Battle of Galidraan

The Governor ruling Galidraan secretly harbored the Mandalorian Death Watch faction on his planet. Simultaneously, he faced a revolt from some of his colonists. Consequently, he contracted the True Mandalorians, led by Jango Fett, to suppress the uprising, which they successfully accomplished. However, influenced by the Death Watch leader, Tor Vizsla, the governor also falsely informed the Jedi Council that a Mandalorian group was engaged in the murder of "political activists." As payment for the Mandalorians' services, the governor pledged to disclose the location of Death Watch. Upon being confronted by Fett, Viszla and his men tried unsuccessfully to assassinate Jango, who managed to escape. Before leaving, Viszla instructed the governor to tell the Jedi that the Mandalorians had also murdered the political activists' families and left to ''fabricate some evidence.''

A Jedi task force under the command of Master Dooku was quickly dispatched to Galidraan, supported by the Republic Judicial Forces. Almost immediately after Jango arrived at his troop's camp to warn them of the Death Watch's treachery, the Jedi arrived. Master Dooku, the Jedi commander, ordered the True Mandalorians to surrender, promising impartial treatment. His padawan, Komari Vosa, warned them that "swift justice" would be delivered if the Mandalorians chose to fight. In response, Fett commanded his troops to commence firing, initiating a violent battle.

As the battle began, the Jedi effortlessly deflected the Mandalorian blaster fire, killing many with the Mandalorians' own weapons. Realizing his error, Jango instructed his soldiers to switch to projectile weapons. While the Jedi managed to redirect some of the missiles, the two factions engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Subsequently, Fett instructed Myles—Fett's second in command—to take flight, providing aerial support with his jetpack, but Dooku noticed him and ordered another Jedi to engage him. The Jedi Knight used Force Leap to reach him and bisect him. When the two halves of his body fell near Fett, the Mandalorian leader was consumed by a furious rage.

Simultaneously, Komari Vosa aggressively eliminated numerous Mandalorians, personally killing at least twenty. Meanwhile, Fett confronted the Jedi who had killed Myles. Fett launched himself at Myle's killer, strangling the Jedi after a brief fight. Following his opponent's death, Jango, who was by then the last Mandalorian fighter, lost the will to continue fighting due to his grief after realizing his men were all dead, and was quickly captured by Dooku and the remaining Jedi.

The losses on both sides were incredibly high: Dooku later stated that over half of the Jedi had perished, and the vast majority of their Judicial reinforcements were also killed. On the other hand, Jango was the only survivor out of at least three hundred Mandalorians, and the True Mandalorians effectively ceased to exist due to the loss of most of their forces. The Jedi were compelled to hand Jango over to the Governor of Galidraan, who seized his armor as a trophy and sold Fett into slavery.

Dooku would later reflect that "It was a misguided mission from the start and not the first of the Council's poor decisions," and it was a key reason he later chose to leave the Jedi Order. In fact, by his words, it was his last mission as a Jedi. Approximately ten years before the Battle of Geonosis, a Mandalorian named Silas was captured by Count Dooku and tortured when he refused to provide information regarding Jango Fett. Eventually, he broke under the torment. After listening to his story, Dooku ordered Silas' death.

Dooku never forgot Galidraan, and he kept the lightsabers of the Jedi who died in the battle on display in one of his dens.

In later years, the Battle of Galidraan would be used as a euphemism for a militaristic disaster, and in the aftermath of the Yinchorri Uprising, Finis Valorum cited it as an example of why the Jedi should not serve as the Republic's army.

• Jango Fett
• Myles (deceased)

• Dooku
• Maoi Madakor
• Komari Vosa
• Another Jedi (deceased)
• Antidar Williams

• Governor of Galidraan
• Tor Vizsla

The battle was initially set in 34 BBY in Open Seasons. Subsequently, The New Essential Chronology placed it in 40 BBY, The Cestus Deception suggested it occurred around 43 BBY, and Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force, The Official Star Wars Fact File and the Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide placed it in 44 BBY, while Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide: Special Edition placed it in 44 BBY and also referenced "two years before the Battle of Naboo," which would imply 34 BBY. Two distinct dates (44 BBY and 41 BBY) were also provided for the battle in the Star Wars Annual 2008. Furthermore, the databank entry on Antidar Williams, written by a fan for a What's The Story? competition, places the battle several years after the 44 BBY Stark Hyperspace War. The Essential Atlas once again places it in 44 BBY. Galaxy at War dates the end of the war (and therefore this battle) to 34 BBY, the first resource to corroborate the original dating. This article uses the 44 BBY date because a plurality of recent sources use it.

The New Essential Guide to Characters asserts that the Jedi outnumbered the Mandalorians and that Jango Fett was not captured after the fight. Both claims are contradicted by other sources on the battle.

While the True Mandalorian Silas offers to tell Dooku about this battle under torture, there's no evidence he was there, and circumstantial evidence (such as a later statement by Dooku that every Mandalorian but Jango died there) that he was not.