The Battle of Hoth is the first time we see the full might of the Empire’s land forces
on screen, as they quickly and easily overrun and pulverize the Rebels and their defenses.
However most of the battle is shown through the perspective of the main characters, so
what was the battle like for the average Rebel and Imperial soldier?
We get to see the battle from a Rebel soldier’s point of view through the short comic: Star
Wars Entrenched.
It follows a young rebel soldier by the name of Jobin, who has been writing for his mother
about his experience within the rebel alliance and his time on Hoth.
He talks about how the rebellion has changed him as well as the events leading up to the
Imperial attack.
Through his recollection, we find out that the other rebel soldiers along with him were
afraid of what was coming, afraid of the unknown and the idea of dying.
Many of them were young and somewhat inexperienced, with only a few squads containing veteran
soldiers from past battles, which helped boost morale among the younger ones.
Prior to the battle, their days mostly consisted of setting up the perimeter defenses and preparing
to defend Echo base at all costs.
Once Han Solo had discovered and destroyed an Imperial probe droid, Rebel scouts were
sent out to locate possible Imperial landing zones.
Two scouts were successful in discovering one, but were quickly killed before being
able to send a warning signal to Echo base.
Once the Empire began staging its attack and the Imperial walkers were coming, the Rebel
soldiers on the ground were confident that they would be able to hold the attack off
long enough for the rebel leaders to escape.
However, this confidence was quickly shattered once the rebels were killed left and right,
eventually discovering how ineffective their weapons were against the armored AT-AT walkers.
Though they did have a few quick celebrations whenever they were successful in bringing
down a Walker.
But in the end, they were all either killed or forced to run for their lives once the
walkers broke through their defences.
The squad that Jobin was leading quickly dispatched away from the trenches and made their way
toward the Ion cannon.
On their way there, they ran into an AT-ST.
Although the walker forced them to hide behind cover, they were able to quickly bring it
down by throwing a pack of explosives onto it.
Once they arrived to the Ion Cannon, they discovered that the rebels there had been
eliminated by Imperial snowtroopers.
Knowing that without the Ion Cannon the rebel transports would not make it off the planet,
Jobin and his squad ran into the control room and confronted the snowtroopers.
One of the rebel soldiers ran to the intercom, sending a transmission to warn the other rebels
within the base that Imperial troops have entered the base.
He’s the guy we hear in the movie yelling the same words before being killed.
Jobin on the other hand ran to the the button to fire the Ion cannon, being briefly stopped
by a snowtrooper before stabbing his eye out and successfully firing the cannon.
After they secured the control room, Jobin and the rest of his men made an attempt to
escape by catching a ship in one of the hangers.
Unfortunately for them, once they arrived it was too late, witnessing the Millennium
Falcon leave right in front of them with Darth Vader being only a few meters away.
Sensing their presence, Vader ordered his men to kill the remaining Rebels.
Retreating from Vader’s men, Jobin and the other two rebel soldiers made a desperate
attempt at finding another ship within a different hanger.
When they reached this other hanger, they discovered another ship waiting for them.
But before Jobin could make it, he was shot down.
Accepting the fact that he wasn’t going to make it, he threw his message to his friend
and told him to give it to his mother.
After the ship escaped, the badly injured Jobin was forced choked by Vader, who demanded
the Rebel to reveal information.
He refused, spitting at the Sith Lord’s helmet, which resulted in his quick death
as he was crushed to death.
On the other side of the battlefield, we don’t get too much information on how the Imperial
soldiers felt aside from a few conversations and recollections.
From the journal of a 501st trooper, he stated how he and the other stormtroopers were exhilarated
over the fact of finally crushing down on the Rebellion.
Their blood ran hot with dreams of victory, so much so, that they didn’t even feel the
cold.
The journal continued to state that after the battle was finished, the soldiers of the
501st had gathered around the burning rebel bunker and cheered over their victory, believing
that the rebellion was finished and that they had won the war.
To them, this was one of their proudest moments, as not only did they swiftly crush the empire’s
number one enemy, but they also killed those who had destroyed the death star.
The same battle station that contained many of their friends that they had fought with
for decades prior.
For them, this victory was personal, and they felt they had avenged their fallen comrades
with this triumph.