Fondor shipyard assault
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Shortly before the Battle of Endor, the Imperial shipyards in orbit of Fondor were assaulted by a Rebel Alliance task force, spearheaded by Rogue Squadron commanded by Wedge Antilles. The Alliance's plan, to destroy a prototype Executor-class Star Dreadnought, was to utilize three previously stolen TIE Hunters and a reprogrammed GR-75 medium transport to infiltrate the shipyards, but when their cover was blown, a Rebel fleet commanded by General Crix Madine came out of hyperspace and stormed the facility.
When the shipyard defenses were disabled, the attack on the Star Destroyer commenced. Three cloaking devices installed in the ship were targeted by the Rebel force, which caused a chain reaction of explosions which would compromise the entire starship. Though the Rebels emerged victorious, it was not as it seemed on the surface.
Like all the other events surrounding the Rebel's assault on the Death Star II, the events of the battle were manipulated by Galactic Emperor Palpatine. His decision to give the Alliance a major victory was based on giving the Alliance the courage it needed to mount their attack on Endor, which would've led to their destruction if Antilles and Lando Calrissian hadn't destroyed the Death Star II in time.
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[edit] Prelude
Following the Rebel Alliance's escape from the suprise ambush over Dubrillion, Wedge Antilles, commander of the elite Rebel flight Rogue Squadron, accompanied by two wingmen, somehow managed to steal a trio of experimental TIE Hunters, elite TIE craft used by the Empire's storm commando units. In retaliation for the massive losses over Dubrillion, Rogue group planned to destroy a unique Star Dreadnought with advanced cloaking device technology that was under construction in orbit of the industrial planet Fondor. To achieve this task, the stolen TIE hunters were utilized, along with a "stolen" Rebel transport. [1]
In reality, the transport was empty, and was programmed to kamikaze into the shipyard's shield generator command deck to allow a Rebel fleet commanded by General Crix Madine safe passage into the construction yard.[1]
[edit] The assault
- "The transport has been programmed to ram into one of the primary shield stations!"
- ―General Crix Madine[src]
When the reprogrammed transport was escorted into the perimeter of the shipyard, Antilles insisted to the base's commander that they were bringing in a shipment of prisoners. However, the Imperial commander quickly realized that it was a ruse, and deployed TIE squadrons and an Imperial escort carrier to stop the rebels. Regardless, Rogue group still managed to defend the transport, which successfully plowed into the Imperial command center.[1]
A Rebel Nebulon-B escort frigate commanded by Crix Madine, along with several starfighter squadrons, arrived to cover the attack on the generator. The generator's doors were deactivated by Wedge’s ion cannons. Meanwhile, his wingmen exchanged fire with several defensive turrets to give Wedge cover as the frigate and its fighter compliment exchanged fire with two additional Imperial escort carriers which had joined the battle.[1]
He was quickly able to destroy the generator, shutting down the shield. More squadrons then arrived, covering Wedge as he moved into the entrenched structures on the ship. Avoiding or destroying defensive turbolaser towers, Wedge and the others flew through the trenches, destroying the three cloaking devices installed in the ship which caused a chain reaction. The result was that the entire Star Dreadnought exploded.[1]
[edit] Aftermath
Though this was a clear victory for the Rebel Alliance, the Emperor believed it would make the Rebels overconfident in the upcoming battles. As he saw it, even then, the Rebels were being lured into a trap.
[edit] Behind the scenes
The battle over Fondor was depicted in the final mission of the Wedge Antilles campaign of the game Rebel Strike.
