Well, how else would a ground assault look like? Walkers have been established as an effective force, if they came up with somehting new, people would ask “where are the walkers?”. Also, trenches are a very common defense against ground attacks and if there wasn’t a rebel base, what else would be the target of a ground attack? And the planet is nothing like Hoth.
I also must have missed the scene in Empire, where the Empire blasts a huge door away, or the TIE fighters joinging the ground attack or where Han flies directly at the enemy force to sacrifize himself, or Luke facing Vader to buy his friends some time.
Umm, just have terrain that doesn’t suit walkers such as in R1 where Cassian is trying to assassinate Jyn’s father?
The TIE fighters being there and Millenium Falcon dropping in out of no where (with accompanying “WOOO!” except it’s not Han saying it this time) to save the lone ship flying in a straight line (like in a trench) as the last hope in destroying “old Death Star tech” just before it fires on the Rebel base, is an element taken straight out of ANH and mixed into the recycled TESB battle of Hoth. Having just written that out, I’ve just realised it is literally the final trench run by Luke from ANH inserted in the battle of Hoth v2 except that it’s a Death Star cannon instead of the Death Star itself and Finn never reaches it in time to destroy it before it fires because of Rose. There’s two subversions right there for you once you realise it’s the Death Star trench run v2 (or should I say v4 since it’s kinda repeated in ROTJ and again in TFA against the Star Killer Base).
TLJ is literally riddled with recycled OT scenes and themes among other elements.
.Val