system
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human
[star wars EU] Help me understand what happened on endor

So the imperial garrison there was defeated by a tribe of locals and some rebel commando's. The garrison had the empires special forces, stormtroopers as well as armored units like AT-STs and AT-ATs. How did the rebels over come all this?

How did they even take out the AT-AT?
gpt
Luke said it best: "Your overconfidence is your weakness."

The Empire, having ruled the galaxy for decades with little to no real opposition, save the tiny Rebellion, assumed that all of their machines and power could hold any planet and repel any assault. 

On the other hand, Endor is the home of the Ewoks. They may look adorable to the average human eye, but their entire culture is one of savage warfare. Just look at their initial treatment of the rebels when they were captured. It took 3PO posing as a god to set them free, and the god got them riled up into a literal *war frenzy* by telling violent war stories about how bad the empire is. And when the battle was over, what instruments did the Ewoks use to celebrate? The severed heads of their enemies. Ewoks ain't nothing to fuck with. 

They're highly intelligent, have surprisingly dense muscle mass, and are more bloodthirsty than even a raging Wookie. And when facing the Empire, they had the advantage in knowing the terrain, the local hazards, and how to conduct guerilla warfare on their own terms. 

The Empire expected a clone wars-style showdown of technology, with blaster bolts flying, explosives detonating, and fighters roaring overhead. Instead, the very ground beneath their feet sprung up to murder them. The trees crumbled on top of their walking machines, crushing them, and their soldiers were repeatedly stabbed in the vulnerable sections between their armored plates. Then they were beheaded, literally and figuratively.

Weapons and armor built to deflect energy bolts did nothing to stop the pure kinetic force of Endor and its inhabitants.