| Previous battle: Battle of Endor | |
| Next battle: Ambush at Todell | |
| Battle of Coruscant | |
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| Victory on Coruscant | |
| Conflict: Galactic Civil War | |
| Date: 4 ABY | |
| Place: Coruscant | |
| Outcome: Alliance victory | |
| Combatants | |
File:Emblem rebel phoenix.png | |
| Commanders | |
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Fleet Admiral Sinar Fenes |
Admiral Ackbar |
| Strength | |
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| Casualties | |
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The Battle of Coruscant, also Liberation of Coruscant in the New Republic and Fall of Imperial Center in the Galactic Empire, was the first major engagement between the Empire and Rebel Alliance following the Battle of Endor. It was a strategic and symbolic victory for the Alliance, causing the expansion of the Post-Endor Imperial power struggle and allowing the foundation of the New Republic.
It was fought only four months after the Battle of Endor. The Rebel Alliance had regrouped after that battle, and more and more warships and soldiers joined its ranks, bolstering the size of its fleet and, for the large part, replacing the losses suffered at Endor.
The Imperials, however, were in disarray; many Imperial admirals, generals and Moffs had broken off from the Empire to form their own separate empires as Warlords, thus sparking the Post-Endor Imperial power struggle. Imperial Center was left with only the Imperial Center Defense Fleet, elements of the once-massive Imperial Fifth Fleet, the Imperial Core Defense Fleet, and certain units that had survived Endor and had flocked to the Interim Ruling Council, which had been established to retain control in the Empire.
The Imperials realized that Imperial Center would be the first target of the Rebel Alliance, as only the galactic capital could the Alliance legitimize their government and form the New Republic. The Alliance fleet, once again under the command of the now famous Admiral Ackbar, set forth to Imperial Center.
Fighting is intense over Coruscant.
Initial fighting was intense. While demoralized, and despite the fact that a large number of warships had fled, the Imperial defense fleet still far outnumbered its rebel opponents, and ground troops on the planet itself were prepared for a long and arduous battle in the city depths of Imperial Center.
Unfortunately for the Imperials, the Imperial fleet at Coruscant was under the command of Fleet Admiral Sinar Fenes, a corrupt and powerhungry man, who fled in the middle of the battle with a large portion of the Imperial fleet. Even worse, remaining Imperial units also started to fight amongst themselves, Star Destroyer turning on Star Destroyer. The space above Coruscant was chaotic. Soon, the Imperial defense buckled, and the Imperial fleet was routed, dispersed to various corners of the galaxy. Several units remained behind to cover the retreat of the Interim Ruling Council members and other high-ranking individuals escaping Coruscant. The Alliance made heavy efforts to halt their escape, but the attempt failed and the Interim Ruling Council successfully made it to hyperspace where they would later regroup at Dreven.
The ground troops were left stranded on Imperial Center, but under the command of the skillful Surface Marshal Binar Sethis, the Imperial ground troops were capable of inflicting heavy casaulties on Alliance troops. The ground campaign would drag on for several months longer, Imperial Stormtroopers and Army troops refusing to give up. The urban warfare was destructive for all, and a large portion of Imperial Center was reduced to rubble.
The Royal Guard were responsible for the defense of the Imperial Palace. A full legion of Guardsmen were stationed there. The fight to take the Palace persists as one of the bloodiest in the Galactic Civil War. Ten thousand Guardsmen and nearly eighty thousand Rebel soldiers died in the three month siege. Surviving Guardsmen were believed to have escaped the planet, though sources are confused on how they escaped and how many escaped.
During the destructive ground campaign, Sergeant Trent Ceska, a soldier for CompForce, and his squad, were one of the few prominent ground teams on Imperial Center throughout the battle, achieving a number of objectives and protecting their VIPs throughout the clash. Ceska led his squad and VIPs to one of the few remaining Imperial-controlled starports on the planet and escaped in a shuttle.
Despite this, however, the Alliance was able to achieve total victory, and Imperial Center was taken. Imperial Center was renamed back to Coruscant, and it was from here that the New Republic and its Senate was born. The Alliance had achieved its objective and was abolished.
The fall of Coruscant, and the subsequent formation of the New Republic, sent shockwaves throughout the galaxy. Soon more and more planets bid their alliance to the newly formed New Republic, and the Empire was driven further and further away, fragmented and riddled with infighting as the Interim Ruling Council tried to regain control.
The day Coruscant fell, and the New Repulic was born, became known as Restoration Day, a national holiday throughout the New Republic.