Mid Rim Retreat

During the Imperial Era under the Galactic Empire, a Galactic Civil War erupted between the Empire and the Rebel Alliance. The Alliance achieved a significant initial triumph at the Battle of Scarif in 1 BBY. This was followed by the destruction of the Empire's Death Star superweapon at the Battle of Yavin in 0 BBY. In the aftermath, the Empire moved to dislodge the Alliance from its hidden locations in the Outer Rim Territories, including the Rebel Refueling Base on the planet Vrogas Vas, while also securing the Core Worlds.

General Carlist Rieekan of the Alliance, perceiving a lack of coordination within the Empire, identified an opportunity within the Imperial Military movements to initiate an offensive into the Mid Rim Territories. He presented this campaign proposal to Commander-in-Chief Mon Mothma in a formal document. The document stated that using their ground forces to seize and maintain control of planets in the Mid Rim would be the optimal next strategic move for the Alliance, noting the considerable support for the Rebellion in that region.

Rieekan's proposed offensive into the Mid Rim commenced around 1 ABY, with the Alliance still energized by their victory over the Empire at Yavin. This campaign represented one of the most substantial operations the Alliance had ever launched against the Empire, involving thousands of vessels and hundreds of battle groups. Following the campaign's initiation, the Galactic Emperor, Sheev Palpatine, directed his Sith apprentice Darth Vader to execute Moff Coovern and Minister Khemt. These individuals held high-ranking positions within the Empire and were blamed by the Emperor for the defeat at the Battle of Yavin. Officially, their deaths were reported as tragic accidents.

Among the leading elements of the campaign was the Alliance's 61st Mobile Infantry, better known as Twilight Company, under the command of Captain Micha Evon. The company was deployed to numerous planets, fighting in the factory-deserts of Phorsa Gedd and capturing the Ducal Palace on Bamayar. Lieutenant Caluan Ematt participated in the offensive at various locations, including Ord Tiddell. The Saurin resistance, a rebel cell based on Durkteel, also provided assistance during the Mid Rim offensive. Karie Neth and Lanna supported squadrons throughout the campaign by serving as ground crew and providing maintenance.

However, after nine months of campaigning, the Alliance High Command brought the offensive to a halt. This was due to the excessive strain on the Alliance Fleet and the lack of effective coordination among Alliance army commanders at the sector level. General Jan Dodonna informed Commander-in-Chief Mothma about the stalling, suggesting that mobile starfighter units like the Alliance's Rogue Squadron could assist by relaying reports and seizing opportunistic targets to overcome the pause in the Mid Rim campaign.

The Mid Rim Offensive then began to unravel at several critical points during 2 ABY. This led the Alliance High Command to order a retreat from six planets—Charros IV, Durkteel, Jeyell, Ord Tiddell, Pothor, and Trasse—and to consolidate their forces in more defensible positions. Some Mid Rim revolutionaries evacuated alongside the Alliance, while others remained behind to harass the anticipated return of the Empire. Imperial forces engaged the Alliance during its evacuation of Ord Tiddell, where Lieutenant Ematt narrowly escaped on the last transport before the Empire destroyed the launchpad with artillery fire. Rieekan reported these setbacks to Mothma, indicating that the Empire was expected to reclaim the six planets swiftly.

As the Empire advanced into Alliance-held territory, the Rebellion was compelled to initiate a complete withdrawal of its fleet from the Mid Rim, with hundreds of battle groups retreating. Twilight Company began evacuating the bases it had helped establish and extracting rebel heroes and generals in the process. Phorsa Gedd was among the planets to which the company returned, where the engineer Vifra notably joined the unit.

In 3 ABY, Twilight Company fought on Haidoral Prime, ultimately suppressing the local forces. The company then initiated a recruitment drive to strengthen their numbers when they received a message via a mouse droid from a defector within the Governor's mansion, claiming the presence of rebel prisoners. Subsequently, Twilight Company dispatched First Sergeant Hazram Namir and his squad to investigate. Namir's squad infiltrated the mansion and discovered that the Imperial Governor Everi Chalis had sent the message, seeking to escape house arrest under the supervision of external Imperial officers. Chalis offered to defect to the company, and Namir's squad extracted her from the mansion.

Twilight Company departed Haidoral Prime with Chalis, who was questioned by Captain Evon and several of his colleagues, including Namir. She asserted that she possessed extensive knowledge that could assist the Alliance in targeting key resource locations within the Empire's vast territory. Evon subsequently reported Chalis's defection and offers to the Alliance High Command, with General Baccam Grafis agreeing to verify the governor's information. Rieekan relayed the news to Mothma in another report, suggesting that Chalis might be brought to meet the High Command at some point. Shortly after leaving Haidoral Prime, Twilight Company, aboard their CR90 corvette the Thunderstrike and its escort, the Braha'tok-class gunship Apailana's Promise, engaged in a battle with an Imperial patrol that had encountered them by chance. Both vessels survived the engagement with minor damage.

Alliance forces soon launched a final coodinated effort to distract Imperial forces and allow the fleet to finish withdrawing from the Mid Rim. This comprised of a series of rearguard actions. While the Alliance's Twenty-First was present on the planet Bestine IV, another group named Bitter Pill Company was on a "trash heap" planet where the company lost its troop transport, but managed to find a replacement. However, the Alliance also lost control of the locations Unroola Dawn, Talrezan Four and Hope Station in the meantime, with General Amrashad perishing.

As a part of the distraction effort, Twilight Company launched a campaign on planet Coyerti to keep the Empire from killing the natives during their breeding season. The company sent numerous squads down onto the planet to attack Imperial positions such as an Imperial scout post and an Imperial fort. To test Chalis's knowledge on the Empire's resources, Namir's squad was sent to destroy a distillery, which would put the operations there back by ten years according to the former governor. When the Coyerti natives finished their breeding season, they assisted the rebels against the local garrison which they destroyed.

Shortly after Twilight Company departed Coyerti, it was discovered that the Thunderstrike was leaking hypermatter due to a damages to the hyperdrive. Capitalizing on this, Tabor Seitaron, an Imperial captain who had been assigned to help hunt down Chalis and bring her to justice for her defection, had officers aboard the Herald, the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer which he operated on for the hunt, liase with various Imperial forces in the Metatessu sector to attack the Thunderstrike.

The Thunderstrike and Apailana's Promise were attacked by an Imperial destroyer before being forced to fight another ambush in the Enrivi system, where they destroyed the attacking forces. The two vessels were additionally attacked in the Chonsetta system, where the Thunderstrike took additional damages from TIE interceptors. Evon called a meeting thereafter with his top staff and the bridge crews of both starships. In the meeting, they devised a plan to seize supplies from an Imperial freighter to repair the hyperdrive.

The Thunderstrike and Apailana's Promise ambushed an Imperial heavy freighter in the Redhurne system, sending a number of squads aboard to fight the security and get the supplies. With the loss of eight, the squads were successful in their jobs, despite their withdrawal being rushed after the intervention of an Imperial Gozanti-class cruiser in the space engagement. Twilight Company fled the system with the necessary supplies to repair the Thunderstrike's hyperdrive.

Shortly after Twilight Company's raid in the Redhurne system, the Alliance High Command congregated at Echo Base, the High Command's secret base on the Outer Rim ice planet Hoth, for a strategy conference. Chalis and Evon were notably invited, and Chalis helped in making a grand strategy for the Rebellion. Shortly after the conference ended, however, the Empire discovered and attacked the base. Although most the High Command escaped, the Alliance fleet was scattered, and the Empire began hunting stray forces, chasing the Alliance deep into the Outer Rim.

Evon had been lost at Hoth, First Sergeant Hazram Namir taking his place as temporary command. Chalis deduced that the Empire was drawing forces from the Core Worlds to hunt the Alliance in the Outer Rim, taking advantage of the fact by formulating Operation Ringbreaker, a campaign that sought to force withdrawals from Kuat Drive Yards, the Empire's primary Star Destroyer manufacturing hub, with a series of smaller strikes before attacking the shipyard itself. Although the company was eventually stopped at the planet Sullust when the Thunderstrike was destroyed, the battle group was able to survive and take the capital city, departing the planet with many Sullustan recruits.

Intelligence eventually reached the Alliance High Command about a second Death Star superweapon under construction at the forest moon of Endor. In preparation for an attack on the battle station, the Alliance coordinated a distraction effort to draw away Imperial forces, dubbed Operation Yellow Moon. To continue to keep the Endor preparations secret, Mothma arranged a mission to Durkteel, which the Empire had neglected to retake after the Mid Rim Retreat, in which her visit there would be leaked to divert Imperial attention.

Due to Mothma's importance, her aide, the archivist Hendri Underholt, convinced her to let him go to Durkteel instead of her as it was common knowledge that he traveled with the Commander-in-Chief a lot. Underholt's work included compiling non-electric documents regarding the Alliance's operations and resources, including ones on the Mid Rim Offensive and Retreat, in an archive known as the Rebel Files. Leaked information that Mothma was set to travel towards the Perlemian Trade Route reached the Cynabar's InfoNet, which questioned in a new report on whether the Alliance was planning another campaign into the Mid Rim and brought up speculation of Durkteel, Jeyell, Ord Tiddell, and Trasse being potential destinations for the Alliance leader.

Underholt traveled to the Alliance's Tak-Beam complex, bringing the Rebel Files with him. However, the Empire sent three Star Destroyers, which proceeded to bombard the complex, killing Underholt and burying the Rebel Files. However, the document was eventually recovered during an excavation in 34 ABY, long after the Empire's fall, and reached Leia Organa, a former rebel hero and leader of the Resistance, a private military with roots from the Alliance. Organa and Resistance officers Amilyn Holdo and Ushos O. Statura made annotations on reports regarding the Mid Rim events, as well as Ematt, who served as a major in the Resistance.

The Mid Rim Retreat made its initial appearance in the 2015 novel titled Battlefront: Twilight Company, penned by Alexander Freed. The designation "Mid Rim Offensive" was first applied in the 2017 reference book Star Wars: The Rebel Files, authored by Daniel Wallace.