Battle of Scarif The Battle of Scarif was the first major battle fought in 0 BBY between the Alliance to Restore the Republic and the Galactic Empire , marking the beginning of the five - year Galactic Civil War . The battle was preceded by years of attacks by the fledgling Rebel Alliance against the Empire and began the five - year period in which the Alliance successfully fought to replace the Galactic Empire with the New Republic . Prior to the battle , Alliance Intelligence intercepted information suggesting that renowned scientist Galen Erso was building an Imperial superweapon capable of destroying entire planet s . Alliance leadership sent Galen Erso ' s daughter , Jyn Erso , and Captain Cassian Andor to learn more about her father ' s involvement , and their subsequent efforts saw the Alliance discover the existence of the Death Star , as well as a fatal flaw in the design placed there by Galen Erso . Though the Alliance High Command refused to openly oppose the Empire , Erso and Andor led a small unit of Rebel soldier s and other allies and defied orders , taking it upon themselves to infiltrate the heavily - guarded Citadel Tower base on Scarif to retrieve the Death Star plans . Under the callsign Rogue One , the unit infiltrated Scarif ' s planetary shield in a stolen " Zeta " - class cargo shuttle and proceeded to wage a guerrilla assault on the Citadel ' s outskirts , drawing away Imperial forces so that Andor , Erso , and the droid K - 2SO could infiltrate the facility . Director Orson Krennic , the former commander of the Death Star , attempted to stop Erso and Andor from stealing the plans , but the heavily - outnumbered Rebels received support from the Alliance Fleet under Admiral Raddus , whose forces engaged the Imperial Star Destroyer s above Scarif and worked to destroy the Shield Gate protecting the planet . With the Shield Gate ' s destruction , Rogue One was able to transmit the stolen plans to the fleet above , though all remaining Rebel ground forces were eradicated by a low - powered blast from the newly - arrived Death Star that destroyed the Citadel and surrounding area . The Sith Lord Darth Vader ' s forces made short work of the rebel ships that did not manage to retreat , but Prince ss Leia Organa managed to escape the battle in the " Tantive IV " ; Vader pursued her to the planet Tatooine and captured her there , but the plans were already out of his reach . The plans eventually found their way to the Alliance , who used them to pinpoint the Death Star ' s weakness and destroy it at the Battle of Yavin . Prelude . Following the Mission to Eadu , Jyn Erso , and Captain Cassian Andor participated in an Alliance Council meeting , where they told the gathered beings what they had learned about the Death Star , and that they needed to get the plans held at Scarif ; however , most were skeptical that such a weapon existed , and those that believed it did were unconvinced that it had a deliberate weakness on account of the fact that the news came from a criminal who was the daughter of an Imperial engineer - and thought that it would be better to hide or surrender . Disheartened , Erso walked away from the meeting , only to find that Andor and many others were still willing to go with her and fight . Together , they undertook an unsanctioned mission to Scarif using the Imperial cargo shuttle that had been stolen earlier , and headed to planet . Once there , Bodhi Rook transmitted the shuttle ' s clearance codes , which got them through the planetary shield and onto the surface . Around the same time , Director Orson Callan Krennic also returned to Scarif in order to have the command staff scour through any and all Death Star - related project files made by the deceased designer for the Death Star , Galen Erso . Krennic ' s motive was to see if there were any irregularities , after Vader informed Krennic that he could only earn the Emperor ' s favor if he proved that Erso didn ' t reveal anything regarding the Death Star ' s weaknesses to the Rebellion . The battle . Sneak attack . Aided by the element of surprise , Jyn Erso and Cassian Andor sent teams to set up a distraction to allow them to infiltrate the Citadel Tower and locate the plans . Erso and Andor , posing as Technician Kent Deezling and Lieutenant Colin Hakelia after knocking the two out and stealing their uniforms , proceeded to enter the security complex . They then lured a K - 2X droid over to an isolated area so K - 2SO could find the direct path to the plans via the droid ' s embedded map . K - 2SO found the path and warned them that three squads of Imperials stood in their way . Andor then gave the Marines the order to detonate the explosives . The battle began with Rebel Marine s setting off multiple explosives on the landing pads around the Scarif complex ( shortly delayed by command center staff watching the explosions before Director Krennic ordered them to deploy the base garrison ) . This attracted many of the troopers at the base , allowing Erso , Andor , and K - 2SO to get further inside the Citadel and search for the Death Star plans while the rest of Rogue One dealt with the complex garrison . Attacking the Shield Gate . Soon after , the rest of the Alliance fleet arrived to support the initial assault squadron . Following the arrival of the Alliance ' s fleet , Admiral Raddus ordered all squadron leaders to report in then assigned them duties ; Red and Gold Squadrons were to defend the fleet , while Blue Squadron was ordered to get to the surface to reinforce those battling on the beaches . 12 X - wings , including Blue Leader Antoc Merrick , and a single U - wing made it through the opening before Shield Gate control ordered the gate closed . 6 other X - Wings attempted to get through with the rest of their squadron but none of them made it ; one was shot down , two were destroyed when they impacted the shield and the other four attempted to pull out but one was destroyed when it collided with the gate station . The remaining members of Blue Squadron in space , now consisting of 1 U - wing and 3 X - wings , brought down the bridge shield generators of a Star Destroyer along with one TIE fighter as they helped the rest of the rebel fleet . After Blue Squadron had made it through , Red Squadron attempted a diversionary attack on the Shield Gate by using 10 X - Wings to attack the defense turrets , losing a number of their ships in the process to enemy fire but inflicting severe damage to many of the turbolasers . This tactic drew the attention of several defense turrets , creating an opening for Gold Squadron to begin their attack run on the Shield Gate . Using 10 of their Y - Wings , Gold Leader instructed his pilots to begin their initial bombardment , warning his pilots to use caution around the defense towers . Gold Squadron conducted several bombing runs on the shield gate , utilizing proton bombs in the process but losing 3 Y - Wings as well . The battle intensified as the Imperial forces launched TIE fighters in response from its Star Destroyers and the shield gate , which began to batter the rebel cruisers with laser fire and shooting down many starfighters , including Red Five ( Pedrin Gaul ) . After seeing that there was no progress on that front , Admiral Raddus ordered the fleet to engage the Star Destroyer s . Infiltrating the tower . Once inside the base , Andor , K - 2SO , and Erso made their way to the archives . After disabling the technician , K - 2SO began searching for the files as Andor and Erso entered the vault . After noticing the dead technician , a multitude of stormtroopers besieged the main archive room , while K - 2SO managed to hold many of them off with a single blaster pistol . After withstanding heavy blaster fire , K - 2SO located the Death Star plans and marked the canister . He then locked Erso and Andor in the vault to allow them enough time to retrieve the plans , and was subsequently destroyed fending off stormtroopers , taking down the archive room console in the process . AT - ACT assault . As the rest of Rogue One held down the line , Chirrut Îmwe heard the sound of walkers headed their way . He yelled at Baze Malbus , who then turned around and saw an AT - ACT headed their way . Now outmatched due to the presence of the walkers , the Rebels were forced to fall back to the beach , with a number of them being cut down by fire from stormtroopers and the pursuing walkers . As the Rebels reached a beach and dug in , Baze fired a smart rocket at a pursuing AT - ACT , to no effect . However , right before it could obliterate their position the walker was fired on and destroyed by Blue Squadron ' s X - wings , which had arrived to provide support . Another walker was brought down by a U - wing when its door - mounted ion cannon disabled its legs and a third exploded when an X - wing fired on its open cargo bed . Reinforcements . With Blue Squadron having made it through the shield gate , the Imperial air defenses were scrambled in order to defend the Citadel Tower from the rebel incursion . Rebel X - wings engaged the numerous TIE Strikers stationed on Scarif , with both sides suffering substantial casualties . As the air battle raged on , Merrick ordered a U - wing gunship to reinforce the overwhelmed troops on the beach while the rest of the squadron defended them from Imperial fire . As the battle progressed , Director Krennic ordered the deployment of his Death trooper guard squadron via TIE Reaper . The transport was escorted by TIE Strikers which proved too much for General Merrick and resulted in his death . Rogue One continued to draw out the Imperial garrison , allowing Jyn and Cassian the time they needed to recover the plans . Flipping the master switch . Following this , Rook was tasked with opening the deflector shield so that the plans could be transmitted to the Alliance flagship above the planet . Bodhi directed Chirrut Îmwe and Baze Malbus to the master power switch for communications on Scarif . The two managed to turn off the signal disruptor , but perished doing so though not before killing the entire complement of Death Troopers sent against them . Rook managed to contact the Alliance flagship and told them they had to open the deflector shield to allow the Death Star plans to be transmitted to them . Shortly after , a thermal imploder was thrown into his ship , killing him and destroying the shuttle . Having received Rook ' s transmission , Raddus formulated a plan to break open the shield . Krennic closes in . Inside the Scarif Citadel Tower , Orson Krennic , along with two death trooper s , opened a security door to the archive vault and began to shoot at Andor and Erso . Andor managed to kill the two troopers , but was hit by Krennic , rendering him unconscious . Erso continued her ascent to the escape hatch at the top of the vault and exited onto the roof of the Scarif Base . On top of the base was the communications dish . After reorienting it , Erso was about to send the plans to the rebels when Krennic appeared . Whilst Krennic confronted her , declaring the Empire ' s inevitable victory , Andor regained consciousness and made his way to the roof of the station . Right before Krennic was about to kill Erso , Andor shot the director . Taking down the shield . Far above , the Alliance Fleet was taking a significant beating . Although the rebel fleet scrambled its ships and defense cannons , bringing down some of the attacking Imperial fleet , endless waves of TIE fighters battered the rebel ships , destroying a GR - 75 medium transport and damaging one of the Nebulon - B frigates , while the " Profundity " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s shielding was reduced to half strength . Gold Leader gave an order for his squad mates to form on his wing , informing them that a path had been cleared . Along with four of his squad mates , Vander launched multiple ion torpedoes at a Star Destroyer , disabling it . Noticing the disabled capital ship , Admiral Raddus contacted a " Sphyrna " - class corvette and explained his plan to break open the shield . The corvette he had chosen to carry out his plan was the " Lightmaker " , commanded by Kado Oquoné . The ship had earlier sustained heavy damage and was covering the line of retreat . Having evacuated all non - essential personnel , leaving a skeleton crew behind including Oquoné himself , the corvette rammed the disabled Destroyer and activated its sublight engines , sending it on a collision course for the other one . Admiral Gorin , seeing the incoming hazard , ordered full reverse thrust to avoid the collision , but it was too late . As the two Star Destroyers collided , they broke apart and fell towards Scarif , crashing into the orbital docking station that controlled the deflector shield , disabling it . With the shield down , Erso and Andor were able to successfully transmit the Death Star plans to the Alliance flagship above Scarif . Plans received and Vader arrives . Immediately after the transmission of the plans , the Death Star exited hyperspace . Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin , aware of Darth Vader ' s impending arrival aboard the " Devastator " , chose to ignore the rebel ships and instead ordered a single reactor ignition aimed at the Citadel base on Scarif . Regaining consciousness on top of the Citadel Tower , Krennic looked up into the sky to see the Death Star looming over the base . Watched by the horrified Rebel fleet , the superlaser fired upon the surface . The beam vaporized the top third of the Citadel Tower , which was in its direct path , and impacted the surface several kilometers away . Soon after , everyone at the base ( including Erso and Andor ) along with the Imperial security complex , were vaporized and destroyed by the monumental aftereffects of the impact . Once the Alliance forces received the Death Star schematics , they attempted to escape to hyperspace . Three CR90 corvette s , two GR - 75 transports , one Hammerhead corvette ( the " Consonance " ) , and a number of starfighters made the jump in time , but the others were intercepted by the " Devastator " as it suddenly emerged from hyperspace . Three Y - wings , two X - wings and a Dornean gunship successfully took evasive action to avoid crashing into it , but a GR - 75 transport was obliterated as it crashed onto the Destroyer ' s hull when it couldn ' t pull away in time . Vader ' s flagship immediately opened up its forward batteries , aiming for the " Profundity " ; one unfortunate Nebulon - B frigate was caught in the barrage instead and split in half under the sheer brute firepower . The Destroyer then turned its guns on the " Profundity " while the rest of the ships scattered . The flagship ' s already weakened shields gave way and the ship was crippled by further barrages . After disabling the " Profundity " , Vader , along with a boarding party , boarded the ship in an attempt to regain the Death Star plans , and came across a party of rebel soldiers attempting to flee with the plans but trapped by a malfunctioning security door . Revealing his presence , Vader cut through the entire group with his lightsaber as they fired on him , but the one holding the plans managed to pass it to the security forces from Alderaan who escaped on the " Tantive IV " before being killed by Darth Vader . The corvette , captained by Raymus Antilles and carrying Prince ss and Senator Leia Organa , made the jump to hyperspace , narrowly escaping , thus ending the Battle of Scarif . By the end of the battle , the " Profundity " was destroyed and Raddus was killed . Aftermath . The Battle of Scarif was the first major victory for the fledgling Rebel Alliance and marked the official beginning of the Galactic Civil War . Having restrained itself from openly engaging the Empire , this was the first time the rebellion had deployed its fleet in open combat and though it took heavy losses , was able to hold its own . The theft of the plans was a major embarrassment to the Empire , and though few believed that they would reveal any weakness in the station , it was deemed imperative that the plans be returned . With the Death Star plans in the hands of Princess Leia , the " Tantive IV " was pursued by the " Devastator " , where Vader personally oversaw the operation . The " Devastator " followed the " Tantive IV " to the desert world of Tatooine , where Vader captured the princess and brought her to the Death Star . Imperial forces , meanwhile , searched for two droid s , R2 - D2 and C - 3PO , the former of whom held the Death Star plans . The droids came into the possession of Luke Skywalker , who , along with Jedi Master Obi - Wan Kenobi and the smuggling partners Han Solo and Chewbacca , made his way to the Death Star and rescued Organa . Although Kenobi was killed by Vader , his former apprentice , during the escape , the princess and the others traveled to the Rebel base on Yavin 4 and participated in the Battle of Yavin . The battle was conceived after the Rebels analyzed the Death Star plans and discovered the weakness - an exposed exhaust port , which Luke Skywalker exploited to destroy the Death Star during the battle . Behind the scenes . The event that became the Battle of Scarif was first described in the opening crawl of . The event is the central plot of " " . In " Star Wars " Legends , which is non - canon in the official " Star Wars " continuity following 2014 , the battle where the plans were stolen was identified as the Battle of Toprawa , while the operation as a whole was identified as Operation Skyhook . The first footage of the battle was shown in the " Rogue One " teaser trailer on April 7 , 2016 . The battle of Scarif made its first appearance in " Star Wars Battlefront " as a a free downloadable level available on December 6 , 2016 for season pass holders . On December 16 , 2016 , the battle made its first formal appearance with the release of the film , " " . The battle ends right before " A New Hope " begins , with Leia Organa narrowly escaping the battle aboard the " Tantive IV " , en route to Tatooine in search of Obi - Wan Kenobi , closely pursued by Vader himself .