Imperial - Ewok War During the Galactic Civil War , a disjointed conflict pitted the Ewoks of Endor against the invading forces of the Galactic Empire . It began after the Empire chose Endor as the construction site for its second Death Star battlestation . It only ended in 4 ABY , when the Alliance to Restore the Republic managed to defeat the Empire . Prelude . After the destruction of his planet - killing Death Star battlestation , Emperor Palpatine of the Galactic Empire had ordered the construction of a second superweapon . Thousands of survey teams were sent to scout locations for the new Death Star ' s potential construction site . One of those scouting expeditions , Survey Team IX3244 - B , was led by Captain Toss . The team ' s planetologist , Lieutenant Kiviett , landed on the forest moon with a group of four , and they attempted to make contact with the inhabitants of a nearby Ewok village . As the Imperials tried to make their way to the village , unseen Ewoks forced them to hike in circles . After two hours of being misled , Kiviett ' s team was completely lost in the forest , and the Ewoks started to beat drums all around them . The Imperials panicked , and started firing their blasters randomly into the woods . Their frenzy , however , did not stop the Ewoks . Ultimately , Kiviett and his men found that in their wanderings , they had returned to the landing spot of their shuttle , and they retreated to Captain Toss ' frigate without hesitation . Toss , however , did not believe that the Ewoks could cause any trouble . He dismissed the planetologist ' s advice , reporting that Endor met all of the requirements , and that its natives posed no threat . In the aftermath of the IX3244 - B expedition , Endor was indeed selected as the second Death Star ' s construction site . However , Emperor Palpatine was personally displeased with the Toss ' sketchy report . As a consequence , a second expedition led by Sergeant Pfilbee Jhorn was sent back to Endor in hopes of gathering more detailed information . Jhorn stated that Toss ' s rushed report had failed to mention the presence of many hazards of the forest moon , from the giant man - eaters know as Gorax , the flying condor dragons , and a band of ruffians known as the Sanyassan Marauders . Contrarily to the IX3244 - B team , Jhorn and his men did meet the Ewoks and had actual contacts with them . Although one of his fellow scouts was fascinated by the Ewok ' s culture , the Imperial sergeant found them laughably primitive . Jhorn was convinced that the bear - like natives would be no match for the Imperial troops . The survey time soon left the Ewoks and continued their travels . The conflict . Failed first contact . Some time later , a platoon of Imperial stormtroopers was dispatched to Endor . Despite Sergeant Jhorn ' s previous encounter with the Endor natives , the platoon was tasked with observing first contact protocol with them . The troopers soon met a group of five Ewoks , one of which carried cut flowers . When said Ewok placed a flowers in the barrel of a stormtrooper ' s blaster rifle , the Imperials interpreted it as an attempt to disable their weapons and opened fire . A few days after the botched first encounter , the stormtroopers were assaulted by a group of Ewok warriors , who swooped down on them from a tree and lassoed trooper Kovacs , taking him away in the night forest with the sound of drums . Several days later , the platoon found the gory remains of their squadmate . Following that incident , the Ewoks kept playing their drums all night long in the vicinity of the Imperial bunker , in an attempt to wear the enemy soldiers out . Some of the stormtroopers went insane with exhaustion , and where killed by the ambushed Ewoks as soon as they dared set a foot outside of the bunker at night . Battle for the Sunstar . Some time later , the Ewok tribe of Bright Tree Village were led to confront Doctor Raygar , an Argazdan scientist who served Emperor Palpatine . Knowing that the forest moon of Endor housed the Sunstar , a magic al gem of great power , Raygar had requested permission from the Emperor to launch an expedition to retrieve that artifact . The doctor traveled to Endor aboard an " Imperial " - class Star Destroyer commandeered by Admiral Kazz , a man who had doubts about the mission . It so happened that the famed Sunstar belonged to Logray , the shaman of Bright Tree Village . Setting out with a contingent of Imperial Reconnaissance Droid s , the doctor laid a trap with which he hoped to catch a wandering Ewok , whom he would then interrogate in hopes of determining the location of Bright Tree Village . Although he only managed to catch a wild fircle , the animal ' s cries attracted the attention of four Ewoks , Wicket , Kneesa , Latara , and Teebo . Riding a floating weapons platform , Raygar attacked the foursome . He forced them to reveal Bright Tree ' s location before incarcerating them in the freighter in , which he had landed . Now in possession of the information he needed , Doctor Raygar and his droids attacked Bright Tree Village , damaging some of its houses and walkways in the process . The village ' s leader , Chief Chirpa launched a prompt retaliation that involved the use of catapults , but his warriors were unable to take down the doctor ' s platform . Ultimately , Logray entered the battlefield . The shaman easily got rid Raygar ' s droids , but the doctor still manage to fire at Logray , destroying the walkway the Ewok was standing on . As the shaman fell , the Sunstar fell to another walkway below , allowing Raygar to seize the gem . The doctor then raced back to his ship . On the command bridge of Admiral Kazz ' s Star Destroyer , the doctor decided that he would not hand over the Sunstar to the Emperor . Instead , he would use the stone to create a cannon that would kill Palpatine . However , Raygar ' s four Ewok prisoners had managed to set themselves free , with the help of the doctor ' s own droid servant , PD - 28 . Using an auxiliary pod from Raygar ' s freighter , the Ewoks successfully infiltrated the Star Destroyer . Eventually , Wicket pounced on the doctor and attacked him . During the scuffle , Raygar accidentally launched the cannon , the blast of which hit the Emperor ' s shuttle , which was just landing in the destroyer . Even as the scientist was being arrested for high treason against the Empire , the Ewoks recovered the Sunstar and escaped from the destroyer back to Endor . Skirmish at the Endor shield bunker . In order to build their shield generator bunker to protect the second Death Star , then Imperials invaded and destroyed the Dulok Swamp , which was inhabited by a tribe of Duloks — the bellicose cousins of the Ewoks . The Duloks were deemed to belligerent to be kept as slaves , and the Imperial officer in charge , Lieutenant Renz , ordered their extermination . A Dulok named Agluk , who had escaped the capture , managed to reach the Ewok Bright Tree Village . He convinced Chief Chirpa ' s tribe that the Imperials , whom he called the Skulls Ones , were committing unprecedented atrocities on Endor . Additionally , the destruction of the Dulok Swamp had awakened the Griagh , a monstrous creature that dwelled below the surface . After seeing what the Imperials had done to the Duloks , a group of Ewoks consisting of Latara , Wicket Warrick , Teebo , and Kneesa decreed that no lifeform deserved such a cruel fate , regardless of its reputation , and they decided to combat the Empire . The three Ewoks then followed Agluk in an alleged subterranean shortcut for the Imperial bunker . The tempoorary alliance between the Ewoks and the lone Dulok went awry when Agluk refused to free Zrani , a Wistie whom he kept in a lantern . The commotion attracted the Griagh , and the legendary creature ate Agluk . Knowing that they could not beat the Griag , the Ewok companions fled the cavern . On their way back to Bright Tree Village , the foursome discovered that two members of their tribe , the shaman Logray and his assistant Paploo , had been discovered by stormtroopers , who intended to imprison them with a group of Duloks . Immediately , Wicket , Kneesaa , Latara and Teebo ambushed the Imperial soldiers , killing them one by one . The fight took an unexpected turn when a dangerous third party entered the arena : the Griagh . Soon , the Ewoks were divided between killing Imperials , free captive Duloks and defend themselves from the legendary beast . The shaman Logray then decided to destroy the Griagh with the energy of the Sunstar . The stone had been critically depleted , but the Wistie Zrani sacrificed her life to speed up and direct the Sunstar tossed at the beast . Resolution . Eight months after the skirmish at the shield bunker , new visitors set foot on Endor . The Rebel Alliance , a movement of freedom fighters that opposed Palpatine ' s regime , had hatched a plan to overthrow the Empire by deactivating the Death Star ' s shield generator before destroying the battle station itself . Although their first encounter was rather brusque , the Rebels and the Bright Tree Ewoks ultimately recognized each other as a friends and potential allies against the tyrannical regime whose men had taken over Endor . At dawn , the Bright Tree Ewoks led their new allies to the Imperial bunker . While the Rebels were trying to figure out a plan to infiltrate the bunker , the young Ewok Paploo climbed on a speeder bike belonging to an Imperial scout trooper and roared away , creating a diversion . As the scout troopers chased after Paploo , the Rebels made for the bunker and started installing explosive charges . However , they soon fell into the hands of remaining Imperials . Seeing their allies in danger , the Ewoks launched their assault , attacking the Imperial troops with their primitive weapons . Using their keen knowledge of the guerrilla tactics , the natives of Endor overpowered the better - equipped Imperials , freeing the Rebels and allowing them to blow up the shield generator in the bunker . Thanks to that ground - based victory , the Rebel fleet was now ready to attack the Death Star , and one of their ships successfully fired powerful missiles at the dreaded battle station . The night that followed the battle , the Ewoks and Rebels threw a celebration , an event that also occurred on many other worlds across the galaxy .