separatists ' war effort . Prelude . On the Inner Rim world of Colla IV , the insectoid Colicoids developed an advanced technological society divided into a hierarchy of specialized nests . The Colicoid Creation Nest was responsible for the manufacture of higher technology , including droids . During the Clone Wars , it supported the Confederacy of Independent Systems in its war effort against the Galactic Republic and provided battle droids for the Separatist Droid Army . To guard their spawnworld , the Colicoids created the Scorpenek annihilator droid , a larger , more powerful version of the droideka , another Colicoid Creation Nest combat droid . The annihilator droid was armed with rapid - fire , high - intensity laser cannons capable of destroying enemy tanks . Due to the expensive production , fewer than one hundred were deployed on Colla IV , most of them stationed on strategic or political positions . Because of the Colicoids ' hostile nature , only a few strangers visited their homeworld , and the annihilator droid ' s existence was kept secret . Late in the Clone Wars , the Galactic Republic decided to launch an attack against the Colicoid Creation Nest , and sent in a strike force consisting of Republic assault ships and four platoons of clone troopers to Colla IV , the site of the firm ' s manufacturing facility . The Grand Army of the Republic intended to eliminate a major source of combat automata for the Separatists when storming the planet , and take control of the world in the same breath . The battle . Upon arrival on Colla IV , the Republic assault ships shelled the planet ' s surface with turbolaser bombardment . Meanwhile , a landing force composed of the four clone trooper platoons , including ARC trooper Sergeant Stec , advanced on the shielded Colicoid Creation Nest factory and infiltrated it . As the soldiers reached the inmost wall , they were attacked by an annihilator droid that the Separatists had deployed to defend the manufacturing facility . The droid destroyed a duracrete barrier , hereby dashing the troopers ' cover , and killed most of the troopers — three of the four platoons assigned to the task — within minutes . Upon this , the surviving clone troopers retreated . Aftermath . After the failed mission to capture Colla IV , Sergeant Stec , one of the few surviving troops , brought back information on the Scorpenek annihilator droid and reported on the recent encounter to his superiors . Though he did not know exactly what droid their enemy had deployed to repel the landing force , he recommended not letting the Colicoids take them off - planet , bringing to mind that a single one had taken out three platoons . Meanwhile , the Colicoids expected the Galactic Republic to return to Colla IV . Guarded by an orbital screen that had been established by a Separatist naval task force , they used freighters to ship the annihilator droids to the front lines . Their deployment ensured Separatist victories on Palanhi and Formos . The Separatist forces also benefited from the droids ' firepower during the Outer Rim Sieges . Behind the scenes . The battle of Colla IV was first mentioned in the annihilator droids ' entry in " The New Essential Guide to Droids " , a Del Rey reference book by Daniel Wallace that was published on June 27 , 2006 . Later , the battle was referred to in two entries of the 2008 " The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia " , as well as in the 2012 " The Essential Guide to Warfare " . Colla IV ' s entry in " The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia " indicated that the Separatists used several annihilator droids against the clone troopers during the battle . This contradicts with the information given in " The New Essential Guide to Droids " , which states that a single droid attacked the landing force . This article assumes the latter is correct .