star wars - Why didn't the Imperials provide air cover to their forces on Hoth?

During the ground assault on the Rebel base on Hoth why didn't the Imperials provide air support to their forces? During many battles here on Earth, military units regulary have access to air support, even more so when they control the air directly over the ground battle.

Given that there were several Star Destroyers in orbit around Hoth, it would seem logical that a handful of TIE fighters could have been assigned to the ground assault and would have been effective in protecting the AT-AT's from the Rebel air speeders. So, why no air cover for the AT-AT's?

Answer

Simply put, they didn't need air cover. The AT-AT armor was too strong for the air speeders blasters, and the harpoon/tow-cable maneuver used by Luke was a battlefield improvisation. No one on either side of the battle knew about this weakness until after the fact. (A story published years later revealed that there were a few within the Imperial command that knew about the weakness, but no one that was involved in the Battle of Hoth.)

It's worth noting that, even though many Rebels escaped, the Battle of Hoth was considered a major victory for the Empire.

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