How the Empire Reacted to the Death Star's Destruction [Canon] - Star Wars Explained

When the first Death Star was destroyed, half the galaxy cheered as the technological terror of the Empire was annihilated and their image of being an unstoppable force was shattered, giving hope to millions that the Imperial regime would one day be toppled. But what about the other half of the galaxy, the half that was loyal to the Empire and supported its actions? How did the loyal Imperial citizens and stormtroopers react to news of the first Death Star’s destruction?

Once they received the news, the initial reaction was widespread shock and despair. Shock at how such a massive battle station could be destroyed by such a small force of rebels, and despair once millions of families were notified that their loved ones perished as a result of the super weapon’s destruction. As the First Death Star housed over a million Imperials, ranging from those in technical positions to those within the Stormtrooper Core.

Most of whom didn’t even know what the battlestation’s true purpose was until it first fired it superlaser. Many were left unsettled by its destruction and sought therapy like sessions to deal with what had happened, especially the newcomers serving in the military. We know of a least one junior officer in the Imperial navy who had a superior who made it clear that if anyone under his command still felt unsettled by the Death Star’s destruction that they ought to come to him and talk about it.

The initial feelings of shock and despair soon turned into a deep hatred and need of revenge on the Rebels, or in the Empire’s eyes, the terrorists who destroyed the battlestation and killed over a million of its citizens. The few survivors of the Death Star, mainly the TIE Pilots who were outside of it during its explosion, had PTSD afterwards as they witnessed the death of all of their comrades right in front of their very eyes. Some couldn’t get over the fact that they could have done something different during the battle against the Rebel X-wings and Y-wings which could have prevented its destruction.

Shortly after the news of the Death Star’s destruction, the fact of a traitor sabotaging the superweapon, done by Galen Erso, was leaked to the public. This sparked outrage toward him and all those connected to his traitorous actions. As a result the Empire began to purge those within its ranks of suspected treason to ensure such betrayal would never happen again.

It became a treasonous act to even suggest that the Death Star’s destruction was a justifiable act done by the Rebels, or to even argue that it was wrong for the Empire to destroy Alderaan. Such talk was punishable by court martial if done in the military and possibly even a prison sentence to civilians. Special units were created as a way to prevent this from ever happening again, and the entire Imperial Military was utilized as a force that was to wage absolute war on the growing Rebel Alliance.

All those who were loyal to the Empire, whether the civilians or the soldiers, were eager to do everything in their power to ensure that revenge, or in their minds, justice was brought upon the Rebels for their actions in destroying the Death Star and to ensure that all those who were on the battlestation didn’t die in vain.