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Science Fiction & FantasyHow did the AT-ATs get to the surface of Hoth?
[+58] [4] Reinstate Monica - Goodbye SE
[2012-01-19 19:18:10]
[ star-wars the-empire-strikes-back battle-of-hoth ]
[ https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/9346/how-did-the-at-ats-get-to-the-surface-of-hoth ]

I'm curious how these beasts got down to the surface of Hoth.

AT-ATs on Hoth

Did the Galactic Empire land them in big ships, if so which ones?

(3) Yeah - they landed troops so they could cut the generator - enabling them to land troops. Makes no sense. Meanwhile alliance forces escape. - niico
(3) @niico They landed troops outside of the area of the shield because "The field is strong enough to deflect any bombardment." The AT-AT were able to walk through the shield where faster landing craft would (as per most shield dynamics) be hindered - Cearon O'Flynn
(1) Don't forget the base's ion cannon, which was strong enough to deter Star Destroyers from pursuing their transports too closely. A direct course under the base's guns would've been suicide. - Cadence
[+60] [2012-01-19 19:32:33] DVK-on-Ahch-To [ACCEPTED]

Star Wars Wikia AT-AT article [1]

AT-ATs were typically deployed for ground assault from orbit by large dropships [2].

Walkers stationed within larger warships, such as the Executor-class Star Dreadnought, were delivered to planetary surfaces within Incom Y-85 Titan dropships [3], capable of carrying four 22.5-meter AT-ATs.

Incom Y-85 Titan dropship

Smaller starships, such as the Imperial-class Star Destroyer, deployed single walkers via the Theta-class AT-AT barge [4].

Theta-class AT-AT barge - very similar to Y-85 as it was also made by Incom

Other designs, including the Telgorn Corporation Warlord Dropship [5], were capable of delivering a platoon of four walkers.

(Images courtesy Wookieepedia)

Since the commander of Blizzard Force, General Veers [6], served directly under Darth Vader and was a protégé of sorts, one can assume that the force was headquartered on Executor SSD - therefore the answer to your question as far as Hoth is Incom Y-85 Titan dropships [7].

This is confirmed by Hoth Battle Wookieepedia [8]:

This mechanized force was deployed by several Y-85 Titan dropships, and larger landing assault craft. (src: Star Wars: Complete Locations).

[1] https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/All_Terrain_Armored_Transport
[2] https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Dropship
[3] https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Y-85_Titan_dropship
[4] https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Theta-class_AT-AT_barge
[5] https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Warlord_Dropship
[6] https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Maximilian_Veers
[7] https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Y-85_Titan_dropship
[8] https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Battle_of_Hoth

(1) The Wookieepedia entry for the Battle of Hoth confirms the last part of your answer: "This mechanized force was deployed by several Y-85 Titan dropships, and larger landing assault craft." - gnovice
(2) You also see these drop ships used in the games Force Commander and Empire At War (Force Commander even has a Battle of Hoth map) - HorusKol
(4) When I watched the movie as a kid, I couldn't understand how they managed to land AT-ATs to destroy the shield generators in the first place. Wouldn't the planetary shield prevent stuff from landing? I know there is probably an in-universe explanation about the shield only stopping energy weapons, but to a kid it doesn't make much sense: shields are supposed to stop stuff! - Andres F.
(2) @AndresF.: interesting, perhaps the shields were localised around the base? - Reinstate Monica - Goodbye SE
(1) @Wikis: well, it's called a planetary shield... :P - Andres F.
(1) @AndresF. I did a +1 but then read the script. I think it is only called an energy shield. - Reinstate Monica - Goodbye SE
(5) @Wikis: you are completely right. I was mislead by Wookiepedia, which called it a planetary shield. But as you point out, the script is clear: 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. - Andres F.
(1) @Wikis: still, even if it is an "energy field" protecting a small area, it must only work against energy weapons. Otherwise, AT-ATs wouldn't be able to penetrate the shield (either by walking in, or firing into). It must also be very specialized against orbital bombardment weapons, otherwise the AT-ATs beam weapons wouldn't be able to penetrate it either! - Andres F.
(2) @Wikis: I'm reading a script, and when Leia is discussing the evacuation plan, she states: "LEIA: [...] The heavy transport ships will leave as soon as they're loaded. Only two fighter escorts per ship. The energy shield can only be opened for a short time, so you'll have to stay very close to your transports." We can only assume the shield is capable of stopping matter (e.g. ships), which means the AT-ATs must have landed outside the shield, and were firing into it. Which also means the shield cannot stop beam weapons! Seems like a plot hole. - Andres F.
(1) FYI - in one of the games (Jedi Academy, IIRC) you infiltrate an Imperial base where an invasion force is being prepped and there are walkers being loaded into dropships. - Omegacron
Those drop ships look really similar to the troop transports you see in episode one. - CBredlow
(1) @AndresF.: While it doesn't explain all the issues, planetary shield can well refer to a shield whose emitters are planetbound, rather than a shield that necessarily wraps all of a planet. - O. R. Mapper
(1) @O.R.Mapper Yes, as mentioned in some of the comments above, it's a small field "protecting an area around the sixth planet of the Hoth system" (that area is likely Echo Base). - Andres F.
(2) @AndresF. there are two ways that this could be possible without there being a plothole 1) the shield stops everything above a certain velocity. i.e. a starship is too fast whereas AT-AT and troops (and possibly the speeders) are slowenough to pass, Therefore AT-AT could walk through the shield to then shoot the generator once through the shield. Gungan shield technology has this feature 2) the shield projects an umbrella protecting from above but leaving a gap below which an AT-AT could walkthrough. I always assumed the shield worked as in idea 1 because in 2 you could fly ships in the gap - Cearon O'Flynn
:-o A Wookieepedia-based answer? You can do better than that! - Rand al'Thor
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[+4] [2013-01-08 02:34:37] Nagurski

They landed outside the shield then walked through. Once they destroyed the generator the general told Darth Vader that he could land.


(1) Backing this up is the quote from the script VEERS: My lord, the fleet has moves 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. - phantom42
(1) But why not just land all the troops and walk through. Why bother taking the shield down at all? Doing so gives them time to escape. The whole concept of 'walking through' such a shield generally seems unrealistic - but I guess that is the nature of shields in The Star Wars universe. - niico
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[+4] [2016-09-20 23:04:25] Donatello Swansino

The canon answer, out of the book Battlefront: Twilight Company, is that Gozanti-class cruisers. The ship was introduced in The Phantom Menace, and has been shown to have been used by the Empire for carrying AT-ATs and TIE fighters.enter image description here


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[+1] [2015-03-07 21:50:49] jussi raitoniemi

The Rebels had to deactivate their shields so they could use ion-cannon to neutralize threatening Star Destroyers until shield would closed and transport would get rendezvous point.

Meanwhile Empire landed its AT-AT Walkers because they knew that shield was soon to be closed again and they could destroy the generator only from inside the shield.


(1) I appreciate that English may not be your first language, but we do insist on the use of basic spelling and grammar checking. - Valorum
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