The Utapau invasion constituted the Confederacy of Independent Systems's military campaign against the Outer Rim world known as Utapau.
Utapau, situated within the Outer Rim Territories, became a target for the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Initial attempts to forge alliances with the native Utapauns proved unsuccessful. As the Clone Wars neared their conclusion, the Separatists orchestrated an arms deal with Amani arms dealers to acquire a substantial kyber crystal located on Utapau. However, the intervention of Jedi Generals Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker was triggered by the death of Jedi Master Tu-Anh during her investigation. Supreme Commander General Grievous personally oversaw the arms transaction, aided by Governor Torul Blom and other Utapaun officials. Ultimately, Kenobi and Skywalker foiled the mission by destroying the crystal above Utapau. Despite this setback, the possibility of additional large kyber crystals existing on the planet necessitated a search and subsequent occupation of Utapau, driven by Sith Lord Darth Sidious's desire to secure such crystals for his battlestation project.
Within a matter of months following the failed arms deal, the Separatists launched a full-scale invasion of the planet. Grievous determined that Utapau offered a suitable refuge for the Executive Separatist Council. Grievous led the invasion, supported by thousands of battle droids. During the offensive, Grievous favored the use of a TSMEU-6 personal wheel bike as his primary mode of transportation. The Separatists successfully subdued the native Pau'ans and Utai populations, who offered little resistance and were subsequently held captive under a military occupation. Sometime after the Separatist arrival, IG-100 MagnaGuards brutally murdered the members of Port Administrator Tion Medon's committee, an event that Medon witnessed with horror.
Following the successful invasion, Utapau was repurposed by Confederate leadership as a secure haven and operational base for the peripatetic Separatist Council, fulfilling Grievous's strategic vision. A converted core ship stationed on Level 10 served as the planet's Separatist command hub. Additionally, Grievous's invading forces established command centers and self-replicating Techno Union factories, which utilized Utapau's indigenous resources to manufacture new starfighters, troops, wheel bikes, and other military vehicles. If allowed to operate unhindered, these facilities had the potential to transform Utapau into another formidable Separatist Outer Rim fortress world.
The Utapauns' apparent compliance with Separatist rule was merely a facade, as they were secretly laying the groundwork for a rebellion against their occupiers. In the aftermath of the invasion, the Utai of Pau City were forced to conduct their clandestine starfighter development efforts in secrecy.
During the concluding days of the Clone Wars, Sith Lord Darth Sidious issued orders for key Confederate leaders to assemble on Utapau. However, in the wake of the Battle of Coruscant and the interception of a diplomatic packet from the Utapau system's chairman by an elite Clone Intelligence unit, the Jedi High Council dispatched General Kenobi to ascertain Grievous's presence on the planet. Although Kenobi succeeded in eliminating Grievous during the subsequent Republic assault, the clone troopers accompanying the Jedi occupied Utapau and rounded up members of the Utapaun Security Forces.
The reference publication Star Wars Bust Collection 68 asserts that Grievous remained on Utapau for several weeks following the Battle of Coruscant. However, the actual timeframe between the Battle of Coruscant and the liberation of Utapau was only a few days, not several weeks.
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Utapau in the Encyclopedia (content now obsolete; backup link) (First mentioned)
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Star Wars Helmet Collection 25 (Highlights of the Saga: Intrigue on Utapau) (Indirect mention only)
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Star Wars: Build Your Own R2-D2 40 (Droid Directory: Octuptarra Combat Tri-Droids)
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Collapse of the Republic
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Star Wars Bust Collection 68 (Character: Tion Medon)
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Star Wars Complete Vehicles, New Edition
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General Grievous' TSMEU-6 Wheel Bike in the Databank (backup link) (First identified as invasion of Utapau)