Battle of Borleias

The Battle of Borleias can refer to three different military engagements in the fictional Star Wars Expanded Universe that occurred on the planet Borleias.

First Battle of Borleias (7 ABY)

Unsuccessful attack

The first Battle of Borleias occurred in approximately 7 ABY. The events of this battle are detailed in Rogue Squadron, the first novel in the X-wing series by Michael A. Stackpole. Called "Blackmoon" in briefings, the world of Borleias was to be the first step towards the New Republic's conquest of Coruscant. Using intelligence gathered by Bothan spies an elaborate plan was devised. It was unsuccessful and resulted in massive losses for the attacking Rebel force. The battle also resulted in the death of General Laryn Kre'fey, the commander of Rebel ground forces at Borleias. The failure of the mission was largely attributable to faulty intelligence and poor planning. Unbeknownst to the Rebels, the Imperial ground commander, General Evir Derricote, had a hydroponics facility on the planet, and thus had the resources to power both a deflector shield and an ion cannon. The Rebels were able to beat a hasty retreat, thanks largely to the arrival of General Horton Salm's wing of Y-wings.

Successful attack

After the first unsuccessful attack, Rogue Squadron devised another scheme for taking Borleias, which was approved by the Rebel High Command. This battle was one of the first stepping stones towards the Rebel Alliance's attack on the Imperial capital world of Coruscant. The attack was a volunteer mission for Rogue Squadron. Lieutenant Corran Horn and Commander Wedge Antilles were tasked with destroying a power conduit in a canyon.

The destruction of the conduit was successful, but on the return to Rogue Squadron's staging area, Horn was forced to go to ground on one of Borleias' moons. Since the mission had already been deemed a [...] mission, it was determined that Horn was likely dead; however, a timely arrival in-system by Mirax Terrik and Tycho Celchu allowed Horn to be recovered and returned to base safely.

The destruction of the power conduit allowed the Rebels to occupy Borleias and use it as a staging area for an attack on Coruscant, as described in Stackpole's next novel, Wedge's Gamble.

Second Battle of Borleias (27 ABY)

The second Battle of Borleias occurred around 27 ABY. The events of this battle are detailed in the novels Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream and Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand by Aaron Allston, the eleventh and twelfth volumes of The New Jedi Order series of novels.

The second Battle of Borleias was more of a stand than an actual battle, a distraction to give the crippled New Republic time to recover after the fall of Coruscant.

The fourth planet in the Pyria system, Borleias was one of the staging points for the Yuuzhan Vong invasion of Coruscant. There was a small Vong shaping facility and a small contingent of soldiers on the surface. General Wedge Antilles took the planet with the remnants of his fleet from Coruscant, and set up a base of operations within the old New Republic facility on the surface. Within days, the surviving members of the New Republic Advisory Council, along with self-proclaimed Chief of State Pwoe, came to Borleias, and proposed the "distraction" strategy. Wedge declined and forced Pwoe to accept his version of the terms: he would be able to operate outside of the rules and that he would have access to any military resources that wished to join him. Pwoe grudgingly agreed and left Borleias. The Yuuzhan Vong soon arrived in full force, bringing with them a full war fleet, the Domain Hul worldship, and the old warmaster, Czulkang Lah, a brilliant and shrewd tactician. They took up station at the Pyria system's farthest planet.

During the stand at Borleias, a number of key things happened:

  • Antilles, knowing that the New Republic was crumbling, and that it was no longer viable, got together with a few close friends, confidants, and trusted friends, and founded the Insiders, a secret "New Rebellion" that could succeed where the New Republic failed.
  • In accordance with the events of a previous book, Dark Journey, Jaina Solo was elevated to the rank of "Goddess", making it her call sign, and receiving preferential treatment from the brass. This was a ploy to trick the Yuuzhan Vong into believing that she was a mortal manifestation of their trickster goddess, Yun-Harla.
  • Luke Skywalker, Mara Jade Skywalker, Danni Quee, most of Wraith Squadron, and a number of scientists journeyed to Coruscant. Luke and Mara went to confront a malevolent Dark Side presence that Luke had seen in a vision. The rest went to see how Coruscant was, and to set up Insider resistance cells.

Over the months of the stand, the New Republic forces took a heavy beating from the constant skirmishes. Mon Mothma, Rebel Dream, Errant Venture, and Lusankya, the four known Star Destroyers present, became steadily decrepit. The starfighter squadrons present, however elite they were, lost so many pilots in the fighting that by the conclusion of the stand, they were diminished to AbOUT 8-10 pilots each (as opposed to 12 in a regular squadron). There was much dissent over the preferential treatment of Jaina Solo and her squadron, and morale began to drop.

The final stages of the stand involved a military operation code named "Operation Emperor's Spear" The Lusankya, the hardest hit and the most powerful of the capital ships present are Borleias, was steadily being stripped of its weapons emplacements, which were then transferred to Errant Venture. Engineers installed a type of explosive battering ram in Lusankya's prow. The idea was that Lusankya would actually ram the Vong worldship, [...] the leader and ending the battle for the time being. Lusankya would be piloted by one person, with all other computers and contols either slave circuited or routed to the control terminal. When the Vong finally moved on Borleias, the Lusankya set out, guarded by a number of elite squadrons. All civilians and scientists evacuated Borleias prior to the attack. The operation succeeded, with Lusankya meeting a heroic death, and [...] the worldship. However, General Antilles recognized the untenability of the situation, and ordered a full disengagement from the Pyria system. The stand at Borleias probably bought time for the refugees from Coruscant to escape, and gave the New Republic time to recover from the loss of its capital world.

Information

  • Commanders:
    • General Wedge Antilles
  • Duration:
    • several months
  • Known capital ships present:
    • Mon Mothma (commanded by General Wedge Antilles)
    • Rebel Dream
    • Errant Venture (commanded by Booster Terrik)
    • Lusankya (commanded by Commander Eldo Davip)
  • Known starfighter squadrons present:
    • Twin Suns Squadron (commanded by Jaina Solo)
    • Rogue Squadron (commanded by Colonel Gavin Darklighter)
    • Wild Knights (commanded by Saba Sebatyne)
    • Blackmoon (commaned by Captain Reth)
    • Vanguard (commanded by Shawnkyr Nuruodo)

References

  • Enemy Lines I: Rebel Dream by Aaron Allston
  • Enemy Lines II: Rebel Stand by Aaron Allston