Battle of Kashyyyk (c. 18 BBY)

A battle took place around 18 BBY, barely a year after the end of the Clone Wars, on the planet Kashyyyk, the homeworld of the Wookiee race. It was fought by the ground forces of the Galactic Empire under the command of the Supreme Commander Darth Vader against the Wookiees and the fugitive Jedi Knight Kento Marek, who had managed to survive the initial phase of the Great Jedi Purge that began at the onset of Order 66. In addition to the previous Imperial invasion of Kashyyyk, the battle marked the successful conclusion of the Empire's campaign to subjugate and enslave the Wookiee race.

While the main force was on a stand by, platoon of stormtroopers led by Captain Janzor was sent to distract the Wookiees from the main invasion force. Their main objective was to capture a small outpost with a relay so that the Wookiees wont be able to signal the rest of the natives, in which the platoon succeeded. Some time later the platoon was overwhelmed by the Wookiees who had them outnumbered most of the platoon was killed at the outpost including Captain Janzor, Sergeants Oswal Strepp and Dalia, only two stormtroopers made it alive. A few hours after Janzors platoon had landed on the planet, most of the continents were already under Imperial control.

At first, the Wookiees were able keep the invaders at bay, mainly by ambushing Imperial soldiers immediately after they descended on Kashyyyk's surface. Though displeased by the initial setback, Lord Vader ignored most of the battle in order to pursue a personal objective—the hunt for the Jedi Kento Marek. With only a handful of stormtroopers, including the members of Triton Squad, the Dark Lord of the Sith infiltrated the Wookiee village where much of the fighting took place, and killed numerous Wookiees along the way to his target. Upon confronting Marek at the Jedi's home, the two fought a brief lightsaber duel in which Vader quickly gained the advantage and disarmed his opponent. Shortly afterward, he discovered the Jedi's son Galen Marek, a child who was exceptionally strong in the Force. The realization that the younger Marek could prove useful to the Sith caused Vader to spare the boy's life, although he swiftly killed Marek's father, as well as a few nearby troopers in order to ensure that his discovery remained a secret.

In the years that followed Kashyyyk's fall to the Empire, Darth Vader secretly raised and trained Galen Marek in the ways of the dark side of the Force while still apprenticed to Darth Sidious, the Sith Lord who ruled the galaxy as Emperor Palpatine, despite the fact that there could only be two Sith. Vader broke this rule in the hopes that his secret apprentice, whom he codenamed "Starkiller," would eventually become powerful enough to help him assassinate Sidious.

Text and facts from the “Battle of Kashyyyk (c. 18 BBY)” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.