1. Rebel fleet exits hyperspace. Gold Leader discovers that they cannot get a reading on the Death Star's deflector shield, up or down. Jamming is the natural culprit. Gold Leader gives the order to pull up. Three X-Wings collide with the deflector shield and are destroyed in the maneuver.
The Imperial Communications Ship responsible for the jamming is still behind Endor at this point.
2. Imperial fleet comes out of hiding, in two flanking waves, heading to surround the Rebel fleet from both sides in a pincer. The shield barricades the Rebel fleet in front. Rebel fleet is effectively trapped.
3. Imperial fleet sends TIE squadrons forward.
4. Admiral Ackbar's crew adds power to the forward shield of the Alliance command ship. Ackbar gives the order to double main turbolaser battery firepower. Thermonuclear fireworks (some kind of missile launched by fighters) rocks the Star Cruiser. Gold Wing "is hit hard".
5. Ackbar gives the order for all ships to hold position and await his command to return. Lando and his attack squadrons are too far away to bother heeding the order.
6. Fighter combat ensues, concentrated within the perimeter of the Rebel fleet. No capital ship losses. Lando notices that only the Imperial fighters are attacking.
7. Imperial fleet enters attack position. Admiral Piett gives order to hold position.
8. From Luke's vantage point, another Rebel ship collides with the deflector shield. Most likely a fighter that didn't pay attention during a dogfight.
9. Death Star opens fire and destroys the Star Cruiser Liberty, which had been engaged in a "furious long range battle" (opponent not mentioned).
10. Ackbar gives retreat order. Lando persuades him to keep fighting, and to "head for those Star Destroyers". Ackbar's First Star Captain notes:
Ackbar agrees. An aide approaches and confirms forward ships have made contact with the Imperial fleet.Sir, we don't stand much of a chance against those Star Destroyers. They out-gun us, and they're more heavily armored.
Ackbar gives the order:
Headquarters Frigate takes a turbolaser hit to one of the aft gyrostabilisers. Auxiliary shields are intensified in response.Concentrate your fire on their power generators. If we can knock out their shields, our fighters might stand a chance against them.
That the Rebels were seemingly more successful in destroying Imperial ships than vice versa is likely due to the fact that the Imperials squandered their TIE assets without giving them capital ship support- clearly in the beleif that the Death Star would destroy the Rebel fleet in good time, and that the TIEs were best used to harass and destroy Rebel fighters. In contrast, the Rebel fighters operated in tandem with the capital ships to exploit shield failures.
Note that Rebel fighters only might stand a chance against Imperial capitalships if they've lost their shields.
11. Rebel fleet is descrbied as being decimated from Luke's vantage point, with the superlaser incinerating "ship after ship." and later "methodically disintergrated the Rebel ships."
12. Lando suggests that the fleet close to point-blank range against the Imperial fleet, the purpose being that the Death Star won't be able to fire on them without risking hitting Imperial ships.
13. Fleets enaging at point blank, like at the Battle of Coruscant. A Rebel Cruiser, having sustained critical damage ("its back alive with fires and explosions") rams and destoys an Imperial Star Destroyer. Cargo ships loaded with explosives are set on collision courses with Imperial ships.
14. Gold Leader, Red Leader, Blue Leader and Green Wing [the context of the passage is clear that this is one fighter] attack the Communications Ship, which had already been disabled from an engagement with a Rebel Cruiser it had subsequently destroyed. Its damages were reparable however, so the Rebel fighters had to strike while it was still disabled. Green Wing crashes into the destroyer's front batteries, destroying them. Remaining fighters fire into the vessel's open cargo bay, where power reactors are located. Communications Ship is destroyed. Blue Leader is killed in the explosion.
15. Jamming stops immediately after the Communications Ship destruction.
16. Shield around the Death Star is lost. Red Group and Gold Group begin their attack run (total Rebel fighters attacking are described as a horde). As they head to the surface, a still-massing but disorganized TIE fighters chase them.
Note that at this point the Emperor is dead. See RotJ novelization quote about the catastrophic effect of his death on Imperial morale.
17. Three Rebel Star Cruisers attack the Super Star Destroyer at the same time. It is having difficulties with its guidance system.
18. Death Star begins jamming the Rebel fighters as they move along the surface.
19. Rebel fighters enter the Death Star. At some point in their run to the surface (they approached from the finished to the unfinished side) the more complete anti-aircraft defences (as referred to in the novel) combined with the TIE pursuers must've severely depleted the Rebel fighter force.
20. Ackbar gives order to concentrate all firepower on the Super Star Destroyer. Bridge shields fail. Piett orders intensification of forward firepower, but too late. A-Wing collides with the bridge window. Super Star Destroyer goes out of controlled flight and collides with the Death Star.
21. Super Star Destroyer collision only exacerabtes the panic, hysteria, and fear resulting from the Emperor's death. Posts are abandoned, numerous reactors meltdown on the Death Star. Rebel fleet is bombarding the Death Star. One can imagine the crushing effect on Imperial fleet morale the loss of Executor would've had anyway.
22. Gold and Red Leader destroy the Death Star and escape.
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It's very likely, I think, that had the Emperor not been killed the Rebel attack on the Death Star would've been a failure- it's not unreasonable to suppose that had the effects of the Emperor's death not been present, Executor might have put up a more effective defense from her forward batteries, and the TIE response to the Rebel attack might've have been more effective in stopping them from reaching the reactor. In any case, even if the Death Star was beyond saving from the moment the shield went down, had Vader not kileld him, it's more than likely that the Emperor would've promptly escaped and the Imperial fleet could've rallied and used its superior firepower to salvage the outcome.
