Blizzard Force / Legends Blizzard Force was an Imperial cold assault stormtrooper unit , an elite formation within the Stormtrooper Corps specializing in cold - weather operations . It is most famous for serving as the core of the ground assault force that attacked Echo Base during the Battle of Hoth , under the command of General Maximilian Veers . Because of their frequent use of All Terrain Armored Transport walkers , their logo was adorned with an AT - AT . Operational history . Blizzard Force were not part of Death Squadron ' s integrated surface - warfare forces , but were called on at General Veers ' suggestion when the Rebel Alliance ' s headquarters was located on the frigid world of Hoth . Not only were they the ideal troops to attack a snow - bound target , but they were well - positioned to assist , so that the fleet needed only to make a brief rendezvous to take aboard the extra troops before proceeding on to the target . For the assault on Echo Base , the snowtroopers were combined with armored units already under Veers ' command , foremost among them being the elite Thundering Herd AT - AT squadron . The final assault force consisted of least nine AT - ATs ( led by " Blizzard 1 " ) , plus a number of HAVw A5 Juggernaut s , AT - STs ( led by " Blizzard Scout 1 " ) , AT - ARs , and AT - PTs , a 74 - Z speeder bike snow scout patrol , plus the infantry of Blizzard Force itself . Some stormtroopers from the 501st Legion also apparently participated in the battle , wearing snowtrooper armor : these may have been the troops who accompanied Lord Darth Vader on his arrival at the base . Blizzard Force , under General Veers ' direction from the lead walker , " Blizzard 1 " , succeeded in capturing Echo Base , despite the loss of a number of walkers to the terrain and to enemy action . Although the heavy armor of the AT - ATs made them virtually immune to laser fire , three vehicles of Colonel Starck ' s group were lost to ice crevasses in the Kerane Valley , while Rogue Squadron , led by Luke Skywalker , attacked in snowspeeders , using their magnetic harpoons and tow cables to entangle the walkers ' feet and thus topple them . Four Imperial walkers , including " Blizzard 2 " were destroyed by Antilles ' strafing attack while thus immobilized , and the undamaged " Blizzard 4 " and another AT - AT were destroyed by Skywalker ' s concussion grenades from the ground . Derek Klivian eventually succeeded in breaching the cockpit armor of " Blizzard 1 " , severely injuring Veers himself . By this point , however , the Rebels ' shield generator had been destroyed , and their defensive perimeter had been broken . Additional troops led by Lord Vader in person deployed from the orbiting Star Destroyers , and the snowtroopers entered the ice - hewn tunnels of Echo Base . The Battle of Hoth marked a decisive victory for the Empire , driving the Rebel Alliance in headlong retreat from their command base and going some way to avenge the defeat at Yavin . The contribution of the 501st Legion to the battle was called their finest hour . However , while all Imperial objectives were achieved , and in numerical terms , the loss of a relative handful of troops in the battle was entirely acceptable , one of the Empire ' s elite assault units had sustained heavy casualties against inferior and improvised defenses . General Veers was left badly injured and the ice - plains of Hoth were strewn with the wreckage of downed AT - ATs . Callsigns of Blizzard Force . AT - AT ' s AT - ST ' s