Hoth
the ice world of Echo Base
Hoth was a remote ice planet in the Outer Rim Territories where the Alliance to Restore the Republic built Echo Base. It is best known for the crushing Imperial assault that drove the rebels from the world during the Galactic Civil War.
Hoth was a frigid ice world in the Hoth system of the Outer Rim Territories, the sixth planet of its system and so cold that from space it appeared as a pale blue orb beneath dense snow and ice. Sparsely populated and far from the major hyperlanes despite lying close to the Corellian Trade Spine, it gained lasting notoriety as the site of Echo Base, a hidden command center of the Alliance to Restore the Republic. When the Galactic Empire discovered the base, the resulting Battle of Hoth handed the Rebellion one of its sharpest defeats of the Galactic Civil War. (The Empire Strikes Back; Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy)
Geography and environment#
Hoth orbited a single sun, with five planets lying between it and that star, and an asteroid belt surrounding the world from which meteors occasionally struck the surface. The naturalist Kell Tolkani observed that a viewer judging the planet only from orbit might reasonably conclude there was nothing to it beyond snow and ice. The temperature remained perpetually frigid and fell to killing levels after nightfall. (The Empire Strikes Back; A Naturalist on Hoth)
By the era of the Galactic Civil War the planet was passing through an ice age. The surrounding asteroid field hampered travel through the system, and creatures such as the tauntaun and the predatory wampa were adapted to the planet's hostile cold. (The Empire Strikes Back; The Empire Strikes Back: So You Want to Be a Jedi?)
Rebel base and the Battle of Hoth#
Sometime after the Battle of Yavin, Saponza's Gang, itself a rebel cell, established a base on Hoth, and various smuggling rings had earlier tried and failed to turn the world into a headquarters. General Jan Dodonna of the Alliance listed Hoth among his preliminary scans for possible Alliance bases. With far greater resources than the smugglers who had come before, the Rebellion eventually built Echo Base into the icy world. (Star Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy; Star Wars (2015) 55)
The Empire's discovery of the hidden base led to the Battle of Hoth. Although Echo Base was evacuated in the eleventh hour, the engagement ended in a clear defeat for the Alliance after the elite Imperial Blizzard Force overran the position. (The Empire Strikes Back; Lost Stars)
New Republic Era#
By the New Republic Era Hoth had returned to obscurity, its battlefields picked apart and long abandoned. In 5 ABY, the acting governor of Troithe, Fara Yadeez, heard rumors that the New Republic intended to repurpose Hoth as a prison for those who remained loyal to the Empire. Major Soran Keize dismissed the rumor's credibility, reasoning that Chancellor Mon Mothma had committed the New Republic to a pretext of justice over punishment, and that converting the very world where the Rebellion had been so badly beaten carried too much grim poetry to be plausible. The planet was later remembered in the Galactic Explorer's Guide, a survival manual that described it as little more than a footnote in galactic history. (Shadow Fall: An Alphabet Squadron Novel; Star Wars: The Galactic Explorer's Guide)
Frequently asked questions
- What is Hoth?
- Hoth was a frigid ice world in the Hoth system of the Outer Rim Territories, the sixth planet of its system and so cold it appeared from space as a pale blue orb beneath dense snow and ice. Sparsely populated and far from the major hyperlanes, it gained lasting notoriety as the site of Echo Base, a hidden command center of the Alliance to Restore the Republic.
- What was the environment of Hoth like?
- Hoth orbited a single sun with five planets between it and the star, and an asteroid belt surrounded the world from which meteors occasionally struck the surface. The temperature remained perpetually frigid and was known to drop to sixty degrees below zero Celsius after nightfall, and by the Galactic Civil War the planet was passing through an ice age.
- Why did the Rebel Alliance build a base on Hoth?
- The Rebellion built Echo Base into the icy world as a secret headquarters, having far greater resources than the smuggling rings and rebel cells that had come before. The surrounding asteroid field provided cover, since an asteroid hitting the surface produced enough of a thermal signature to mask the heat traces of intelligent life.
- What happened at the Battle of Hoth?
- The Empire's discovery of the hidden base led to the Battle of Hoth, in which the elite Imperial Blizzard Force overran the rebel position. Although Echo Base was evacuated in the eleventh hour, the engagement ended in a clear defeat for the Alliance.
- What became of Hoth after the Battle of Hoth?
- By the New Republic Era, Hoth had returned to obscurity, its battlefields picked apart and long abandoned. In 5 ABY there were rumors the New Republic intended to repurpose Hoth as a prison for those loyal to the Empire, though Major Soran Keize dismissed the rumor's credibility.
Gallery
Images via Wookieepedia
Sources
- VideoThe Empire Strikes Back, Lucasfilm, 1980
- BookA Naturalist on Hoth, Hank Green, in From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back, 2020
- BookThe Empire Strikes Back: So You Want to Be a Jedi?, Adam Gidwitz, 2015
- BookStar Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy, Jason Fry and others, DK, 2021
- ComicStar Wars (2015) 55, Kieron Gillen, Marvel Comics, 2018
- BookLost Stars, Claudia Gray, 2015
- BookShadow Fall: An Alphabet Squadron Novel, Alexander Freed, 2020
- BookStar Wars: The Galactic Explorer's Guide, Jason Fry, 2019
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
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