View source for Battle of Taanab/Legends

{{Top}}
{{Battle
|prev=
|conc=[[Yavin blockade]]<ref name="Blockade">''[[The New Essential Chronology]]'', p. 115 establishes that the blockade lasted until six months after the Battle of Yavin, while [[The Essential Chronology (real-world book)|''The Essential Chronology'']], p. 42 and ''[[The New Essential Guide to Characters]]'', p. 40 establish that the Battle of Taanab occurs five months after the Battle of Yavin.</ref>
|next=[[Destruction of Laakteen Depot]]
|image=
|name=Battle of Taanab
|conflict=
|date=[[0 ABY/Legends|0 ABY]] (35:8 [[Great ReSynchronization|GrS]])<ref name="Date">[[The Essential Chronology (real-world book)|''The Essential Chronology'']], p. 42 and ''[[The New Essential Guide to Characters]]'', p. 40 establish that the Battle of Taanab occurs five months after the Battle of Yavin, which is dated to 35:3 GrS by ''[[The Essential Atlas]]'', p. 173.</ref>
|place=Near [[Taanab's moon]]<ref name="J5:268">{{Journal|5|Galaxywide NewsNets}}, p. 268</ref>
|result=*Taanab victory<ref name="J5:268" />
*Cessation of annual tributes to the [[Norulac/Legends|Norulac]] [[Pirate/Legends|pirates]]<ref name="EGW:178">''[[The Essential Guide to Warfare]]'', p. 178</ref>
|side1=[[Taanab Defence Fleet]]<ref name="FF96">Non-Canon Ref</ref>
|side2=[[Norulac Freebooters]]<ref name="EGW:177">''[[The Essential Guide to Warfare]]'', p. 177</ref>
|side3=
|side4=
|commanders1=[[Captain/Legends|Captain]] [[Lando Calrissian/Legends|Lando Calrissian]]<ref name="J5:268" />
|commanders2=
|commanders3=
|commanders4=
|forces1=*[[Z-95 Headhunter/Legends|Z-95 Headhunters]]<ref name="FF96" />
*1 [[Freighter/Legends|freighter]]<ref name="J5:268" />
**''[[Mama Tried]]''<ref name="EGW:177" />
|forces2=*~24<ref name="EGW:177" />
**4 Z-95 Headhunters<ref name="FF96" />
**2 [[Corvette/Legends|corvettes]]<ref name="EGW:177" />
***1 [[Marauder-class corvette|''Marauder''-class corvette]]<ref name="FF96" />
**2 [[Action IV transport]]s<ref name="EGW:177" />
**1 [[Action VI transport]]s<ref name="FF96" />
**[[Gunship/Legends|Gunships]]<ref name="EGW:177" />
|forces3=
|forces4=
|casual1=
|casual2=*19+ craft destroyed<ref name="J5:269">{{Journal|5|Galaxywide NewsNets}}, p. 269</ref>
*Both corvettes captured with their crews<ref name="EGW:177" />
|casual3=
|casual4=
|civilian=}}
{{Quote|Someone must have told them about my little maneuver at the Battle of Taanab.|Lando Calrissian|<ref name="Episode 6">{{Film|VI}}</ref>}}
The '''Battle of Taanab''' was an engagement in [[0 ABY/Legends|0 ABY]] between the [[Norulac Freebooters]]&mdash;a [[Pirate/Legends|pirate]] gang&mdash;and the [[Taanab/Legends|Taanab]] [[Planetary Security Forces|defense fleet]], led by [[Lando Calrissian/Legends|Lando Calrissian]]. While a minor engagement by galactic standards, had a great effect on Calrissian's career: his impromptu command of the Taanab fleet and utter defeat of the Norulac Pirates earned him a heroic reputation that would later see him promoted to the rank of [[General/Legends|general]] in the [[Alliance to Restore the Republic/Legends|Rebel Alliance]].

==Prelude==
[[Taanab/Legends|Taanab]] was an [[Inner Rim]] [[Planet/Legends|planet]] from which cargo was transported to resource-poor worlds through stardocks that were administered by the local [[Banthal Company]]. The Banthal docks suffered annual raids by the [[Norulac/Legends|Norulac]] [[Pirate/Legends|pirates]],<ref name="EA:104">''[[The Essential Atlas]]'', p. 104</ref> who ravaged Taanab every year without exception,<ref name="EGPM:171">''[[The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons]]'', p. 171</ref> typically stealing food and attacking vessels docked in [[Orbit/Legends|orbit]]. They would also randomly select settlements where they would loot valuables and conduct acts of brutality.<ref name="FF96" /> The [[Galactic Empire/Legends|Galactic Empire]] was too preoccupied to defend a small, insignificant farm world,<ref name="EGPM:171" /> and the pirates were careful not to take too much stock destined for Imperial use.<ref name="FF96" />

In the month of 35:8 [[Great ReSynchronization|GrS]] in the year [[0 ABY/Legends|0 ABY]],<ref name="Date" /> a roughly two-dozen-strong group of the pirates,<ref name="EGW:177" /> including four [[Z-95 Headhunter/Legends|Z-95 Headhunters]], a badly-upgraded [[Action VI transport]],<ref name="FF96" /> a large number of painted [[Gunship/Legends|gunships]], and two [[Corvette/Legends|corvettes]],<ref name="EGW:177" /> one of which was a decommissioned [[Marauder-class corvette|''Marauder''-class]],<ref name="FF96" /> were inbound for Taanab, intent on collecting their annual tribute.<ref name="EGW:177" /> When word reached Taanab that the pirates had attacked an outgoing [[rhuum]] convoy on the system perimeter and were heading sunward, the small<ref name="J5:268" /> and obsolete<ref name="EGW:177" /> orbital defense fleet scrambled to defend the Banthal docking array in near orbit, where the massive cargo ships favored by the pirates were docked.<ref name="J5:268" /> While the pirates were poorly equipped, they easily outmatched the [[Taanab Defence Fleet]] and its small, weak array of Z-95 Headhunters.<ref name="FF96" />

[[Lando Calrissian/Legends|Lando Calrissian]], a young merchant [[Captain/Legends|captain]] in seasonal residence in the [[Taanab system/Legends|Taanab system]]<ref name="J5:268" /> who was shipping a [[Denta bean/Legends|denta bean]] cargo to the planet,<ref name="EC:42">[[The Essential Chronology (real-world book)|''The Essential Chronology'']], p. 42</ref> was confined to Taanab, as the pirates had attacked while his cargo was being unloaded. Calrissian, who had no knowledge of the pirates prior to his arrival on Taanab, passed the time by observing the situation<ref name="FF96" /> and watched the pirates intercept the rhuum convoy via [[Holovid/Legends|holovid]]<ref name="EGW:177" /> in the [[Spaceport/Legends|spaceport]] bar in [[Pandath/Legends|Pandath]].<ref name="J5:268" /> Seeing the pirates as amateurs who could be defeated by a sufficiently skilled [[Pilot/Legends|pilot]]<ref name="EGW:177" /> and irritated by the refusal of the pilots present to intervene,<ref name="FF96" /> he boasted that he could easily set the pirates back. [[Gathal Danager]], a skeptical fellow free-trader,<ref name="J5:268" /> drunkenly<ref name="FF96" /> offered Calrissian the deed to one of his breweries on [[Clendor]] if Calrissian could actually repel the pirates, prompting others to laugh at Calrissian, who would later recall being offered the [[Imperial Palace/Legends|Imperial Palace]] and the [[Sceptre of Nopachi]] as well.<ref name="EGW:177" /> Amid much cheering and jeering, Calrissian lifted off in a [[Freighter/Legends|freighter]],<ref name="J5:268" /> the ''[[Mama Tried]]'',<ref name="EGW:177" /> which he had borrowed.<ref name="EA:104" /> Danager had made the bet under the belief that Calrissian wouldn't be able to do it.<ref name="ROTJ Novel">[[Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (novel)|''Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi'' novelization]]</ref>

==The battle==
{{Quote|The bet only seemed like a long-shot to those who didn't know I had an auxhold full of C-nets. As it happens, only I knew that.|Lando Calrissian|<ref name="J5:268" />}}
Calrissian, who had been transporting several hundred [[Conner net]]s to [[Socorro/Legends|Socorro]] for an acquaintance,<ref name="EGW:177" /> quickly passed the orbital defense ships that were assembling around the docking array and hid in the ice ring that orbited [[Taanab's moon]].<ref name="J5:268" /> After Calrissian waited there for some time,<ref name="EGW:177" /> the raiders approached and began their run on the cargo ships at the docks.<ref name="J5:268" /> When the Norulac pirates were within range, Calrissian shot the Conner nets into the midst of their formation.<ref name="EGW:177" /> The pirates were flying in a tight formation, and when combined with the speed of Calrissian's maneuver, their proximity resulted in them being caught by surprise.<ref name="FF96" /> Roughly half of the pirates immediately hit their jets, flying directly into the nets and shorting out their systems, while three or four of the others collided with each other.<ref name="EGW:177" /> At least six vessels were enveloped in the nets and forced into a single tangled mass.<ref name="FF96" />

The pirates slowed their snub ships to extricate themselves from the<ref name="J5:268" /> entangling webs of the nets,<ref name="J5:269" /> but before they could regroup, Calrissian activated the [[Tractor beam/Legends|tractor beam]] of the ''Mama Tried'' and began to launch chunks of ice from the [[Moon/Legends|moon]]'s ring<ref name="EGW:177" /> into the pirates' cockpits,<ref name="J5:269" /> making multiple runs to the ring. The Taanab Defence Force eventually joined the battle;<ref name="FF96" /> Calrissian rallied the Taanab pilots, and under his leadership, the orbit defense fleet then engaged in a mop-up session in which Calrissian alone destroyed nineteen of the remaining pirate craft<ref name="J5:269" /> in about as many minutes.<ref name="EGW:178" /> Calrissian then crippled the pirates' two supporting corvettes by shattering the dorsal coolant pipes on their engine pods,<ref name="J5:269" /> taking their engines offline. He also secured the corvettes' [[Escape pod/Legends|escape pod]] bays with his remaining Conner nets, preventing the pirates from escaping, and Taanab contacted Imperial forces, who arrived a few days later and captured the pirate corvettes along with the entirety of their crews.<ref name="EGW:178" />

==Aftermath==
{{Quote|And if you're going to bring up Taanab again, don't. You've been squeezing that bit of history for favors for, oh, must be fifteen years now. Not going to do you any good this time.|Reggi|<ref name="SOTP">''[[Specter of the Past]]''</ref>}}
The incident at Taanab, which was reported in the newsnets as the "Battle of Taanab,"<ref name="EA:104" /> was considered to be among Lando Calrissian's most famous exploits.<ref name="EGW:177" /> The Norulac pirates' collection of their annual tributes ceased following the battle, and the Taanabs offered Calrissian the position of [[Marshal/Legends|marshal]] of their defense fleet. Calrissian refused, taking into consideration the salary of a planetary militaman,<ref name="EGW:178" /> and politely declined an offer of employment from Taanab portmaster [[Daniil Captane]], who praised Calrissian's maneuvers and his ability to command the Taanab pilots. Calrissian also accepted the brewery deed from Danager, though he intended to wait a few weeks to visit the facility, as he still had unspecified business to attend to locally.<ref name="J5:269" />

Although Calrissian was a hero on Taanab, his fame failed to spread beyond the [[Sector/Legends|sector's]] borders until [[TriNebulon News/Legends|TriNebulon News]] picked up the story months later and broadcast it across the newsnets,<ref name="EC:42" /> publishing a report on the battle on 36:2:17 GrS.<ref name="J5:268" /> Their coverage of the events made Calrissian a minor celebrity in the Inner Rim for a few months.<ref name="FF96" /> Shortly after Calrissian became the [[Baron Administrator/Legends|Baron Administrator]] of [[Cloud City/Legends|Cloud City]], [[Ars Fivvle]] questioned Calrissian about the battle during an interview on an early installment of the news program ''[[Action Tidings]]'', but Calrissian avoided providing any details and insisted that they move on to another subject.<ref name="AT">{{WizardsCite|url=default.asp?x=starwars/article/sw20040930bespinmain|text=Bespin: Action Tidings|int=Bespin: Action Tidings|archivedate=20100514070718}}</ref>

Calrissian's role in the Battle of Taanab helped him obtain a [[General/Legends|general's]] commission in the armed forces of the [[Alliance to Restore the Republic/Legends|Rebel Alliance]],<ref name="EA:104" /> and [[Voren Na'al/Legends|Voren Na'al]] would eventually persuade Calrissian to provide a personal account of the battle, which he later included in his work ''[[Oral History of the New Republic]]''.<ref name="EGW:177" /> Calrissian frequently told people about his involvement in Tanaab as a means to get favors, which eventually culminated in [[Reggi]] banning that sort of tactic 15 years after the battle.<ref name="SOTP" />

==Behind the scenes==
The Battle of Taanab was first alluded to in ''Return of the Jedi'', when he explains to [[Han Solo/Legends|Han Solo]] that the reason for his promotion to General in the Rebel Fleet had to do with a maneuver he pulled during that time.

There are conflicting sources on the size of the [[Norulac Freebooters|Norulac Freebooters']] fleet. ''[[The Essential Guide to Warfare]]'' states that the Norulac pirates had two dozen ships. ''[[Star Wars Adventure Journal 5]]'' appears to support this number as it mentions the Norulac pirates having lost nineteen ships in the battle. However, ''[[The Official Star Wars Fact File 96]]'' claims that the Norulac pirates' forces consisted of six ships.

==Appearances==
*{{Journal|5|Galaxywide NewsNets}}
*''[[Galaxy of Fear: The Nightmare Machine]]'' {{Mo}}
*{{Journal|14|Galaxywide NewsNets}} {{Mo}}
*[[Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (novel)|''Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi'' novel]] {{1stm}}
*{{Film|VI}} {{Mo}}
*[[Return of the Jedi 3|''Return of the Jedi'' 3]] {{Mo}}
*''[[Specter of the Past]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Vision of the Future]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Young Jedi Knights: Jedi Under Siege]]'' {{Mo}}

==Sources==
*''[[A Guide to the Star Wars Universe]]''
*''[[Galaxy Guide 5: Return of the Jedi]]'' {{C|As "Battle of Tanaab"}}
*[[Star Wars: The Power of the Force (1995 toy line)|''Star Wars: The Power of the Force'' (1995)]]
*''[[Shadows of the Empire Sourcebook]]''
*{{CollectorCite|1|Don't Leave Home Without It}}
*{{InsiderCite|36|The Unseen Planets of Star Wars}}
*''[[The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons]]''
*''[[Star Wars: The Visual Dictionary]]''

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

{{GCW Blockade}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taanab, Battle of}}
[[Category:Battles of Taanab]]
[[Category:Battles of the Galactic Civil War]]