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| The Alliance to Restore the Republic | |
| Aliases: | Rebel Alliance |
| Continuity: | Star Wars |
| Type: | Military |
| Status: | Defunct |
| Leaders: | Bail Organa; Garm Bel Iblis; Mon Mothma; Galen Marek; Leia Organa; Jan Dodonna; Carlist Rieekan |
| Members: | Rebel Alliance members |
| Allies: | The Resistance [1] |
| Enemies: | Black Sun; Crimson Dawn; First Galactic Empire; The Hutts |
| 1st appearance: | Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope |
The Alliance to Restore the Republic was a fictional military organization featured in the Star Wars film franchise. They comprised the central protagonists of the original three feature films Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Informally known simply as the Rebel Alliance, members of the organization have been prominently featured in the novel adaptations of the films, the Star Wars radio dramatizations and comic book adaptations of the films published by Marvel Comics and Dark Horse Comics.
As a resistance group, the Alliance existed from 2 BBY to 4 ABY. With the fall of the Galactic Empire, the Alliance disbanded and it's members formed the New Republic.
History[]
Foundation[]
The Alliance to Restore the Republic was an unlawful military organization formed as a resistance against the forces of the evil Galactic Empire. The seeds of the Rebellion began as far back as the formation of the Empire at the end of the Clone Wars, but it did not become a solvent body until shortly before the dissolution of the Galactic Senate in 0 BBY. The architects of the Alliance were Senator Bail Organa of Alderaan, Senator Garm Bel Iblis of Corellia and Mon Mothma of Chandrila. Another important figure in the creation of the Alliance was Dark Force apprentice Galen Marek who, under orders from his Sith master Darth Vader, was to help the foundation of a resistance group as a means of distracting the Galactic Emperor, allowing Vader the chance to engineer his own plots against the Emperor. Encouraged by Marek, the three Imperial Senators signed the Corellian Treaty in 2 BBY; a formal declaration of war against the Empire. Bail Organa's vast resources helped to finance the resistance while Senator Iblis provided resources to construct their fleet. Mon Mothma was tasked with recruiting soldiers and commanders. [2]
Within the span of two years, the Rebel Alliance grew in size and scope and they headquartered themselves on the fourth moon of the planet Yavin. As their influence began to spread across the galaxy, they eventually attracted the attention of Darth Sidious. The Emperor knew that the Alliance had high-ranking officials within the Galactic Senate, so he dissolved the senate, handing territorial reign of the various space sectors to regional governors known as Moffs. The greatest deterrent against a rebel uprising however was the Emperor's super-space station, the Death Star. Staffed by thousands of officers and soldiers, the Death Star was a mobile command center equipped with the power to destroy planets through the use of a massive super-laser.
When the rebels learned about the existence of the battle station, they put together a strategy known as Operation: Skyhook. Operation: Skyhook involved stealing the design schematics for the Death Star so that Alliance engineers could analyze the data in the hopes of finding a vulnerability that they could exploit. An Imperial defector named Kyle Katarn, having only recently thrown in with the Rebel Alliance, went on a mission to the planet Danuta, where he acquired a partial schematic of the Death Star blueprints. He delivered them to Alliance agent Leia Organa aboard her consular ship, the Tantive IV. More information relating to the Death Star was obtained on the planet Toprawa. [3]
Delivering the stolen plans to Alliance leaders on Yavin IV proved successful and represented the Alliance's first decisive victory against the Empire.
The Battle of Yavin[]
Alliance leaders brief the rebel pilots before the Battle of Yavin.
On Yavin IV, Alliance leaders Jan Dodonna, Vanden Willard, Bob Hudsol analyzed the recovered data and determined a weakness in the structure's design. General Dodonna called a meeting of all the fighter pilots in attendance, which consisted of members of Red Squadron, Gold Squadron and Blue Squadron. Among the group was a young moisture farmer from Tatooine named Luke Skywalker, a man who had only recently began studying the mystical disciplines of the Force.
Using a holographic projection of the station, General Dodonna pointed out a small thermal exhaust port, which led directly into the Death Star's reactor chamber. In theory, a precise hit from a proton torpedo would cause a chain reaction which would destroy the entire station. However, the port itself was only two meters wide. Some pilots, such as Wedge Antilles, were skeptical as to their ability to accurately shoot such a remote target. As it was however, this was the only option they had. [4]
A fleet of starfighters, consisting of twenty-two X-wing fighters, eight Y-wing fighters and two R22 Spearhead fighters launched from Yavin IV to combat Imperial forces as the Death Star loomed into view. During the initial phase of the attack, the Death Star was still obscured by the planet Yavin and was not yet in range to fire its super-laser. As the Death Star skirted the perimeter of the planet, the Rebel squadrons entered the trench canyons that ran across the meridian of the station. The Death Star trench was defended by ion cannons and turbo laser turret cannons. This arsenal however, was designed for combat against capital starships and was virtually ineffective against smaller snub fighters. From within the safety of his command center, Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin felt that the Rebel fleet presented no threat to the station and was confidant that the Death Star would destroy the Alliance in "one swift stroke". Tarkin's second-in-command, the Sith Lord Darth Vader however, was not as quick to dismiss the material threat the Alliance presented as Tarkin had. [4]
When the laser batteries failed to destroy the Rebel ships, the order came down to assemble the TIE fighter crews. The turbo lasers were de-activated, allowing the TIE fighters the ability to combat the Rebels ship-to-ship without risk of being shot down by friendly fire. Darth Vader chose to join the battle, piloting his personal TIE Advanced x1 Starfighter along with the Black Squadron TIE fighter group down the trench run.
While the ships engaged one another, Red Leader Garvin Dreis made a bombing run towards the exhaust port. He was the first to reach the zone, but his shot missed, impacting the surface of the Death Star. The Rebels managed to clear the trench of TIE fighters, but Vader, and two pilots of Black Squadron were still doggedly pursuing them. Vader shot down Red Leader as well as Biggs and one by one, the other Rebel ships began to fall. Wedge Antilles' X-wing suffered critical damage, forcing him to drop out of the battle. Wedge survived however, and managed to get his crippled ship back to base. Within short order, the only pilots left were Vader and Luke Skywalker.
Vader sensed the power of the Force with this sole remaining pilot, but he had no idea that the man he was about to fire upon was actually his own son. During the second bombing run, Vader got a lock on Luke's ship and prepared to blast him into pieces. As it turned out, Luke's newfound friends, Han Solo and Chewbacca, on board the Millennium Falcon arrived just in time to save Luke. The Falcon shot one of the Black Squadron TIEs and sent into colliding into the second, which exploded on the walls of the trench. He then fired on Vader's ship, disabling it and it spun out of control, flying away from the scene of battle. With no more enemy combatants to concern himself with, Luke concentrated on completing the mission. Relying upon the Force to guide him, he switched off his targeting computer and manually fired the "kill shot" that destroyed the Death Star.
Back on Yavin IV, a large celebration was held at the Great Massassi Temple. Han Solo and Luke Skywalker were awarded medals of valor for their participation in the destruction of the Death Star. [4]
The Battle of Hoth[]
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. [5]
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.
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. [5]
The Battle of Endor[]
Members[]
Incomplete
Founders[]
- Bail Organa
- Mon Mothma
- Garm Bel Iblis
- Galen Marek
Leaders[]
Commanders[]
Officers[]
Pilots[]
Scouts[]
Droids[]
Scientists[]
Spies[]
Miscellaneous volunteers[]
|
Ewok volunteers |
Bases[]
Notes & Trivia[]
- The full title of the organization was first used in Expanded Universe media. In the films, it was only ever referred to as the Rebel Alliance, or The Alliance.
- When the First Galactic Empire reformed under the banner of the First Order, a faction of the New Republic militarized itself as the Resistance.
See also[]
Media
The World of Star Wars
Star Wars miscellaneous
Appearances[]
References[]
- ↑ When the First Galactic Empire reformed under the banner of the First Order, a faction of the New Republic militarized itself as the Resistance.
- ↑ Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
- ↑ Star Wars: Dark Forces
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back; 1980; Lucasfilm, Ltd., 20th Century Fox. Directed by Irvin Kershner.
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