Destruction of Alderaan

"Since you are reluctant to provide us with the location of the Rebel base, I have chosen to test this station's destructive power on your home planet of Alderaan."

- Wilhuff Tarkin to Leia Organa

The Destruction of Alderaan, also known as the Battle of Alderaan, occurred in 0 BBY at the order of Grand Moff Tarkin.

Background
"With the Death Star completed, I must take vigorous action against the Rebels as soon as possible. The Emperor expects great things of this battle station, and of me."

- Wilhuff Tarkin to Darth Vader

In the absence of the Senate, Palpatine had established an environment where even his subordinates were capable of terrible atrocities against sentients.

From the very beginning of its design, it was intended that the Death Star be capable of destroying entire planets. But most Imperial strategists were certain that the threat alone would be enough to keep most worlds in line. Tarkin felt differently; as he saw it, the Rebels were growing bolder, and only a very public demonstration of the battle station's power against a Rebel target would succeed in giving them pause.

His argument convinced Palpatine (not that he needed that much convincing). So the Emperor approved in advance the destruction of a planet&mdash;and thereby the mass murder of its entire population.

An unexpected battle


A small fleet of Star Destroyers had escorted the Death Star to Alderaan. Tarkin now ordered a reconnaissance of the planet.

The fleet scouted out the system, and came across a Rebel fleet. The two fleets exchanged fire, and as Mon Calamari Star Cruisers distracted the Imperial ships, assault frigates opened fire on the Star Destroyers.

Reinforcements of smaller Imperial ships, such as Acclamator-class assault ships, supported the fleet and took down most of the Rebel ships. Meanwhile, the Death Star had completed the charging of its main cannon.

Destruction
"Tarkin, if there was a shred of humanity in you or these twisted creatures of yours, it's dead now. You're at war with life itself. You're enemies of the universe&hellip; your Empire's doomed."

- Leia Organa to Wilhuff Tarkin, shortly after the destruction of Alderaan.

To obtain information on disappearance of the Death Star plans and location of the Rebel base, Darth Vader had taken Leia Organa to the Death Star, which was under the control of Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin.



When she refused to yield the location of the Rebel base or the whereabouts of the plans voluntarily or through torture, Tarkin threatened to destroy Alderaan in an attempt to force her to confess. Fearing that Tarkin would use the superweapon on hers and other peaceful worlds, she offered the location of an abandoned Rebel base on Dantooine. Thinking that he and the Empire had won, Tarkin went ahead and destroyed Alderaan.

The destruction of Alderaan caused the deaths of the billions who were on the planet at the time, sending shock waves through the Force, weakening those who were able to feel them. Senator Bail Organa was the most famous casualty of this genocidal act. A colony of Caamasi was also wiped out&mdash;ironically, they were refugees from the destruction of their own home planet in 19 BBY.

Aftermath of the blast
"I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi

The destruction of Alderaan failed in its psychological goal. Wiping out a peaceful, idyllic paradise caused great anger, even in the Core Worlds. The failure of the Empire to conceive an appropriate cover story only furthered the anger of many citizens. They did attempt to pin the destruction of Alderaan on the Rebel Alliance; however, few believed them. Rather than cow the galaxy before Emperor Palpatine, whole systems would soon revolt. The fall of the Galactic Empire had begun.

After the destruction of the Death Star, many systems not under military Imperial control either declared neutrality or joined the Alliance to Restore the Republic.

The rescue of Princess Leia
"This is some rescue. When you came in here, didn't you have a plan for getting out?"

- Princess Leia Organa to Han Solo



After unwittingly participating in the Battle of Tatooine, Han Solo and Chewbacca piloted the Millennium Falcon to Alderaan, only to discover that it had been destroyed. Orbiting around the ruins was the Death Star, which captured the Falcon with a tractor beam. Using deception, Solo and Luke Skywalker disabled two stormtroopers, TK-421 and TK-422 and used their armor to disguise themselves as two troopers with a captive Wookiee.

Slicing into a computer, Luke discovered that an Alderaanian senator, Princess Leia Organa, was being held captive in Detention Block AA 23 and was awaiting execution. While Luke, Han, and Chewbacca rescued her, Obi-Wan Kenobi, who was also present on the Falcon, went further into the battle station to take down one of the tractor beam's power terminals. Solo and Skywalker made their way into the detention center, where they were discovered as imposters. Killing all the guards in the center, Luke rescued Leia.

Squads of stormtroopers made their way towards the group, and there was no way out. In a desperate attempt at escape, Leia blew open the grate leading into Garbage Compactor 3263827. When they were all in the compactor, Luke was nearly killed by a dianoga, a sewer squid. Right afterwards, the walls that compacted the garbage started to close in, but the droids C-3PO and R2-D2 tapped into the electronic controls and deactivated them.

At the same time, following his taking down of the tractor beam, Kenobi confronted Darth Vader in one of the hallways. They engaged in their first duel since their skirmish on Mustafar.

Meanwhile, Luke, Leia, Chewbacca, and Han fought their way back to the Falcon ' s hangar, where Luke witnessed Kenobi's ascension into a Force spirit. They escaped the station, but were attacked by four TIE Fighters. These were all destroyed by Luke and Han manning anti-starfighter turrets, and the ship managed to flee to Yavin 4.

A squad of troopers managed to place a tracking beacon on the Falcon, resulting in the First Battle of Yavin IV and the subsequent Battle of Yavin.

Behind the scenes
Although it's been debated, a shield effect is still present in the post-1997 version of Alderaan's destruction. In frames 4 and 5, the glow is concentrated in an area surrounding the point of impact, like shield interactions seen elsewhere in the films. The uniform glow also extends far out into space, beyond the limits of natural atmospheres.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic offers a humorous twist on this event. Whereas Princess Leia attempted to spare Alderaan from the Death Star by lying that the Rebel Base was on Dantooine, the player can attempt to spare Dantooine from Darth Malak's fleet by claiming that the Jedi Enclave was located on Alderaan.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Empire at War
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
 * Star Wars: X-wing
 * Star Wars: Rebel Assault
 * Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike
 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi novelization
 * Specter of the Past