Siege at Onderon

The siege at Onderon was a late battle of the Clone Wars fought between the Confederacy of Independent Systems and Galactic Republic as part of the Outer Rim Sieges campaign. The battle was waged in 19 BBY for the Inner Rim planet Onderon, which had previously been occupied by the Confederacy until its liberation during the Onderonian Civil War in 20 BBY by the Republic-supported Onderon rebels.
As part of the sieges, the Confederacy attacked Onderon and besieged the planet, returning Onderon to a state of conflict. The battle saw the Onderon rebels—whose ranks included Saw Gerrera, a rebel leader from the still-recent Civil War—once more fight for the Republic. Unfortunately for the rebels, the Republic's transformation into the Galactic Empire at the end of the Clone Wars created a new era of conflict on Onderon.
==Prelude==
When the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems (CIS) beganStar Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy in 22 BBY, King Ramsis Dendup of the Inner Rim planet OnderonStar Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy decided to remain neutral on the belief that both sides were corrupt and that such a choice would spare Onderon from the horrors of war. In reaction, the CIS invaded the world by covertly supporting a pro-Separatist coup, which brought Separatist puppet King Sanjay Rash to power. With the puppet king "inviting" the Confederacy military to Onderon, the Separatists secured a firm foothold over Onderon through an occupation. Although Onderon's representative in the Separatist Senate, Mina Bonteri,The Star Wars Book firmly believed in the Separatist cause, the Confederacy's violation of Onderonian sovereignty inspired a resistance movement of citizens under siblings Steela and Saw Gerrera. The ensuing Onderonian Civil War lasted from 22 BBY to 20 BBY. In the latter year, the Onderon rebels formally approached the Jedi High Council for help in overthrowing Rash.
Unable to directly interfere with the affairs of a planet with a history of neutralityStar Wars: Dawn of Rebellion: The Visual Guide and that had chosen to align with the CIS, as the Republic recognized Rash's rule, Jedi General Anakin Skywalker proposed a covert operation to train and support the local insurgency. Although Steela gave her life in the final battle, the Separatists were ultimately ousted from Onderon, with Rash being executed for his failure by General Kalani on the order of Confederate Head of State Count Dooku. As Mina's son, Lux Bonteri, who had lost faith in the Separatist cause after Dooku had his mother killed, promised during Steela's funeral, Onderon then returned to the Republic. Lux served as its senator while Dendup returned to the throne. The people of Onderon remained loyal to the Republic for the rest of the war.
==The siege==
Toward the end of the Clone WarsThe events of "Old Friends Not Forgotten" overlap with the Battle of Coruscant, which Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith establishes to occur late into the Clone Wars. Therefore, the events of "Old Friends Not Forgotten" must occur late into the war as well. in 19 BBY, General Grievous launched a major Separatist offensive during the Outer Rim Sieges, the final campaign of the Clone Wars. As part of the sieges, the Confederacy attacked and besieged the recently-liberated Onderon, battling with the Republic-supported Onderon rebels and turning the planet into a battlefront once more. Just as he had in the Civil War, the tireless Gerrera fought on behalf of the Republic during the siege. The battle was dubbed the "siege at Onderon."
In the final days of the war, Gerrera also began to use Skywalker's Fulcrum frequency to keep in contact with the Jedi. During the Battle of Yerbana, when former Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano and Mandalorian Bo-Katan Kryze contacted the Republic using the Fulcrum frequency for help in the Mandalorian Civil War, Skywalker and fellow Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi initially thought Gerrera was trying to contact them, with the latter speculating that Gerrera's efforts had taken a negative turn. However, Admiral Wullf Yularen informed the Jedi it was not Gerrera contacting them, and the two soon learned that it was instead Tano and Kryze.
==Aftermath==
The Clone Wars came to an end when Skywalker, as the newly-christened Sith apprentice Darth Vader, wiped out the Executive Separatist Council on the planet Mustafar in the Outer Rim Territories. Vader also sent out a shutdown signal to the Confederacy military, leaving the Separatist Droid Army to cease its ongoing attacks and stop in its tracks.Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel However, the end of the war did not mark the end of Gerrera's troubles but instead saw the reformation of the Republic into the Galactic Empire by Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, secretly the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, betraying Gererra's ideals. As Palpatine, Sidious also sent out Order 66 to the clone troopers who served alongside the Jedi, forcing the clones to wipe out their own commanding officers because of the behavioral modification biochips installed in their brains. Gerrera recognized that Palpatine had unlimited control over the clones and believed a new civil war was imminent.
Despite their work with the Republic during the war, Gerrera and his remaining rebel fighters refused to fight for the new regime. As such, they were dubbed enemies of the state and seen as a threat in the opening days of the Imperial Era, during which time Gerrera's resistance fighters fled into the dense Onderon forests. Even though Gerrera had been promised that Onderon would be free after the war, the Empire moved to annex the world,Star Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide and so Gerrera reformed the Onderon rebels into a rebel cell named the Partisans and protected a number of civilians. His fighters soon captured an elite team of clones—Clone Force 99, otherwise known as the "Bad Batch"—that had been dispatched by Imperial Admiral Wilhuff Tarkin on the claim that they would find Separatist insurgents. Gerrera urged the clones to resist the new Imperial government before letting them go. Declaring their own war against the Empire, Gerrera and his Partisans waged a brutal insurgency for the future of Onderon but ultimately abandoned the world.
==Behind the scenes==
The siege at Onderon was first mentioned in "Old Friends Not Forgotten," the ninth episode of the seventh and final season of the animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, released on April 17, 2020. According to the Star Wars Encyclopedia issue "The Clone Wars," which was first released by De Agostini on September 7, 2021, the siege at Onderon was launched against the Separatists by the Onderon rebels despite the world's recent liberation from CIS control. However, the De Agostini encyclopedia "Saw Gerrera and Other Characters of the Galaxy"—which was first published on August 26, 2022—had framed the battle as a Separatist attack against Onderon. Indeed, the 2023 reference book Star Wars: Timelines stated that the siege was launched against Onderon by the Confederacy. As such, this article assumes "The Clone Wars" encyclopedia is incorrect.
==Appearances==
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==Sources==
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*Star Wars: Timelines
==Notes and references==
Category:Battles of Onderon
Category:Battles of the Outer Rim Sieges