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| Alliance to Restore the Republic Rebel Alliance | |
|---|---|
  Emblem and Flag of the Rebel Alliance | |
| Universe | Star Wars |
| First appearance | Star Wars (1977) |
| Most recent appearance | Andor (2025) |
| In-universe information | |
| Type |
|
| Founded | 2 BBY, officially formed after Declaration of Rebellion is broadcast galaxy-wide |
| Defunct | 5 ABY, dissolved after theBattle of Jakku and reorganised into the New Republic |
| Location | Alderaan,Atollon,Dantooine,Yavin,Hoth,Tureen VII, various other hidden bases |
| Leader |
|
| Key people |
|
| Technologies | Pressurized rooms, medical droids |
| Affiliations |
|
| Enemies | Galactic Empire |
| Currency | Galactic Standard Credit (Imperial Dataries) |
| Founding document | Declaration of Rebellion |
| Official language | Basic |
TheRebel Alliance (known formallyin-universe as theAlliance to Restore the Republic), also known simply asthe Rebellion, is an organization that features in the fictional world of theStar Wars franchise. The Alliance is portrayed as a stateless coalition of rebel dissidents and defectors who oppose the Galactic Empire and its authoritarian rule. Its stated goal is to restore the governance of the previousGalactic Republic, which had been dissolved after its leaderPalpatine seized absolute power and declared himselfemperor. It is the main protagonistic faction of theoriginalStar Wars trilogy.
IntheStar Wars universe, therebel insurgency conducts covert operations on Imperial garrison worlds, utilizing a stateless strategy in conjunction withwolfpack-guerrilla warfare against the Imperial fleet throughout the galaxy. Capital ships are portrayed as having no place in the Rebellion, as they are described as logistically expensive to build, maintain, and to keep fully crewed. The Rebellion is portrayed as far too limited in both manpower and resources to justify putting so much of both into a giant target. TheGalactic Empire, on the other hand, is portrayed as capable of always fielding greater numbers and greater firepower. Being able to hit high-valued targets and get out is therefore depicted as being much more important to the Rebellion. While the Empire labels all dissenters and rebels asextremists andterrorists inImperial propaganda, the Alliance is depicted and portrayed in variousStar Wars media as a group of resilientfreedom fighters, based on tolerance, self-empowerment, and hope for a better future using insurgency weapons and tactics.
The Rebel Alliance was first featured as the main protagonistic faction in the filmsA New Hope (1977),The Empire Strikes Back (1980) andReturn of the Jedi (1983). The faction's origins were alluded to inRevenge of the Sith (2005), and their early activities are featured in theDisney XD television seriesRebels, the anthology filmRogue One (2016), and theDisney+ seriesAndor.
Note: All dates in this article are in the BBY/ABY format. This is a fictional in-universe dating system centred on theBattle of Yavin inEpisode IV: A New Hope in which the first Death Star is destroyed. BBY is Before theBattle of Yavin; ABY is After the Battle of Yavin.[1]
Significant dates in the uprising are:
The earliest possible origins of the Alliance to Restore the Republic are told during the events ofRevenge of the Sith. In deleted scene 2 called "A Stirring in the Senate", a group of six Senators includingPadmé Amidala,Mon Mothma andBail Organa meet in the latter's office to discuss ways to counter the already unjustified extraordinary powers of Supreme ChancellorPalpatine "subverting the Constitution" as theClone Wars were waning, with Mothma stating their goal was "preserving democracy within the Republic". Amidala was initially skeptical of Palpatine's evil intentions because he had supported her during the Trade Federation's occupation of Naboo (The Phantom Menace, 32 BBY), but Organa and Mon Mothma announced the formation of an anti-Palpatine 'organization'; the six Senators agreed to a pact of silence. In deleted scene 3 titled "Seeds of Rebellion" (in Amidala's apartment with two new Senators joining the group), it is explained that theDelegation of 2000 disgruntled Senators will present a petition to the Chancellor. Amidala was more willing to oppose Palpatine now, but wanted to involve the Jedi, at leastAnakin Skywalker. However, aside from one Senator agreeing, the others doubted whether the Jedi Council would be loyal to the Republic or the Chancellor, and opted to wait.[note 1][7] Amidala died in premature childbirth not long after her last-ditch attempt to prevent Anakin'sfall. InThe Imperial Handbook,Grand Moff Tarkin related that most members of theDelegation of 2000 were arrested; Mothma and Organa retained their Senatorship by remaining outwardly obedient to Palpatine, while secretly leading the unification of disparate bands of insurgents into what they termed the Rebel Alliance.[4]
The Disney seriesRebels depicts the development of the rebellion against the Galactic Empire beginning five years beforeA New Hope (5 BBY) and fourteen years after the fall of theGalactic Republic and the Jedi Order inRevenge of the Sith (19 BBY).[8] The show focuses on a motley group of rebels (all of whom have been affected by the Empire in one form or another) that banded together aboard a freighter starship calledGhost.[8] They called themselves theSpectres and were led by Hera Syndulla.[9] By the end of the first season, it is revealed that there were variousclandestine cell systems that were resisting the Empire, such asJun Sato'sPhoenix Squadron.[9] SenatorBail Organa (along with his wife, queen Breha Organa) ofAlderaan and former JediAhsoka Tano both play a pivotal role in coordinating these splinter cells into a legitimate threat capable of challenging Imperial rule.[9] Funded primarily by the Royal House of Alderaan, the alliance began to allocate resources towards a united front against Imperial rule.[9] TheSpectres andPhoenix Squadron were later integrated into theMassassi Group based onYavin 4, which byRogue One (1 BBY) andA New Hope (0 BBY) was commanded byGeneral Jan Dodonna.[9] One last important rebel cell that later became part of the Rebel Alliance was theMon Calamari Exodus Fleet, commanded by Admiral Raddus andAdmiral Ackbar, formed out of civilian spacecraft during the Imperial occupation ofMon Cala in 18 BBY (1 year into the Empire, 18 years prior to theBattle of Yavin).[9][10]
The third season ofRebels, in "Secret Cargo", Alliance co-founder SenatorMon Mothma, escaped assassination forcondemning the Ghorman Massacre and speaking out against the Emperor (2 BBY).[4] In the second season ofAndor, Mon Mothma famouslydenounces the Ghorman Massacre in a powerful speech where she names Emperor Palpatine as responsible for the attack. She declares the event a "brutal attack" and a "massacre," highlighting the Empire's systemic oppressive rule and the loss of truth. This event is a key turning point for her, leading her to resign from the Senate and join the Rebellion.Cassian Andor,Phoenix Cell andYellow Squadron smuggled Mothma off Coruscant and escorted her to Yavin IV. Enroute at Dantooine, she called out to the various rebel cells and insurgency factions to unite into a unified coalition:
Declaration of Rebellion
We, the beings of the Rebel Alliance, do this day send forth this Declaration to His Majesty, the Emperor, and to all sentient beings in the Galaxy, to make clear to all the Purposes and Goals of this Rebellion.We believe that the Galactic Empire has willfully and malignantly usurped the rights of the free beings of the Galaxy and therefore, it is our unalienable right to abolish it from the Galaxy.We, the Rebel Alliance, do therefore in the name—and by the authority—of the free beings of the Galaxy, solemnly publish and declare our intentions:
- To fight and oppose you and your forces, by any and all means at our disposal;
- To refuse any Imperial law contrary to the rights of free beings;
- To bring about your destruction and the destruction of the Galactic Empire;
- To make forever free all beings in the galaxy.
To these ends, we pledge our property, our honor, and our lives.[11][12]
Many rebel ships arrive at a rendezvous point above Dantooine to unite and form the "Alliance to Restore the Republic".[4]
The Alliance Military and its activities were overseen by Alliance High Command, who managed the logistical and strategic matters of the Rebellion's efforts against the dominant Galactic Empire. Alliance Intelligence was headed by SpymasterBail Organa and SpymasterAhsoka Tano, which proved essential for maintaining communications, finding missions for the various Alliance Cells, and coordinating the Alliance's highly decentralized structure. At the time of theBattle of Endor, its chief commanders were:Gial Ackbar serving asAdmiral of the Alliance Starfleet;Jan Dodonna serving asGeneral of the Alliance Grand Army;Crix Madine serving asGeneral of Alliance Pathfinders.
The Alliance military could never decisively win a "land war" with the Empire. Generally speaking, the quality of Alliance infantry varied greatly byunit. Due to the highly decentralized structure of the Alliance, these units often operated independently with little oversight, and were frequently lacking in discipline, equipment, intelligence and combat skills. They often consisted of convicts, street thugs, pirates, outlaws, and anyone whose profession placed them at odds with the Empire. These infantry were tolerated by Alliance Command, both for their willingness to mount an insurgency against the Empire, and for them being expendable.
Mission critical operations were carried out by few standardized special forces units, dubbed "pathfinders", who had previous military training for infiltration, were experienced in asymmetrical warfare, and were capable of operating indefinitely without resupply. Pathfinders volunteered in theBattle of Scarif underCassian Andor, and spearheaded the ground assault during theBattle of Endor.
The Alliance military largely consisted ofmothballed, improvised,repurposed, or stolencivilian ships from dozens of manufacturers; they lacked the means, resources or shipyards to build, maintain and crew thousands of military-gradecapital ships. The Alliance constantly had to change bases and their carrier ships routinely had to escape into hyperspacebefore recovering their fighter complement. The biggest and most powerful warship they had available were severalMC80 star cruisers supplied to the Alliance byMon Calamari, but the Alliance Fleet kept these in reserve and never risked deploying them, even when strategically critical bases inAtollon,Yavin, andHoth came under siege. The Alliance fleet is geared towardsfabian strategy,space superiority,wolfpack operations,hit-and-run tactics, secret missions,subterfuge, and general elements of astateless militarygrand strategy. They used gunships and corvettes to screen Imperial starfighters. Their warships carried a complement of expensive starfighters equipped withFTL hyperdrives anddeflector shields that traveled alongside the fleet. This was in contrast to Imperial naval doctrine, whoseTIE-series starfighters were lightly armored and lacked hyperdrives to lower unit cost and discourage pilot defection. The Alliance's focus on smalllight combat ships and on starfighters allowed them to effectively fight the Galactic Empire's well-funded and well-armed military.
The Alliance Starfleet almost never become decisively engaged or placed their ships at risk; they avoidedpitched battles,frontal assaults,wars of attrition andconventional, symmetric engagements with the Imperials at all costs. Instead of engaging the Imperials in open firefights, the Rebel Alliance largely embraced flexible non-committal attack tactics utilizing mainlyfast attackCR90 corvettes supplied to the Alliance byAlderaan. The Imperial leadership consideredcollateral damage as "acceptable margins" in rooting out insurgents; this contrasted against the Alliance'ssurgical precision to avoidcivilian casualties. To minimize losses, the Alliance military leadership heavily favoredcarrier battle groups supportingstarfighter strike crafts for fast-attack style of warfare, thereby leveraging a decisive advantage over the Galactic Empire's "big powerful ships" doctrine.Anti-Imperial operations emphasizeddepredation and delayed actions, covertly relocating compromised bases to another secured system,interdiction in slowing down the Imperials' momentum, and inflicting maximum damage on the enemy without, in principle, becoming decisively engaged.
The Alliance finds its strength almost entirely in the starfighter arena, offering some of the most effective and versatile small strike craft within Star Wars canon. The Alliance was plagued by lack of resources: it was low on fighters, manpower, real estate.Jan Dodonna believed unsupported hyperspace-capable starfighters could undermine the Empire's control of space and demonstrated this to the galaxy by winning high-profile victories:Star Destroyers, shipyards, local fleets and the Death Star.[13] Despite the Corps' high-maintenance costs and being chronically understaffed, with starfighter logistics, aerospace engineers and veteran pilots being limited in numbers, the Alliance doctrine—raiding targets before they could mount a defense, then leaving—proved flawless in singling out vulnerable targets and attacking only when they had strength, and only when the results were spectacular. Seventy percent of sorties were reconnaissance missions: finding targets for starfighter raids became the top priority of Alliance intelligence. The introduction of theA-wing,B-wing andX-wing, along with theformer Imperial officers who piloted them, only improved upon that advantage.
The fall of theOld Republic and the birth of the Empire, as depicted inRevenge of the Sith, marked the beginning of the bloodyGalactic Civil War.
Despite the great deal of ideological compromise and strong inspirational leadership, the Alliance was apolitical faction coalition that was never a single cohesive unit during its entire existence. Mon Mothma, despite being commander in chief, actually had no real power to command all of the various factions that supported her cause. As depicted inRogue One, every faction voted on major military and political decisions, but had maximum autonomy, with their own independent chain of commands, and were otherwise free to conduct their own anti-Imperial operations as they deem fit. Leaders of these individual factions would choose what missions they wanted to participate and refused those when they believed was detrimental to their unit. The goal was to stay alive and not get destroyed by the Empire.
As portrayed in the live-action seriesAndor, one single moment in Galactic history completely changed the Empire's policy towards its citizens and therefore changed its relationship with its citizens. In 5 BBY, on the relatively unremarkable planet of Aldhani, a small rebel team managed to infiltrate the local Imperial depository, stealing a decent portion of the sector payroll. This created a massive Imperial overreaction, increasing their security spending and draconian law enforcement policies, making all future rebellious activity even more costly and difficult, which is exactly what the mastermind of this heistLuthen Rael wanted. Luthen Rael's objective is uniting dozens of different insurgent and rebel factions who are all individually fighting the Empire; he believes provoking the Empire's brutality will force these factions into a Coalition and turn them into a real fighting force. As the Empire tightened their grip, more star systems slipped from their grasps.[15]
During the funeral procession inRix Road, a holographic message Maarva Andor had pre-recorded inspired the people of Ferrix to rise up against the Empire and form a resistance movement. A planet-wide riot spontaneously erupted as residents charged the Imperial checkpoints and garrisons; this riot became a massacre as Imperials troops were ordered to fire indiscriminately into the crowd.
TheRebels episode, "Zero Hour", demonstrates the Imperials' absolutenaval supremacy when they successfully entrapped the "Phoenix Fleet" during theBattle of Atollon, and forced them in engaging on equal footing; resulting a decisive victory for the Imperials and the total decimation of the rebel fleet.Phoenix Cell would successfully liberated Lothal from Imperial control in 1 BBY and banished Thrawn's Fleet to another galaxy; making it amongst the first decisive victories for the Rebellion at the sector level.
During the events ofRogue One andA New Hope, the Alliance learns of the construction of the 'Death Star', an enormoussuperweapon capable of obliterating entire planets, intended to cement the Empire's rule of terror. Intelligence gathered reveals that a Death Star engineer antipathetic to the causes of the Empire had intentionally included a design flaw that, if exploited, could bring down the entire station. With the help of the Rogue One squad led byJyn Erso andCassian Andor, a rebel assault on an Imperial facility on the heavily defended planet Scarif successfully manages to capture schematics of the Death Star. The Battle of Scarif was the first major conventional engagement against the Empire, and ended in a pyrrhic victory; all members of Rogue One are killed in action, and the rebel fleet was decimated.
After successfully capturing the Death Star plans, Alderaanian soldiers aboard a Mon Calamari flagship barely manage to escape the501st Legion andDeath Squadron with the stolen data plans. Immediately following the Battle of Scarif, theTantive IV, an Alderaanian corvette carrying PrincessLeia Organa is captured by Lord Vader's flagship,Imperial I-class Star DestroyerDevastator, while attempting to deliver the plans toBail Organa onAlderaan. All members of the Alderaanian Consular Security onboard are either killed or taken prisoner and Princess Leia Organa is held hostage for a time byDarth Vader. In order to punish both her and her home planet's central involvement in the Rebel Alliance, Leia is forced to witnessAlderaan's destruction by theDeath Star. The Princess is subsequently rescued byLuke Skywalker,Han Solo,Chewbacca, andObi-Wan Kenobi, who then deliver the station schematics to the Alliance. Subsequent analysis of the schematics reveals the critical vulnerability to be an exhaust port leading directly to the station's reactor core.
The Empire discovers the location of the primary Alliance headquarters on a moon of the planet Yavin through a tracking device covertly planted onHan Solo's vessel, and deploys the Death Star to destroy the base and crush the insurgency once and for all. During the ensuingbattle of Yavin, rebel starfighter squadrons lead an assault on the Death Star in a last-ditch attempt to exploit the vulnerability before it could fire upon the rebel base. Despite fighters sustaining heavy losses, one pilot—theForce-sensitiveLuke Skywalker—successfully guides torpedoes down the exhaust port. The Death Star is obliterated in a catastrophic explosion, and the battle ends in a decisive rebel victory.
The Alliance, spurred on by their victory at Yavin 4 and a flood of new recruits, took the fight to the Empire and assaulted the Mid Rim on various fronts, known asMid Rim Offensive. The initial ferocity of the offensive forced the Empire to withdraw from several worlds. The Imperial military wasn't designed to fight a determined conventional enemy: it was designed for oppression of the civilian populace. But eventually, this offensive's momentum ran out due to a lack of coordination at the sector level. The Alliance fleet wasn't capable of protecting the advance of rebel ground forces, especially their increasingly extended and vulnerable supply lines. By the third year of the offensive, the rebel logistical system was on the verge of collapse. The operation failed and was renamed theMid Rim Retreat.
In theStar Wars comics, the Rebellion wins numerous victories against the Empire after the destruction of the Death Star, destroying its major weapons factory on Cymoon 1, breaking an Imperial blockade around the rebel world of Tureen VII by stealing theImperial I-class Star DestroyerHarbinger and recruiting the Mon Calamari trading fleet to be refitted as an assault fleet. Such firepower would finally allow the Alliance to attack the Empire on a larger scale. However, one of the Rebellion's allies, Queen Trios of Shu-Torun (whose world's technology had been fitted into the ships of the new rebel fleet), revealed herself as an undercover Imperial agent sent by Darth Vader to sabotage their efforts. With their ships unexpectedly paralyzed by the Shu-Torun technology, the gathered rebel fleet could do little as they were targeted for destruction by Vader's Imperial fleet. Half the rebel ships were destroyed in the battle before Leia found a way around the sabotage and allowed the remaining ships to escape. However, GeneralsJan Dodonna and Davits Draven, as well as several other high-ranking rebel officers, were killed during the battle and the remaining rebel ships were separated in their flight. Mon Mothma instructed all rebel cells to regroup in time while striking out at the Empire when and how they could. Not until the Battle of Endor would the whole force of the Rebellion be once again united in a single place.
InThe Empire Strikes Back, the Alliance suffers a crushing defeat onHoth when one of their main command centers,Echo Base, is overrun by the Darth Vader's elite personal Imperial armed forces, theDeath Squadron and the501st Legion. The remaining forces of the Rebellion are forced to stay mobile, usingAdmiral Ackbar's flagship,Home One, as their headquarters. Vader would continue to systematically and ruthlessly dismantle Alliance assets, and to hunt for Luke in the process, forcing Alliance survivors to abandon all static bases and regroup with Alliance HQ.
ByReturn of the Jedi, after four years of major defeats and wipeouts of entire rebel units by Lord Vader's elite forces, the Alliance has regrouped and learned that a second, more powerfulDeath Star is being constructed, and will be completed under Emperor Palpatine's personal supervision. Mon Mothma hasAdmiral Ackbar andLando Calrissian command the Alliance fleet and dispatches Han Solo and Princess Leia in leading Alliance's elite special forces to disable the station's defenses while Luke distracts Darth Vader. The Alliance subsequently wins the Battle ofEndor, in whichEmperor Palpatine,Darth Vader, theDeath Squadron-Imperial armada, and much of the Imperial hierarchy are killed in action. The loss of the second Death Star and other invaluable Imperial naval assets, along with the deaths of Imperial leaders aboard, marked the beginning of the end of Imperial rule over the galaxy.
Following their victory at the Battle of Endor, aprovisionalNew Republic was officially formed by Alliance members. This political momentum, combined with the Imperialpower vacuum, political infighting, andOperation Cinder—Palpatine's post-mortemscorched earth contingency plan—encouraged thousands of inhabited planets to either declare independence from the collapsing Empire or defect to the Alliance.
The New Republic found itself with no shortage of recruits and resources: the declining popularity of the Empire pushed many long time Imperial loyalists to the rebel cause, including those of Inferno Squadron, who after Operation Cinder, which saw the destruction of countless Imperial worlds, opened the eyes of many to the atrocities of the Empire. Even the most dedicated Imperials such as Inferno Squadron commanderIden Versio were moved to defect after the witnessing the destruction of her homeworldVardos. Finally realizing the Empire's propaganda had deceived them, many Imperials began to feel shame over their actions, in particular over the destruction ofAlderaan.
Despite fact that the New Republic was now winning the war, had a lot more resources than before—and a lot more recruits—the New Republic was suffering from logistic nightmares. The decentralized structure that served them well became a liability; described as "a ragtag force strategically ill-fed and cobbled together of incompatible ships and squadrons".[16] The Alliance fleet shiftedmilitary doctrine; the guerrilla warfare aspect of the grand strategy was de-emphasized, andconventional forces took over the primary prosecution of the war. Once the New Republic became powerful enough, the Alliance fleet was reorganized into the New Republic Military, charged with the defense of the New Republic.
About a year after the Battle of Endor, the Rebellion defeated Imperial forces during theBattle of Jakku, formally established the New Republic government, and suspends offensive operations.[17] Thus, the Galactic Civil War came to a close. Three decades later, by the time ofThe Force Awakens, the New Republic backed the Resistance army, a successor of the Alliance, to stand against theFirst Order, a new military power formed byhardline remnants from the Empire.[18]
After Disney's acquisition of the franchise, Lucasfilm announced in 2014 that previous works outside the theatrical films andThe Clone Wars would no longer be considered canon, but began to be republished under theLegends banner.[19]
Canon members:
