Alliance to Restore the Republic/Legends

"They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Naturally, they became heroes."

- Leia Organa

The Alliance to Restore the Republic (also known as the Rebel Alliance and informally as the Rebellion), was a loose alliance of planetary-level, system-level and sector-level resistance forces formed in direct military opposition to the Galactic Empire. It was originally formed by a group of Loyalists determined to preserve the ideals of the Galactic Republic, which had transformed into the Empire. While less numerous and less powerful than the Imperial Military, the Alliance possessed a strong will to fight, dedicated soldiers, and brilliant commanders.

Early foundations
"Vote for Palpatine. Vote for the Empire. Make Mon Mothma vote for him too. Be good little Senators. Mind your manners and keep your heads down. And keep doing all those things we can't talk about. All those things I can't know. Promise me, Bail."

- Padmé Amidala to Bail Organa, during the Declaration of a New Order



It is hard to pinpoint the exact moment that rebellion against Palpatine began, but its earliest known roots took place shortly before the end of the Clone Wars. By this time, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine had accumulated a massive power base, and with the passing of the Sector Governance Decree, installed his own officers and troops on Republic worlds. Senators such as Bail Organa and Mon Mothma saw this as a move towards dictatorship, as opposed to a way of reinforcing the democracy they served. Meeting with other trusted Senators, Organa and Mothma formed the Delegation of 2000, arguably the first organization to which the future Rebellion can be connected.

Members of the Delegation drew up a Petition of 2000, attempting to force the Chancellor to lay down his emergency powers and pursue a peaceful resolution to the war. Palpatine rejected this however, and soon after, transformed the Republic into the Galactic Empire, installing himself as Emperor with the support of much of the Galactic Senate. Many of those who had signed the Petition of 2,000 were imprisoned, killed or forced into exile, though Organa and Mothma managed to elude Palpatine's attention&mdash;in part thanks to the advice of the late Padmé Amidala, pleading with Bail not to attract attention to his secret resistance against Palpatine, during the very session of congress that saw the birth of the Empire. Bail kept his word, and, slowly, he and Mon Mothma began to build a de facto resistance against Palpatine's regime.

Armed resistance
"The Empire maintains order, and people like you disrupt that order."

- Sarkli

In the following years, as Palpatine's Empire grew in size and power, small resistance cells began to spring up on planets across the galaxy. These small and unorganized groups periodically raided Imperial installations, including sabotage that directly affected the Imperial construction of the Death Star. These groups were a mixed bunch, ranging from loyalists still holding on to the ideals of the Republic to former Separatists. As these early resistance cells became known to one another, former enemies became unexpected allies.

Massacre at Ghorman
When Imperial warships under the command of Wilhuff Tarkin landed on top of protestors against high Imperial taxation, killing hundreds, many in the galaxy began to wonder if this new Empire was in fact evil. Many career officers whose service records stretched back to the Republic, like Jan Dodonna, resigned or retired from Imperial service. Bail Organa, long opposed to armed resistance began to rethink his own role in the scheme of the brewing rebellion. Yet, with so many countless cells of rebels unorganized and uncoordinated, there seemed to be no chance of mounting a serious resistance to Palpatine’s regime.

Cantham House
Discussion between Mon Mothma, Bail Organa, and Garm Bel Iblis continued at the Cantham House Meetings on Imperial Center. These meetings were informal, designed to gauge the respective leaders' commitment to open rebellion. Mon Mothma of Chandrila was by far the most outspoken critic to the Emperor, having been forced to go underground to avoid capture or death by Imperial agents. It was a last minute call from her friend and colleague Bail Organa that spared this future leader of the galaxy. It would take a coordinated alliance of rebels to fully pose a threat to the Empire.

Corellian Treaty
Less than two years before the Battle of Yavin, the three main resistance forces of Chandrila, Alderaan, and Corellia joined forces and signed the Corellian Treaty. This was the founding document of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, or Rebel Alliance, and set out the structure and framework of the Alliance. For the first time, scattered resistance groups began to unite and form into a real threat to the Empire. It was during these meetings that the Declaration of Rebellion was ratified. Mon Mothma was selected to be the Chief of State for the new Alliance, though this would cause some considerable friction between her and Garm Bel Iblis. Despite the fact that it was still small and woefully outnumbered, the Rebel Alliance was finally a reality.

New allies and weapons
"Time to retire those Z-95 Headhunters!"

- Raymus Antilles after the victory at Fresia

The most notable equipment contributions included the defection of some Incom Corporation staff and all relevant material involved in the development of an advanced starfighter, the T-65 X-wing, which was acquired at the Battle of Fresia. With this advanced fighter, Rebel pilots had a clear advantage over the more numerous yet unshielded TIE fighters. Mon Mothma then secured an alliance with the Mon Calamari, who openly joined the Rebel Alliance and used their renowned skill in ship construction to supply badly needed capital ships that could take on the Imperial Navy. Their considerable fleet of Mon Calamari Star Cruisers gave the newly formed Alliance substantial firepower. Part of the Alliance's strategy was the doctrine of space denial. That is, the Alliance would attack Imperial shipping in hit and run raids; both to disrupt Imperial supplies and operations, and to confiscate desperately needed materials. In these situations, their fighters had hyperdrive capability along prearranged routes which would allow this kind of harassment and escape before the Empire could react.

Destruction of Alderaan
"You may fire when ready."

- Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin giving the order to destroy Alderaan

Through their intelligence network, the Alliance learned of the construction of the Death Star, an enormous terror weapon capable of destroying an entire planet, intended to secure the Empire's power. An operation headed by Princess Leia was successful in retrieving the schematics of the station, but Darth Vader discovered the act and captured Leia. In an effort to get the young princess to divulge the location of the secret Rebel base, Grand Moff Tarkin threatened to destroy her home planet of Alderaan. Yet, even after Leia gave him the location of an abandoned Rebel base, Tarkin ordered the Death Star to fire its primary weapon&mdash;a planet-destroying superlaser. Leia watched as billions of her fellow Alderaanians were murdered by the vicious superweapon. The Alliance would use this act as a propaganda tool to recruit more people into its ranks.

A New Hope
"Remember, Luke. The Force will be with you. Always."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi

The Force was with the Alliance. Luke Skywalker, a young man from Tatooine, came under the tutelage of Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, after stormtroopers destroyed his farm and killed his uncle and aunt. The aged Jedi had been watching Luke for a long time. Knowing his family history and importance to defeating the Emperor, Obi-Wan began training the boy as a Jedi. The duo, along with the droids C-3PO and R2-D2, secured passage on a freighter, Millennium Falcon. With the help of smuggler Han Solo and his Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca, the group managed to free the Princess and deliver the plans to the Alliance. As a result, the Alliance succeeded in attacking and destroying the battle station, and also, in Luke, they gained their only loyal member with training in the use of the Force and the skills of the purged Jedi Knights.

Galactic Civil War
"In the past, we'd secretly enjoyed putting down a local insurrection or two, [...] but these Rebels were different. They were organized, they were growing, and they were everywhere."

- Journal of the 501st

As a result of the Battle of Yavin, the Rebel Alliance gained credibility as a legitimate military opponent to the Empire. Between the effects of the battle and the dissolution of the Imperial Senate, thousands of star systems openly joined the Alliance in the months following the Death Star's destruction. As a result, the Empire began occupying worlds it had allowed to remain untouched earlier, both actions resulting in an escalation of the war.

The Alliance could afford to waste no time following its major victory at Yavin. Following numerous raids on their Yavin IV base, the Alliance relocated to Hoth. There were some setbacks, namely Garm Bel Iblis leaving the Alliance following a major disagreement with Mon Mothma. This was a blow to the Alliance, though it was offset by the joining of Borsk Fey'lya and his sizable faction of Bothans. Mon Mothma took steps to create a true navy for the Alliance, raising the Mon Calamari Ackbar to the rank of Admiral and appointing him to be Supreme Commander of the Rebel Fleet. Under Ackbar's leadership the fleet grew in size and ability. Along with the headquarters of the Rebel Alliance, Ackbar's fleet was the most important asset of the Rebellion. During this time Luke, Han, Leia, and their companions proved to be the most valuable Alliance members, performing countless crucial missions.

The ensuing battles around the galaxy were a number of engagements between either side. Many were Rebel soldiers fighting to sabotage Imperial weapons or destroy Imperial facilities. A large number of people were inspired by the defeats of the Empire to join the Rebellion. However the might and oppressive nature of the Empire inspired others to join the Imperial military.

Loss of Hoth


The Alliance suffered a setback when Hoth, one of their main bases, was discovered by an Imperial Probe droid and was overrun by Darth Vader's forces. The Alliance was forced to scatter, fearful of losing another main base. Alliance High Command transferred to the Rebel Fleet, using Ackbar's flagship Home One as their mobile base of operations. Despite the presence of new allies like Lando Calrissian, the Rebellion was in dire straits. Rebel hero Han Solo was captured while in Calrissian's hospitality, and sent to Jabba the Hutt on Tatooine. The secret shipyards in the Vergesso Asteroids were destroyed by Darth Vader's fleet. It was a dark time for the Alliance.

Victory at Endor
News that the Empire was nearing completion on a new and more powerful space station, Death Star II, forced the Alliance to take its greatest risk. The entire Rebel Fleet was amassed near Sullust. The subsequent Battle of Endor was a massive victory for the Alliance. Palpatine was dead, his Death Star destroyed, and Vader redeemed.

Imperial Remnant
About six months after the death of the Emperor at Endor, Mon Mothma declared the Rebellion (which became the Alliance of Free Planets) to be at an end, and she declared the New Republic to be established as the successor state. The Alliance to Restore the Republic had succeeded&mdash;a new Republic was to be born, though in many people's eyes the movement only gained real legitimacy with the capture of Coruscant by Rogue Squadron and New Republic forces in 6 ABY.

Although conflict would still continue for a long time with the Imperial Remnant, the New Republic would become the dominant power in the galaxy until a conflict began with the extra-galactic Yuuzhan Vong, who would fragment the New Republic. It was replaced with the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances, which was born from the ashes of the New Republic and founded by former Rebel leaders.

Command hierarchy and administration
There were two main organizations that composed the main structure of the Alliance. These were the civil government and the military.

Civil government
"The Alliance was structured to wage war, not rule in peace. It was a benign dictatorship empowered to lead a Rebellion, not govern a galaxy."

- Voren Na'al

The Alliance civil government was responsible for handling the numerous jobs of any planetary civil government&mdash;including protecting the Alliance peoples, revenue gathering, maintenance of vital services, foreign relations and defense. Many of these functions were left to each member world or government of the Alliance, such as Mon Calamari or the Atrivis Sector. The civil government of the Alliance was broken down as follows:

The Chief of State
The Chief of State was the head of the Alliance. Essentially an elected dictatorship, the Chief of State had virtually unlimited power over the Alliance. Elections were held every two years, though in practice this was only a formality as Mon Mothma had unanimous support amongst the Alliance members. According to the Corellian Treaty, the position of Chief of State "will be abolished when the Emperor is deposed, killed, or resigns his position of power." When this happened, it was the duty of the Advisory Council to assume executive control of the Alliance and convene a Constitutional Convention to form a new Galactic Republic.

The Advisory Council
The Advisory Council was composed of representatives of seven Alliance governments who had given the most lives in battle to defeating the Empire. This council was the primary advisory body to the Chief of State, responsible for approving or disapproving the proposals of the Chief of State. Furthermore, the Advisory Council had the right to dismiss a Chief of State with a two-thirds majority vote, providing a check to the powers of the Chief. During most of the history of the Alliance, worlds like Alderaan, Mon Calamari, and Sullust were members of the Advisory Council, due to their extreme devotion and high losses of life suffered in Alliance service.

The Alliance Cabinet
The Cabinet was the device from which the Chief of State could maintain and run the Alliance. Each member was selected by Mon Mothma for their devotion, intelligence, and ability to get things done. The Cabinet was composed of the following ministries:


 * Minister of Finance&mdash;responsible for overseeing Alliance funds.
 * Minister of Education&mdash;maintained Alliance Intelligence and oversees propaganda.
 * Minister of State&mdash;handled relations with other non-member governments.
 * Minister of Industry&mdash;controlled all Alliance factories and production.
 * Minister of Supply&mdash;maintained supply chain for Alliance military forces.
 * Minister of War&mdash;advised Chief of State on directing Alliance military forces.

The Allied Commands
The Alliance Allied Commands were the individual governments of worlds, organizations, and groups that were members of the Alliance. Each Allied Command varied slightly depending on how each member world was organized, though in practice Allied Commands mimicked the structure of the Alliance government. Allied Commands ranged from member worlds like Mon Calamari or Alderaan to whole sectors like Atrivis or Churnis.

Alliance military
"Everyone in the Rebellion is here for a reason. Everyone was affected by the Empire in one way or another. Everyone has a story to tell. Most of them are tragic."

- Wedge Antilles

The Alliance military was charged with defeating the forces of the Galactic Empire and bringing down the Emperor’s reign of power, a task to which every Rebel military personnel pledged themselves.

Known bases

 * Polis Massa Base
 * Brigia Base
 * Rudrig
 * Rion
 * Orion IV
 * Delta Base
 * Dantooine Base
 * Yavin IV Base
 * Talay Base
 * Ring Base
 * Hoth Base
 * Arbra Base
 * Anchorhead Base
 * Tierfon Base
 * Rori Outpost

Alliance worlds
Though the Rebels didn't have the resources of the Empire, it did control planets.
 * Abridon
 * Alderaan
 * Averam
 * Gerrard V
 * Kalaan
 * Kriselist
 * Laakteen Depot
 * Mon Calamari
 * Nentan
 * New Plympto
 * Polus
 * Ralltiir
 * Shola
 * Telos IV
 * Togoria
 * Virgillia 7

Senior personnel

 * Mon Mothma&mdash;Chief of State and Commander-in-Chief, Co-founder
 * Bail Organa&mdash;Co-founder
 * Garm Bel Iblis&mdash;Senior General, Co-founder
 * Ackbar&mdash;Admiral, Supreme Commander of the Fleet
 * Airen Cracken&mdash;General, Supreme Commander of Intelligence
 * Crix Madine&mdash;General, Supreme Commander of Special Forces
 * Ral'Rai Muvunc&mdash;Minister of Supply and Supreme Commander of Ordnance and Supply
 * Vernan&mdash;General, Supreme Commander of Intelligence
 * Tardi&mdash;Minister of Finance
 * Leia Organa&mdash;Minister of State, Senior Diplomat, General
 * Borsk Fey'lya&mdash;Political Advisor, a leader of the Bothan Spynet
 * Walex Blissex&mdash;General
 * Lando Calrissian&mdash;General, Commander of starfighter forces during Battle of Endor
 * Jan Dodonna&mdash;General, Commander of Massassi Station on Yavin IV
 * Bob Hudsol&mdash;General, Commander of resistance forces in Bothan Space
 * Pharl McQuarrie&mdash;General, Advisor to resistance forces on Ralltiir
 * Carlist Rieekan&mdash;General, Commander of Echo Base on Hoth
 * Ristt&mdash;General, Commander of Ring Base
 * Han Solo&mdash;General, Commander of special forces team sent to Endor
 * Roons Sewell&mdash;General, Commander of Massassi Station on Yavin IV
 * Vanden Willard&mdash;General, Commander of Delta Base on New Kisge
 * Wedge Antilles&mdash;Commander, Commander of Rogue Squadron
 * Luke Skywalker&mdash;Commander, Commander of Rogue Squadron and Jedi Knight

Command

 * Alliance High Command

Supreme Allied Commands
 * Fleet Command
 * Ordnance and Supply Command
 * Starfighter Command
 * Support Services
 * Intelligence
 * SpecForces Command
 * Sector Command(s)

Behind the scenes
''
 * The announced setting of the forthcoming Star Wars live-action TV series has led to fan speculation that details surrounding the formation of the Alliance will be revealed.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Battlefront
 * Star Wars: Battlefront II
 * Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds
 * Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
 * LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
 * Star Wars: Empire at War
 * Star Wars: Force Commander
 * Star Wars: Empire
 * The Farlander Papers
 * Star Wars: X-wing
 * Rebel Dawn
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope novelization
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
 * Star Wars: Rogue Squadron
 * Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
 * Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike
 * The Day After the Death Star
 * Star Wars Missions 1: Assault on Yavin Four
 * Star Wars Missions 2: Escape from Thyferra
 * Star Wars Missions 3: Attack on Delrakkin
 * Star Wars Missions 4: Destroy the Liquidator
 * Star Wars Missions 5: The Hunt for Han Solo
 * The Rebel Thief
 * X-wing Marks The Spot
 * Marvel Star Wars
 * Classic Star Wars
 * Star Wars 3-D
 * Allegiance
 * Splinter of the Mind's Eye
 * The Star Wars Holiday Special
 * Imperial Spy
 * Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
 * Star Wars: TIE Fighter
 * Star Wars: X-wing Alliance
 * Shadows of the Empire
 * Tales from Jabba's Palace
 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
 * LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
 * The Truce at Bakura
 * Shadows of the Empire: Evolution
 * Junior Jedi Knights: The Golden Globe
 * Junior Jedi Knights: Promises
 * Dark Journey
 * Star Wars Legacy 2: Broken, Part 2