First Battle of Lothlórien

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|prev=Mission to Coruscant (Frodo Baggins)
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|name=First Battle of Lothlórien
|image=
|conflict=War of the Ring
|date=September 8, 1981
|place=Lothlórien
|result=*Confederacy of Independent Systems victory
*Jedi escape from Lórien
|side1=*Galactic Republic
*Jedi Order
*Elves
|side2=Confederacy of Independent Systems
*Mordor
*Goblins
|commanders1=*High General Sam Gamgee
*Lady Galadriel
*General Gimli
*General Frodo Baggins
*Another Jedi Knight
*Commander Eowyn
*Marshal Commander CC-2224
*Commander CC-3636
*Captain CT-7567
|commanders2=*The Mouth of Sauron
*Dark Witch Jinx
*Commander Gorkil the Goblin King
|forces1=*5 Jedi
*Clone naval officers
*Clone tank gunners
*Clone troopers
**104th Battalion
**212th Attack Battalion
**501st Legion
*Clone trooper pilots
*3,600 Elven archers
*3,200 Elven warriors
*At least 7 All Terrain Tactical Enforcers
*4 BARC speeders
*At least 1 HAVw A6 Juggernaut†
*3 Delta-7B Aethersprite-class light interceptors
**Blade of Dorin
*6 Low Altitude Assault Transports/infantry
**Plo's Bros
*Hunter Squadron
**V-19 Torrent starfighters
*3 Venator-class Star Destroyers
**Negotiator
|forces2=*B1-Series battle droids
*4,800 Orcs
*B2 super battle droids
*7,830 Goblins
*2,000 Easterlings
*86 BX-series droid commandos
*35 Droidekas
*DSD1 dwarf spider droids
*9 Octuptarra magna tri-droidsStar Wars: The Clone Wars: Incredible Vehicles
*175 Single Trooper Aerial Platforms
*45 Hyena-class bombers
*Rogue-class starfighters
*425 Vulture droid starfighters
*70 Armored Assault Tanks
*22 Mumakils
*5 Multi-Troop Transports
*NR-N99 Persuader-class droid enforcers
*1 super tank shield generator
*4 C-9979 landing craft
*HMP droid gunships
*9 Munificent-class star frigates
*1 Recusant-class light destroyer
|casual1=*Heavy ground and space losses
*All ground vehicles in Eowyn's patrol
|casual2=*Battle droids, Orcs, Goblins and droid starfighters
*Super tank shield generator
*Several Munificent-class star frigates
}}
The First Battle of Lothlórien took place for control of the Elves forest city of Lothlórien between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems in the first year of the War of the Ring. When the Confederate and Mordor General The Mouth of Sauron and the Dark Witch Jinx seized Lothlórien with the Separatist Orc Army, Lady of the Elves Galadriel, Jedi Generals Sam Gamgee and Frodo Baggins and the latter's Padawan, Jedi Commander Eowyn, were dispatched to lead a clone trooper and Elves detachment of the Grand Army of the Republic to maintain the Republic's foothold on the world. However, the Jedi and their forces were soon overwhelmed by the deeply entrenched Separatist troops, and Republic reinforcements were sent to extract the Jedi and the clones from the contested forest.
While Clone Commander Wolffe oversaw the Republic Navy's Hunter Squadron and several Star Destroyers in their assault on the large Separatist blockade surrounding Middle-Earth, Jedi Master Gimli and a Jedi Knight took a squadron of LAAT/i gunships with starfighter escorts to rescue the Jedi and clone troopers on the embattled surface. Although Gamgee, Galadriel, Frodo, Eowyn, and the remainder of their battle group were able to evacuate from the forest with Gimli's team, the Republic's failure to hold Lothlórien hampered the Grand Army's efforts in the entire region.
==Prelude==
From the beginning of the War of the Ring in 1981, the Confederacy of Independent Systems established a foothold of strength on the forested city Lothlórien in the region of Rhovanion. Becoming a contested site between the Confederacy and the Galactic Republic, Lórien's state of contention escalated later the same year, when The Mouth of Sauron, the Dark Witch Jinx, and the Separatist Orc Army initiated an assault on the Elves forest world to conquer it for the Confederacy.
==The battle==
===Separatist advances===
With The Mouth of Sauron, Jinx, and their army of battle droids, Orcs, Goblins dealing heavy losses on Lothlórien, the Jedi High Council dispatched High Jedi General Sam Gamgee, Jedi General Frodo Baggins, and the latter's Padawan, Jedi Commander Eowyn, with a clone trooper detachment of the Grand Army of the Republic to defend Lady Galadriel's world. After the Jedi and their troops had arrived, however, the Separatists—determined to gain control of the Elves forest world—deployed their forces in overwhelming numbers. With a Separatist Recusant-class light destroyer and numerous Munificent-class star frigates blockading Middle-Earth's space, the Jedi and clones were trapped on the beleaguered forest.
A large army of B1, B2, and DSD1 dwarf spider droids converged upon the Republic's main position—a forest clearing where the Jedi, Clone Marshal Commander CC-2224, and Clone Captain CT-7567 had established cover for the main body of clone troopers by surrounding them with All Terrain Tactical Enforcers. Frodo and Sam headed the defense of the main camp against the battle droid army, using their lightsabers to deflect the droids' laser fire while the clones returned blaster rounds back into the droid and orc lines. Eowyn, meanwhile, was assigned to take a pair of AT-TE walkers and a Juggernaut tank on a patrol of the dense jungle, but when she encountered groups of battle droids, Mumakils and Armored Assault Tanks just six kilometers east of the clones' main position, she chose not to return to the besieged clone encampment in the clearing as scheduled. Instead, she led her patrol against the droids, deflecting laser shots with her lightsaber from atop her Juggernaut, while her clone tank gunners concentrated the AT-TE walkers' fire on the droids.
As the Republic and Elves forces desperately tried to hold the line against the Separatists and Mordor, Jinx landed with a C-9979 landing craft and an army of Separatist and Goblins forces at a canyon on the forest. A Jedi Knight and Commander CC-2224, nicknamed "Cody," proceeded to secure the canyon to safeguard the Republic's last foothold on the forest, and their battle group utilized tower-mounted blaster turrets to intercept the enemy troops. When her droids, goblins, oliphaunts and Armored Assault Tanks were unable to claim the clones' position, Jinx sent out droid-piloted Single Trooper Aerial Platforms to cut through the Republic lines. Despite deploying all of her forces, Jinx initially failed to defeat the Republic detachment, but she did not relent and began a counterattack that pushed Lórien's defenses to their limits. Cody and the Jedi Knight then moved to secure a strategic canyon that led straight to the Separatists' base, a tactic that would force the Separatists to reinforce their own defenses with troops from the front lines. After her droids and goblins had begun to assault the clone forces, Jinx executed a surprise attack, clearing a path through the Republic's fortifications and sending BX-series droid commandos and other troops through the breach before the clones could attend to the weak point. Although Cody, the Jedi Knight, and their men emerged victorious at the canyon and cleared a path to the droids' base, Jinx remained determined to capture Lothlórien.
===The Republic in retreat===
As the Separatists continued to whittle away at the Republic defenses, Republic reinforcements arrived to rescue the Jedi and clones who had been trapped on the planet's Middle-Earth surface. Jedi Master Gimli and his 104th Battalion's Wolfpack were assigned to provide support for the withdrawal, bringing a three-cruiser fleet of Venator-class Star Destroyers, including the Star Destroyer Negotiator. While the trio of warships exchanged heavy turbolaser fire with the Separatist blockade under the supervision of Clone Commander CC-3636, nicknamed "Wolffe," Gimli—flying his Delta-7B interceptor—led several LAAT/i gunships and an escorting squadron of V-19 Torrent starfighters to evacuate the troops on Lothlórien. Tasked with breaching the enemy blockade to make way for Gimli's rescue ships, the Jedi Knight who had commanded the canyon battle against Jinx led, from a Delta-7B interceptor, the clone trooper pilots of Hunter Squadron in combating the Separatists' Vulture droid starfighters and Hyena-class bombers. During the battle, the Jedi Knight and Hunter Squadron were able to destroy a Munificent-class frigate that was blocking the Republic ships with its heavy fire.
Once the Jedi Knight and Hunter Squadron had cleared a path through more Vulture droid starfighters, Gimli—leading the evacuation team of LAAT/i gunships and their starfighter escorts alongside another Delta-7B interceptor—had his fighters form up around the gunships and moved to challenge the now-weakened Separatist blockade. Ordering his wingman, clone pilot "Warthog," to protect the gunships, Gimli cut through an approaching squadron of Vulture droids, securing safe passage for the rest of the Republic craft. Though the Republic evacuation ships made it past the blockade and through the first wave of droids, they were pursued into the atmosphere of Lothlórien by numerous droid starfighters. Wolffe, meanwhile, had one of the Republic cruisers concentrate its firepower on one of the Confederate frigates. With the blockade breached, Gimli dispatched his aerial forces to support the Republic ground troops who had been pinned down in the elves forests. One of the Republic's LAAT/i gunships was tasked with battling through the deeply entrenched and well-supplied Separatist droids to destroy a Munificent-class command ship. The gunship fought through numerous rocket pack–equipped B2-RP battle droids, HMP droid gunships, and Rogue-class starfighters—as well as other droid fighters, Armored Assault Tanks, and NR-N99 Persuader-class tanks—before encountering a Separatist laser field that had been erected on some of the battlefield's debris. After maneuvering through the laser web and cutting through more droids, the gunship faced off with the enemy frigate and managed to destroy it.
Gimli and his Jedi Knight wingmate led their extraction team to the evacuation site, battling through a large number of droid starfighters in addition to droidekas, octuptarra magna tri-droids, Armored Assault Tanks, and other droid troops along the way. Elsewhere, Gamgee's men continued to lose ground to the droid forces, and there was soon nowhere for them to fall back to. The Separatists then began a push on clone forces to the east of Gamgee's position, requiring an immediate evacuation there, but Gimli, the Jedi Knight, and their forces arrived just in time to thwart the droids from overtaking the clones' encampment. After picking up the clones at that base, Gimli and his team headed west to the main evacuation site. As he neared Gamgee's position with Gimli and their team, Warthog came under attack by two pursuant Vulture droids, and Gimli turned around to assist the clone pilot. Though Gimli managed to destroy one of the droids, the other hit the debris of the disabled fighter and spun out of control toward the Republic forces below in the clearing. The careening Vulture droid crashed into an AT-TE walker, and Frodo and Sam jumped out of the way just in time to avoid the collision. Realizing that the gunships had broken through the blockade, the Jedi Generals prepared their troops for the evacuation. Once the LAAT/i gunships had landed, Cody and CT-7567, nicknamed "Rex," led their men and elves into the ships while returning the droids' fire.
With the evacuation underway, Gamgee contacted Eowyn and ordered her to retreat, but the handmaiden—who was overdue at the main evacuation site, having continued her fight against the battle droids just east of Gamgee's position—had already broken through the Separatist defenses and refused to abandon her battle. As the gunships lifted off with the main Republic force aboard, Gamgee restated his order to Eowyn, who remained determined to defeat the retreating droids. The handmaiden and her patrol continued to push back the Separatists, but as Frodo and Sam approached Eowyn's troops, they noticed that orc reinforcements were regrouping to counterattack her patrol. Frodo had the LAAT/i gunships land directly between the two factions, blocking the Republic patrol's fire and forcing Eowyn's troops to halt their advance. Unable to see the droid reinforcements from her vantage point, Eowyn again objected to abandoning the fight, but she finally relented when Frodo ordered her onto his gunship. The clones returned fire at the advancing droid lines but were unable to fully stop them, and Eowyn realized her mistake as she witnessed the destruction of her abandoned tanks at the hands of the battle droids.
While the Republic evacuation ships began to pull the overwhelmed clone forces out of the battle zone, Jinx unleashed the "full fury" of her droid armies against the Republic forces, forcing the few remaining pockets of Republic resistance to fortify their positions for their final stand against the Separatists while they waited to be evacuated. Cody and the Jedi Knight returned to their base, but, as their forces were scheduled to be the last for evacuation, the detachment prepared to defend their position from Jinx, who was planning a final push on their encampment. The Separatists soon arrived and began their assault on the Republic base, utilizing tough Multi-Troop Transports to transport the droids to the battlefield. With the battle in full force, Jinx began to advance her forces forward under the protection of a mobile super tank shield generator, making it extremely difficult for the Republic's blaster turrets to prevent the shielded droids from compromising their position. However, Republic reinforcements soon arrived at the base in the form of a BARC speeder squad of clone troopers, who attacked the droids and tossed EMP grenades as they passed. With the added firepower of the speeders, the clone detachment was able to eliminate the mobile shield generator and the battle droids that it was protecting. Having won their part of the battle, Cody, the Jedi Knight, and their forces evacuated from Lothlórien back to Rivendell aboard the Negotiator.
==Aftermath==
The Republic's failure to hold Lothlórien impeded the Grand Army's efforts in the entire Rhovanion, of which Lothlórien and Dol Guldur was a part. Back at the Jedi Temple on Rivendell, Gamgee, Frodo, and Eowyn debriefed with the Jedi High Council on the First Battle of Lothlórien, as it came to be known, and Eowyn was put to a hearing before the Jedi Council for her failure to obey her orders during the evacuation from the forest. Jedi Masters Bilbo Baggins and Elrond assigned the handmaiden to guard duty in the Jedi Archives with Jedi Librarian Jocasta Nu so that Eowyn could reflect on her actions away from the war zone. However, the Jedi were soon forced to defend their Temple against the bounty hunter Mezmaron, who had been hired by the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sauron to steal a holocron from the Archives.
Although the Confederacy made a stronghold of Lórien as the War of the Ring persisted, the world remained a site of contention. The native Elves tried to preserve their neutral status, while the Separatists further hampered the Republic's efforts in the area by destroying a medical station in orbit on the planet Felucia. In 1982, Frodo, Eowyn, and Gimli returned to Lothlórien to overrun a Separatist outpost. The world again became a battlefield in 1984, when the Republic launched a campaign to secure the strategic forest during the Middle-Earth Sieges.
==Behind the scenes==
The First Battle of Lothlórien was created for the The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Ring television series and was the setting for the opening act of "Holocron Heist," the October 2, 2009 premiere of the series' second season. Prior to its debut, the battle was first pictured in concept art that was published in the July 2009 The Art of Star Wars: The Clone Wars,The Art of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and it was mentioned in a live script reading with the television series' main voice cast that was featured later that year at the Comic-Con International convention, with a script penned by Series Director Dave Filoni. The battle was finally confirmed in StarWars.com's Databank entry for the Lord of the Rings: Lothlórien. In 2010, the battle was prominently featured in the Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures video game, which used the battle as a setting in its "Republic Defender" and "Starfighter" mini-games, and that same year, it was also featured in StarWars.com's online Air Strike computer game. The 2012 publication Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide: Updated and Expanded gave the battle its official name, the "First Battle of Lothlórien."
The 2011 third season episode "Padawan Lost" featured another Battle of Lothlórien, occurring prior to the engagement of the Middle-Earth Sieges. Although it was stated to have been an "unending battle"—implying that it was a simple continuation of the battle featured in "Holocron Heist"—no direct connection was confirmed. When Lórien received an entry in the StarWars.com Encyclopedia in 2012, the battle from "Padawan Lost" was confirmed to have been a separate engagement, occurring after the First Battle of Lothlórien.
==Appearances==
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*Air Strike
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==Sources==
==Notes and references==
Category:War of the Rings battles