Battle of Tatooine ( Galactic Civil War ) The First Battle of Tatooine in the Galactic Civil War was a series of battles and skirmishes in the Tatoo system , primarily on the planet Tatooine , within a few days before the climactic Battle of Yavin . It resulted in the capture of Princess Leia Organa by Darth Vader . Many of the local Rebel enemies of the Galactic Empire were captured or killed , with most operations being carried out in parts by the Desert Sands and the renowned 501st Legion of stormtroopers . Prelude . The battle was part of the Galactic Civil War , a major conflict that opposed the Galactic Empire and the Alliance to Restore the Republic . An unwitting instigator to the battle was the disguised Alderaanian diplomatic corvette " Tantive IV " , being used as an important vessel in the Rebel Alliance fleet , most notably in the operation to steal the plans of the Death Star : the new Imperial superweapon . The theft of these plans was the aim of the wider Operation Skyhook . It successfully occurred during a distracting Rebel prisoner revolt on the Death Star , being supplemented by partial documents stolen during the Battle of Danuta and the Battle of Toprawa . Immediately , an Imperial assault on a makeshift Rebel base on Polis Massa was initiated , being tasked with retaking the stolen plans . This , however , failed in recovering the lost schematics . Nonetheless , the information they did receive on Polis Massa caused them to conclude that the Alderaanian Senator and Princess Leia Organa was involved in the theft . As Alderaan had been a nuisance to the Empire for years , it came as little shock to the 501st legion . The next attempt in the recovery effort involved the Emperor Palpatine ' s feared enforcer , Sith Lord Darth Vader , taking his legion of Imperial stormtroopers , the 501st Legion , to where the " Tantive IV " was harbored — within the Tatoo system . They managed to track the " Tantive IV " with the unknowing aid of the protocol droid U - 3PO , who had earlier been programmed to act as a sleeper agent and covertly placed on the ship ' s droid pool on Ralltiir . The information that the " Tantive IV " held the plans had been obtained by captured Rebels , as well as a Bothan who revealed it to the Emperor on Bothawui . The battle . Recovering the plans . Upon reaching the Tatoo system , the Imperial fleet was ambushed by a pirate fleet near the planet Tatooine . Upon taking out most of the pirate attackers , the Navy then hid in the surrounding nebulas , avoiding detection by Rebel Alliance Blue Squadron , led by Raymus Antilles , who were scouting the area . When " Tantive IV " moved toward the uplink station , " Interdictor " - class cruisers were activated , preventing it from escaping . A clash between the Imperial fleet and the Alliance fleet broke out , with both sides taking several casualties in the crossfire . The Star Destroyer " Devastator " pursued " Tantive IV " out of the battlefield and chased it around the planet Tatooine , Vader ' s homeworld . A laser bolt hit near the engine section of the " Tantive IV " , disabling the main reactor and preventing the vessel from entering Tatooine ' s atmosphere . The " Devastator " moved in and caught the corvette in a tractor beam . Vader then dispatched a TIE boarding craft filled up with troops , to board and secure the ship as soon as possible , but later the crew of the destroyer attached a portable accessway to the corvette . " Devastator " also captured what they thought was " Tantive IV " , but in fact it was just a decoy called " Tantive V " . After searching the ship and finding no one except Gungans , " Tantive V " was set adrift into space and the " Devastator " continued to pursue " Tantive IV " . Inside the Tantive IV . As troopers of the 501st Legion stormed the hallways of " Tantive IV " , a skirmish erupted between them and Rebel troopers defending the ship , with one of the stormtroopers being killed just as he boarded the ship . Due to the use of grenades , both sides incurred heavy casualties , but the 501st broke through , capturing the main Rebel barracks and clearing the way for Lord Vader ' s arrival . Vader himself was personally displeased with Tatooine being the location of their capture of the " Tantive IV " , due to it being his hated homeworld and it bringing back bad memories of the last time he saw his mother . Vader personally destroyed all security terminals on the bridge , in order to send the defenses into disarray , and disabled a turbine console to steal a set of access codes , in an attempt to gain entry to the ship ' s escape pod bays . He and a set of Imperial bodyguards then set out through the corridors , killing some Rebel troopers and capturing many more . The team then stormed the cockpit of the corvette . During the initial lightfight , the astromech droid R2 - D2 and protocol droid C - 3PO slipped through the confusion , but eventually ended up separated . R2 - D2 then met with Princess Leia Organa . Organa , anticipating that she was cornered with no option of escape , ordered R2 - D2 to use the escape pods to ensure the plans weren ' t recovered by the Imperials , and managed to record a SOS transmission intended for Kenobi , requesting for his assistance in delivering the stolen plans to her father , Bail Organa , on Alderaan . Sensing someone arriving , she then hastily placed the datadisk containing all the pieces of the Death Star blueprints , and left for the shadows just as C - 3PO arrived looking for the R2 unit . R2 then suggested to C - 3PO to follow him to the escape pod section . During the first stages Vader captured most of the soldiers , including the ship ' s captain , Raymus Antilles . He dealt with Antilles personally . In addition , while escorting the already captured soldiers as well as searching the vessel , the Imperials also had their droids R2 - Q2 and R4 - M9 scour the ship ' s databanks for the stolen Death Star plans . However , the 501st commander reported back to Vader with bad news : the stolen plans were no longer on the ship ' s main computer . This resulted in Vader interrogating Antilles by stranglehold on their transmission interceptions relating to the plans , and what they ' d done with them . Antilles attempted to deny any interceptions and that the " Tantive IV " was on a diplomatic mission due to being a consular ship . Vader then questioned where the ambassador was , but Antilles died before he could answer , Vader having crushed his neck . Vader then proceeded to order the 501st Legion to search for the missing plans and also locate and retrieve the passengers , including the ambassador and bring them to him alive . After giving this command , Vader proceeded to utilize an IT - O interrogator droid on several of the remaining prisoners to extract any information on any knowledge of the Death Star plans . The 501st Legion then managed to find the ambassador , who was none other than Alderaanian Senator and Princess Leia Organa , whom they proceeded to stun , with DV - 692 performing the actual stun , although not before one of the soldiers ended up shot by Organa in the chest , killing him . Vader then personally confronted her , and ordered for her arrest under the charge of treason , unaware at the time that she was his own daughter . Shortly afterward , Commander Daine Jir protested Vader ' s decision , citing that it carried too much risk of generating sympathy among the Imperial Senate towards her plight and thus worsen the situation regarding their fight against the Rebels , although Vader reminded him that she was their only link to the secret Rebel Base . When Jir pointed out she ' s more likely to die than tell him anything , Vader assured him to leave it to him to get it out of her , before promptly ordering for a distress signal to be sent to nearby vessels , and then report that the " Tantive IV " hit a meteor storm and all onboard had been killed due to the ship ' s destruction . In addition , the " Devastator " also destroyed any escape pods that were utilized by any escaping Rebel personnel . The Rebel protocol droid C - 3PO , along with R2 - D2 , an astromech droid vital to the Rebellion , subsequently escaped the ship : R2 - D2 having secretly obtained the Death Star schematics Vader had been so eager to recover . R2 - D2 chose to escape via an escape pod despite droids being forbidden , both due to Leia ' s orders , and due to prior experience in the Maramere system . The " Devastator " also prepared to destroy the escape pod C - 3PO and R2 - D2 were on , but stopped when they realized that it contained no life signs , and subsequently dismissed it as a malfunction . Nonetheless , they reported the incident to Vader via Commander Nahdonnis Praji shortly after ordering Jir to send the fake distress signal , who deduced that the escape pod must have been where Leia stashed the Death Star plans , and ordered them to search Tatooine for the plans , and for Praji specifically to personally see to it as well . The planet Tatooine had already been scouted some time ago by Imperial operatives who had not reported any Rebel presence on the world . Meanwhile , a distress signal was sent to a Rebel base on Kolaador . Soon after the capture of the " Tantive IV " , a small squadron of X - wings arrived from Kolaador . Commander Ru Murleen , Rookie One and Thurlow Harris , flew their fighters in space above Tatooine and turned their weapons towards an " Imperial " - class Star Destroyer . Using their proton torpedoes , they managed to strike a critical blow and headed to the surface . However they were not in time to prevent three TIE / LN starfighter s from attacking and destroying their base , located near Anchorhead . Acting quickly to prevent the TIEs reporting their presence back to their commanders , Rookie One gave chase through Beggar ' s Canyon and destroyed all three Imperial fighters . Captain Merrick Simms survived the destruction of the Anchorhead base flying in his X - wing and then joined the three other Rebels . Desert Extermination . Darth Vader ordered Commander Praji to lead personally the search the Death Star plans on Tatooine ' s surface . He assigned Captain Kosh ' s local garrison to the task , while Commander Jir ' s 501st was readied . These events coincided with the arrival of the Star Destroyer " Inquisitor " in the system . Under command of General Malcor Brashin , the " Inquisitor " was carrying Captain Terrik and his Desert Sands for training exercises and eventually to relieve the 37th Detachment stationed on the planet . Primarily , the Star Destroyer accompanied the Desert Sands to test the experimental Battlefield Holographic Control Interface during the exercises of Captain Terrik ' s troopers . Alerted to the situation , the Desert Sands quickly landed on the planet to undertake the search for the Rebel corvette ' s escape pod . Split into Alvien , Drax and Zeta Squadron s , the sandtroopers explored the deserts of Tatooine for hours . Terrik personally commanded Zeta Squadron which was assisted by dewbacks , one HAVr A9 floating fortress and two Arunskin 32 cargo skiff s from the local garrison . As Imperial sandtroopers attempted to construct command stations in the Dune Sea , they were assaulted by the fierce , nomadic Tusken Raiders . Soon after , Rebel soldiers appeared and a three - way battle broke out near the Tusken camps stationed around a fierce Sarlacc . The Rebels were able to deploy some Rebel combat speeder s and X - wings to support their troops but the small army was completely eradicated by Imperial forces . The crashed escape pod was eventually found in the Dune Sea by Davin Felth of Zeta Squadron . The sandtroopers discovered evidence that the pod ' s occupants were droids , in the form of one of C - 3PO ' s o - rings . They followed a trail leading away from the escape pod and discovered that the droids had been intercepted by a Jawa sandcrawler . They eventually intercepted the digger crawler , where they learned from the Jawas that the droids had been already sold to moisture farmers . Captain Terrik then ordered his men to attack the sandcrawler , leaving no survivors among the Jawas . To cover up the Imperial attack on the Jawas , they left gaffi sticks nearby in order to implicate a Tusken Raider raid as being responsible for the attack . The Imperials then largely destroyed the Sandcrawler with a Reconnaissance Troop Transporter . The Imperials then proceeded to pay a visit to the moisture farm that had purchased the droids . Its inhabitants , Owen and Beru Lars , not only refused to hand the droids over , but their patriarch , Owen Lars , also spat at Terrik . The soldiers , under Vader ' s personal orders via hologram , noticed that a landspeeder was missing from their garage . The Sith Lord ordered the establishing of checkpoints to detain any droids entering Mos Espa or Mos Eisley spaceports . Vader eventually watched the troopers carry out his orders on their helpless victims . They executed Lars and Beru and cremated their remains . The droids were in fact in possession of their nephew : Luke Skywalker . After this new failure , Captain Terrik ordered the troopers to regroup in the city of Mos Eisley , the only way to leave the planet for any fugitive . Siege of Mos Eisley . Luke Skywalker and the droids eventually arrived in Mos Eisley , a spaceport renowned as a magnet for outcasts , crooks , and intergalactic escapees . With their new unexpected ally , Jedi Master Obi - Wan Kenobi , they wished to find a transport in order to leave the planet and bring the Death Star plans to Alderaan . But Mos Eisley was believed to be the refuge of the fugitive droids dispatched by the Rebellion . With the stolen schematics in its databanks , R2 - D2 had become a high - priority Imperial target and Imperial sandtroopers scattered throughout the city , to retrieve information about the stolen plans . Ironically , the sandtroopers ended up unwittingly allowing the wanted droids to pass by , thanks to a mind trick placed by Obi - Wan Kenobi . A few local Rebels , using guerrilla tactics , kept the sandtroopers on their toes by coming out through alleys , striking suddenly , and then shrinking away . Armed stormtroopers , some on dewbacks , casually strolled through neighborhoods and homes , interrogating anyone they wished . Luke Skywalker , Obi - Wan Kenobi , and the droids made their way to the Mos Eisley cantina in order to look for a pilot to the Alderaan system . There , they finally met with the pilot who would soon fly them : Han Solo , and his copilot Chewbacca . In the cantina , Skywalker encountered the Aqualish scoundrel Ponda Baba , who threatened to kill him . In defense of the young man , Kenobi was forced to use his lightsaber , removing Baba ' s arm . A patron , Garouf Lafoe , rushed to notify the Imperial troops upon witnessing a scuffle including a man wielding a lightsaber . Upon the troops ' arrival , Luke and Obi - Wan had already vacated the premises . Meanwhile , the spy Garindan informed the stormtroopers of the droids ' location , and that the smuggler Han Solo was helping the droids escape Tatooine . Captain Mod Terrik and Zeta Squadron moved into Docking Bay 94 , where they engaged Solo in a firefight , only to have him escape . During the firefight , Terrik was gunned down by one of his men , Imperial traitor and Rebel sympathizer Davin Felth . After the " Millennium Falcon " escape , a " pacification " campaign was waged in the streets . Several Mos Eisley citizens , along with Rebels , managed to secure run - down apartment districts and a damaged sail barge among other locales . The Stormtroopers managed to squelch the resistance in short order . During the pacification , Garindan led a stormtrooper contingent toward Anchorhead , but was intercepted by the Rebel Ketwol . Ketwol managed to kill some infantry and Garindan fled . Having lost their informant , the Imperials retreated back to Mos Eisley . At some point , Merrick Simms and the pilots from Kolaador , proceeded to Mos Eisley where the Empire was deploying ground forces . While Murleen left to attempt to cut off the Imperial supply lines , Rookie One joined Simms and Harris in engaging All Terrain Scout Transports and Imperial landing craft . After causing as much damage to the Imperial forces as they could , and with TIE fighters incoming , the group was forced to withdraw . Ultimately , the Rebels ended their hit - and - run attacks — most blasted dead before causing any real harm to Imperial soldiers — leaving the Empire victorious during this final operation . However , Vader never recovered the lost Death Star plans , as several Star Destroyers blockading the planet failed to capture " Millennium Falcon " as it fled to make contact with Bail Organa at Alderaan . Pursued by TIE fighters and interceptors , the pilots from Kolaador fled through the nearby asteroid field , losing their pursuers before rendezvousing with the fleet and proceeding to Gamma Base on the ice - world of Hoth . Aftermath . Although the " Millennium Falcon " managed to elude their Imperial pursuers , they nonetheless failed in their objective of getting Kenobi to Alderaan , due to it being blown away by the Death Star ' s superlaser . The " Falcon " and its crew were later forced to dock in the gargantuan space station after mistaking it for a moon , and eventually commenced a rescue operation for Princess Leia Organa onboard the Death Star when planning a way to escape . The loss of the Death Star plans would ultimately result in the Rebel ' s amazing victory in the Battle of Yavin not long after . Garindan later discovered in local records the name of a young man , Luke Skywalker , who sold his landspeeder to leave the planet on the " Millennium Falcon " , helping Vader to confirm the origins and identity of the Death Star ' s destroyer . Vader ' s decision to allow the Stormtroopers to kill the Lars family also resulted in their nephew Luke Skywalker joining the Rebel Alliance , an event that proved to turn the Galactic Civil War in the Rebels ' favor , and ironically to the redemption of Vader four years afterward . To hide their attack on " Tantive IV " , Imperial officials declared that the pirate resistance over Tatooine had attacked the corvette , and a meteor shower had destroyed it . It was claimed the Imperial task force had simply gone to investigate . In addition , in order to ensure no one got suspicious , the Imperials , under Vader ' s command , also sent a fake distress signal from the " Tantive IV " , and dispatched a survey ship , the " Wide - Eyed " , to " confirm " the asteroid collision that doomed the ship and its passengers . It was only nine years later that the BoSS case on the " Tantive IV " ' s destruction was officially closed , and the Imperial report exposed as a complete fabrication . Likewise , a permanent Imperial garrison base was symbolically established in Mos Eisley as a result of the Battle of Yavin and the destruction of the Death Star . While the Imperial garrison remained on high alert for some time to come , the 501st detachment left Tatooine and returned to the Death Star where most died when the station was destroyed . Six months after the Battle of Yavin , the Empire decided to make a harsh maneuver — viper probe droids and TIE Bombers were ordered to harass homesteads and to execute a bombing run on Mos Eisley to root out Luke Skywalker . Fortunately , Skywalker ' s newly - formed Rogue Squadron happened to be training in the area of Beggar ' s Canyon at the time and were available for assistance . In the ensuing skirmish , Rogue Squadron was successful in intercepting and destroying the TIE Bombers before they could cause too much damage to the city . Despite this setback , the Empire would continue to maintain nominal control over Tatooine for the next few years . The citizens would finally be freed soon after the Battle of Endor . Behind the scenes . The space battle over Tatooine was created by George Lucas appeared first in the of , ghostwritten by Alan Dean Foster and published in 1976 . The battle was later widely extended in the Expanded Universe , sometimes contradictorily , in the novel " " and in several video game s : " " , " " , " " and " " . The 2009 article " Tinker , Tailor , Soldier , Praji " intended to reconcile those sources . The 2013 smartphone app " " features the skirmish aboard the " Tantive IV " as its introduction , with Leia Organa asking the player , who is armed with a lightsaber , for help .