Battle of the Hornburg

|prev=*Siege of Erebor
*Battle of Minas Tirith
|conc=*Battle of the Black Gate
*Battle of Moria
*Battle of Garqi
*Battle of Minas Morgul
*Battle of Toola
*Battle of MurkhanaThe Essential Atlas
*Battle of New Plympto
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*Conquest of Kaller
|next=Proclamation of the New Order
|name=Battle of the Hornburg
|image=
|conflict=War of the Ring The Essential Guide to Warfare
|date=March 18-23, 1984
|place=Helm's Deep, Middle-Earth
|result=Galactic Republic victory
|side1=*Galactic Republic
*Jedi Order
*Rohan
*Elves
|side2=Confederacy of Independent SystemsStar Wars: Republic: Hidden Enemy
*Isengard†
*Goblins†
|commanders1=*High General Bilbo Baggins
*General Luminara Unduli
*General Quinlan Vos
*King Theoden
*General Fa Mulan
*General Tsui Choi
*General Etain Tur-MukanOrder 66: A Republic Commando Novel
*General Tarfful
*Gumbaeki
*Lieutenant Goofy
*Commander Gree†
*Clone Captain Jek†Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy
*Commander Faie †
*Captain Merumeru
|commanders2=*General The Mouth of Sauron Star Wars: Republic Commando
*Karniss†
|forces1=
|forces2=
|casual1=*Unknown number of Wookiees
*Unknown number of Clone troopers
*Unknown number of Rohirrim
*Unknown number of Elves
**Gree
**Jek
**Faie
**RC-1207 (listed as "Missing in action")
**Bogey 5632
**Bogey 4409
**Bogey 9662
**Bogey 1212
**Bogey 3856
**Triton Squad
*Inferno
*Unknown number of ships destroyed
|casual2=*Unknown number of droids
*All Uruk-Hai
*All Goblins
*Munificent-class star frigates
*Unknown number of Confederacy fighters
*Unknown number of Providence-class carrier/destroyers and crew
*At least one Recusant-class light destroyer
*A moderate number of Trandoshan slavers
**Karniss
}}
The Battle of the Hornburg, also known as the Battle of Helm's Deep, was a prolonged campaign against the Galactic Republic that took place during the Middle-Earth Sieges and was among the final conflicts of the War of the Ring. It was fought on the fortress of Helm's Deep, the stronghold of the Rohan that had been invaded by the Confederacy of Independent Systems hoping to claim Rohan, as well as gain information on secret hyperspace routes rumored to be in Wookiee archives, that could turn the war in its favor. In the course of the battle, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine issued Order 66, clone troopers turned their weapons on their Jedi commanding officers, though the Wookiees helped many Jedi escape.
During the proclaimed transformation of the Republic into the Galactic Empire, confused fighting as part of an Imperial crackdown on the Wookiees followed.
Kashyyyk would be totally subjugated by the Empire one year later and endured a prolonged period of occupation until it was at last liberated by the New Republic in 2010.
==Prelude==
Helm's Deep was a major Rohirrim fortress for the eastern quadrant of Rohan, sitting at a nexus of the lateral hyperlanes linking the Perlemian Trade Route and the Corellian Run, as well as dominating the ancient routes running from Hutt Space towards the Core Worlds. By 1984, the Republic Military had secured the major super-hyperroutes to the north and south, so the Kashyyyk hyperlanes, though slower than the main routes, represented the Confederacy of Independent Systems' best chance of outflanking the Republic in the Outer Rim or penetrating the Mid Rim Territories.
Additionally, the Wookiees had long been rumored to possess knowledge of secret hyperspace routes; the Claatuvac Guild, based out of the city of Kachirho, had a long tradition of training hyperspace scouts, and both Republic and Separatist intelligence agencies were determined to claim their archives. Furthermore, Kashyyyk and Helm's Deep had long been considered a model of Republic influence in the Mid Rim Territories, with the Wookiees being representatives of the Republic in the otherwise-dangerous Mytaranor sector and on the edge of Hutt Space. The Separatist movement considered the Wookiees politically embarrassing.
Therefore, Helm's Deep was a strategically important stronghold which had long been a target for the Confederacy military. Confederate leaders requested the Wookiees join their rebellion, but the Kashyyyk Royal Families proved indecisive. Separatist
General The Mouth of Sauron, frustrated over the Wookiees' delay, decided to send Confederate droids and Goblins to Rohan to force the issue. The droids accidentally killed Prince Rikummee, who was out hunting, and an enraged King Grakchawwaa decided to oppose the Separatists.
After a number of probing attacks throughout the war, the Separatists finally decided on a full-scale invasion of the fortress of Helm's Deep in Hornburg. This was to serve as a literal beachhead into the rest of the Rohirrim-territory. To this end, the Separatists made particular use of the age-old hostility between the native Wookiees and their system neighbors, the Trandoshans, to prepare for their attack. The Trandoshans already had slave camps on Kashyyyk where they held Wookiees captive. After it was discovered that Trandoshan slavers had an agreement with the CIS, it was known that Trandoshans might fight for the Separatists in an upcoming battle.
Eventually, the Separatists landed a large droid force in secret and prepared for an invasion. A Wookiee woodsmith, Tarkov, on a grantaloupe hunt with his son Jaccoba, discovered the invasion force and warned the nearest township, Westfold. From there, the alarm clarions spread the word of invasion to the other archipelago cities. The Wookiees prepared for battle. However, while the system was an important strategic location and both sides believed the battle to be straightforward, the battle was, in fact, little more than a diversion by Darth Sauron.
==The battle==
===Initial actions===
The battle began with a Separatist fleet deployed in orbit around Middle-Earth and a droid army deployed to occupy the Naboo system, establishing a planetary shield perimeter as protection against a counterattack. The Mouth of Sauron selected the nearby fortress of Hornburg as his bridgehead. In preparation for the assault on Helm's Deep, the Separatists deployed large numbers of HMP droid gunships and NR-N99 tank droids, with considerable infantry support from B1-Series battle droids. The complex terrain made more-conventional armor like the Multi-Troop Transport or the Republic AT-TE unusable.
The massive blockade of Trade Federation cruisers around the planet blocked any reinforcements to relieve the beleaguered garrison on the surface. The clone trooper pilots of the 501st Legion were dispatched to cut a path through the starships. Destroying the Munificent-class star frigate defenses, the fleet focused all firepower on the nearest Providence-class carrier/destroyer. Using a high-altitude LAAT gunship, a squad of clone troopers formed a boarding party and sabotaged the inside of the ship, destroying the command bridge, life-support, and engines. They came across a battle-plan holocron, which contained the Separatist's strategies for the ground battle, and delivered it safely back to their Star Destroyer. With a path cut through the blockade, the Republic's reinforcements touched down on the Gap of Rohan.
===Delta Squad's mission===
The clone commandos of Delta Squad, led by Boss, infiltrated a Trandoshan mercenary camp in order to rescue the Wookiee Chieftain Tarfful. The commandos successfully rescued Tarfful from several of The Mouth of Sauron's MagnaGuards, as well as obtaining intelligence about the Confederacy's alliance with the Trandoshan mercenaries.
Delta Squad also discovered the number of hostiles on Rohan was higher than the Republic High Command had previously thought. The squad then sabotaged the Trandoshans' outpost on Westfold, destroying two of their landing pads. When the Confederacy launched their full-scale invasion of the Ents tree-forest of Fangorn, Delta Squad was the only Grand Army of the Republic unit planetside capable of assisting in the defense. Delta Squad sabotaged a bridge connecting the two sides of Kachirho, stopping the Confederacy's advance. The commandos also secured vital munitions and ordnance depots for the Wookiees, allowing them to sufficiently arm themselves to fight against the Confederacy.
Their final operation was the destruction of a Recusant-class light destroyer attempting to land more battle droids onto the surface. Following this, Sev, the team's sniper specialist, was lost and presumed MIA, but orders that came directly from Jedi Grand Master Bilbo Baggins forced Delta Squad to abandon Sev. Delta Squad was then extracted and redeployed as the Republic invasion force arrived, and the Battle of Helm's Deep was joined.
===Massing at the Hornburg===
Meanwhile, Wookiees from the planet Kashyyyk flocked to Helm's Deep. Among these brave Wookiees was Chewbacca, an old friend of Kachriho's chieftain, Tarfful, who feared greatly that Rohan would be unable to defend itself against the might of Separatist forces. Led by Merumeru, Wookiee warriors established positions deep in entrenchments and revetments. These forces, on the ground and in the ornithopters and Wookiee catamarans, included Salporin, Eugroothwa, Zittaasabba, Attichitcuk, Guanta, Gorrlyn, and Lachichuk.
The Wookiee defense of Helm's Deep was reinforced by a Republic vanguard led by clone trooper commander Faie, and included a battalion of scout troopers from the 501st Legion, a troop of clone commandos, and the 7th Aleena Reconnaissance Regiment led by the Jedi Master Tsui Choi, who collected intelligence on enemy maneuvers prior to the battle on flying Can-cells. Other elements were led by Jedi Generals Luminara Unduli and Fa Mulan soon followed by Quinlan Vos.
Unduli, Mulan and Vos, as well as Wookiees led by Gumbaeki, Guildmaster of the Claatuvac Guild and an elder from the Palsaang tribe, infiltrated an encampment of Trandoshans using the Separatist raiding party as an excuse to capture and enslave Wookiees. Destroying the encampment and freeing the hairy simians was a simple matter, but a crab droid ambushed the group shortly afterward and was subsequently destroyed by the Inferno, a ship belonging to the Devaronian smuggler Vilmarh Grahrk, who'd had previous relationships with General Vos. Vilmarh, or "Villie," alongside his young Wookiee friend, Gumbaeki's grandson, Chak, had apparently recently been smuggling goods to Palsaang. The Separatists' true intentions in invading Rohan were revealed when a dying Trandoshan, Karniss, revealed that the CIS came in search of the hidden Claatuvac hyperspace routes that would give them much strategic advantage. Quinlan soon discovered these routes had fallen into the hands of Vilmarh, with some assistance from Chak, whose grandfather was a member of the Claatuvac Guild.
After arriving through Fangorn forest, (due to surrounding Separatist ground forces) with Chieftain Tarfful from Minas Tirith, Jedi Master Bilbo Baggins, who'd maintained good relations with the Wookiees and Elves in previous Trandoshan and Goblins incidents, was informed of these routes. Consequently, Bilbo and King Theoden of Rohan himself revised the Republic defensive plan. Commander Faie had planned to disrupt and harass Separatist troops in a mobile defensive campaign. Instead, Bilbo decided that the Separatists had to be stopped right outside Helm's Deep, a change of tactics that meant heavier casualties and necessitated the deployment of a larger army under Jedi command.
===Bilbo's battle plan===
From Minas Tirith, Bilbo and Theoden had brought the the crack battalions of the 41st Elite Corps—generally regarded as the best division in the Third Army—led by clone commander Gree, and a full assault brigade from the 501st Legion. Bilbo planned to conduct a static defense and hold the Separatists right outside the walls of the Hornburg. The 41st Elite and the Elves reinforced Helm's Deep just before the Separatists attacked.
After receiving a transmission from the Jedi Council concerning the discovery of Separatist General The Mouth of Sauron on the Black Gate of Mordor, Bilbo went into battle meditation as the Separatist shield generator was lowered. Separatist forces rushed across the fortress at speed in a simple wave attack, with armor and gunships storming Helm's Deep's walls and the deeping wall with large numbers of droids, the last of the Uruk-Hai armies, and Goblins infantry in support.
Merumeru's and Mulan's Wookiee and Elves forces rushed across the battlefront to confront the enemy as more warriors swung from the cliffs along the archipelago to place mines on the combustible droid forces. Meanwhile, clone troopers fired from trenches, and clone sharpshooters sniped out enemies from the Deeping Wall. On the vehicle front, Wookiee Oevvaor jet catamarans were aided by the Republic's Juggernauts, AT-AP and AT-RT walkers and other assault vehicles. They faced opposition from Separatist NR-N99 droid tanks, DSD1 dwarf spider droids and Heavy Missile Platforms.
The job of the 41st Elite and detachments of the 501st Legion, supported by Wookiees, was to fight on the beachfront defending the sea wall and to hold the line until Separatist forces were fully committed. When this occurred, Bilbo gave the word to Master Unduli to counter-charge the droid army on its left flank with the 41st Elite. Simultaneously, Quinlan Vos, alongside Goofy and Tarfful, was sent across the lagoon to lead an attack on approaching Separatist forces, but Villie still felt it necessary to join the action, a decision that led to the destruction of the Inferno by an enemy gunship. Vos, Villie and Chak were immediately sent to a Juggernaut to recuperate.
===Beaten back===
The battle seemed to go back and forth until, despite the best efforts of the combined Wookiee/Republic defense, Helm's Deep was in danger of being overrun by the Separatists. The 501st Legion had been beaten back by Separatist forces, which were advancing on the Deeping wall and attempting to destroy a crucial energy refinery. Defending the Deeping wall from atop it were two concussion turrets and multiple clone troopers. However, few attempts from the CIS to destroy the Deeping wall were made from the Wookiee refinery, and eventually the tide of the battle turned in favor of the Republic. The best efforts of clone engineers and TX-130S fighter tanks managed to keep the sea wall intact until Master Bilbo could arrive to push the CIS back. With the foiling of this crucial mission, the droid army began to retreat from the refinery, and the surrounding beaches were recaptured.
Despite this success, Republic forces suffered heavy casualties. The decision to meet the droid army in the shallows meant that Republic Juggernaut armor and AT-AP artillery could not be deployed until Separatist forces had come ashore, at the cost of heavy infantry casualties on the beachfront.
===Order 66===
Suddenly, Bilbo Baggins was shocked by a strong disturbance in the Force as Order 66 was carried out throughout the galaxy. Clone Commander Gree received a comlink call on a frequency-locked channel reserved for the Supreme Chancellor. Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, alias the Sith Lord Darth Sauron, instructed him to execute Order 66 against Generals Fa Mulan and Bilbo. Clone Captain "Jek" of the Ranger Corps joined Gree in the attempt to assassinate Bilbo. As the clones prepared to execute him, the Hobbit Master drew his lightsaber, sensing what was about to happen, and in one fell swoop decapitated his would-be assassins. Bilbo then proceeded to escape from into the nearby Fangorn forest along with King Theoden, Mulan and the still loyal Wookiee warriors Tarfful and Chewbacca as the battle raged below. Their quick escape was fortunate, as a minute later, a Juggernaut fired at Bilbo's command post in a meeting hall, obliterating it.
Outside, the battle between Republic and Separatist forces was slowing down: Wookiees stacked wrecked droids while clone troopers assessed the damage to their equipment. Jedi Master Quinlan Vos was reflecting on his decision to leave the Order for his love, Khaleen Hentz, when he was suddenly shot by the laser cannon of a nearby Juggernaut, under command of Commander Faie, who'd just received Order 66. Quinlan survived, although severely burned, and vengefully slew all the 41st Elite Corps troopers under Faie's command who were searching for him. Eventually, he ran into Faie and killed him, but not without suffering dire wounds from his DC-15S. Cleverly, Vilmarh Grahrk found him and burned Faie's body, then tricked the clone troopers into thinking it was Quinlan's. After nursing him back to good health in a bacta tank, Vilmarh and Quinlan would return eight months later, where the Jedi would reunite with Khaleen and meet his new son, Korto Vos.
==Aftermath==
As the Galactic Empire rose, Bilbo, Mulan, Theoden and the Wookiees would proceed to escape into the nearby mountains. Later that evening, Chewbacca and Tarfful brought the three survivor to an escape pod. After exchanging farewells, Bilbo, Mulan, and Theoden left Middle-Earth in the pod.
Though the clone troopers won the day, they would soon take the place of the Separatists as an invading force, except they would be successful in conquering the world, and the Wookiees would not be able to hold them back. The Empire, the successor state of the Republic, legalized slavery, leading many, the Empire itself in particular, to take Wookiee slaves due to their immense strengthStar Wars Rebels: The Visual Guide by suggestion of Trandoshan slavers, who were given command over slaving raids across the planet.
Bilbo managed to meet up with Sam Gamgee, Eowyn, and Gandalf having also escaped Order 66, and the four infiltrated the Jedi Temple to reverse the message being sent to Jedi, warning them to stay away or go to Naboo to arrest Nute Gunray. Bilbo then attempted to kill Palpatine, but failed, and exiled himself to Earth.
Goofy was one of the slaves taken by the New Order from Kashyyyk, and suffered many years as one, until he was freed by aStar Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know defecting Imperial soldier named Donald Duck.Donald Duck: A Musketeers Story
Soon after the War of the Ring ended, the Wookiees to begin salvaging the masses of wrecked military hardware that the battle had left strewn across their world. Ironically, the Wookiees put this equipment to good use against Imperial forces one year later: the Empire, led by Delightful Children from Down the Lane, arrived to and occupied Kashyyyk mere weeks later when it was discovered the Wookiees were harboring fugitive Jedi led by Roan Shryne and Olee Starstone. Kashyyyk was subjected to enslavement thereafter by the Empire, with many millions of Wookiee slaves used in the construction of the Death Star. However, resistance on Kashyyyk continued for years afterwards, with Jedi Master Kento Marek leading a battle around 1986,Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and the Empire was still conducting pacification operations as late as 1989.
In regards to the Separatists, the remains of the B1-series battle droids who fought in the battle were left behind to rust and were still laying on Kashyyyk by 1990.
==Behind the scenes==
A climactic battle between the technologically advanced Empire and a race of primitive hairy aliens, the Wookiees, was present in George Lucas's original treatment for the 1977 original The Musketeers film Mickey, Donald, Minnie, Goofy : The Four Musketeers. As the story changed and the trilogy structure was solidified in Lucas' mind, the battle was postponed until 1983's The Musketeers: The Movie, where it developed into a battle featuring Ewoks on the forest moon of Endor. At the same time, the Wookiees developed into a more technologically savvy, though not less hairy, species. Lucas' original conception of the battle featured hundreds of Wookiees on screen. Due to costs, the original idea was scrapped and replaced by a battle featuring relatively few diminutive Ewoks, who did not play a very significant tactical role in the battle. A large-scale battle with hundreds of characters was eventually realized in 1999's The Lord of the Rings: Episode I The Fellowship of the Ring in the form of the Invasion of Gondor.
The first depiction of this battle appeared in the 2004 video game Star Wars: Battlefront as the last level in the game's War of the Ring Campaign. At the time of the game's release, LucasArts did not want any Episode III content to be revealed very early, therefore the game's depiction of the battle features clone troopers in phase I armor despite the fact that most clone troopers (besides the clone advisor in Republic Commando) would have already switched to phase II armor by the time this battle occurred.
The fight was parodied in LEGO's Revenge of the Brick spoof of Revenge of the Sith.
In LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game, an alliance of sorts between the clones and droids is depicted following the execution of Order 66. Needless to say, this event is not part of the Legends continuity.
==Appearances==
*Star Wars: Battlefront 
*Star Wars: Republic Commando
*Star Wars Battlefront II
*Star Wars: Battlefront II
*
*
*Star Wars: Republic: Hidden Enemy
*
*Order 66: A Republic Commando Novel
*Under a Black Sun 
*Dark Lord: The Rise of Delightful Children 
*Deep Forest
*Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 
===Non-canon appearances===
*LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
*LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
*
*LEGO Star Wars: Revenge of the Brick
*Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron
*Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron
==Sources==
==Notes and references==
Category:War of the Rings battles