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- 1 Introduction
- 2 Prelude: Build-Up to the War
- 2.1 Situation Post-Endor
- 2.2 Operation Blitzkreig
- 2.3 Surrender or Die
- 2.4 The Great Peace
- 2.5 Operation Doom
- 3 Early War
- 3.1 Battle of Kamino
- 3.2 Battle of Scarif
- 3.3 The Great Rescue
- 3.4 The Zaarin Speed Campaign
Introduction[]
The Second Galactic Civil War was a series of invasions executed by Director Orson Callan Krennic, who had survived Scarif and built a Fleet at Zakuul, the capital of the fallen Eternal Empire. Krennic's Campaign as Emperor of the Second Galactic Empire ended Thrawn's dream and led to the complete destruction of his forces. Seeking revenge against the New Republic, he went on a brutal offensive, matching every victory of Thrawn with a victory of his own. In 9 ABY, the combined forces of Thrawn's Remnant, the Cinder Loyalists, Pentastar Alignment mercenaries, the New Republic, Mandalore and various fringe warlords finally defeated Krennic. The Core Empire continued independently. Director Krennic's motivations are given below, along with details of the conflict.
"I was betrayed by those I called comrades. I was stabbed in the back by that man, Tarkin. The Empire was full of traitors when I found them again. They will be purged from existence. Change will not stop, and neither will I. The Great Revenge will succeed and I will remake the Empire the power it was before Scarif, Yaavin and Endor!"
- Director Orson Callan Krennic to Grand Admiral Natasi Daala, Battle of Bilbringi, 8 ABY
The Second Galactic Empire Campaign, called the Second Galactic Civil War, was a war between the Imperial Core of Director Orson Callan Krennic's Core Empire (named the Second Galactic Empire), and the combined forces of the New Republic, Warlord Zsinj's Remant, Grand Admiral Thrawn's Empire, Grand Admiral Natasi Daala's campaign, and later Grand Admiral Gallius' Rax's Cinder Remants, between 4 ABY and 9 ABY. Unknown to everyone else, Director Krennic had survived the assassination attempt on him at Scarif by the Death Star-1, and sought to root out traitors in the Empire and restore it to its formal might. In the Unknown Regions, the Director built a colossal army and naval fleet by using technology of the Eternal Empire of Zakuul. Raising a colossal army over four years, he came to know of Grand Admiral Demetrius Zaarin's coup against the Emperor and when the coup failed, Krennic recruited him and helped him start the Zaarin Campaign, which became a prelude to the Second Galactic Empire. He then killed Warlord Zsinj in the famous Quelli Oversector Bombardment and threatened the galaxy: many, like Grand Vizier Mas Amedda, Director Ysanne Isard of the ISB, Prime Minister Sate Pestage, Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax and Grand Admiral Rae Sloane threw their weight behind him, leading him to control the Core Imperial Fleet and begin the Second Galactic Empire as a Galactic Hegemon in 4 ABY.
The real war began in 6 ABY, two years after war was threatened, following a rash attack on Coruscant by Grand Admiral Natasi Daala, starting the war two years before the new Emperor Krennic wanted it to start. The primary battles and campaigns include the Operation Doom, the Battle of Kamino, the Battle of Scarif, Operation Grimdark, Operation Coldblood, Thrawn's Wrath Campaign, the Malpaz Offensive, the Great Lexrul Rescue Offensive, the Battle of Bothawui, the Battle of Taurus A, Operation Agroworlds, Operation Cinder, the Battle of Jakku, the Battle of Mandalore, the Battle of Bilbringi, the Battle of Kuat, the Battle of Dathomir, the Battle of Korriban, and finally the climatic Zakuul Offensive. The war included multiple superweapons, including the Sun Crushers and Sun Fortresses, the Death Star-3, and the Taurus Quasar. The war ended in a decrease in power of the New Republic, an increase in power of the Pentastar Alignment and the Final Order, as well as the Cinder Remants, and complete destruction of Zsinj's and Thrawn's forces, along with the death of Krennic, Thrawn, Zaarin, Admiral Gillad Pellaeon, Grand General Maximillian Veers, and Admiral Gial Ackbar.
Krennic's campaign was helped multiple other short and long wars fester in the galaxy, like the Final Order, the Rax Campaign, the Galactic Civil War (Third one) and the Kylo Ren-Yuzhan Vong Campaign. The Galactic Empire was able to return to at least a portion of its former power after the Second Galactic Civil War, post-Zakuul.
Prelude: Build-Up to the War[]
Situation Post-Endor[]
The situation post-Endor was extremely bleak, for both the New Republic and the First Galactic Empire in a state of disarray. The Core Empire was under the Imperial Shadow Council, led publicly by ISB Director Ysanne Isard, Grand Admiral Rae Sloane and Grand Vizier Mas Amedda. With the Emperor and Darth Vader dead, Gallius Rax, a Fleet Admiral and Personal Advisor to the Emperor, ruled behind the scenes as personal Emperor. The Empire was fragmenting slowly: while the Imperial Warlords swore loyalty to the Empire, they had designs in private. Grand Admiral Demetrius Zaarin, a Grand Admiral who had once captured the Emperor in a coup, was terrorizing the Outer Rim, particularly on the Imperial Warlord, Grand Moff Zsinj. Zsinj had his own designs and his own faction was forming in the Quelli Oversector. Grand Admiral Thrawn had found a private store of the Emperor in Mount Tantiss on the Planet of Weyland, and was planning his own campaign. Grand Moff Ardus Kaine and Grand Admiral Octavian Grant were forming a colossal faction within the Empire, known as the Pentastar Alignment. Fleet Admiral Rax himself was secretly planning the Emperor's contingency, Operation Cinder, behind the scenes. Grand Admiral Natasi Daala clashed constantly with the Imperial Shadow Council about how the Empire should be run. General Enric Pryde, another warlord, was preparing Palpatine's Final Order, another of his Contingencies, secretly in Exegol. It was at this moment that Krennic's Imperial Fleet showed itself and revealed that he had been the one behind the Zaarin Campign.
Operation Blitzkreig[]
It was at this moment that a fleet of a million Star Destroyers descended on various places in the galaxy. Grand Admiral Zaarin was in charge of the Operation, which went off smoothly. Zsinj was seen to be the primary threat (Thrawn's threat was unknown) and the Quelli Oversector was raided with extreme usage of lethal force. A Sovereign-Class Super Star Destroyer, designed for lightspeed ramming, took down the Iron Fist, Zsinj's flagship, ending the life of one of the most powerful Imperial Warlords. Most of the Quelli Oversector was either conquered or destroyed. The Imperials outside Zsinj's faction were secretly pleased at the development, but worried about who was behind Zaarin's campaign. Zaarin had mounted a coup against the Emperor in 3 ABY before the Battle of Endor following the death of Prince Xizor of the Black Sun Syndicate, almost killing the Emperor, Vader and Grand Admiral Thrawn in the process. Now, his shocking pronouncement was that the Second Galactic Empire would be established, stronger than ever.
Surrender or Die[]
"Like weeds in a field, the Empire has rotted from the inside. Traitors at every level of activity, rendering the Empire a rot full of weakness and corruption. Tonight, I will not rest... and nor will you. Tyrants and traitors are dying, their forces losing: our mighty Empire is once again at the forefront. Surrender to me and help me spread peace and security throughout the galaxy. Surrender, and you will be rewarded. Join me, because I will not tolerate traitors who side with the weak, luxury-filled aristocracy. Surrender or die."
-Director Krennic's message to the galaxy, 4 ABY
Just after the bombardment in Quelli that ended most of the Zsinj loyalists, a massive cyberattack on all holographic devices and computer systems crippled galactic communication. Director Orson Callan Krennic, long thought dead four years previously, appeared in the holoscreens. He declared that traitors had taken over the entire galaxy, traitors aided by the likes of Darth Vader and Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. He rebuked the previous Emperor, Sheev Palpatine, for his failure to check nepotism, treason, weakness and corruption. He declared that the galaxy was welcome to surrender and join him in his Great Crusade, or die. Half the galaxy complied out of fear, another half out of true Imperial spirit or hunger for power. The Imperial Shadow Council, primarily Amedda, Sate Pestage, Isard, Sloane and Rax, readily handed over power and might to him. The Director promoted Maximilian Veers and Brendol Hux to Grand Generals in his Inner Circle, and Rax to grand Admiral. He also took over all major centers of power in the galaxy, reinforcing old Imperial bases with resources from Ziost, Korriban, Naphema, Dromund-Kaas, Malastare, and Zakuul, among others.
The only major Imperial who immediately fell out with the Empire openly was Grand Admiral Daala. She was Tarkin's lover and despised Krennic, who in her eyes, had been a bane to Tarkin's life, and she was disappointed with the Core Empire, both for their style of ruling, and questionable appointments (in her opinion), like letting Krennic become Emperor. The Pentastar Alignment, led by Kaine and Grant, publicly swore fealty to the Second Galactic Empire, while privately financing the new Alliance between Grand Admirals Thrawn and Daala, to weaken the Empire and gain power. The other Grand Admirals like Syn, Martio Batch, Il-Raz and Neil Decclan, swore fealty to the Empire (Pitta and Grunger had killed each other, and Osvald Teshik had been executed by the Rebels under false war crimes accusations).
The New Republic reacted with a mix of fear and horror: Chancellor Mon Mothma and Senators Leia Organa and Garm Bel Iblis were able to pass a Rearmament Act in the Senate, and the army and navy organized under Generals Han Solo, Hera Syndulla and Davits Draven, and Admiral Gial Ackbar. Even Luke Skywalker's new Jedi Order were on red alert to combat the Empire in case Krennic tried something. In the Shadows, Grand Admirals Thrawn and Daala signed the Pact of Tantiss, to jointly mobilize forces against Krennic's Empire. Thrawn was at first unwilling to mobilize against the Core Empire, but he was desperate for political, military and commercial support to strengthen his Empire, and with Daala's military support and Kaine's subtle support, he agreed.
The Great Peace[]
"People expected that a war would begin immediately. It did not. Krennic was not interested in war before his forces were an undisputed hegemon. Some sources estimated that he wanted to wait until 9 ABY to strengthen his forces for a short campaign. He was not willing to fight a long guerilla war throughout the galaxy... he was wary of such engagements because it had collapsed the First Galactic Empire at the foundations. A hardened, middle-aged war veteran and logistical genius, Emperor Krennic wanted to build a strong, unshakable, heavily-defended supply chain across the galaxy, while undermining enemy logistics at the same time, through monetary means and peaceful diplomacy. Some said he was willing to wait till 11 ABY to start his war. And so began the two year-long Great Peace, in which Krennic built his armies, his navies, his manufacturing and production facilities, his supply chains, his administrative structure. If Grand Admiral Daala had not engaged in a brash attack... he would have been invincible."
- Leia Organa's Book, the 'Great Peace', published 21 ABY
Krennic's primary objective was to make sure his enemies could not match him in a war. Krennic believed in playing the long game and fighting the short fight. He built favor among his people to prevent a guerilla war. In 4 ABY, the Imperial Senate was reinstated and its dissolution blamed on Tarkin. New laws were passed to allow local governments selective democracy. Krennic built personal residences in inconvenienced countries to cultivate the image that he was genuinely listening to their grievances. He started a long media campaign to feed his image as a 'beacon of benevolence.' New technology was introduced and research promoted, while the fleet was expanded and conscription introduced. From cloned biomechanical soldiers like Knights of Zakuul (who were all kidnapped Force-sensitives), to Royal Guards, Dark Troopers, Death Troopers and Beskar Supercommandos, were introduced in the army. In 5 ABY, Krennic began a campaign against crime syndicates, rooting them out of the ground in their already weakened state. Corrupt officials were arrested and hanged, and security tightened. Slavery was abolished.
Unfortunately, while Krennic wanted almost a decade or so of peace to build his power, Operation Doom spelled the end of the Great Peace. The Empire was still more or less a Galactic Hegemon, but not as invincible as Krennic would have preferred.
Operation Doom[]
"Operation Doom has affected the Emperor's plans to remake the Empire. An attack on the heart of Coruscant is not a desirable headline for PR. The ISB must interrogate Admiral Faro and secure any and all information, Director. Make her talk, or the Emperor will not be pleased. This set back his plans at least a few years. He is livid that he has to declare war."
- Prime Minister Sate Pestage to Director Ysanne Isard, post-Operation Doom, 4 ABY
Unfortunately, whatever the Director's ultimate plans for the galaxy were, Grand Admiral Daala's single-minded goal of revenge interrupted it. Collaborating with Thrawn, she planned an attack on the capital Coruscant. Spies that were caught by Isard days after the attack confirmed that they had been waiting for the Empire to get lax before striking. The original plan, executed by Thrawn's Admiral, Karyn Faro, was to bypass the fleet stationed at Coruscant, and vaporize the entire Inner Circle meeting at the Imperial Palace, after which they would hit both the Imperial fleet and garrison stationed there, while simultaneously striking civilian targets to cause maximum damage.
The plan would have succeeded, if it had not been for Grand Admiral Decclan, who was Force-Sensitive: with a combination of Force Precognition and Battle Meditation, the danger was forseen and the fleet empowered, along with several Interdictor-Class Super Star Destroyers and Immobilizer-Class Cruisers brought in to lock the ships in. When they arrived, a deadly cyberattack on the fleet caused some ships to explode mid-air, and the others to go offline. Admiral Faro was arrested and imprisoned, kept for interrogation till she was finally freed a year later in 5 ABY.
This action, unfortunately, caused the Second Galactic Empire to declare war on the 'Rogue Remant' as it was called: other than the Pentastar Alignment and the Final Order (which the rest of the galaxy did not know of), all Imperial warlords chose one side or other. Even the Pentastar Alignment chose the Empire in public, but financed both the Empire and the Rogue Remant secretly. This was the first major act in the Second Galactic Civil War, a bloody war that lasted till 9 ABY, with the death of Emperor Krennic.
Early War[]
Battle of Kamino[]
"Do not let him acquire the Clone Commandos. If he gets hold of them, we are in major trouble."
- Grand Admiral Daala to Admiral Gillad Pellaeon, Battle of Kamino, 6 ABY
The Clone Factory at Kamino had been destroyed and replaced by the Mount Tantiss base in Weyland by the Emperor and Tarkin in the early days of the Empire. Later, in 4 ABY, Thrawn's remant was using the base as a Headquarters for their Operations. In 2 BBY, before Krennic died, he created contingencies, restarting the Clone Factory on Kamino. By 1 BBY, the factories on Kamino were ready, though with Imperial troops instead of Kaminoans. When he heard news of Krennic's apparent death on Scarif, Amedda activated the contingences and four million units (one equal to four thousand) were rolled out, creating an army. The colossal garrison, along with conscripted Stormtroopers and Death troopers, made up Krennic's army. Later, biological engineering factories were started in Malastare and Korriban, rolling out more Clone Commandos. During the Zaarin Campaign, Moff Gideon, an important player of Operation Cinder later, started the production of Dark Troopers and Beskar Supercommandos in Morrak. Zaarin captured this planet and all other of Gideon's factories, forcing Gideon to surrender. Gideon later was used to govern various territories on the Outer Rim by Krennic and Gallius Rax.
Thrawn recognized the importance of the Clone Commandos rolling out and immediately organized an attack on Kamino. The plan was to strike with utmost impunity at the various ISDs and Interdictor-Class Super Star Destroyers stationed at Kamino, before bombarding the main factories. The plan started off smartly, taking out most of the fleet stationed at Kamino and landing an amphibious invasion of their own Clones. The invasion of the ground troops failed, though, because the Death Troopers and Dark Troopers stationed at Kamino slaughtered the common Stormtroopers. The fleet, however, was able to take out huge portions of the Kaminoan industry, with a near-impossible bombardment that only Thrawn was capable of. The Dark Troopers soon took to the sky though, and Thrawn's fleet began to suffer heavy losses. Then they retreated, leaving the Imperial Fleet in a state of disarray.
The Kaminoan Bombardment had consequences for the Empire. It decreased Clone production by several hundred thousand units, affecting the armed forces. On the other hand, Thrawn's fleet had taken heavy losses, leaving the borders of his territories susceptible to major attacks. This was the only attack launch on a clone production unit by anyone in the earlier war: while Krennic was aware of Weyland and Mount Tantiss, he did not launch an offensive against the Headquarters of Thrawn's Empire before Thrawn's own death in 8 ABY.
Battle of Scarif[]
"Ah, Scarif... the gem of my eye. But my dear Demetrius, you have a personal reason for invading it too, do you not?"
- Emperor Krennic to Grand Admiral Zaarin, Battle of Scarif, 6 ABY
Emperor Krennic originally wished to invade Weyland directly, but Grand Admiral Zaarin disagreed. He informed Krennic that Thrawn had a fleet of a hundred Star Destroyers and multiple Dreadnoughts guarding the Weyland area, a fleet the Empire could not respond to without calling in Star Destroyers from various stations and leaving key Star Systems open to attack by either Daala's forces or even the New Republic. Instead, Zaarin suggested that they invade Scarif, which Krennic agreed to, because he considered Scarif the 'gem of his eyes' during the days of the Empire. Post-Scarif, the other half of the base had been occupied by Zsinj in his own subtle campaign. When Zsinj was at the height of his power, Zaarin invaded Scarif and was forced to withdraw due to a scarcity of ground troops despite his gains. Following Operation Blitzkreig, the last Zsinj loyalists, backed by Thrawn and Daala, withdrew to Scarif. Scarif was a pathway to important hyperlanes, had a colossal military production center, a shield generator, and potential information on key bases.
The attack was carried out by Zaarin himself. ISB spies within the Base opened the shield generator, allowing fleets to bombard the garrison immediately. Dark Troopers landed at various points in the base, cutting off AT-AT Walkers and armored vehicles. Within minutes the control room fell, though the fighting lasted for four hours before the beach was brought to heel. The space battle was vicious, with Imperial blockades on hyperspace lanes, and most of the fleet defending Scarif was destroyed.
The Battle of Scarif had important consequences. For one, data about Thrawn's future plans and key bases were revealed, forcing him to change a lot of plans. Second, following Operation Doom and the Battle of Kamino, the Empire regained face and morale. Important hyperspace lanes in the Outer Rim were captured, even better following the capture of Tattooine during the Zaarin Campaign. The New Republic was now attempting to take advantage of the conflict to spread their democracy and freedom.
The Great Rescue[]
The Great Rescue was an Operation undertaken by Thrawn, Daala and Pellaeon to rescue Admiral Karyn Faro from Lexrul, where she was prisoner in the hands of Isard's Deputy, Ison. Ison was keeping strict watch on her, and tortured her for information on Thrawn's plans. Apart from a few minor crumbs of information, Faro kept quiet for the most part. Ison planned to bait Thrawn with apparent news of Faro's execution to capture at least one more big leader in Thrawn's Campaign. Thrawn took the bait and planned Operation Jailbait, a rescue of Admiral Faro from prison.
In the early hours of the morning, Clone Commandos stormed Lexrul, accompanied by Death Troopers. Thrawn's forces did not send Pellaeon for this operation, and only lower-level leaders were chosen, in order to escape the trap. Thrawn had considered the possibility of a trap and taken appropriate steps to put an end to it. The force at Lexrul, while superior numerically, were no match for Thrawn's strategy, and Faro was rescued. Ison was furious on finding out that his plan had failed, and was later severely reprimanded by the Emperor's Inner Circle. This prompted Zaarin to launch his Speed campaign to save face. A month later, when the TIE Bomber and the TIE Phantom had been fused to create the TIE Phantom Bomber (due to Martio Batch), he took his chance.
The Zaarin Speed Campaign[]
During the final months of 6 ABY, Grand Admiral Zaarin launched a powerful campaign, known as the 'Lightning War' or the Speed Campaign, to combat the successes of Thrawn. He was aided in this campaign by Grand Admirals Sloane and Decclan, the former through direct military effort and the latter through his battle meditation that increased the power of Zaarin's fleets. Two months of utter devastation continued, with the new TIE Fighter Bombers introduced by Batch providing such technological superiority in the air and space that Thrawn's Empire was cut down in half, with Zaarin eating away at his territory with ruthless precision. Krennic approved multiple attacks in the list, including the powerful attack around Weyland that diminshed Thrawn's first line of defenses in the Mount Tantiss Defense System.
The lightning war was one of the last actions of 6 ABY, shortly leading into the next stage of the war. The Galactic Civil War began to move into the next phase, probably one of the most brutal phases of the war.
