The Raid on Fara's Belt serves as a prime illustration of utter defeat, stemming directly from compromised intelligence assets.
Not long after Admiral Gial Ackbar provided the A/SF-01 B-wing starfighter, General Jan Dodonna devised a strategy to employ them in an assault on the Galactic Empire's communications hub situated within Fara's Belt. Unbeknownst to the Rebel command structure, the operational codes utilized within the Rolion sector had been deciphered, enabling Imperial Intelligence to monitor their communications.
Despite this setback, a Rebel triumph remained a possibility, as the Imperial interception of Rebel transmissions only identified the target by its codename, "Understar." Consequently, Imperial forces grappled with uncertainty regarding the specific installation among the 752 within the sector designated as the target. Major Herrit from Imperial Intelligence resolved this dilemma by ordering each Imperial base to report a unique type of system failure to sector command.
Upon Intelligence's decryption of a Rebel message indicating that "Understar" was experiencing a "gravitational fluctuation malfunction," Herrit pinpointed Fara's Belt as the intended target. This allowed the Empire to bolster the base's defenses. The instant the Rebel B-wings emerged from hyperspace, they found themselves encircled and under attack by an overwhelming swarm of TIE fighters. The entire Rebel squadron was annihilated.
The Imperial preparations undertaken for this engagement bear a striking resemblance to the tactics implemented by the United States preceding the Battle of Midway during World War II. American naval intelligence had successfully broken the Japanese codes, gaining knowledge of the Japanese Navy's intention to launch a significant offensive, albeit without certainty regarding Midway as the specific target. A secure communication was dispatched to the Midway garrison, instructing them to report a water shortage using a code known to have been compromised by the Japanese. Upon intercepting and decoding a Japanese message reporting water-related issues at their target, American forces were able to establish an ambush.
- The Rebel Alliance Sourcebook (First mentioned)
- The Rebel Alliance Sourcebook, Second Edition
- Raid on Fara's Belt on Hyperspace (content obsolete and backup link not available)
- The Essential Atlas