Alliance High Command

Alliance High Command

The High Command was responsible for setting overall strategy for the Alliance, directing operations of the Alliance Fleet andAlliance Forces, commanding all Alliance ground forces, and coordinating theAlliance Sector Commands.

Structure[]

In large part the brainchild of Bail Organa and his considerable knowledge of military matters from serving on theGalactic RepublicSenate Military Oversight Committee, the Alliance High Command was flexible enough to wage coordinated insurgent warfare on a galactic scale, while still remaining under civilian control.

At the top of the High Command was the Commander-in-Chief Mon Mothma. Directly below her in the chain of command was theAlliance Minister of War, the duties of whom were to keep the Commander-in-Chief (CinC) informed of military matters on a day-to-day basis. In the event the CinC became incapable of fulfilling her duties, the Minister of War would assume command of the war effort, until the CinC could return to her duties or theAlliance Civil Government could name a successor.

Below the Alliance Minister of War in the chain of command was theAlliance Chief of Staff (CoS), whose main duty was to act as a buffer between the CinC and lower echelons, deciding which problems required her attention, and which could be handled at lower levels. In the event either the CinC or Minister of War were indisposed, the CoS was authorized to act in their names.

Below the Chief of Staff were Supreme Allied Commanders, who were each responsible for an individual command, such asOrdnance and Supply, andSpecForces Command. High Command was advised by anAdvisory Council.

High Command headquarters[]

The High Command typically operated from a planetary base, from where the majority of the Alliance operations throughoutthe galaxy were overseen. One of the first locations High Command used as their headquarters was a prefabricated base established in the ruins of theJedi Enclave on theplanetDantooine. It was from the Dantooine base that the Alliance launched thestarfighterstrike that saw the acquisition of thetechnical data to thefirst Death Star.

From Dantooine, High Command relocated to the newly built Massassi Station inside the ruins of theGreat Temple onYavin 4. Much of the Alliance's activities during this time were under the direction ofGeneral Jan Dodonna, operating from Yavin Base.^[2] AfterrescuingPrincessLeia Organa from the first Death Star,Luke Skywalker andHan Solo delivered her and the Death Star plans to the base. There, thebattle station data was analyzed, and theassault on the Death Star was launched.^[1] TheEmpire soon responded with a blockade of theYavin system, and within six months of the Death Star's destruction, High Command was forced to evacuate themoon and relocate elsewhere.

Following the evacuation from Yavin, High Command was forced to become increasingly mobile as the Empire intensified its efforts to destroy them. To greater protect them, the newly formed starfightersquadronRogue Group was permanently assigned to the roving High Command group. In accordance with policy established by Mon Mothma, the bulk of the Alliance Fleet was to operate separately from High Command in order to avoid a catastrophe that would potentially destroy both. It was decided the Alliance could survive the loss of either itsfleet or High Command, but not both. While reconnaissance teams were dispatched in an effort to locate a suitable site for High Command to permanently relocate to, they temporarily settled on the planetThila in theOuter Rim Territories. TheThila base was only used for a few months before it too was evacuated in the face of the threat of its location having been compromised. Rogue Group performed admirably during several skirmishes in the Thila campaign, helping High Command to evacuate. High Command had already decided on relocating more permanently to the ice planetHoth. When construction on the newEcho Base was completed in2 ABY, they moved their operations there under the command of GeneralCarlist Rieekan. It was a mark of their desperation that they were forced to hide themselves within the ice caverns of the remote and desolate Hoth.^[2]

High Command operated out of Echo Base for about a year before it was discovered in3 ABY byDarth Vader'sDeath Squadron, his personal armada ofStar Destroyers. Vader launched a crushingground assault that severely damaged the Alliance's war efforts. Only with another heroic effort by Rogue Group did much of High Command narrowly avoid destruction at the hands of the Empire and evacuate the ice planet. The surviving members of High Command, now without a planetary base, relocated to the predeterminedrendezvous point with the Alliance Fleet beyond the galactic rim.^[2]

With the Alliance facing a situation more desperate than ever before, High Command transferred their operations to the Alliance Fleet, using Admiral Ackbar'sMon Calamari Star CruiserHome One as their mobile base of operations for the following year. When High Command discerned the location and details of thesecond Death Star, still under construction above theforest moon of Endor, they ordered the majority of the Alliance Fleet to convene above the planetSullust, where they planned theassault on the battlestation.^[3]

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