How Successful Was Thrawn’s Attempt to Take Over the Galaxy inStar Wars‘ Expanded Universe?

Ahsoka‘s first season concluded with the New Republic on the precipice of the greatest challenge to its nascent power yet seen in this period of contemporaryStar Warscontinuity : the payoff ofGrand Admiral Thrawnto the galaxy far , far aside , support by dark Dathomiran magic and an undead army at his command . We ’ve know for a tenacious sentence that all this — andAhsokaseason two andThe Mandalorian & Grogu — are building to one of the most crucial films in Lucasfilm’sever - evolvingStar Warsslatein the form of Dave Filoni ’s “ Mandoverse ” team - up movie , pitting the New Republic against the Imperial Remnant . We have sex it ’s to a great extent pep up by Timothy Zahn’slegendary novel trilogyHeir to the Empire , Dark Force Rising , andThe Last Command … but how exactly did Thrawn go about assaulting the Galax urceolata in those volume ?

usually referred to in the Expanded Universe as the Thrawn Campaign , Grand Admiral Thrawn ’s remnant movement rises and diminish over the track of a few month , just five geezerhood afterReturn of the Jediin 9ABY . But despite its briefness , the Thrawn Campaign set the stagecoach for an incredibly explosive moment in the wandflower , putting the still - fledgling New Republic on the back human foot while also coiffe the stage for a next solidification of the Imperial Remnant as a system of power . meter will severalize just how much currentStar Warscontinuity will rip directly from Zahn ’s work — even if not directly , there are already some interesting analog — but here ’s how it went down the first prison term the galaxy learned of the truthful threat of Thrawn .

Early Engagements

The state of the galaxy heading into the Thrawn Campaign was a period of uneasy , but severely - achieved peace for both the New Republic and the remnant of the Empire . The former ’s state of war against Warlord Zsinj had ended one of the most potent threats to the nascent New Republic , after a series of offensives head by various commanders in the New Republic armed services pushed back Imperial space and denied the Empire access to vital material and , more crucially , resource for recruitment , heavily diminishing the effective capability of the majestic naval and armed military unit .

The New Republic itself , while triumphant against Zsinj , likewise found itself stretched thin and eat up by its on-going military campaigns . The expiration of the capabilities of the Kuat shipyard during a tactical self - inflicted sabotage campaign by Kuat Drive Yards importantly restricted the production potentiality of one of the premiere source of capital ship , and by 9ABY the wandflower had settled into something of an entente cordiale , drawing back from direct conflict to consolidate resources . It ’s in this moment that Thrawn made his ploy : take respected veteranImperial officer Gilad Pellaeonas his second - in - mastery , Thrawn began a serial of campaigns against plagiarist in Imperial place to gain support and resources from the stay on Moffs , slowly but steady raise his condition through his tactical insightfulness .

By the time Thrawn was ready to begin engaging the New Republic , he overlook two fleet of six Star Destroyers , including his personal flagship , theChimaera . But the now nominal Supreme Commander of the Imperial Navy also substantiate that he needed tactical advantages beyond what his minimal fleets could provide . Thrawn returned to the planet Honoghr to re - confirm the Noghri ’s loyalty to the Empire after the last of Darth Vader , who they had venerate as the savior of their human race ( although Vader and the Empire actually secretly kept Honoghr slowly perish ) , gaining access to their warriors as elect operatives and commando , as well as a personal Noghri escort in Rukh .

© Lucasfilm

While using his fleets to begin poking at the edge of New Republic space and get insight into its tactical strategies , Thrawn further look to bolster his resources . After a brush with the New Republic at the program library world of Obroa - skai , Thrawn learned of the major planet Wayland , and Emperor Palpatine ’s hole-and-corner storage of engineering and artifacts within a facility built in Mount Tantiss . It ’s at Tantiss that Thrawn secured three of his most vital aids for the former years of his drive : a serial publication of Spaarti clone cylinder , which allow Thrawn hoi polloi create clones of royal officer to replenish his forces ; designs for cloaking engineering science to hide his ship ; and Mount Tantiss ’ Dark Jedi guardian , the clone Joruus C’Baoth . use access code to Force - dampening creatures he had secured in a deal with the smuggler Talon Karrde , the Ysalamiri , Thrawn made an unquiet alinement with C’Baoth , offering the capture of Jedi siblings Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa - Solo ( as well as Organa - Solo ’s unborn twins ) to C’Baoth for training . In exchange , Thrawn would encounter the assistance of C’Baoth ’s Force command in the art of battle meditation , allowing the Dark Jedi to help relaying bidding to Thrawn ’s ships where conventional communication was inconceivable , ease up him a significant advantage even with less Book of Numbers .

Thrawn immediately start putting these advantages to work . With approach to thousands of rapidly created clone — manufacture in a matter of week rather than the conventional year - minimum , their stability maintain by seed Mount Tantiss with Ysalamiri — Thrawn suddenly had the potentiality to commit to a serial publication of lighting attacks across the Inner and Mid - Rim , using the mobility he gained from not having a major base of mathematical process to be capable to guide force where the New Republic ’s defenses were weaker . In an other endeavor to bolster his fleet , Thrawn raid Lando Calrissian ’s minelaying business at Nkllon , gaining access to a raft of mole miner that he then used in a clothe ravishment on the Sluis Van shipyard , where the New Republic was currently in the process of retrofitting military ships into transport vessels to assist its struggling supply lines .

Although Thrawn was foiled at Sluis Van by the actions of Calrissian himself , it was a Pyrrhic triumph for the New Republic . Calrissian was force to practice his stolen miners to totally disenable the working capital ship before Thrawn ’s forces could slip them , denying access to both the Empire and the Republic . But while the secret of Thrawn ’s use of clon armies was outed at Sluis Van , the New Republic did n’t have time to capitalise on the shock egress of this dangerous new force . Unbeknownst to its highest chains of command , Thrawn was exploit the enjoyment of Delta Source , a Clone War - earned run average surveillance system in the affection of the Imperial Palace ( now the heart of the New Republic ’s office structure ) to gain insight on his foes , create a political crisis that climax with Bothan senator Borsk Fey’lya getting Admiral Ackbar , the New Republic ’s most fourth-year commander , arrest for treachery — importantly thwarting the New Republic ’s response to the threat of Thrawn .

Thrawn Cbaoth

© Olivier Vatine, Fred Blanchard, and Isabelle Rabarot/Dark Horse Comics

Dark Forces Rising

While the political quagmire instigate by Fey’lya was resolved relatively quickly , Thrawn leveraged the New Republic ’s unfitness to effectively respond to his mobility by extend to assault key New Republic world , doing enough damage not to instantaneously destruct New Republic defenses , but damage them enough to force the New Republic to disseminate its circumscribed asset even more lightly . Meanwhile , Thrawn focused on his next major ploy : receive thelegendary missing Katana Fleet , a huge armory of Old Republic capital ship drive by slave - rigged machine electronic internet allowing it to be curb by a fraction of the necessary sentient crew . Although most of the Katana Fleet was destroyed shortly after its maiden voyage through sabotage , rumors that a fraction of its surviving ships had hold on throughout the downfall of the Republic and the reign of the Empire .

operate on intelligence operation acquired from Karrde and other contrabandist , Thrawn ascertained the location of roughly 200 remaining capital ships from the Katana Fleet . Although the New Republic seek to get to the ships before Thrawn could , in the ensuing battle Thrawn successfully handle to capture 178 of the Katana ship , significantly bolstering his naval capableness . Now with accession to a fleet able of wipe the New Republic out , Thrawn ’s political campaign could begin in earnest — even as cracks in his fusion began to forge . C’Baoth ’s increase degradation into insanity saw him slowly but surely essay to consolidate his own mogul within the Empire out from Thrawn ’s ambition , while on Honoghr Leia Organa - Solo managed to successfully unwrap the Empire ’s poisoning of the world to the Noghri , fomenting their rising against Imperial control .

But even with these looming setbacks , Thrawn now had the upper hand on practically every front of the conflict . The Katana ships allowed Thrawn to launch simultaneous attacks on a large identification number of earth , run answer from the New Republic ’s force that led to them increasingly losing fights . His suddenly amplified threat began to jeopardise the destabilization of the New Republic ’s already unsteady sustenance , as worlds informally commit to the New Republic began declare re - fealty to the Empire the closer Thrawn draw to the core worlds . Thrawn also leveraged his expanded fleet to capitalize on resourcefulness acquirement that was already stymying the New Republic ’s reply rate : Thrawn render to Nkllon and razed Lando ’s property to the ground , get vital material that now could no longer help the Republic ; then , using the tactics of his robe vessels to trick his rivals into believing he had access to a planetary superweapon adequate to of overthrow shield organisation , he successfully make do to occupy the agriworld Ukio in a single offence , gain ground access to a significant source of food .

© Killian Plunket/Dark Horse Comics

As Thrawn marched nigher and close to the astronomical essence , arguably the height of his safari ’s winner saw him derive close to the threshold of total victory . He draw New Republic power away from Imperial Center on Coruscant with a feint blast on Mrisst , a world in the colonies sphere between the Inner Rim and the Core . The distraction not only ended with Thrawn ’s moving in of the human beings , but an opening for him to surround Coruscant like a shot . Although a last - bit reinforcement from Corellian general Garm Bel Iblis saved Coruscant from being drawn into a devastating conflict for line , Thrawn still managed to put Coruscant out of the dispute altogether for either side , using a series of cloaked asteroids to effectively seal off the planet solely .

The Collapse at Bilbringi

The loss of Coruscant , even if not like a shot placing it under royal control once more , was a debilitating setback to the New Republic state of war drive . Hundreds upon 100 of systems , already only loosely committed to the New Republic ’s grasp on office , began declare disinterest or loyalty to Thrawn , his triumph seemingly guarantee . The Republic had niggling choice but to allow Thrawn ’s forces to effectively take control of the warfare as its own stay military capacity was forgather for one final counteroffensive at the Bilbringi shipyard . Commanded by Ackbar in an attempt to secure sensing element array engineering science that could observe Thrawn ’s asteroids and break Coruscant ’s blockade , the New Republic bank on a standardized manoeuvre to the one the Rebellion had deployed on the eve of its similarly desperate violation on the second Death Star .

Just as the Alliance had desire to feint the Empire away from Endor with an assault on Sullust , Ackbar committed a small fleet to the Imperial fort earth of Tangrene in the Outer Rim . But just as was the character at Endor , Thrawn saw through Ackbar ’s scheme and ascertained that Bilbringi was the Republic ’s true target , setting a trap to destroy the remnant of the New Republic once and for all . Using interdictor police cruiser to bring the New Republic fleet out of hyperspace outside of the shipyards , Thrawn ’s offensive line encircled the surprised Republic military force and began forge them in the mix-up .

But Thrawn ’s tactical genius could n’t stop the destiny of those aforementioned cleft in his coalition coming home to roost . first off , little did Thrawn cognise that Karrde — a former better half turned opponent by Thrawn ’s retell haranguings and treason of his smuggling business — had successfully conflate a wedlock of similarly dissatisfied smuggler cabal into the Smuggler ’s Alliance , who were already inside Bilbringi set about to steal the sensor engineering . Declaring for the Republic and attacking Thrawn ’s forces from within , the Republic and the Smuggler ’s alliance successfully breached the purple defensive line … at which point Rukh promptly assassinated Thrawn .

Thrawn Death Comic

© Edvin Biukovic, Eric Shanower, Ellie DeVille, and Pamela Rambo/Dark Horse Comics

incapacitate Pellaeon as he reported on a Nohgri - ally assault on C’Baoth at Mount Tantiss , Rukh speared Thrawn through the chest of drawers with his knife , pinning the Grand Admiral to his command chair as he bled out , before being pour down himself during his attempted escape . With Thrawn ’s destruction and the lunar time period easy turn against the Imperial Fleet , a find Pellaeon , now in play in bid of Thrawn ’s force out , realized without Thrawn ’s insightfulness the crusade against the New Republic was unsustainable , rate a full retirement into the Unknown Regions . With the team at Tantiss ( lead by Han , Luke , Leia , former Hand of the Emperor Mara Jade ) successfully killing C’Boath , the Thrawn crisis was over .

The Legacy of the Thrawn Campaign

If the post - Zsinj political campaign had press both the Imperial Remnant and the New Republic into a land of ataraxis through debasement , the Thrawn Campaign was an even more rapid and annihilative reducing in both sect ’s capacities . The New Republic , already struggling to maintain genuineness in its claims over territory , lost nearly a third of its member regions over the line of the campaign . Its military was also significantly damage , losing up to 40 % of its capability between outright loss or damage . Meanwhile , cracks had already begun to mold in the trustfulness between various members of the upper echelon of the Republic ’s rule council that would only be compounded further by the immediate assaults by the clone Palpatine as well as the temporary personnel casualty of Coruscant , setting the stage for flash point like theCaamas document crisisto come out down the rail line .

While the Thrawn Campaign could be seen as ultimately being a strategical victory for the Empire due to the sheer damage bring down on the New Republic , in the immediate futurity the Empire still found itself in a likewise degraded position . The immediate rising and downslope of a new regal coalition in the wake of the death of the cloned Palpatine and the forces he had amassed at Byss during Thrawn ’s campaign only served to keep the Empire in afractured , compromise state , one that would take it the best part of a decade to meld into a formal Imperial Remnant thanks to the tending of Pellaeon . With the stately end of the Galactic Civil War in 19ABY , both the Remnant and the New Republic settled into a more static peace … at least , foralittlewhile . This isStar Wars , after all .

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