Ozzel seems to have one hell of a chip on his shoulder, perhaps a desire to prove himself in the eyes of those who dismissed him as somebody who only got his posting due to family connections. That would certainly explain his more reckless and impulsive behavior in his early career, the ramifications of which never seemed to dawn on him until he was practically staring them in the face. While he seemed to grow out of this behavior by the time of the Battle of Hoth, it's likely that, to a degree, this just became part of his MO that he couldn't completely shake. To his credit, the sort of aggressive, shock-and-awe strategy he seemed to favor fit in perfectly with the Tarkin Doctrine, but Hoth was a situation that called for methodical, restrained action, and when his blunder became clear in the eyes of Darth Vader, it got him killed. As for why he made that fatal mistake, it's possible that the creation of the rank of Grand Admiral exposed that old chip on his shoulder as he saw younger and more talented officers (i.e. Thrawn) promoted ahead of him. Perhaps he felt that being able to claim credit for the swift destruction of the Rebellion would get him promoted to Grand Admiral and silence all doubts of his competence once and for all.
Sound similar to another officer called Morvis back in the Mandalorian Wars. It took Zayne and his anger to fix the man up. Too bad, Ozzel doesn’t have a Zayne
You know if you had a separate channel were you do actual history i would watch it, you’re so calm and you voice is amazing when you describe things. So please make a channel like that
@@isaccvilla20 funfact: Ozzel was in charge of Vaders star ship , Vader got so sick of Admiral Ozzel that he killed him . Ozzel made too many careless mistakes .
@@isaccvilla20 Well I mean he's dead and he'd probably won't get far because he prefers to ignore everyone, in combat ( when he wasn't in a AT-AT he was a simple coward that pretends he's tough .
Ozzel was appointed commander of Death Squadron and the Executor by Emperor Palpatine himself, who then told Vader he couldn't kill him unless Ozzel gave Vader a reason Palpatine would consider good. Ozzel was another of Palpatines tests for Vader.
He’s like WW1 veterans in WW2; loving calvary, has got a half-decent skill in strategy, and has survived a prior, very vicious, war, and ends up making some rather suicidal assaults. Poor Ozzel
he is a glory hound. he was getting plenty of troops killed way before Vader did him. and we know Vader loved the clones so he really wanted do kill him for that anyways.
@Pedro Kantor not in the French high command Gamelin, Weygard, and other were all generals WW1, hell Weygard was in his 70s during the battle of France
@@Sithplayer actually it was thier chronically incompetent command structure EG they didn't have one. All the generals kinda did Thier own thing without telling anybody first. There was no cooperation at all with the BEF who FYI did actually have thier shit together. There were multiple easy opportunities to stop the invasion and it was all squandered by those morons.
Jean-Luc Martel true and their tanks did have the superiority until Rommel brought the Flak Cannons 88mm down and found out that they eviscerate the B1s heavy armor. Doesn’t help they lost a lot of resources when they set up the godawful Maginot line.
So Vader thought Ozzel might be a spy or just a incompetent idiot, and decides to put him in charge of _vital military operations_ to what?… Find an excuse to kill him (Vader doesn't need a excuse)? If he was a spy it would make sense to question him instead of killing him without even knowing if he had been spying. And if he was a moron, well putting a moron in charge is a moronic thing to do. So either way Vader made a preventable mistake. And Vader's plan for Hoth was mistaken anyway - the Rebels knew the Empire was coming, they identified a Imperial probe droid and were already evacuating. And the Empire had the telemetry showing a Wookie, who Vader would've picked as Chewie, so they knew the Rebels knew. By the time a careful infiltration of the system has been accomplished, Hoth base would've been abandoned. The most obvious answer is Vader just had a tantrum because he's unstable and a really bad boss.
@@sheevone4359 "You have failed me for the last time" is a lot more convincing than destroying a security terminal with your lightsaber or an elevator with a helmet
Yeah, except Kendal was somewhat protected by the Ozzel name, he needed an excuse to kill him. Besides, at least Vader’s anger ends up expunging incompetence, unlike like Darth Emo who only decides to break shit like a spoiled brat.
Ozzel did just well enough to accomplish his mission (or at least keep from getting killed in combat). I ultimately feel that he was the Glory Hound-type Imperial who's more concerned about their own reputation and got to where he was largely due to family connections
If there was an officer who was brave enough to tell the sith lords that their Hocus Pocus force abilities and leader ship style is making the military job harder to keep order in their empire. And that they should just sit back looking all pretty while the military does it job without having to worry about being choked out. That individual would be buried in a massive casket, because of how big his balls were to talk like that to the scrotom looking emperor and his chard bdsm mascot.
Wow I’m surprised I’m not the only one who questioned this is a possibility. I always thought his attempt to dissuade Vader away from suspecting Hoth was because he was a rebel spy. Mainly because back when I was a kid I read a comic about a rebel spy that had snuck onto the death star; it made me realize that rebel spies could affectively have been planted anywhere .
You know. I think it’s a mix of all three with two of them going hand in hand. Helping the Rebels, albeit not intentionally, would make Vader’s life and mission harder and as shown by the comics his leadership is...sketchy at best. So while rushing into Hoth at the first sense of battle in the months following yavin he got excited, rushed in and when being told that the rebel base was alerted he could’ve thought that it’d make Vader’s life even more difficult.
If you're struggling to find topics I'm reading Star Wars Allegiance at the moment about a squad of stormtroopers who desert. I'm finding it very interesting. I didn't know stormtroopers could be very moral people who joined because they wanted to protect the citizens of the empire. It would be interesting to know if that happened very often.
How Ozzel got to be a full admiral in the Imperial Fleet let alone rear admiral would have some scratching their heads. Hoth is just the final example of his impulsiveness that seals his fate. He should have been very concerned how most fleet commanders that served under Vader ended up after failing miserably. I would have that Vader would have chose Admiral Okins instead of Ozzel to lead the Hoth expedition. Okins at least was more competent and achieved his position and rank through merit.
He reminds me of a lot of, especially British, officers from WW1. Wealth and privilege got them their commission, but their arrogance and self assuredness caused them to make a lot of tactical blunders, though it does seem like he learned a little bit along the way, but perhaps only enough to make him more overconfident that he knew what he was doing.
That's actually Hanlon's Razor. Occam's Razor is "the simplest explanation is usually the correct one." Come to think of it, both of them seem applicable in this case.
If Admiral Ozzel WAS truly a Rebel or secretly sympathized with them... hes then the WORST spy ever... it was so obvious he was either one the most inept flag officers or obvious traitors that he got himself killed... when he couldve NOT screwed up so badly... assuming he was screwing up DELIBERATELY to tip off the Rebels.. but then.. wouldnt have Vader sensed that he harbored feelings and even his intent and loyalty to the Rebel side?? Not that it mattered since he choked him to death either way
From what I have seen I would say that he's very headstrong and always believes he's right and that nothing can hurt him and that his plans should work but due to everyone else being useless it keep failing yet in truth it's his failure to see the bigger picture that causes his problems. (Just my opinion don't kill me for it pls)
I wouldn't that the decisions at Hoth weren't necessarily bad... The reason for killing Ozzel was that he came in "too close" to the system. However, given what we know on the Rebel Alliance, that while a lot of what they have is "second hand," it's not as though they have no ability to detect ships. The asteroid field might make it tough, but a good sensor team might still notice the motion... Similar to how the Pear Harbor raid was actually detected by radar before they came in. What happened there was that the incoming planes were discounted as American B-17s that were supposed to be coming in and thus ignored. Meaning that radar detected the Japanese attack, but the warning was ignored... Coming out of lightspeed farther away might well have still been detected. And if this happens, Vader and Ozzel might have had a very different problem. Because the fleet is father away, the Rebels would have had more time to evacuate troops, equipment, and ships, and wouldn't need to fire large ion shots and go through a gap in the shields. Which could well mean that by the time that the fleet is in position to bombard Echo base, much of the Rebel forces have escaped... and the Rebels would still have their shield which would require a ground assault to take it out. Now... some Legends EU material made some case that the Empire made some infrequent patrols through the Hoth System area and that coming out father away might allow Death Squadron to come off as just another patrol that wouldn't be strong enough to trigger an evacuation but strong enough to keep the Rebels on Hoth… It'd make for a good explanation, but given that Star Wars sensors can detect the class of ships... for later in "the Empire Strikes Back," when Luke is approaching Bespin, an officer reports to Vader on Cloud City, "Sir, ship approaching, X-Wing class." So... if the sensors are good enough to identify the type of ship, then it would stand to reason that the Rebels on Hoth could have not only detected Death Squadron but also known the ships in it. And I'd doubt that backwater sector forces would have a Super Star Destroyer on routine patrols. Thus... the Empire might have faced having to make a ground attack on Hoth to destroy the shield generator anyway.
One of my favorite things to think about is what Star Wars would be like if they remade everything and cleaned up all the retcons. After watching this video, I'm pretty sure the writers made him dumb just to lampshade some minor critiques in the story, and then fans further picked him apart and came up with this theory to explain things. But if Star Wars was remade, I'd want Admiral Ozzel to be FULLY ambiguous. There'd be lots of conflicting evidence teased for fans to pick up on and make cases for one side or the other. Is he just some hilarious buffoon? Or is he secretly a genius and a spy? Even the rebels would be confused. All of this would culminate after the original trilogy with Ozzel getting his own memorial statue besides more clear-cut war heroes of the rebellion. Somewhere on his plaque, it would read: "Even after weighing all of this evidence, it is difficult to say whether Admiral Ozzel was conscientiously on our side or not. However, we of the New Republic should be thankful of all that Ozzel has done for us, whatever his true intentions may have been." He'd be like a Schrodinger's Comic Relief.
When I did the background check on oswald your theory is not very far so your right about him, so in words Kindel Oswald was like Lt. Dyke from Easy company but with an ego and some combat experience.
Ozzel was the headmaster of Grange Hill school, then a Dalek agent who faced the 7th incarnation of The Doctor and finally he was killed by Darth Vader... this man had a great life !!!
Kendel Ozzel was the General George Armstrong Custer of the Republic and the Empire. His colossal ego caused him to disobey orders, take stupid risks, and unnecessarily endanger his troops. He had no REAL idea who Darth Vader was, and didn’t care. Hence, the tactical debacle at Hoth. Sure, they destroyed the Rebel Base, but all of the primary targets evacuated and successfully escaped. Ozzel was no Rebel spy or sympathizer. He was just an ego-driven Imperial Officer whose actions led to Vader’s undivided attention (for about the eight seconds it took for Vader’s force choke to finish him off). Just my 2 cents. Great vid!!!!! The Presenter should be a Teacher, or work for the History Channel.
Ozzel has a very sith like mentality, he prioritised ruthlessness and lightning strike assaults, that ruthlessness was probably the best way to climb up the imperial ladder. Ozzel was a genius when it came to finding opportunity and taking it by the balls, dude would've probably done best as a business tycoon. When it came to military tactics and command, he was never great though.
Based on what we know about the imperial academy from the Thrawn novel, i'm going with Priviliged and ego driven. the utter lack of a meritocracy in the military is a sure sign of thorough corruption in a culture. undoubtable he felt he was better than anyone else simply becuase of his family connections, and it never even occured to him that he didn't deserve the positions he was awareded. It would have taken the Emperor quite some time to shift the culture away from these incompetent old-money families and their power. after all, these are the exact people he colluded with to overthrow the Republic in the first place. it seemed he was keen to replace them with clever and merciless new leadership like Tarkin whom believed in order over privilege. In fact, he seemed to enjoyed pitting these upstarts against each other in a very sith-like method, to see who would come out the best. a definite survival of the fittest going on in the imperial ranks. pulling out the weeds of privilege and pomp. he just never got to finish that process. I believe he enjoyed watching Thrawn best those who thought they were better, just as much as he enjoyed watching Anakin best Dooku, and Tarkin vs.... death star guy from rogue one who's name escapes me at the moment... Krennic! (had to edit that).
Honestly, I don't think Ozzel is a spy. I agree that he just rose to prominence thanks to nepotism and luck. The power vacuum of so many military leaders being lost on the Death Star and his family name probably helped him get such a high position on Vader's ship. His almost condescending way of talking to Vader also makes it pretty clear Vader didn't choose him for the position, and was getting sick of his mistakes. I'd also point out that having Captain Piett as his second-in-command might have been why Ozzel lasted at all on Executer. Piett clearly did have Vader's favour (given how long he lasted on Vader's ship) and probably helped mitigate some of Ozzel's mistakes.
I think Ozzle was a traitor. If you look at the Empire strikes back, ozzle was worried and nervous when he was unable to persuade Vader that hoth didn’t have the rebels. If you look at his throat he did that thing people do when they’re nervous, that nervous swallow.
I don't think he was a spy. He definitely would have passed information to the rebellion though if it would suit him. Either to avoid execution by the rebellion to save his own skin or to sabotage Vader or Tarkin.
Ozzel was too incompetent to be a rebel. A rebel would have given the base a prior warning before attacking the base letting everyone escape before arrival
If you go by just the movie, the idea that Ozzel was incompetent is clearly just a fan misinterpretation that people then thrust into their writing of the EU. The biggggg thing is the Hoth system, the Rebels were already in evacuation mode and expecting the empire to turn up any second, they couldn't possibly have done a stealth attack and anyone who knew the Rebels well militarily would know they would be ready. They needed speed, and that's what Ozzel gave them. Vader was clearly incompetent in his assessment and looking for a reason to off this senior officer who stod up to him to assert dominance and put things into the hand of an ambitious sycophant. And as for not thinking they should thrust all their military at Hoth right away. They were at the edge of the galaxy, since apparently this was uncharted territory, so resupply would be difficult. What's more is based on his long experience, he had ever reason in the world to think it was smugglers or pirates. The EU even made the base the Rebels used an old pirate/smuggler base even while doubling down on the idea Ozzel is incompetent, like idiots. What's more if they committed their entire fleet to one system like they did then what would happen is that they could lose a stranglehold on the limited number of charted hyperspace lanes out there and the Rebels could slip right by them. Yes, Vader was right, but because of the Force, something we have seen basically nobody took seriously so Ozzel is not exceptional here. Piett was clearly just looking for action and trying to set up scenarios to impress Vader like a fortune teller hoping he gets lucky and that's remembered but its forgotten or blamed on Ozzel if he is wrong. Committing their forces the way they did was not sound strategically excepting only the Force's long since forgotten power to verify intel. Why was Vader so incompetent in thinking he could catch the Rebels with their pants down by using stealth rather than speed? Its clear based on his behavior the entire movie and the lead in credits: he was OBSESSED with Luke, he was driven to want to try to get a perfect capture. But there was no scenario there where they prevented escape unless they had scattered the fleet to establish chokepoints by all the hyperspace lanes something they didn't do because again, not Ozzel, but Vader.
Vader is *cool*, he has a deep voice, he seems scary before we get to know him as a pathetic broken man in RotJ, so we think that when he is paired opposite a cocky, less charismatic imperial that the imperial is supposed to be wrong. This drove fan interpretation. But we as the audience know that the Rebels were already aware the empire was on their way and were preparing evac *before* the imperials arrive so it shouldn't be that hard to realize Vader is wrong and lashing out at officers taking independent initiative because he's an insane, single minded control freak from within the context of the movie. But fans are easily glamored into believing charisma even over their own two eyes. We SAW the Rebels all prepped and ready with systems online firing up defenses on way to evac before Vader said that they Rebels were alerted to their presence by Ozzel coming out of hyperspace too soon, we KNOW he is wrong, but people will literally ignore what they just saw in favor of what Vader says. Its amazing how much people miss the point.
I think the actor who played him brought a lot of under-the-surface incompetence to the role of Kendal Ozzel. So I think he was just an incompetent boob.
Ozzel was no spy. If he was he would have been more careful around Darth Vader and probably wouldn't have made himself look so foolish, unless the rebels made foolish choices in their spy network.
Middle management gets saddled with those who want to rise....and those who half ass it at best to keep their position because they can't handle a higher level. Good for getting the bosses coffee until they use too much cream or sugar.
I'm going with Ozzel was just stupid an incompetent. An was lucky that other more talented people were around. To help clean up his messes an keep him alive.
He was a spy for Lucas...George didnt want Vader getting to big for his britches. Palpatine was being paaid under the table or promised reconstructive surgery.
Ozzel seems to have one hell of a chip on his shoulder, perhaps a desire to prove himself in the eyes of those who dismissed him as somebody who only got his posting due to family connections. That would certainly explain his more reckless and impulsive behavior in his early career, the ramifications of which never seemed to dawn on him until he was practically staring them in the face. While he seemed to grow out of this behavior by the time of the Battle of Hoth, it's likely that, to a degree, this just became part of his MO that he couldn't completely shake. To his credit, the sort of aggressive, shock-and-awe strategy he seemed to favor fit in perfectly with the Tarkin Doctrine, but Hoth was a situation that called for methodical, restrained action, and when his blunder became clear in the eyes of Darth Vader, it got him killed.
As for why he made that fatal mistake, it's possible that the creation of the rank of Grand Admiral exposed that old chip on his shoulder as he saw younger and more talented officers (i.e. Thrawn) promoted ahead of him. Perhaps he felt that being able to claim credit for the swift destruction of the Rebellion would get him promoted to Grand Admiral and silence all doubts of his competence once and for all.
Yeah that makes sense
Sound similar to another officer called Morvis back in the Mandalorian Wars. It took Zayne and his anger to fix the man up. Too bad, Ozzel doesn’t have a Zayne
You know if you had a separate channel were you do actual history i would watch it, you’re so calm and you voice is amazing when you describe things. So please make a channel like that
But this is actual history...
This dude would've made a good CIS commander
Or a first order admiral
Ye
@@isaccvilla20 funfact: Ozzel was in charge of Vaders star ship , Vader got so sick of Admiral Ozzel that he killed him . Ozzel made too many careless mistakes .
@@isaccvilla20 Well I mean he's dead and he'd probably won't get far because he prefers to ignore everyone, in combat ( when he wasn't in a AT-AT he was a simple coward that pretends he's tough .
Ozzel was appointed commander of Death Squadron and the Executor by Emperor Palpatine himself, who then told Vader he couldn't kill him unless Ozzel gave Vader a reason Palpatine would consider good. Ozzel was another of Palpatines tests for Vader.
True
And he did give a good reason he botched the hoth mission
He’s like WW1 veterans in WW2; loving calvary, has got a half-decent skill in strategy, and has survived a prior, very vicious, war, and ends up making some rather suicidal assaults. Poor Ozzel
he is a glory hound. he was getting plenty of troops killed way before Vader did him. and we know Vader loved the clones so he really wanted do kill him for that anyways.
@Pedro Kantor not in the French high command Gamelin, Weygard, and other were all generals WW1, hell Weygard was in his 70s during the battle of France
Robert Bodell this is why France lost so quickly. Outdated tactics for a changing warscape
@@Sithplayer actually it was thier chronically incompetent command structure EG they didn't have one. All the generals kinda did Thier own thing without telling anybody first. There was no cooperation at all with the BEF who FYI did actually have thier shit together. There were multiple easy opportunities to stop the invasion and it was all squandered by those morons.
Jean-Luc Martel true and their tanks did have the superiority until Rommel brought the Flak Cannons 88mm down and found out that they eviscerate the B1s heavy armor. Doesn’t help they lost a lot of resources when they set up the godawful Maginot line.
So Vader thought Ozzel might be a spy or just a incompetent idiot, and decides to put him in charge of _vital military operations_ to what?… Find an excuse to kill him (Vader doesn't need a excuse)?
If he was a spy it would make sense to question him instead of killing him without even knowing if he had been spying. And if he was a moron, well putting a moron in charge is a moronic thing to do.
So either way Vader made a preventable mistake.
And Vader's plan for Hoth was mistaken anyway - the Rebels knew the Empire was coming, they identified a Imperial probe droid and were already evacuating. And the Empire had the telemetry showing a Wookie, who Vader would've picked as Chewie, so they knew the Rebels knew.
By the time a careful infiltration of the system has been accomplished, Hoth base would've been abandoned.
The most obvious answer is Vader just had a tantrum because he's unstable and a really bad boss.
Sounds logical
At least Vader's tantrums are less childish than Kylo Ren's
@@sheevone4359 "You have failed me for the last time" is a lot more convincing than destroying a security terminal with your lightsaber or an elevator with a helmet
@@NerdWithGuns that's pretty much what I meant
Yeah, except Kendal was somewhat protected by the Ozzel name, he needed an excuse to kill him. Besides, at least Vader’s anger ends up expunging incompetence, unlike like Darth Emo who only decides to break shit like a spoiled brat.
*Mann Ozzel:* I drink your milkshake, I take your coaxium.
Ozzel: I am the third revelation!
Vader: You're a loony.
Man I hated that movie.
@@beardedbjorn5520 ?
Ozzel did just well enough to accomplish his mission (or at least keep from getting killed in combat). I ultimately feel that he was the Glory Hound-type Imperial who's more concerned about their own reputation and got to where he was largely due to family connections
He's rather like Captain Stransky in 'Cross of Iron', take a look at it.
So, has anyone considered that Ozzel was Jar Jar Binks in disguise? No one ever saw them in the same room.
Stuart McConnell Hilarious idea, but as a whovian, I’m LOVING the profile pic
Nah, because Jar Jar is a Sith God that could counter Vader’s Force choke with a Force Fart
They also starred in the early sitcom, “Ozzel and Harriet”.
If there was an officer who was brave enough to tell the sith lords that their Hocus Pocus force abilities and leader ship style is making the military job harder to keep order in their empire. And that they should just sit back looking all pretty while the military does it job without having to worry about being choked out. That individual would be buried in a massive casket, because of how big his balls were to talk like that to the scrotom looking emperor and his chard bdsm mascot.
Excellent comment.
@@j.h-j5j thank you
And then the military would probably go with grand Admiral Thrawn the idea of the Tie Defended Program instead of building Death Star 2
A lot of incompetent people manage to go far, because of their relations.
you're apprentice will enjoy snapping their necks
Justin Trudeau.
@@Censoredbyfscists exactly
Wow I’m surprised I’m not the only one who questioned this is a possibility. I always thought his attempt to dissuade Vader away from suspecting Hoth was because he was a rebel spy. Mainly because back when I was a kid I read a comic about a rebel spy that had snuck onto the death star; it made me realize that rebel spies could affectively have been planted anywhere .
Wait, the Battle of Hoth was 3 years after Yavin, not 2 months.
You know. I think it’s a mix of all three with two of them going hand in hand. Helping the Rebels, albeit not intentionally, would make Vader’s life and mission harder and as shown by the comics his leadership is...sketchy at best. So while rushing into Hoth at the first sense of battle in the months following yavin he got excited, rushed in and when being told that the rebel base was alerted he could’ve thought that it’d make Vader’s life even more difficult.
If you're struggling to find topics I'm reading Star Wars Allegiance at the moment about a squad of stormtroopers who desert. I'm finding it very interesting. I didn't know stormtroopers could be very moral people who joined because they wanted to protect the citizens of the empire. It would be interesting to know if that happened very often.
How Ozzel got to be a full admiral in the Imperial Fleet let alone rear admiral would have some scratching their heads. Hoth is just the final example of his impulsiveness that seals his fate. He should have been very concerned how most fleet commanders that served under Vader ended up after failing miserably. I would have that Vader would have chose Admiral Okins instead of Ozzel to lead the Hoth expedition. Okins at least was more competent and achieved his position and rank through merit.
Keep doing the Clone Wars series, I really liked that one.
One could always apply Hanlon's razor to Admiral Ozzel's behavior; never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.
He was just an idiot who helped Darth Vader demonstrate how far he could be from someone and effectively force choke them
Can you pls talk about the „lost stars“ novel?
No clue what that is about but sounds interesting
The best star wars novel ive ever read, go Claudia Grey
I would also like to know what you're talking about
Until it's confirmed that he was a spy, I'm going with the "disgruntled with the Empire" theory.
He reminds me of a lot of, especially British, officers from WW1. Wealth and privilege got them their commission, but their arrogance and self assuredness caused them to make a lot of tactical blunders, though it does seem like he learned a little bit along the way, but perhaps only enough to make him more overconfident that he knew what he was doing.
Or the bulk of Union generals in the early years of the American Civil War
Ozzel is secretly an agent of Darth Jar Jar, who is using puppets to destabilize the empire for his eventual takeover.
Glad to see I'm not the only one who thinks he was a rebel.
Occam’s razor at its finest, do not ascribe to malice that which can be explained by stupidity
That's actually Hanlon's Razor. Occam's Razor is "the simplest explanation is usually the correct one."
Come to think of it, both of them seem applicable in this case.
@@MultiM4rty There's more than one Razor?!
@@matthewdavid6134 yep
If Admiral Ozzel WAS truly a Rebel or secretly sympathized with them... hes then the WORST spy ever... it was so obvious he was either one the most inept flag officers or obvious traitors that he got himself killed... when he couldve NOT screwed up so badly... assuming he was screwing up DELIBERATELY to tip off the Rebels.. but then.. wouldnt have Vader sensed that he harbored feelings and even his intent and loyalty to the Rebel side?? Not that it mattered since he choked him to death either way
Legit thought this was a vid from Mark Felton Productions about WWII when I got the notification
From what I have seen I would say that he's very headstrong and always believes he's right and that nothing can hurt him and that his plans should work but due to everyone else being useless it keep failing yet in truth it's his failure to see the bigger picture that causes his problems. (Just my opinion don't kill me for it pls)
I wouldn't that the decisions at Hoth weren't necessarily bad...
The reason for killing Ozzel was that he came in "too close" to the system. However, given what we know on the Rebel Alliance, that while a lot of what they have is "second hand," it's not as though they have no ability to detect ships. The asteroid field might make it tough, but a good sensor team might still notice the motion... Similar to how the Pear Harbor raid was actually detected by radar before they came in. What happened there was that the incoming planes were discounted as American B-17s that were supposed to be coming in and thus ignored. Meaning that radar detected the Japanese attack, but the warning was ignored...
Coming out of lightspeed farther away might well have still been detected. And if this happens, Vader and Ozzel might have had a very different problem. Because the fleet is father away, the Rebels would have had more time to evacuate troops, equipment, and ships, and wouldn't need to fire large ion shots and go through a gap in the shields. Which could well mean that by the time that the fleet is in position to bombard Echo base, much of the Rebel forces have escaped... and the Rebels would still have their shield which would require a ground assault to take it out.
Now... some Legends EU material made some case that the Empire made some infrequent patrols through the Hoth System area and that coming out father away might allow Death Squadron to come off as just another patrol that wouldn't be strong enough to trigger an evacuation but strong enough to keep the Rebels on Hoth… It'd make for a good explanation, but given that Star Wars sensors can detect the class of ships... for later in "the Empire Strikes Back," when Luke is approaching Bespin, an officer reports to Vader on Cloud City, "Sir, ship approaching, X-Wing class." So... if the sensors are good enough to identify the type of ship, then it would stand to reason that the Rebels on Hoth could have not only detected Death Squadron but also known the ships in it. And I'd doubt that backwater sector forces would have a Super Star Destroyer on routine patrols.
Thus... the Empire might have faced having to make a ground attack on Hoth to destroy the shield generator anyway.
I always thought he was a rebel as a kid
One of my favorite things to think about is what Star Wars would be like if they remade everything and cleaned up all the retcons. After watching this video, I'm pretty sure the writers made him dumb just to lampshade some minor critiques in the story, and then fans further picked him apart and came up with this theory to explain things. But if Star Wars was remade, I'd want Admiral Ozzel to be FULLY ambiguous. There'd be lots of conflicting evidence teased for fans to pick up on and make cases for one side or the other. Is he just some hilarious buffoon? Or is he secretly a genius and a spy? Even the rebels would be confused. All of this would culminate after the original trilogy with Ozzel getting his own memorial statue besides more clear-cut war heroes of the rebellion. Somewhere on his plaque, it would read: "Even after weighing all of this evidence, it is difficult to say whether Admiral Ozzel was conscientiously on our side or not. However, we of the New Republic should be thankful of all that Ozzel has done for us, whatever his true intentions may have been." He'd be like a Schrodinger's Comic Relief.
11:45 one of my favorite books
When I did the background check on oswald your theory is not very far so your right about him, so in words Kindel Oswald was like Lt. Dyke from Easy company but with an ego and some combat experience.
Ozzel was the headmaster of Grange Hill school, then a Dalek agent who faced the 7th incarnation of The Doctor and finally he was killed by Darth Vader... this man had a great life !!!
He was also the brother of an egyptologist who met the 4th Doctor.
Kendel Ozzel was the General George Armstrong Custer of the Republic and the Empire. His colossal ego caused him to disobey orders, take stupid risks, and unnecessarily endanger his troops. He had no REAL idea who Darth Vader was, and didn’t care. Hence, the tactical debacle at Hoth. Sure, they destroyed the Rebel Base, but all of the primary targets evacuated and successfully escaped. Ozzel was no Rebel spy or sympathizer. He was just an ego-driven Imperial Officer whose actions led to Vader’s undivided attention (for about the eight seconds it took for Vader’s force choke to finish him off). Just my 2 cents. Great vid!!!!! The Presenter should be a Teacher, or work for the History Channel.
Ozzel has a very sith like mentality, he prioritised ruthlessness and lightning strike assaults, that ruthlessness was probably the best way to climb up the imperial ladder. Ozzel was a genius when it came to finding opportunity and taking it by the balls, dude would've probably done best as a business tycoon. When it came to military tactics and command, he was never great though.
Based on what we know about the imperial academy from the Thrawn novel, i'm going with Priviliged and ego driven. the utter lack of a meritocracy in the military is a sure sign of thorough corruption in a culture. undoubtable he felt he was better than anyone else simply becuase of his family connections, and it never even occured to him that he didn't deserve the positions he was awareded.
It would have taken the Emperor quite some time to shift the culture away from these incompetent old-money families and their power. after all, these are the exact people he colluded with to overthrow the Republic in the first place. it seemed he was keen to replace them with clever and merciless new leadership like Tarkin whom believed in order over privilege. In fact, he seemed to enjoyed pitting these upstarts against each other in a very sith-like method, to see who would come out the best. a definite survival of the fittest going on in the imperial ranks. pulling out the weeds of privilege and pomp. he just never got to finish that process. I believe he enjoyed watching Thrawn best those who thought they were better, just as much as he enjoyed watching Anakin best Dooku, and Tarkin vs.... death star guy from rogue one who's name escapes me at the moment... Krennic! (had to edit that).
Pfft! Sure...
Next you'll tell me Jar Jar's a sith lord...
Meesa the most powerful sith in da galaxy!
Meesa Bombad Dark Lord of da Sith
...wait a second...
We are not talking about that seriously
You're all crazy.
Or was he so incompetent, we thought he's a rebel spy?
Honestly, I don't think Ozzel is a spy. I agree that he just rose to prominence thanks to nepotism and luck. The power vacuum of so many military leaders being lost on the Death Star and his family name probably helped him get such a high position on Vader's ship. His almost condescending way of talking to Vader also makes it pretty clear Vader didn't choose him for the position, and was getting sick of his mistakes. I'd also point out that having Captain Piett as his second-in-command might have been why Ozzel lasted at all on Executer. Piett clearly did have Vader's favour (given how long he lasted on Vader's ship) and probably helped mitigate some of Ozzel's mistakes.
I think Ozzle was a traitor. If you look at the Empire strikes back, ozzle was worried and nervous when he was unable to persuade Vader that hoth didn’t have the rebels. If you look at his throat he did that thing people do when they’re nervous, that nervous swallow.
What is the comic in this video called? The one that features a younger Kendal Ozzel fighting in the clone wars?
I looked up to be sure, but wasn't it 3 years both in canon and Legends? As for both said Battle of Yavin was 0 ABY and Battle of Hoth was 3 ABY
He’s too incompetent to be a spy
He was tappin Mothma.
Clumsily.
So what you are trying to say is that he awkwardly inserted his exogorth into her sarlacc pit?
I don't think he was a spy. He definitely would have passed information to the rebellion though if it would suit him. Either to avoid execution by the rebellion to save his own skin or to sabotage Vader or Tarkin.
TBH I'm inclined to go by Hanlon's razor on this. Never atribute to malice that which may be adequately explained by stupidity.
In the words of a certain dark lord "He is as clumsy as he is stupid."
With some one of his experience and knowledge I have to believe he was a spy
Thank you. I've had that thought for years!
I always watch it like he's a spy. For me it's the simplest explanation for exact facial expressions and word choices. Yes, I know it isn't canon.
It's Mr Bronson from Grange Hill school.
Have you made any video on how there was and rivaly between officers who served the republic and those who fought for the CIS
Ozzel was too incompetent to be a rebel. A rebel would have given the base a prior warning before attacking the base letting everyone escape before arrival
How do U keep such a high quality channel with less than 1 mil subs you deserve at least 10 mil
No way Ozzel was a Rebel spy/saboteur. I mean, even they aren't *that* incompetent. 🙂
Ozzel was a Nepo-Baby and Vader wasn't having none of his nonsense no more.
If you go by just the movie, the idea that Ozzel was incompetent is clearly just a fan misinterpretation that people then thrust into their writing of the EU. The biggggg thing is the Hoth system, the Rebels were already in evacuation mode and expecting the empire to turn up any second, they couldn't possibly have done a stealth attack and anyone who knew the Rebels well militarily would know they would be ready. They needed speed, and that's what Ozzel gave them. Vader was clearly incompetent in his assessment and looking for a reason to off this senior officer who stod up to him to assert dominance and put things into the hand of an ambitious sycophant.
And as for not thinking they should thrust all their military at Hoth right away. They were at the edge of the galaxy, since apparently this was uncharted territory, so resupply would be difficult. What's more is based on his long experience, he had ever reason in the world to think it was smugglers or pirates. The EU even made the base the Rebels used an old pirate/smuggler base even while doubling down on the idea Ozzel is incompetent, like idiots. What's more if they committed their entire fleet to one system like they did then what would happen is that they could lose a stranglehold on the limited number of charted hyperspace lanes out there and the Rebels could slip right by them. Yes, Vader was right, but because of the Force, something we have seen basically nobody took seriously so Ozzel is not exceptional here. Piett was clearly just looking for action and trying to set up scenarios to impress Vader like a fortune teller hoping he gets lucky and that's remembered but its forgotten or blamed on Ozzel if he is wrong. Committing their forces the way they did was not sound strategically excepting only the Force's long since forgotten power to verify intel.
Why was Vader so incompetent in thinking he could catch the Rebels with their pants down by using stealth rather than speed? Its clear based on his behavior the entire movie and the lead in credits: he was OBSESSED with Luke, he was driven to want to try to get a perfect capture. But there was no scenario there where they prevented escape unless they had scattered the fleet to establish chokepoints by all the hyperspace lanes something they didn't do because again, not Ozzel, but Vader.
Vader is *cool*, he has a deep voice, he seems scary before we get to know him as a pathetic broken man in RotJ, so we think that when he is paired opposite a cocky, less charismatic imperial that the imperial is supposed to be wrong. This drove fan interpretation. But we as the audience know that the Rebels were already aware the empire was on their way and were preparing evac *before* the imperials arrive so it shouldn't be that hard to realize Vader is wrong and lashing out at officers taking independent initiative because he's an insane, single minded control freak from within the context of the movie. But fans are easily glamored into believing charisma even over their own two eyes. We SAW the Rebels all prepped and ready with systems online firing up defenses on way to evac before Vader said that they Rebels were alerted to their presence by Ozzel coming out of hyperspace too soon, we KNOW he is wrong, but people will literally ignore what they just saw in favor of what Vader says. Its amazing how much people miss the point.
I think the actor who played him brought a lot of under-the-surface incompetence to the role of Kendal Ozzel. So I think he was just an incompetent boob.
Maybe he was into some 50 shades of ozzel and had a thing for choking
Not a Spy but a Supporter.
Man the actor who portrayed him looks in his 50's when in fact he was only 42 during filming
Ozzel was no spy. If he was he would have been more careful around Darth Vader and probably wouldn't have made himself look so foolish, unless the rebels made foolish choices in their spy network.
Ozzel was an example of family based officers
*GASP!* Do you mean to say he was an ACTOR?! Oh nooooo!
Middle management gets saddled with those who want to rise....and those who half ass it at best to keep their position because they can't handle a higher level. Good for getting the bosses coffee until they use too much cream or sugar.
Hey, the tree is almost appropriate again :P
You seen or read the leaks from Episode 9? Or do you try to avoid it?
Yeahhh I've been waiting for this episode
Great video!
He’s like the general Custer of Star Wars
It’s funny palpetine always says the republic and Jedi were corrupt when he was the reason lol
Cyborgcommando0 covered this in his Mar 7, 2015 video!
Admiral Ozzel was just an incompetent aristocratic officer. Was amazed by his arrogance and lack of team spirit. The very antithesis of Thrawn.
So essentially, he was just extremely reckless and extremely lucky.
Good theory. Vader like Stalin doing a purge.
I'm going with Ozzel was just stupid an incompetent. An was lucky that other more talented people were around. To help clean up his messes an keep him alive.
I love you Allen
How about a video on what happened to the bad batch after order 66
Put up a poll for whether we think he was a spy or not
If he was a spy, then he didn't know very much to be one.
Yap
JAR JAR IN DISGUISE?
Oh look, it's Mr Bronson.
After being sacked from the Imperial Navy Ozzel takes a job teaching history at a school in North London. Those who can't teach...
He was a spy for Lucas...George didnt want Vader getting to big for his britches. Palpatine was being paaid under the table or promised reconstructive surgery.
Probably a stupid question but what is the rarest resource in the Star Wars Universe??
when i was about to watch this video i got an ad about mustache trimmers.........................
when will you continue the cw history series
You have failed me for the last time admiral
14:00 probably a little bit of all three.
Ozzel is just Hötzendorffing.
Ozzel is as Ozzel does.
Of course he was a spy.
Why else would he come out of lightspeed to close to the planet, meaning the rebels would know the Imperials were there. lol
Reminds me a little of General Custer, only Vader got him first.
He's literally just a Commissar from 40k
In my opinion Ozzel was both incompetent and had a grudge against Vader
Bronsons Got Toupee!
He was an incompetent
How to change to not like competent officers because they were capable of taking action without his approval