Treatise on Military Affairs

[WitchDoktor]

The Winds Of Peace

 

The year is 50 BBY, and much of the Galaxy has been at peace for centuries.  However, over the course of those centuries up to the start of the Clone Wars we can see several things to where one can contrive what is the prevailing doctrine in both the strategic, operational, and tactical modes of warfare in the Galaxy.  For the purposes of this discussion, we will focus on the two primary arenas of warfare, Space and Surface.  

 

Space Warfare:  The Ruusan Reformations of 1,000 BBY effectively dismantled and absorbed the Republic Military into the Judicial Forces.  While the Republic Army, Navy, and Starfighter Corps no longer exist de jure they do however exist spiritually in the Judicial Forces and to a greater extent, the Planetary Defense Forces which could be seen as a multiple of microcosms of the former Republic Military.  Fleets are most likely organized the Old Republic way, as is their treatment of the “other branches” and their approaches to exoatmospheric combat.  The only real differences in that regard for most planets is the size and quantity of the ships available to them and the set political triggers to which the military would be used (when not on the defensive).  In stark reality, tactics and doctrine have roughly devolved back to their form in the Alsakan Conflicts, where large battleships stayed back to protect the homeworld while cruisers and frigates were the primary models of force projection.  However this is a devolution not by necessity or technology, as with some doing the Guilds are able to conduct power projection tasks and missions to great effect, but as a result of Republic politics and laws.  

 

Starfighter doctrine and thought up to this time frame and beyond is generally split into two camps; Space Superiority and Snubfighter.  Those who champion Space Superiority take the position that task designed short range starfighters such as interceptors, superiority fighters, and bombers used in concert is the most effective way to combat enemy forces.  History up until this point has proven them generally correct, it is not until the Invasion of Naboo that a snubfighter took out a battleship, and it is not until the destruction of the Malevolence were long range snubfighters truly seen as threats to large warships.  Despite this, the continued development and adherence to the concept of Snubfighters has never completely gone away.  This is because Snubfighters provide a niche service to a Fleet with their hyperdrive capabilities, and are absolutely crucial in extending the strike range of a Naval Force or operate as a quick reaction force in a sector of space.  Those who held onto this doctrine will pave the way for the Alliance to continue its development and tactics leading to the Rebel use of Area Denial, a major tactic used to defeat the Galactic Empire (who coincidentally continued the Space Superiority Doctrine to the exclusion of Snubfighters). 

 

One of the more interesting aspects of this Era versus others we have played is showcased when one takes a step out and takes a trans-galactic view of space warfare and the general defense of the Republic itself.  From the Ruusan Reformation, to the outbreak of the Clone Wars, there was a shift by the Republic in responsibility for its own defense and security.  At first it was the formation of the Judicial Forces and the Jedi Order.  Eventually, they grew smaller in number and in size and the Republic turned to allotting the Guilds greater sway.  Whether this was out of necessity, or the machinations of special interests, or arrogant apathy, or corruption, or some combination thereof could be debated endlessly but they all lead to the same conclusion.  By the time of the Clone Wars, military functions had in effect been privatized to a major degree with the exception of a couple very well off and defended worlds such as Kuat.  So much so that when the Clone Wars did actually erupt, the Confederacy (except for Dooku) assumed it would have an easy victory and were not aware of the existence of the Clone Army or fleet built in secret. 

[WitchDoktor]

Surface Warfare:  Even more-so than Space Warfare, surface combat has up to this time changed very little since even the founding of the Republic 25,000 years ago.  With the notable exception of the Great Galactic War, almost all surface battles have been a primarily light infantry affair.  The basic Republic or Sith ground pounder was well equipped and trained even if not well compensated or respected after the fact and in this vein a player in this Era can expect his average regular infantryman to be well adept at things like infiltration tactics, skirmishing, and recon.  Some planets may also be adept at specific infantry tactics, such as vertical envelopment and marines, while others still maintain high efficacy through cultural means, such as the Mandalorians or Ailon Nova Guard.  

 

Outside of this however, the average soldier at most can expect to be completely ignorant of things that we in reality would consider standard military operating procedures.  Things like tanks, artillery, or even reliable air support are foreign on the battlefield in this time frame.  It is only around this time that the concept of Maneuver Warfare comes about, and it will be two more canon wars until we even see another tank in combat during the Yinchorri Uprising.  The Droid Army that was conceived, built, and deployed during the Invasion of Naboo in this Era is nothing short of revolutionary in its concept and execution.  Not only for its corporately brutal efficiency and combined arms approach but also for its all-droid composition, which up until this point droids were seen as supplementary at best.  

 

With the legacy mentioned above notwithstanding, your average infantryman (Infantry, Regular) is most likely well trained and decently equipped, but more than likely suffers from morale issues which are difficult to quantify and address adequately as there is no one true solution.  Outside of the Judicial Forces, his skills are a byproduct of training and not experience and this will most likely not change in the near future, an unspoken truth he shares with his brothers in arms.  The lack of prospects to exercise the skill set to which you’ve spent your time training can have a deleterious effect on human psychology.  More often than not in the past millenia the average Army trooper has effectively functioned analogously to Russian Internal Troops (similar to a Gendarmerie) or has had to parade around in his dress uniform for politicians. 

 

Regardless of the uphill battle most will face to reform their army, it is a necessary component of your armed forces regardless of how much you believe only the Navy is sufficient.  Spaceships and starfighters don’t and cannot take and hold ground which is a requirement both on the offense and defense, that is the exclusive purview of a grunt with a blaster rifle (or a droid). 

 

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