A conflict transpired in the years preceding the Battle of Yavin. This clash was between the Denash insurgents and the Galactic Empire's One Twenty-Fifth task force, led by Admiral Kinshara. The 125th Task Force faced minimal resistance, as most of the Denash insurgents had already moved the majority of their vessels and supplies to Batonn.
During the Imperial Era, Nightswan, a pirate and leader of insurgents, initiated an insurgent campaign against the Galactic Empire. He later moved his operations to the Batonn sector, which resulted in the rise of insurgent groups on planets such as Denash, Batonn, and Sammun. The Denash insurgents engaged in combat with the Imperial Governor Wistran. Following the capture of Scrim Island on Batonn by the Batonn insurgents, Fleet Admiral Jok Donassius gave the order for military actions against insurgent forces within the sector. Admiral Kinshara and the One Twenty-Fifth task force were assigned the duty of suppressing the Denash insurgents.
After the Battle of Denash, Admiral Kinshara communicated his conclusions to Fleet Admiral Donassius, as well as other Imperial admirals including Thrawn and Durril. Thrawn informed the group that Commander Karyn Faro had successfully defeated the Sammun insurgents and seized several starships along with a substantial quantity of resources. Conversely, Admiral Durril's One Oh Third Task Force had suffered a setback, being repelled by the Scrim Island insurgents with considerable losses. Admiral Thrawn was then tasked with retaking Scrim Island, and subsequently achieved victory over Nightswan and the Batonn insurgents.
The Battle of Denash was initially featured in Timothy Zahn's 2017 novel, Thrawn. This novel serves as a rebooted canonical origin story for the character of the same name.