Battle of Ullatak

> "*"First Wing, cover those Hutt fighters! Second Wing, make another pass at those turrets!"*"
> ― Lieutenant Tolamael Benere to Arrow Squadron
>
>

## **Overview**

The **Battle of Ullatak** was the one and only engagement in what was known as the Hutt Campaign. Fought in 3 ABY, the campaign was the result of months of infighting among senior Alliance leaders. While some expressed concern and caution over allying the Alliance with the Hutts, others were eager to please the Hutts and hoped a combined military exercise would convince the Hutts to enter the war on the side of the Rebellion.

## **Background and Planning**

The primary military goal of the joint task force was to eliminate a large Imperial garrison on the planet of Ullatak. The garrison had been disrupting Hutt shipping for sometime, but was too powerful to be defeated strictly by Hutt soldiers and mercenaries.

The Rebel Alliance had approached the Hutts shortly after the Battle of Hoth in order to broker some sort of alliance. The Hutts expressed interest, but only if they could remove the Ullatak threat. Intense debate erupted among senior Alliance officers over the merit of the attack. Ultimately, it was decided that the opportunity could not be passed and Rebel Fleet capitol ship, the *Dawn's Light*, was dispatched with several dozen fighters and nearly a thousand troopers.

The Alliance armada joined forces with several thousand Hutt mercenaries and several dozen attack cruisers. They surrounded the planet of Ullatak and began an intense aerial bombardment of the surface.

## **Problematic from the Start**

The initial battle plan had called for an aerial bombardment followed by mop up operations by both star fighters and ground forces. Alliance aerial support would provide the former while Hutt soldiers, supported by alliance ground troopers, would overrun the Imperial installations. Alliance High Command, in order to appear deferential to the Hutts, had done almost no intelligence reporting on the strength of the Imperial garrison, instead relying on the number provided by the Hutts. These reports proved false. When the first fighters entered the atmosphere to begin their attack on planet, they encountered far heavier resistance that expected. Several fighters and troop transports were shot down and destroyed.

Arrow Squadron, which was part of the second wave of attacking fighters, took quick action and worked to neutralize the incoming ground fire. Several turrets and gun platforms were destroyed. Unfortunately, Arrow Squadron member Yol Aak was shot down and killed by an Imperial turret.

Alliance fighters also provided cover for the attacking soldiers which were being harassed by the base's TIE fighters contingent. The Imperial pilots were mostly inexperienced and proved to be a minimal threat to the numerous alliance ships. During this phase of the battle, Arrow Squad pilot Vid Paratool went rogue and switched off his comm device. He began to strafe the Imperial installation, wounding several task force soldiers. He also began chasing down fleeing TIE fighters despite being ordered to focus on the planetary defenses.

## **Outcome**

The Alliance forces were quick to overwhelm the Imperial garrison, but took extremely heavy losses. Several valuable pilots lost their lives in the opening attack phase and over three hundred alliance ground soldiers were killed or wounded.

Paratool was brought up on court-martial charges but resigned from Arrow Squadron and left the Alliance all together. Yol Aak was killed and, given their near constant campaigning for a number of years, Arrow Squadron was re-assigned to the main Rebel Fleet to provide escort duty. This move was controversial within the unit as some felt it would dull their senses while others welcomed the reprieve.

It was also the last engagement fought by two Arrow Squadron pilots: Craal Noarnn and Kostan Stodl, both of whom retired shortly thereafter.

Politically speaking, the ramifications were even worse. The Hutts politely thanked the Alliance for their help, but refused to join the war. They even went as far to request the Alliance ships leave Hutt Space as soon as possible.

Public outcry was fierce and several Alliance officers who had endorsed the plan lost their commissions. The Hutts remained neutral for the rest of the war and diplomatic relations were cut off by order of Mon Mothma.

## **Members of Arrow Squadron at the Battle of Ullatak**

* Arrow Leader: Tolamael Benere
* Arrow Three: Vid Paratool
* Arrow Four: Danic Polis
* Arrow Five: Sorshara Bray
* Arrow Six: Udas
* Arrow Seven: Craal Noarnn
* Arrow Eight: Tozin X'ala
* Arrow Nine: Saffron DeMeers
* Arrow Eleven: Nath DeMeers
* Arrow Thirteen: Kostan Stodl
* Arrow Fourteen: S'Hral Glaso
* Arrow Fifteen: Tularus Tonith
* Arrow Sixteen: Yol Aak (KIA)