Evacuation of Yavin The Evacuation of Yavin was a battle between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire that took place six months after the Battle of Yavin in 0 ABY . It was to be the final clash of the long siege of the moon before the Alliance base was evacuated . Prelude . On what was later marked as the start of a new calendar system by the New Republic , the Rebel Alliance destroyed the Galactic Empire ' s Death Star near their base on the moon Yavin 4 . Although the Rebels celebrated the destruction of the superweapon , they prepared to evacuate from their base . The Empire blockaded the system , though . Small ships were able to escape the blockade , and Rebel leader Leia Organa undertook several missions on behalf of the Rebellion . Before the blockade was in place , heavy equipment was taken away from Yavin base , although the base ' s commander , General Jan Dodonna , concluded that the personnel could be evacuated quickly , and so convinced the Rebellion ' s leader Mon Mothma to allow the base to remain in operation as an act of defiance . The Imperial leadership therefore faced a dilemma with Yavin base still in operation . They could concentrate on wiping out the base , and risk a devastating raid elsewhere by the Alliance Fleet ; or they could not focus heavily enough on blockading the system , and allow Mothma ' s forces to break the blockade . The blockade was therefore formed from a hastily - assembled task force from the House of Tagge and requisitioned from Nox Vellam , Grand Moff of the Bright Jewel Oversector , which contained the Yavin system . During the blockade , Yavin 4 was the site of several battles and retaliatory strikes . The Rebels also fought against small raiding parties . The blockade was successful in catching several Rebel units . The blockade continued for six months , angering Imperial fleet commanders , although the Supreme Commander and Sith Lord Darth Vader held off from ordering Yavin base ' s destruction while construction continued on his flagship , the Super Star Destroyer " Executor . " When it was finished , it launched toward the blockade . The Rebels used an power gem mounted on an attack ship piloted by Vrad Dodonna to delay the flagship . The move succeeded , but with the loss of Dodonna . The main portion of the Alliance Fleet was not at Yavin , though , and was able to stage a diversion to attempt to break the blockade . The battle . Defending the temple . Rebel forces under Admiral Gial Ackbar engaged Imperial ships at three locations — Kli ' aar , Pinoora , and the Vallusk Cluster — in order to trick the Imperial blockade into diverting ships to reinforce the attacked positions , leaving a space open for the Rebel fleet to go into hyperspace . However , the completed " Executor " finally arrived at Yavin 4 with Lord Vader ' s Death Squadron fleet , as well as elements of the personal fleet of Baron Tagge , and the battle began . TIE / LN starfighter and scouts on 74 - Z speeder bikes scoured the moon for stragglers . Survivors of the Death Star combined their ranks and moved against the Rebel ' s main base . Imperial All Terrain Scout Transports , stormtroopers , shock troopers , scout troopers , and Imperial Army pilots fought against Rebel troopers , snipers , Wookiee soldiers , and vanguard divisions around a set of ruins and a Fountain near the base . The Rebels defeated those forces , buying time for the evacuation . General Dodonna ordered the base ' s fighters and transports to escape though he refused to evacuate himself until everyone had left . During the assault , the Empire launched an array of vehicles including A5 Juggernauts along with All Terrain Armored Transport and All Terrain Scout Transports carried on - board Y - 85 Titan dropships , and PX - 4 Mobile Command Base s . TIE Fighters and TIE / sa bombers also shelled the jungle area . Other Rebel forces included Rebel Armored Freerunners . The Rebel operatives X2 and Shara fought against Imperial forces during the battle . X2 helped destroy a TX - 130T fighter tank , and went into the base to activate the evacuation signal . A TIE bomber blew the comm tower , though , and X2 was forced activate turrets to destroy the bombers , then went out to repair the tower . X2 took a T4 - B heavy tank to make his way to the waterfall . He then used his Force powers to jump to the top of the tower and used a fusioncutter to repair the tower . He then took control of an anti - air gun to defend the tower from more bombers . X2 then retreated to the hangar and took an X - wing starfighter . Lord Vader personally led a force of stormtroopers and dewback troopers in an attack on the main Rebel base , but he was caught in a fight with the Rebel forces from two other bases , Falcon Base and Raven Base . Although he was harassed by scouts on swoops , he proceeded to destroy both outposts , which were defended by troopers , cavalry units , and T1 - B hovertank s . After eliminating the Rebel troop center s and Mech factories , he was supplied with reinforcements , including 2 AT - STs and TIE bombers . The force pushed all the way up to the Rebel ' s Massassi Temple and destroyed the missile turrets to allow for an aerial bombardment . Vader commented that they had a " special surprise " waiting for when the air defenses were down . Evacuating . After the evacuation order had been given , a smaller Imperial force had pushed their way through to the Massassi Temple . However , Commander Col Serra and his newly created fighting force , Renegade Squadron , pushed back the Imperials and set up a perimeter to keep the Imperials busy while the evacuation proceeded . The door to the temple jammed , so a jetpack - equipped Squadron member jumped through a hole and repaired the door , as well as a turret to defend the temple . Another TX - 130T fighter tank then arrived , and Serra ordered the squadron to destroy it . The group then captured a position near the Pyramid , killing at least four stormtroopers . A scout trooper managed to steal communication logs from the Temple , and the Squadron hunted the trooper and recovered the logs . Serra then ordered the Squadron to destroy three Data Banks with sensitive information to prevent them from falling into Imperial hands before escaping . Dodonna had planted several concussion charges , which decimated a whole squadron of TIE Interdictors as they attacked the Temple . It was believed that the General had died in action , though it was later revealed he had been captured and imprisoned in the Star Dreadnought and prison " Lusankya " . A mind - scan conducted on the captive officer revealed the Rebel ' s plan to attack the agriworld Reytha . Over the moon , X2 joined with Commander Serra and took out a communications array on a Star Destroyer to prevent reinforcements from being called in . They then boarded the ship , and X2 sabotaged the reactor core . The two escaped before the ship blew . The evacuated Rebels rendezvoused in orbit to run the blockade . Vader , on - board his flagship , deliberately left a weak spot in the blockade to try to trap Luke Skywalker , the pilot who had destroyed the Death Star . The Rebel fleet moved within range of the " Executor " , but Admiral Amise Griff , commanding three Star Destroyers , made a hyperspace jump to cover the hole , and his three starships crashed into Vader ' s flagship , allowing the Rebels an instant in which to escape into hyperspace . Meanwhile , Commander Keyan Farlander , having been reassigned from the " Independence " to the " Defiance " to aid in the evacuation of the Rebels , was commissioned to fly an R - 22 Spearhead < ref name = " A / R - 22 " > Although both the game " X - Wing Tour of Duty : Imperial Pursuit " and the " X - Wing " strategy guides referred to the ship as an A - wing , the time period of the evacuation would actually make it the R - 22 Spearhead , the A - wing ' s predecessor . < / ref > under the call sign of " Red 1 " to escort the five CR90 Corvette group " Crescent " , which had been carrying the last of the evacuated staff from Yavin . Upon arriving from hyperspace to the Frigate ' s rendezvous point , while verifying the location of the corvettes from his inflight map , Farlander noticed a squadron of Imperial " Alpha " - class Xg - 1 Star Wing Assault Gunboats attacking a group of four supply freighters 16 kilometers away . As he was too far away from them to save them in time ( due to their shields already failing ) as well as his immediate orders being to guard the corvettes , he let them be destroyed . He then reviewed his mission start - up procedures and cycled through the corvettes to inspect their contents , before assigning the lead ship to memory . Farlander then increased his own shields to maximum , just in time for the Nebulon - B Frigate " Red Wind " exit hyperspace from 10 kilometers away . The " Red Wind " then proceeded to launch two TIE / LN starfighters from Eta squadron , and four TIE / sa bombers . Farlander then went after the TIE Bombers , also intercepting several TIE fighters ( including doing hull damage to the TIE fighter " Eta 1 " ) . He kept his focus on the TIE bombers , viewing them as the priority threat . Afterwards , the " Red Wind " launched Beta Squadron of TIE Bombers . He also had to evade the " Red Wind " gunners while tailing the bombers , due to being in close proximity to the frigate . Farlander then continued to defend Rebel transports as they reached one hyperspace jump point , and was eventually assisted by the arrival of Blue Squadron Aftermath . During the blockade , Skywalker had discovered an ice world called Hoth . He suggested that a command center for the Alliance could be established there if necessary . The evacuated Rebels hoped to establish a base on Hoth , but they had to replenish their supplies first . After escaping the blockade , the Heroes of Yavin were forced to battle the starship " Hungry Ghost . " Renegade Squadron searched for a new base . After his failure to capture the Rebel leadership , Vader continued his search for Skywalker . In 2 ABY , the Rebels were able to take refuge on Hoth , beginning the construction of a new base . Behind the scenes . The evacuation of Yavin was first mentioned in , and appeared in the " Doom Mission " and " Race for Survival " comic strips in 1983 . Other sources released since then expanded on the battle . In the Darth Vader campaign 2001 video game " " , Mara Jade can be spotted on the game map during the battle . After she is spotted , Vader exclaims " What ' s this ? ! " and Jade leaves on a " Sentinel " - class landing craft . However , since it is required to use cheat codes to see her , her appearance is likely an easter - egg and its canon status is dubious . In addition , the same game also implies that Darth Vader killed Jan Dodonna shortly after learning about Rebel activities on Raythar . Also , if the TIE Interdictors are moved far enough from the temple when it explodes , they will not be destroyed . One source which includes the evacuation is the 2004 video game " " , although the storyline is considered S - canon by Leland Chee , the Keeper of the Lucasfilm Ltd . Holocron continuity database . The battle also appears in the game ' s 2009 sequel , " , " although only in the PlayStation Portable version . A seeming continuity error was created by " Imperial Spy " , which placed Q - 7N at the Evacuation of Yavin and the preceding evacuation preparation . This clashes with , which shows Q - 7N ' s destruction , and , subsequently , the Rebels returning to Yavin Four . However , in Imperial Spy , Q - 7N does not appear in the last set of frames , which show the Rebels after the evacuation . It is possible that the events of the final Missions arc took place during the events of Imperial Spy , though this has not been confirmed . However , it is also possible that Imperial Spy shows an entirely different event , after which the Rebels returned to Yavin .