The Battle of Yavin takes place in the fictional universe of Star Wars. It pits the Galactic Empire against the Rebel Alliance around the gas giant planet Yavin and its fourth moon.

In a previous battle, the rebels managed to steal the plans for the Death Star, a gigantic Imperial battle station equipped with a laser capable of destroying planets. However, the Empire has discovered the location of the rebel base on Yavin 4 and intends to destroy it using its new weapon. The Death Star has a vulnerability that the rebels have discovered. When it is in orbit around Yavin, they send all their ships in a desperate attack to destroy it. This leads to battles with Imperial fighters commanded by Darth Vader. Using the Force, Luke Skywalker manages to reach the vulnerability and destroy the battle station without leaving any survivors.

For the Rebel Alliance, this battle is a victory. However, the rebels are forced to flee to settle elsewhere. Indeed, Darth Vader, who was not aboard the Death Star when it exploded, continues to hunt them down.

The Battle of Yavin is depicted in the film A New Hope.^{[Notes 1]} It is largely created using practical special effects. It serves as a reference point in the Star Wars chronology.

In addition to the film, it is represented in novelizations of the film in which it appears, as well as in several novels, video games, and comics.

The Star Wars universe unfolds in a galaxy inhabited by humans and numerous extraterrestrial species. It is the stage for conflicts between Jedi knights and Sith lords, individuals sensitive to the Force, a mysterious energy field that grants them psychic abilities. The Jedi master the light side of the Force, a beneficial and defensive power, to maintain peace in the galaxy. The Sith, on the other hand, harness the dark side, a harmful and destructive power, for their personal use and to dominate the galaxy.^[1]

Since the acquisition of Lucasfilm by the Walt Disney Company, there are two Star Wars universes: "Legends" and "Canon." They share the six original films and the television series The Clone Wars. The Legends universe additionally incorporates complementary stories presented in books, comics, TV movies, or games released before 2014. The Canon universe, on the other hand, encompasses the stories from the films and other materials released since 2014.^{[2][Notes 2]}

Several years before the Clone Wars, the Confederacy of Independent Systems begins developing a weapon capable of destroying entire planets: the Death Star.^[3] Following the war in 19 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin),^{[Notes 3]} the Galactic Republic is reformed into an Empire, and Grand Moff Tarkin oversees the construction of the battle station until its completion nearly twenty years later.^[4] It is intended to quell any dissent against the Empire.^[5]

From the Empire's inception, small groups rebel against its authority, including Saw Gerrera and his team, as well as the crew of the Ghost.^[6][7] Over time, some of these cells unite to form the Rebel Alliance.^[8]

The battle takes place in the orbit of the gas giant planet Yavin, near one of its natural satellites, Yavin 4. It also unfolds around the Death Star, extending into one of its trenches.^[27]

The Imperial forces consist of the Death Star, a mobile battle station capable of destroying entire planets,^[4][5] equipped with numerous TIE fighters, the Empire's primary combat vessel and a symbol of its power.^[28] Darth Vader pilots an upgraded version, the TIE Advanced X1, which is faster, more powerful, and tailored to the dimensions of the Sith Lord's armor.^[29]

The Rebel forces consist of two squadrons. The "Gold Squadron", commanded by Darth Vader, consists of eight Y-wing interceptors, which are used primarily for bombing missions.^[27][30] It is accompanied by the "Red Squadron", led by Garven Dreis and composed of eight X-wing interceptors. ^[27][31] They are supported by the Millennium Falcon, a YT-1300 light freighter piloted by smugglers Han Solo and Chewbacca.^[32]

When the Death Star arrives at Yavin, it is not properly positioned to fire on the fourth moon. This allows the rebels to launch an attack to destroy the battle station. Its weakness has been clearly identified: a proton torpedo must be fired into the exhaust port to trigger a chain reaction that will destroy it. For this mission, two squadrons of Y-wing and X-wing interceptors take off. Luke Skywalker, designated as "Red 5," pilots one of the X-wings accompanied by R2-D2. As they approach the Death Star, a group of TIE fighters intercepts them. The "Red Squadron" engages in combat with them, allowing the Y-wings of the "Gold Squadron" to enter the trench toward the exhaust port.^{[27][30][31][5]}

However, they are destroyed by Darth Vader's TIE Advanced X1 fighter. The Sith Lord participates in the battle to protect the station, forcing the X-wings of the "Red Squadron" to enter the trench as well. They are vulnerable there and are each destroyed or damaged in turn. At the end, only Luke Skywalker remains to accomplish the mission. A group of TIE fighters pursues him, preparing to fire. He is saved at the last moment by Han Solo and Chewbacca aboard the Millennium Falcon, who manage to scatter the Imperial fighters. Following the advice of Obi-Wan Kenobi, whose voice he hears, Luke Skywalker deactivates the targeting system of the ship, and using the Force, he fires a proton torpedo that enters the port and destroys the Death Star before it can open fire on Yavin.^{[5][27][24][32][33][34][35]}

The Battle of Yavin is a victory for the Rebel Alliance.^[31] They manage to defeat the forces of the Galactic Empire.^[36] Practically all Imperial personnel are killed, and almost all of the Empire's equipment, including the Death Star, is destroyed.^[37][38] The only survivor is Darth Vader, who participated in the battle; his TIE Advanced X1 fighter was damaged by Han Solo.^[39][29]

On the rebel side, the losses are heavy.^[40] In addition to the Millennium Falcon, only three ships from the "Red" and "Gold" squadrons return, including those piloted by Luke Skywalker and Wedge Antilles.^[26][30] However, the commanders of these two squadrons were shot down during the fighting.^[30][41]

Following the loss of the battle station, the Empire initiates the construction of a second Death Star. This one is under construction around the forest moon of Endor and is more than twice the size of the first.^[42]

With the rebel headquarters discovered on Yavin 4, they are forced to relocate to another planet. They decide to settle on Hoth, an icy planet located in the Outer Rim.^[3][43]

Before the production of the film A New Hope^{[Notes 4]} even began, George Lucas created sketches of the various spacecraft that would participate in the Battle of Yavin. In November 1974, he hired model maker Colin Cantwell and illustrator Ralph McQuarrie. Cantwell created the initial designs for the Y-wing interceptor and the Millennium Falcon, while McQuarrie produced illustrations of key scenes from the film, one of which depicted a group of Y-wing interceptors attacking the Death Star.^{[44][45][46][47]}

Only one full-scale X-wing interceptor model was built, which was visible in the scene preceding the battle in the Rebel hangar on Yavin 4.^[44] The space battles were entirely created using mechanical special effects. Only one cockpit was constructed, and the actors portraying the pilots took turns sitting in it while the droid behind them was replaced.^[48]

Some scenes of the battle were enhanced with digital special effects in the 1997 and 2004 re-releases of the film. For example, the number of rebel ships approaching the Death Star was increased, and the space battle sequences were refined, with the explosions being reworked. The scene depicting the destruction of the battle station was embellished with a circular shockwave.^[49]

In addition to its official appearances in novels, novelizations, films, and television series, the Battle of Yavin appears in various other Star Wars universe derivative products.

The website Screen Rant ranks the Battle of Yavin in third place in its list of the best battles from the original Star Wars trilogy. The site finds that "everything about this battle is superb," particularly praising the mechanical special effects and the scene where Han Solo saves Luke Skywalker.^[66] In its ranking of the entire saga, the same website places it in the first position, explaining that it is the sequence with the most tension.^[67] Similarly, the website PubSquare Media also ranks the Battle of Yavin in the first position.^[68] However, the website Looper only ranks it in fifth place, as it considers it to be a small battle between two Rebel squadrons and a few Imperial fighters.^[69]