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Third Battle of Yavin 4

The title of this article is conjectural.

Although this article is based on canonical information, the actual name of this subject is pure conjecture.

This article is about a battle of Yavin 4. You may be looking for other Battle of Yavin 4.

Second Battle of Yavin 4

Concurrent

Blockade of Yavin

Mission to Dantooine

Third Battle of Yavin 4

Conflict

Galactic Civil War

Date

0 ABY

Place

Yavin 4

Outcome

Imperial tactical victory^[1]
Rebel command staff safely evacuated^[1]

Combatants
Alliance to Restore the Republic	Galactic Empire
Commanders
Luke Skywalker Jan Dodonna
Strength
T-65 X-wing starfighters Wedge Antilles Sarkli T-47 airspeeders BTL Y-wing starfighters 3 GR-75 medium transports^[1] Luminous Rebel soldiers	Landing force AT-STs 8 Imperial dropship transports 6 Imperial loader shuttles Stormtroopers Lambda-class T-4a shuttles TIE Fighters
Casualties
Heavy losses	Majority of the landing force Several fighters

[Source]

"The Imperial bombardment continues, but it looks like they're moving forward with an attack from the planet surface. This raid is much more intense than usual. We're evacuating the last of the command staff…"

―General Jan Dodonna^[src]

The Third Battle of Yavin 4 was the most intense consequence of the Galactic Empire's reaction to the destruction of the first Death Star.^[1]

1 Prelude
2 The battle
3 Aftermath
4 Behind the scenes
5 Appearances
6 Sources
7 Notes and references
- 7.1 In other languages

PreludeEdit

The Alliance to Restore the Republic had struck a large blow against the Galactic Empire when Rebel fighters attacked and destroyed the Death Star during the Battle of Yavin. The Empire reacted to the Death Star's demise by sending a large Imperial force to invade the Rebel base on Yavin 4.^[1]

The battleEdit

The Imperials sent a larger attack than usual against the base, determined to crush the Rebels at last. Red Squadron, led by Luke Skywalker, were ordered to take out the Imperial dropships that were landing on the planet. Upon their destruction, the invasion was temporarily stalled. A TIE fighter then ambushed Luke only for it to be shot down by Red 3, Sarkli. Afterwards, the second wave of Imperial transports, this time Sentinel class loader transports, arrived to strengthen the ground forces. Dodonna then ordered Red Squadron to shoot down the loader shuttles, as well as defend the final transport Luminous that was currently docked on one of the islands near the temple until it is ready for takeoff. Afterwards, the Luminous managed to escape. After a majority of the Imperial loader shuttles and dropships were destroyed, a transport slipped through defenses and deployed a stormtrooper force into the Great Temple, pinning General Jan Dodonna in the Ceremonial Chamber. As Red 3, Sarkli, reluctantly defended the fleeing transports in orbit, while Skywalker and Wedge Antilles landed in the temple and ripped through the attackers.^[2]

The two managed to save Captain Bren Derlin and Dodonna, and proceeded to the entrance of the base, where they were pinned down by two AT-STs. Sarkli swooped down and destroyed the walkers, allowing the group to escape in a GR-75 medium transport. General Dodonna then thanked Skywalker, as he felt it was because of Skywalker sending Sarkli off that there were survivors. However, there was still an Imperial blockade awaiting them in space. In addition, Palpatine expressed his displeasure at the turn of events, although Darth Vader revealed that it was only a temporary setback.^[2]

AftermathEdit

Although an Imperial victory, the battle was also seen as a Rebel victory, because the Rebel command was safetly evacuted. However not all Rebel commanders were evacuated during this battle, two examples being Bothan High Command and General Jan Dodonna, who were still on Yavin IV after the battle. Bothan High Command was destroyed during the next battle whilst Jan Dodonna was captured during the final battle of Yavin.

Behind the scenesEdit

In the game Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader, a level called "Revenge on Yavin" takes place on Yavin's fourth moon. The level sees the player, as Darth Vader, attempt to destroy several Rebel GR-75 medium transports before they can leave the moon's surface. They are defended by BTL Y-wing starfighters and T-65 X-wing starfighters, and occasionally, T-47 airspeeders can be seen speeding across the moon's surface. Additionally, in this level, the planet Yavin is seen in background a purple color, rather than the usual orange. The canonical battle appears in Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike, with the player flying as Luke Skywalker.

In the cutscene, there are barely enough transports to account for the forces in the level. In addition, there are no infantry transports, even though there are stormtroopers on the ground. It is possible that the transports in the cutscene were only one group, and more forces were arriving from other sides.