AT-AT's were large, four-footed machines resembling mechanical elephants. Although their primary purpose was transportation of Imperial Stormtroopers, the walkers themselves were formidable. They possessed head-mounted blasters[?] and armor too thick for blasters themselves, and they could walk over--and thereby crush--people and equipment.
At the Battle of Hoth[?] in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, the Empire used walkers to land beyond the limits of the Rebel Alliance's shield. General Maximillian Veers[?] commanded the ground forces and advanced on the shield generator. Faced with such forces, Luke Skywalker devised a strategy to disable the walkers: His team of snowspeeders[?] would use their magnetic harpoons and tow cables to entangle the walkers' feet, causing them to fall. Wedge Antilles and his gunner Wes Janson[?] managed to disable one walker this way, Luke took out a second by cutting open a hole in it with his lightsaber and tossing in a thermal detonator[?], and a third blew up when a speeder crashed into it.
Despite this, the Battle of Hoth was one of the most devastating losses for the Rebels in the entire Galactic Civil War[?].
Walkers were only one example of Imperial ground hardware. Other examples include the AT-ST[?] or "chicken walker," the AT-PT[?], and the MT-AT[?].
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