Following the destruction of the first Death Star battlestation at the Battle of Yavin, the Galactic Empire invaded the Rebel Alliance base on Yavin 4 in an attempt to capture the Rebel leaders as an act of retribution.
In 0 ABY, the Alliance to Restore the Republic had struck a large blow against the Galactic Empire when Rebel starfighters attacked and destroyed the Death Star during the Battle of Yavin. Some time after, the Empire reacted to the Death Star's demise by sending a large Imperial force to invade the Rebel base on Yavin 4.
The Galactic Empire invades Yavin's fourth moon with landing craft and TIE fighters.
The Imperials sent a larger attack than usual against the base, determined to crush the Rebels at last. Red Squadron, led by Commander Luke Skywalker, were ordered to take out the Imperial transports that were landing on the planet.
During Red Squadron's attack on the Imperial transports, Skywalker, before destroying the fourth transport, briefly entered the immense ship with his X-wing to pick up advanced shield technology for future use, having spotted them.
Upon the destruction of the remaining four transports, the invasion was temporarily stalled. A TIE fighter then ambushed Luke only for it to be shot down by Red Three, Sarkli. Afterward, the second wave of Imperial transports, consisting of loader shuttles, arrived to strengthen the ground forces. The Rebel General Jan Dodonna then ordered Red Squadron to shoot down the loader shuttles, as well as defend the final Rebel transport Luminous that was currently docked on one of the islands near the temple until it was ready for takeoff. Afterward, the Luminous managed to escape. After a majority of the loader shuttles and dropships were destroyed, a transport slipped through defenses and deployed a stormtrooper force into the Great Temple, pinning General Dodonna in the Ceremonial Chamber. Skywalker ordered Sarkli to defend the transports, while he and Wedge Antilles landed in the temple and shot their way through the attackers.
Red Squadron ready to attack the Imperial invaders.
The two managed to save Captain Bren Derlin and Dodonna, and a squad of Rebel troopers, and proceeded to the entrance of the base, where they were pinned down by two AT-STs. Sarkli swooped down and destroyed the walkers, allowing the group to escape in a GR-75 medium transport. General Dodonna then thanked Skywalker, as he felt it was because of Skywalker sending Sarkli off that there were survivors.
However, there was still an Imperial blockade awaiting them in space. In addition, Emperor Palpatine expressed his displeasure at the turn of events, although Darth Vader revealed that it was only a temporary setback. Red Squadron was next deployed to Dantooine to aid the defection of Tycho Celchu. Although an Imperial victory, the battle was also seen as a Rebel victory, because the Rebel command was safely evacuated. However, not all Rebel commanders were evacuated during this battle, two examples being Bothan High Command and General Jan Dodonna, who were still on Yavin IV after the battle. Bothan High Command was destroyed during another battle whilst Jan Dodonna was captured during the final battle of Yavin.
In the 2001 video game Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader, a level called "Revenge on Yavin" takes place on Yavin's fourth moon. The level sees the player, as Darth Vader, attempt to destroy several Rebel GR-75 medium transports before they can leave the moon's surface. They are defended by BTL Y-wing starfighters and T-65 X-wing starfighters, and occasionally, T-47 airspeeders can be seen speeding across the moon's surface. Additionally, in this level, the planet Yavin is seen in background a purple color, rather than the usual orange. This level, as well as a similar level which had the player take control of Vader during the Battle of Yavin to prevent the Death Star's destruction, were apparently intended to tease the planned spinoff game Star Wars: Dark Squadron before the latter game was ultimately passed over in favor for another game starring Chewbacca. The canonical battle, called "Revenge of the Empire", appears in the 2003 video game Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike, with the player flying as Luke Skywalker. In addition, the bonus mission was likewise omitted from the co-op mode for Rebel Strike (which was itself a port of Rogue Leader), presumably to avoid confusion.
The level was designed by Jamie Urmacher, who wanted to create a basic level for players who hadn't played a Rogue Squadron game before Rebel Strike. As such, the TIEs were also added in so the players could rack up points for medals and have a challenge. As there was no reference from the movie, Steve Huelsback composed original music for the level. In The Making of Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike, when covering various gaffes and hiccups experienced during development as a result of "reinventing the wheel" regarding the engine for Rogue Leader, one of the gaffes shown was Luke in the Yavin Temple running around erratically while his head was slightly floating unattached to his main body.
- "State of the Arts" — Star Wars Gamer 9
- Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader: Prima's Official Strategy Guide
- Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike: The Official Nintendo Player's Guide