A conflict occurred on Rhen Var in the early stages of the Clone Wars. Even though it was still a relatively insignificant planet from a strategic perspective for the Republic, Rhen Var was home to the ruins of the temple that housed the tomb of the fallen Jedi Ulic Qel-Droma and contained crucial information for destroying the Dark Reaper.
Following the Confederacy of Independent Systems' decisive victory, which had secured their control of Rhen Var in the preceding days, Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi and his Padawan Anakin Skywalker initiated an offensive to retake the planet. Their goal was to enter the Jedi monument and uncover any information left behind by Ulic Qel-Droma regarding how to stop the ancient Sith superweapon known as the [Dark Reaper],(/article/dark_reaper) as they feared Count Dooku was nearing its restoration.
During the initial landing phase, an Acclamator-class assault ship transporting experimental AT-XT walkers was struck down, plummeting into a vast, snow-laden canyon. This site quickly became the target of Separatist forces, who were determined to prevent any salvage operations. Kenobi instructed Skywalker to rapidly advance towards the crash site in TX-130 Saber-class fighter tanks, linking up with the already-deployed AT-XT walkers. Their mission was to defend the downed transport, providing time for the surviving walkers to become operational and escape the wreckage.
Once the area surrounding the transport was secure, Skywalker assumed control of an AT-XT walker and led a squadron of the bipedal walkers towards the enemy's fuel depot from the cockpit. Armed with potent mortar cannons, the walkers unleashed a series of volleys, resulting in the depot's destruction and the crippling of the Separatist's refueling capabilities.
Having significantly weakened the Confederacy's combat effectiveness by eliminating their refueling depots, Skywalker boarded an LAAT/i gunship to rendezvous with Kenobi's forces, achieving several objectives along the way. Skywalker obliterated an outpost fortified with heavy gun turrets that was suppressing a significant portion of the assault's clone forces―both infantry and several armored AT-TE walkers―with sustained fire, while also providing the main Separatist army with additional reinforcements. Furthermore, he pursued two Vehicle Armored Carriers through a confined canyon as they were transporting more Separatist vehicles to the battlefield. Skywalker successfully destroyed both carriers before they could deploy their cargo.
As Skywalker neared the temple, navigating through a high-walled canyon of ice, he encountered a substantial convoy of Separatist vehicles, including numerous large Multi-Utility Transports escorted by Armored Assault Tanks. Kenobi cautioned that if the convoy reached the Jedi monument, the Republic forces would be severely outnumbered. Skywalker swiftly engaged the convoy, battling them from the air until every tank was neutralized.
With the convoy eliminated, Skywalker linked up with the main body of the Grand Army's ground forces at the monument, discovering a Lucrehulk-class core ship and three Hardcell-class interstellar transports. Skywalker destroyed the transports while, following Kenobi's instructions, two squadrons of LAAT/c gunships descended to deploy two armored AT-TE platoons as defensive support for twin SPHA-T artillery walkers engaged in assaulting the core ship.
At the Rhen Var Citadel, the clone task force finally arrived and eliminated the Separatist staging area that had been established during the battle to coordinate the deployment of droid reinforcements to the Jedi monument site.
Once the core ship was destroyed by concentrated fire, Skywalker landed the gunship and proceeded to enter the Jedi monument in a fighter tank. Before progressing further, he had to overcome the spectral guardians protecting Ulic Qel-Droma's tomb. After defeating the guardians, Skywalker reached the ancient tomb of Qel-Droma, where he alone discovered how to resist the effects of the Dark Reaper. Armed with this new knowledge, Skywalker declared the battle concluded and departed from the planet, leaving the Confederacy defeated.