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"So, the Republic would have the galaxy believe that its heart is secure. Today's events, however, show that there is nothing that can stop our forces from total victory." ―General Grievous [src]

The Battle of Duro was one of the many battles of Operation Durge's Lance, a Separatist campaign to spearhead into the Core, during the Clone Wars. It proved to be a major Confederate victory.

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The battle Edit

At 0221 local time, Operation Durge's Lance had broken through the outer system defenses of Duro, destroying four Golan Arms battle platforms, and three Acclamator-class ships—Anvil, Coronet, and Bolide. Also destroyed were two Dreadnaught-class heavy cruisers—Prominence, and Atrisian Iron. After the initial attack, only four more Acclamators, a Victory-class Star Destroyer, and another Dreadnaught remained.

One of Duro's largest space cities, Jyvus Space City, had surrendered to the Confederate Navy. Divisions of battle droids and Neimoidian irregulars transformed the floating city into a field command station for the Office of the General. At the same time Duro Chief Representative Officer Hoolidan Keggle had gone missing. Intelligence speculated that Keggle fled the city down to the planet below. The First and Third Fleets of the Confederate Navy, the original task force launched from Yag'Dhul, had been provisioned by supply lines from Sullust and Thyferra. Techno Union ships had launched seismic EMP countermines to clear the way for an easy attack.

To counter the Confederate fleet, the Galactic Republic sent a squadron of Jedi starfighters and two wings of V-19 Torrent starfighters. But Vulture droids and droid tri-fighters easily broke through the Republic counterattack, managing to destroy another three assault ships. The Confederate forces were then positioned to cut off all Republic reinforcements from Kuat or Nubia. After capturing Jyvus Space City, the Confederacy was able to drop the planetary shields protecting Duro. Separatist drop-fighters and capital ships began orbital bombardment of planetside industrial factories. The bombardment let the troops land and during a week of hard fighting, city after city began to fall to the Confederacy until Hoolidan Keggle signed General Grievous's capitulation to the Separatists. The battle lasted less than a week.

Aftermath Edit

The battle completely destroyed the already fragile ecosystem of Duro. The orbital bombardment had destroyed the last safeguards against the toxins, waste and air pollutants. It left Duro impossible to live on without protective hazard gear. This forced the remainder of the population of Duro to also move off surface, to the orbiting cities of Duro.[6]

Following the battle, the Senate Bureau of Intelligence investigated causes of the defeat. A month later, in a report issues by Agent Inglemenn Barezz, it was revealed that the three Venator-class Star Destroyers that were to have been assigned to protect Duro had been reassigned to "shakedown cruises" by the Senate Action Subcommittee for Corellian Trade Spine Defense. It was also revealed that, in reality, the Committee's chairman, Iseno Senator Ronet Coorr, had reassigned the ships to Rodia after being bribed with contracts for rebuilding on Ando by the Rodian senator, Onaconda Farr.

After the release of the report, both Coorr and Farr resigned from the Senate. A public backlash against both the Senate and Rodians in general was provoked, with calls for giving the Supreme Chancellor full power to conduct the war and for giving Humans command of fleets stationed around rival planets. A full investigation of Senate Action Subcommittees was launched with the goal of restructuring them. The Battle of Duro was one of General Grievous' most impressive military victories, and caused many within the Republic to view him as a greater threat than Count Dooku.

Duro would be liberated by the Republic later in the same year. Along with victories at Commenor, and Balmorra, the battle was instrumental driving the Confederacy from its bases in the Core Worlds and the Colonies regions of the galaxy and beginning the Outer Rim Sieges,[7]

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