The significant conflict known as the Battle of Ord Radama, which would later be remembered as the Harrower Disaster, represented a pivotal moment in the Great Galactic War. This war pitted the Galactic Republic against the forces of the re-established Sith Empire. Ord Radama, once a possession of an earlier Sith Empire, had been under the Republic's control since the Jedi Civil War's conclusion. Despite its location within the Esstran sector in the area known as the Seat of The Empire, this planet successfully resisted Sith attempts at conquest during the Great Galactic War. However, in 3660 BBY, during the Rim Campaign spearheaded by Sith Lords Darth Malgus and Darth Venemal, the planet finally succumbed. In that year, these two Sith leaders brought a detachment from the Imperial naval armada to Ord Radama, initiating an eighty-six-day effort to bring the world under Imperial control.
The conflict commenced with an attack on a Republic stronghold situated on a mountaintop, while Imperial dreadnoughts established a defensive line in orbit around the planet. Malgus and Venemal spearheaded a successful ground invasion on foot, establishing a foothold from which to plan their advance on Livien Magnus, the heavily fortified capital city. This city was defended by Republic soldiers, artillery, and a comprehensive ray shield. After fourteen days on the planet, the Imperials launched their siege of the capital, with Malgus intending to secure victory through a prolonged war of attrition. One week into the siege, Lord Adraas arrived, bringing platoons of battle droids under orders from the Empire's ruling Dark Council. Although Republic infantry rapidly destroyed Adraas's droids, the distraction allowed Malgus and Venemal to lead troops into the city and destroy the shield generator.
Following the use of air strikes to suppress local resistance, the Sith Lords established their headquarters in the occupied capital while awaiting resupply. However, the situation quickly deteriorated for the Imperials. As their war supplies dwindled, the Republic launched a counterattack, dispatching a significant fleet of corvettes and cruisers to reclaim the system and dislodge the entrenched Imperial ground forces. Despite Malgus's efforts to command the situation in space, he soon lost control of the fleet, rendering the battle unsustainable. The disaster culminated when a damaged Harrower-class dreadnaught crashed onto Ord Radama, obliterating Livien Magnus and all Imperial personnel within, including Darth Venemal. Consequently, Lord Malgus was compelled to retreat from the planet aboard the dreadnaught Lindworm.
Ord Radama, situated in the Esstran sector within the Outer Rim Territories, was designated by the Galactic Republic as an Ordnance/Regional Depot for the Republic Military. During the Jedi Civil War, the world had aligned itself with the Sith forces of Darth Revan and Darth Malak's Empire, but it reverted to Republic control after the conclusion of that conflict. However, in 3681 BBY, the revitalized Sith Empire emerged from its hidden stronghold in the nearby Stygian Caldera, initiating a campaign of conquest throughout the Outer Rim. In the initial days of this Great Galactic War, the Empire prioritized securing outlying Republic worlds and reclaiming planets previously held by older Sith regimes. These endeavors proved largely successful until the Battle of Bothawui in 3671 BBY, at which point the Empire was compelled to reassess its strategies and postpone its plans to advance on the Republic's Core Worlds.
As a response, the Empire's governing Dark Council implemented several new strategies. The first involved manipulating the Mandalorian warrior clans to initiate the Blockade of the Hydian Way, designed to prevent the movement of foodstuffs to the Core Worlds and the transportation of military supplies to the struggling Republic armies in the Outer Rim. This blockade proved highly effective and lasted for a year, enabling the Empire to launch another successful offensive by 3660 BBY: the Rim Campaign. Under the direction of Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Angral, the Rim Campaign focused on securing territories in the Outer Rim, including those in the Esstran sector that had not yet fallen under Imperial control. Two rising Sith Lords, Darth Malgus and Darth Venemal, were placed in command of one of Angral's legions of Imperial soldiers and a small fleet of Imperial Navy warships, tasked with reconquering Ord Radama—a key objective of the campaign.
Despite a previous minor setback for Malgus's and Venemal's forces, the two Sith proceeded with their offensive. The Sith Empire commenced its invasion of Ord Radama on the one hundred and twenty-ninth day of the Rim Campaign, transported by two Harrower-class dreadnaughts and Darth Malgus's flagship, the dreadnaught Lindworm. As their capital ships established orbital positions, Malgus and Venemal led their legion's advance forces to the surface aboard dropships and Fury-class interceptors. Their initial target was a Republic stronghold located atop a mountain and defended by mines, artillery, and Merr-Sonn Bellower turret emplacements. The landing craft landed amidst heavy fire, successfully deploying the initial waves of Imperial commandos and the Sith Lords leading them. Malgus and Venemal spearheaded the assault, using their lightsabers to protect the lines of infantrymen behind them from blaster fire. The Merr-Sonn turrets targeted the invading forces' dropships rather than the advancing soldiers. While the gunners destroyed two landing craft—the Empire's only losses that day—the troops reached a rock formation at the cliff's base for cover. With his soldiers protected, Malgus ordered Venemal to jump to the gun emplacements and eliminate the operators. Venemal succeeded, and his commandos soon joined him on the ledge using ascension cables.
Meanwhile, Darth Malgus remained at the mountain's base, leading his remaining soldiers up a narrow incline to the stronghold. However, he sensed mines blocking the path. To protect his men, he used the Force to lift a boulder and roll it along the path, detonating the mines prematurely and allowing the Imperials to proceed unimpeded. A hidden group of Republic ambushers were scattered by the explosions, and Imperial fire troopers promptly killed them with flamethrowers. At the mountain's crest, Venemal's commandos moved through the stronghold, eliminating the Republic defenders without survivors. Malgus's men soon joined them, securing the area. The Empire's communications officer signaled the success to the Lindworm, which landed the rest of the Imperial legion in the fields at the mountain's base. For the next four days, the invaders established a bivouac, preparing for a march on the capital city of Livien Magnus. Once their temporary staging area was established, Malgus addressed his forces from atop a crawler tank, reminding them of their purpose and energizing them for the coming battle.
Ten days after Malgus's speech, the Empire began its siege of Livien Magnus. The city was heavily fortified by Republic soldiers and artillery, and a comprehensive ray shield protected it, with the deflector shield generator located within the city. The Sith led the attack, intending to starve the city into surrender. This war of attrition lasted a week, ending prematurely with the arrival of Lord Adraas, a political rival of Malgus. The Dark Council, impatient with the progress of the Ord Radama conquest, sent Adraas on a battlefield inspection with five platoons of Mk. I Sith war droids and five platoons of Mk. II Sith war droids, ordering him to end the siege and conclude the battle. Malgus and Venemal doubted the war droids' effectiveness but agreed they could serve as a useful distraction.
Thus, the two Darths allowed Lord Adraas to proceed with his plan to charge the city's south gate. As predicted, the entrenched Republic soldiers guarding the entrance obliterated the droids with blaster fire. Despite the significant losses, Malgus and Venemal salvaged a victory by staging a simultaneous attack on the city's western wall. While the Republic defenders focused on the incoming droids, Venemal led his commandos over the wall and breached it from the inside. This allowed Malgus and his legion to enter Livien Magnus, and within an hour, the shield generator was disabled. As a final measure, Malgus ordered air strikes to destroy insurgent enclaves within the city.
Following the siege, the Imperials occupied Livien Magnus as a base, claiming the rest of the planet. Although his droids failed, Lord Adraas took credit for the victory in his report to Darth Angral before leaving Malgus and Venemal to manage the campaign. The two Sith held the city and its central palace for nearly thirty days, defending it from insurgents with cacophanizer shells and their legion. Despite their initial swift victory, the occupation dragged on, resulting in increasing Imperial casualties and dwindling supplies. Resupply was typically managed through the Ministry of Logistics, but due to Malgus's poor relationship with Minister of Logistics Shullis Khamarr, he submitted requests to Shareis, the head of the Ministry of War.
Unfortunately for the Imperial occupation force, resupplies and reinforcements never reached Ord Radama. Sixty-five days after the siege of Livien Magnus, a Republic fleet of four Hammerhead-class cruisers and ten Thranta-class corvettes arrived in the Ord Radama system and assaulted the Empire's fleet in orbit. Overwhelmed and surprised, the Imperials had little time to react. The Lindworm was pummeled with turbolaser fire before it or either Harrower-class dreadnaught could launch their starfighter complements, giving the Republic vessels an early advantage. Although at least one Mark VI Supremacy-class starfighter engaged, it and the Imperial capital ships were overwhelmed by the Republic's cruisers, corvettes, and Aurek-class tactical strikefighters. One Harrower-class dreadnaught was heavily damaged, forcing its crew to evacuate; the other battle cruiser was critically compromised, its hull breached by proton torpedos.
Darth Malgus, witnessing the battle's start from Livien Magnus's palace balcony, summoned his shuttle pilot, Captain Karm, to transport him to the Lindworm to command the orbital engagement. However, by the time he reached the Lindworm's bridge, the situation was beyond saving. One ship had already been abandoned, and the battered Harrower-class dreadnaught began falling into Ord Radama's gravity well. Unable to maintain orbit, the massive vessel crashed into Livien Magnus, obliterating the city and instantly killing Darth Venemal, the Imperial legion stationed there, and approximately one hundred thousand citizens. Enraged, Malgus unleashed a powerful Force scream that injured many of the Lindworm's crew and destroyed a wave of Aurek-class strikefighters. Recognizing the battle was lost, Malgus ordered the Lindworm to retreat to Sith space.
The defeat at Ord Radama was costly for the Empire, lasting approximately eighty-six days and claiming over one hundred thousand lives from the Republic, Empire, and Ord Radama's natives. The battle also marked a turning point in the Rim Campaign and the war, coinciding with the collapse of the Mandalorian blockade on the Hydian Way. This allowed Republic forces to freely move to the Outer Rim Territories, where Jedi commanders rallied their forces against the Empire. Consequently, the Lindworm was pursued from Ord Radama into the Stygian Caldera and the Seat of The Empire, where Jedi Master Ven Zallow initiated a feint against Korriban before striking Ziost. On Ord Radama, the natives struggled to survive after Livien Magnus's destruction. The capital was relocated to New Raido, protected by Jedi disguised as commoners. This fooled Imperial Intelligence, which reported that the Republic had invested little in securing Ord Radama against future offensives.
Although Darth Malgus successfully repelled Jedi advances into Sith space, the loss of Ord Radama diminished his political standing with the Dark Council and Darth Angral. Despite this and rumors that he was responsible for the defeat and Darth Venemal's death, he was later tasked with leading the Reconquest of Ord Radama. Malgus documented the events of both the reconquest and the original Battle of Ord Radama in his personal war journal throughout the Rim Campaign. After reconquering the planet, the Empire rebuilt Livien Magnus, expanding it to almost four times its original size. A towering statue of Darth Malgus was erected in the city's center, though it was not maintained for the last five centuries of the Republic's existence. The Harrower-class dreadnaught's crash, later known as the Harrower Disaster, contaminated the crash site, a problem that persisted nearly four thousand years later, around the time of the Galactic Empire's rise. Around that time, Darth Sidious discovered the volume and provided it to Darth Vader as a teaching tool. Sidious and Vader annotated Malgus's account before Sidious added it to his religious compendium, the Book of Sith, which later fell into Luke Skywalker's hands.
The Battle of Ord Radama was introduced into Star Wars with the release of Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side, an in-universe reference book penned by Daniel Wallace. Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side is presented as a series of first-person historical texts from Sith Lords and other darksiders; the section detailing the Battle of Ord Ramada is written by Darth Malgus as part of his war journal kept during the Rim Campaign of the Great Galactic War. Included in the description of the battle are notes added by Darth Sidious, Darth Vader, and Luke Skywalker, all of whom offer their insights and opinions on Malgus's words. All visual renderings of the battle within the book are also depicted as being provided by Malgus himself; Star Wars artist Jeffery Carlisle drew the images to appear as if they had been sketched "in the field." Book of Sith was released on February 10, 2012.
The capital city of Livien Magnus was a creation of Wallace's specifically for the project and, according to the author's endnotes for Book of Sith, was a reference to the Livien League of the Pre-Republic era. Other creations that have thus far only been seen in the context of the battle are the Merr-Sonn Bellower and Darth Venemal. Other elements of the battle, like the Harrower-class battle cruiser and the Thranta-class corvette, were provided by LucasArts as background information from the then–recently released video game, Star Wars: The Old Republic. Darth Malgus and the Great Galactic War were both created by LucasArts and BioWare for the game, which was released in 2011. Wallace intended for the Malgus section to be dated to 3655 BBY, though it was never specified in the text itself, and the Fantasy Flight Games adventure Onslaught at Arda I later placed the battle in 3660 BBY.