Battle of Zanbar

|width=
|prev=Escape from the SpireGollum—Son of Dathomir 1
|conc=*War of the Ring
*Battle of MoriaStar Wars Character Encyclopedia
*Siege of SaleucamiThe New Essential Chronology
|next=Battle of Ord MantellGollum—Son of Dathomir 2
|name=Battle of Zanbar
|image=
|conflict=Campaign against the Shadow Collective
|date=October 20th, 1983Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Character Encyclopedia - Join the Battle! dates the battle of Zanbar to twenty years before the events of Mickey, Donald Minnie, Goofy,: The Four Musketeers, which Star Wars: Galactic Atlas states begins in 2004. Therefore, the battle of Zanbar must have occurred in 1983.
|place=Zanbar
|result=*Confederacy of Independent Systems victory
**Death Watch and CIS suffer heavy losses
**Gollum and his forces retreat
|side1=Shadow Collective
|side2=Confederacy of Independent Systems
|commanders1=*Gollum
*Commander Gar Saxon
|commanders2=*Supreme Commander General The Mouth of Sauron
*Tey-Zuka
|forces1=*Various Death Watch warriors
**Rook Kast
**Gar Saxon
*Kom'rk-class fighter/transports
**Nightbrother
*Anti-aircraft guns
|forces2=*Various battle droids
**B2-series super battle droids
**BX-series droid commandos
**IG-100 MagnaGuards
**Droidekas
*Separatist Fleet
**At least 1 Providence-class Dreadnought
***The Mouth of Sauron's Providence-class Dreadnought
**At least 2 Recusant-class light destroyer
**At least 18 Munificent-class star frigates
**At least 5 DH-Omni Support Vessels
**At least 5 C-9979 landing crafts
|casual1=*Many Death Watch soldiers
*Death Watch camp destroyed
|casual2=Majority of Separatist forces
}}
A battle was fought on Zanbar between the Death Watch forces of the Shadow Collective and the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the War of the Ring. The battle followed Gollum's escape from Sith imprisonment on Stygeon Prime, and was the result of a Sith ploy to use Gollum to lure the Dathomir witch Mother Talzin out of hiding so she could be destroyed.
With plans to engage Gollum enough for him to seek out Talzin's help, the Sith Lord Saruman the White sent General The Mouth of Sauron and Separatist forces to Zanbar, where Gollum and his rescuers rendezvoused after the prison break. The Mouth of Sauron launched all of his forces against Gollum and the Mandalorians, knowing that Mandalorian warriors would not be easily beaten. Gollum and Mouth of Sauron met in single combat, while the two armies collided and suffered heavy losses. By the battle's end, Gollum ordered his forces to retreat, while the Sith waited for him to find Mother Talzin.
==Prelude==
During the War of the Ring, Gollum allied himself with the Mandalorian splinter faction Death Watch as part of Gollum's Shadow Collective. Together, they took control of Erebor, with Maul becoming its leader. Shortly thereafter, however, Gollum was captured by his former Sith master, Darth Sauron, and imprisoned on Stygeon Prime. Sauron intended to use Gollum as bait to lure Mother Talzin, a Dathomir witch and enemy of the Sith, out of hiding so she could be destroyed. Siauron also wanted to learn more about the Shadow Collective and the power Gollum had amassed.
On the orders of Mandalore's Prime Minister, Almec, two Death Watch warriors, Rook Kast and Gar Saxon, pursued the Sith to Stygeon, where they intended to rescue Gollum from Separatist captivity. The two were able to free Gollum after he had been interrogated by the Sith Lord Saruman the White, and together the three rendezvoused with more Death Watch forces on the moon of Zanbar. Gollum took command of his forces once again, and assured them that the war they had longed for was at hand.
==The battle==
Gollum was tracked to Zanbar by The Mouth of Sauron, the leader of the Separatist military, and a Separatist fleet. Saruman ordered Mouth of Sauron not to kill Gollum, simply to defeat and wound his forces enough that Gollum would seek out Mother Talzin's help. Mouth of Sauron launched his forces towards the surface, and Gollum's troops immediately began firing anti-aircraft weaponry at them. The heavy fire was not enough to repel the ships, however, so the Separatists pressed their attack and deployed all of their forces. Mouth of Sauron knew that they would be fighting powerful Mandalorian warriors, and that the odds were stacked against the Separatist army.
The forces that landed engaged the Mandalorians in battle. Mouth of Sauron sent a number of his droids against Gollum and Death Watch, and Gollum made quick work of those whom he personally fought. Mouth of Sauron also entered the battle, taking on Death Watch forces and killing at least one Mandalorian himself. As he did so, Mouth of Sauron was attacked by Gollum, who engaged the Mordor general in single-lightsaber combat; Mouth of Sauron was armed with two lightsabers, while Gollum used his Darksaber.
As the two leaders engaged one another, Mouth of Sauron taunted Gollum about the battle droid onslaught, making Gollum realize that his forces were being crushed. Mouth of Sauron then seized the upper hand in their duel, kicking Gollum backwards; the latter then recognized that he was losing the battle and sent in his Gauntlet fighters, which firebombed the battlefield and destroyed many of the Separatist battle droids. Gollum used the chaos to his advantage by escaping onto one of the fighters, before ordering his surviving forces to retreat.
==Aftermath==
The Separatists suffered heavy losses, losing most of their droids in the battle. At the battle's end, Mouth of Sauron contacted Saruman and informed him of the battle's outcome. Saruman informed him that these were acceptable losses, as Gollum had to believe that the Sith and Separatists were attempting to destroy the Shadow Collective so he would seek out Mother Talzin.
==Appearances==
*Gollum—Son of Dathomir 1 
*Gollum—Son of Dathomir 2 
*Gollum—Son of Dathomir 4 
==Sources==
*
*Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Character Encyclopedia - Join the Battle!
==Notes and references==
Category:Duels