The Republic Army, also known as the Republic Armies, was the collective ground forces of the Galactic Republic from its founding in 25,053 BBY until the dissolution of the Republic Military in 1000 BBY. A force with a long history, its forces included specialized troops such as rocket-jumpers and also a fair number of combat droids of differing models.
The Sith WarsEdit
The Army existed as far back as 4000 BBY. At some point, the Army established a military academy on the planet Carida. Maintenance of the Army along with the Republic Navy was handled by the Minister of Defense in the aftermath of the Great Hyperspace War. Following that time, Brigadiers of the Republic Armies were known to have participated in the Great Sith War. At the start of the Mandalorian Wars, there were multiple armies in different sectors of the Galaxy. They were only united under one banner when Revan took charge of the military. A large number of these soldiers later turned traitor and became Sith troopers when Darth Revan, the hero of the Mandalorian Wars, returned from the Unknown Regions and formed a Sith Empire. These former Republic soldiers were heavily involved in the Jedi Civil War and the resultant Dark Wars. The Republic Army later served to combat the reborn Sith Empire that instigated the Great Galactic War and also continued to protect the Republic's reduced territory in the Cold War that followed the conflict.
The Republic Army was heavily engaged in the New Sith Wars from 2000 to 1000 BBY. The Army suffered one of the worst defeats in its history in 1466 BBY when the New Sith crushed Republic and Jedi forces in the Battle of Mizra. This bloody conflict was later immortalized by the poet Felloux. Over five hundred thousand soldiers died in the battle and hundreds of Jedi converted to the Dark Side. Around 1010 BBY, during the last years of the New Sith Wars, the Republic Army was incorporated into the Jedi-led Army of Light under the command of Lord Hoth. In a gruelling campaign on the planet Ruusan, the Army of Light slowly ground down the Sith Brotherhood of Darkness until it finally achieved a costly victory at the Seventh Battle of Ruusan.
Dissolution and reformationEdit
Following the end of the New Sith Wars in 1000 BBY, the Ruusan Reformation nearly eliminated the Republic's military. The Republic Army remained, but was nothing more than a purely symbolic force; the few remaining ground military units were placed under the jurisdiction of the Judicial Forces. The Republic came to rely more heavily on Jedi Knights and local Planetary Security Forces for keeping peace in the galaxy. In 44 BBY during the Stark Hyperspace War, Ranulph Tarkin tried to portray the ground forces of his fleet as the legitimate Republic Army, even referring to it as such. In the final years of the Republic, the Army had degenerated into a poorly trained police force that simply wore fancy uniforms.
At the time of the Separatist Crisis, a number of militarist senators pushed for the passage of the Military Creation Act, a legislative bill that would reconstitute the Republic Army and Navy as a pan-galactic military force. When the Senate learned of the Separatists' plot to gain independence via military force, the Republic Army was reestablished for the first time in a millennium. However, the Republic also authorized the establishment of another branch of the military, an army of clone troopers known as the Grand Army of the Republic.
The Grand Army of the RepublicEdit
The Grand Army was an amalgamation of Coruscant's Judicial Forces and the Planetary Security Forces. With the exception of the Republic officers who were assigned to lead clone units, most of the non-clone enlisted personnel were deployed as garrisons for defense purposes. Though most HoloNet-documented battles were fought by the all-clone Grand Army and their Jedi officers during the Clone Wars, the non-clone Republic Army engaged in many battles throughout the galaxy without the aid of a single clone trooper.
During the war, Judicial Terrinald Screed voiced his opinion on the HoloNet that the Republic Army and Navy should fall under a unified command directed from Coruscant, an idea that was realized by the Republic's successor state, the Galactic Empire. Under the New Order, the Republic Army was reformed into the Imperial Army while the clone troopers were reorganized into the Stormtrooper Corps. Many elements of the Republic Army, such as the Special Missions units, were adopted by the Imperial Army and expanded to create a much more formidable military force.
As the early Republic Armies consisted of local militias with no true command in place, its generals often received its orders straight from the Republic Defense Ministry and there was no single surface marshal that coordinated or directed its operations. This often left individual army units being ultimately under the control of the Republic Navy and led to many soldiers being stationed more on their starships than on planetary surfaces. This meant that in wartime scenarios, members of the Republic Armies tended to be in transit aboard starships rather than be stationed on planets.
The chaotic nature of this formation meant that there was no uniformity within the Republic Armies and not all of its individual units were created equally. In fact, units did not possess any uniform designation but rather their original nomenclatures. Its structure tended to possess both local and historical eccentricities though there were elements common amongst the various military divisions. Each Army division was associated with particular places or beings. For example, a division raised on Coruscant might adopt (or be given) that name as part of its title thereby becoming the "Coruscant Division". One part of the Republic Army that outlived the rest was the Academy of Carida which served as one of its officer training schools.
The Republic Army had become somewhat more organized and professionalised by the time of the Cold War, with the Personnel Division of the Army of the Galactic Republic being an army-wide organization responsible for staff issues, and the Republic Special Forces Division being responsible for Special Operations.
A common factor that the Republic Army suffered from was its reliance on the Navy for not only transportation but orbital support though only lip service was ever provided in times of conflict. In addition, the Navy often jealously withheld the support of its starfighter squadrons which denied the Army the capacity to maintain an orbit free of enemy fighters after the fleet had left. This meant that the Army exerted very little in the terms of political influence in the Republic. Despite this being the case, the Navy showed little desire to incorporate the Army units and incorporate them as marines with themselves as the controlling body. This tended to form a sometimes violent cultural clash between the two divisions but also meant that the biggest expense faced by the Army such as the movement of their vehicles was placed on the Navy's budget.
The Army also suffered on a financial level during the years of the Old Republic which had a detriment on the procurement of equipment at the time. With pay and conditions being far worse compared to the Navy, the Army surface units tended to suffer from severe recruitment problems. In order to combat this problem, the Republic began contracting any existing local militias or even mercenary units; sometimes buying them out entirely. A further incentive for dangerous assignments was the offer of healthy signing bonuses for those that accepted entry into the Republic Armies. Though service was not compulsory, it was known that the irregular units tended to make use of recruiting methods that the Defense Ministry did not want to know about.
Within the Army, there was a clear distinction between combat troops and support as well as command elements. As such, only the actual soldiers appeared on the battlefield and engaged the enemy while the command as well as support personnel remained far removed from the actual combat. This meant that it was very rare to see an individual with the rank of lieutenant being present in actual blaster combat. During the era of the war against the Mandalorians, it was officially believed that there was no rank of lieutenant, captain or colonel present within the Army in order to prevent any confusion with the Naval positions. However, on a vestigial level, it existed amongst the irregular native units along with a number of more stranger titles including commandant, Gray Chieftain and Grand Xenog.
The Army was divided into various subgroups which included:
- Squad : consisting of 8 to 12 infantry that were led by both a sergeant and a corporal.
- Platoon : consisting of squads ranging from 25 to 40 that were led by a Lieutenant.
- Company : formed of platoons a company were typically consisting of 80 to 250 soldiers and usually commanded by a Captain or Major.
- Battalion : consisting of companies ranging from 300 to 1200 that were led by a Colonel.
- Brigade : ranging between 4 and 9 battalions that had the capacity to hold either 1,000 or 5,000 soldiers. It was led by a brigadier with its own headquarters unit with their mission roles involving large scale landing operations as well as raids and occupation with their command and control being directed from Navy vessels if present.
- Corps : these consisted of all forces present in the region and were named after the planet which served as their headquarters. A general served as its leader though they simply just directed the orders from the Defense Ministry to the individual brigadiers.
Republic soldiers were decently equipped and supported by several kinds of aerial vehicles. They bore both grenades and blasters. Following the chaos of the Great Sith War, a deliberate decision to reintroduce melee weapons was made. This was brought about by the abundance of lightsaber wielding opponents. To guard against these weapons, Republic swords were required to be made with a cortosis weave, often of Echani origin. Armor was worn and was noted for its modular nature. One characteristic of the Republic military was its equipping of its personnel with an array of cybernetic implants and head-wear. Some of these were deliberately designed to provide mental protection against the powers of Dark Jedi opponents.
Another trait was its use of speciality equipment, such as the stealth field generator, and also physical enhancement technology. These were non-combat items and saw considerable research and development as a result of the Republic's use. As of the Jedi Civil War, personal shield generators were used. Some models were purchased and some were manufactured directly for the Republic. However, the cost of these devices was such that only small units could be assured of a continual supply. Strike teams favored them as they enabled them to outfight an entire unit with conventional gear. The Republic Army also made use of defensive devices such as turrets and a variety of land mines. This latter item ranged from fragmentation to plasma to toxin though the first was used more commonly due to how expensive deadly toxins were.
The most basic non-specialized trooper in the Republic Army was the Republic soldier, who typically wore full heavy body armor and were armed with blaster rifles. This specialization was known as the Republic trooper during the Galactic Wars. Republic Guards were those soldiers assigned to duty on Republic Navy warships as marines.
The Republic Army maintained a number of special forces units throughout its history. One of the most glamorous and storied elite units was the Rocket-Jumper Elite Advance Unit. The Rocket-Jumpers used jetpacks to penetrate deep into enemy territory, using low-altitude jumps to avoid enemy forces and then setting up airheads – staging areas where follow-up troops and heavy equipment could be shuttled in.
Another special operations unit was the Army Recon Commandos of the Mandalorian Wars. These were descended from mercenary units that were skilled in special missions that required multitasking and were often fitted for a variety of multiple environment specializations. These soldiers were grouped together into reconnaissance squads that were often inserted onto the battlefield in order to gather intelligence on enemy positions. This was not their only purpose as Recon Commandos often engaged tactical control operations as well as were employed to position combat squads. In addition, these soldiers were tasked with covert ops such as sabotage or assisting Jedi that were in the field. Those inducted into the ranks of the Recon Commandos were often extremely busy as their talents were greatly used.
Ranks within the Mandalorian Wars-era Republic Army included:
- Army Brigadier: The highest ranking officers within the Republic military that were deployed in the field. During the age of the Jedi Civil War, these brigadiers were often challenged with adequately supplying their troopers on the battlefield though certain clever individuals often had their forces live off the land. They were also not noted for their negotiation skills which was a hindrance in operations that did not require any military action. Some brigadiers sabotaged their own careers in a way that did not harm their troops in order to avoid being promoted to full general and thus be burdened by the responsibilities of that post.
- Army Officer: These field commanders often held the rank of sergeant or corporal and descended from local militia's mercenary groups before they joined the Republic army. This made them the brightest as well as the best officers available. During the time of the Jedi Civil War, these officers were given extensive training in the use of vibroweapon's after it was recognized that lightsaber wielding Sith often targeted these soldiers in order to eliminate their leadership of their units.
- Army Trooper: The heart of the Republic's army consisted of squads of army troopers who were kept in close quarters to the point that they considered themselves all friends. Commanders often kept these individuals together to encourage camaraderie and improve the units performance. However, logistical problems at the time led to the Republic Army not recognizing the special skills of individuals troopers and not assigning them to squads that would benefit from their abilities.
- Tales of the Jedi: The Golden Age of the Sith
- Tales of the Jedi: The Fall of the Sith Empire
- Tales of the Jedi: The Freedon Nadd Uprising 2: Initiates of the Sith (First appearance)
- Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith 2: The Quest for the Sith
- Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War 5: Brother Against Brother
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic: Days of Fear
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 17: Nights of Anger, Part 2 (Mentioned only)
- Galactic Republic Defense Ministry Daily Brief KD0092 (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
- The Old Republic: Deceived
- The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance
- Star Wars: The Old Republic
- The Old Republic: Annihilation
- Star Wars: The Old Republic: Rise of the Hutt Cartel
- Star Wars: The Old Republic: Shadow of Revan
- Star Wars: The Old Republic: Knights of the Fallen Empire
- Darth Plagueis (Indirect mention only)
- (Mentioned only)
- (Mentioned only)
- "The New Republic Campaign: Preparing to Move Beyond the Movies"—Polyhedron 86
- Tales of the Jedi Companion
- Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide
- Star Wars: The Old Republic Encyclopedia
Notes and referencesEdit
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 The Essential Guide to Warfare
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide
- ↑ HoloNet News Vol. 531 47
- ↑ Tales of the Jedi Companion
- ↑ The Old Republic
- ↑ The New Essential Chronology
- ↑ The Essential Atlas
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Imperial Sourcebook
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones
- ↑ HoloNet News Vol. 531 47
- ↑ Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
- ↑ Rules of Engagement: The Rebel SpecForce Handbook
- ↑ Star Wars: The Old Republic
- ↑ Star Wars: The Old Republic