During the time of the Galactic Civil War, specifically in the year 3 ABY, a crucial battle erupted between the Galactic Empire and the Mandalorians residing on the planet of Mandalore. This conflict unfolded within the Mandalorian City of Bone, which served as the headquarters for the Imperial leader known as the Suprema. The catalyst for this battle was a revolt against the Imperial slaving operations on Mandalore. The destruction of the power source for the slaves' energy links led to their liberation and a subsequent uprising.
Initially, the mission was intended as a straightforward rescue operation for Tobbi Dala, who had been captured by the Empire and was being held in the City of Bone. However, the scope of the rescue quickly expanded to encompass all the Mandalorian slaves within the city. Under the leadership of Mandalorian Protectors Fenn Shysa and Dala, with assistance from Rebel figure Leia Organa, the Mandalorians launched an assault on the Suprema's office. Their objective was to open the blast doors that sealed off the city, which had been closed at the onset of the battle. After subduing the Suprema, Dala made the decision to remain behind and open the city gates, as he had suffered a fatal wound during the confrontation.
Shysa and Organa managed to escape the city aboard a seized hovercraft, joining the freed slaves and Shysa's forces, who had initiated the attack. Following their departure, Dala closed the blast doors to prevent the pursuing Imperial squadron from entering. However, the Imperial ships were unable to alter their course in time and collided with the closing doors, crashing into the city walls. The resulting explosions ignited the fuel within the city, triggering a chain reaction that engulfed the entire structure in flames, resulting in the deaths of everyone inside.
In the aftermath of the Clone Wars and the rise of the Galactic Empire from the remnants of the Galactic Republic, the planet of Mandalore found itself in a precarious situation. Its economy had been devastated due to its allegiance with the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the war. MandalMotors, the planet's leading business, which had contributed to the Separatist war effort by constructing starships, was subjected to a hostile takeover by the Empire. Imperial advisers replaced the board, and the Suprema, the chief Imperial adviser, was tasked with conscripting the population into forced conscription. The enslaved individuals were subjected to harsh labor, with the dual purpose of demoralizing them and utilizing their labor to operate mines, farms, and factories to finance the Imperial war machine.
The Suprema established his headquarters in the City of Bone, a massive structure originally intended as a defunct tourist attraction designed to resemble a 400-meter Mythosaur skeleton. This structure was located on the outskirts of Keldabe, Mandalore's capital city. Initially presented to the Empire as a local garrison in exchange for much-needed credits, the city transformed into a distribution hub for captured slaves, who were restrained by energy link devices as they awaited their assignments. The Imperial slavers took pleasure in torturing the defenseless slaves, forcing them to eat from gruel troughs and subjecting them to beatings for even minor infractions.
Within a few months, the Suprema had managed to enslave a significant portion of the population, but he faced resistance. Mandalorian Protectors Fenn Shysa and Tobbi Dala, two of only three survivors of the Mandalorian attack on Norval II during the Clone Wars, began forming an armed guerrilla resistance shortly after the Empire's arrival on Mandalore. Initially, the galactic government attempted to portray itself as benevolent, engaging in legitimate interactions with the Mandalorians regarding beskar mining operations. However, as the Empire tightened its grip on their homeworld, Mand'alor Fenn Shysa and his clandestine resistance were branded as outlaws. Nevertheless, members of the Mandalorian clan-based government secretly aided the two soldiers in recruiting and training others to combat the Imperial authorities.
Operating from their forest headquarters, the Mandalorian strike force conducted raids on slaving convoys, eliminating the Imperial slavers and liberating their people. During this protracted struggle for independence, Princess Leia Organa and her protocol droid C-3PO arrived on Mandalore, seeking the bounty hunter Dengar. Rumor had it that Dengar had collaborated with Boba Fett in the search for the Millennium Falcon following the Battle of Hoth. The Rebel commander hoped that Dengar could lead them to Fett, who was holding the captured Han Solo in carbonite.
At the time, Dengar was employed by the slaving ring to capture Fenn Shysa, who was leading the resistance alone due to Tobbi Dala's capture during a failed mission to the City of Bone. Shysa had managed to capture Dengar and was in the process of exchanging the bounty hunter for Dala when Organa arrived. However, Organa disrupted the exchange by releasing Dengar and attempting to bring him back to the Alliance base on Arbra. This attempt to seize Shysa's prisoner was thwarted when Dengar transmitted a message to the Imperial command. Organa and C-3PO were captured and imprisoned in the City of Bone alongside Tobbi Dala.
Fenn Shysa, disguised as a stormtrooper, infiltrated the city undetected by the Imperials. He then freed Organa and Dala from their imprisonment in the city's detention cells and led them to the hangar bay. As the group sought a means of escape, Shysa fired a flare through a side window. Shysa's Mandalorian forces, who were concealed in the woods awaiting his signal, immediately launched their attack, targeting the Imperials stationed at the perimeter. The attack was intended to divert the Imperials' attention, allowing Organa, Dala, C-3PO, and Shysa to escape. However, the Suprema had anticipated this maneuver and ordered the city to be sealed by closing the blast doors.
Simultaneously, Dala commandeered a hovercraft from Dengar, who was present in the hangar bay. After tying Dengar up and placing him in the back of the craft, the Rebels attempted to reach the exit, only to find the doors sealed. The stormtroopers and slaver guards began firing on the craft, attempting to disable it, as it was stranded in the air with no means of escape. While the Rebels exchanged fire with the Imperials, Organa instructed Shysa to pilot the ship towards the energy link master control, which powered the slave restraints. By focusing their fire on the control box, they destroyed the device, freeing the Mandalorian slaves within the city. Organa then rallied the slaves, urging them to rebel against their oppressors.
As a major battle erupted within the city, the Rebels seized the opportunity to pilot their craft towards the Suprema's office. Their plan was to force the slaver to open the blast doors, allowing them to escape. Leaving Dengar tied up in the hovercraft, the group stormed their way to the Suprema's position, only to find the door locked. Organa quickly improvised by blasting down the door, but they found the Suprema waiting for them with a blaster drawn. Dala attempted to fire on the Imperial slavelord but was struck in the chest by a blaster shot. As the Suprema attempted to shoot at the remaining Rebels, Dala lunged forward, grabbing the Suprema's blaster hand and preventing any further attacks.
While the Suprema and Dala struggled in the office, Shysa jumped forward, kicking the Suprema and dislodging the blaster from his hand. Overcome with grief over Dala's wound, Shysa began striking the Suprema with the butt of his blaster, attempting to beat the Imperial officer to death. However, Organa intervened, stopping Shysa and suggesting that they might need the Suprema later. Shysa relented and turned his attention to his fallen friend. Unfortunately, Dala had sustained fatal injuries, and he bid his friend farewell, promising to open the city doors. After an emotional goodbye, Organa, C-3PO, and Shysa left both Dala and the wounded Suprema and returned to the hovercraft, where Dengar remained tied up.
Before the Rebels breached the office, the Suprema managed to transmit a message to Shrike Squadron, a flight group composed of Imperial escort fighters, who arrived at the city to suppress the uprising. As the Rebels made their way to the exit in their hovercraft, they came under attack by the Shrikes. Despite attempting to return fire, they were outnumbered, and the Imperials threatened to overwhelm them. However, several freed slaves decided to assist the Rebels in their escape. Many of the former Mandalorian slaves had already escaped from the city during the fighting, but those who remained behind sought to rescue their liberators. As the hovercraft passed by, the former slaves threw a gruel trough into the path of the pursuers, causing one of the Shrikes to crash.
This diversion allowed the Rebels to gain ground towards the exit, which had been opened as Dala had promised. As the craft exited the city, Shrike Squadron converged on the Rebels, continuing their pursuit. However, before they could reach the exit, Dala closed the blast doors. Unable to change course in time, the airspeeders crashed head-on into the city walls. The massive explosion ignited the fuel and ammunition within the city, engulfing it in flames and killing all the Imperials inside, including the Suprema and Tobbi Dala. As the hovercraft carrying Dengar and his Rebel captors departed the city back to the Mandalorian camp, they witnessed the destruction, their triumph tempered by the sacrifice of their friend.
Back at the forest base, the Mandalorians celebrated their victory. Many of the former Mandalorian slaves chose to join Shysa's resistance, strengthening their forces. Shysa interrogated Dengar, but he had not been Fett's accomplice, only overhearing a conversation indicating that Fett had a secret base in the Anga system. Although Organa was disheartened by the lack of progress in finding Solo, she was encouraged by the victory and returned to the Alliance headquarters. Shysa claimed that the attack was not a fatal blow to their enemies, but the battle proved more damaging than he initially believed, and Dala's sacrifice became the decisive factor in ridding the world of Imperials.
Following the battle, Shysa decided to reorganize his force into the new Mandalorian Protectors. Due to Leia Organa's assistance in the operation, the Mandalorians joined the Rebel Alliance. Under Shysa's leadership, the Protectors initiated a campaign against Grand Admiral Miltin Takel, who oversaw the Mandalore sector.
The battle of the City of Bone was the central conflict depicted in Star Wars (1977) 69, authored by David Michelinie and illustrated by Gene Day and Tom Palmer. After the battle, Shysa stated that, "the blow [they] dealt the slavers was cripplin' but not final," suggesting that the battle did not signify the end of the Imperial presence on the planet.
However, the 2005 article, The History of the Mandalorians by Abel G. Peña, asserts that Tobbi Dala's sacrifice played a crucial role in removing the slavers from Mandalore, seemingly confirming that the battle was more devastating than Shysa initially presumed. The battle was referenced again in the Hyperspace article, Aliens in the Empire, penned by Peña and Rich Handley, which provided the history of the Suprema who was present and killed during the battle.