- "You killed them. You killed them all. We're all dead."
- ―Jango Fett
The Battle of Galidraan was a conflict that led to the crippling of the True Mandalorians by the Jedi.
First conflict[]
The Governor of Galidraan had secretly been hiding the Mandalorian Death Watch splinter group on his world. He was also facing an insurrection by some of his colonists, so he hired the True Mandalorians under Jango Fett to eliminate the rebels, which they did. However, under the advice of the Death Watch leader, Tor Vizsla, he also informed the Jedi Council that a group of Mandalorians were murdering "political activists." In exchange for the Mandalorians' services, the governor promised to tell him the location of Death Watch. When confronted by Fett, Viszla and his men attempted to kill Jango. They failed, and he escaped. Before departing, Viszla told the governor to inform the Jedi that the Mandalorians had murdered the political activists' families too and departed to ''create some proof.''
Second conflict[]
- "The Jedi slaughtered the True Mandalorians like nerfs on market day, and at last our long struggle was over."
- ―Tor Vizsla, Ba'jurne Kyr'tsad Mando'ad
A Jedi task force under Master Dooku was swiftly dispatched to Galidraan, supported by the Republic Judicial Forces. No sooner had Jango reached his troop's camp to warn them about the Death Watch trap, the Jedi arrived. The Jedi leader, Master Dooku, ordered the True Mandalorians to stand down and promised fair treatment. His padawan, Komari Vosa warned them that if the Mandalorians chose to fight them, "swift justice" would be served. In response, Fett ordered his men to open fire, commencing a bloody shootout.
As the battle commenced, the Jedi easily deflected the Mandalorian barrage, killing many with their own blasterfire. Seeing his mistake, Jango ordered his men to switch to projectile weapons. As the Jedi managed to divert some of the missiles the two groups engaged in melee combat. Fett then ordered Myles—Fett's aide-de-camp—to take off, providing the others with air support using his jetpack, but Dooku saw him, and ordered another Jedi to attack him. The Knight used Force Leap to reach him and cleave him in two. When the halves of his body landed near Fett, that threw the Mandalorian leader into an enraged frenzy.
At the same time, Komari Vosa aggressively cut down scores of Mandalorians, killing at least twenty by herself. Meanwhile, Fett confronted the Jedi who killed Myles. Fett had threw himself at Myle's killer, strangling the Jedi after a brief brawl. Following his opponent's death, Jango, by then the last Mandalorian fighter, lost the will to continue fighting in his grief after realizing his men were all dead, and was promptly captured by Dooku and the remaining Jedi.
Aftermath[]
- "Yinchorr is fast shaping up to be another Galidraan."
- ―Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum
The casualties on both sides were staggeringly heavy: Dooku said later than more than half of the Jedi were killed, while the majority of their Judicial reinforcements were also slain. On the opposite side, Jango was the only survivor present out of at least three hundred Mandalorians, and the True Mandalorians all but ceased to exist with the loss of most of their forces. The Jedi were forced to hand Jango over to the Governor of Galidraan, who took his armor as trophy and sold Fett into slavery.
Dooku would later reflect that "It was a misguided mission from the start and not the first of the Council's poor decisions," and it was one of the main reasons he chose later to leave the Jedi Order. In fact, by his words, it was his last mission as a Jedi. About ten years before the Battle of Geonosis, a Mandalorian named Silas was captured by Count Dooku and tortured when he refused to provide information regarding Jango Fett. Eventually, he broke under the torment. After listening to his story, Dooku ordered Silas' death.
Dooku never forgot Galidraan, and in one of his dens, he kept the lightsabers of the Jedi who fell in the battle on display.
In later years, the Battle of Galidraan would become used as a euphemism for a militaristic debacle, and in the aftermath of the Yinchorri Uprising, Finis Valorum used it as an example of why the Jedi could not serve as the Republic's army.
Known Participants[]
Mandalorians[]
- Jango Fett
- Myles (deceased)
Republic[]
- Dooku
- Maoi Madakor
- Komari Vosa
- Another Jedi (deceased)
- Antidar Williams
Other[]
Behind the scenes[]
The battle was originally placed in 34 BBY in Open Seasons. Later, The New Essential Chronology placed it in 40 BBY, The Cestus Deception implied it took place around 43 BBY, and Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force, The Official Star Wars Fact File and the Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide placed it in 44 BBY, while Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide: Special Edition placed it in 44 BBY and also made reference to "two years before the Battle of Naboo," which would mean 34 BBY. Two different dates (44 BBY and 41 BBY) were also given for the battle in the Star Wars Annual 2008. In addition, the databank article on Antidar Williams, written by a fan for a What's The Story? contest, places the battle several years after the 44 BBY Stark Hyperspace War. The Essential Atlas again places it in 44 BBY. Galaxy at War dates the end of the war (and therefore this battle) to 34 BBY, the first resource to corroborate the original dating. This article uses the 44 BBY date because a plurality of recent sources use it.
The New Essential Guide to Characters states that the Jedi outnumbered the Mandalorians and that Jango Fett was not captured after the fight. Both statements are contradicted by other sources on the battle.
While the True Mandalorian Silas offers to tell Dooku about this battle under torture, there's no evidence he was there, and circumstantial evidence (such as a later statement by Dooku that every Mandalorian but Jango died there) that he was not.
Appearances[]
- Darth Plagueis (and audiobook) (Indirect mention only)
- Star Wars: Bounty Hunter (Indirect mention only)
- Jango Fett: Open Seasons 1 (First appearance) (In flashback(s))
- Jango Fett: Open Seasons 2 (Indirect mention only)
- Jango Fett: Open Seasons 3 (In flashback(s))
- Jango Fett: Open Seasons 4 (Indirect mention only)
- The Cestus Deception (Indirect mention only)
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars novelization (and audiobook) (In flashback(s))
- The Clone Wars: Secret Missions 4: Guardians of the Chiss Key (Indirect mention only)
- Order 66: A Republic Commando Novel (Mentioned only)
- Imperial Commando: 501st (Mentioned only)
Sources[]
- The New Essential Guide to Characters
- The Official Star Wars Fact File 124 (VIZ 1-4: Vizsla)
- Death Watch Bunker on the official Star Wars Galaxies website (content now obsolete; backup link)
- "The History of the Mandalorians" — Star Wars Insider 80
- Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide
- The New Essential Chronology (First identified as Battle of Galidraan)
- Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia (See Galidraan)
- The Clone Wars Campaign Guide
- The Essential Atlas
- Galaxy at War
- Star Wars: The Official Starships & Vehicles Collection 34
- Friday Feature – Underground Adventures on the official Star Wars Galaxies website (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Lt. Antidar Williams in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Vosa, Komari in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link)
- The Essential Guide to Warfare
- Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide: Updated and Expanded
- The Bounty Hunter Code: From the Files of Boba Fett
- Mandalorian Mysteries: The Icons of Mandalore on StarWars.com (article) (content now obsolete; backup link)