Battle of Andalia

During 0 ABY of the Galactic Civil War, a time of conflict between the Galactic Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic, privateers who supported the Rebellion captured Imperial Advisor Coh Veshiv from the planet Esseles. Because Grand Admiral Osvald Teshik was in charge of the oversector where the capture happened, and failed to stop the raiders, Emperor Palpatine intended to use Teshik's failure as an example for other Grand Admirals. Palpatine sent Teshik on a suicide mission to the Hapes Cluster, leading a task force that included the Pursuit-class light cruiser Shepherd, two squadrons of TIE/LN starfighters, and eight gunships.

Most of the task force believed their mission was a simple patrol to ensure the loyalty of the near-Human species of the Hapans, but Teshik was aware that the mission was a death sentence for all involved. Upon arriving in the star cluster, the task force proceeded to the Andalia system following orders to engage the awaiting enemy.

When the Imperial forces arrived in the Andalia system, they were met by a prepared Hapan fleet, which included five Hapan Battle Dragons and eight Nova-class battle cruisers. Despite the overwhelming odds, and against expectations of retreat, Teshik ordered a deck officer to launch the TIE fighters to engage the enemy. The TIEs were destroyed by Battle Dragon laser fire in just two minutes, but they managed to make two passes, though their weapons were unable to penetrate the deflector shields of the Hapan ships. The eight Imperial gunships were also quickly eliminated, with six being destroyed in a minute and the remaining two crashing into each other due to the captains' panic.

The Shepherd was the last Imperial ship to fall. The shields of the _Pursuit_-class cruiser failed, and after a barrage of proton torpedoes from the lead Battle Dragon impacted the ship, the Shepherd's reactor core detonated, destroying the vessel. Teshik, however, managed to escape the Shepherd before its destruction, wearing an enviro-suit after failing to locate an escape pod. He was ejected from the ship through a hull breach, although the suit sustained damage.

Following the Hapan victory, Teshik experienced a revelation about the nature of warfare across centuries. He was later rescued by an Imperial snoopship dispatched by the Emperor to confirm the execution of Palpatine's sentence, after Teshik activated a beacon on his suit. Due to the damage to the enviro-suit, only a quarter of Teshik's original body survived, with the rest being replaced by cybernetics. Teshik, who was sent to die at Andalia, ultimately lived.

After the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY, Teshik was captured by Rebels and recounted the details of the battle to his captors. He was subsequently executed for war crimes.

The Battle of Andalia was initially referenced in the 2003 publication Who's Who: Imperial Grand Admirals, a section penned by Daniel Wallace and Abel G. Peña in the 66th edition of Star Wars Insider magazine. A more detailed account was not available until the 2012 release of The Essential Guide to Warfare, authored by Jason Fry and Paul R. Urquhart. Warfare was the first source to call the conflict the Battle of Andalia, and used the section about the battle as the book's prologue.

Fry later discussed the section's creation in his endnotes. Originally, the prologue was to feature Imperial Admiral Conan Antonio Motti, engineer and architect Bevel Lemelisk, and Imperial General and Doctor Insmot Bowen in a briefing about an ancient war between the Celestials and the Rakata. However, Fry's editor, Erich Schoeneweiss, felt that the prologue needed a more engaging introduction with actual warfare, leading to the battle's inclusion. Fry drew inspiration for the battle and its consequences from the song "Hallelujah," by Leonard Cohen.

• " Who's Who: Imperial Grand Admirals " — Star Wars Insider 66 (Initial Mention)
• The Essential Guide to Warfare (First identification as Battle of Andalia)