Western Reaches Operation The Western Reaches Operation was a campaign launched by the Galactic Empire around 17 BBY , to drive out the holdout forces of the Confederacy of Independent Systems from the Western Reaches . Prelude . During the final days of the Clone Wars , after the fall of Bomis Koori IV , the remnants of the CIS forces fled Rimward down the Corellian Trade Spine into the Western Reaches , seeking shelter amid the pirate bases and slavers ' nests of the lawless region . After the rise of the New Order , Emperor Palpatine tasked Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin of Eriadu with pacifying the region . Tarkin regarded the Planetary Security Forces in the Western Reaches to be unreliable , and considered the number of pirates and Separatist holdouts to be a significant threat . Consequently , he appealed for significant military resources In response to Tarkin ' s request , Admirals Terrinald Screed and Bannidge Holt were given joint command of the Western Reaches Superiority Force , while General Hurst Romodi was assigned to lead the ground forces and Tarkin commanded from Eriadu . The campaign . Advancing from Eriadu , Screed and Holt ' s forces defeated the Separatists early at the Battle of Kelrodo - Ai after the TIE Fighter ace Shea Hublin made a daring run against the Citadel of Axes , bringing down the planetary shield in preparation for Romodi ' s ground assault . The Empire won a further victory at the Battle of Pendaxa . With the Rimward front secured , Tarkin turned his attention north . Imperial forces moved up the Rimma Trade Route and defeated the Separatists at the Battle of Ord Vaug , before swinging back south down the Corellian Trade Spine and winning victories at Halm , Ichtor , Little Petrovi , and the Feather Nebula , where Hublin won further accolades . During these battles , Hurst Romodi became famous for directing assaults from the open top hatch of a Floating Fortress . The campaign resumed in the south at Bryndar . There , Bannidge Holt was killed and Romodi badly injured in an ambush by Iska pirates disguised as local officials . Despite being blinded , Romodi continued to direct the ground operations of the campaign from a bacta tank . Screed and Hublin smashed the Iska pirates at the Battle of Fanha , forcing the pirate lord Guun Cutlax to flee into the Atravis sector . Cutlax linked up with Separatist forces under the command of General Kendu Ultho , but he was pursued by Screed and Hublin back up the Hydian Way . Cutlax was defeated at the Battle of Tosste , and the campaign was concluded with the defeat of Ultho at the Battle of Ogoth Tiir . During the course of the operation , the Empire liberated ninety - five worlds and restored order to eight sectors . Aftermath . The Western Reaches Operation captured the imagination of the Imperial citizenry , with the battles at Ord Vaug , Halm , Pendaxa and Ichtor becoming famous throughout the Empire . In later years , Imperial citizens were said to always remember where they had been when they heard of Holt ' s death and Romodi ' s injury at Bryndar . The campaign was heavily propagandised by the Empire , and dramatised in films like " The Charge at Feather Nebula " and " The Guns of Kelrodo - Ai " . In the aftermath of the campaign , Hurst Romodi became the representative of his native Lambda sector in the Imperial Senate , though psychological issues brought about by his injuries led him to serve only one term . His last command would be as Battle Station Operations Chief aboard the First Death Star under his old commander , Tarkin . The operation was also the peak of Terrinald Screed ' s career : he sank into obscurity after the operation and ended up leading corrupt business and slaving schemes in the Outer Rim with Governor Bisad Koong of Roon .