Battle of Kessel (0 ABY)

A space battle was fought over the planet Kessel between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire during the Galactic Civil War. Around 0.5 ABY, shortly after the Battle of Yavin, Alliance Admiral Gial Ackbar, along with a number of other Rebels, was captured by the bounty hunter Boba Fett during a mission to the Saleucami system. Ackbar was sold to the Empire and was later transported under heavy Imperial guard to the prison colony on Kessel for interrogation. When Alliance High Command discovered that the Mon Calamari Admiral had been taken captive, they dispatched a Rebel fleet and Renegade Squadron—the Alliance's new elite fighting force—to ambush the Imperial fleet holding Ackbar in space over Kessel.

Under the command of former smugglers–turned–Rebel Commanders Han Solo and Col Serra, Renegade Squadron destroyed the communications array on the Imperial-class Star Destroyer where Ackbar was being held and additionally incapacitated two Victory II-class frigates. After dogfighting Imperial starfighters and bombers, they boarded the Star Destroyer, broke the captive Ackbar out of prison, and transported him to safety. After the fleet jumped into hyperspace, Renegade Squadron decided to launch a mission to liberate the rest of the Rebels that had been captured in the Saleucami system.

Text and facts from the “Battle of Kessel (0 ABY)” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.