I explain how the Rebel Alliance won the Battle of Endor on today's episode of Star Wars: Battle Breakdown
Hey guys, this is Eckhart's Ladder. Hello and welcome to another Star Wars video
This is the third or fourth episode in a brand new series I've been doing which I'm now calling Battle Breakdowns. Here
I'll be analyzing major sci fi battles looking at the strategy used by each side,
what went right, what went wrong. and visualizing it for you guys so you can follow along. Today
we're looking at one of the most important events in the Star Wars universe, of course the Battle of Endor
So let's get started and it all began when the Alliance fleet
Believing they were catching the Empire at a vulnerable moment arrived at the Endor system with Admiral Ackbar leading the effort
We've never received concrete ship numbers,
but we know that they had hundreds of starfighters,
dozens of cruisers, as well as smaller frigates like Nebulon-Bs and
CR-90s which are really just too small to represent because of the scale of this battle
However, as rebel pilots shot towards the battle station
They realized they were being jammed, implying that someone knew they were coming and that they were walking into a trap
Fearing that the shield was still up the fighters broke off, at which point the rebels realized that imperial star
destroyers were moving on to their position and
interdictor cruisers had jumped in and were projecting gravity wells
preventing their escape. The imperial fleet immediately launched TIE fighters and interceptors bringing the attack to the alliance, with bombers soon following
rebel fighters responded and
attempted to protect their vulnerable capital ships. The Star Destroyers of, which there were 30+
including a battle cruiser and a super star destroyer, however, maintain distance and at this point the Alliance
Perhaps had an advantage shortly after the Death Star super laser was fired,
destroying the Mon Cal Cruiser Liberty. With the Death Star operational, the rebels were an extremely tough place
This was their only chance to destroy the Empire and escape would be difficult regardless because of the presence of interdictor cruisers. General Calrissian
Suggested that the fleet engaged the stardestroyers at point-blank r ange,
and in doing so the rebel fleet was not only able to protect against the super laser,
but they also confused Imperial forces who, because of their overwhelming firepower,
were not expecting such aggression. Still, the Empire had a serious upper hand
so the Allianc e in an effort to disrupt Imperial communications
focused on the Pride of Tarlandia: the second-in-command ship for the empire and a communications battlecruiser.
The task was given to Blue and Green squadron, which were made up of a variety of ships, but notably heavy B-wing star fighters.
they faced off against one of the Empire's best pilots, Soontir Fel, and the rest of the 181st TIE
Interceptor squadron. The team took major losses,
however were successful in overwhelming the Imperials and destroying the battle cruiser. Still
The Alliance was really only treading water at this point
Their surprising strategy and perhaps the star fighter advantage was buying them time
But there was no way that they'd be able to win the battle in a conventional sense
Thankfully on the ground the Death Star's shield was lowered. Admiral Ackbar sent Lando Calrissian along with the rest of red and gold
Squadrons into the Death Star superstructure. Several TIE wings followed including the surviving members of the 181st
Akbar, was worried that more star fighters would follow the rebels into the superstructure
So he focused all of the fleet's efforts on the imperial super star destroyer
executor. Green squadron focused on disabling the weapons of nearby star destroyers and a blockade runner rammed another vessel
giving the alliance some room to work with as the fleet moved into position. Through a
concentrated barrage by both star fighters and capital ships
the executor's shields were lowered. Green squadron destroyed the executor's sensor bulbs, which made small targets difficult to track, and
Green leader Arvel Crynyd was able to destroy the ship after kamikaze-ing his [A-wing] into the bridge
This had been a sufficient
distraction, because Wedge Antilles and Lando Calrissian were able to finish off the Death Star's reactor from inside the battle station.
The rebels moved their fleet away from the Death Star while, the Empire now under the command of Pellaeon retreated.
So, how did the Alliance manage to win?
well
I think you can attribute it largely to the fairly novel strategy suggested by Lando Calrissian. Attacking the star destroyers at point-blank
range was a surprising move and because of, once again, the Alliance's star fighter superiority
they were actually able to inflict damage while the powerfully shielded Mon Cal cruisers
soaked up barrages of turbo laser fire. Still it was by no means a clean win,
although the Rebel Alliance did somehow manage to take down almost half of the Empire's
forces. As per usual, the major mistake by the Empire was
overconfidence and a lack of quality star fighters. Rebel pilots were better,
they had better ships, and we can see what the destruction of the Pride of Tarlandia, the Executor, and the Death Star itself
That's really what made the difference. But that's just my opinion. What do you think?
Let me know down in the comments section. If you like this new series,
I've created a playlist with every episode so far, which I've linked in the upper right hand corner
and I'll also pin it in a comment. Thank you guys so much for watching. As always, this has been Eckharts ladder.
May the force be with you