Battle of Orion IV
- "Planet has been secured."
- ―An Imperial stormtrooper reports on the assault on Orion IV
The Battle of Orion IV took place during Operation Strike Fear early on in the Galactic Civil War.
Prelude
In 1 BBY,[2] the Galactic Empire sent a task force of ten Imperial-class Star Destroyers to eliminate a Rebel Alliance fleet near the planet Turkana in the Pakuuni sector. The attack was defeated when the Alliance forces used their T-65 X-wing starfighters to inflict heavy damage to two of the Star Destroyers, forcing the Imperials to withdraw without destroying a single Rebel capital ship.[4]
Shocked by the loss at Turkana, Emperor Palpatine ordered a major offensive code named Operation Strike Fear. Aimed at suppressing Rebel opposition and spreading fear of the Empire, the campaign's first target was Brigia,[1] a planet in the Tion Hegemony[5] which was the site of the Alliance's headquarters.[6] After learning about Operation Strike Fear, Alliance High Command ordered a precautionary evacuation of the Brigia base. The evacuation was interrupted by Imperial forces, but the High Command and key personnel were able to escape.[1] General Jan Dodonna relocated the headquarters to Orion IV,[7] a manufacturing world in the Tion Cluster which was on the verge of open rebellion against the Empire.[8]
The battle
The base on Orion IV quickly became Operation Strike Fear's next target.[1] A fleet of at least six Imperial-class Star Destroyers[3] entered orbit of the planet and performed a targeted turbolaser orbital bombardment before Imperial ground forces began their assault on the surface. All Terrain Armored Transports advanced on the Rebel base, with Alpha-class Xg-1 Star Wings providing aerial support against the Rebel defenses,[1] including the R-22 Spearhead starfighter.[9]
With the Rebel opposition defeated, Imperial stormtroopers moved in to secure the planet. The Rebel base was heavily damaged during the battle and several rebel pilots stationed there were captured by Imperial forces,[1] but the Alliance was able to evacuate the base.[10]
Aftermath
General Dodonna again relocated the Alliance headquarters,[7] moving to several other worlds before establishing a new main base on Dantooine[6] in the Raioballo sector.[11] Alliance Intelligence learned that Operation Strike Fear's next target was Rudrig,[1] also in the Tion Cluster,[8] and the Rebels launched an operation to delay the anticipated attack by preventing the Imperial forces from being resupplied. Operation Strike Fear continued[1] until later in 1 BBY,[2] when the Alliance destroyed its command ship, the Star Destroyer Invincible, by planting a stolen Imperial explosive device aboard the ship.[1]
Behind the scenes
The Battle of Orion IV is seen in a cutscene of the game Star Wars: X-Wing, which also shows AT-ATs advancing. However according to the (by 5 years) later game Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds, AT-AT walkers were introduced to the Empire by Maximilian Veers only shortly before the Battle of Hoth, and clearly after the Battle of Yavin. In 2006, Star Wars: Empire at War showed Veers testing AT-ATs before the Battle of Yavin.
Since Veers conducted tests of an experimental AT-AT model in Galactic Battlegrounds, these can be rationalized as earlier, pre-Veers models.
Appearances
- Star Wars: X-Wing (First appearance)
Sources
- Star Wars Encyclopedia
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
Essential Atlas Extra: The History of Xim and the Tion Cluster on StarWars.com (article) (backup link not verified!)- Star Wars: Age of Rebellion Core Rulebook
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 Star Wars: X-Wing
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Battle of Turkana takes place after the X-wing starfighter entered service with the Alliance to Restore the Republic, which The Essential Guide to Warfare places in 1 BBY. X-Wing: The Official Strategy Guide establishes that the capture of Leia Organa occurs at the end of Star Wars: X-Wing's second tour of duty. Organa's capture takes place on 35:3:3 under the Great ReSynchronization dating system, placing it at the beginning of 0 BBY according to the following explanation. Events in Star Wars: X-Wing before the end of the second tour of duty therefore take place in 1 BBY.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Star Wars: X-Wing cutscene depicts a "Star Destroyer fleet orbiting a Rebel base on the planet Orion IV." Only four Star Destroyers are visible on screen, but turbolaser fire is seen coming from two more ships off-screen.
- ↑ Star Wars: Imperial Handbook: A Commander's Guide
- ↑ The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, Vol. I, p. 94 ("Brigia")
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 The New Essential Chronology
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 The New Essential Guide to Characters
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Essential Atlas Extra: The History of Xim and the Tion Cluster on StarWars.com (article) (backup link not verified!)
- ↑ An RZ-1 A-wing interceptor can be seen in the Star Wars: X-Wing cutscene. The A-wing was introduced following the Battle of Yavin according to sources released before X-Wing, including the Rebel Alliance Sourcebook. C-3PO: Tales of the Golden Droid and The New Essential Guide to Characters introduced the R-22 Spearhead starfighter as the basis for the A-wing's design, retconning the A-wings seen in X-Wing before the Battle of Yavin. The Written Word established "A-wing" as an informal nickname for the older starfighter among Rebel pilots.
- ↑ Star Wars: Age of Rebellion Core Rulebook
- ↑ The Essential Atlas