In the year 10 ABY, the Battle of Calamari, alternatively named the Battle of Mon Calamari or Second Battle of Calamari, unfolded as Emperor Palpatine's resurrected forces launched an assault on Dac, which was serving as the temporary capital for the New Republic.
Six years had passed since Emperor Palpatine's initial demise at the Battle of Endor when he reappeared, inhabiting a cloned body. He swiftly regained control over the Imperial military, launching attacks from Byss and reclaiming Coruscant, the capital world of the New Republic.
As punishment for the Mon Calamari's allegiance to the New Republic, Palpatine deployed his newly developed superweapons: the World Devastators. These formidable machines possessed the capability to dismantle entire planetary surfaces, repurposing the materials into instruments of war. Palpatine intended to personally oversee the final assault on the planet from aboard the Eclipse, but circumstances prevented him from doing so.
The Imperial forces initiated their attack on Mon Calamari, originating from Byss, the Deep Core world serving as the Emperor's capital. World Devastators descended upon the planet's surface, commencing the destruction of shipyards, floating cities, and defense systems. Despite their efforts, the Mon Calamari defenders were severely outmatched in both numbers and firepower.
In one particular sector, only the Third Battalion, under the command of Captain Gammack, remained active, with their numbers dwindling rapidly. They transmitted an urgent distress signal to the New Republic High Command, which had re-established itself at Pinnacle Base. Admiral Gial Ackbar promptly ordered forces to Mon Calamari to assist in the planet's evacuation. Blue and Green squadrons were deployed to escort several MC80 evacuation cruisers to Da Soocha V.
Reinforcements from the New Republic, led by Wedge Antilles and Lando Calrissian, arrived swiftly. From the bridge of the captured Imperial-class Star Destroyer Emancipator, the pair commanded a substantial fleet that included the Mon Remonda, a selection of the new MC90 Star Cruisers, various escort frigates, and smaller support vessels.
However, an Imperial blockade was in place around Mon Calamari to ensure the unimpeded operation of the World Devastators. The New Republic fleet, upon arriving from hyperspace, was forced to engage the blockade. Exploiting the lowered shields of the Imperial communications ship Super Star Destroyer Allegiance and its escorting Star Destroyers, the New Republic forces successfully breached the blockade with minimal casualties.
Subsequently, the Emancipator launched its squadrons of T-65 X-wing starfighters and V-wing airspeeders towards the planet's surface, prepared to confront the World Devastators.
However, the World Devastators had already processed sufficient resources to manufacture hundreds of new assault vehicles, including TIE/D automated starfighters and AQ-5 Waveskimmers. These newly produced Imperial fighters ambushed the New Republic squadrons, resulting in the destruction of numerous starfighters. Additional starfighters were lost in attempts to attack the World Devastators.
Ultimately, the Emancipator fell victim to one of the World Devastators, compelling its crew to abandon ship in escape pods to avoid incineration within the superweapon's furnaces. From the last escape pod, Lando, Wedge, and the surviving bridge crew witnessed the gradual disintegration of their flagship. The battle's momentum shifted in favor of the Empire as the remaining New Republic warships struggled to maintain their attacks and rescue survivors.
However, the timely arrival of additional New Republic reinforcements prevented a complete collapse. The New Republic forces included multiple escort and rescue frigates, along with the advanced E-wing escort starfighter. Led by Knave Squadron, the new fighters engaged the TIE/D automated starfighters while the rescue frigates retrieved the escape pods from the Emancipator. At some point, Antilles assumed direct command of Rogue Squadron, dividing its forces into V-wing airspeeder attacks on a triad of smaller World Devastators and a separate X-wing starfighter offensive. The Rogues eliminated three Devastators and destroyed droid TIE fighter squadrons targeting Mon Calamari cities. Kasan Moor flew a V-wing with Rogue Squadron under Antilles' direction, despite her absence from the squadron for several years. Additionally, Rogue Squadron destroyed three smaller World Devastators by exploiting weaknesses in their deflector shields, targeting two of their "legs."
Even the E-wings struggled to penetrate the World Devastators' heavy defenses, resulting in the loss of several new fighters. Fortunately for the New Republic, Luke Skywalker, despite his apparent alliance with the Emperor as his Supreme Commander, had tampered with the Master Control Signal on Byss, leading to the destruction of three Devastators.
Further assistance arrived with Han Solo, Leia Organa Solo, Salla Zend, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2 aboard the Millennium Falcon. Luke had concealed the master control codes for the World Devastators within R2-D2, enabling the droid to deactivate the Devastators' shields, weapons, and propulsion systems.
The World Devastators continued to produce AQ-5 Waveskimmers, which engaged the approaching water-based New Republic forces. The Sea Commandos, led by Gammack, advanced towards the World Devastators aboard Amphibion transports, exchanging fire with Waveskimmer units. The conflict escalated to the surfaces of the World Devastators, with stormtroopers and sea commandos engaging in intense close-quarters combat.
Meanwhile, R2-D2 utilized the stored codes to create a virus designed to disrupt the Devastators' central computers, reprogramming them to attack each other.
The powerful World Devastators commenced their self-destructive process, met with cheers from the New Republic and Mon Calamari forces. The defense of Mon Calamari marked a significant victory against the resurrected Palpatine's forces.
The New Republic successfully safeguarded its Mon Calamari allies, although the planet faced a lengthy recovery from the devastation. Numerous floating cities suffered damage or destruction, resulting in millions of casualties. The shipyards also sustained moderate damage, delaying the production of the new MC90 Star Cruiser by over a year.
The Quarren blamed the Mon Calamari for the attack and threatened a mass exodus from the planet. Some Mon Calamari, including Admiral Ackbar, considered this a potentially beneficial outcome; however, few Quarren actually followed through with their threat. Ackbar, despite being weary from the attack and contemplating retirement, played a crucial role in the reconstruction efforts.
During and after the battle, the New Republic relocated a significant number of Mon Calamari refugees to Da Soocha.
One World Devastator survived the battle, subsequently captured by New Republic forces and repurposed for disposing of derelict vessels at Pinnacle Moon.
The First Battle of Mon Calamari was initially depicted in Dark Empire 2, an issue of the Star Wars: Dark Empire comic series. The battle was conceived and written by Tom Veitch, with artwork by Dave Dorman and coloring by Cam Kennedy. Veitch used this event as an early conflict to establish the tension between Palpatine's Imperial Remnant and the New Republic.
The First Battle of Mon Calamari was later adapted into the Dark Empire audio drama. The audio version introduced Captain Gammack, a character absent from the original comic.
The final campaign level of the Star Wars: Rogue Squadron video game featured the First Battle of Mon Calamari, allowing players to assume the role of Wedge Antilles and lead Rogue Squadron against the World Devastators on the planet's surface. The presence of Antilles aboard the Emancipator in Dark Empire, combined with the Devastators' vulnerability to precision attacks in the game, raises questions about the level's canonicity. While it's plausible that Antilles engaged the Devastators in a V-wing airspeeder after the loss of the Star Destroyer, the method by which the Rogues destroyed the seemingly invulnerable Devastators with their V-wings remains ambiguous and potentially non-canon. However, the game's strategy guide clarifies that the Devastators encountered were smaller, weaker versions with differently positioned shields, resolving some of the confusion.