How long was the Galactic Civil War?

Did ANH signify the start, middle, or the tail end of the war?

 

Probably, in terms of actual combat, a little over 4 years. ANH is probably just after the first few battles.

 

It lasted about 21 years. The Rebellion was officially formed a year or two before ANH, and peace was declared with the Empire 15 years after ROTJ.

 

A little over 6 hours. =P

 

About the same lenght as WWII then?

 

Unless WW2 lasted for 21 years, then no.

 

Everyone's saying that the Rebel Alliance was formed about 6 years before ROTJ. So in that case the war lasted that long.

 

The war lasted for 15 years after ROTJ.

 

You should try saying all this EU stuff to them on the Ep. III site! Eat you alive, they would!

 

You asked a question that the movies didn't answer. Why are you then complaining when an EU answer is given?

 

Let me put it this way: It'd be pretty foolish to think that the entire Imperial fleet was at Endor in RotJ.

 

But without an Emperor, there can be no Empire.

 

Why not?

 

Apparently there can be, because the war lasted for 15 more years.

 

Which is because of the various Imperial leaders who took charge in an attempt to avenge the Emperor.

You don't think those who worked so hard to get a high rank in the Empire would suddenly say "Oops, the Emperor died, oh well, we give up, go ahead and blow us to bits, Rebellion" and throw up the white flag, do you?

 

No offence, Bib, but GL implicitly made it totally clear that the war was over after The Battle of Endor.

I myself never really believed Lucas's ending to ROTJ, that the Empire was totally finished for, either. I can't remember the exact amount of ISDs, but they number in their hundreds of thousands! And in ROTJ, I only saw about 20 ISDs, if that. Besides, as Tarkin proved in ANH, there most certainly was other Imperial officers with the ambition to take Vader and Palpatine's place as leader of the Empire. But that still doesn't change the fact that Lucas wanted the Empire to be totally over by ROTJ, which would mean the end of the war.

By asking the question, I really wanted to know whether the movies covered the entire Galactic Civil War, or was it merely a large chunk, or even just the tail end of the war; just a few years at the end after, say 10 years of conflict.

 

No offence, Bib, but GL implicibly made it totally clear that the war was over after The Battle of Endor.

It doesn't matter what was implied. It matters what actually happened.

The Battle of Endor was the turning point in the war, not the end.

 

But isn't Lucas' word final on any subject concerning Star Wars? Isn't only his word canon?

 

No offence, Bib, but GL implicibly made it totally clear that the war was over after The Battle of Endor.

I know this wasn't directed at me, but I'll reply anyway. I don't see how he made it "implicibly clear" that the war was over at the end of RotJ. He made it clear that the Emperor was destroyed and the Rebellion just came up with a major victory, but not that the entire Empire went down. It was a happy moment of celebration for the Rebellion because they finally won another major victory against the Empire.

As Bib said, it was a major turning point in the war, not the end. Celebration can come after a major victory; it does in the real world too.

But isn't Lucas' word final on any subject concerning Star Wars? Isn't only his word canon?

Please, don't turn this into a canon debate. Lucas' word is only canon if he steps into the movie and says it. He is out of universe, and only the events that happen in universe are canon. Nothing in RotJ says that the war ended, therefore it is left up to interpretation.

If you wish to believe that's the end of the war, go right ahead, it's your interpretation. But I choose to believe differently.

 

But isn't Lucas' word final on any subject concerning Star Wars?

Where do you get that idea?

Isn't only his word canon?

No, everything is canon, except Infinities.

 

Try not to get into a canon war. The point is that the Galactic Civil War, by any logical terms, must have lasted some time after RotJ.

The only difference is that the Imps didn't stand much of a chance after Episode VI.

 

No one is getting into a canon war here; I was just clarifying to him what is canon and what isn't.

 

The fact remains that whenever canon is mentioned by either side, nothing good can come of it.

Unless I'm greatly mistaken, I don't think WWII ended the second that Hitler died.

 

Solid evidence. There are many mirrors between the Galactic Civil War and WWII. This is very likely to be another one.

 

You asked a question that the movies didn't answer. Why are you then complaining when an EU answer is given?

Because, as stated in Section I, Subsection 1 of the Forum Rules:

EUers. No stating that EU is canon or the ONLY correct solution to a question. You may present an EU answer as an answer, but not the "right" answer. You may know everything about what goes on in the EU, but some people have never heard of it. They may be looking for a number of different theories on an answer, and to present yours as the absolute, is the wrong way to do things.

Also:

Purists. No rejecting theories purely because they are EU. If you see an EU idea presented as an answer, and you don't agree with it, politely state your disagreement. The EU is just another idea to be presented for discussion.

And lastly, from TOS:

Palpatine died at Endor, and the second Death Star was destroyed. With this crippling blow, the Imperial reign of terror over the galaxy ended. The Rebellion began forming a New Republic, and worlds across the galaxy celebrated their newfound freedom.

So despite various attempts by the Empire, Thrawn, Isard, and cloned dictators, I believe the period of history known as The Galactic Civil War ended at Endor, giving it a time line of 3-5 years.