One of the last campaigns of the Clone Wars, the Siege of Saleucami, also known as the Battle of Saleucami, was a series of battles fought between the Grand Army of the Republic and thousands of specially bred Morgukai clones, trained for the Confederacy of Independent Systems by Anzati assassins.

The siege[]

Having besieged the main citadel and shield generator citadel of Saleucami for five months, the Republic Army made several attempts at reaching the perimeter shield generator, so that it could be deactivated and the underground clone factories could be subjected to orbital bombardment. However, all attacks were met with fierce resistance from the Morgukai clone army and the droid army aiding them.^[6]

The Clone Army dug a massive trench around the droid positions. Finally establishing strongholds on the rim of the caldera, the armies were subjected to a massive attack by Confederate forces. This was but a diversion, as the real target was Jedi General Oppo Rancisis, who conducted his forces with the help of battle meditation and was thus a primary factor in their successes.^[6]

Sending Anzati assassins to kill Rancisis, Sora Bulq ended his threat, as the Jedi Master let his guard down after killing all the assassins, thus enabling Bulq to stab him from behind.^[10] Following his death, the double-agent Quinlan Vos, Rancisis' second-in-command at the time, took over his duties.^[11]

The Clone Army led a final charge on the droid positions. AT-TEs successfully destroyed the AA cannons, allowing LAAT gunships to advance with the clones. Speeder bikes and LAATs hammered the droids, and before the droids could organize properly, the LAATs went back for another pass, this time accompanied by clones. As the forces raged on, ARC-170 starfighters fired missiles on a massive Separatist supply dump, creating a massive explosion, destroying a section of the citadel's walls. Using this advantage, the clones trapped a droid army and easily destroyed them.^[source?] The clones continued up to the second level, destroying droids as they went. Very soon, the citadel was captured, and a team of Jedi infiltrators blew up the shield generator. Capturing the citadel proved vital, for clone snipers could easily pick apart the Separatists. The Hailfire-class droid tanks and Spider walkers were also easy to gun down, due to clone heavy troopers finding ideal rocket-launching positions in wall-cracks. As the clones advanced to the remainder of the droid army, the concentrated fire of AT-TEs and LAATs successfully destroyed an orbital-range ion cannon which had long held the Republic warships from supporting any ground assaults.^[source?]

While the siege had lasted for months, Jedi Master Tholme had been busy subverting the Separatist cloning efforts by sabotaging facilities and destroying unfinished clones.^[1][6] At the climax of the battle, both he and General Aayla Secura helped Vos, his former student, escape the clutches of the dark side of the Force and end the terror wrought by Bulq. Quinlan killed the Dark Jedi and escaped with his colleagues, just as the Separatist citadel was razed by Republic orbital bombardment.^[8]

With the clone facilities destroyed and the Confederate dominance of the planet ended, the main battle was over. The reports of Saleucami's fall came in shortly after the Battle of Coruscant.^[19]

Aftermath[]

After the end of hostilities, most of the Jedi Generals moved on to other battlegrounds, leaving the remaining Separatist forces to be scoured from the planet by Stass Allie.^[3]

During the final days of the Clone Wars, Allie was in command of a small force of clone troopers, led by Marshal Commander Neyo, which had stayed behind following the Republic's recent victory on the world. The desert plains were strewn with battle debris, and carrion birds feasted on the fallen bodies of clone troopers.^[19]

When Order 66 was enacted, Allie was identified as an enemy of the Republic. Carrying out the order, Neyo hit the brakes on his BARC speeder, falling in behind the Jedi. He and his wingman opened fire with their speeder-mounted blaster cannons, killing Allie and destroying her speeder bike.^[19]

Appearances[]

• Republic 73 (First mentioned)
• Republic 74 (First appearance)
• Republic 75
• Republic 76
• Republic 77
• Dark Times 6 (Mentioned only)
• Reversal of Fortune (Mentioned only)
• Republic 81 (Indirect mention only)
• Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith (Indirect mention only)
• Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith 2 (Indirect mention only)
• Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith junior novelization (Indirect mention only)
• Republic 79 (In flashback(s))
• Republic 78 (Indirect mention only)
• Dark Times—Fire Carrier 3 (Indirect mention only)
• Dark Times—Fire Carrier 5 (Mentioned only)
• Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron
• Mask of the Pirate Queen (Mentioned only)

Sources[]

Notes and references[]