| Battle Of Yavin |
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The Battle of Yavin was a major '', and was based heavily on the battle scenes in the British War Film '' The Dam Busters ''. PRELUDE During the Battle Of Danuta , Kyle Katarn stole the plans to the Death Star, ensuring the first Rebel victory. The battle was arranged after the crew and passengers of the '' Millennium Falcon '' seemingly successfully rescued Princess Leia Organa from the Death Star , along with detailed technical plans of the massive space station. However, as Leia suspected, they were actually allowed to escape so as to lead the Empire to the main Rebel base, which turned out to be on the fourth moon of Yavin . Studying the plans, the Rebels learned that the station had a small exhaust port which led to the main reactor, allowing a missile to reach the main reactor and destroy the station. However, the port was only two Meter s wide and situated in a narrow trench protected by heavy turbolaser batteries. The trench would have to be navigated through to allow the Rebel targeting system to lock on to the port. Furthermore, the port was ray shielded so only Proton Torpedoes could be used. There was little confidence that the weakness could be exploited in such conditions. BATTLE OF YAVIN The Death Star soon arrived at Yavin, however, and prepared to fire its main weapon, which would destroy the Rebel base. A fleet of some 50 A-wing , X-wing and Y-wing starfighters, which included Luke Skywalker (designated "Red 5") as a pilot, scrambled to assault the station. The Death Star attempted to use its batteries to defend itself, but the defences were designed to fight off primarily Capital Ship s, not the small and agile Rebel starfighters. The station commander, Grand Moff Tarkin , dismissed the attack as futile and refused to deploy the station's vast TIE squadrons. But Darth Vader , realizing the threat this force was, ordered his personal fighter squadron to scramble on his own authority. The TIE Fighter squadrons attacked the Rebel forces soon after they realized that their laser batteries were failing. An order was passed on to stop all turbolasers from firing on the rebels. Vader's squadron continued the attack and took down almost all the rebel fighters. During the battle, the Rebel casualities were heavy, with ninety percent losses both from station guns and Vader's squadron. When the first bombing run proved unsuccessful, the remaining fighters—three X-wings and one Y-wing—lined up for the second attempt. Vader pursued and picked them off one by one. To the Rebel Command, all seemed hopeless; time was running out with the Death Star getting into firing position, almost all the fighters were lost and the remaining pilot able to make the run, Skywalker, had senselessly deactivated his targeting computer during his run. Skywalker, however, was advised by the spirit of his mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi to use the Force to make the seemingly impossible shot. Vader, sensing that the last pilot was strong in the Force, prepared to kill him. However, at the last moment, Han Solo and Chewbacca of the ''Millennium Falcon'' surprised Vader, destroyed one of his wingmen, and in the confusion that followed, his other wingman collided with Vader and sent him careening out of control into space. With the Force aiding him, Skywalker made the shot, his torpedoes entering the port perfectly. The Death Star exploded just seconds before its main gun would have destroyed Yavin 4; Tarkin and most of his staff, including some of the Empire's best personnel, were killed in the explosion. The Rebel Alliance had won their second victory. Several officers aboard the Death Star survived, including (then-Colonel) Maximillian Veers , General Tagge and Chief Bast , who originally warned Tarkin of the danger the Rebel fighter attack posed. Bast's survival is evidenced in that he was later seen reporting to Darth Vader on the blockade of Kashyyyk in '' The Star Wars Holiday Special '', which takes place approximately a year after ''A New Hope'', when the Battle of Yavin occurred. AFTERMATH As a result of this battle, the Rebel Alliance gained credibility as a legitimate military opponent to the Empire. A few months after the Battle of Yavin, the Empire launched a number of small raids at the Yavin moon, in an attempt to destroy the Core Group of the Rebellion. These raids were carried out by small TIE squadrons launched from a small outpost near the Yavin system. They often maintained Reconnaissance patrols rather than retaliatory attacks. The Rebel Alliance still had to evacuate Yavin 4 to escape retaliation from the Imperial Starfleet and eventually settled on Hoth . The last raid carried out by the Empire was a crushing assault consisting of a massive planetary blockade. Several battalions were dispatched to the moon to capture the fleeing rebel personnel. General Dodonna, mastermind of Yavin's defense, was captured by Imperial forces and later presumed dead in the battle. The newly launched '' Executor '' was dispatched to destroy the Rebel fleet. But Admiral Griff 's Squadron of Star Destroyers came out of Light Speed and collided with the ''Executor''. By the time the crew regained control, the last Rebel ship jumped into hyperspace. Only three Rebel pilots escaped with their lives from the battle: Skywalker, Wedge Antilles and Keyan Farlander . (Some believe it may actually have been Horton Salm instead of Keyan Farlander, though the novel '' Wraith Squadron '' may have ruled Salm out.) The Millennium Falcon, although not an active participant, also survived. The Empire would make the Rebels pay, though, mainly in the upcoming battles Massacre On Talay and the Battle Of Hoth . |
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