Battle of Endor

"The Emperor has made a critical error and the time for our attack has come."

- Mon Mothma

The Battle of Endor was the climactic battle that took place during the Galactic Civil War between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire. It saw the destruction of the Death Star II and the deaths of both Darth Vader and Emperor Sheev Palpatine.

The Rebels began planning for the battle after they had learned that the Empire was building a new Death Star above the Forest moon of Endor. Bothan Spies working for the rebels had informed the rebels that not only with the defenses of the Death Star not operational, but also that Emperor Palpatine himself would be overseeing the final completion of the Battle station. Seeing an opportunity to strike what could be a crippling blow to the Empire, the Rebels began planning an attack on the incomplete space station. Part of the attack involved the Rebels landing on the moon's surface in a attempt to knock out the shield generator that was protecting the Death Star. Once the shield was deactivated, a group of Rebels would make a direct assault on the battle station. The Rebels didn't know, however, that Palpatine had leaked false information to them and the Death Star, was in fact, operational. Palpatine also had a fleet of Imperial-Class Star Destroyers waiting to ambush and destroy the Rebel fleet upon their arrival.

A strike team, led by General Han Solo landed on Endor and proceeded to attack the Imperial stormtroopers, in a attempt to destroy the shield generator protecting the Death Star. Meanwhile in Space, the Alliance fleet, led by Admiral Ackbar, with aid from General Lando Calrissian, who was piloting the Millennium Falcon, engaged the naval forces and attacked the Battle station. However, due to the massive fleet of Star Destroyers and vast complement of TIE fighters and TIE Interceptors, the Empire held a significant advantage during the space battle.

During the space battle, the rebels realized that they were tricked about the operational status of the Death Star's weapon systems when they suffered severe losses due to the Death Star's main superlaser weapon. With the ground assault team still struggling to take down the shield, the Rebels were able to turn the tide of battle in their favor due to assistance by the native Ewoks and were able to gain access to the command bunker and destroy it using explosives. After Solo's team was able to destroy the shield generator, Rebel starfighters led by Calrissian and Wedge Antilles were able to began their attack run on the Death Star's reactor core. Around the same time as the battle was raging on, Darth Vader brought his son, Luke Skywalker, before the Emperor in order to turn him over to the dark side of the Force.

After witnessing the losses the rebels were beginning to suffer and being goaded by the Emperor, Skywalker gave in and dueled his father. After giving in to his anger, Skywalker came out the victor but he refused to give into Palpatine's demands when Palpatine ordered Skywalker to kill Vader. Deciding to punish the proclaimed Jedi for his insolent, The Sith lord decided to torture Skywalker with Force lightning. Unable to see his son suffer any longer, Vader acted on his love for his son and killed his master by grabbing him and throwing him down the reactor shaft of the Death Star. Vader had redeemed himself and became not only Anakin Skywalker, but also fulfilled the Chosen One prophecy. Due to the injuries he obtained by the Emperor's Force lightning, Anakin Skywalker soon died afterwards. Meanwhile, Calrissian and Antilles were able to destroy the Death Star's reactor core and were able to set off a chain reaction that destroyed the entire battle station and what was left of it's complement. Luke Skywalker and the Rebel fleet were able to escape it's destruction, and that night, celebrated their victory, as did the inhabitants of several other worlds.

Prelude
The last major battle between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire, which had taken place on the frozen world of Hoth, had resulted in a clear and humiliating defeat for the Rebels. Some time later, Bothan spies intercepted information that revealed the Empire was building a second Death Star in orbit over the forest moon of Endor. Thanks to the Bothans, the Alliance also learned that the Galactic Emperor Sheev Palpatine was to oversee the final construction stages of that Death Star. Leaders of the Rebel Alliance then planned an attack on the second Death Star, which first required disabling the space station's shield generator, which was protected by a bunker stationed on the forest moon. Since troops led by General Madine had recently managed to steal the Tydirium, an Imperial Lambda-class shuttle, it was decided that a strike team would land on Endor via the stolen shuttle and take out the shield generator. It was decided that General Han Solo, a smuggler turned Rebel hero, would lead the strike team while General Lando Calrissian would lead a fighter assault on the Death Star itself. Admiral Ackbar then gathered the Alliance Fleet around the planet of Sullust, and Solo's strike team was sent ahead.

The space battle
"Admiral! We have enemy ships in sector 47!''" "''It's a trap!"

- A Mon Calamari captain and Admiral Ackbar

Ready to lead the planned attack on the second Death Star, the Rebel general Calrissian reached the Endor system aboard the starship Millennium Falcon, accompanied by groups of X-wings, |A-wing, B-wing and Y-wing starfighters. Calrissian discovered that the superweapon's shields were up, which meant that their assault had been anticipated. The general hurriedly ordered his fighter squadron to turn tail and meet the rest of the Rebel fleet, but to no avail. The Empire's trap had already been sprung, and the Alliance starfleet, spearheaded by the Mon Calamari star cruiser Home One, found itself surrounded by the largest flotilla of Imperial-class Star Destroyers ever assembled.

The ground assault
"An entire legion of my best troops await them."

- Emperor Palpatine

Meanwhile, on the surface of Endor, the Rebel strike team fell victim to the same trap. Imperial troops flush them out of the bunker and hold them at gunpoint. But the Empire had not envisaged their enemy would count on new allies. A local Ewok tribe attacked, allowing Solo and his men to break away and take on their foes. However, the bunker was now sealed, and Solo had to break back in so he could disable the shield generator. With the help of two ewoks, Chewbacca managed to hijack an AT-ST and use its weapons systems to destroy at least one other AT-ST, as well as take out several stormtroopers. Eventually, the Rebels managed to breach the bunker and detonate their charges. With the shield generator down, the Death Star became vulnerable to any impending Rebel assault.

Demise of the Sith
"You were right. You were right about me. Tell your sister&hellip; you were right."

- The redeemed Anakin Skywalker to his son, Luke

At the same time, Darth Vader brought Luke Skywalker to the Emperor in order to turn Luke to the dark side of the Force. Skywalker dueled his father in the Emperor's throne room, and used his anger to emerge as the victor. However, after Skywalker refused to give in to Palpatine's demands and kill Vader, the Sith Lord attempted to torture the young Jedi using his Force lightning. Refusing to see his son die, Vader saved his son and killed his master by grabbing him and throwing him down the Death Star's reactor shaft. He had redeemed himself, becoming Anakin Skywalker once again and fulfilling his role as the Chosen One. However, due to the damage inflicted by the Emperor's Force lightning, he died in the act.

Final actions
Seizing the opportunity, General Calrissian and his squadron flew into the Death Star's superstructure, while the Executor, Vader's personal starship, was destroyed after a wayward Rebel A-wing starfighter crashed into its bridge, causing the Super Star Destroyer to lose control and smash into the Death Star. Wedge Antilles fired proton torpedoes at the battle station's power regulator. Not a moment later, Calrissian launched concussion missiles at the reactor core. The Falcon then raced away as the unfinished superweapon exploded. With the Death Star's destruction, the whole Imperial starfleet completely lost its cohesion.

Aftermath
"Wesa free!"

- Shouting from the Theed celebration following the Battle of Endor

After their successful victory, the Rebels and Ewoks celebrated through the night; an event occurring on thousands of planets across the galaxy, such as Bespin, Tatooine, Naboo and Coruscant. The Emperor was dead, and the Empire had been dealt a massive blow. In this glorious celebration, Leia Organa revealed to Han Solo that Luke Skywalker was her brother, a revelation that Skywalker personally revealed to her. The celebration continued into the night time, with the Rebels rendezvousing at Bright Tree Village. The Ewoks later proceeded to celebrate by utilizing helmets of Stormtroopers and TIE pilots, confiscated from the Imperial survivors, as drums. During this time, Luke, upon returning from creating a funeral pyre for his father, saw the spirit of his father, along with the ghosts of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda, and then joined in the celebration with his sister and friends.

Though they had suffered a critical defeat, this battle did not mark the end for the Empire. They were still present one year later at the Battle of Jakku.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Galactic Defense
 * The Adventures of Luke Skywalker, Jedi KnightEndor trooper shield.jpg
 * Star Wars: Battle Pod
 * Star Wars: Battlefront
 * Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
 * Return of the Jedi Read-Along Storybook and CD
 * Aftermath
 * Aftermath
 * Aftermath