Orbital bombardment, which is also referred to as an orbital strike, represented a military tactic. In this approach, capital ships (for instance, Star Destroyers) unleashed their primary cannons from orbit onto the surface of a planet. This action resulted in considerable devastation to both the intended target and its adjacent areas. This tactic was mainly deployed to eradicate closely situated targets, such as standard ground troops, or to efficiently neutralize substantial, heavily fortified targets. However, the method lacked precision, especially against moving targets.
Although orbital bombardment possessed the capacity to obliterate a planet, exemplified by Base Delta Zero, its more typical application involved military strikes aimed at decimating a specific target zone, rather than an entire planet. Within the Imperial Navy, "Base Gamma One" served as a code word for initiating a bombardment.
In the era of the High Republic, a trio of Nihil spacecraft, including the Cacophony, engaged in orbital bombardment of a settlement situated on the planet Ribento. This attack was subsequently disrupted by the arrival of the RDC vessel Tractate.
The Nihil also carried out a bombardment of the planet Isolt, which almost extinguished all life and triggered at least one major volcanic event.
During the Clone Wars, General Grievous gave the order for his Providence-class Dreadnought to destroy the Jedi Temple on Ledeve by means of a bombardment. Grievous also employed this strategy against Maul and the Shadow Collective through the bombarding of the Black Sun base located on Ord Mantell before deploying his troops onto the planet. Nonetheless, the Shadow Collective successfully captured both Grievous and Count Dooku.
Following the heavy losses sustained by its forces during the failed assaults on the planet Xorrn, the Galactic Republic opted to deploy the 9th Engineering Battalion and the Ferra sector fleet with the sole purpose of bombarding its surface.
It was a common practice within the Galactic Empire to initiate an orbital bombardment of a planet before commencing an invasion, with exceptions made only when circumstances prevented such action, as seen in the Mimban Campaign. Imperial Star Destroyers were frequently utilized for executing orbital bombardments, given their individual capacity to reduce cities to smoldering craters and devastate entire continents. Bombardments were also conducted for non-military objectives: the planets Samovar and Wadi Raffa endured devastating orbital strikes in preparation for strip-mining operations intended to support the construction of the Death Star.
In the immediate aftermath of the Clone Wars, an insurrection on Haruun Kal erupted, necessitating Imperial intervention. Following intense combat, the Imperial Navy executed a Base Gamma One bombardment to secure victory. While this triumph bolstered the fledgling Navy's reputation, the bombardment was initiated while ground troops were still present on the planet. Similarly, at some point shortly after the Clone Wars concluded, the Empire attacked Dooku's home planet of Serenno, where they bombarded at least one of its major cities.
Around 18 BBY, the Empire conducted a Base Delta Zero operation on the Imperial medical laboratory located on the planet Setron after their scientists lost control of their slither vines experiment. The bombardment resulted in the destruction of the Imperial facility but failed to completely eradicate the slither vines.
When a group of insurgents overran Scrim Island on Batonn, Thrawn successfully overcame its defenses by ordering the Chimaera to conduct an orbital bombardment of the surrounding ocean using its turbolasers. The resulting tsunamis overwhelmed the island's defenses, leading to its recapture.
Throughout the Galactic Civil War, the Empire frequently employed orbital bombardments against the Rebel Alliance and other hostile forces. When Agent Kallus discovered the Ghost crew on the planet Seelos, Admiral Kassius Konstantine proposed killing all the rebels with an orbital strike. However, Agent Kallus favored a ground attack, utilizing All Terrain Armored Transports. During the Battle of Atollon, Grand Admiral Thrawn authorized an orbital strike against Chopper Base.
Later in the conflict, both Rebels and Imperials ordered orbital strikes against each other's forces on planets such as Hoth, Tatooine, Sullust, Endor, and Jakku.
The Imperial Navy intended to utilize this tactic during the Battle of Hoth. Lord Vader planned a surprise assault on the Rebel Alliance by secretly entering the Hoth system from hyperspace and obliterating the base via orbital bombardment. However, this plan failed when Admiral Kendal Ozzel jumped too close to the system, alerting the Rebels. In response, they activated their shield generator, incurring Vader's wrath. He blamed Ozzel for his incompetence and Force choked him upon General Maximilian Veers' report of the blunder. Subsequently, he promoted Firmus Piett to the rank of Admiral. Due to the failed attempt to bombard the rebel base, Veers deployed AT-ATs, AT-STs, and other ground troops to disable the shield generator from within.
Following the death of Emperor Sheev Palpatine, Messenger droids were dispatched to numerous Imperial officers, carrying a hologram of the deceased Emperor. These holograms instructed them to execute his final directive, Operation: Cinder, an orbital bombardment campaign that mandated the purging and destruction of numerous targeted worlds.
During the Liberation of Kashyyyk, Grand Moff Lozen Tolruck commanded three Imperial-class Star Destroyers to bombard the planet's surface and eliminate all life after realizing that the planet's Wookiee rebellion had spiraled out of control. While they inflicted some damage to the planet's surface, the Rebels ultimately intervened and halted the completion of the order.
At the onset of the First Order-Resistance War, the First Order initiated an attack on the Resistance base located on D'Qar. The Fulminatrix, a Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought, unleashed its orbital autocannons upon the evacuated base from orbit, completely destroying it.
Subsequently, the First Order deployed a fleet comprising several Resurgent-class Star Destroyers and a single Mandator IV-class Siege Dreadnought to Tah'Nuhna after tracking the remnants of the Resistance there. Despite the Resistance having already evacuated the planet, General Armitage Hux still ordered the fleet to bombard the planet as a demonstration of power. Similarly, while the First Order was in pursuit of the supertanker Colossus, a fleet of fourteen Resurgent-class Star Destroyers commenced a bombardment of the planet Aeos Prime in retaliation for providing refuge to the Colossus and its crew.
In 35 ABY, shortly after Allegiant General Enric Pryde pledged the First Order's allegiance to the resurrected Darth Sidious and his Sith Eternal, the Xyston-class Star Destroyer Derriphan was dispatched to Kijimi as a show of force. There, it opened fire on the planet with its axial superlaser, ultimately tearing the planet apart due to the weapon's immense power.