Hailed as a hero and promoted to admiral, Holt joined Moff Wilhuff Tarkin's Western Reaches Operation of 17 BBY, jointly commanding the Western Reaches Superiority Force with Admiral Terrinald Screed. Holt was killed during the campaign when the admiral and General Hurst Romodi were ambushed by Iska pirates at the planet Bryndar.
The prestigious Holt family maintained a strong naval tradition on the fortress world Anaxes.
Bannidge Holt was a member of the Holt family, a prestigious household that hailed from the fortress world Anaxes, in the Core Worlds, and had a long history of naval service. Following in the family's tradition, Holt entered military service and, by 18 BBY, held the rank of captain in the Imperial Navy, which formed after the Galactic Republic was reorganized into the Galactic Empire following its victory over the Confederacy of Independent Systems in the Clone Wars the previous year.
Shortly after its founding, the Empire set about eliminating Separatist holdouts, pirates, slavers, and criminal gangs operating in the Mid Rim and Outer Rim. In 18 BBY, Holt was assigned as one of the commanders in Admiral Wullf Yularen's fleet, tasked with putting an end to shipping raids in the newly-formed Corporate Sector and along the nearby Listehol Run and Shaltin Tunnels trade routes by an alliance of Sikurdian pirates, Zygerrian slavers, and Tervig slavers. The Imperial fleet was largely composed on Invincible-class heavy cruisers intended for use by the Corporate Sector Authority, but Yularen and Holt boosted the fleet's strength with a small number of Venator-class Star Destroyers capable of carrying squadrons of TIE fighters.
The Imperials defeated Sikurdian forces at the Battle of Sagma and blockaded Zygerria, the Zygerrian homeworld, forcing the Zygerrians into a negotiated peace. The Empire also launched a series of raids against Tervissis, the home planet of the Tervig slavers. Although Tervissis withstood the Imperial assault until 13 BBY, Holt was hailed as a war hero for the actions in the Listehol Campaign and was promoted to admiral.
Holt shared joint command of the Western Reaches Superiority Force with Admiral Terrinald Screed.
As the Clone Wars neared its end, the remnants of Confederate General Grievous's forces had sought shelter among the pirate and slaver bases in the Western Reaches. In 17 BBY, Emperor Palpatine gave responsibility for bringing order to the Western Reaches to Moff Wilhuff Tarkin. With no significant Planetary Security Forces operating in the area, Tarkin requested significant military resources for the Western Reaches Operation, including numerous veterans of previous campaigns in the Rim. Holt was given joint command of the Western Reaches Superiority Force with Admiral Terrinald Screed, a hero of the Ciutric Offensive earlier that year.
The Imperial forces had seen action in several battles when Iska pirates impersonating local officials ambushed Holt and General Hurst Romodi, commander of the Imperial ground forces, at Bryndar, a planet in the Dalicron sector. Holt was killed and Romodi badly injured and left blind by a fragmentation grenade.
With the aid of holodrama adaptations of their actions, the central participants in the Western Reaches Operation had become famous throughout the Empire. As such, news of Holt's death was met with shock by Imperial citizens, many of whom would always remember where they were when they learned the admiral had been killed. Despite the loss of Holt, the campaign was ultimately successful, with the Empire winning a decisive victory at Ogoth Tiir.
A member of the Holt family, Bannidge Holt continued the family's tradition of naval service by serving in the Imperial Navy. Holt proved to be a capable officer, earning the rank of captain at a young age and subsequently being promoted to admiral. Holt was hailed as a war hero for the Listehol Campaign, and media coverage of the Western Reaches Operation further enhanced Holt's fame.
Bannidge Holt was created for The Essential Guide to Warfare, a 2012 reference book written by Jason Fry and Paul R. Urquhart. Although a new character, Holt was introduced as a reference to the Holt family, which had been first mentioned in the form of Fleet Admiral Holt in the 1989 Imperial Sourcebook, a supplement for the West End Games Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game. The 2003 Wizards of the Coast Star Wars Roleplaying Game sourcebook Coruscant and the Core Worlds further established the Holts as a prestigious naval family.
Coruscant and the Core Worlds describes the Holt family as residents of the planet Anaxes, but Holt's own homeworld is not confirmed in The Essential Guide to Warfare. Neither Holt's species nor gender is indicated in The Essential Guide to Warfare, but Fry stated in the book's endnotes that he intended Holt to be male.
- The Essential Guide to Warfare