Second Battle of Ord Biniir The Second Battle of Ord Biniir , also simply known as the Battle of Ord Biniir , took place in 0 ABY , during the Galactic Civil War . A few days prior , a group of Rebel Alliance Y - wing starfighters had managed to capture the planet Ord Biniir from Imperial control in the First Battle of Ord Biniir . In response , the Empire launched an operation to retake Ord Biniir , which included the second squadron of the 181st Imperial Fighter Wing under the command of Captain Soontir Fel . With the help of the 2 / 181st , the Imperial counterattack was a success , and the Empire wiped out the Rebel forces occupying Ord Biniir . Although the battle was only a minor victory , it took place the same day as the Battle of Yavin and the destruction of the first Death Star battlestation , causing Imperial propaganda to mark the Second Battle of Ord Biniir as a major victory and to regard Fel as a hero of the Empire . Prelude . In 0 ABY , during the Galactic Civil War between the Galactic Empire and the Rebel Alliance , the Alliance successfully took the planet Ord Biniir in the Outer Rim Territories from Imperial control in the First Battle of Ord Biniir . The battle — which pitted the Empire ' s 233rd fighter wing against a large force of Alliance BTL Y - wing starfighter s — was a resounding victory for the Rebellion , and the Empire subsequently planned to launch an operation to retake Ord Biniir . Part of the operation involved air cover provided by the TIE / LN starfighter s of the second squadron of the 181st Imperial Fighter Wing , led by the disgraced Captain Soontir Fel . Fel had previously been a flight instructor at the Empire ' s Prefsbelt Fleet Camp when several of his former trainees defected to the Alliance , and , as a result , he was transferred over to the disreputable 181st . However , upon taking command of the 2 / 181st , Fel transformed his new squadron into a respectable fighting unit fit for battle . Shortly before the battle , the captured Rebel sympathizer Princess Leia Organa claimed that the Alliance ' s main base was on the planet Dantooine , near Ord Biniir . With the Imperial task force already on its way to Ord Biniir , Imperial Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin ordered a detachment of the task force to inspect Dantooine to see if Organa ' s statement was true . The task force complied with their new orders , and the detachment soon discovered that the Dantooine base was in fact abandoned . The battle . The Empire soon launched its invasion of Ord Biniir , with the 2 / 181st engaging the Rebellion ' s Y - wing starfighters defending the planet . Despite the Rebel starfighters previously defeating an entire wing , the 2 / 181st — thanks to Fel ' s leadership and guidance — were able to fight off the enemy Y - wings , destroying many of them . At the same time , Fel ' s squadron strafed a Rebel - controlled building protected by a number of anti - aircraft gun s , neutralizing resistance enough for the Empire to land its " Lambda " - class T - 4a shuttles , which dispensed stormtroopers to capture the rest of Ord Biniir . After intense fighting , the Empire had either killed or captured the majority of the Alliance soldiers on Ord Biniir . Aftermath . By the end of the battle , Ord Biniir was once again under Imperial control , due in large part to Fel and the 2 / 181st . Although the skirmish was in reality a minor victory in the larger galactic conflict , the battle took place on the same day as the Battle of Yavin , in which the Rebellion scored its largest triumph yet against the Empire by destroying the first Death Star , an Imperial battlestation powerful enough to destroy an entire planet . Because of the crushing defeat at Yavin 4 , Imperial propaganda glorified Fel ' s part in the Second Battle of Ord Biniir , hoping to distract the public ' s attention from the Yavin debacle . Fel was given the rank of major , and a very elaborate gala event that depicted him as a hero of the Empire was held for him on the galactic capital planet Coruscant . In 4 ABY , Fel , by then an Imperial colonel , was captured by the New Republic during the Battle of Brentaal IV . In his interrogation by New Republic personnel following his capture , Fel recounted the events surrounding the Second Battle of Ord Biniir , as well as other portions of his life . Behind the scenes . The Second Battle of Ord Biniir was first mentioned in the twenty - second issue of the " " comic series , " " . The battle was later expanded upon in the twenty - fifth issue of the same series , " " , in a flashback sequence . Ord Biniir ' s entry in " The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia " states that the Second Battle of Ord Biniir was not widely celebrated by the Empire , as it occurred on the same day as the Battle of Yavin . However , this contradicts " The Making of Baron Fel " , which states that because the battle took place on the same day as the Battle of Yavin , the Empire venerated its victory at Ord Biniir , even holding an award ceremony on Coruscant for Captain Fel . For consistency , this article assumes that the battle was widely celebrated .