Battle of Hoth (Great Galactic War)

Previous	Defeat of the Starweird Queen Campaign near Gell Mattar
Battle of Hoth(Wreckage on the surface of Hoth in the aftermath of the battle depicted)
Conflict	Great Galactic War
Date	3665 BBY
Place	Hoth system and several other star systems
Outcome	Imperial victory
Combatants
Galactic Republic Jedi Order
Sith Empire Chiss Ascendancy
Commanders
Colonel Laren Omas † Jedi Knight Satele Shan
Admiral Layek Davos
Strength
Hundreds of Republic Navy vessels Conraddas Vindicator† Dauntless Star† Deliverance† Intercessor Sendant Pride† Star of Coruscant† Starbreeze† Vehement Sword† Transport ship Many starfighter units Victor Squadron†
Hundreds of Imperial Navy vessels Ambria's Fury† Deference† Enforcer† Indignation† Storm Fire† Imperial prison ship Over 60 starfighter units
Casualties
Extremely heavy (hundreds of ships) Conraddas Vindicator Dauntless Star Deliverance Sendant Pride Star of Coruscant Starbreeze Vehement Sword The transport ship Many starfighters Victor Squadron
Very heavy (hundreds of ships) Ambria's Fury Deference Enforcer Indignation Storm Fire Imperial prison ship

"Hoth's one of the largest starship graveyards in the galaxy. During the war, there was a massive battle in orbit. Dozens of vessels crashed to the surface. Because of the freezing cold, they've remained well-preserved. Some are almost intact."

―Jedi Knight Leeha Narezz

The Battle of Hoth was a major naval battle that occurred in 3665 BBY, during the second decade of the Great Galactic War between the Galactic Republic and the resurgent Sith Empire. A fleet of highly advanced prototype warships, including the Republic superdreadnaught Star of Coruscant, was ambushed by the Imperial Navy after Chiss agents alerted Imperial Intelligence to the fleet's existence, and the Hoth system became the site of a massive space battle that lasted for days. While the battle began along the supposedly secret route that the Republic fleet was traveling, the conflict passed through several star systems before reaching its peak above the planet Hoth. The final stages of the battle in the Hoth system destroyed over seventy-five vessels, inflicting heavy damage on both the Imperial and Republic Navies and sending ships such as the Star of Coruscant, the Conraddas Vindicator, the Vehement Sword, and the Ambria's Fury crashing to the icy surface of Hoth.

The Battle of Hoth severely demoralized the Republic Military, breaking the momentum generated by the recent victory at Alderaan and leading to the Republic's eventual acceptance of the Treaty of Coruscant, which ended the war in 3653 BBY. Over fifteen years after the battle, the wreckage of the destroyed ships turned the planet's icy surface into a hotly contested battleground. Both the Empire and the Republic battled each other and the White Maw pirate organization in an effort to salvage what they could of the prototype technology lost in the last war.

Prelude

"I was in a remote part of the Outer Rim, where we were escorting a small fleet of prototype warships on what should have been a secret route."

―Grand Master Satele Shan recounts the Battle of Hoth

In the wake of victories such as the Battle of Alderaan and a campaign under the leadership of General Jace Malcom, the Galactic Republic began to gather a fleet of prototype starships and powerful warships, led by the legendary prototype superdreadnaught Star of Coruscant, with the purpose of eventually attacking the Sith Empire's capital Dromund Kaas and ending the Great Galactic War. However, in 3665 BBY, a secret Chiss enclave on the planet Hoth intercepted coded Republic messages indicating the fleet's existence and that it would soon pass along a secret route in the Outer Rim Territories. The enclave notified Imperial Intelligence, as the Chiss Ascendancy was an ally of the Empire, and the Imperial Navy gathered near the system.

The battle

"We were forced to abandon the prototype technology we had been assigned to protect."

―Grand Master Satele Shan

The Star of Coruscant, the flagship of the Republic fleet, crashed on the surface of Hoth.

As the Republic fleet passed along the secret route, not far from the uninhabited Hoth system, a massive strike force from the Imperial Navy ambushed the Republic ships. This began a protracted battle that lasted for days and spread over several star systems. The presence of the powerful prototype ships ensured the survival of many of the Republic crew members—including Satele Shan, one of the Jedi Knights assigned to protect the fleet—but the battle claimed the lives of many on both sides and destroyed hundreds of vessels. The fighting reached its peak in the Hoth system, where over seventy-five vessels were sent crashing to Hoth's surface. Colonel Laren Omas, the driving force behind the Star of Coruscant project, survived most of the battle, but was killed when his personal shuttle, the Starbreeze, was shot down over the planet.

Republic ships such as the Sendant Pride and the Deliverance were damaged or destroyed during the battle and succumbed to Hoth's powerful gravity well, joining the growing number of ships strewn upon the icy surface. The Vehement Sword, a prototype warship equipped with the newly developed Null Cannons—weapons that fired energy blasts to disable entire starships, similar to large-scale ion cannons—was another casualty of the conflict, breaking in half upon impact and splintering the Null Cannon prototype into dozens of pieces. The Star of Coruscant itself crashed onto the planet, but the dreadnaught's armor was so strong that the ship remained completely intact, buried in the snow and ice. A Valor-class cruiser, the Intercessor, escaped the battle and went on to fight in the Sacking of Coruscant and the Cold War. The starfighter carrier Conraddas Vindicator was among the casualties as well as a Republic transport ship that was carrying experimental stealth field generators. The Mon Calamari–designed cruiser Dauntless Star shot down over sixty Imperial fighters before being destroyed, while starfighter units such as Victor Squadron took down dozens of battle cruisers before they, too, were eliminated.

The remains of the Conraddis Vindicator and a smaller craft on the surface of Hoth

Many Imperial craft were claimed by the battle as well—the Enforcer, Storm Fire, and Indignation were among the ships that crashed on Hoth's surface, and an Imperial scientist's shuttle, the Deference, was also shot down and ended up in the Highmount Ridge region. Among the more notable casualties were an Imperial prison ship carrying the legendary Jedi Master Wyellett, who had been captured by the Empire shortly beforehand, and the Ambria's Fury—a sleek and secretive warship whose loss distressed the Moffs of the Empire. Imperial Admiral Layek Davos was shot down in the battle as well, and a Sith holocron was believed destroyed during the fighting, though it was actually lost amid the crashed ships.

Aftermath

"I remember the reports coming in from Hoth during the war. I was at headquarters when the Republic superdreadnaught went down… the whole room cheered."

―Doctor Eckard Lokin

The Battle of Hoth was a heavy blow to the Republic war effort, and, despite the cost to the Imperial Navy, it was considered a victory for the Empire. Many veterans of the Great Galactic War later believed that the engagement was a major turning point in the war and one of the main reasons that the Republic later accepted the Treaty of Coruscant twelve years later to end the war. The image of the Star of Coruscant falling to Hoth's surface was a great tool for Imperial propaganda, and Omas' death during the battle also spelled the end of the Republic's Shadow Arsenal superweapon project, though the Republic scientist Doctor Nasan Godera continued to work on the stealth arsenal of planet-cracking missiles in secret. After being shot down, Davos was stranded on Hoth's surface for six months before he was rescued.

Neither the Republic nor the Empire attempted any recovery or salvage efforts beyond the retrieval of Davos by the Empire, and pirates from the White Maw organization took advantage of their disinterest to begin salvage efforts of their own. The Star of Coruscant became a pirate fortress, and it was not until sometime after the Treaty of Coruscant that the Republic and the Empire returned to Hoth in order to salvage what they could from the remains of their prototype ships. Over two decades after the battle, Imperial forces recovered the holocron that had been thought destroyed with help from the Chiss Ascendancy.

Behind the scenes

"Pilot First Class Darkil Aro was shot down during the Battle of Hoth. He's been lost for years out there in the wastelands."

―Cedin Kavil, during the cut mission "Survivor"

Arnie Jorgensen's first concept art of Hoth

The Battle of Hoth was first mentioned in the entry for Hoth in the Holonet, a section of the official website for the 2011 video game Star Wars: The Old Republic. The Journal of Master Gnost-Dural reference book is internally inconsistent as to the date of the battle; the initial entry that mentions the battle is dated to 3665 BBY, but in a second later entry dated approximately four and a half years later, Gnost-Dural refers to the battle as having taken place around three years earlier—which would place the battle around 3664 BBY instead. The very first concept art for Hoth by lead artist Arnie Jorgensen featured the Starship Graveyard, and the Graveyard and the Battle of Hoth were elements of the planet's storyline from the beginning of the development process.

The cut Republic mission "Survivor" would have featured the player rescuing Pilot First Class Darkil Aro, who had crashed during the Battle of Hoth after taking down an Imperial battle cruiser and managed to survive the last two decades amidst the frozen wastes. The Imperial Agent missions involving the Shadow Arsenal superweapon place the Battle of Hoth near the end of the war, though this is inconsistent with all other sources.

Appearances

• Star Wars: The Old Republic (Mentioned only in-game; Codex entry)

Sources

• Hoth on The Old Republic Holonet (backup link) (content now obsolete; original version) (First mentioned)
• The Art and Making of Star Wars: The Old Republic
• Star Wars: The Old Republic Explorer's Guide
• The Journal of Master Gnost-Dural
• Star Wars: The Old Republic Encyclopedia
• Developer Update: Section X and HK-51 Missions in Game Update 1.5 on The Old Republic's official website (backup link)

Notes and references

---

Great Galactic War (3681–3653 BBY) Galactic timeline Previous: Dark Wars (3955–3951 BBY) Concurrent: Kanz Disorders (3970–3670 BBY) Next: Cold War (3653–3642 BBY) Battles of the Great Galactic War Sith onslaught (3681–3671 BBY) Tingel Arm · Aparo sector · Tingel Arm campaign First Korriban · Sluis Van Minos Cluster Campaign: Coruscant riots · Eliad · Karideph Blockade of the Rimma Trade Route: First Seswenna sector · Second Seswenna sector Rattataki insurrection · Talay · First Lenico IV · Mid Rim · Begeren Hunt for Exal Kressh: Lenico Colony Blue · Second Korriban Bomodon · Third Seswenna sector · First Bothawui Second Bothawui · Balmorra Republic resilience (3671–3660 BBY) Dread Masters · Belsavis · Alderaan · Gell Mattar · Baras vs. Jedi Starweird Queen · Hoth · Ferrid's theft · Republic envoy Blockade of the Hydian Way: Devaron · Coruscant riots · Smuggler attack Rim Campaign: First Ord Radama · Third Korriban · Ziost Ashas Ree · Serenno · Second Ord Radama Empire victorious (3660–3653 BBY) Rhen Var · Assassination of Darth Azamin · Dantooine Defeat of the Imperial Seventh Fleet · Druckenwell Assassination of Moff Tarrick · Haruun Kal Operation Force Crush · Coruscant · Alderaan peace conference Other battles and campaigns (Alphabetical order) Agamar · Amador · Assassination attempt · Dathomir Dantooine duel · Edusa · Fest · Gelpog's asteroid-hives Genarius · Geonosis · Ilum · Imperial flagship Imperial outpost · Iskalon · Kaikielius · Lan Barell Second Lenico IV · Loronar · Manaan Ngani Zho's battle · Nopsin · Operation: Aphelion · Operation: Freefall Operation: Hightower · Operation: Undertow · Ord Ibanna Oteg's battle · Ralltiir · Rordak · SIS operation Sullust · Utapau · Velmor · Warhammer · Yavin 4 Related topics and articles Chancellor Berooken · Dark Council · Galactic Republic · Senate emergency defense session Hutt–Imperial treaty · Jedi Council · Jedi Order · Mandalore the Lesser · Mandalorian clans Sith Emperor · Sith Empire · Sith Order · Republic depression · Republic Senate · Treaty of Coruscant
	[Source]

In other languages

• Deutsch
• español