The Clone Wars (22 - 19 BBY) is a fictional conflict described in the Star Wars series and featured in the two latter episodes of the prequel trilogy, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. It was first mentioned in a brief conversation between Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. The war was fought between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems and it was followed by the Galactic Civil War.

The origins of the war goes back as far as the Battle of Naboo, but the real tension began with the Separatist Crisis, which started about two years before Attack of the Clones (24 BBY) and mainly comprised of the Galactic Republic debating what to do about the Separatists. Throughout the two years, many star systems seceded from the Republic, increasing tension until the war began. The political atmosphere was comparable to that of the Cold War.

It is interesting to note that this conflict is called both the "Clone War" and the "Clone Wars". Most likely this is due to the fact that it is indeed one large war across the galaxy while, at the same time, it is a series of smaller wars taking place on various planets and not always between the Separatists and the Republic. Of course, only one side uses clones in the war, but this likely due to the rule that the winning side writes history and since the Republic won, it became the Clone Wars. Another interpretation is that it was the first, or perhaps only, conflict of its type in which clones were used so extensively.

Major Events

• 32.0 BBY - Battle of Naboo, the Sith-controlled Trade Federation, one of the future members of the Separatist Confederacy of Independent Systems conquers Naboo but is driven from the planet by Republic Naboo Exile Resistance and Jedi forces who are aided by a freed Tatooine slave (The Phantom Menace); Darth Sidious arranges a clone army to be commissioned on Kamino
• 24.0 BBY - Count Dooku leads a schism in the Galactic Republic, forming the Confederacy of Independent Systems
• 24.0 BBY - The Military Creation Act is proposed. Senator Amidala leads opposition to it.
• 22.0 BBY - Battle of Geonosis (Attack of the Clones)
• 21.9 BBY - Hunt for the Decimator (Galactic Battlegrounds: Clone Campaigns)
• 21.9 BBY - Dark Reaper Project (Battle of Raxus Prime, Battle of Rhen Var , Battle of Alaris Prime , Battle of Thule) (Star Wars: The Clone Wars)
• 21.8 BBY - Battle of Kamino (Republic #50: The Defence of Kamino)
• 21.8 BBY - Defense of Naboo (Republic #51: The New Face of War)
• 21.7 BBY - Battle of Muunilist (Clone Wars micro-series)
• 21.7 BBY - Battle of Mon Calamari (Clone Wars micro-series)
• 21.7 BBY - Battle of Dantooine (Clone Wars micro-series)
• 21.7 BBY - Attack on Ilum (Clone Wars micro-series)
• 21.7 BBY - Battle of Hypori (Clone Wars micro-series)
• 21.5 BBY - Haruun Kal Crisis (Shatterpoint)
• 21.2 BBY - Rise of the Cortosis Battle Droids (The New Droid Army)
• 21.0 BBY - The Spaarti Incident (Hero of Cartao)
• 21.0 BBY - The Bio-Droid Threat (The Cestus Deception)
• 20.8 BBY - Battle of Jabiim (Republic #54-59: Battle of Jabiim)
• 19.5 BBY - The Praesitlyn Conflict (Jedi Trial)
• 19.0 BBY - Battle of Coruscant and Battle of Kashyyyk - End of the Clone Wars; the rest of the Separatist leadership at Mustafar surrenders, but they are secretly betrayed and destroyed. Darth Sidious is revealed to be Supreme Chancellor Palpatine who declares himself Emperor and his Galactic Empire comes to power and launches the Jedi Holocaust: the beginning of the Galactic Civil War. (Revenge of the Sith)

Multimedia Campaign

The Clone Wars span the three years between Episodes II and III, and thus are, for the most part, "off-screen". The Expanded Universe is recounting events with an ambitious multimedia campaign.

The video game Clone Wars was released in 2002 for Playstation 2, GameCube, and Xbox live. It begins at where Attack of the Clones leaves off. It takes place on many worlds, among them Geonosis, Raxus Prime, Rhen Var, Kashyyyk, and Thule.

The Cartoon Microseries Star Wars: Clone Wars started airing in November, 2003 on Cartoon Network. It was a series of 20 3-to-5-minute-long episodes showing some of the battles of the War, mainly the Battle of Muunilinst, but also the Battle of Dantooine, a raid on the Jedi caves of Ilum, and fighting on Mon Calamari. An attentional five 15-minutes long episodes were made to serve as a prelude to Episode III with the start of the Battle of Coruscant.

The comic series "Star Wars: Republic" has also shed light on this era of history, focusing in particular on the exploits of the Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Quinlan Vos, and Aayla Secura.

There are also several novels in the process of being published that will also discuss the Clone Wars. These include The Cestus Deception, Shatterpoint, The Medstar Duology and Jedi Trial.

Films

• Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
  • Director: George Lucas
  • Screenwriters: George Lucas and Jonathan Hales
• Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
  • Director: George Lucas
  • Screenwriter: George Lucas

Books

Clone Wars novels

• Attack of the Clones (2002)
  • Author: R.A. Salvatore
• Republic Commando: Hard Contact (2004)
  • Author: Karen Traviss
• Shatterpoint (2003)
  • Author: Matthew Stover
• The Cestus Deception (2004)
  • Author: Steven Barnes
• Medstar I: Battle Surgeons (2004)
  • Authors: Michael Reaves and Steve Perry
• Medstar II: Jedi Healer (2004)
  • Authors: Michael Reaves and Steve Perry
• Jedi Trial (2004)
  • Authors: David Sherman and Dan Cragg
• Yoda: Dark Rendezvous (2004)
  • Author: Sean Stewart
• Labyrinth of Evil (2005)
  • Author: James Luceno
• Revenge of the Sith (2005)
  • Author: Matthew Stover

Young adult books

• Boba Fett: The Fight to Survive (2002)
  • Author: Terry Bisson
• Boba Fett: Crossfire (2002)
  • Author: Terry Bisson
• Boba Fett: Maze of Deception (2003)
  • Author: Elizabeth Hand
• Boba Fett: Hunted (2003)
  • Author: Elizabeth Hand
• Legacy of the Jedi (2003)
  • Author: Jude Watson
• Boba Fett: A New Threat (2004)
  • Author: Elizabeth Hand
• Boba Fett: Pursuit (2004)
  • Authors: Elizabeth Hand and Peter Bollinger

Video games

• Jedi Starfighter (2002)
• (2002)
• Republic Commando (2005)
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2002)
• The New Droid Army (2002)
• Star Wars Battlefront (2004)

Tie-ins

• The Hive (2004)
• Hasbro Short Story Collection (2003)

Short stories

• Attack on Raxus Prime (2002)
• Elusion Illusion (2003)
• The Pengalan Tradeoff (2003)
• League of Spies (2004)
• Hero of Cartao, Episode 1: Hero's Call (2003)
• Hero of Cartao, Episode 2: Hero's Rise (2003)
• Hero of Cartao, Episode 3: Hero's End (2003)
• Changing Seasons, Part 1: Guardian of the People (2004)
• Changing Seasons, Part 2: People of the Guardians (2004)

Comics

• Clone Wars: The Defense of Kamino and Other Tales (2003)
• Clone Wars Adventures Volume 1 (2004)
• Clone Wars Adventures Volume 2 (2004)
• Clone Wars: Victories and Sacrifices (2003)
• Clone Wars: Last Stand on Jabiim (2004)
• Clone Wars: The Best Blades (2004)
• Clone Wars: Light and Dark (2004)
• Clone Wars: On the Field of Battle (2004-2005)

Television programs

• Clone Wars (2003 - 2005)

External Links

Clone Wars timeline from Star Wars.com

The Unofficial Clone Wars timeline