The confrontation at Doornik-319, also referenced as the Doornik-319 blockade, unfolded between the forces of the New Republic and the Duskhan League around the planet Doornik-319, which serves as the primary celestial body within its namesake system. Leading up to this clash, Morning's Bell, a colony world populated by Kubaz within the same system, had been devastated by the Yevetha during the period known as the Great Purge.
The Great Purge brought about the demise of numerous individuals across the Koornacht Cluster through an unwarranted act of genocide. Despite an initial slow response, the New Republic ultimately issued a warning to Viceroy Nil Spaar of the Duskhan League, demanding their withdrawal from the seized planets to avert a potential war with the Republic.
Despite repeated transmissions over multiple channels for several days, the Viceroy never provided a response. Consequently, President Organa Solo, with the support of the Defense Council, authorized a blockade of Doornik-319, a planet that had suffered greatly from the Yevetha's attacks and subsequent colonization. Doornik-319 was selected as the target after reconnaissance drones provided evidence of the Yevetha continuing to import colonists and supplies, blatantly disregarding the issued warning.
Knowing that a Victory-class Star Destroyer was stationed in the area, the New Republic Fifth Battle Group assembled multiple task forces to enforce the blockade, initiating the first engagement between the New Republic and the Black Fleet.
The initial deployment into the system comprised a flotilla originating from the Fifth Fleet's flagship group, under the leadership of General Etahn A'baht: the Endurance-class fleet carrier Intrepid, the Majestic-class heavy cruisers Stalwart, Illustrious, Liberty and Vigilant and the Defender-class assault carriers Repulse and Shield, accompanied by a variety of light escorts and picket ships. Upon entering orbit, the initial force found no ships present, the ground settlements seemingly deserted, and no indication of the Yevetha's presence. Despite their suspicions and lacking alternative options, the task force established blockade orbits around the planet, at which point the Yevetha launched their attack almost immediately.
Ion cannons and high-velocity missiles commenced firing from three distinct locations on the planet's surface, while a small Yevethan fleet emerged from hyperspace, executing microjumps between the high-orbiting pickets and lower-orbit capital ships. Caught between the planet's defenses and the ambushing Yevetha fleet, the New Republic ships were restricted in their ability to maneuver as three Imperial-class Star Destroyers and six Aramadia-class thrustships, along with the Glory of Yevetha, engaged them at high speed, conducting a single pass through the Republic formation.
The Sacheen-class light escort Trenchant was caught in a barrage of gravity bombs and proton torpedoes and was destroyed. The larger New Republic ships sustained varying degrees of damage, primarily to their shields, but the Yevetha did not sustain their attack, instead executing a single pass before disengaging. The captains of the Liberty and Illustrious requested permission to pursue the attackers, but their requests were denied. General A'baht instead ordered the task force to disengage from orbit, with the capital ships providing cover for the lighter escorts and picket ships during their retreat to hyperspace.
Simultaneously, General A'baht communicated the current tactical situation and the enemy ships' deployment via secure hypercomm to task forces Aster and Blackvine. These two battle groups were positioned two light hours above and below the system's orbital inclination, respectively, beyond the sensor range of the enemy ships. Upon receiving the order, twenty-eight vessels entered the battle area, ambushing the ambushers in a carefully orchestrated trap. The carriers launched their squadrons of the new K-wing bombers in one of their first combat deployments, before retreating behind the larger ships. The K-wings were assigned the task of disabling the enemy vessels' shields, enabling the heavy turbolaser batteries on the New Republic capital ships to engage and destroy the Yevethan fleet.
However, the Yevetha retaliated by implementing a novel tactic against the Fifth Fleet pilots and gunners, conceived by Tal Fraan, an officer serving aboard the Glory of Yevetha. As the bombers initiated their attack runs, they were unexpectedly confronted with a barrage of pleas from civilian hostages, survivors of the Great Purge who were being held captive aboard the ships. Discipline and morale within the attacking units rapidly deteriorated, resulting in the failure to claim a single Yevethan capital ship. Elements of the New Republic task forces began to withdraw spontaneously, prompting General A'baht to issue an official retreat order shortly thereafter.
The aborted engagement resulted in the loss of nearly three squadrons of bombers, along with the complete destruction of the Trenchant. Several capital ships sustained damage, notably the cruiser Phalanx, which suffered a direct hit while attempting to recover a damaged K-wing. The Fifth Fleet incurred a total loss of life exceeding one thousand, in exchange for a complete and disastrous defeat.
The events surrounding the battle for Doornik-319 are depicted in Shield of Lies by Michael P. Kube-McDowell. Within the novel, the conflict does not result in any Yevethan casualties; however, the battle's depiction in The New Essential Chronology illustrates the Yevethan thrustships sustaining hits and exploding. Despite this discrepancy, the image is included in this article for illustrative purposes.