Battle of Ebaq

The Battle of Ebaq, also known as the Battle of Ebaq 9, was a major battle between the scattered New Republic, aided by the Jedi Order, Smugglers' Alliance, and Lumiya's Sith cult against the Yuuzhan Vong, considered the turning point of the war in favor of the New Republic. The battle plan was conceived and coordinated by an ailing Admiral Ackbar, former Supreme Commander of the New Republic Defense Force, and was put into practice by several of the Republic's most able officers, including General Garm Bel Iblis and Admiral Kre'fey. After striking small raids on, and seizing, poorly defended worlds captured by the Yuuzhan Vong, Ackbar lured their Warmaster Tsavong Lah to the trap at the moon Ebaq 9 by giving Lah evidence of a fortress called the Final Redoubt at the moon there. With Supreme Overlord Shimrra's permission, he took a large fleet to the moon to decimate the New Republic forces there.

With the Solo twins and other Jedi at the moon as well, Lah was especially motivated to win the battle and decimate the forces there. However he was drawn into a trap by General Keyan Farlander's battle group at the moon, where he was soon ambushed by Admiral Traest Kre'fey. Eventually, a large New Republic task force led by Garm Bel Iblis and Jedi Master Luke Skywalker trapped the Warmaster. With his fleets doomed, Lah led 10,000 troops to eliminate the Jedi on the moon. However, all of his troops were killed when Vergere, a Jedi Knight who initially joined the Yuuzhan Vong, sacrificed herself by crashing her ship on the moon's surface, causing explosive decompression in the mines inside it, to save Jacen. Lah survived, and confronted Jaina, along with her Jedi friends Lowbacca and Tesar Sebatyne. Jaina was able to kill the Warmaster, and all of his troops battling the New Republic fleet were killed as well.

The subsequent New Republic victory resulted not only in the death of Warmaster Tsavong Lah, but a large portion of the already weakened Warrior caste along with him. The battle was a major morale victory for the Jedi and failing New Republic, and turned the tide of the war onto their side. It also proved to be the catalyst for the formation of the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, as well as a disastrous and humiliating defeat for the newly christened Yuuzhan Vong empire.

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