After deciding on Hoth as a new base of operations, the Rebel Alliance’s engineers went to work, enlarging caverns to house rebel starfighters, transports and snowspeeders. A massive ion cannon and shield generator defended Echo Base from Imperial warships.

Echo Base’s rebels had trouble adapting their machinery to Hoth’s icy temperatures, so a low-tech solution to security was found: Rebel scouts such as Luke Skywalker patrolled the snowy plains on tauntauns, furred lizards that had evolved to withstand the frigid conditions.

But tauntauns weren’t Hoth’s only native lifeforms. While on patrol, Luke was ambushed by a wampa. The beast killed his mount and dragged the unconscious young rebel off to its cave, encasing his feet in ice to save him for a later meal.

When Luke was reported missing, Han Solo searched for his friend – and against all odds, discovered him lying in the snow. When Han’s tauntaun froze to death, the Corellian hurried to set up a tent, hoping it would keep him and Luke alive through the dangerous Hoth night.

A patrolling snowspeeder located Han and Luke, but an Imperial probe droid spotted Echo Base’s heavy equipment and sent images of its find back to the Empire. Han destroyed the droid, but it was too late. General Rieekan ordered an immediate evacuation.

Before the rebels could make their getaway, an Imperial fleet led by Darth Vader arrived at Hoth. The rebels’ energy shield prevented an orbital bombardment, so Vader sent General Veers down to the surface with a squad of AT-ATs to destroy the shield generator. The rebels countered by forming defensive lines to buy time for the evacuation.

Recovered from his ordeal, Luke led the rebel attack on the walkers in a squadron of snowspeeders. The Imperial vehicles’ armor proved too strong for the speeders’ blaster cannons, so Luke improvised: the rebels used their harpoons and tow cables to trip up the four-legged walkers. The plan worked, but the rebels could only delay the Imperial advance, not repel it.

As Echo Base’s defenses crumbled, General Veers pressed his attack. He destroyed the base’s shield generator and told Vader that he could begin landing stormtroopers.

As the remaining rebel troops and command personnel tried desperately to escape, Vader and squads of snowtroopers invaded Echo Base. The rebels’ time on Hoth was over.