Western Reaches pacification operations

The Confederacy of Independent Systems ceased to function as a cohesive galactic governing body due to the swift and decisive deaths of its key leaders: Head of State Count Dooku, Supreme Commander General Grievous of the Droid Army, and the members of the Separatist Council. After the Council's demise on Mustafar, Darth Vader transmitted a deactivation signal to the Droid Army, effectively bringing the three year Clone Wars to an end. The megacorporations that had previously financed the Confederacy, including the Techno Union and the Trade Federation, were nationalized by the newly-formed Galactic Empire, their assets seized by government officials such as Arsin Crassus, and numerous Confederate worlds were subjugated under Imperial control. However, despite the effective collapse of the Separatist Alliance, numerous elements of the Confederacy, subsequently known as Separatist holdouts, retreated to the remote Western Reaches and continued their resistance against the Empire, with some unaware that the war had ended.

As early as 18 BBY, units of the Imperial Navy began conducting incursions into territories previously controlled by the Separatists in space. Following the controversy surrounding the atrocity that occurred on Antar 4, a former Separatist moon, Emperor Sheev Palpatine reassigned Moff Wilhuff Tarkin to oversee these operations to distance him from media attention. However, as the campaign unfolded, the populations of former Separatist planetary systems, dissatisfied with what they perceived as the Empire's insufficient reconstruction efforts following the Clone Wars, joined the holdouts, thus increasing their numbers to a concerning degree. Shipyards such as the one orbiting Kartoosh, located just outside the Western Reaches, provided logistical support to Imperial star destroyers engaged in the operations, functioning as repair facilities for starships damaged in clashes with Separatists, as well as salvage yards for captured Separatist vessels.

Lieutenant Commander Orson Krennic, working together with Tarkin, exploited the conflict as a cover to further the clandestine Imperial construction project underway above Geonosis. He cited the threat of arms smuggling to mining enterprises in the region allegedly aligned with the Separatists as justification for appropriating numerous legacy worlds, including Samovar and Wadi Raffa. Furthermore, the meltdown of the nuclear reactor at Malpaz was attributed to an attack by local Separatist holdouts as part of Krennic's effort to conceal the truth.

Tarkin continued his campaign against the remaining Separatist forces until 17 BBY, at which point the Emperor reassigned him to Sentinel Base. This seemingly insignificant assignment led to rumors that it resulted from a failure in commanding one of these operations, although this was not the reality. The region was believed to be pacified by 14 BBY.

Many Imperial officers, including Tarkin and Naval Intelligence Agency Vice Admiral Dodd Rancit, viewed these operations as a rationale for expanding the Imperial Navy. Militarists like Rancit referenced these campaigns to emphasize the danger posed by Separatist holdouts and well-equipped rebel factions in general, employing it against members of the Imperial Ruling Council to underscore the severity of the threat posed by the insurgents terrorizing the Empire just three years later. This train of thought further reinforced Tarkin's personal justification of the campaign as evidence for the necessity of a doctrine of "rule by fear." Additionally, individuals like Tarkin, who possessed access to such information, were convinced that the mop-up operation demonstrated the value of a mobile battle station, which would ultimately materialize in the completed Death Star.