Battle of Barida

The Battle of Barida was the first step in the Imperial offensive in the Hafan Sector, against the rebellious forces of the Principality of Chiarn. The Imperial attack force, Task Force Nebula, was a quickly compiled task force led by High Admiral Danik Kreldin, temporarily out of retirement to deal with the crisis.

Barida was chosen as the first target of the Imperial offensive due to its proximity to both O'paal, the Imperial staging area for the campaign, and Chiarn, the capital of the Principality and Sekirol.

Task Force Nebula arrived at Barida and engaged the Baridian Defense Fleet, which quickly boiled down to a heated fleet battle of tactics and tricks, as both fleets were equal in strength. During the chaos in space, the Imperial Army deployed on the planet and began seizing primary objectives, such as the Hiljorn Supply Depot.

Task Force Nebula succeeded in routing the Principality fleet, but the ground campaign stretched into a week-long battle, with Imperial troops battling against an entire corps under the command of the highly skilled and intelligent Field Marshal Cyrus Valtoor.

After a series of crushing defeats, the Imperial troops were forced to withdraw to the starport and wait for reinforcements while the Imperial fleet bombarded strategic Principality positions across the planet. The ground campaign soon becomes a war of attrition. After a six day long hiatus, the Imperials renewed their offensive and siezed the capital city of Tobar, though Valtoor retreated his army into the nearby Skiarlian Mountains, where heavy defenses were in place, awaiting the Imperial army.

Two days after capturing Tobar, the Imperial army advanced on the mountains, utilizing Scimitar Assault Bombers and the turbolasers of the Imperial Star Destroyers to rain support fire on the mountains. Both sides suffered heavy casaulties during the engagement, but Valtoor ultimately ordered the retreat of his troops. Utilizing military transports, the Principality survivors took off and headed towards space, where a Principality relief force had arrived to distract the Imperial fleet to aid in the escape of its forces on the planet.

Ultimately, Barida was captured by the Empire, and a garrison established on the planet, and preparations began for the invasion of Chiarn itself. Valtoor managed to escape with a portion of his army to Chiarn, but both sides of the conflict suffered heavy casualties.