Galactic Civil War
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| The Galactic Civil War | |
|---|---|
| Date | Began to develop 19 BBY-ending (in Expanded Universe) in 19 ABY |
| Place | Yavin, Hoth, Endor, Fondor, Mon Calamari, Polis Massa, numerous others |
| Result | Imperial victory during the earlier and middle stages of the war, Alliance victory; formation of New Republic and a new Jedi Order; and (in the Expanded Universe) a peace treaty between Imperial Remnant and New Republic |
The Galactic Civil War (19 BBY - 19 ABY) is a fictional war from the Star Wars galaxy, beginning with Revenge of the Sith and continuing through the original trilogy of films A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi, as well as several novels, comics, and video games in the Expanded Universe. The war was fought between the Galactic Empire and Rebel Alliance, later renamed the New Republic. Despite the immense scope of the war, it revolves around a son's faith in redemption of his father.
Contents |
Causes
In the waning days of the Galactic Republic, when partisan politics and personal agendas plagued the Galactic Senate and halted any attempt at reform, a few senators, such as Bail Organa of Alderaan, stood aside from the corruption. One such senator was the popular Senator Palpatine of the tranquil planet Naboo, who appeared to be unassuming and unambitious but was in secret Darth Sidious, a Sith Lord. Through secretly ensuring in the Senate (via his political alliances) that a bill that heavily increased the taxation of trade routes used by the Trade Federation--a business that controlled the transportation of traded goods across the galaxy--he was able to, as Darth Sidious, convince the Trade Federation to blockade and then later invade and take over Naboo. When Naboo's elected Queen managed to flee to Coruscant, Palpatine informed her that the Supreme Chancellor at the time, Valorum, was personally too weak and surrounded by baseless accusations of corruption to effectively end the crisis on Naboo, with the real power in the Republic belonging to the bureaucrats. Palpatine convinced Queen Amidala that although Valorum was an honorable man and Naboo's strongest supporter, the only way to oust the Trade Federation from the planet was for the Queen to submit a vote of No Confidence in Chancellor Valorum's leadership and to have a more powerful person fill his position. Because of his detachment from the corruption in the Senate and the strong sympathy towards Naboo in its time of crisis, Palpatine was nominated and elected as the Supreme Chancellor to succeed Valorum--the last Supreme Chancellor to be elected. It was through this Sith Lord, having acquired the most powerful position in the galaxy, that the stage would be set for the Galactic Civil War to begin developing thirteen years later.
Over the next ten years, Chancellor Palpatine's popularity only continued to grow. In secret, he acquired a new Sith apprentice, one who would require little training and allow Palpatine to focus on his political schemes: a former highly-regarded Jedi Master known as Count Dooku, who then adopted the Sith name of Darth Tyranus. Around the time that Palpatine rose to the position of Supreme Chancellor, Dooku abandoned the Jedi Order due to his feelings that the Jedi should not be serving an institution as corrupt as the Republic, hoping to eventually teach the Jedi Order a lesson. He vanished for nearly a decade, during which time he became Darth Sidious's apprentice, before finally re-emerging into public view. Charismatic, intelligent, powerful, and seemingly trustworthy because of his former status as a highly-regarded Jedi Master of the Jedi Order under the tutelage of Jedi Master Yoda, Dooku was the perfect man to kindle the flames of discontent the galaxy had with the corrupt Republic. Proposing high plans of restoring peace and justice in the galaxy, Dooku was able to rally thousands of senators and their systems that were indignant with the corrupt Republic to join his cause, all in an alarmingly short time. Dooku was also able to convince corporate leaders from the commerce guilds and Trade Federation to support his separtist cause, promising a new regime in which free trade and an absolute devotion to capitalism would take center focus in galactic legal policy. Together, these corporations and thousands of systems formed the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Palpatine entered into "negotiations" with the Confederacy, but the end result was inevitable: the Separatists and the Republic would enter war. The Separatists, having a countless number of droid warriors, would certainly have overwhelmed the Republic had not the Senate voted emergency powers to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. This enabled him to quickly to create a Grand Army of the Republic using a clone army that a Jedi Master named Sifa-Dyas ordered secretly ten years previously--an army that the Jedi were unaware until that point, but agreed to work with in what became known as the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. In the Clone Wars, the Jedi would lead legions of clone warriors into numerous battles against the forces of the Separatists scattered across the galaxy (mostly in the outer rim), yet this three-year war was but a pale predecessor the Galactic Civil War that soon followed it. During this time, the corrupt Senate was militarily incompetent and unable to effectively wage war against the Separatists, and so it increasingly voted more executive powers to the Supreme Chancellor and allowed him to stay in office well after his elected term ended in hopes of expediting an end to the war. While most of the Senate and the galaxy on a whole gratefully gave Palpatine this power (especially after the emergence of General Grevious--Dooku's second-in-command and leader of the Separatist military forces, whose droid-enhanced body allowed him to stand up to even Jedi warriors), some remained wary, including thousands of senators and the entire Jedi Order, save Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker.
In the final days of the Clone Wars, Count Dooku and General Grevious lead a daring attack on the galactic capital Coruscant and "kidnapped" Palpatine. Jedi Master and General Obi-Wan Kenobi and his former apprentice Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker managed to board General Grevious's ship in the skies of Coruscant, and a confrontation ensued between the two Jedi and Count Dooku in front of where Palpatine was "imprisoned" in a chair. Although Dooku knocked out Kenobi, Skywalker was able to slice off Dooku's hands. At Palpatine's urging, Skywalker beheaded the defenseless Dooku, and the two (with Kenobi being carried on Skywalker's back) then commenced in successfully escaping from General Grevious. The battle was in the end won by the Republic forces, and the Separtists fell back under the orders of its new leader--General Grevious. Palpatine knew that the Senate would vote to continue the war until General Grevious was brought to justice, and used this time to further increase his executive powers and corrupt, through psychological manipulation, his newest prospective apprentice: Anakin Skywalker.
The Jedi Order and senators opposing Palpatine knew that the end of the war was near, but remained skeptical that the Supreme Chancellor would willingly reliquinish his executive powers. Senators Bail Organa, Padmé Amidala, Fang Zhar, Mon Mothma, Garm Bel Iblis, and approximately 2,000 other senators signed a petition (known as the Delegation of 2000) requesting the limitation of Supreme Chancellor Palpatine's executive powers. Palpatine promptly dismissed the committee of senators, citing this of further evidence of the Galactic Senate's inefficient attempts to prosecute the war and assuring the galaxy that he would "do what is right." The Jedi Order took a more direct approach in their attempts to break the Supreme Chancellor's dictatorial emergency powers: General Kenobi was selected to lead a mission to eliminate the Separatist leader General Grievous, which would thus prompt the Senate to end the Clone Wars and leave Palpatine with no excuse to maintain his executive powers or even his position as Supreme Chancellor.
Unfortunately, the hope that the end the war would bring about the removal of Palpatine from office deteriorated during General Kenobi's mission when Skywalker, one of the Republic's greatest heroes and Jedi Knights, informed Master Mace Windu of the Jedi Council that he had discovered that Palpatine revealed himself (to Skywalker alone) as Sith Lord. Hastily, Master Windu and a team of Jedi Masters attempted to arrest the Supreme Chancellor. The Sith Lord then revealed himself in all his fury, quickly eliminating all the Jedi Masters, and allowing Windu to survive for the sole purpose of being the catalyst to Skywalker's fall to the dark side. Psychologically manipulated by Palpatine and ulitimately unwillingy to allow his death, Skywalker disarmed Windu after the Jedi Master threatened to kill the Chancellor, and Palpatine commenced in killing Windu himself, the second most powerful Jedi in the galaxy.
Immediately after this attack on his life by the Jedi Order, Palpatine unleashed Order 66. Through this order, he effectively eliminated the entire Jedi Order except for what few Jedi who were able to survive, most important being Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Clone Troopers opened fire upon their Jedi generals, and Anakin Skywalker, now known as Darth Vader, eliminated all opposition in the Jedi Temple. It was here where Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan perceived the true, insidious nature of this "Great Jedi Purge" as he was almost gunned down by Clone Troopers of the 501st Legion simply because he screamed "no!" in response to seeing the Clone Troopers kill a young padawan outside the Jedi Temple. However, in a sweeping move, Palpatine revealed the Jedi Rebellion as a sinister coup d'etat, appearing with all of his new deformities as a result of his encounter with Mace Windu. The Galactic Senate, in sympathy with Palpatine, and in moral outrage, elected Palpatine Emperor for life, and aided in the reformation of the Republic into the Galactic Empire. Fearing retalation, many of the senators outraged with this New Order, including Bail Organa and Mon Mothma, held their tongues on the Senate floor and saved their energy for an eventual military revolution (the Galactic Civil War), which then seemed to be the only method to end Palpatine's rule. Those senators who did openly protest this reformation were arrested. Their fates are unknown to history.
The newly crowned Emperor Palpatine continued to use the "Jedi Rebellion" and the hostilities of former Confederate planets as excuses to expand the Empire's already inflated military forces. The Republic's veteran Clone Troopers were progressively replaced with trained recruits who became the Imperial Stormtoopers, and they along with Imperial Star Destroyers and TIE Fighters began enforcing the Empire's edicts throughout the galaxy (a job once held by the noble Jedi). The grandest of the Empire's military projects, and debatably the focus of the Galactic Civil War itself, was the construction of the Death Star. This armored world-destroying planetoid was no less than the manifestation of the Emperor's will. Though these events seemed originally to be merely the product of humanity's ruthless lust for power, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the overthrow of the Republic and the extermination of the Jedi has been a plan nearly 1,000 years in the making. The Empire that ruled the galaxy was actually the realization of a Sith Empire, conquered from within, and ruled by a theocratic Dark Side dictatorship.
Despite Palpatine's unmatched popularity as the victorious leader during the Clone Wars, he inexplicably retreated away from the public eye, allowing his appointed regional governors to oversee their territories, Darth Vader to command the military, Grand Vizier Sate Pistage to run the daily functions of the government and Grand Moff Tarkin to oversee the construction and management of the Death Star. These and other fierce commanders would become the face of the Empire, yet in the end everyone in the Empire either reported directly to the Emperor himself or indirectly to him through Darth Vader. Those who rose in rank to the highest positions in the Empire demonstrated absolute loyalty to the Emperor and dedication to the principles of the New Order. Tarkin especially was zealous in his "intellectual" defense of the Empire. In the Expanded Universe, Tarkin was a ship commander who bore witness to a peaceful anti-tax demonstration. In response, Takin landed his ship atop of the protestors, killing some 200 Ghormese. In response to what would later be known as the Ghormese Massacre, Palpatine promoted Takin became one of the Empire's first Moffs, and later Grand Moffs. Tarkin's philosophy, later to be adopted by the Imperial Starfleet and Army, became known as the "Tarkin Doctrine." The essential thesis was that the Empire should rule through "fear of force" -an obvious insinuation to the Death Star- as opposed to force itself.
The Empire soon controlled the galaxy with an iron fist, with the overbearing military brutality upholding tyranical galactic laws (the huge military effectively replaced the noble Jedi in enforcing the law). Using individuals like Tarkin, Palpatine expanded upon a trend already present at the end of the Clone Wars, to select his own military governors who were "unofficially" above the authority of the Senate (in theory, they reported to the Senate; in practice, they reported directly to the Emperor).
These were but some of the several measures that ensured a rebellion against Palpatine's Empire.
Onset of the Rebellion
Though Padme Amidala had died at the dusk of the Clone Wars, Bail Organa, Garm Bel Iblis, and Mon Mothma were slowly, politically and militarily, preparing for yet another war. It is a measure to the strength of Palpatine's empire that it required almost eighteen years to adequately prepare for the upcoming war. (Though never mentioned in the movies, in the Expanded Universe Bail Organa, the Viceroy of Alderaan, acted as mediator between the politically savvy Mon Mothma of Chandrilla and the bellicose Garm Bel Iblis of Corellia.) Together, they formed the Rebel Alliance against the Empire.
The Rebel Alliance was first discovered shortly before the Battle of Danuta. The Empire imprisoned many rebels for questioning and torture in the Death Star. Shortly there after, the Rebels escaped their cells and caused an uprising in the Death Star. Almost all of the rebels were killed, but several escaped with a partial set of the Death Star plans. The Empire considered the rebels a real threat during the Battle of Danuta, when they stole the Death Star plans.
Politically, this freedom fighting organization had some of the most brilliant and dedicated leaders in the galaxy. Militarily, however, the Rebel Alliance was completely disorganized, chatoic, and very weak. It is known initially that their largest front-line capital ships were old Dreadnaught cruisers, barely one-third the strength of a single Imperial class Star Destroyer. Their armies were little better: poorly armed and trained guerillas from oppressed planets mixed with high strung intellectuals and political idealists and other people who simply hated the Empire. The Imperial Army, and specifically the Imperial Stormtroopers, were generally more mechanized, better equipped, and more experienced than their irregular Rebel counterpart (any doubts of this can be redirected to the opening combat scenes of A New Hope). Experience in fighting numerically superior droid opponents in the Clone Wars made the Imperial Army nearly invincible in the open field, and it was only after the Battle of Endor that the Rebel Alliance could successfully supplant the Army in that medium. The Army, with is AT-ST's and AT-AT's, could single handedly win entire battles with most of the Alliance's weaponry simply bouncing off the armor. Generally, the army could rely upon the overwhelming orbital firepower of the Imperial Starfleet, but this was not essential in the Order of Battle (as seen in the Battle of Hoth). The Rebel Alliance tended to shy away from fielding armies because of this. The prevailing military minds of the Rebel Alliance proposed a strategy of guerrilla strikes upon the Empire with decentralized cell and fighter groups acting independently, while still maintaining a hidden main base of operations with central command headquarters. The Alliance ground forces at the outset of the Galactic Civil War were generally regulated to three tasks:
- Fielding a sizeable army to defend the command headquarters (relocated planet to planet).
- Brokering equipment, training, leadership, and unity to local resistance units.
- Engaging small guerrilla and commando teams for specific mission profiles such as search and destroy, sabotage, inciting local partisans, abduction and/or rescue sorties, or assassination.
The Imperial Army and Imperial Navy enjoyed a significant advantage over its opponents throughout most of the war, especially at its onset. The Rebel Alliance very unsuccessful in its early years, but by one year before the Battle of Yavin (0 BBY), it was clear the war was in full swing. Designers from the Incom Corporation defected to the Rebel Alliance to supply them with the new T-65 X-wing starfighter. The seeming triviality of this innovation cannot be overstated, and it provided the Alliance with the nucleus of its armed might. The Imperial Starfleet, despite its seeming invicibility, had an uncomplicated view of warfare. The Star Destroyers and other heavily armed capital ships would close ranks with the enemy's fleet, and decimate them. The infamous TIE Fighters and TIE Bombers were restricted to the range of each individual capital ship, and thus were without exception the junior arm. The X-wing had many times the firepower, durability, and armor of a TIE Fighter, plus it had shields and hyperdrive technology. This was infinitely important as shields would almost always provide the edge between comparable Imperial pilots. The defenses of the X-wing thus protected Alliance pilots long enough to gain veteran experience. The hyperdrive, however, was the true edge as it allowed independent units to harass the Imperial Starfleet on their own accord. These hit and run campaigns formed the heart of the early Alliance military. Despite these great advantages, the Alliance suffered terribly: the veteran Imperial Starfleet and Army, victor of the Clone Wars and dozens of smaller conflicts, would continuously defeat the Alliance in open battle. Even missions when regular Alliance military were utilized, they tended to be used in an irregular fashion. The Alliance's significant advantage over the Imperial Army, however, lay in its excellent snub-fighters, which could quickly achieve aerial superiority over the TIE class fighters. Thus the strategy of pairing small ground forces with snub-fighters enabled the Alliance to score many victories over their Imperial opponents.
Despite the fact that the majority of the Alliance leaders were human, the contributions of thousands oppressed races made victory possible. It is doubtful that the Emperor personally harbored xenophobia (this would be contradicted given the status of Darth Maul, etc.), but many fans of Star Wars believe that the Imperial culture at large distrusted and many times abused and enslaved non-human cultures--and with good reason to suspect this. The Wookies, for example, were immediately enslaved following Order 66. However, in this action the Empire inadvertently created some of the Alliance's fiercest warriors, symbolized by the Wookie-Smuggler Chewbacca. Another of the Empire's former allies-turned-enemies were the Mon Calamarians, incited following a Star Destroyer destroying several of their aquatic cities. Before the Mon Calamarian defection, the Alliance battle fleet consisted of ships such as the Dreadnaughts (obsolete nearly two decades before), fast, but poorly armed Corellian Corvettes, ancient Bulk Cruisers, captured Imperial ships such as Nebulon-B Frigates and Loronar Strike Cruisers, and assorted collections of antiquated snub-fighters such as the Z-95 and Y-Wings, as well as the sparse collections of the new but few X-Wings. The Mon Calamarians quickly turned their luxury ocean liners into instruments of war. The Mon Calamarian cruisers engraved the Alliance into military history as galactic warfare shifted: although these 1,200 meter warships could never match the firepower of their Imperial counter parts, the massive amounts of high quality star fighters they carried in their berths greatly made up for these disadvantages. Imperial gunners, accustomed in exchanging massive broadsides with other capital ships, were unable to provide an effective response for these fast moving attacks. Of course, perhaps the most decisive (yet improbable) alliance of all came upon a small, obscure moon on the outer-rim. In the final battle in which every scene was decisive was seen a primitive peasant folk rise up and become warriors for the most decisive battle in history.
Humans, however, were the essential warriors for the Rebel Alliance, and though they came from across the galaxy, the principle contributors were Alderaan, Chandrila, Raltiir, and Corellia. Both Alderaan and Chandrila had a deep-seated history in opposing Palpatine's federalization even during his premiership. Yet it would be Alderaan that would become the symbol of the Rebellion, at first for its inherent culture and civility, and later for its tragic fate. Corellia was also an early opponent, initially opting for neutrality during the Clone Wars until fate dealt its heavy hand. Corellians were characterized as free spirited and hasty to react, and this made them ideal warriors and especially pilots. Due to the Empire's massive intergalactic tariffs crippling the mercantile industries, and the traditional autonomy of the planet itself, the Corellians felt especially alienated. Therefore, the Alliance received huge quantities of fast, lightly armed capital ships made ideal platforms for raids and limited combat. Garm Bel Iblis, the great Corellian warrior, would lead the Corellians. Other great warheroes included Crix Madine, Jan Dodanna of the ancient warrior clan, Wedge Antilles, and Han Solo.
Imperial Repurcussions
One year into the war (O BBY), the Rebel Alliance managed to destroy the First Death Star at the Battle of Yavin.
The victory was short-lived. The Imperial Starfleet, under the command of Darth Vader, was sent to take the Rebel base on Yavin 4. A blockade was set up around the moon, which met its first challenge when a Mon Calamari Star Cruiser attempted to escape. The 501st Legion engaged in a prolonged space battle until the cruisers shields were lowered, at which point the engines were destroyed and the ship captured.
A full ground invasion followed, in which A5 Juggernauts, AT-STs and AT-ATs were instrumental. However, a small group of Rebel pilots were able to delay the invasion force long enough for the Rebels to escape, then escaping themselves from the ruined base.
Behind the War Scenes
Palpatine was using the Alliance as a tool as much as he used everything else. The Rebel Alliance gave Palpatine a means to further tighten his power, allowing him to disband the Imperial Senate entirely and give regional governors direct military control over their terrorities in the name of galactic safety and security from the "treasonous and aggressive" Rebel Alliance. It also served Palpatine as a stage to debut his newest potential servant: Luke Skywalker. After the Battle of Yavin, Luke Skywalker's name rang throughout the galaxy as the hero who destroyed the Death Star, and it did not take long for the Emperor and his apprentice to identify this young X-wing pilot. He immediately sparked their interest, for he played a pivotal part in the war that went far beyond just destroying the Death Star: Darth Vader, born as Anakin Skywalker--the father of Luke Skywalker--was the prophesized "Chosen One" from Jedi lore, conceived of midichlorians themselves and having a midichlorian count greater than any known Jedi in galactic history. With sufficient training, this allowed Darth Vader to become the galaxy's most powerful Force-user in known galactic history--and he was (reluctantly at times) controlled, through psychological manipulation, by Emperor Palpatine. Luke Skywalker, being the son of Anakin, would have much of Vader's inherent power over the Force, and since he was an agent of the Rebel Alliance and a Jedi in training, he posed a significant threat to the survival of the Sith Lords in command of the Empire. Thus, Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader both sought to turn Luke Skywalker to the dark side, and used the war to help achieve their means through acts including imprisoning and torturing Luke's closest friends (who were also widely-known war heroes). Despite the titanic struggle that drew battle lines across the galaxy, the entire war was little more than a backdrop for the conflict of a slave against his master, and the story of a son's unconditional love for his father.
Destruction of the Empire
Three years after the Battle of Yavin, The Empire counter-attacked by locating (through a probe droid) and destroying the Rebel's main base on Hoth in what was known as the Battle of Hoth. The Empire also began construction on a second, more-powerful Death Star. Still in its construction stages, yet having its weapons operational and being protected by an energy field generated from the moon it was orbiting (called Endor), this second Death Star was attacked by the Rebel Alliance in the Battle of Endor (4 ABY). Emperor Palpatine was well aware of the attack before it occurred, knowingly allowing the Rebels to obtain information on the location of the shield generator, which was supposed to be destroyed by a covert Rebel force prior to the attack. The Rebel force was taken into custody, but thanks to befriending Endor's native Ewoks beforehand, were able to complete their mission in the midst of a large battle between the Ewoks and the Empire's ground forces. This allowed the Rebel fleet to destroy the Death Star and much of the Star Destroyer fleet that protected it. The Battle of Endor also resulted in the deaths of Palpatine and his right-hand man, Darth Vader who, as Anakin Skywalker, had returned from the dark side and sacrificed his life to save his son, Luke. In this battle, the Empire suffered its most grievous defeat, allowing the Rebel Alliance to form a New Republic that would correct the problems of the Old, and for Luke Skywalker to form a new Jedi Order, ushering in a new era of peace throughout the galaxy.
The most recently released version of The Return of the Jedi seems to indicate that hostilities ceased within days of the death of the Emperor, for we see celebration of their newfound freedom on various planets with a noticeable absence of Imperial control. One explanation of this quick wind-up of the war, would be that the Imperial Troopers (whom George Lucas has identified as being clones [STARLOG magazine issue # 300 page 42- 43], thus with the same follower mentality of the Clonetroopers) simply obeyed the orders of those they deemed to be next in line of authority: a newly recreated Senate. Such a rapid recreation of government would be consistent with the patient long-term planning seen in the character of former Senator Mon Mothma.
The Galactic Civil War Beyond the Movies
In the Expanded Universe, the Galactic Civil War still continued after the Battle of Endor for many years. With the destruction of the Galactic Empire's central leadership, the instituion fell into warlordism, becoming disorganized and weak - much like the Rebel Alliance was in the early days of the Galactic Civil War. Even still, the Empire remained a formidable threat to the New Republic, and controlled much of the galaxy. In an effort to fully restore the galaxy to a peaceful state, the New Republic began a campaign of recapturing vital Imperial worlds, including Coruscant, the former capital of the Old Republic and the Galactic Empire alike. The Empire rose again several times under powerful leaders such as Grand Admiral Thrawn and a series of clones of Palpatine, but was always thwarted when those leaders were killed.
Later, a peace treaty was finally signed between the New Republic and the tiny fraction of the galaxy that was under the control of what remained of the Empire, 19 years after the Rebels' victory at Yavin. At this time the Imperial Remnant, led by Grand Admiral Gilad Pellaeon, consisted of eight backwater sectors bordering the Unknown Regions in the Outer Rim.
Timeline of the Galactic Civil War
dates may not be exact
- 19 BBY - Formation of the Galactic Empire, beginning of the Great Jedi Purge, first organized dissent against Palpatine's rule within the Senate.
- Pre-Galactic Civil War (The Imperial War)
- 12 BBY - Second Battle of Naboo- Queen Apailana harbored fugitive Jedi in Theed.
- 11 BBY - Battle of Mustafar- Gizor Delso reactivates the Droid Army on Mustafar.
- 10 BBY - Rebellion on Kamino- an army of clones are bred to take arms against the Empire.
- The Galactic Civil War
- c. 3 BBY - Formation of the Rebel Alliance, under the leadership of Mon Mothma of Chandrila, Bail Organa of Alderaan, and Garm Bel Iblis of Corellia.
- Battle of Danuta First Alliance victory, theft of the Death Star plans
- Uprising in the Death Star- .7 BBY- A massive prison break occurs in the Death Star
- Battle of Polis Massa- .1 BBY- Attempt at retrieving the Death Star plans
- Attack on Tantive IV- 0 BBY- another attempt at retrieving the plans, capture of Princess Leia
- Attack on Tatooine- 0 BBY- The search for the droids who have the stolen plans. From Star Wars Battlefront
- Attack on Tatooine part2- 0 BBY- Imperial's scout in Mos Eisley to continue the search. From Star Wars Battlefront
- Battle of Rhen Var- 0 BBY- attack on an Imperial communications outpost
- Battle of Yavin - 0 BBY - Destruction of the first Death Star
- First Battle of Yavin Base- 0 ABY - Rebels are forced off of Yavin.
- Massacre on Talay- Introduction of the Darktroopers
- Battle of Ralltiir- Imperial attempt on capturing Rebel scientists
- Battle of Thyferra- Death of Imperial Moff Seerdon
- Battle of Hoth - 3 ABY- Major Alliance loss
- Battle of Bespin - 3 ABY- Bespin joins the Rebel Alliance
- Battle of Gall - 3 ABY- Attempt at rescuing Han Solo
- Battle of Dubrillion - 3.3 ABY- Destruction of a major Imperial facility
- Battle of Tanaab - 3.5 ABY- Lando earns respect as a general
- Battle of Xizor's Skyhook- 4 ABY- Death of Prince Xizor
- Battle of Kothlis - 4 ABY -The Second Death Star plans are beamed to the Razor, which was attacked over Kothlis
- Battle of Fondor-4 ABY-the prevention of the production of a new Super Star Destroyer that would have been used at the Battle of Endor.
- Skirmish at Carkoon- 4 ABY- Han Solo, a Rebel commander, gets rescued from Jabba the Hutt
- Battle of Bespin continues- 4 ABY
- Battle of Endor - 4 ABY- Destruction of the 2nd Death Star and fragmentation of the Empire.
- Battle of Bakura - 4 ABY
- Fall of Coruscant - Coruscant finally falls to New Republic forces 6 ABY
- Thrawn Campaign- Grand Admiral Thrawn begins a major push to rid the galaxy of the New Republic 9 ABY
- Battle of Bilbringi-5.5 ABY end of Thrawn's Campaign.
- 10 ABY - Final Destruction of Palpatine's first Galactic Empire at Byss
- 12 ABY - Attack on the Jedi Academy-death of Desann
- 19 ABY - Bastion Accords between Imperial Remnant and New Republic ends the Galactic Civil War
Operation Strike Fear
Operation Strike Fear was the name of Emperor Palpatine's plan to destroy Mon Mothma and the Rebel Alliance. It was unsuccessful and the Rebels destroyed the second Death Star and killed Palpatine.
In the Computer Game Star Wars: X-wing, the first campaign (before the Battle of Yavin) concerns Operation "Strike Fear", which is meant to crush the Alliance. While the method of doing so is never stated, the "Strike Fear" ends in failure when Rebel agents destroy the Operation's Command Ship, the Star Destroyer Invincible.
Although "Strike Fear" wasn't mentioned in the original Star Wars films, it was mentioned in the "Star Wars: the Essential Chronology".hu:Galaktikus Polgárháború