Echo Base

Echo Base is a fictional location featured in the Star Wars multimedia franchise. It appeared in the 1980 film Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and played a provincial role in the first act of the film. It has also appeared and/or been referenced in related media that adapts The Empire Strikes Back, including novels, comic books and video games.

Description
Echo Base is a military compound established by the Alliance to Restore the Republic during the Galactic Civil War. It was founded and briefly occupied around 3 ABY on the Outer Rim world known as Hoth. The Alliance settled on the frozen planet in their endless campaign to escape and survive the aggressive advances of the First Galactic Empire. Echo Base was partially constructed inside the ice shelf of a canyon on the planet, using the frozen walls to form a part of its structure.

The base was staffed by military leaders, ground soldiers, pilots, and a compliment of droids. Pilots from Rogue Group squadron flew T-47 airspeeders, or "snowspeeders", though these were not as effective as the Alliance had hoped, as they had difficulty adapting them to the planet's cold environment. They supplemented their ground travel support by making use of a native animal called Tauntauns. Echo Base was protected by several weapons including 1.4 FD P-Towers, DF.9 Turrets and Ion cannons. The commander in charge of Echo Base was General Carlist Rieekan.

History
After establishing the Alliance outpost on Hoth, members of the Rebel Alliance continued to survey the surrounding areas. It was by a stroke of luck that Commander Luke Skywalker happened to catch sight of an Imperial probe droid, but was injured by a Wampa before he could return to base to report his findings. When Skywalker failed to return, General Han Solo took a Tauntaun out to find and retrieve him. Skywalker was in bad shape, but Han brought him back to Echo Base where he recuperated.

The Alliance learned about the probe droid and Han Solo and Chewbacca went out to destroy it. It was too late however, the droid had already transmitted its findings back to the Imperial fleet. Determining that the Empire now knew where the base was, General Rieekan decided to begin evacuation procedures.

Darth Vader and a fleet of Imperial cruisers came out of hyperspace in the Hoth system. Strategically, an orbital bombardment seemed costly as the base was protected by its Ion cannon. Vader sent General Maximillian Veers to lead a ground assault using a contingent of AT-AT walkers. The following ground and aerial assault came to be known as the Battle of Hoth.

Battle of Hoth
Ground forces mounted their weapons in preparation of an Imperial attack. When the AT-AT walkers were in sight, the pilots of Rogue Group engaged them in combat. Ion control laid down defensive fire against the ships hovering just outside the planet's atmosphere, allowing Rebel transports the opportunity to evacuate the planet. Han Solo took the initiative to get Princess Leia Organa off of Hoth aboard his ship, the Millennium Falcon.

Luke Skywalker was part of Rogue Group and engaged the AT-ATs. Snowspeeder weaponry was not strong enough to penetrate the armored shell of the AT-ATs, so they had to resort to more unconventional tactics to bring them to a halt. Wedge Antilles succeeded in bringing down the first walker by using the tow cable from his speeder to ensnare the machine's legs, causing it to trip, and bringing it crashing to the ground. Skywalker's speeder was downed by enemy fire, and his gunner had been killed. He barely escaped being crushed as a walker stepped on the wreckage of the speeder. Luke ran underneath the machine and used a hoist cable to ascend to its underbelly. He sliced open the bottom with his lightsaber and threw a thermal detonator inside. He dropped to the ground before the detonator exploded, destroying the walker.

The Imperials succeeded in taking out the base's planetary defenses and destroyed the Ion control center. Once this was done, Darth Vader personally led a contingent of Snowtroopers from the 501st Legion. By this point however, the base had largely been abandoned. The other surviving members of the Rebel Alliance, having lost the battle, escaped from the planet and met back up at a predetermined secret rendezvous point.

Legacy
Wedge Antilles and his gunner, Wes Janson, were left behind, but managed to survive several months on Hoth alone, and were forced to defend themselves from Wampa attacks.

Following the end of the Galactic Civil War, the Star Tours agency made a circuit of all of the provincial sites that played a key role in the war, including sights where the Rebel Alliance had lost battles. The remains of Echo Base were included on the tour.