Kendal Ozzel Kendal Ozzel was a human male officer who served the Galactic Republic and the Galactic Empire in turn . Born on the planet Carida prior to the rise of the Empire , he served in the Republic Navy as a commissioned officer during the Clone Wars — a civil war fought in the galaxy during the last years of the Republic . After the war , his military career would continue under the new regime established by Emperor Sheev Palpatine . As an admiral , Ozzel was the commanding officer of the " Executor " — an Imperial Navy " Executor " - class Star Dreadnought and the flagship of the Sith Lord Darth Vader — at the time of the Galactic Civil War . In the year 3 ABY , he oversaw the initial attack on Hoth after the Empire discovered the location of the Rebel Alliance ' s secret base , but was summarily executed by way of the Force as a result of Vader ' s displeasure in the admiral ' s fundamentally incompetent tactics . Following Ozzel ' s death , his rank and command were awarded to his captain , Firmus Piett , by the Dark Lord . Biography . A male human born into a wealthy family from Carida , Kendal Ozzel attended multiple Core World institutes in his youth . Eventually , he graduated and became a Captain of the Line . However , his superiors did not see him fit to serve as an effective field commander , and he was relegated to teaching positions for a while . Ozzel served for a time in the Republic Navy during the Clone Wars . Eventually , he ended up serving in the navy of the Galactic Empire . In 14 BBY , he held the rank of Rear Admiral , and was a member of the Joint Chiefs . Following the destruction of the First Death Star , he had become an Admiral . He personally issued a communique to the Imperial Starfleet ordering the fleet to enter battle readiness . After this occurred the Hijacking of the " Executor " , in which the Sith Lord Darth Vader dispatched the scientist Cylo , who had attempted to steal the " Executor " - class Star Dreadnought " Executor " . The SSD was originally designed to be given to Grand General Cassio Tagge , however , the Emperor demoted him to General , and gave the " Executor " to Vader , due to Tagge ' s trust of Cylo . Vader force choked Tagge on his new command ship ' s bridge in front of Ozzel . Vader asked him when the " Executor " would be ready , and gave him two weeks , after Ozzel replied he needed a month . After Captain Magna Tolvan failed to capture Chelli Lona Aphra , who was investigating the Great Temple , Ozzel contacted the captain , and warned her that Vader would be less forgiving of failure than Cassio Tagge , her former commanding officer . He later became the commanding officer of the Death Squadron , an armada of Imperial vessels tasked with locating the Alliance ' s hidden main base in the aftermath of the Battle of Yavin , though the fleet was under the " de facto " control of Vader . In his capacity as admiral of the fleet , Ozzel led Death Squadron from Vader ' s flagship , the " Executor " . As he had been assigned to oversee the Empire ' s search for the Rebel headquarters , Ozzel felt that he was the perfect being to command the massive warship during the hunt . During his time as the senior officer aboard the " Executor " , Ozzel took time to personally congratulate Lieutenant Commander Ciena Ree , a young officer whose service had been outstanding for the past two years . After commending Ree for her dedication , the admiral implied that she might obtain a promotion to the rank of Commander soon enough . The Empire dispatched thousands of probe droid s throughout the galaxy to participate in the search for the Rebel base , one of which discovered signs of an occupied settlement on the ice planet Hoth . Before being destroyed by Rebel Captain Han Solo , the droid relayed its data to the " Executor " , where it was reviewed by Admiral Ozzel , his subordinate , Captain Firmus Piett , and General Maximillian Veers of the Imperial Army . Piett cited the data as their best lead in the search , but Ozzel dismissed the information as lacking definitive proof of any Rebel presence . Nevertheless , Vader overruled him and ordered the fleet to make haste to the Hoth system to deal with the Rebels headquartered there . As Vader withdrew to his private quarters , Ozzel assumed command of the fleet ' s maneuvering and pre - battle strategy . Believing he could surprise and overwhelm the Rebels , Ozzel opted to have the Star Destroyer s of Death Squadron emerge from hyperspace directly above Hoth . The Alliance detected their arrival immediately , but the tactic did not shock them as Ozzel had planned , for the presence of the probe droid had made them suspect that the Empire had discovered their base . Before Death Squadron could initiate an orbital bombardment , the Rebels activated the base ' s shield , which was powerful enough to deflect any laser barrage unleashed by the Imperial warships ; even the full firepower of the " Executor " wouldn ' t be able to breach it . General Veers reported this development to Vader , who voiced his disapproval at the admiral ' s tactical blunder as they would now be forced to deploy troop s and equipment into a costly ground battle rather than simply annihilate the Rebels from space . The Sith Lord opened a channel to Ozzel on the " Executor " bridge and , before an oblivious Ozzel could report on the situation , began telekinetically strangling the admiral in full view of Captain Piett and others . Citing the tactical decision as Ozzel ' s final failure , Vader executed the pompous and inept officer and simultaneously promoted Piett to take his place as admiral , bestowing the title at the exact moment Ozzel ' s still - twitching corpse hit the floor . The Empire went on to win the Battle of Hoth despite Ozzel ' s actions . Personality and traits . Standing 1 . 75 meter s tall , Admiral Kendal Ozzel was a smug and arrogant man who fancied himself the obvious choice to command the " Executor " . In his position as the ranking officer of Darth Vader ' s Death Squadron , he often tested the Sith Lord ' s patience by challenging his orders and making foolish tactical decisions . Ozzel ' s subordinate , the ambitious Captain Piett , had nothing but contempt for the admiral , whom he considered incompetent . Ultimately , Ozzel ' s personality , combined with his blunder in the opening stages of the Battle of Hoth , persuaded Vader to immediately — and permanently — remove him from command . A man of science and warfare , Ozzel did not think much of Darth Vader ' s use of the Force , which the admiral regarded as vulgar hocus - pocus . Despite that , Ozzel was still terrified of Vader , like most other officers . Ambitious young captains like Firmus Piett annoyed him ; in particular , Ozzel thought Piett was entirely too enthusiastic , as if everything he said might have proved sufficient for a promotion . Behind the scenes . Admiral Ozzel appeared in , released in 1980 . In his two brief scenes , he was portrayed by actor Michael Sheard . Before the Lucasfilm Story Group initiated a reboot of " Star Wars " canon in anticipation of the sequel trilogy , Ozzel ' s backstory had been explored and developed in a number of sources , which detailed his career as an officer serving both the Galactic Republic and the Empire and established his first name . However , the vast majority of this information has been relegated to the " Legends " realm of " Star Wars " continuity ; as such , this article reflects only information found within the new established canon , which includes the films and the StarWars . com Encyclopedia . In the reference book " Ultimate Star Wars " , Ozzel ' s first name was mistakenly spelled as " Kendel " instead of " Kendal . "