I’ve pondered this for a long while, and I think I heard an explanation for it once before, but it’s gone back to making no sense to me.
In The Empire Strikes Back, just before the battle on Hoth, there is the following exchange between Darth Vader and General Veers:
VADER
What is it, General?
VEERS
My lord, the fleet has moved out
of light-speed. Com-Scan has
detected an energy field protecting
an area around the sixth planet of
the Hoth system. The field is
strong enough to deflect any
bombardment.
VADER
(angrily)
The Rebels are alerted to our
presence. Admiral Ozzel came out
of light-speed too close to the
system.
VEERS
He felt surprise was wiser...
VADER
He is as clumsy as he is stupid.
General, prepare your troops for a
surface attack.
VEERS
Yes, my lord.
So, if I have this right, Admiral Ozzel felt surprise was the best choice, and so he came out of light-speed close to the Hoth system. Somehow, the Rebels noticed and activated their energy field. But … if the Imperial Fleet came out of light-speed further away, wouldn’t the Rebels have more time to notice and not be surprised? Vader’s line about the Rebels being alerted just doesn’t seem to make sense for me.
My guess has always been that something to do with exiting hyperspace is particularly noticeable. The equivalent of slamming on brakes causing a loud screech as opposed to slowing down slowly and approaching with the motor cut off.
If they had come out of hyperspace (or whatever) further away, they could have sent in fighter-bombers that might have been able to sneak in. However, instead the big, easily-detectable ships came out too close and were seen.
I agree. The difference between a TIE fighter (what, 20 feet across?) and a Star Destroyer (miles long) is incredible. A dinky little fighter might have a chance of sneaking up on the planet. Star Destroyers are incapable of sneaking at all.
Vader wanted to come out of hyperspace past their sensor range and allow the fleet to assume whatever formation would be most advantageous for taking out the base. Then, once in formation, they’d cruise at sub-light speed. The Rebels would have detected them further out, but they were so overmatched that it wouldn’t have made a difference anyway. Plus, the Imps would have had screening elements in the rear to catch the fleeing Rebel transports.
Instead, Ozzel drops in right on top of them. The Star Destroyers are too close and can be targetted by the base’s ion cannon, disabling them and letting most of the Rebels escape. The base is still destroyed, but all of their top brass is able to get away. An operation meant to cripple, if not out-right destroy, the Rebellion instead becomes a serious but far from fatal set back.
Even if they assumed an ideal formation and cruised in, the rebels would detect them and then have even MORE time to activate the force shield, prepare for evacuation, et cetera. It just seems counterintuitive that by dropping out of hyperspace far away and then cruising in, they’d achieve … well, the surprise that Ozzel was trying to get by dropping in on top of them.
Eh.
Related question: did the Empire know there was an ion cannon on the base?
Isn’t the element of surprise a moot point anyway, given that “the Imps” elect to attack the base with those lumbering Imperial Walkers? Not only are they slow, but presumably some assembly was required on the surface of Hoth, no?
There was a wonderful discussion on the Walkers a while back. Hope that wasn’t one of the lost threads…
lno: Naw, see, surprise had nothing to do with it. In this situation, the element of surprise was useless. The Rebels were going to get their shields up no matter what, but if the Imps had had time to better co-ordinate their forces, they could have blocked off the warp lanes, set up a defensive screen outside of the range of the ion cannon to capture the transports before they can jump to hyperspace, and actually gotten some use out of those Star Destroyers. With the force field up, the Star Destroyers are useless for orbital bombardment, and once the ground forces had deactivated the shield, they’re still useless because they’d hit their own troops. The SDs should have been held back, well clear of the planet, so that they could effectivly interdict fleeing craft before they could clear Hoth’s gravity well and make the jump to hyperspace. Ozzel dropped them in right next to the planet, where they got racked by the ion cannon and even ran into each other. Any officer incompetent enough to deploy his spaceships so close together that they’re actually bumping into each other deserves a force choke.
<Geek mode ON>
Actually, in one of the recent Star Wars games, we saw how this happens. Apparently a big-ass ship comes down to the surface and drops off the walkers intact and ready to lumber.
<Geek mode OFF (hopefully)>
Kneadtoknow got it right… coming out of hyperspace releases a big burst of radiation that it the equivalent of shouting “I’m here! Look at me!” For that matter, jumping into hyperspace does the same thing.
Coming out of hyperspace outside of the Rebel base’s sensor range would have allowed the fleet to regroup and drift into the system relatively undetected, probably until they got within range of blasting the planet (Star Destroyers have excellent straight-line acceleration). Another option would have been to drop out of hyperspace outside the system, then micro-jump right up next to the planet to initiate the bombardment… although I’m pretty sure that the Imperials would have wanted to capture several of the Rebel leaders for interrogation.
The Walkers were used only after it became apparent that the Rebels were alert to the Imperial presence… a “Plan B”, if you will. And, no, they don’t need any assembly… they’re brought down in a larger drop shuttle, unfold their legs, and they’re good to go.
Why would Ozzel think that surprise was a good idea, when in fact it turns out that surprise is not a good idea.
There are two answers:
[1] Ozzel: “Well, …, um, …, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Just 'cuz it didn’t work doesn’t mean that it wasn’t a good idea to try it. Hindsight is 20/20.”
[2] Vader: “He is as clumsy as he is stupid.”
The answer is: it wasn’t a good idea. Ozzel is a boob.
Surprise is always a good idea (unless you’re laying a trap). The issue at hand is how best to achieve that surprise. Ozzel, apparently, felt that dropping out of hyperspace close to the planet would achieve said surprise. Vader felt differently.
Probably whoever preceded him was even more inept. How did Piett make admiral? (note: Ozzel was an admiral, Veers was a general. And this means that I’m a geek.)
Miller, thanks. That explanation makes sense. I’m sure I’ll forget it by the next time I watch the movie, but for now, you’re my hero.
They were ready for the walkers. A-Wings were out with the tow cables and harpoons. Even the ground troops had their little laser-machine-guns and what not.
Those weren’t A-Wings. They were snowspeeders, presumably the same sort of vehicle as the landspeeder Luke used on Tatooine. A-Wings were one-man figter-interceptor starfighters and they don’t make their first appearance until RoTJ.
I simply viewed that as another instance of the “Kessel Run in X parsecs” thing–a spot of script incoherence that requires rationalization after the fact to make sense of. It’s a much less offending instance, of course, because it’s much more easily patched–hyperspace egress being a big detectable event is a lot more sensible than Han really referring to pilotting skill in slingshotting a black hole instead of the speed of his ship (which is what he was talking about as written).
(note: Ozzel was an admiral, Veers was a general. And this means that I’m a geek.)