Attack on Yavin 4 Following the destruction of the first Death Star battlestation at the Battle of Yavin , the Galactic Empire invaded the Rebel Alliance base on Yavin 4 in an attempt to capture the Rebel leaders as an act of retribution . Prelude . In 0 ABY , the Alliance to Restore the Republic had struck a large blow against the Galactic Empire when Rebel starfighters attacked and destroyed the Death Star during the Battle of Yavin . Some time after , the Empire reacted to the Death Star ' s demise by sending a large Imperial force to invade the Rebel base on Yavin 4 . The invasion . The Imperials sent a larger attack than usual against the base , determined to crush the Rebels at last . Red Squadron , led by Commander Luke Skywalker , were ordered to take out the Imperial transport s that were landing on the planet . During Red Squadron ' s attack on the Imperial transports , Skywalker , before destroying the fourth transport , briefly entered the immense ship with his X - wing to pick up advanced shield technology for future use , having spotted them . Upon the destruction of the remaining four transports , the invasion was temporarily stalled . A TIE fighter then ambushed Luke only for it to be shot down by Red Three , Sarkli . Afterward , the second wave of Imperial transports , consisting of loader shuttles , arrived to strengthen the ground forces . The Rebel General Jan Dodonna then ordered Red Squadron to shoot down the loader shuttles , as well as defend the final Rebel transport " Luminous " that was currently docked on one of the islands near the temple until it was ready for takeoff . Afterward , the " Luminous " managed to escape . After a majority of the loader shuttles and dropships were destroyed , a transport slipped through defenses and deployed a stormtrooper force into the Great Temple , pinning General Dodonna in the Ceremonial Chamber . Skywalker ordered Sarkli to defend the transports , while he and Wedge Antilles landed in the temple and shot their way through the attackers . The two managed to save Captain Bren Derlin and Dodonna , and a squad of Rebel troopers , and proceeded to the entrance of the base , where they were pinned down by two AT - STs . Sarkli swooped down and destroyed the walkers , allowing the group to escape in a GR - 75 medium transport . General Dodonna then thanked Skywalker , as he felt it was because of Skywalker sending Sarkli off that there were survivors . Aftermath . However , there was still an Imperial blockade awaiting them in space . In addition , Emperor Palpatine expressed his displeasure at the turn of events , although Darth Vader revealed that it was only a temporary setback . Red Squadron was next deployed to Dantooine to aid the defection of Tycho Celchu . Although an Imperial victory , the battle was also seen as a Rebel victory , because the Rebel command was safely evacuated . However , not all Rebel commanders were evacuated during this battle , two examples being Bothan High Command and General Jan Dodonna , who were still on Yavin IV after the battle . Bothan High Command was destroyed during another battle whilst Jan Dodonna was captured during the final battle of Yavin . Behind the scenes . In the 2002 video game " " , a level called " Revenge on Yavin " takes place on Yavin ' s fourth moon . The level sees the player , as Darth Vader , attempt to destroy several Rebel GR - 75 medium transports before they can leave the moon ' s surface . They are defended by BTL Y - wing starfighter s and T - 65 X - wing starfighter s , and occasionally , T - 47 airspeeders can be seen speeding across the moon ' s surface . Additionally , in this level , the planet Yavin is seen in background a purple color , rather than the usual orange . This level , as well as a similar level which had the player take control of Vader during the Battle of Yavin to prevent the Death Star ' s destruction , were apparently intended to tease the planned spinoff game " " before the latter game was ultimately passed over in favor for another game starring Chewbacca . The canonical battle , called " Revenge of the Empire " , appears in the 2003 video game " , " with the player flying as Luke Skywalker . In addition , the bonus mission was likewise omitted from the co - op mode for " Rebel Strike " ( which was itself a port of " Rogue Leader " ) , presumably to avoid confusion . The level was designed by Jamie Urmacher , who wanted to create a basic level for players who hadn ' t played a Rogue Squadron game before Rebel Strike . As such , the TIEs were also added in so the players could rack up points for medals and have a challenge . As there was no reference from the movie , Steve Huelsback composed original music for the level .