View source for Battle of Balmorra

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{{Otheruses|Battle of Balmorra}}
{{Battle
|prev=[[Battle of Pinnacle Base]]<ref name="DE6">[[Dark Empire 6|''Dark Empire'' 6]]</ref>
|next=[[Second Duel on Byss]]<ref name="DEII 1">[[Dark Empire II 1|''Dark Empire II'' 1]]</ref>
|image=[[File:BattleofBalmorra2.jpg]]
|name=Battle of Balmorra
|conflict=[[Galactic Civil War/Legends|Galactic Civil War]] ([[Operation Shadow Hand]])<ref name="DEII 1" />
|date=[[10 ABY/Legends|10 ABY]]<ref name="NEC">''[[The New Essential Chronology]]''</ref>
|place=[[Balmorra/Legends|Balmorra]]<ref name="DEII 1" />
|result=*Signing of a peace treaty between Balmorra and the [[Galactic Empire/Legends|Galactic Empire]]<ref name="DEII 1" />
*Balmorra granted independence from the [[Galactic Empire/Legends|Galactic Empire]]<ref name="DEII 1" />
|side1=[[Balmorra/Legends|Balmorra]]<ref name="DEII 1" />
|side2=*[[Dark Empire]]<ref name="DEII 1" />
*Galactic Empire<ref name="DEII 1" />
|commanders1=[[Governor/Legends|Governor]] [[Hinch Beltane|Beltane]]<ref name="DEII 1" />
|commanders2=*[[Executor (Imperial rank)|Executor]] [[Sedriss QL]]<ref name="DEII 1" />
*[[Sergeant/Legends|Sergeant at arms]]<ref name="CSWE Mordi">{{CSWECite|II|330|Mordi, Krdys}}</ref> [[Krdys Mordi]]<ref name="DEII 1" />
*Sergeant at arms<ref name="CSWE Goir">{{CSWECite|I|350|Goir, Vill}}</ref> [[Vill Goir]]<ref name="DEII 1" />
*[[Captain/Legends|Captain]] [[Maximilian Veers/Legends|Maximilian Veers]] &dagger;<ref name="DEII 1" />
|forces1=*[[Balmorran Defense Force|Balmorran soldiers]]<ref name="DEII 1" />
*[[SD-10 battle droid]]s<ref name="DEII 1" />
*[[X-1 Viper]]s<ref name="DEII 1" />
|forces2=*36,000 [[Stormtrooper/Legends|Stormtroopers]]<ref name="DEII 1" />
*700 [[All Terrain Scout Transport/Legends|AT-ST walkers]]<ref name="DEII 1" />
*382 [[SD-9-series battle droid]]s<ref name="DEII 1" />
*[[Shadow Droid]]s<ref name="DEII 1" />
*[[Dropship/Legends|Dropships]]<ref name="DEII 1" />
*[[Troop transport/Legends|Troop transports]]<ref name="DEII 1" />
*2 [[Victory-class Star Destroyer/Legends|''Victory''-class Star Destroyers]]<ref name="DEII 1" />
*3 [[Imperial-class Star Destroyer/Legends|''Imperial''-class Star Destroyers]]<ref name="DEII 1" />
**[[Avenger/Legends|''Avenger'']]<ref name="DEII 1" />
|casual1=Heavy<ref name="DE II audio">[[Dark Empire II (audio)|''Dark Empire II'' audio drama]]</ref>
|casual2=Heavy, including all Shadow Droids<ref name="DE II audio" />}}
{{Quote|Beltane&mdash;our troops will land at once to accept your surrender.''"<br />"''Surrender, Sedriss?&mdash;Not a chance! This will be the battle for freedom I've long awaited!|[[Executor (Imperial rank)|Executor]] [[Sedriss QL]] and [[Governor/Legends|Governor]] [[Hinch Beltane|Beltane]]|<ref name="DEII 1" />}}
The '''Battle of Balmorra''' was fought in [[10 ABY/Legends|10 ABY]] between the forces of [[Galactic Empire/Legends|Galactic Empire]] commanded by [[Executor (Imperial rank)|Executor]] [[Sedriss QL]] and the defenders of the [[Factory/Legends|factory]] [[Planet/Legends|world]] of [[Balmorra/Legends|Balmorra]]. A part of Imperial [[Operation Shadow Hand]], the battle was fought in the wake of [[Galactic Emperor/Legends|Galactic Emperor]] [[Palpatine/Legends|Palpatine's]] [[Battle of Pinnacle Base|latest death]] in a [[Cloning/Legends|clone]] body. Believing the [[Emperor/Legends|Emperor]] to be gone forever, the [[Governor/Legends|governor]] of Balmorra, [[Hinch Beltane]], started supplying the [[New Republic/Legends|New Republic]], the Empire's enemy in the [[Galactic Civil War/Legends|Galactic Civil War]], with his [[Battle droid/Legends|war droids]].

Beltane's defiance drew attention from Sedriss, who stayed loyal to Palpatine and awaited his Master's [[Transfer essence|return]] in another clone body. Sedriss arrived at Balmorra with a [[Fleet/Legends|fleet]] of [[Star Destroyer/Legends|Star Destroyers]] and gave Beltane a chance to resolve the conflict without too much [[Blood/Legends|bloodshed]]; the Governor needed only to place his factories under Imperial control and surrender himself for [[Death/Legends|execution]]. Having long ago dreamed of achieving independence for Balmorra, Beltane refused the terms. Even though Sedriss had the ability to annihilate Balmorra through [[Orbital bombardment/Legends|orbital bombardment]], he preferred to capture the planet's factories intact, even though that meant losing a large number of Imperial [[Troop/Legends|troops]] in a ground assault.

The Empire deployed a large force on the surface of Balmorra, commanded by [[Captain/Legends|Captain]] [[Maximilian Veers/Legends|Maximilian Veers]]. Beltane and Sedriss engaged in a back-and-forth display of secret weaponry. Beltane's [[SD-10 battle droid]] outmatched Sedriss' outdated [[SD-9-series battle droid|SD-9 model]], but they were in turn demolished by the Imperial [[Cybernetics/Legends|cybernetic]] [[Shadow Droid]] [[Starfighter/Legends|starfighters]]. The battle culminated with Beltane releasing his experimental [[X-1 Viper]] Automadon [[Droid/Legends|droids]], which repelled the Shadow Droid attack. Willing to obtain such powerful machines at any cost, Sedriss ceased all hostilities and signed a peace treaty with Beltane, granting Balmorra freedom. Sedriss then procured a cargo of X-1 Vipers from the governor, although the latter betrayed the agreement by allowing the New Republic to intercept the shipment mid-flight to [[Byss/Legends|Byss]] and place [[Commando/Legends|commando]] teams inside.

==Prelude==
{{Quote|I never trusted Governor Beltane. For years he has boasted that his ''war machines'' were the only reason for the Empire's success!|Sedriss|<ref name="DEII 1" />}}
[[File:Balmorra-TOR.jpg|thumb|left|200px|The planet Balmorra]]
During the [[Galactic Civil War/Legends|Galactic Civil War]], the [[Factory/Legends|factory]] [[Planet/Legends|world]] of [[Balmorra/Legends|Balmorra]] was the primary manufacturer of [[All Terrain Scout Transport/Legends|AT-ST]] for the [[Galactic Empire/Legends|Galactic Empire]]. After the [[Battle of Endor/Legends|Battle of Endor]]<ref name="DEII 1" /> in [[4 ABY/Legends|4 ABY]]<ref name="NEC" /> and the [[Death/Legends|death]] of [[Galactic Emperor/Legends|Galactic Emperor]] [[Palpatine/Legends|Palpatine]], the planet was liberated by the [[Alliance to Restore the Republic/Legends|Alliance to Restore the Republic]].<ref name="DEII 1" /> In [[10 ABY/Legends|10 ABY]],<ref name="NEC" /> the Emperor returned to power, having been [[Transfer essence|reborn]] in a [[Cloning/Legends|clone]] body,<ref name="DEII 1" /> and within [[Standard month/Legends|months]] of his return Balmorra was once again placed under Imperial control.<ref name="EGD">''[[The Essential Guide to Droids]]''</ref>

The planet's factories began producing advanced weaponry for the Empire, most notably the recently developed [[SD-9-series battle droid]]. During this [[Time/Legends|time]], Imperial [[Engineer/Legends|engineer]] [[Umak Leth]] was assigned to work with Balmorra's development teams to further improve upon the SD-9's design, which resulted in the creation of the [[SD-10 battle droid]] model, which entered mass production and were due to be put to Imperial service.<ref name="DEII 1" /> However, the [[Governor/Legends|governor]] of the planet, [[Hinch Beltane]], saw an opportunity to use the new droids in order to restore Balmorra's freedom. Secretly from Leth, Beltane had his designers improve the SD-10 model with fast-reaction [[Servomotor/Legends|servomotors]], point of impact shielding and even experimental self healing metals.<ref name="EGD" /> In addition to that, Beltane also began development of a new [[X-1 Viper]] Automadon droid in secret from the Empire. A gargantuan machine based solely on Balmorran designs, it was outfitted with breakthrough [[molecular shielding]], which absorbed the power of an attacker's blasts and used it to power the droid.<ref name="DEII 1" />

Beltane intended to sell his newest creation, as well as other Balmorran products, to the New Republic. He soon seized an opportunity to do so when Palpatine died another death near the [[New Republic/Legends|New Republic]] [[Pinnacle Base]],<ref name="DE 6">[[Dark Empire 6|''Dark Empire'' 6]]</ref> leaving his [[Dark Empire]] leaderless. Believing that death of Palpatine to be final, he took advantage of the Empire's weakened state and started openly supplying the New Republic with his war droids, although the X-1 model was not yet among them, as the droids were not combat tested yet. Although Beltane still officially stayed allied with the Empire and kept supplying them as well, Beltane's dealings with the New Republic drew attention from [[Executor (Imperial rank)|Military Executor]] [[Sedriss QL]], who temporarily led the Empire's war efforts in Palpatine's absence. Sedriss chose Balmorra as the next target of [[Operation Shadow Hand]], a series of strikes against rebellious worlds in proximity to the Galactic Core.<ref name="DEII 1" />

A [[Fleet/Legends|fleet]] of five [[Star Destroyer/Legends|Star Destroyers]] arrived in [[Orbit/Legends|orbit]] of Balmorra. Sedriss himself was present<ref name="DEII 1" /> aboard his flagship<ref name="DE II audio" /> the Star Destroyer [[Avenger/Legends|''Avenger'']],<ref name="DEII 1" /> accompanied by his [[Sergeant/Legends|sergeants at arms]]<ref name="CSWE Mordi" /><ref name="CSWE Goir" /> [[Vill Goir]] and [[Krdys Mordi]]. Sedriss' forces included [[Shadow Droid]]s, unique starfighters developed by Leth and produced in violation of standard Imperial supply network directly in the Deep Core. The Shadow Droids were built around brains of fallen Imperial fighter aces. The brains were cybernetically connected to the machines, and they had been empowered with the [[Dark side of the Force/Legends|dark side of the Force]] by Palpatine himself.<ref name="DEII 1" />

[[File:Avenger_Victory_Balmorra.jpg|thumb|right|230px|Star Destroyers led by the [[Avenger/Legends|''Avenger'']] arrive over Balmorra.]]
Once assembled, the fleet was ready to open fire on the planet on Sedriss' command. However, the darksider had the fleet remain on standby and instead had his ground troops prepared for deployment. Sedriss then contacted Beltane via a [[Viewscreen/Legends|viewscreen]], demanding the Governor to turn his factories completely under Imperial control and surrender himself in order to be executed for his treasonous actions. If Beltane refused, Sedriss threatened to have his forces demolish Balmorra<ref name="DEII 1" /> and murder the planet's entire population.<ref name="DE II audio" />

Beltane was unmoved by the darksider's threats, stating that the Empire should be satisfied that Balmorra was still providing it with battle droids. Mordi reminded Sedriss that the SD-10's were supposed to leave Balmorra's factories soon. Sedriss acknowledged the fact that the Empire needed those new droids, therefore he intended to capture the planet without damaging its factories. Giving his troops an order to land on the planet's surface, Sedriss told the Governor that he would now accept Beltane's surrender. Refusing to comply to such terms, Beltane stated that his troops would fight for Balmorra's freedom.<ref name="DEII 1" />

==The battle==
{{Quote|The Empire is ''cheating'', sir&hellip;It is bypassing its own ''supply network!'' It's moved ''top-secret'' projects to the Deep Core!''"<br />"''Yes&hellip;If the Imperials had done anything ''less'', they wouldn't be ''galactic rulers'', would they?&hellip;And I have top secret projects of ''my own!''|The Balmorran command, after witnessing the firepower of the Shadow Droids|<ref name="DEII 1" />}}
[[File:Battle_of_Balmorra.jpg|thumb|left|230px|The [[Galactic Empire/Legends|Imperial]] troops arrive.]]
Imperial [[Dropship/Legends|dropships]] deployed a force of 700 AT-ST walkers, 382 SD-9 battle droids, 36,000 [[Stormtrooper/Legends|Stormtroopers]] and [[Troop transport/Legends|troop transports]], all under the command of [[Captain/Legends|Captain]] [[Maximilian Veers/Legends|Maximilian Veers]], that landed on the plains in the vicinity of the capital city [[Bin Prime]]. Acting on a battle plan he had developed, Sedriss had his forces close in on the city. Beltane responded with unleashing his own troops, consisting of Balmorran soldiers and SD-10 droids. As a battle erupted between the two sides, the entirety of Beltane's force was drawn out from the city into the open space of the plains surrounding it.<ref name="DEII 1" />

The battle initially went in favor of Balmorran forces, as the superior SD-10s&mdash;which were also programmed with tactics tailored to counter the older SD-9s&mdash;decimated their opposition.<ref name="DEII 1" /> Imperial forces began taking heavy casualties, and Captain Veers reported on that course of events to Sedriss.<ref name="DE II audio" /> Sedriss had realized from the start that the Empire would lose a large number of lives during the battle, but he was satisfied with that price. Acting on his strategy, the Executor had his remaining ground troops pulled back and activated the Shadow Droids. The cybernetic starfighters launched from the hangars of the Star Destroyers and flew toward the site of the battle. The droids performed aerial attack runs on Beltane's forces, turning the tide of the battle in the Empire's favor.<ref name="DEII 1" /> Not programmed to defend themselves against aerial attacks,<ref name="EGD" /> the SD-10 droids started falling victim to the nimble fighters en masse. Contrary to the original invasion plan,<ref name="DEII 1" /> the Shadow Droids also laid waste to Balmorra's infrastructure.<ref name="DE II audio" />

[[File:EvilSpaceThingies-DE2.png|thumb|right|200px|The Shadow Droids perform their attack run.]]
Informed of this turn of events, Beltane decided that it was time to reveal his own secret weapon,<ref name="DEII 1" /> issuing [[Emergency Initiative Alpha]],<ref name="DE II audio" /> an order to unleashed the X-1 Viper droids, which bested the Shadow Droids.<ref name="DEII 1" /> Veers' ground forces engaged the Automadons, but the droids' molecular shielding proved to be too strong for the Imperial troops, and Veers himself was killed. Sedriss attempted to withdraw the Shadow Droids, but all the starfighters had already been destroyed.<ref name="DE II audio" /> Having witnessed the X-1 in action, which had been developed clandestinely from the Empire, Goir and Mordi proclaimed that Beltane had broken his treaty with the Empire, and they implored Sedriss to retaliate with an orbital bombardment of Balmorra. However, Sedriss decided against such course of action. Impressed with the X-1 model's fighting capabilities, he viewed the machine as a potentially invaluable tool in the ongoing fight against the New Republic. Believing that obtaining the droids was of the utmost priority, Sedriss contacted Beltane, asking the man of the price he wanted for the machines.<ref name="DEII 1" />

Beltane demanded that Balmorra be granted freedom from the Empire; if that demand was met, then he would consider selling the X-1 droids to Sedriss on a contract basis. Grudgingly, Sedriss agreed to such terms, although he intended to perform a retaliatory strike against Balmorra once the Vipers were in his possession. An hour later, Sedriss dispatched an envoy to the surface of the planet to negotiate terms of the treaty. When all formalities were met, Sedriss signed a treaty with Beltane, officially granting Balmorra freedom from the Empire and withdrawing all Imperial forces from the planet.<ref name="DEII 1" />

==Aftermath==
{{Quote|War is more than a matter of ''vengeance'', Mordi. One of the subtleties of the military art is using your ''enemy{{'s}} resources'' to defeat him. I ''want'' those new war droids for the Empire and I want them ''now''. We'll agree to ''anything'' Beltane wants. Once I take possession of those war droids&mdash;and the men who designed them&mdash;I will reduce ''Balmorra'' to ''space dust!''|Sedriss, justifying his decision to agree to Beltane's terms|<ref name="DEII 1" />}}
Beltane seemingly kept his word, selling a shipment of X-1 Viper droids to Sedriss, which were soon to be delivered to the capital of the Empire, the [[Deep Core/Legends|Deep Core]] world of [[Byss/Legends|Byss]]. However, Beltane kept playing behind Sedriss' back in secret<ref name="DEII 1" /> He contacted the leader of the New Republic, [[Mon Mothma/Legends|Mon Mothma]], recounting the course of the battle to her.<ref name="DE II audio" /> He then informed the New Republic of the exact route of the transports that were carrying the droids as well as the cargo ships' registry numbers and access codes. This allowed the New Republic to intercept the shipment mid-flight. Acting on a strategy developed by [[General/Legends|Generals]] [[Wedge Antilles/Legends|Wedge Antilles]] and [[Lando Calrissian/Legends|Lando Calrissian]], the New Republic had commando teams take position inside the droids. Once the machines were to arrive at the [[Emperor's Citadel]] on Byss, the commandos planned to activate the droids and perform a daring strike at the heart of the Empire.<ref name="DEII 1" />

[[File:VipersCitadel.jpg|thumb|left|200px|The X-1 Viper droids purchased from Beltane by Sedriss were used by the New Republic in an attack on Byss.]]
Unaware of that, Sedriss faced other problems, as his truce with Beltane was viewed as failure by the Imperial Ruling Circle on Byss. A duo of Dark Side Adepts, [[Nefta]] and [[Sa-Di]], started vying to have Sedriss executed for his failure to subjugate Balmorra. The Adepts also began spreading rumors that Palpatine was dead and would not take another clone body, even though a number of bodies still remained hidden inside the Emperor's Citadel. Sedriss returned to Byss, accompanied by members of the Dark Side Elite. He then confronted the traitorous Adepts and killed them. Palpatine, who had returned in a final clone body, witnessed the scene and was pleased with Sedriss' loyalty. The Emperor once again assumed command of the Empire.<ref name="DEII 1" />

The X-1 Viper droids, crewed by the New Republic infiltrators, later arrived on Byss. As planned, the droids attacked the Emperor's Citadel. The surprising attack caught the Imperial defenders offguard,<ref name="DEII 4">[[Dark Empire II 4|''Dark Empire II'' 4]]</ref> but the reborn Palpatine responded to it by unleashing vicious [[Chrysalide]] [[Rancor/Legends|rancors]]. The creatures repelled the New Republic attack, causing the leftovers of the strike team to retreat with the help of local smugglers.<ref name="DE II 5">[[Dark Empire II 5|''Dark Empire II'' 5]]</ref>

==Behind the scenes==
The Battle of Balmorra first appeared in [[Dark Empire II 1|''Dark Empire II'' 1]], a [[1994]] [[Star Wars comic books|comic book]] written by [[Tom Veitch]] and illustrated by [[Cam Kennedy]]. The battle served as an opening event of the ''[[Star Wars: Dark Empire]]'' comic series and introduced the Imperial Executor Sedriss QL and the Balmorran Governor Beltane.<ref name="DEII 1" /> The battle was later featured in the [[Dark Empire II (audio)|audio drama adaptation of the comic series]].<ref name="DE II audio" /> The battle would receive mentions in a number of ''Star Wars'' reference books over the following years.

The audio drama of ''Dark Empire'' differs from the original comic ''Dark Empire II'' in regards to several aspects of the chronology of events in the battle. In the audio version, Krdys Mordi is not present, and Vill Goir is the only Dark Jedi accompanying Sedriss. After Sedriss presents his ultimatum to Beltane, the Governor has his planetary defenses open fire on Sedriss' fleet. Angered by this attack, Sedriss gives the order to land ground troops, which advance directly into the capital city and attempt to capture it,<ref name="DE II audio" /> instead of drawing out the Imperials outside the city as depicted in the comics. The number of Imperial troops is also slightly different with the Balmorran defenders estimating "close to 30,000 stormtroopers and 400 SD-9 droids"<ref name="DE II audio" /> instead of the exact numbers of 36,000 and 382, provided in the comic.<ref name="DEII 1" />

==Appearances==
*[[Dark Empire II 1|''Dark Empire II'' 1]] {{1st}}
*[[Dark Empire II (audio)|''Dark Empire II'' audio drama]]

==Sources==
*''[[Star Wars Encyclopedia]]''
*''[[The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons]]''
*[[The Essential Chronology (real-world book)|''The Essential Chronology'']]
*''[[The Essential Guide to Droids]]''
*''[[Arms & Equipment Guide]]''
*''[[The New Essential Guide to Characters]]''
*{{FFCite|23|MIL1-4, ''Military Droids''}}
*{{FFCite|43|MIL7-8, ''Military Droids''}}
*{{FFCite|85|German Edition - SED1-2, ''Exekutor Sedriss''}}
*''[[The New Essential Chronology]]''
*''[[Star Wars: The Comics Companion]]''
*{{InsiderCite|96|The Empire's Finest: Who's Who in the Imperial Military}}
*''[[Star Wars: The Official Starships & Vehicles Collection 4]]''
*{{InsiderCite|105|25 Years of Return of the Jedi!}}
*{{CSWECite|jang}}
*''[[Scavenger's Guide to Droids]]''
*''[[The Essential Atlas]]''
*{{DB|character|generalmaximilianveers|Veers, General Maximilian|archivedate=20110820215343}}
*{{SW|url=news/star-wars-the-essential-guide-to-warfare-authors-cut-part-12-tales-of-the-new-republic|text=''Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Warfare'' Author's Cut, Part 12: Tales Of The New Republic|int=Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Warfare Author's Cut}}

==Notes and references==
{{Reflist}}

{{GCW Shadow Hand}}

{{Interlang
|de=Schlacht von Balmorra (10 NSY)#legends
|es=Batalla de Balmorra
|ru=Битва на Балморре
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balmorra, Battle of}}
[[Category:Battles of Balmorra]]
[[Category:Battles of Operation Shadow Hand]]