Battle of Umbara — Forgotten History

In the dense mists of a dark and almost prehistoric land soldiers from a grand army face off against local militia forces. Organization and tactics clash with guerrilla warfare and superior weapons. Only the sheer force of willpower keeps it all from falling apart.

Men from the Grand Army of the Republic. Courtesy of Military Wiki. — Men from the Grand Army of the Republic. Courtesy of *Military Wiki.*

A Rocky Start

By the third year of the Civil War the Grand Army of the Republic realized that they needed to start doing something different if they were to win the war against the Confederacy. One audacious plan was to launch an attack deep into enemy territory by way of Umbara and cut off the Confederacy’s supply lines. Umbara was a place steeped in near impenetrable darkness due to constant storms and its thick forest canopy. The ground was constantly wet and muddy and taking it would not be an easy task, only made more difficult by the Umbaran Militia.

Those that lived in this swampy miasma were known as the Umbarans and they had aligned themselves with the Confederacy at the onset of the war. These were no normal bushwhackers however as they were much more heavily armed than average irregulars and possessed some of the most cutting edge weaponry of the time. Artillery, repeating rifles, and even odd prototype aerial units were found within their arsenal. However despite the hardships that they knew they would face the Republic decided to launch their attack anyway.

A replica of what the Umbarans used. Courtesy of Uberti USA. — A replica of what the Umbarans used. Courtesy of *Uberti USA.*

In order for the men to have some fire support they were transported by six gunships that would be able to bombard the enemy forces. Just before they reached Umbara however they encountered a Confederate blockade that they had to blast their way through. In the short naval skirmish one gunship was lost but the rest made their way through relatively unscathed. Unfortunately after this exchange with the Confederate Navy the Umbarans knew they were coming and as soon as the Republic forces began departing from the ships they came under heavy artillery fire. The gunships did what they could but none of them had the ranges sighted in and they did not have any idea of where the enemy was, forcing them to practically fire blindly into the dense forest. The men quickly made for cover and while they were being pinned down by artillery, the Umbaran militia members crept up to their lines. Using trees as cover they fired on the federal troops, however their accuracy was off and few men were actually hit by this initial attack. The soldiers soon gathered themselves together and forced the Umbarans back, however the militia would continue to launch counter attacks throughout the rest of the day and into the night.

An example of a gunship. Public Domain. — An example of a gunship. *Public Domain.*

The Republic troops began digging defensive trenches and earthworks, and before they were able to settle in for the night a blockade runner came to relieve their current general of his command. His name has unfortunately been lost to history but it is said that he had to return for some urgent personal matter, taking his place was General Krell. Krell was an excellent general and had one of the highest success rates of the entire army, though he also had one of the highest casualty rates. He went by the book and adhered to older and more conventional battlefield tactics. Many of the soldiers were disheartened to see their general, whom many had fought under since the beginning of the war, go but he assured them he would be back and that General Krell would do well in his place.

General Krell. Courtesy of Fold3. — General Krell. Courtesy of *Fold3.*

Assault

The original plan was for the federal troops to creep their way through the forest and flank the Umbarans main base, however General Krell had other plans and decided on a forward assault through a narrow forest pathway. It was not long after they had left the camp that they ran into complications. One of the soldiers at the front of the column stepped in a booby trap and nearly lost his life, after a quick search of the area they found that these traps were everywhere. This greatly slowed their advance as they had to methodically go over the surrounding area and mark any traps before they could proceed. At one point one man was dragged off into the dense thicket by an unseen animal, it seemed that even the wildlife was hostile, and many of the men wanted to go after him but Krell forbade it by saying it would be a waste of time. This undoubtedly weakened the men's morale and caused a few of the other officers to actively question his tactics, which angered Krell as he threatened to court martial anyone that doubted his authority.

Caltrops were something the Umbarans used in their traps. Courtesy of Catawiki. — Caltrops were something the Umbarans used in their traps. Courtesy of *Catawiki.*

The traps allowed the Umbarans ample time to prepare their defenses and by the time the Republic soldiers reached the battlefield the militia were well dug in. Fighting was fierce as the Umbarans kept up a constant wall of fire thanks to their repeating rifles and artillery. The soldiers were constantly being pinned down, from time to time a group of them would make an effort to advance and force back the Umbarans, only to be overtaken once again. The poor weather and visibility only added to the men’s difficulty. With casualties mounting and realizing that they had no chance of defeating the militia in this way, Krell’s second in command, a man only remembered by his nickname Rex, came up with a different plan. He decided to send two of his best Lieutenants to sneak into the Umbarans main base and set fire to their stored munitions causing an explosion that would act as a diversion. The plan was brought to the attention of General Krell where he vehemently denounced it and said to keep up with the assault, Rex however defied these orders and sent the two anyway. The plan worked and the distraction allowed Republic forces to defeat the Umbarans and take over the base.

An example of earthworks that would have been dug by both Republic troops and the Umbarans. Courtesy of The U.S. National Archives. — An example of earthworks that would have been dug by both Republic troops and the Umbarans. Courtesy of *The U.S. National Archives.*

After securing the buildings and setting up perimeter defenses, General Krell gave the men a half-hearted congratulations for their plan. At this point many of the officers and higher ranking NCOs were beginning to really question Krell’s tactics. They had incurred extremely heavy losses and when some of the officers questioned Krell about whether the battle could have gone better he merely remarked that it was the price that had to be paid for victory.

Traitor

Many of the officers thought it was a good idea to arm their soldiers with the better weapons seized from the Umbarans, but when Krell found out about this he put a stop to it immediately and ordered the men to only use those issued to them. Not long after Krell had the two lieutenants who created the diversion arrested for dereliction of duty and for defying orders. This made morale sink even lower and many of the men wanted Krell taken out of the position of authority. Only one lieutenant spoke in support of Krell and only Rex was able to talk the others down from open mutiny, saying it was their duty to follow the general even if they thought he was wrong. Rex then talked with the two that were arrested and assured them that he would do everything he could to have them released. Unfortunately not long after leaving them a squad of soldiers, led by the one lieutenant that supported Krell, came and took the men outside to a firing squad. One of the prisoners stood quietly but the other pleaded that the soldiers see through Krell’s lies and deception. The lieutenant ordered the squad to fire and they all intentionally missed, Rex upon seeing this ordered the two be released and the other lieutenant arrested before going to confront Krell.

Artist depiction of a Civil War era firing squad. Public Domain. — Artist depiction of a Civil War era firing squad. *Public Domain.*

Just before Rex could really call Krell out on his actions, the general ordered him to take some of the troops to ambush Umbaran forces that were setting up a counterattack, informing him that they had disguised themselves with captured uniforms. Unbeknownst to him, Rex and the soldiers were actually sent to fight friendly reinforcements. In the dark, dense, and foggy jungle it was difficult to see what they were shooting at but they soon noticed that what Krell said was true and that the “militia” were wearing captured uniforms. Both sides thought that the others were Umbarans that had disguised themselves and nasty fighting went on for several minutes. Many of the soldiers in both groups died and the tragic incident only ended when Rex recognized his brother on the other side and ran out into the field of fire yelling “We’re shooting our own men!” When the commander of each group met with one another it was discovered that both sides had been ordered by General Krell to attack the other.

Rex is believed to be one of the men in this photograph though researchers have not been able to pinpoint exactly which one. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. — Rex is believed to be one of the men in this photograph though researchers have not been able to pinpoint exactly which one. Courtesy of *Wikimedia Commons.*

After sorting out the matter they went back to the base to confront Krell where he admitted that he sent the two groups to ambush each other and that he was working with the Confederacy. The men tried to arrest Krell but he pulled out his saber and killed several of them before running off into the woods. The soldiers quickly began a search for him, but even up to the end Krell would not give up and was able to ambush and kill multiple soldiers. Eventually he was surrounded and arrested, after taking him back to the base the men worried that with their weakened numbers they would not be able to hold their position. They decide that it would be better to kill Krell than to let him be captured by the Umbarans and allow them to use his knowledge. Rex tried to execute Krell but had trouble doing so and it ended up that the one lieutenant who had stuck by him took the pistol and killed the fallen general.

Explanation

April Fools! None of this was real. I’m a really big Star Wars fan and especially a big fan of The Clone Wars show and this was one of the arcs within the show. One time I actually fooled a college history professor who specialized in the American Civil War with this story and thought it would be a good one to get you guys with. He was actually a bit frustrated because he could not think of this battle at all and he thought it was a remarkable story and amazing that he had never heard it before. Of course I had to let on that it wasn’t true and luckily he found it pretty funny, but it does show you that words and not giving too much detail can mislead. Usually when you say Civil War most people, in America at least, think of the American Civil War when in actuality it’s the Galactic Civil War I was talking about. For confederacy most people would think of the Confederate States of America when I mean the Confederacy of Independent Systems, for Republic most people think of the union when I mean the Galactic Republic. I really did try to alter as little as possible while also trying to make it sound like the American Civil War so I hope you enjoyed this article, I enjoyed writing it.