 Star Wars Battle Analysis-Yavin
The battle of Yavin (a.k.a Episode IV battle)
Yavin
Conflict: Galactic Civil War
Date: 0 BBY
Place: The Death Star near Yavin IV orbiting the gas giant Yavin in the Sumitra Sector
Name: Battle of Yavin
Type: Do or Die attack on Death Star for Rebels
Force Making Attack: Galactic Empire
Opposition: Rebel Alliance
Commanders
Galactic Empire:
Grand Moff Tarkin (Death Star)
General Tagge (Army Forces)
Admiral Motti (station operations)
Rebel Alliance:
Leia Organa
General Dodonna (all Yavin System resources)
Commander Willard (helped?)
Imperial Strength
Several Imperator-I class Star Destroyers
Darth Vader's TIE Advanced
1 160 km Death Star:
One planet-destroying Superlaser
Heavy Turbolasers - 170,280
Turbolasers - 380,348
Laser Cannons - 1,005,404
Ion Cannons - 190,140
Missile Tubes - 450,990
Fighters - 13,030 Wings (a wing is 72 fighters)
Troops - Up to 300 Legions
Crew - 19,807,000 (estimated)
Alliance Attack Strength
17 X-wings (maybe 36)
11Y-wings (maybe 12)
2 R-22 Spearheads (early A-wings)
Alliance attack force likely around 50 starfighters
Yavin Base and orbiting Yavin IV
Yavin Space Station
Several wings of X and Y wings.
Some R-22 Spearheads (early A-wings)
Several squadrons of Z-95 headhunters
Several squadrons of ARC-170s
Other squadrons of various fighters
hundreds of thousands of Alliance troops, crews, and officers.
Hover Tanks
Attack Tanks
Hover Transports
LAAT Gunships
Medium Transports
Corellian Corvettes
Corellian Gunships
Dreadnaughts
Tartan-class frigates
2+ Calamari Cruisers in System
Rand-Ecliptic frigate
Nebulon-B frigates
Marauder Corvettes
Strike-class frigates
Carrack-class corvettes
Xityiar Transports
Action Transports
Xizor Container Transports of various types
Other Alliance warships and transports
Imperial Objectives
Primary
Destroy Yavin IV and its� Alliance Base
Secondary
Shoot down all Alliance fighters
Defend the Death Star
Defend Exhaust port from Alliance fighters
Alliance Objectives
Primary
Destroy the Death Star
Target Of Opportunity
Capture or Kill Darth Vader
X-wings were Red, Green and Blue Squadrons (36?)
Y-wings were Gold Squadron (12?)
As 4 squadrons were sent, it is likely it is 48 Alliance fighters, not 30
Rebs: This was to defend the Alliance base on Yavin, representing a Large Amount of supplies, ships and forces on the moon or orbiting the moon. This is also to help stop the Empire and give the Alliance a large advantage.
Imps: This was to help crush the rebellion once and for all, provide a resounding defeat by killing much of High Command, a major base and many Alliance forces, equipment and resources.
The first DS first had the frame, superlaser and main reactor built, then the construction moves out and in, filling in the spaces inside the Death Star, until it is fully complete. The 1st Death Star wasn�t fully operational, even when it was outwardly complete, it took a systems check to see that it was complete.
The Death Star �mounts more than half the power of the Imperial fleet� Dodonna is likely referring to the Imperator-class Star Destroyers, and the firepower mentioned is the superlaser.
The ANH novelization makes it to seem as that field Generators (shield or Magnetic fields?) on the Death Star�s surface could reduce maneuverability for small starfighters.
The DS had 8-superlasers, which merge to form one big laser to destroy planets. Each superlaser combines to form one powerful weapon, each small beam helps guide the main beam.
Battlefront makes it seem as the Imperials established a small outpost on Yavin IV, looking for the Rebel presence there. They did find Rebels, and after a short battle, they left. Were these troops deployed from a Strike Cruiser (At least 4 of these were on the Death Star). The Strike Cruisers were said to be �scout ships� so they probably went to Dantooine to find the Rebels, and deployed the troops to Yavin IV after going there to make sure Rebels were there. Wouldn�t the appearance of Imperials scare the Rebels into evacuating? Probably not, they already knew a 160km Death Star was coming to get them. When the Imperials find Rebels or other things of interest, do they first send Scout Ships, before sending the Star Destroyers of do they immediately jump toward the battle (as what happened at Hoth 3 years later) The Rebels could escape if the Imperials first sent Scout Ships in these situations because that would be a warning of a stronger Imperial presence, but if they attack with their fleets first, the supply lines would be vulnerable to attack, being stretched more with a lack of escort vessels (like Nebulon- B frigates, etc.) and some transports would not be aware of the course changes, leaving them vulnerable also. X-wing Alliance has a smaller craft for a scout ship, but it can�t carry 200 imperial troops plus the crew with some fighter tanks though and it seems weird to land on a planet�s surface (of course, landing gear fixes that problem) That is why I say a strike cruiser landed for the advance force (weird that it wasn�t shot down by any nearby Rebel Warships, at least 2 Calamari Cruisers were in the system with other ships) Maybe the Rebels thought the ship would pass through (but the ships in orbit would be detected) Were Rebel fighters scrambled to shoot it down quickly?
Before the battle, one of General Tagge�s subordinating officers redistributed the gunners in alphabetical order about the station to try to encourage crews to become effective in any combination. Because of that, the unity between gun crews and targeting co-ordinators was shattered.
General Tagge took the Rebellion seriously realizing the Alliance Fleet was larger and more powerful than many other Imperials, but he was overruled by his superior officers, like Tarkin when it came to using his advice. It is said that �If he had taken his complaint directly to the Emperor, he may have been a "Military Hero" to a victorious Galactic Empire.� Tarkin only thought they could only �mar the surface� of the Death Star. (original and Special Edition ANH novelization)
According to the Farlander Papers, before the battle, during the night the MC80a Independence arrived to supply starfighters to Yavin Base and to get repairs from and a Imperial attack at Bestine IV. This shows the Alliance had some sort of facility, likely on the ground to be able to repair Calamari Cruisers of at least 1,200 meters long. It could also mean repair work was done in space with repair workers, or that the damage was light. That might�ve been Yavin Station. The Independence likely stayed during the battle but was orbiting the moon or elsewhere in the system.
The type of Calamari Cruiser the Independence was could carry 3 squadrons of star fighters, which is 36 craft. At the time, there were only X and Y wings and some R22 Spearheads (A-wing Prototypes) The 2 A-wings and some of the star fighters were likely provided by the Independence.
According to Classic Star Wars: Escape to Hoth, Battlefront II, and the ANH novelization it is very likely there was a Rebel fleet orbiting the moon, consisting of Rebel Dreadnaughts, the Rand Ecliptic, and several other ships likely at the time of the battle, as shown by The Imperials� expectations of a �massive defense� of Yavin IV. There was another Calamari Cruiser in the system that was immobilized by the 50lst Legion after the Battle of Yavin IV. That ship probably escaped. Yavin Base likely had several or many wings of fighters.
Dodonna�s tactical displays weren�t holographic (compare this to the Home One hologram 4 years later and Imperial Holograms), the novelization describes a hologram breaking in the battle, though. This means the Alliance did have Hologram technology as early as Yavin.
Dodonna seemed to only be able to quickly brief 2 fighter squadrons, alternatively he did it for the pilots own good, if it was earlier, they would have to worry about it and he wanted the pilots to have some fun on their possible last mission. Maybe he was afraid The Empire had other devices in the base of that the Empire could find out about it and to correct that, he did it as late as possible to make sure the Empire had the least amount of prep time.
It seems that the hangar bay for the fighters on Yavin IV was closed, and had to be opened, for a precaution against Imperial fighter and walker attacks.
Gold Squadron launched first, followed by Red Squadron judging from the hangar announcements. The picture from the movie shows X-wings, Red Squadron probably launching instead. X-wings don�t need as much maintenance as Y-wings, the reason the Y-wings pipes and stuff is left exposed is because of the ease of repairs. X-wings don�t need as much repair.
The Alliance base on Yavin IV seems to have a large amount of Astromech Droids, as shown when an Alliance Tech asked if Luke wanted another R2 unit. This was accomplished by a smuggling run to Xyquine that resulted in the death of one pilot and a lost X-wing.
It seems that X-wings use some sort of liquid fuel; X and Y-wings also aren�t immediately ready, the Astromechs are inserted for combat and need a decent amount of preparation (guns, cockpits) but this was a major battle, not a minor raid; they had to be sure.
The Main Reactor for the first Death Star appeared on the Yavin rebel pilots' briefing animation as a bulb with a diameter of just less than a tenth of that of the whole station, 16 km wide according to Curtis Saxton�s Star Wars Technical Commentaries.
Tarkin didn�t want destroy the Yavin gas giant which would�ve messed up Yavin IV, he wanted to savor the experience, and thought the Death Star is invincible. However, it could be gems in the atmosphere, or he didn�t want to take a risk with the beam�s reaction with the Gas Giant.
It took 15 minutes to scramble Alliance fighters and get them past the Gas Giant Yavin. That might be because of the Proton Torpedo loading and fueling times or fueling for what because of what happens if the mission fails, to rendezvous with other Alliance forces. Loading stomachs also added to that. However they had enough confidence to not attempt to evacuate Yavin.
The fact that �The Senators and Generals� of several planets were there showed some confidence that the Alliance gained in them and that the Imperial Senate dissolved. This also showed that this was the Alliance HQ.
The Alliance sent only 2 (4?) squadrons of star fighters, and no capital ships because of the weakness. The Cap. Ships would�ve been easily destroyed by the DS�s turbolasers. They didn�t want to risk more squadrons, as a small force could penetrate the defense, and the Empire wouldn�t take it seriously if they sent that amount of ships (and the type, only snubfighters), and TIEs wouldn�t be launched. It was likely that the Empire would ignore them completely. The Death Star�s turbo lasers were designed for Capital warships, fighter craft can evade the turbo lasers easily.
The safety features built into the targeting computer programs didn't allow weapons to fire when any portion of the station was within its sights. That weakness was exploited by the Rebels who flew courses that wouldn't allow the weapon towers to fire without risk of hitting the station.
Several (around 12?) Imperator-class Star Destroyers were in orbit of DS forming a defensive �halo� The Alliance must�ve been able to easily avoid them, since they were in snub fighters.
The Death Star doesn�t seem to have surface shields, but the Alliance caught them by surprise. The Death Star has a magnetosphere, though. The DS magnetosphere seems to be able to be able to harm or scramble X-wings� sensors; Red Squadron put their deflector shields to �double front�
It seems as the Rebel craft first met resistance from the Imperial Star Destroyers orbiting the station, which launched some of their TIE squadrons as well as tried to shoot them down using their cannons. However, the Rebel craft made it and quickly went to the surface of the station (or close enough). The Pilots commented that �there�s a lot of guns on the surface�, Was the density expected to be low, or are they still experiencing the �shock and awe� of the Death Star�s size (a 160 km diameter artificial moon with a gun that can destroy a planet, not to mention the other things on it can give you that effect)
Tarkin didn�t take the Alliance attack seriously, but Vader launched his personal squadron, Black Squadron and flew in battle himself. They weren�t even expecting a Rebel Attack, just a massive defense of Yavin IV. That defense would�ve included Alliance capital ships and wings of starfighters.
TIE fighters protected the entrance to the Death Star trench from Rebel Fighters, they had to all be destroyed so they would not �bite them in the ass� when they commenced the Trench Run.
Darth Vader realized that several Rebel fighters had broken off from the main group (Gold Squadron in their 3 Y-wings and their supporting craft), he picked two of his wingmen for his attack on the Rebels with his TIE Advanced. Throughout the battle, all Keyan Farlander could do was to fight off and clear out some of TIE Fighters.
Since the Rebel X-wings focused on the equatorial trench, Ion Cannons were also used, as most of the Death Star�s Ion Cannons were on the trench. The X-wings initially focused on the equator, forcing the resistance from gunners to focus there. The X-wings headed toward the �bulge of the station� The Trench was near the DS�s North Pole, so Y-wings �curved down and northward� over its� surface. The Y-wings had the advantage for at least one run attempt.
Deflection Towers provide shielding for the Death Star, and likely coordinate gun accuracy. The Alliance fighters shot �at anything that looked like a decent target� And huge fires (still relatively small compared to the station, not even visible from some distance. The X-wings likely surprised the Imperials and attacked vulnerable targets not being shielded due to their purpose (e.g. the shields had to be weaker for comm. Towers as they couldn�t transmit through full shields decently?) Did the deflection towers coordinate fire for part of the northern hemisphere, close to the trench and exhaust port? Did the destruction of a few towers allow Rebel fighters a huge advantage in combat, with not being shot or crashing against shielding?
Lightning arcs formed when power terminals exploded. Subsidiary explosions seem to form, like the DS II chain reaction formed after the Executor�s crash. This might�ve made the damage worse.
An X-wing can survive a fireball of a few thousand degrees Fahrenheit, at least quickly, but it can get some carbonized marks on it. X-wings have S-foils, which open into attack position when fully opened, allowing easier strafing and dog fighting. They, however can be destroyed easily by turbolasers in one shot, and the beam keeps on going after destroying the fighter (if the guns can hit them due to slow fire rate and turn speed.
Only 1 X-wing was shot down by turbo lasers, but it was being jammed, flew at a low altitude and was flying straight. Had it moved, it would�ve been safe.
X-wings did most of attacks, flying in attacks and attacking Death Star surface the most, destroying Deflector Towers and more, while Y-wings were bombers and flew in higher altitude, but probably also attacked the surface. It�s likely they engaged TIEs, also
The Outer shell of the DS was made of the same material as ISD domes, meaning it is easier to hull the surface, than damage further in.
A few kilometers above the DS� surface is where you can notice some curvature on the DS, showing it isn�t as big as it seems, only 160 km
Alliance fighter elements (formations) were in 3s and in a arrow shape. They did this because this would be the best amount and formations for a trench run, 4 or more ships in a fighter element could have the ships crash into each other and the loss of one ship could hurt the remaining ships, possibly destroying them also. Less would allow the TIEs and guns to easily stop a run.
It took a few minutes to launch Imperial TIE fighters, quickly and more efficient than the Alliance scramble time, However, the Imperial fighters were only defending, not attacking and they didn�t have secondary weapons loaded, unlike the Alliance, nor did they have to fuel up for a long trip. Those TIEs were personally launched by Darth Vader, maybe he had to overrule Tarkin in rank to be able to launch his personal squadron, Black Squadron.
TIE fighters took down at least one X-wing in open combat over the Death Star, and they could openly shoot the Death Star�s surface. The DS surface�s shields easily absorbed the laser fire, but TIE fighters only have 2 lasers, X-wings have 4. Maybe the only reason the X-wings could penetrate the shields were that 4 is more than 2. Also, many of the Death Star deflection towers were destroyed, maybe the shields are still strong enough to withstand TIE fighter blasts, but this could be a section of the station with still-functioning towers.
Turbolasers and other energy weapons firing in very large amounts and high amount of shots per minute (like at the Battle of Coruscant) can accidentally jam sensors due to their amount of energy coming out in different frequency.
The Death Star Turbolaser, Laser and Ion Cannon crews were replaced every 5-10 minutes due to fatigue, showing why Imperial warships have such a large crew for some ships (e.g. 37,085 for 1.6 km or 1 mile-long Imperator-class Star Destroyer)
When General Bast warned Tarkin of the weakness, Tarkin dismissed his warning as being paranoid, and over-estimating the Alliance�s chances. This was because: 50 Rebel Starfighters vs. One artifical moon with millions of TIEs and defensive guns that can destroy enemy. Add to that the armored hull below the thin surface and thick shields and they weren�t a problem.
Y-wings were bombers and would do the attack run first, they probably had more Proton Torpedoes, better equipment, better shields and armor, or a combination of the 2 or 3.
They used the trench for the Attack run because they needed to be under cover, if they flew above the trench in a straight line, they would be easily shot down. They needed to stay still for some time to get a lock, so they were safer in the Trench, except for TIEs
DS 1 trench run is 50 km and they started 2/3 of the way to the bottom end of the trench and moved up the trench to the pole.
The Trench run is the name of the most critical portion of the Battle of Yavin, which will allow proton torpedoes to reach the exhaust port, leading to the main reactor/core.
According to the plan, the Trench Run was to be done by the Y-Wing bombers of Gold Squadron and hit its thermal exhaust port with proton torpedoes, supported by the X-Wings of Red Squadron.
However, the Y-Wings were soon wiped by Vader in his TIE advanced and his 2 TIE fighter wingmen out so the Trench Run was taken over by the X-Wings. The ships' astromech droids redirected more power to the engines and the ships reached remarkable speed.
We don�t see any aurora near the North pole for the Trench run, nor do we see the Yavin gas giant again. Wouldn�t the northern magnetic pole be near the physical North Pole?
The Trench Exhaust Port was only ray-shielded, particle shielding would eliminate its� usefulness. It�s an emergency outlet in case of reactor meltdown.
Turbolasers can�t hit Y-wings in a small trench, they almost hit several times, though. The turbolasers stopped, allowing TIEs to attack every time. Precaution to avoid hitting TIEs, but their aim wasn�t good, so they probably would�ve hit the TIEs by mistake, if they hit anything. This was used as an indicator by the Rebels when Imperial TIEs were pursuing them.
2 TIE fighters and one TIE advanced can�t fit in the trench walls without having to change their formation so one TIE was closer to Vader�s ship. Maybe that was simple precaution, the trench walls were just a grey blur at the speed they were traveling at.
It seemed that the Alliance attack force actually outnumbered the TIEs launched, but they were at the Equator drawing away enemy fire and were constantly being destroyed in the trench.
Vader expected more Y-wings to be used, the other ones probably couldn�t do it. Vader, using the force is also a good TIE pilot, but that could simply be due to the fact that he has a TIE advanced and that the Alliance fighters were going in straight lines.
It is ironic, that Garven Dreis (Red Leader) was killed by Vader, who is Anakin Skywalker, whom he flew with in the Clone Wars.
Dodonna�s plan had backups, all 30 warships had proton torpedoes, at least 2, showing the desperation of the Rebels. The torpedoes would fire in twos into the exhaust port. One Alliance squadron covered another during the trench run.
The ammunition supplies at Yavin IV were so low which often happens with resistance movements and that many of them were recently stolen, only Squadron Leaders and a few of the best pilots carried more than a single pair of proton torpedoes on their fighters.
Turbolasers have shields, as shown when they fire. During the last trench run, attempte4d by Luke Skywalker, a white silhouette was shown around a turbolaser turret for a fraction of a second. Was thie because of the bolt interacting with the shields? Maybe.
The last atttack run had 3 X-wings and a Y-wing attack. The fate of the Y-wing is unknown. Was this Keyan Farlander�s Y-wing?
The laser bolt that fried R2-D2 damaged the top of his dome and set it on fire. Were there air-tight pockets in the Astromech and other druids, that allowed the fire to form? There was damage where the R2 unit was inside the X-wing. Maybe the bolt overloaded some circuits all over the droid. The loss of an R2 unit would make t harder to make the jump into hyperspace, navigate, pilot the ship and target, making Luke�s accomplishment more, he did it in a damaged X-wing, with a knocked-out droid, without a targeting computer and as a rookie.
The Imperials were so busy with the Alliance fighters that they didn�t notice the Falcon coming. The Falcon is a smuggler warship, maybe it jammed the Imperials of used special maneuvers and tactics. However, the most of the TIEs launched were near the equator, and only a few squadrons were near the poles.
Vader�s TIE has shields and a hyperdrive. This shows his high rank in the Imperial starfighter corps and his importance to the Empire.
The exhaust port was above the main source, and it leads right to Main Reactor, ray-shielded. Particle shielding would interfere with the function
Proton Torpedoes can do a almost 90* turn .The Proton Torpedoes would overwhelm Death Star reactor easily. Is the core especially vulnerable, or is it something else? The Proton Torpedoes hit reactor at last possible moment, before the ignition and use of the Death Star�s superlaser
Near-instantaneous explosion throughout Death Star but there were some small flashes before that, it said that the energy released was that of a miniature sun. It is so bright that �for a few seconds eternal light became day�
Most of debris would form a field. Some of it rained on Yavin and its� moons.
Unknown fate of ISDs defending DS. Were they destroyed in the explosion? If not, Why did they retreat? They could�ve continued and attacked Yavin, but were they scared away (by the fighters that destroyed their Death Star), overwhelmed by the Alliance Fleet over Yavin IV or knew they would�ve been overwhelmed?
Several High-ranking Personnel survived. TIE fighters also could�ve survived. Then Colonel Veers and General Bast survived
It seems as the 501st legion, or �Vader�s Fist� lost half of its forces and an additional 1/3 of the survivors were caught in the explosion but they were evacuating the Death Star. The commanding officer might�ve been told of the weakness and decided that the risk was too great and to save his troops. As it was �Vader�s Fist� Maybe Vader does care about his troops, as long as they don�t fail him.
The remaining Red Squadron pilots formed Rogue Squadron
Was the celebration after the battle also a funeral for all who died for the Rebel Alliance�s cause at Yavin and the other battles? The troops were standing at attention, maybe it was simple formality. This is a resistance group, so that is weird. However, the Rebels at Yavin (and many other Rebels in other places) were supported by Alderaan and were given uniforms, etc. These Rebels could mainly be Alderaanians, and have some formality (but Alderaan had no military tradition for at least 19 years, WTF) Maybe it was to remember that Alderaan was recently destroyed (not more than 24 hours ago) They applauded and �let go� after the medals were given out, so maybe it wasn�t. The Rebels were divided into various classes, pilots, soldiers, mechanics, etc. The High-ranking Rebels were in the back by the window, with the more important people like Princess Leia Organa, General Jan Dodonna and Commander Vanden Willard in front of other Rebels, likely Alliance officers or the �Senators and Generals� of the world who were at the base during the Death Star attack. Was this ceremony transmitted over the Holonet, as well as pictures of the Death Star�s destruction to get more people to join the Alliance. However, the footage of Alderaan�s destruction would do that easier.
Several TIEs crashed on Yavin IV. The battle took place far from Yavin IV, but 2 TIEs crashed there.Maybe that was the best place to crash. There were 3 moons off Yavin that can support life, but one was a desert, one was a ice planet, and the last one was the jungle. Maybe the jungle was the best for survival.
After the Battle, the Imperials did return, in some cases in less than a few hours to attack. The Imperial blockade was described as �swift� and caught some Rebels escaping and stranded others. The Rebels gained credibility after the battle. The Alliance likely began to evacuate after the battle. The Empire used a station to commit hit-and-run attacks, bur it was destroyed soon. However, it took 6 months for the Empire to blockade the moon in force and attempt to attack the base, but by then, Mon Mothma and Admiral Ackbar diverted some Imperials by attacking the Vallusk Cluster. The Yavin IV Rebels then escaped and passed the blockade by heading for Yavin�s Sun and passing when there were no solar flares. The Executor was there, but Admiral Griff�s 3 ISDs crashed into the Executor and forced the Executor to stay for some time due to catastrophic shield strength reduction, delaying the operation until the rebels escaped. (you don�t want to engage a Rebel fleet (especially a large one with Calamari Cruisers desperate to escape) with shields at a atrophic strength reduction, do you?)
Imperial Losses:
One Death Star
Over a million people died, likely more. Most of crew dead
Millions of TIE fighters on DS destroyed
AT-ATs, AT-Sts and other imperial army vehicles
Large investment in manpower and resources for construction
One moons� worth of resources (some were salvaged, though)
ISDs defending DS?
Alliance losses
8 X-wings
4 Y-wings
1 A-Wing
Imperial Objectives failed
Death Star destroyed
Yavin IV and its� Alliance base saved
Alliance Objectives succeeded
Death Star destroyed
Yavin IV saved
Sources:
Episode IV, A New Hope Movie
Sega Star Wars Arcade Trilogy
The Farlander Papers (X-wing game)
ANH novelization
Battlefront II
Rogue Squadron II
Rogue Squadron III
Classic Star Wars: Escape to Hoth
Star Wars Galaxies
Galactic Empire Databank
Star Wars Wikicities
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2006-01-25, 21:13
