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Doomriser's Skim of the 2E Imperial Sourcebook (Aug 2002) |
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Doomriser's Skim of the 2E Imperial Sourcebook (Aug 2002) |
ARCHIVIST'S NOTE: From 14 August 2002 to 17 August 2002; the user "Doomriser" on Usenet's alt.startrek.vs.starwars reviewed a copy of the Imperial Sourcebook, 2E and provided running commentary; allowing significant quotes to be preserved through fair use.
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This is a "prettified" up HTML version. If you wish to see the original text(s), it's HERE. |
From: "Doomriser" <[email protected]>
Newsgroups:
alt.startrek.vs.starwars
Subject: [PDD] The Imperial Sourcebook,
Prologue-Ch1
Date: Wed, 14 Aug 2002 20:47:19 -0400
Few have time to read through the entire sourcebook, so I have highlighted the most important and useful elements for you to read through.
This is just the intro-prologue-CH. 1. This is so that if you do not like the way I am compiling the PDD, you can offer suggestions as to how I can improve my analysis.
-- -=Doomriser
"We've been very careful. The continuity is airtight. Believe me. We know. We know." -Brannon Braga
-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --
"The Galactic Empire consists of a thousand-thousand worlds caught in the iron grip of tyranny. Using overwhelming armies and vast navies, the Empire instituted a reign of terror among the disheartened and enslaved planets. No world, no system, no species was immune to the terrible machinations of the New Order."
-proves the galactic reach of the Empire
"But some worlds resisted. At first this rebellion was disorganized and ill-equipped, but as more planets joined against the tyranny the new Alliance became a force to be reckoned with."
-this is true. Even by Yavin, the Alliance was losing its 'ragtag' roots and becoming a true military power, like the Confederacy in the U.S., or a 'fifth column movement in human space' as Saxton likes to put it.
"With the Senate dissolved, the Emperor gave his regional governors direct control and a free hand in administering their territories. From this point on, the Empire would be ruled by fear. Fear would keep local governments in line. Fear of the Imperial Fleet - and fear of the Death Star."
-rule through fear is one of the major reasons behind the Death Star's construction
"The Imperial Sourcebook is packed full of descriptions, explanations, histories, photographs, illustrations and diagrams. It is an extensive look at many of the things that contribute to the unyielding might of the Galactic Empire, the greatest armed force ever detailed in fiction."
-Well, at least somebody got it right. But how 'great' is even an Imperial Navy if it can be ripped apart by internal conflict? The answer is irrelevant in the context of this NG since the GE on its own would be able to crush any Milky Way power.
-The prologue brings into question the accuracy of the data contained within the documents, that it is a probability that they are 'paper figures' as opposed to the true strength of the Imperial Navy, or even deliberate deception (unlikely, given the consistency of this info with other more intrinsically and extrinsically recent EU sources.) Hextrophon, however, explains that if one reads between the lines, the truth can certainly be found.
"The galaxy was once a great Republic of stars. The thousand-thousand member worlds were governed fairly and efficiently by the Senate, and cared for and protected by the Jedi Knights."
Again, the "thousand-thousand member worlds." Note that there is a difference between member worlds, colonies, protectorates, etc... giving a much larger figure for the total number of planets.
"The Empire is still growing. Policies of expansion established by the Old Republic were never rescinded, and exploration - and now conquest - continues. The Imperial Survey Corps, scientists and scouts charged with exploring the galaxy, has seen its funds cut sharply over the years. Still, a new system is being catalogued for the Empire every 207 minutes by the under-staffed ISC."
-Say bye-bye to the Trekkie bullshit about 'no exploration'
"Most of the recently surveyed worlds have remained untouched by Imperial colonization. The Empire has little use for an expanding frontier. Frontier settlements offer greater freedom to Imperial citizens and stretch Imperial forces even further. That is not in the best interests of the Empire."
-Bingo! Thank-you! Bye-bye 'Empire technologically incapable of settling useless pisswater planets on the edge of the galaxy.' It is a matter of choice!
"However, an ISC team occasionally turns up an inhabited world in the process of cataloging. Inhabited worlds mean taxes and other valuable resources for the Empire. These worlds are initially offered a place in the New Order, provided they agree to fall in line with the will of the Emperor. If a world refuses or reneges on its oath of allegiance, then the Empire resorts to military conquest."
-There's your answer to 'Empire meets Federation.'
"All citizens are subject to the laws of the Empire, and all must pay some form of tribute to the New Order. Laws vary from system to system, but the most uniform are the Imperial Revenue Codes. Under these laws, the burden of proof is upon the citizen to show that he has met all of his fiscal obligations to the Empire. Failure to provide adequate proof is considered an admission of guilt, penalties for which range from confiscation of goods to the increasingly common sentence to labor camps."
-They send you to the concentration camps if you don't pay your taxes.
"Planetary Governments
The Empire has not completely altered the governments of hundreds of thousands of worlds. Such a task would be impractical. The Emperor has left it to his advisors to modify the portions of a planetary government, be it government procedure or members of the ruling body, to conform to the will of the Empire. Less than one planet in 80 has been so modified.
The preferred option is to let a planet run itself much as it has for years, but maintaining a visible Imperial presence so that the rulers know who their ultimate master is. The Empire also encourages the constituent planets to reform their own governments to conform to the Imperial method. In this way, individual worlds eliminate laws and freedoms, replacing them with doctrines and statutes more in line with Imperial edicts."
-Rule by proxy is traditionally more efficient than direct-rule [The document then goes on to highlight more similarities between the GE and Earth's colonial empires, e.g. not implementing local governors - i.e. not having someone govern in their birthplace.)
"Sectors and Regions
A sector is an economic and political division which originated in the early days of the Old Republic. Originally a cluster of star systems with approximately 50 inhabited planets, the definition of a sector became vague and the average sector grew in size during the latter days of the Republic. Now unimaginably large sectors contain vast numbers of inhabited worlds with no regard to limiting factors. Sectors are governed by Moffs.
Sectors are grouped together into larger territorial entities called regions. The Empire has countless regions, which can contain from as few as three to upwards of thousands of sectors. The establishment of a region depends not only upon galactic geography, but also upon wealth, influence, historic "sentimentalities," economic diversity and the level of direct control exerted by the Empire. Regions are governed by Grand Moffs (the title "regional governor" is commonly used). Some well known regions include the Outer Rim Territories (a vast expanse of space with many frontier colonies), the Galactic Core (historic "birthplace" of the Republic, containing Coruscant, the capital of the Empire, as well as several other vital systems), the Deep Core (a restricted area of space - essentially a giant "preserve" in the heart of the Empire), the Colonies, and the Inner Rim.
Under the New Order, the Galactic Empire continues to grow and expand, and new sectors and regions are being formed all the time.
The Empire also maintains a number of "client states" - regions of space almost entirely controlled by another economic or political entity, yet ultimately loyal and subservient to the Empire. The Corporate Sector, under the control of the Corporate Sector Authority, is one such client state, as is the infamous area of the galaxy known as Hutt Space."
-scope and division of Imperial sectors. Sorry about the size, but it clearly contains loads of useful information.
"Priority sectors are the first to receive experimental equipment, and theirs are the first to have losses replaced. Priority sectors are sometimes given special missions in which the Emperor has a personal interest. The Death Star Project is an example of a priority sector into which the Empire poured resources enough to have formed perhaps a score of Sector Groups."
-This should answer some questions on SD.net's Death Star thread. The DS1 = 20 Sector Groups in terms of production cost.
"During the time of the Old Republic, there was a HoloNet which transmitted information throughout the constituent worlds. The HoloNet was extremely expensive to maintain, but it provided the Republic with a sophisticated, flexible means of communication. Consisting of hundreds of thousands of non-mass transceivers connected through a vast matrix of coordinated hyperspace S-threads (popularly known as Simu-Tunnels), as well as the computing power to sort and decode all of the information, the HoloNet was the only method available for real-time holographic transmissions between worlds.
It was horrendously expensive to maintain, costing many thousands of credits per full-channel transmission second per transceiver. The HoloNet was used almost exclusively by the government and the larger commercial houses of the Old Republic. But it did connect the constituent worlds, giving a sense of belonging to the average citizen.
Smaller commercial concerns and individuals never used the HoloNet directly; they relied on the literally millions of traders who traveled the commerce corridors of the Old Republic."
-description of the Holonet. It seems expensive to maintain. Looks like public-access info like HoloNetNews is probably sent in packets and then distributed on planetary servers, at least that would be the cheapest way, wouldn't it? This also shoots down Rob Wilson's desire for a HNN "Pirate Broadcast," IMNSHO, since it would be too expensive and complicated for most. Or at least you can see the inherent concerns.
"Smaller commercial concerns and individuals never used the HoloNet directly; they relied on the literally millions of traders who traveled the commerce corridors of the Old Republic."
-Size and scope: "literally millions of traders." Are there even that many is Asimov's GE?
"Soon after Palpatine assumed the throne he dismantled the HoloNet, achieving two objectives. First, he made it difficult for any foes not in the Senate to coordinate any resistance to his designs. Any individual system, no matter how wealthy or influential, could easily be crushed by the Empire. Second, the constituent worlds were used to absorbing the cost of the HoloNet, even though most worlds received little benefit from the system during the final days of the Republic's collapse. This gave the Emperor an enormous flow of credits with which to initiate the rapid build up of Imperial forces, manning and outfitting more troops in the first six months of his reign than the Republic had ever mobilized at any one time."
-Holonet cutbacks were able to fund a military build-up? Also note that the first 6 mo. of his reign saw more Imperial forces constructed that whatever we see/will see in AOTC and Ep. III.
"I have also noticed that even the excellent pace with which Your Majesty is strengthening his fleets can scarcely provide security for the Empire should a significant number of planets begin to defy your will. We are many years away from a force vast enough to secure every system simultaneously." [Tarkin]
-The Imperial Starfleet is still many years away from the guaranteed, fait-accompli dominance of the galaxy
"Cannibalize existing HoloNet transceivers, modify them for use and put them in the flagship of every Sector Group in an Oversector command. Place similar facilities within His Majesty's command ship and within Imperial City. This will enable your forces to respond to threats in minutes rather than hours or days after the fact. Imperial forces will be able to coordinate to a degree impossible among an enemy, whose fastest means of communication is a rendezvous at a common system."
-Without HoloNet transceivers, it will take hours or even days to respond to threats. With them, it will take minutes.
"I think this effect could be exploited to a far greater degree. The average citizen deals in symbols, not rational analysis. If we present the citizen with a weapon so powerful, so immense as to defy all conceivable attack against it, a weapon invulnerable and invincible in battle, that shall become the symbol for the Empire. We may need only a handful, perhaps only one of these weapons, to subjugate thousands of thousands of worlds, each containing millions upon millions of beings."
-Tarkin on why the DS would be cost-effective
"SAGroup is a contraction for Sub-Adult Group. SAGroup is the largest branch of COMPNOR. SAGroup has recently exceeded two trillion members, and it is still growing. SAGroup headquarters most resembles the original COMPNOR, an enthusiastic group who firmly believes the New Order is the best regime for the galaxy."
S&S: A large Imperial youth political organization has two trillion members.
"Some branches of SAGRec have been filled with future CompForce hopefuls. These SAGRecs engage in harsh physical training and wargames as an introduction to military training. Some have been reputed to hold exercises with blasters, casually ignoring the removal of the stunsafes which prevent lethal fire."
Tech: 'stunsafes'
"This group is gently wriggling from the control of SAGroupHQ, goaded by support from the ISB. Their activities are at an all-time high, sometimes offering impressive incentives to parents to have their offspring join SAGroup. The goals over the next five standard years is to have membership in SAGroup swell to 10 trillion."
S&S: Membership goals for the youth organization are 10 trillion. We know that the group has 2 trillion already. The organization seems to be some sort of "Hitler youth" movement, grooming future Imperial soldiers and bueraucrats. The 10 trillion figure gives some idea of the number of replacements that the Imperial power structure will need in a decade or so.
"There is no branch of service which takes higher casualties in training than the Assault arm of CompForce. SAGroup has such a large supply of primed volunteers that the Assault arm can afford to train by attrition - if you make it through training you are combat ready. Of the 88 percent who fail to make it through training, nearly one quarter of these are combat fatalities. There is little exaggeration and a lot of perverse pride in Assault's claim that "two die for every one that gets through."
The ferocious training and indoctrination of Assault arm does provide strong unit cohesion for its troops, as well as instill a willingness to fight on despite heavy casualties. Training-by- attrition does have a serious defect in that it selects those who have been merely lucky, as well as those who have natural combat skills, and it processes so many volunteers through training that it does a mediocre job of teaching vital combat skills to its soldiers."
Misc: The Assault Arm is a dedicated shock troop, cannon fodder attack force that is fanatical and unafraid of casualties.
"The Ubiqtorate considers COMPNOR (especially the ISB) to be, at best, a misuse of valuable resources. At worst, COMPNOR is a case of arming and authorizing talented but untested amateurs to defend the Empire, the entire basis of their strategies and tactics being a few holos of political aphorisms on the New Order."
-Chapters 2&3 indicate that COMPNOR is far less competent and professional than Imperial Intelligence. COMPNOR seems to be a brutal strongarm in comparison to the practised finesse of II. Both agencies were intentionally set up to be rivals.
"The agents in Media sarcastically refer to Signal as "a group of beings who sort through the garbage in order to discover what a family said to each other at breakfast." Signal does occasionally overreach itself, applying blindingly sophisticated mathematical techniques to squeeze nonexistent meanings from chaotic data. However, it was Signal which discovered that Leia Organa had the plans to the Death Star through the analysis of unshielded ELEL (Extremely Low Energy Level) transmissions from her ship."
Tech: ELEL detectors
"There are three ways to defeat your enemy. The first, and most obvious, is to better him in a trial of force. The best way is to have him destroy himself; few enemies are so obliging. The middle way is to destroy your enemy from within. Judicious application of the middle way shall make your blows more effective when vou later take the way of force. From the middle way it is also possible to push your enemy onto the path of self-destruction. "
Uueg Tching of Kitel Phard, 54th Emperor of Atrisia"
Misc: Hmmm... Sounds vaguely familiar...
"After indoctrination, Infiltration agents are often reassigned to Intelligence, assigned as assistants to a few sector branches, and then assigned to Sedition (Intelligence Bureau). The agents learn vast amounts during this period. Many agents have to be released because of overuse of the mnemiotic drugs given agents to enhance their learning. Those who survive with their minds intact know a great deal."
Tech: 'mnemiotic drugs' are available but should not be overused
"The Plexus encodes, categorizes, transmits, stores, receives and decodes more messages in a single standard day than most planetary communications nets will transmit in over 800 standard years."
Tech: Plexus is an intelligence management centre. Make of its capabilities what you will.
"Sector Plexus has access to portions of the HoloNet, but most of their information is carried from system to system on droid vessels. These are small, extremely fast starships run strictly by CNLinked droids and computers. The ship has a nay computer, a storage/transceiving 12-CG droid (based on Cybot Galactica's ED4 model), a "ship's captain" R2-M3 droid (based on the R2 astromech droid), and an analysis encoding computer equipped with a TranLang III Communication module. These ships contain no accommodations or space for living beings, nor do they have life support systems."
Tech: An R2 droid can 'captain' a small starship
"Essentially the PDV is a fuel source and engine, with supporting electronics and droids attached. It is built strictly to send and receive Plexus conduit transmissions within a system and then jump to the next system on its route. A combination of PDV speed, programmed skills and efficient route algorithms guarantee that a PDV never has a jump duration greater than one standard day, except in extreme emergencies."
Propulsion: The tech schematics give a .5 hyperdrive for the PDV. It never has a jump duration greater than one standard day, except in extreme emergencies. So can it theoretically cross the galaxy in a day regardless of location or does it use multiple jumps?
"With this device, the Hyperspace Orbiting Scanner (HOS), Imperial Intelligence has been able to tap into the computer networks on more than 470,000 worlds, and the number is increasing every day."
S&S: Using a combination of probes, scanners, and something that resembles the internet, II can read the computer networks of over 470,000 worlds.
"Left in hyperspace orbit around a planet, the HOS sensors do not pick up the signals from the computer directly. They monitor the hyperspace shadows left by streaking particles inside a computer.
Careful and systematic matching of the shadows of known computer languages to the shadows produced by the target system have produced data which is better than 78 percent reliable. Imperial science is not likely to produce an improvement over this phenomenal performance any time in the near future."
Tech: Hyperspace scanners can scan minute realspace particles from hyperspace
"Imperial Intelligence has placed millions of system cells throughout the galaxy. They exist on every inhabited world, and even on a few uninhabited ones which prove to be convenient jump sites or listening posts."
S&S: When could count the cells that are on every inhabited world plus a few uninhabited ones, you get "millions." There are probably more than one cell on some planets, however, complicating this count.
"Phasecycle: The messages which Imperial Intelligence sends are dynamic, which means software which modifies the scandoc is embedded within the scandoc itself. The scandoc is continually regenerating itself, recoding itself according to a deterministic sequence. This coding will change word order, sentence order, paragraph structure, as well as individual ciphers for words or characters. This technique makes breaking the code of an Intelligence scandoc nearly impossible."
Tech: Just one of the many security measures on an Imperial scandoc
"3P0 droids are nearly universal. They could be inserted virtually unnoticed into any Rebel camp, having unquestioned access to most areas. The Rebels would never suspect such a low-cost piece of hardware as being an integral part of Imperial Intelligence."
Tech: 3P0 droids are nearly universal, but we already knew that.
"Dr. Lucien guarantees me that only minor modifications are necessary to a 3P0's already impressive array of sensors in order to make it a first-class intelligence-gathering droid, costing thousands less than the Akrayd Viper Probe Droid."
Tech: 3P0 sensors are comparable to those aboard a Probe Droid
"A 3P0 unit has built-in hardware, the TranLang III Communications module, which allows it to speak millions of languages. Given that the Rebellion recruits scum from anywhere they can find it, a facile ability with a great many tongues could be a significant advantage, allowing a few 3POs to replace hundreds of less linguistically adept agents. Just think of the savings to the New Order!"
Tech: The 3P0 ability to speak millions of languages is built-in, not learned initially.
"Additionally, it is easier to scan droids than living beings, as droids are still simpler constructs and they are far more uniform than any single species in the Empire."
Tech: Droids are easier to scan
"I was scanning by my terminal when the security system notified me that a droid with an improperly coded ID chip had entered the perimeter office a split second before. I notified IntSec personnel and then grabbed a few men from Infiltration to try and head it off before it reached any sensitive areas within the office. As I rounded the corner I spotted a 3P0 waddling casually toward a sector office. It was then that I spotted Dr. Lucien's modification. Your droid had time to say, "Oh dear, there must be some mistake," before we blasted its legs off. Satisfied that the droid had no weaponry, we interrogated it. I have had no more than the standard course on interrogation given by your bureau, but I had the 3PO spilling its chips before I had holstered my blaster."
Tactics: Imperial Intelligence reaction time
"The Navy has grown enormously since the decline of the Old Republic, but its mission has largely stayed the same: to free the system space of member worlds from hazards to profitable commerce, to assure the safety of member worlds from attack from outside forces, and to bolster the planetary governments in times of crisis. This last mission has grown more difficult since the rise of the New Order."
Misc: Growth and role of Imperial Navy
"Under the Republic, the Navy could move in and put down unrest in a system, secure in the knowledge that the majority of the governed species welcomed their intervention. The New Order has changed the attitudes on many of the constituent worlds. While the vastly increased firepower available to the Navy has so far been more than adequate to compensate for any increase in hostilities, the willingness of member worlds to resist the New Order is expected to be a greater problem in the future."
S&S: The Imperial Navy has 'vastly increased firepower" since the fall of the Republic.
Planetary governments had the right to call upon the Navy of the Old Republic in emergencies. They would simultaneously petition the Senate if the forces were to be engaged for more than seven standard days (most actions could be concluded within that time). The only lengthy campaigns were against the pirates located on the fringe worlds, and these were the concerted efforts of several hundred worlds who at one time or another had found themselves prey for pirates.
S&S: Most conflicts in the OR lasted for less than a week. But there were pirate groups that could prey on _hundreds_ of worlds in their careers!
"Under new doctrine, individual planets are too insignificant to allow them direct control over an asset as important as the Imperial Navy, even for short periods of time."
Politics: The Imperial navy is more of a 'standing military' than the militia or peacekeeping forces under the OR.
"This change has greatly boosted the morale of naval personnel. The officers now know that the strategy is being set at a level of authority which is best suited for seeing the whole picture. Naval commanders have the authority and responsibility to execute their orders in the best manner possible, and they know they shall be free from political interference while doing so."
Politics: The Imperial Navy is free from most political interference
"The Navy has responded to its rapid growth by changing its command structure, introducing intermediate levels of command which did not exist in the Republican Navy. Most of the junior level officers were promoted to these intermediate levels, while the senior officers kept their ranks but had the scope of their command enlarged. An admiral in the Imperial Navy commands forces over 10 times as great as an admiral did during the Old Republic."
S&S: The size of the navy seems to have increased by at least a factor of 10, given that there is an equal or greater number of Admirals in the Imperial Navy than in the Old Republic, yet they command >10 times the amount of forces.
"From the men who fly the capital ships to the men who leap into the cockpits of the TIE fighters, Imperial pilots are the mainstay of the Imperial Navy. They are the necessary element in the military branch charged with protecting the space lanes from pirates, smugglers, alien invaders, and Rebels."
Tactics: Role of TIE Fighters
"The top pilots in the galaxy are found in the Imperial Navy. These pilots, following the glorious and time-honored allure established during the Republic, attend the premier academies throughout the Empire. Within these fine institutions, the Empire teaches these men duty and promotes the idea of maintaining order, as opposed to defending against aggression."
Misc: Perhaps the academy Luke and friends spoke of in ANH is one of these?
"In addition to their hands-on training, gunners learn to work with specialized computer helmets that not only offer protection but are equipped with macrobinocular viewplates and sensor arrays to assist with targeting fast-moving fighter craft."
Tactics: No purely 'manual targeting' here, Trekkie cultists.
"To protect its vast number of capital ships without relying on the help of the Army, the Navy has created a corps of troopers to act as soldiers. These men, trained in traditional combat skills, also learn skills needed to survive aboard the mighty vessels that patrol the galaxy in the name of the Emperor.
These troopers wear the distinctive uniform and helmet once only the province of the Death Star troopers. These soldiers dressed in all black are deadly warriors, but they all serve other functions aboard Imperial ships. They act as security, handle hangar traffic control, monitor sensor arrays, and other duties when their combat skills aren't required."
Tactics: Role of naval troopers
"With the New Order, and especially since the massive build-up orders issued after the Battle of Yavin, the Navy has received top-of-the-line equipment throughout the upper ranks of the Imperial fleet. Only in the lower, system-level units does the older, less-standardized equipment appear in large quantities."
Misc: Suggests two levels of the Navy, an elite fleet arm and second-line system-level units.
"If the Navy was rejuvenated since the rise of the New Order, the Army was revived from the dead. During the days of the Old Republic the Army degenerated into a poorly trained police force with fancy uniforms. They performed garrison duty on member worlds, often as a barrier between squabbling locals. The Navy was responsible for getting the Army to its destination and for picking up what was left. There was lip service paid to the concept of orbital support, but the Navy was stretched too thinly to afford sitting in stationary orbit for the duration of a surface campaign. The Navy jealously guarded its starfighters, so the Army was denied any effective means of maintaining an orbit free of enemy spacecraft once the Navy departed."
Misc: Possible explanation for lack of naval fire support in AOTC.
Tactics: Starships usually remain in orbit when supporting the army
"With the New Order, and especially since the abolishment of the Senate, the Army has become the physical manifestation of the Empire throughout the galaxy. Whether black-clad Imperial soldiers or white-armored stormtroopers, the Imperial Army has grown into the mailed fist that pounds the thousand-thousand worlds of the Galactic Empire into submission."
S&S: Again the "thousand thousand worlds"
"The Army took a different tack from the Navy when it experienced its phenomenal growth. The army kept its ranks the same, but increased the number of subordinate officers for each rank above. This decreased the ratio of officers to troops and gave the Imperial Army a very lean fighting force."
Tactics: The IA has a low officer>troop ratio
"Over three-quarters of the Army's officers were weeded out during the first days of the New Order."
Politics: That's a pretty big purge.
"Army troopers make up a vast number of the Empire's planet-bound fighting forces. These soldiers wear similar uniforms to the Naval trooper, complete with helmet. But the Army wears a gray-colored uniform and partial armor for protection.
These soldiers are trained only to fight, and they do it very well. They are taught all manner of combat techniques. Hand-to-hand, blaster pistol, grenade, and heavy weapons training are just some of the areas these soldiers are expected to excel in."
Tactics: Role and training of Imperial Army troopers
"Like the normal Army trooper, assault crewmen wear gray uniforms and partial body armor. They receive all the combat training given the trooper, as well as the training needed to operate the ground assault vehicles. They also learn how to best apply the Imperial mindset of rule by fear through the use of their war machines."
Tactics: The armour crews are trained to understand the psychological warfare aspect of machine such as the AT-AT
"Some say the stormtroopers were created to provide the Emperor with an obedient force that was loyal to no one save him. Others note that these specialized warriors were designed to provide adequate protection to the varied worlds of the Galactic Empire with little preparation time. Whether one or both of these are true, it remains that the stormtroopers fit the doctrine of rule through fear very well indeed."
Tactics: Role of Stormtroopers. I think they are highly-loyal, politically-reliable shock troops. They win the battle, then the regular army occupies the area.
"Snowtroopers work in tandem with AT-AT walkers. These vehicles are ideally suited for the extreme temperatures and icy terrain where snowtroopers are deployed."
Tech: Walkers work well in icy terrain.
"Another special unit of stormtroopers has been established to handle another prominent environment throughout the Empire. Aquatic assault stormtroopers - or "seatroopers" - are trained and equipped to operate below the seas of the thousand-thousand worlds.
Seatroopers can be deployed quickly via dropships, but are most often assigned to aquatic garrisons where they enjoy the support of a fully loaded base, special water craft (including modified TIE fighters), and powerful AT-AT swimmers."
Tech: There are water variants of AT-ATs and TIEs
"While all stormtrooper armor provides limited protection against hard vacuum, one elite division has been trained to operate exclusively in outer space. Zero-G Assault stormtroopers - or "spacetroopers" - are deadly commandos of the highest order, second only to the Imperial Royal Guard in training, loyalty, and destructive capability. When it is necessary to capture a freighter, space station, or other spacefaring vehicle, spacetroopers are deployed to handle the job.
A spacetrooper platoon uses a refitted and heavily armored assault shuttle to stage its operations from. A five-man command crew pilots the shuttle. All communication devices are patched through the platoon commander's station so that the commander can monitor the entire team's activities. He issues orders from on board the shuttle, directing his troopers from within the flying fortress.
The assault shuttle is a formidable attack vehicle in its own right, but the 40 spacetroopers it carries are walking arsenals. Each trooper wears a standard stormtrooper shell, but then plugs into a full body armor encasing that performs as a personal spacecraft and attack vehicle. Spacetroopers are limited by the amount of power their armor can store, but they are trained to employ their armament effectively and complete their specified mission within a limited period of time. If unable to complete their mission within the time limit, spacetroopers have standing orders to return to their shuttle for recharging.
Because of their fearsome yet bulky outfits, spacetroopers perform best in no-gravity environments such as deep space and non-atmosphere worlds."
Tactics: Role and training of Spacetroopers Tech: Regular Stormtrooper armour provides limited protection against hard vaccum.
"Stormtrooper scouts are assigned to garrison posts. At a typical garrison, scout speeder bike squadrons perform reconnaissance and patrol missions in cooperation with AT-ST walkers. Imperial doctrine dictates that garrisons remain active and aggressive, performing continuous patrols to establish a tangible presence, even on "pacified" worlds.
Scouts use the explosively fast Aratech 74-Z speeder bike to perform their missions. Be- cause speeder bikes require sensitive handling, Imperial scouts wear highly specialized lightweight armor. This armor includes macrobinocular viewplates and full sensor array, as well as a built-in computer to analyze incoming data quickly. Without such aid, even the best scouts would be hard pressed to operate speeder bikes at full speed."
Tactics: Role and equipment of Scout troopers Tech: Note that Scout armour is more 'lightweight' than regular stormtrooper armour, suggesting that it probably is unable to absorb the amount of impacts or firepower that regular stormtrooper armour can.
(From a report by the Imperial Navy to the Emperor's advisors on budgetary affairs.)
"While starfighters took a premier role in the recent Battle of Yavin, capital ships remain the heart of the Imperial Navy. Capital ships conduct battles on a grand scale. They do not engage in common dogfights - that is the province of small one- and two-man starfighters. When capital ships meet, they engage in a war between spacefaring cities and the outcome could result in thousands of deaths."
Tactics: Role of capital ships vs. starfighters S&S: Scope of capital ship combat
"These combat starships measure over 100 meters, require large crews to operate, use massive power cells and generators, and are heavily armed and armored. Under the New Order, many of these vessels have been commissioned. But since the emphasis of Imperial doctrine has again turned toward the use of the Imperial fleet, even more of these ships of the line are needed."
Tactics: Definition of capital ships/ships-of-the-line
"Assault shuttles are among the most-heavily shielded vessels in the Imperial fleet. Most combat starships funnel approximately 25 percent of their total power through the shield generators. An assault shuttle uses up to 62 percent power on shields, and over half of that power is channeled into the front arc. This allows the shuttle to withstand even the most concentrated barrage of fire for at least a short time."
Shielding: Most combat starships funnel approximately 25 percent of their total power through the shield generators as opposed to the exceptional 62 percent on an assault shuttle.
"Blastboats fill the gap between speedy, maneuverable starfighter designs and the slower, more heavily-armed capital ships. They are swift enough to overhaul most system intruders, and strong enough to deliver - and survive - blows from powerful weapons. They operate equally well in atmosphere, on patrol in the far reaches of a star system, or performing fleet point duties with or without starfighter support."
Tactics: Role of Skipray Blastboats
"The Torpedo Sphere, a dedicated siege platform, is designed to accomplish one mission - to knock out a planet's shields. Planetary shields, whether full or partial, protect a world from orbital bombardment. It takes a lot of troops to assault a planet. It is easier and far less expensive to simply pound a planet into submission with the weapons of a Star Destroyer. But planetary shields prevent this."
Shielding: Planetary shields must be fairly common for a need for Torpedo Spheres to arise. 6 Torpedo Spheres were built to deal with rebelling worlds. Considering that the Rebellion is strong mostly in the Outer Rim, it is probably the galactic backwaters that are putting up planetary shields.
"Sensors cannot penetrate full planetary shields, so the crew of the Sphere must study the power waves within the shield to determine where the initial power is coming from."
Sensors: Full-power planetary shields prevent effective scans.
"The Torpedo Sphere is a miniature Death Star, covered with thousands of dedicated energy receptors (DERs) designed to analyze shield emissions. Planetary shields are never uniformly even. They experience power anomalies and energy fluctuations just like other mechanical devices. The Torpedo Sphere parks in orbit around a planet and trains its DERs upon the world to search for weak points in the shielding. These weak points rarely exceed more than a 20 percent power drop, but this is enough for the Torpedo Sphere to bring down the shields.
The Sphere contains 500 proton torpedo tubes arranged in an inverted conical formation. Surrounding these tubes are 10 heavy turbolaser batteries. The actual destruction of a planet's shields is simple. The Torpedo Sphere arrives and analyzes the shields. It finds both the weak points and the location of the planet-bound shield generators. The Sphere then fires a salvo of torpedoes that knock a hole in the shield (at a weak point), followed by blasts from the turbolasers to destroy the generators. Then the bombardment of the planet can begin.
That is the quick version. In reality, it takes almost a hundred heavy weapons technicians to coordinate the tube launches. The target area rarely exceeds a six meter square. The hole this produces is actually a power surge that only lasts a few microseconds. If the turbolasers have not made their shots in this time, the process must start all over again."
Shielding: The above suggests that a 20% power drop in a six-metre square can be penetrated by 500 proton torpedoes fired into that six-metre square. If we can figure out the Proton Torped firepower, we can get an idea of typical shield strength.
Oops! Never mind:
"Damage [per torp]: 9D (Specially calibrated to affect planetary shields; do only 4D damage to other vessels)"
These Proton Torps are 'Specially calibrated to affect planetary shields.' To planetary shields, they do equivalent damage as a heavy turbolaser (50 GT?)
So by my rough calcs, one would have to pump about 25,000 GT of firepower into a 6-metre weak spot in order to cause a temporary shield failure through which you would have to bombard the shield generator from orbit. No easy task!!! The rest of the shields are 20% stronger.(~30,000 GT per 6m2)
Sensors: The ability to fire 500 torpedoes into a 6-metre square demonstrates that the expectation of starfighters at Yavin to hit a 2-metre exhaust port was not unreasonable, uncommon, or unprecedented as Trek cultists like to claim.
"Designed by Lira Wessex, daughter of the man who designed the Victory-class Star Destroyer, the Imperial-class Star Destroyer was an engineering and budget-planning nightmare. But the Navy pushed for it and the Emperor demanded it, so the standard Star Destroyer was built.
The Imperial Star Destroyer has enough firepower to reduce a civilized world to slag or take on a fleet of lesser enemy vessels. Each carries a full stormtrooper division, complete with assault craft and ablative heat shields for orbital drops, 20 AT-AT and 30 AT-ST walkers for ground assault, and six TIE fighter squadrons for escort and patrol.
There are whole star systems whose gross domestic product is less than the cost of a single Imperial Star Destroyer. There are whole nations which, throughout their entire history, do not use as much energy as an Imperial expends to make a single hyperspace jump.
To carry out the Emperor's mandate of rule through fear and the swift destruction of opposition, the Imperial-class Star Destroyer is the weapon of choice. By deploying a Star Destroyer and support ships to a system, the Empire can destroy virtually any foe.
It is impossible to garrison every world in every system in the Empire, but the Imperial Star Destroyers give the Emperor the ability to project his power anywhere he wishes in a short period of time. These vessels are more than weapons platforms. They also act as space stations, repair docks, and heavy transports for smaller craft.
An Imperial-class vessel usually carries combat craft, shuttles, repair and recovery vehicles, landing barges, drop ships, ground assault vehicles, and prefabricated garrison bases for immediate deployment.
Since its introduction, an improved version of the Star Destroyer has begun to see action. The Imperial II is an upgraded model featuring increased hull shielding and heavier firepower."
[Description of ISDs]
"Except for the Death Star battle station, the Super-class Star Destroyer is the largest warship ever constructed. Five times the length of an Imperial Star Destroyer, each carries more than a quarter million troops and crew.
Over 1,000 turbolaser batteries, ion cannons, and tractor beam emplacements dot the eight kilometer long ship. These vessels are like a fleet unto themselves. Twelve squadrons of TIE fighters await within the huge confines of the massive ship, including two squadrons made up of the new TIE Interceptor model. Other carried vessels bring the total aboard the Super Star Destroyer to over 200 ships.
Even more weapons of destruction are within the Super Star Destroyer, including a full corp of stormtroopers and other soldiers, 25 AT-AT walkers, 50 AT-STs, and various other ground assault vehicles. In addition, the ship carries three prefabricated garrison bases for immediate deployment.
The Super-class Star Destroyer is the dream of the Emperor and the epitome of his new navy. It represents the best and newest vessel available in the Imperial inventory. It is a command ship, a spacegoing headquarters from which to guide planetary invasions, space battles, and the like.
Four of these massive vessels are now in service. The first, Executor, was presented to Lord Darth Vader by the Emperor to serve as his personal flagship from which to lead the fleet charged with the eradication of the Rebel Alliance."
[Role and inaccurate stats for 'Super Star Destroyers']
"Cloaking Fields
A fully-operational cloaking device has always been the ultimate dream of Naval commanders since before the most primitive sensors were developed. The idea of cloaking or hiding a vessel from either visual or sensor pickup has been a goal of everyone who designs space vehicles. Unfortunately, as newer and more sophisticated sensor systems were developed, true "cloaking" became more difficult.
Recently, the Empire's highly funded and very controversial research into sensor cloaking paid off. A multi-talented team of scientists and engineers were collected to begin final construction on a working cloaking device.
Many rumors have been circulated concerning cloaking fields and their existence. Some have come from the Empire in an attempt to frighten and confuse those who would test its abilities. Others have come from those so frightened, permitting the disinformation to expand. In fact, it was determined that a singular breakthrough in cloaking technology was highly unlikely, and the Empire has pursued a combined approach ever since.
The current test model is a device comprised of a number of inter-related systems and technologies, specifically designed to provide total protection. The "cape," as the complete system is referred to, is a double-blind device. This means the protection from sensor transmissions works both ways.
The cloaking field obscures all types of electromagnetic sensors by absorbing the beams instead of reflecting them. Since most sensor radiation never returns to the originating source but usually disappears into the void of space, the protected vessel is effectively cloaked. The field protects against highly limited EPRs (electrophoto receptors), insensitive FSTs (full- spectrum transceivers), and computerized LFIs (lifeform indicators).
A cloaked vessel is virtually immune to DER (dedicated energy receptor) scanning by all but the most powerful systems manned by the most expert technicians. DERs can only locate cloaked vessels by picking up ion engine heat. The Empire has developed a method for successfully baffling this heat via another phase of this project, and this phase is currently being studied for other military applications.
Cloaking fields, as they are developing now, cannot protect against CGTs (crystal gravitational traps) since the mass of the protected vessel is not affected by the field. As most of these expensive sensors are Imperial property, the need for mass baffling seems unnecessary.
The main drawback to the cloaking field project is that the cloak works both ways. A cloaked vessel cannot use Its sensors either, as the field absorbs the beams before they can register any information These ships would be blind in space, as well as invisible.
With these problems In mind, DMR decided to narrow the cloaking project's goals. Under the new scheme, a vessel with a specific search-and-destroyor deep-space patrol mission would be equipped with the new technology. This ship would use visual navigation In realspace and minimum sensors when In hyperspace. As combat would remain a low priority of this type of mission, the need for extensive computerized weapons systems which rely on sensor feedback would be eliminated.
As more details and reports are forthcoming, they will be passed along to the Advisory Committee"
TECH: Description of a cloaking device. This conflicts with HNN.COM which suggests that cloaking devices were in operation in the pre-AOTC era, and with TPM.
"Hyperspace Pulsemass Generators
Certain leaders within the DMR have a tendency to overlabel everything. The hyperspace pulsemass generator is an example of this, as the ordnance is simply a huge "pebble spreader" in space. The generator produces tiny spheres of hyperenergy that are shot out into an area of space. When ships traveling through hyperspace cross the equivalent area of realspace, they come in contact with the hyperenergy spheres. These spheres overwhelm the blocking capacity of the ship's shields and shred the craft.
These hyperenergy spheres do not affect ships in realspace, but if a ship enters a field of spheres and then jumps to lightspeed it comes in contact with the deadly pulses. A region mined with hyperenergy spheres is dangerous for only a few minutes, for then the energy dissipates.
This weapon can be devastating to large fleets, but the luck involved in successfully employing the pulsemass generator is enormous. You literally have to catch your opponent napping to mine a region of space and have him hyperspace through it before the energy spheres fade.
Now in experimental and limited use, the Empire is working to make this form of attack more profitable and more exacting. If it does, succeed in improving the versatility of the hyperspace pulsemass generator, then fleets of enemy ships quickly escaping into hyperspace will become a threat of the past."
Tech: Wow, I guess O'Shea's 'Neutralizer' cruiser or whatever it was called actually is grounded in official literature!
"Magnetic Bombards
High tech worlds where the new magnepulse custom ordnance have been tested showed an Immediate cessation of hostile and rebellious activity. A magnetic bombard delivered above cities or technological installations can send a civilization literally back into its dark ages.
These weapons take two forms, both delivering a magnetic pulse that shorts out most technological equipment, computers, communication units, and droids. The first method delivers the pulse via a cannon blast delivered by a ship of medium cruiser level or above. This blast, however, can be reflected back on the firer, causing the attacking vessel to "blink out" and become a desolate, powerless hulk. The second method delivers its pulse via a cluster bomb, but these bombs can be destroyed before they reach detonation.
Now being designed to include shields and evasive computers, the magnepulse bomb is gaining acceptance within the Empire. It is a clean weapon that simply prevents a world from retaliating with modern weaponry. The bombs can be carried by any vessel capable of supporting TIE bays, as these weapons are approximately the size of a fighter when the thrusters, evasive computers, shield generator, and power cells are in place.
The sophisticated technology that goes into creating a magnepulse bomb, and its one-shot delivery, make this ordnance very mission expensive. For now, DMR has chosen to spend the extra credits to obtain maximum flexibility. But new technologies, like interchangeable cannon-mounted weapons, might see this change in the near future.
Remember, these weapons do nothing against planets without a level of technology that includes computers and electromagnetic communications. But as most worlds the Empire wishes to pacify fall into this category, the use of magnepulse ordnance may increase as the civil war rages on."
Tech: Note that smaller fighter-based versions were deployed in the TIE Fighter series
"Two-Wave Gravshock Devices
Housed within the shell of a Torpedo Sphere, the two-wave gravshock - or planetbuster - is designed to do terrible damage on a near-planetary scale.
By localizing a planet's gravity, the gravshock waves can simulate earthquakes, floods, and other natural disasters. Unfortunately, time and power make this weapon somewhat impractical on the everyday scale. The Super-class Star Destroyer, for example, is the only ship with engines powerful enough to pump the massive amounts of energy necessary for a full planetary disruption, but it has no need of such a weapon considering the armaments it packs.
The localization effect of the gravwave is not without problems either. As a planet's gravitational field is altered, any vessels navigating in near-space (including the attacker) are subject to rapid and unpredictable orbital shifts.
However, successful tests make this ordnance worth exploring. Crushing cities in upon themselves, shaking them to pieces, redirecting waterways to make the most of their destructive power, the gravshock device is worthy of Imperial thinking and use.
One new concept for the gravshock technology involves asteroid mining and surveying. Imperial engineers theorize that by studying the effects of a weak gravwave attack on a small body, like a moon or asteroid, they can learn information about its interior. Thus, the weapon can be used to find important ores and metals for making even more weapons."
Tech: Coool. Chalk up another planetbuster for the Empire's arsenal.
"The Empire consists of land, an incalculable amount of rock and soil and varied terrain. The space lanes are merely the paths between the land. The Navy has the massive Imperial fleet to control the space lanes, but the Army has a fleet of its own to control the land - a fleet of ground assault vehicles."
Tactics: The Empire understands what Starfleet doesn't.
[A vehicle listing follows. Some, like the Juggernaught are familiar. Even then there is interesting details on it, such as the unenviable position of the tower lookout, good fanfic fodder. Other vehicles resemble something out of Command & Conquer, like the giant mobile command base in which some less brave Imperial commanders literally live inside. More good Fanfic fodder. I'm looking at you, Pablo and Sheppard.]
"But catching the outlaws is only the first step. Stopping them is another matter. To accomplish this, the repulsor sled is equipped with tangle nets that drop from bottom compartments. These nets, in addition to tangling around a swoop, give off short pulses that disrupt the repulsor fields that carry the craft. Once in place, the net draws off the field and causes the craft to plummet toward the surface."
Tech: There exist specialized 'tangle nets' which disrupt repulsorlift drives.
"The armored shell of the Floating Fortress allows the vehicle to go through obstacles as opposed to around them, obliterating all in their path with a casual effortlessness. Whole cities have been leveled by Floating Fortresses in search of Rebels or other enemies of the Empire."
Misc: I wonder how a Trekkie would interpret that quote if the Floating Fortress was a Starfleet weapon?
"Although its speed and maneuverability cannot compete with those of repulsor-driven scout craft, there are many points in favor of the Mekuun design. It boasts a maintenance and failure rate better than most competitive floater scouts. It is easier and cheaper to maintain. Hovercraft require less training to operate than do repulsorlift vehicles. Finally, there are some worlds and terrain type that make repulsorlifts behave erratically. On these planets the hoverscout is the vehicle of choice."
Tech: There are situations in which conventional hovercraft are useful.
"The Empire's military might is organized at the sector level, and thus is called a Sector Group: all of the military forces assigned to a given sector of space. A Sector Group is a huge gathering of Imperial military might. It is a flexible organization, one which is readily reinforced to many times its original strength while retaining essentially the same command structure at all times. This flexibility is an integral part of the Emperor's plan to fully arm the Empire. "
[Description of a sector group. Note that the document claims that sector groups are 'readily reinforced' as opposed to being understrength.]
"While the organization and Order of Battle of a Sector Group has been outlined according to the numbers in these reports, these numbers can at best be considered averages. And in the wake of the Emperor's command to mobilize the Imperial war machine, they may even be considered minimum levels of force. Also, the forces deployed in a given sector will depend upon the importance, size, and location of that sector."
S&S: The SGs are considered to be 'minimum levels of force.' Thelea would love this.]
[The document then goes on to describe in detail the separate and intertwined roles of the Imperial Army and Navy]
"When engaged in operations, the Army can expect support from the Navy during the initial drop phase. During this phase, the Navy will provide suppressing fire against particularly hard and/or well armed targets, and "force reduction attacks" to destroy enemy assets capable of interfering with reorganization after the drop. The Army is also allowed to pre-plan for from-orbit fire on specific targets during later stages of the operation. If the operation is important enough, naval units may be dedicated to certain ground elements to provide fire support whenever they are called upon."
Tactics: Orbital fire support
"A mission which has been de-emphasized is the protection of scientific missions, as well as acting as the official clearinghouse for information on new worlds. As the Empire has practically ceased to sponsor exploration, this mission has atrophied to the point that many of the newer commanders are not even aware that such missions are part of the Navy doctrine."
Misc: "Remember when we used to be explorers?" ;)
"If Army commanders deem the surface situation to be beyond hope of victory, or if the proper political authorities directly command it, the Navy is to execute a series of punitive attacks upon the target. The attacks are given code names which vary according to the mission and change frequently. The only code name which has not yet changed is "Base Delta Zero," the code for complete destruction of all "assets of production," including factories, arable land, mines, fisheries, and all sentient beings and droids. The code name has not yet changed so there can be no possibility of confusion when a Base Delta Zero is ordered."
Tactics: Description of BDZ order
"Even though it is no longer unusual for captains and other ranking officers to participate directly in combat, they are still considered command elements rather than troopers. When a typical Imperial source lists a number of troops, they are counting traditional combat personnel only and not including the support or command elements."
S&S: Keep that in mind when counting units.
[The OOB follows]
"Stormtroopers technically do fit into the Order of Battle. But these elite troops continue to be a source of mystery to the regular Army, even at the level of their organization. The major difference seems to be the complete lack of support personnel. It is known that the stormtroopers do siphon off some supplies from the normal chain of logistics, but not nearly enough to support a force as large as the stormtroopers appear to be. Whether they can somehow "live off the land," have a shadow network which resupplies them in order to enhance their mystery, or really not be in need of resupply is simply not known.
The end result is that a stormtrooper unit is a pure combat unit."
Question: Anyone have more info on this mysterious capability?
"A stormtrooper battalion has 820 men. just like any other battalion. But every single individual is either combat command or a trooper - there is even a complete absence of staff officers.
Other differences, although minor, do appear. Stormtrooper squads vary in number of men to a greater degree than in the regular Army. The level of organization corresponding to a battlegroup is called a legion. While there is no larger unit of stormtrooper organization than the legion, legions have been known to appear from other sectors to join in a major offensive with legions which belong to the Sector Group."
S&S: A Stormtrooper legion = army battlegroup, giving us the number of 'finest troops' at Endor. [8192?]
"Corps: Corps are generally composed of four battlegroups, commanded by a major general. This organization often covers all troops in a planetary invasion force."
S&S: A planetary invasion force consists of only 32,768 troops plus their support units? Please tell me I miscalculated. A single ISD could carry that. Why then, is a Planetary Invasion Force 6 ISDs + support ships + transports then? Hell, there were probably more troops in the AOTC ground battle!
"Sector Army: Generally composed of two to four systems armies, commanded by a surface marshall. This organization covers all troops in a given sector."
S&S: So a particularly well-endowed sector would contain 1,572,864 troops? What are the authors smoking? Please tell me I miscalculated again. Is this listing for army invasions troops only or something as opposed to occupation forces?
"When viewing the Order of Battle, it is important to realize that this represents a baseline, a starting point for Imperial military ambitions. Only eight percent of Army units are below their OB strength for reasons other than combat attrition, while nearly 15 percent are above the baseline as given by the OB."
S&S: At least the OOB is not just 'paper' stats, then.
"The OB is built upon the assumption of continued explosive growth in the military. Every unit from a platoon up is expected to under go an "upgrade" to its full strength. The exception to this rule are the scouts, which are difficult to man with qualified troops even at current levels."
Tactics: Crappy scouts might explain the debacle at Endor, but they were supposed to be the 'finest troops.'
"This buildup will filter up through the ranks - larger platoons joining larger companies which are a part of larger battalions. The process is exponential.
For example, a baseline armored battlegroup has 10,090 troopers out of a unit strength of 16,346, with 1,132 repulsorlift vehicles and 318 tanks. If every unit were augmented in accordance with the planned growth of the OB, a full strength battlegroup would have 318,062 troops in a unit total 324,318, as many support droids as troops, 36,084 repulsorcraft and 14,480 heavy tanks."
S&S: That's slightly reassuring.
"The limiting factor is not a lack of resources in the Army, but limited expansion of the Navy. The Army cannot expand faster than the fleets which are designed to carry it, and the fleets cannot be built any faster than they are now. For the present, expansion will be limited to those sectors with heavy recurrent fighting where the need for a large land-based force, regardless of naval support or transport, is evident. Such forces can be built, but are then bound to the planet."
S&S: Interesting. Does the GE have more resources in sentients than in starships? Starship production or at least naval vessel deployment seems be the limiting factor.
"Another point to be made is that the OB represents the ideal organization of the Army. Mistakes and inaccuracies in upper level HQs can result in a skewed organization of the actual unit in the field."
Tactics: Skewed how? Numbers? Organization? Proportions? Deployment?
"The eight-man line squad is the basic unit of the Imperial Army. The Imperial squad is smaller than the old 10- and 12-man squads common in the Old Republic, but superior training and more thorough use of coordinated small-unit tactics have resulted in no reduction in squad firepower. Additionally, a large number of new squads were created from the available manpower. The Empire has been experimenting with still smaller squads, particularly with elite or stormtrooper units, but these are still rare. The eight-man squad remains the backbone of the Imperial Army."
Tactics: Role + description of Infantry squads
"A squad is commanded by a sergeant. The sergeant makes recommendations to his superiors for a brevet list - a list of the order of succession of chain of command. The first man on the list (once approved) is automatically given the rank of corporal. While the other troopers are not given ranks, each man knows what his number in the line of command succession is. While not a really accurate indicator of a man's value to his squad, succession numbers are often taken as a measure of a trooper's worth. This belief has led to the expressions "Lower than the eight-man" and "Certain as the one-man's mind."
Misc: Heh, kinda like the Jem Hadar.
"Recent setbacks against the Rebellion have prompted the Empire to see how they might increase the firepower of a basic squad as cost effectively as possible. A leading effort is to give each squad a light repeating blaster. The repeating blaster is carried and operated by one man. Light repeating blasters have been added to squads in almost every sector, but the rearming effort has been sporadic everywhere but in three sectors where better than half of the line squads have been re-equipped: Shwuy, Harron and Nembus. On heavily populated worlds in those sectors, such as Uviuy Exen in Shwuy and Trammen in Harron, every single line squad has been completely armed with light repeating blasters."
Tech: Light repeating blasters dramatically increase squad firepower. Probably equivalent to the FN-MINIMI.
"Sharpshooter squads are indeed filled with troopers whose accuracy with blasters is greater than the standard trooper. Sharpshooter squads also differ in that the brevet list is largely discarded. While every elite trooper is given at least the basics of demolitions, each man is trained in several different skills, and before each mission, the sergeant appoints the trooper with the most pertinent skills as brevet corporal. Each trooper is briefed as to what is expected of him during the mission, and these soldiers are expected to be good enough to decide how best to improvise should the sergeant and corporal be eliminated from the misssion profile."
Misc: Maybe these are the guys who shot up the Jawa sandcrawler
[The document describes several other different types of squads that all have RL counterparts. There is a wide range to fit all mission profiles. Much of this chapter consists of common sense and RL military logic (e.g. More training often goes into a Sargeant than a junior LT.]
Scout trooper squads are organized differently. This is due to two factors; the difficulty of training the scouts against their high rate of loss, and their heritage. Most scout troopers come from systems which have a strong tradition of mounted warriors, cavalry or knights of some kind. The Empire culled what was useful from the varied doctrines, and left as much of the traditions intact as possible in order to foster esprit de corps. One of the useful parts of this tradition is caring for ones own mount: scout troopers are trained to maintain and repair their own vehicles, greatly reducing the support personnel necessary to run such a mobile unit. Fierce unit pride and high standards have filtered through to manufacturers. and Aratech and Mobquet military bikes are the most reliable repulsor craft built.
Tactics: This is all new to me, but I guess denizen tactics of speeder bikes vs. various Star Trek forces aren't that farfetched after all, given speeder bike bravery and espirit de corps.
"Staying in Touch
The need for reliable, lightweight communications gear to keep platoon commanders in touch with other units provides work for a number of companies' R&D sections. SoroSuub's initial success with the DH77 headcomm led to issuing hundreds of thousands of sets before a serious flaw was discovered: the sets are easily jammed by high energy particle emissions. Such emissions could result from normal battlefield conditions: near misses from artillery could create dead zones through which DH77 transmissions were lost. The ionic contrail from a single TIE fighter attack run could temporarily knock out DH77s up to three kilometers away!
The Herzfall Corporation, a little known company from the Senex sector, developed the DH107, which rectified this mistake and was less susceptible to signal interception. DHIO7s have been issued to every platoon formed since the Battle of Yavin, and most platoons have been retrofitted. Still, thousands of platoons are using the old DH77s, a situation which does not look likely to change as the Empire finds more crucial uses for its resources."
Communications: An Imperial Army communications weakness exists among some units.
A platoon is the smallest unit which can request fire support from other units... If Imperial commanders have time to develop a plan of attack, they often assign an artillery section to a platoon. Troopers refer to this practice as "grafting." Sometimes battalion commanders will graft a large number of platoons to a single artillery or armor company, letting the company captain allocate fire support requests as the battlefield situation dictates."
"Before entering a combat situation, a lieutenant usually sends his sergeant major to the squad which he believes will come under the most pressure. If possible, the lieutenant does not stay with any one squad, but tries to go where he is most needed on the battlefield. This tends to give lieutenants a very short life span. Those lieutenants who survive their first encounter are one of two types.
The first type is a pragmatic individual who realizes the limitation of the doctrine and sticks with one squad when the blaster bolts get thick. They maintain command control through the headcomm connection to their sergeant major, waving of hands, and occasionally screaming at the top of their lungs.
The second type is one tough trooper."
Misc: Which are you?
[Note that each level of organization in this chapter includes details on the myriad of different types of sections, platoons, etc... there are, if you are looking for that kind of information.]
"Special missions forces have been pressed into "political gain operations" (PGOs) with increasing frequency. Special mission troopers call them "straw man" operations. PGOs are terrorist missions held on worlds where native sympathies vacillate between the Empire and the Rebellion.
In a typical PGO, the special missions troops stage several terrorist attacks, executed in a manner which would suggest that political factions native to the world could have produced the attacks.
Eventually some political faction will appeal to the planetary governor for help. The governor will declare martial law, asking for help from the fleet. The help arrives in the form of hundreds or thousands of additional troops. These troops operate on "new intelligence," rounding up scores of suspected or known Rebel sympathizers for imprisonment or execution. Once the Rebels are out of the way the attacks cease, reinforcing the impression that the Rebellion indeed sponsored the attacks. The special missions force then moves on to another world."
Tactics: Nasty.
"Platoons are the most flexible units in the Army. This is not true in doctrine, but it is certainly true in practice. The organizational chart tells commanders that platoons may be augmented by adding complete squads, and this is done whenever possible.
But commanders of infantry platoons also swap equipment and personnel with heavy weapons platoons, repulsorcraft platoons, even armor platoons. Equipment is over-ordered at the company level; many platoons are walking around with an extra light repeating blaster or even a medium repeating blaster. Reinforcements occasionally are assigned to the wrong units, who decide to keep the extra men and materiel. The platoon is the least standardized of all the Army units, occasionally packing as much firepower as a line company."
Tactics: I wonder if this kind of mismanagement and disorganization happened at Endor, with the troops guarding the rear entrance getting the shit end of the stick.
"When operating on a planet considered hostile to the Empire (including hundreds of planets nominally part of the Empire), special missions companies are drop-supplied directly from naval vessels. A force of at least line size flashes in from hyperspace, launching scores of containers varying in size from a p robe droid to a life pod. These take erratic paths to the surface, impacting all over the planet. No more than five of these are genuine resupply pods; the rest are decoys to dilute the effectiveness of enemy tracking measures. Frequently, the appearance of naval vessels is enough to occupy the attention of the enemy. Once the resupply effort is complete, the starships jump into hyperspace unless they have been ordered on a surface support mission for ground forces. Naval support missions for special missions companies are rare as such elite units are expected to do without them."
Tactics: Description of an Imperial paradrop equivalent.
"The number of support personnel is 47 (which includes the SB5). There is an additional security platoon of 38 men commanded by the SB5 under normal circumstances, and by the major in the event of an attack upon the headquarters.
A security platoon is listed as a support unit even though it consists of troopers. This is because security platoons are not considered combat units; they maintain order within their unit. Ranking Imperial commanders have been able to pull themselves out of some tricky situations by creating combat units from the security platoons available to them. This is not a common enough practice that security platoons are considered troopers in the OB count. "
Misc: Just one of the many tricks Imperial commanders use to stay alive. When they succeed by violating regulations, it is covered up (and the officers are presumably uncredited - only their survival is a credit). If they fail, bad things happen to them. Imperial commanders must be slippery, tricky bastards almost as a rule.
"Regiment
Regiments are commanded by a lieutenant colonel who runs an HQ identical in structure to that of a battalion with the exception of a larger compliment of droids, usually upwards of 200. Regimental HQ is where the most extensive repairs are performed. and some HQs even have a capacity to machine or nanomanufacture precise spare parts from very basic components. Regimental HQs often stay aboard the mother vessel, as orbital command control is as good in most instances as control on the ground. If orbital command is disrupted, the HQ can be quickly dropped (there is a record of at least one conflict where the regimental HQ was dropped in life pods as landing barges were unavailable). If regimental HQ is dropped with the attacking forces, it is an indication that the Empire expects to maintain a ground force for at least a month and that the naval presence will be not be continual."
Tech: Regimental HQs contain nanomanufacturing capabilities. Some Trekkie cultists claim that the Empire has no nanomanufacturing capabilities whatsoever! Misc: Mother ships sometimes leave entire regiments alone for more than a month. Sounds like a good fanfic idea to me. Sheppard? Howabout a ground version of "The Outpost."
"Commodore Bevven and High Colonel Drost were viewing the progress of the battle on Picutorion, engaged in a strained discussion about whether to deploy TIE fighters in support of the surface action. Elements of the armor battalion of Tensiger's 6th regiment had penetrated the perimeter of a tracking station, but the Rebels were still giving heated resistance, and nearly every Y-wing flying was attacking in support of the tracking station.
Bevven, fearing that the Y-wings might decide to attack the fleet, wanted to send the TIEs in waves which would engage a few Y-wings quickly and then return, holding the majority of the TIEs in reserve. Drost knew that picking off just a few Y-wings at a time would doom the troopers making the assault, probably causing the failure of the attack.
Bevven turned away from Drost, facing his lead controller squarely. "Lieutenant, order all squadrons to attack along the parabola programmed in. They are to stay in tight formation during the initial attack. and to return to the fleet as soon we have pulled within four arc seconds of the return path. Release on my mark."
"Yes sir!"
"May I interrupt for a moment, Commodore?" Bevven turned to face the man who had been watching him on the bridge. Bevven could not remember his name. Barezz, perhaps? The one from ISB.
"If you must," said the Commodore.
"This is for your ears also, Colonel," said the man. "We have been monitoring the progress of the offensive and have noted the elements which have actually penetrated the tracking station include two tagged as sensitive."
Colonel Drost moved closer, stepping within a polite distance. He eyed the ISB man cautiously.
"The two, a Captain Ganig and a Sergeant Stecker, are both inside the station. COMPNOR made each famous after the Battle of Sagma, but since then their casual observation of doctrine has come to light. If they take this station, COMPNOR will again make them heroes"
"What is your point, Barezz?" asked the colonel. The ISB man snapped his eyes toward him. The colonel met the gaze.
"My point, colonel, is that for propaganda purposes, dead heroes are nearly as good live ones. And dead heroes cannot defect to the Rebellion."
"Do your sources indicate that they are thinking of defecting?"
"No," admitted Barezz, "but we are certain that a trooper named Linds is a Rebel sympathizer. He has been in contact with each man. I do not know if we can take such a risk. Delay the starfighter support until the Rebels have killed Gartig and Stecker. Then send in the support needed to dispose of the Y-wings."
Bevven looked at Drost. They were his TIE fighters, but they were Drost's men. The colonel nodded curtly.
"How long could your men hold out in their present position, colonel?" Bevven asked.
"Normally I would say less than three minutes. They are good. I would guess seven," said Drost.
"Controller, widen the parabola for 10 minutes to target. On my mark."
"Yes sir!" "
Tactics: Almost like a mini punishment-battallion
"Battlegroups are a recent addition to the Army, replacing divisions, which were common in the Old Republic. The change was made because divisions were commonly commanded by planetary governors or used as honor guards for ambitious senators. Divisions were associated with a particular planet or being, a detrimental attribute that was hard to shake. Army planners reorganized the OB and eliminated the division, replacing it with the battlegroup. As usual, the Empire kept a few elite divisions where unit identification was strong and useful, both from a military and a propaganda stand. point. "
Politics: Political and military nature of battlegroups and elite battlegroups.
"Corps - Major Generals Are Everywhere
There are far more corps HQs than there are corps. This represents an abundance of more than pleasant jobs for less than brilliant offers - the corps HQ is the basis for the Imperial garrison. The Empire wants garrisons to be organizing points for rapid mobilization. Realizing that in a crisis units may have to be sent from many parts of sector, the Army wanted HQs in place which could take command of all the parts.
As Imperial doctrine currently holds that a corps is a sufficient force to retake any planet, corps HQs are set up as the basis of Imperial garrisons. As the garrisons also have diplomatic, trade and medical functions, additional tech, medical, science and diplomatic service personnel are assigned. These are nominally outside of the major generals' command, but reality often puts the general in charge.
The typical military contingent is at the battalion level, most often four battalions mixed in a way which is optimum for the world on which the base is situated rather than following the OB and construction a regiment. A battalion of stormtroopers, one of AT-STs, and two battalions of AT-ATs is a popular configuration. In addition, the ground support wing of the auxiliary battlegroup is almost always present. TIE fighters are a rare enough resource that any wise commander will take all he is entitled to as soon as he can get them.
The corps is one of the few instances of real cooperation between the Army and the Navy. Imperial military planners from each branch designed the transport ship to hold all corps types, building in the possibility for expansion into both the starship and the unit. The fact that the corps transport ships are among the newer model of ships in the fleet is perhaps a sign that the two branches are ready to cooperate more closely so that the New Order may expand.
When the Empire deploys a corps onto a world, it is retaking that world, regardless of the propaganda beamcasts. The military considers a corps to be a sufficient force to retake a world which has only recently slipped from the grasp of the Empire. Such a world would still contain a significant number of loyalists, and the Rebels would not have had time to build up an organized defense. This does not mean that the corps outnumbers its opponents; usually the opposite is true by a factor of at least four to one. What is true is that the opposition is not organized enough to coordinate all of the military power available to it. Moving quickly, the Empire can destroy each opposition element in turn."
Tactics: Corps are considered adequate to take a freshly-rebelled world with loyal Imperial elements. Misc: Mention of the elusive 'transport ships' What are they? Acclamators? Not likely since they are among the newer models in the fleet. Do we get to read more about them?
"Line corps have 48,541 troopers in a unit of 69,199 men. It comes equipped with 2,599 repulsorlift vehicles and at least 371 heavy repulsortanks."
S&S: Okay, this makes slightly more sense than my calcs. But still, 50,000 troops to take down even a loyal planet?
"The sector army includes every single army trooper in an assault fleet. This is 774,576 troops and 1,180,309 personnel in total. 66,640 repulsorcraft are in service with the sector army, as well as 13,992 heavy tanks."
S&S: Pretty shoddy, considering the size of a sector. (Unless we're talking about sectors like the Naboo/Tatooine/Palpatine's-seat sector)
"The ship is the building block of Navy organization, much as the squad is for the Army. The problems each branch has in organizing these building blocks is quite different. The Army has millions upon tens of millions of squads, and its chief difficulty is in organizing these parts into an effective whole. The Navy has far fewer ships than the Army has squads, but the difference between ships is enormous. There is a greater difference in overall effectiveness between a Star Destroyer and a system patrol craft than there is between a squad and a regiment."
S&S: The Imperial army has at least 320,000,000,000,000 troops, I think. The Navy has 'far fewer' ships.
"Organize 300 squads with a command and a support element and you have a regiment. Organize 300 system patrol craft and you still do not have the equal of a Star Destroyer. In some instances the 300 system patrol craft might be better than a single Star Destroyer. Usually they would not be."
Power: Wow. SPC are comparable to Corellian Corvettes.
"Compounding the problem is the plethora of ship types, the variations by model within a single type, and the customization or modifications of individual ships throughout a standard year. Again in comparison, a squad is composed largely of young adults who have been trained so as to become more uniform, while a naval squadron may be composed of ships two years, 60 years, and 210 years old."
Misc: Damn, but everyone likes to keep their ships running for a long, long time.
"Attaining the rank of ship's captain is considered the culmination of a naval career. When a person earns command of a ship, he has attained a position of honor, regardless of the size of the ship. There is a certain amount of chauvinism on the basis of ship size and power, but being the captain of a KDY Lancer often carries more prestige than being a staff officer of any rank. For this reason the Navy often understands if a ship's captain will turn down a promotion to a staff position, or even turn down a transfer to the command of a more modern or more capable ship.
The Navy honors these men rather than viewing them with suspicion, It benefits the Navy to have men who intimately understand their ship and crew in order to gain the greatest possible performance from them."
Misc: Unlike in Starfleet, where SF Command bitches at Kirk, Picard, etc... for not joining the paper pushers and punishes them by making them Captains again {ST:IV} Not only that, but for years Riker would have rather remained a staff officer on the Enterprise than captain a different ship. But then again, he wanted the Enterprise, didn't he? So it's arguable.
Who wants to bet that the real reason Lameway was promoted was so that they could keep her off a ship?
"Navy Organization in Brief
To get a quick understanding of the organization of the Navy, use the following reference. Navy organization is completely different than the Army 's method - while the Imperial Army has a "baseline" Order of Battle (OB), with carefully classified exceptions to this OB, Navy command simply assigns the most appropriate force to the most appropriate mission. Therefore, while the listings below are "theory," Naval mission assignments in practice often bear little resemblence to the OB.
Command. A single ship command, commanded by a captain.
Line. Theoretically a unit of four ships, commanded by a captain of the line. In practice, lines vary from as few as one ship to as many as 20. A line is normally the smallest unit used in space battles.
Squadron. Systems Force. Strength varies by mission profile: force superiority units have three battle squadrons and a light squadron, for up to 90 ships. Commanded by a systems admiral (also known as a commodore). A systems force is responsible for several systems.
Fleet. The force deployed to an entire sector. These also vary immensely: a superiority fleet has four system forces, two force superiority units and two force escort units, with six Star Destroyers and 390 other combat starships. Commanded by a fleet admiral.
Sector Group. The total of Naval strength in a sector. Commanded by a high admiral. Can contain at least 2,400 ships (of which, 1,600 are combat starships, including 24 Star Destroyers)."
S&S: Based on the Sector Group information and on the assumption of ~1000 sectors, the Imperial Navy should have at least 2,400,000 starships in addition to 24,000 (25,000) Star Destroyers.
Consider that the fleet size estimates tend to be underestimates. Lines that are supposed to have 4 ships often have 20 or more. The document suggests the existence of 24,000 ISDs when we know there were 25,000. So we have large and small underestimates.
"A troop line consists of two Evakmar-KDY transport vessels and two escort vessels - frequently two strike cruisers. As a troop line's function is intimately connected with that of the Army, troops lines vary less than other lines."
Misc: Aha! Could this be our mystery transport? What is it?
"A Star Destroyer is considered a line in itself. A naval staff study concluded that a Star Destroyer was the equivalent of at least the squadrons of the time, and would be more properly categorized as such. The Admiralty agreed with the analysis, but disagreed with the conclusion. The Admiralty felt that as there were more lines than squadrons, designating the Star Destroyer as a line unit would get them more Star Destroyers. The Admiralty' s thinking prevailed."
"A Salvager's Run"
Misc: The story indicates that naval garbage could be valuable. Maybe that's how the Federation could learn about the Empire, given a head-start.
"Bombard squadrons have two torpedo lines, a skirmish line, and a pursuit line, for an average of 20 to 28 vessels. Bombard squadrons are assigned to worlds which have rebelled successfully and have organized a large surface military which would take far too long to defeat. Imperial commanders, pressed on so many planets, often deploy bombard squadrons in less severe circumstances.
The vessels which escort the bombard squadron are considered sufficient to deal with any starships which might resist. Any force larger than what a bombard squadron can handle would draw the attention of the Imperial Navy, who would deal with it prior to the appearance of the bombard squadron"
Tactics: What does this mean? Does the 'Imperial Navy' have more dedicated standing units made up of real cruisers and battlecruisers to deal with large threats as opposed to the puny system forces that they are making do with in this document?
"We have an update from astrogation," said the captain. "Hypersignal sensor data and recalculation indicates that all ships shall emerge from hyperspace in formation. Only the strike cruiser Shador is anticipated to have deviated more than an arc second since we left Jerijador."
Propulsion: Expected unit cohesion during a hyperspace jump
"The pit crew, alert to the Moff's posture, began running test charges through all of the Valiant's weapons systems. As the gaze of the Moff meandered over parts of the bridge the crew leapt to life. The comm-pit began pre-programming fire command messages to the other ships for all of the exigencies for which they had planned. Controllers began the launch drill with the TIE pilots. Sensor crews began zero basing their instruments, fine tuning them to squelch any noise. Shield loads were tested, compared with standard energy draws on the engines. The helm worked through all of the emergency simulations with techs in the engine room. All sections reported to the staff lieutenant. When the row went green, the lieutenant looked up at the Moff."
Tactics: Imperial pre-battle command ship preparations.
"Superiority fleets comprise as least four system forces, two force superiority and two force escort. With six Star Destroyers and an average of 390 other combat starships, a superiority fleet is presumed to be a sufficient force to maintain space superiority in calm sectors (those with four or fewer worlds confirmed hostile to the New Order, with no more than 16 additional worlds with confirmed significant hostile elements)."
[This gives some idea as to the ratio of combat ships to Star Destroyers]
"Deepdock fleet has a average of 280 support vessels, plus a force escort to protect the deepdock assets. Deepdock contains two deepdock complexes, the engineering corps, plus two force technical services. Deepdock complexes are huge structures, and the ones planned are becoming larger all the time. Deepdocks are floating shipyards, able to make extensive repairs and modifications. When not repairing vessels they are building new ones to join the fleet. The smallest deepdock complex still in service has three work bays, the largest of which can hold a Victory Star Destroyer with the other two able to accommodate any ship smaller than a carrier. Such deepdocks have huge tractor beam generators which put up to eight damaged ships on hold while waiting for a work bay to open.
The largest deepdock now in operation is the Rendili R/M Facility Number Four, currently in the Mahrusha sector. It has 125 work bays, each of which is large enough to hold a strike cruiser. These work bays are modular, each segment joined to the other by attraction-variable Akinetic fields produced by Voorson generators larger than the drives on most combat starships.
This allows the work bays to be combined to form larger work bays; four work bays can be joined to repair or manufacture a Victory-class Star Destroyer, 15 can be combined to work on an Imperial Star Destroyer, and 18 can be reconfigured to produce a torpedo sphere. Work bays are being added as quickly as Rendili can manufacture them.
Deepdock facilities, while not as efficient as the shipyards of the major starship manufacturers, have the advantage of being hyperspace capable. This not only shortens the time required to get damaged combat starships repaired, but makes deepdocks more difficult targets for Rebel attacks. "
S&S: This is very interesting. It's like having mobile Starbase 74s. One of them can hold 8 or 9 Star Destroyers. How big is that, anyone?
"Support fleet has at least 500 vessels, a quarter of which are corvette class or smaller, while a quarter of them are the huge Loronar FSCVs (Field Secured Container Vessels). FSCVs always travel is pairs, their main ion engines faced in opposite directions. On the side opposite the ion engines are gargantuan Prexton doublefield generators; these create force fields which are then surrounded by a hyperspace field when the ships make the jump to lightspeed. Each force field sphere is about 800 meters in diameter for over 250 million cubic meters of cargo space. Cargo containers are held in place by the force fields. The force fields may be bubblechained if enough power is available, and 20 or more field spheres are not uncommon."
Misc: Description of FSCVs. Maybe these are the types of transports that moved away an entire planetary ocean, as explored on SD.NET.
"As the vast majority of an FSCV's power is going through the Prexton, it is no surprise that the ion engines are underpowered. FSCVs at full throttle can take 35 hours and over 600,000,000 kilometers to come to a stop from normal sublight speed. and a like time to accelerate the ships again. FSCVs are therefore flown on paths tangent to the orbits of planets whose depots are being resupplied. Smaller ships unload and reload the cargo as the FSCV flies by, never losing more than a third of their sublight velocity."
Propulsion: 35 hours to travel 600,000,000 km while slowing down is considered 'slow' and 'underpowered.' Funny considering how Trekkies used to claim that SW ships would never be able to travel that distance at sublight in any reasonable amount of time. Furthermore, this shows how the decelerative capabilities of ion engines is equivelant to their accelerative capabilities, lending more credence to the Endor deceleration calcs for the Imperial squadron.
"Fleet ordnance is responsible for equipping all Navy and Army units with needed weapons and ammunition. Ordnance will use a ship as dangerously insecure as the FSCV only if a huge operation has been ordered suddenly by High Command, not giving ordnance sufficient time to resupply ships and depots. Ordnance usually conducts resupply operations by using available cargo space on more secure vessels, and has priority of the use of such space."
Misc: Fleet ordnance can use efficient transportation, but prefers secure transportation.
"This droid was introduced as a low cost commercial model with a 400-sector promotional support campaign with 85 percent media saturation. Trillions were sold. Hundreds of billions were returned. While being extremely versatile, the MSE-6 had motile and audiocast patterns which reminded dozens of separate sentient species of some native pest; and it was certainly nothing to look at. To stave off bankruptcy, Rebaxan turned to the military, offering a great deal on a few hundred billion slightly used droids. The military purchased them as a temporary stopgap to accommodate the huge increased need for droids occasioned by the spectacular growth of the Army and Navy."
S&S: "A few hundred billion" mouse droids are only a temporary stopgap to accommodate an under-supply of existing droids.
"A Sector Group can be expected to contain at least 2,400 ships, 24 of which are Star Destroyers, and another 1,600 combat starships. Thousands of Sector Groups are at the Emperor's command as he seeks to bring the galaxy firmly under his control."
S&S: This just makes my estimates seem even more conservative.
Anyway, this chapter is more like Sheppard's domain. I intentionally skipped over a lot and Shep might want to bring some of it to light. There's just too much to print. If you want to know all of the army's sneaky tricks and combined-arms forces, you must read the entire document. I just highlighted mainly VS debate stuff.
"To survive on the modern battlefield, artillery must either be very mobile, or have heavy enough FPR (Fire Position Relative) shielding to protect it against orbital bombardment and fighter attack. Hence, because of this vulnerability problem, actual use of artillery formations in the Empire is on the decline. Most modern guns are now mounted on vehicles of one sort or another and are classified as armored fighting vehicles (AFV)."
Tactics: Artillery on the modern Imperial battlefield.
"2. v-. "v-" is a measure of deliverable energy in a single artillery tube charge, an approximation of a single shot. The units are obscure, developed by Republic Sienar Systems (now Sienar Fleet Systems) based on the amount of energy required to excite a double-packed particle emission of approximately 10^24 g2-ions in a coherent beam from a 400 cm. by 8.5 cm. rod of vacierite (standard purity)."
Misc: Can anyone make sense of this?
"Light Anti-Vehicle Laser Cannon The Atgar 1.4 FD P-Tower, a light laser cannon, was first introduced in the Clone Wars as an anti-vehicle weapon. Primarily used by the Rebellion now, a few ancient Atgar 1.4 FD P-Towers still see service on the Empire's lower- tech Outer Rim worlds. The main problem with the Atgar 1.4 is its low fire rate. This is due to the weapon's power system.
The Atgar 1.4 uses an energy dish with micro-power routers spaced evenly along the dish's outer edge. When firing, energy is fed directly to all 16 power-routers. These hold their charge until the computer registers that the ECP (Energy Conversion Point) has been reached. At that instant, the firing computer simultaneously channels the energy from all 16 routers into the main power converter in the center of the dish. This fires the laser cannon."
Tech: Is that anything like the Superlaser or Gunship laser, I wonder?
"Atgar 1.4s pack a punch equal to many standard artillery units, and on occasion have taken down vehicles as large as AT-ST walkers."
Tactics: This may explain why we didn't see any AT-STs at the end of the Hoth battle.
"The C3 unit is a unique sensor/brain combination. The C3 unit analyses and tracks target countermeasures - such as jamming. dropping chaff, or flying with drones, as well as evasive flight maneuvers - extrapolates and predicts the target's continuing true flight path, and compensates for this when the Tri-Tracker is fired.
The Tri-Tracker continues to extrapolate the position of receding targets even at long range. The fire control operator can shoot at a departing target even when at extreme ranges with exceptional accuracy. This long-distance "parting shot" has accounted for many downed craft whose pilots thought they were safely out of range.
Firing accuracy is improved by the use of a tri-beam burst which brackets the target's predicted location. The C3 unit handles minor ad-justments in beam angle up to the microsecond before firing. The destructive power delivered by the Tri-Tracker is comparable to that of many turbolasers.
Specially programmed droids are capable of operating a Tri-Tracker in lieu of a qualified crewmember."
Tech: Capabilities of an Imperial AA gun
"Speizoc "Grandfather Gun"
When shield technology was less refined than it is today, siege warfare and bombardment remained effective strategies to use against cities. At that time, Speizoc Arms created the "ultimate answer" in siege warfare: the C-136, perhaps the largest land-based ion cannon ever built. Popularly called the "Grandfather Gun," it was a refinement of ion cannon technology built to penetrate the primitive urban shields of the time."
Shields: This passage indicates that not only do cities have their own shields, but that they have improved since the time of the gun.
"Massive and unwieldy, the C-136 was designed for line-of-sight attack against large scale targets. It was used predominantly against cities, but has also been applied creatively to bridges, dams, other engineered structures, and stationary low-orbit targets. With its extremely long range, it can be deployed well behind friendly lines, where it delivers devastating blows to the target seemingly out of nowhere."
Tactics: Range of Grandfather gun
"Grandfather Guns" quickly became obsolete with improvements in shield and laser weapons systems. However, the C-136 remains in use on former frontier worlds and less advanced planets where ground-based bombardment remains a practical tactic. It is most popular because of the psychological appeal of pin-point long-range destruction. This is especially true of worlds where atmospherics, gravity, or other circumstances limit the use of air-borne or orbital bombardment systems."
Tech: Unusual planetary conditions can limit the effectiveness of airborne or orbital bombardment systems.
"The energy blast from the cannon is of such magnitude that unusual atmospheric effects are commonly reported all along the path of energy discharge, and sometimes create ionization hazards for friendly troops."
Tech: Does that give us any sort of meaningful yield?
"The v-150 is a massive independently powered ion cannon, specifically designed for use against orbital and super-orbital space craft. V-150s are strictly fixed-placement guns, typically mounted on a rotating base covered by a semi-circular, reinforced penmacite shell. These emplacements are modular, designed to be installed within a matter of hours. Each gun comes with its own reactor, which is then buried 40 meters beneath the actual emplacement. Between the reactor and the gun are three levels of crew quarters and storage space. A v-150 emplacement holds about three months of supplies."
Tech: Capabilities of a KDY-150
"V-150s are often used in conjunction with planetary shields. These shields are extremely expensive to maintain, so systems typically leave them down until hostiles arrive. To further complicate matters, most large shields take several minutes to reach full power. It is during these critical minutes, between an attacker coming out of hyperspace and the shields reaching full strength, that the v-150 is expected to perform."
Shields: Planetary shields are extremely expensive to maintain. The ion cannon fires before shields reach full power. Maybe that's part of how it fired from under the theatre shield at Hoth.
"Shield generators are always the first target of orbital bombardments. V-150s are designed to disrupt attackers until the shields reach full strength. The v-150 is well designed for this mission. Superb fire control allows the v-150 to hit orbital ships almost at will, and a single ion bolt from the gun can disrupt even Imperial Star Destroyers for short periods.:
Tech: More KDY-150 capabilities Tactics: Shield generators are the primary target in OBs.
"The biggest draw back to the v-150 is its extremely high price, nearly one-quarter the price of a full planet shield. Still, many Imperial planets have elected to buy 150s as an alternative to keeping shields on full power."
Shields: For many planets, buying a v-150 is cheaper than running shields at full power. Note that 'many Imperial planets' have planetary shielding.
"Powering the guns is a specially designed light ion unit, which also feeds energy to the repulsorlift chassis the guns are mounted upon. Surrounding the entire unit is a 2.5 centimeter thick hull."
Tech: The IA uses a DF9 anti-infantry 'battery' (why do they sometimes call guns 'batteries'?) which is like the similar gun on Hoth except that it can move on repulsors.
"The Leveler I self-propelled concussion missile launcher was developed by Bryn and Gweith, a subdivision of CoMar, as a hardened fortification and long range siege weapon. Each Leveler I carries 28 concussion missile tubes mounted atop a heavy-track chassis in a four tube by seven tube formation. These tubes can be fired individually, in salvos of seven, or all 28 at once for maximum effect... ...For spotting over-the-horizon targets, Levelers are equipped with DER (dedicated energy receptors). These receptors feed target information to the gunner's holo-display who then programs what salvo pattern to fire - narrow, medium, or wide."
Tech: Capabilities of the Field Missile Launcher
"Presently, the Leveler I is standard issue to Imperial assault forces, although there have been some complaints about their tracked chassis' inability to deal with weather extremes."
Tech: Walkers must be superior to tracked vehicles in mobility then, if crewers complain about the all-terrain capability of tracks.
"Turbolasers are the queen of the modern battlefield, with more range, more firepower, and better fire control than any other gun in service. Turbolasers are typically classified as either medium or heavy. The Turbolaser System I is actually a single heavy turbolaser with independent range gear and fire control.
Ground installed System Is are usually encased in pure permacite and powered by a boron fission reactor. Each reactor is capable of powering a number of guns, so a single reactor is usually connected to multiple turbolaser emplacements. These multiple emplacements, called "hives," often share an underground system of living quarters or at the very least have a tunnel network leading back to the main base or city they are protecting.
The biggest drawback to the System I is its tendency to overheat. Poor coolant restrictor circuits allow gunners to fire up to 20 rapid shots using sustained fire. However, at this rate most gun batteries experience emergency shutdown after just five or six shots. Green gunners, in battle for the first time, often lose sight of their thermal monitors with predictable but often tragic results. A gun which experiences emergency shutdown can be out of service in-definitely, depending on the external weather conditions."
Weaponry: Overheating seems to be the main limitation of turbolasers.
"In addition to blaster rifles and pistols, thousands of other infantry weapons exist. Some of these, such as repeating blasters, are common and carried by the majority of Imperial trooper and stormtrooper formations. Others are only issued to specially trained trooper units. All of these weapons, classified as Infantry Support Weapons (ISW), are designed to be carried, emplaced, and fired by four or fewer men."
Tactics: Repeating blasters are commonly carried by most Imperial infantry formations.
"While the modern Imperial trooper is the best equipped soldier the galaxy has ever seen, he still needs help when facing enemy armored fighting vehicles (AFVs), particularly those that are shield equipped. To immobilize shielded opponents, SoroSuub created the shoulder-launched Equalizer."
Misc: Some Trekkie cultists claim that the Empire is 'bargain basement' when it comes to equipping its troops.
"This disposable weapon system, designed to be carried by an individual soldier, holds four ion bolts. each in its own two-meter tube. Together, the entire system (four bolts in four tubes) weighs just 12 kilograms. When firing, the Equalizer is held on the shoulder and the targeting gear, located on its side, is aligned on the target vehicle. The Equalizer's sensors then compute the target's range, speed and angle of deflection, and feed this data into a microcomputer which adjusts each bolt's flight angle accordingly.
Each ion bolt is launched individually. Once all four tubes have fired the empty casing is discarded. Vehicles struck by the Equalizer's highly charged ion bolts experience power shortages (particularly to their shield power converters), leaving them vulnerable to attack by more standard weapons, like blasters. Smaller vehicles may have their entire electronic system fused by a single Equalizer bolt."
Shields: Do these bolts cause interference through shields, then?
"The PLX-2, or "Plex," combination missile and rocket launcher is the newest standard-issue weapon for rapid, high-powered projectile response. It is used against vehicles, fortifications, atmospheric craft and other projectiles. It is especially suitable as an anti-repulsorcraft weapon.
The launcher is an over-the-shoulder device operated by one person. It fires "dumb" rockets in a line-of-sight attack, or can program and fire the smart Gravity-Activated Mode (GAM) guided missile designed for use with this weapon. The Plex chambers one projectile and holds a second in reserve.
Guided missile tracking modes are selected with the push of a firing stud on the launcher housing. Two different modes are supported. In EPR mode, the GAM homes on intense infrared sources, such as vehicle or missile exhaust. In the Gravity-Activated Mode for which the missile is named, its onboard computer first records the target's silhouette. It pursues that image until it is close enough to lock onto the gravity-wave anomalies that are the signature of repulsorlift propulsion. The GAM missile can pursue a target for 40 kilometers before its fuel expires."
Sensors: Gravity-wave anomaly tracking is useful against repulsorlift vehicles.
Tech: Excellent capabilities for the PLX-2.
"Internal components are hardened against EMP effects as a matter of course in manufacturing, to enable devices to withstand the rigors of space and unpredictable alien environments. However, a modified-frequency pulse effect developed by Merr-Sonn weapons is capable of penetrating shielding and hardened circuitry. The DEMP gun incorporates this technology. It is a weapon capable of "stunning" a droid as an alternative to damaging it."
Tech: Droid are manufactured to be EMP resistant.
"The DEMP gun is available in a handgun or carbine configuration with adjustable power settings. Setting one does one-half the normal stun damage of a blaster pistol. Setting two inflicts the stun damage indicated in the weapon specifications. Setting three inflicts physical damage to internal components. A droid damaged with setting three cannot be repaired, but must have its components completely replaced."
Tech: Power settings, not technobable, seem to be key here.
"The CSPL ("Caspel") Projectile Launcher fires canister projectiles containing smoke, gas, and chemical agents as needed in tactical combat situations. Canisters containing the desired agent are mounted in the projectile launcher or stored in the weapon's four-canister magazine. An adapter for launching grenades, the PL/1G, is available as optional equipment.
Canister effects vary depending on the load fired. When undisturbed by wind, gas clouds affect all within a 30-meter radius after impact."
Tactics: The chart attached to that description gives the variety of smoke and gases than the mortar-thingy can fire.
"Thermal Detonators
Thermal detonators are small grenade-sized explosives; the Empire's combat engineers uses ones manufactured by Merr-Sonn Munitions. These bombs produce an extremely powerful but tightly contained explosion capable of blasting through two meters of pure permacite. Operation of one of these thermal detonators is fairly simple; slide the thumb guard out of the way and activate the detonator. From that point, there are six seconds to either clear the area or switch the detonator off.
Thermal detonators are packed with baradium, a powerful but unstable synthetic element. Once detonated, baradium generates a particle field which contains the "exploding" baradium inside it. As the baradium reaction continues, internal pressure causes the particle field to rapidly expand until the energy being consumed by the field surpasses the energy within the sphere. At that point the sphere collapses in upon itself, consuming the last of the baradium. The end result is that anything outside the sphere is undamaged, anything inside is exposed to a concentrated baradium explosion (consisting mainly of heat).
Generally, thermal detonators carry enough baradium to create a five-meter sphere. One disadvantage to thermal detonators is the instability of baradium. Detonators have been known to explode after being dropped or, occasionally, for no reason at all. Thermal detonators rarely function as grenades or projectiles, since the harsh motion could activate the baradium. Instead, Imperial engineers use thermal detonators to destroy fixed targets, attaching a bomb with magnetic couplers and then detonating it via remote control or with the six second delay.
Distribution of thermal detonators is extremely limited, although some stolen detonators are available on the black market. Illegal possession of a thermal detonator is a capital offense in many systems."
Tactics: Thermal detonators are demolition explosives used by engineers, not common grenades.
Tech: Can anyone get a yield figure from the 2 metre blast?
"Heavy Repeating Blaster The "E-Web" heavy repeating blaster takes its name from "Emplacement Weapon, Heavy Blaster." As indicated by its name, the E-Web was designed for use in small- and medium-sized unit gun emplacements. Heavy enough to provide devastating fire, the EWHB-10 can also be carried on maneuvers by its two-man crew. It can be set-up as needed in temporary emplacements by an experienced crew in 15 minutes. If necessary, it can be moved already assembled on its tripod mount, although this is not recommended procedure."
Tactics: Bullshit. Those troopers on Hoth were almost ready to fire after about 30 seconds. The 15m setup time must be for setting up sustained fire upon faraway targets, which takes more precision.
"The weapon comes with a high-demand portable Eksoan power unit and is fitted with the Gk3 Cryocooler for continuous fire capability. The limited fire control system includes Starvision and IR sensing for night targeting and unusual environments. A built-in corn [I think Sheppard's scanner meant 'com'] unit enables the crew to coordinate fire with other E-Web emplacements if command communica-tion channels should become disabled."
Tactics: It's got all this fancy fire control, communication, and sensor equipment. That's probably what it needs the setup time for. If you just want to blast away, you can probably set it up in less than a minute.
"First introduced during the Begali Uprising, force pikes are primarily used by planetary patrols and local military units to stun opponents or disperse crowds. However, they are also used by Imperial troops to eliminate opponents in situations where blaster fire is inappropriate or unavailable. Personal bodyguards to high officials also carry force pikes, although these pikes are primarily ceremonial (except in the case of the Royal Guard, in whose hands a pike is more dangerous than anyone would care to find out)."
Tactics: We see the Emperor's guards carrying these in ROTJ
"The main purpose of a proton mine is to establish a defensive perimeter. To do this effectively, a mine must be deadly against both enemy soldiers and vehicles. Such a weapon is Merr-Sonn Munition's LX-4 Proton Mine.
Typically buried about half-a-meter beneath the surface, the LX-4 is actually a refitted proton torpedo warhead attached to two sensors. The first, a gravity-sensitive sensor, scans for magnetic disturbances (such as those created by a large vehicle). The second, a thermal sensor, searches for body heat. Both sensors are programmed to detonate the LX-4 if they detect an intruder within five meters."
Tech: Dual purpose mines.
"BlasTech's Sharpshooter V is actually a modified blaster carbine fitted with a multi-spectrum targeting sight for increased accuracy. This sight, equipped with infrared enhancers for night battles, magnifies the target image while its micro-computer clears the scene of any haze or smoke. The Sharpshooter V fires a smaller, tighter energy bolt than other blasters, which dissipates less rapidly, giving the Sharpshooter V a range advantage over most other light weapons. But this sacrifices some of the power.
Imperial orders for the Sharpshooter V are kept at a modest level because of the weapon's high price tag. Instead of being standard equipment, these blasters are issued to special commando units. They are assigned to regular formations sparingly."
Tech: Maybe this is the targeting system type used by the assassin at the beginning of AOTC.
"The armored compartment swayed rhythmically from side to side as the AT-AT walker crashed through the bushes and scrub surrounding the Rebel base. Inside, the stormtroopers clutched their blaster rifles and calmly waited for the walker to reach its position. Outside, blaster fire filled the air. Occasionally, a bolt found its mark, sending echoes through the giant mechanical beast before bouncing heavily off its armored sides."
Weaponry: (blaster?) bolts bounce off AT-AT walkers instead of dissapating?
"The giant walker shuddered, the rhythm of its stride momentarily broken as its huge leg crashed through a low lying building. Abandoning their medium repeating blaster, a group of Rebel defenders desperately flung themselves out of the way as the walker continued its advance. Most didn't get very far as the walker's head spat brilliant orange and yellow death onto them."
Tactics: AT-AT walkers are not slowed down by low-lying buildings
"Slowly the walker came to a halt, its head turning from side to side as it continued to fire at the Rebel troops. With a grating of gears, it lurched slightly as its legs bent, lowering its huge body onto the ground. Its rear hatch shot open and a ramp sped down to the ground.
Armored feet clattered against the metal ramp as stormtroopers rushed out of the walker."
Tactics: How stormtroopers are deployed from an AT-AT walker
"Rebel blaster fire lifted the first three stormtroopers into the air and flung them against the sides of the walker."
Weaponry: Blaster KE can bodily lift and hurl armoured humans
"But it did nothing to slow the stormtroopers behind them. They charged down the ramp, their blaster fire scattering the Rebels before more shots could be exchanged. One Rebel attempted to toss a grenade into the advancing armored figures. Before he could throw it, his body lay smoking on the ground."
Weaponry: Presumably blasters can char people like the Beru's corpses in ANH
"The stormtroopers followed, spreading quickly through the base, taking no prisoners. The Empire was involved in a punitive strike, and the stormtroopers had their orders: reach the shield generator and destroy it, then form a perimeter around the area to contain Rebel troops while the Star Destroyer Avenger obliterates the base from the face of the planet."
Tactics: Method of a punitive strike mission
"A heavy repeating blaster fired down the corridor, pinning the crouching stormtroopers and buying the Rebel technicians time to maneuver the remaining airspeeders into position. The blast doors opened as the Rebels abandoned the heavy blaster and ran for the rising speeders. The first airspeeder shot out of the base, only to instantly explode. The other airspeeders were already on their way out. Unable to stop in the confines of the exit, they ran right into the combined firepower of the four AT-ATs and their stormtrooper contingents waiting outside. As the last speeder erupted into flame, the stormtroopers rushed into the base and joined with those inside."
Tactics: Tactical deployments of heavy repeating blaster, AT-ATs.
"High above the planet, the Star Destroyer Avenger was turning the Rebel base into slag metal. Blasts of high powered laser energy leapt from the vessel to the planet's surface. As the bombardment subsided, a gray-uniformed figure strode confidently onto Avenger's bridge. Captain Ferdas looked up from his instruments and acknowledged the newcomer's presence. "You have done well, Commander Hayvlin. Lord Vader will be pleased."
Weaponry: The ISD turns a Rebel base into slag metal
"Stormtroopers are the elite of the Empire's military machine. Trained in a wide variety of roles, stormtroopers carry out any task quickly and effectively. They provide support for the two arms of the Empire's military establishment - the ground forces and the Imperial Fleet.
Stormtroopers are highly trained and highly motivated. Knowing no fear, they surrender only when faced with impossible odds, and then only once they have secured their primary objective. If ordered to hold at all costs, stormtroopers will willingly give their lives rather than fail in their task. And yet they are not suicidal, because they know that to die without due cause is to betray the Empire. A dead stormtrooper is of no use to the Empire, unless he dies in furthering the Emperor's wishes.
While members of the Imperial Army and Navy have been known to accept bribes, or even defect to the Rebel Alliance, no stormtrooper has ever done so. They live only to serve, and nothing can ever cause them to do otherwise. It is no wonder that the Emperor trusts his stormtroopers implicitly, and that they look only to their superiors for direction. To die for the Empire is the highest honor they seek, and they do so without hesitation.
The white and black armored forms of Imperial stormtroopers strike fear into all who face them. Stormtroopers lie at the core of the Emperor's aggressive policies. Without his legions of stormtroopers, the Emperor would not be able to maintain his firm grip on the Empire. While stormtroopers continue to do his bidding, no decree passed by the Emperor will ever fail to be implemented. Contingents of stormtroopers aboard Imperial Navy vessels ensure that no Navy captain or admiral will actively disobey the Emperor's wishes."
Tactics: Role of Stormtroopers
"Stormtroopers are the Empire's calling card. Wherever the Empire goes, stormtroopers will be found, acting as ship's troops aboard Star Destroyers, accompanying visiting dignitaries to outlying worlds, and maintaining garrisons on trouble-torn worlds. Working in conjunction with the Imperial fleets, stormtroopers enforce the Emperor's will in an effective and brutal manner.
Unlike the Imperial Army, which is entirely geared toward ground operations, stormtroopers function equally well in space and on the ground. Trained to quickly seize ground installations during planetary assaults and to act as security troops on starships and battle stations, stormtroopers are far more flexible than regular army units.
As assault troops working in conjunction with Imperial Navy and Imperial Army armored units, stormtroopers are second to none. Their ability to rapidly overwhelm and capture enemy positions makes them the first choice for leading assaults on important worlds. Often stormtroopers are used to clear away the enemy's first line of defense and establish a ground base to allow the unopposed landing of transports carrying regular Army units. The Army, in these situations, is used to mop up resistance and maintain an Imperial presence.
Except in systems where prolonged struggles threaten to disrupt the Empire's industrial capacity or weaken its strategic positions, stormtroopers will be withdrawn once they have secured a landing zone. The complete subjugation of a world is left to the Imperial Army. Where a quick victory is essential, large numbers of stormtroopers will be deployed to crush the opposition as quickly as possible. On worlds where the Empire has established important military bases or research establishments, units of stormtroopers are used to stiffen regular Army units."
Tactics: The above paragraphs indicate that stormtroopers are primarily used for assault, and not occupation. This may explain Endor. Sure, stormies are used to 'stiffen' garrisons [don't say it] but they are primarily trained and experienced in shock missions.
"Stormtroopers can be transported and deployed far more rapidly than regular Army units, who rely on large transport ships or the Navy for interplanetary travel. Huge Imperial Star Destroyers can carry battle ready stormtroopers into even the most heavily defended planetary system. The sheer size and firepower of the Star Destroyers allows them to brave planetary defense fires and land stormtroopers from orbit in a matter of minutes."
Tactics: Stormtroopers can be landed from orbit in a matter of minutes. Most regular army units use dedicated transports.
"In situations where Imperial Command expects heavy opposition, task forces of three Star Destroyers, accompanied by huge transports carrying extra stormtrooper divisions, are dispatched. This is, of course, on worlds the Empire wishes to preserve either as forward bases, for their natural resources, or for their industrial capacity. On worlds of no strategic importance to the Empire, stormtroopers are rarely landed. Imperial command will instead land Army units, or even resort to reducing the planets to piles of smoking rubble using the devastating power of the Star Destroyers."
Tactics: Shitloads of stormtroopers are landed when Imperial Command expects heavy opposition. Useless planets are reduced 'to piles of smoking rubble.'
"In addition to being used as ground assault and garrison forces, stormtroopers are used by the Imperial Navy to enter and secure starships which have been captured by an Imperial ship's tractor beams. Even when pulled into the expansive landing bays of a Star Destroyer, many Rebel and pirate crews refuse to surrender.
Stormtroopers use high energy blasters to cut through a captured vessel's airlocks or hull, and then storm the interior of the vessel. Moving quickly and laying down devastating fields of fire, stormtroopers move steadily into the interior of a ship.
Caring little for their own losses, stormtroopers advance relentlessly through enemy ships. Stepping over fallen comrades, stormtroopers cut down the defenders and drive them back to the inner reaches of the vessel. No matter how many stormtroopers the defenders kill, there are always more ready to step in and take their place. Stormtroopers are well drilled in this style of combat and, unless instructed otherwise, they are likely to kill any who do not surrender immediately."
Misc: The opening scene of ANH is not a unique event.
Weaponry: Note that 'high energy blasters' are used to burn through starship hulls, and there is no mention of cutting rings.
"Even though two battalions were effectively destroyed, their tank crews did not die in vain. TIE fighter patrols, which flew over the area in the closing stages of the campaign, reported large numbers of Rebel vehicles and starfighters lying strewn across the plains in front of the Hammers' position. The Hammers had paid a high price, but the cost to the Rebel Alliance was even higher. The Hammers had indeed lived up to their motto of "Strike To Kill."
Tactics: TIE Fighters are used for battlefield recon
[There is a detailed section on the 'Hell's Hammers.' While they are interesting and are a possibility in an assault on the Milky Way, they do not represent the average armoured unit so I am not listing their details.]
"Okay, hold us steady." Arbmab studied the sky through his targeting computer and rapidly traversed the turret. A blip on the screen indicated the speeder was in his sights. He thumbed the firing switch and blue blaster bolts shot out from the tank to explode against the lead speeder. It lifted into the air and then hurtled toward the ground. Around it, other speeders were suffering the same fate as the rest of the squadron's guns found their marks."
Tech: Are blue blaster bolts anti-armour or something?
"The Qeimet fleet is tasked not only with eliminating the Rebel presence in the Hook Nebula, but with punishing the resource worlds that allowed them free reign there. The Scimitar assault wing, aboard the Star Destroyer Retribution, plays a vital role in this mission. Before a military presence moves in on the ground to reassert Imperial control, the "White Death" wing subjects worlds to extensive bombardment and retaliatory measures - taking care, of course, not to harm manufacturing facilities that will be of use to the Empire."
Tactics: Retribution missions do not include damaging anything of potential future use to the Empire.
"The Special Unit squadron includes two flights of MT/191 drop-ships. The ships are used for rapid transport of ground troops from ship to planet during combined assaults. They serve double duty as cargo vessels and shuttlecraft when not in service as transports for assault troops.
Because drop-ships participate directly in assault support under combat conditions, they are part of the Scimitar wing's combat squadrons, and are not counted among shuttles, launches and other utility craft in the wing.
Although the MT/191 can approach a planet normally, it is designed to drop in a rapid powerdive to a planet's surface, landing in a controlled manner at the end of the fall. Before drop, the ship is covered with VACX, an ablative coating which raises the hull's temperature resistance rating. By planetfall, the VACX has burned off.
The laser cannon is located directly above the cockpit. It is functional only when extruded from the ship's body. The cannon is intended only to be a mild deterrent if needed during shuttle runs in combat zones, and is never in a ready position during drops."
Tactics: Description of an Imperial infantry drop-ship
"Following the defection of the Imperial Army infantry units of Wazta (see Imperial Communique #2734.19g), an unspecified number of Imperial Navy vessels and their crews have deserted. This spate of defections to the Rebellion must stop. We cannot continue to allow Rebel sympathizers to enter Imperial service for the sole purpose of undermining morale."
Tactics: The success of Rebel efforts
"At the same time, unexpected losses suffered by Imperial forces engaged against Rebels in the Yavin system have highlighted the need to increase the rate of Imperial recruitment. You will personally ensure that your recruitment and training procedures are brought into line with the following directives."
S&S: Did the Empire really lose that many personnel (though there was an extended space-ground campaign against Yavin after the destruction of the DS)? Most likely, the losses came as such a surprise that the Empire realized it would have to recruit more personnel in order to stay on top of the Rebellion, now that they realized that the Empire did not have a significant per-capita military superiority.
"Recruiting: Recruits for any section of the Imperial services must have a high level of loyalty to the Empire. In light of recent desertions, we can no longer rely on troops or officers whose loyalty is in any way questionable.
You will therefore cease to recruit on worlds which have been subject to Imperial bombardment or planetary assault in the last 10 standard years. Worlds which have a history of liberal or independent traditions are also to be avoided as these worlds are known to be breeding grounds for the Rebellion.
Recruiting drives shall be directed on worlds known to be loyal to our glorious Emperor. The worlds forming the Imperial Core still provide the best and most able recruits. These shall continue to form the majority of our officer pool, their beliefs in genetic superiority making them ideally suited for command.
The next recruiting area is those worlds which border the Imperial Core, and which are not proscribed under the directives above. Here, a life in the Imperial services can be presented as glamorous and exciting. Recruiters should represent the military as a chance for candidates to improve themselves and develop long and full careers in the Imperial forces. Emphasis will continue to be placed on the benefits to be gained from the services: travel and adventure, learning valuable skills, opportunities for promotion and command, and the respect to be gained from serving the Empire.
Other valid areas for recruitment drives are the frontier worlds. These worlds should be carefully scrutinized prior to recruitment, as a small number of them are known to be sympathetic to the Rebel cause. Do not overlook these systems as a source of officer cadets.
Primitive worlds should continue to be scoured for recruits as these people make excellent assault soldiers. Their lack of technological knowledge is more than offset by the ease with which they can be indoctrinated. These troops are highly expendable, and this should color your recruitment accordingly.
Screening: In order to ensure that only the best are recruited, you shall continue to maintain stringent entry requirements. The need to find more recruits is not an acceptable reason for lowering the quality of those recruited. Recruits must be physically fit, brave, intelligent (may be waived in the case of certain infantry regiments), and loyal.
Initial screening will continue to be carried out by Screening Officers at Imperial Recruitment Offices. Checks will be conducted into potential recruits' background, school reports and home life. Screening Officers should determine why candidates wish to join, and if they wish to apply for officer training.
Instruct your personnel to watch for any Rebel connections or family members with known Rebel sympathies. Candidates who fail to match the preliminary requirements should be rejected. However, suspected Rebel infiltrators should be encouraged to join and the ISB informed immediately.
Those candidates who pass initial screening (including suspected Rebels) will be sent to Training Centers where the candidates will be given further medical examinations and assessed for their intellectual capacity. Retina scans will be carried out and matched against available records."
Politics: Political reliability? Genetic superiority? Shades of the early SS, if you ask me. Anyway, this demonstrates that the Empire has placed considerable limits on its recruitment drives. Saxton always said that the Empire is undermilitarized.
"To the less intelligent recruits, the infantry divisions should appear to be glamorous, making their transfer to the infantry seem a logical and beneficial progression."
[LOL!]
"The great size and strength of the Imperial war machine should also be stressed, along with the belief that each recruit has an important contribution to make. Unit morale is very important, and personnel should feel that their individual unit is the best there is."
Misc: Be the best you can be!
[There is then a recruiting pamphlet type document that espouses the benefits of belonging to the Imperial army. It also puts down the Navy.]
"Raithal Academy
Of all the Imperial Army Officer Training Academies, Raithal Academy is renowned for producing the best officers in the Army. Here, young hopefuls receive a year's training designed to turn them into the competent officers that the Imperial Army needs for its regiments. The training is hard and intense, aimed at turning out officers who can confidently lead troops even under the most gruelling of conditions."
Misc: A description of Imperial officer training follows in the document.
"....You are part of the greatest navy ever assembled. The might of the Empire rests on the military - and the Imperial Navy embodies the most elite and trusted segment of that power. Only the best, the most disciplined, are admitted to our ranks. We who serve the Emperor in the Imperial Navy have made this Empire the irresistible, galaxy- spanning force it is today." - Excerpt from Academy cadet indoctrination speech delivered by Fleet Admiral Holt."
S&S: 'galaxy-spanning'
"Any cretin can sweat on the ground and shoot a blaster rifle, but it takes a large degree of discipline, intelligence and training to execute the technical specialities demanded of Navy crews. Even naval strategy and tactics are far more challenging and exiting than their ground-based parallel, for naval problems take place in a three-dimensional arena where it is commonplace and necessary to cope with tens or hundreds of complicating factors."
Tactics: 3-dimensional tactics
"Naval training is decentralized and conducted at designated sector locations called fleet camps. After completion of fleet camp, trainees attend advanced schools for further education in the technical specialties of their assigned branches.
Beings chosen for officer training are selected both from recruits new to the military and from active duty crewmen recommended by their superiors. These crewmen-cadets attend one of many naval academies located throughout the Empire. Although often called an "Imperial Naval Academy," such institutions are more properly termed Sector Naval Academies, to differentiate them from the original Imperial Naval Academy after which they are modeled.
Each Sector Naval Academy is an Imperial institution which shares a uniform training program and curriculum with others of its kind. Officer training occupies one standard year. It includes military indoctrination, education in technical specialties, and training cruises. When a crewman-cadet graduates he is commissioned as a lieutenant, and often goes on to advanced technical training.
Officer candidates who rate in the top two percent of their qualifying tests have the opportunity to attend the Imperial Naval Academy, the original and oldest of the academies. An applicant must receive the endorsement of his Moff, and undergo a more thorough background investigation than other officer candidates. If accepted, he is inducted as a cadet and boards a transport bound for the Academy.
"The time you spend at this Academy is the longest period of officer training in the Empire. At the end of 30 months of rigorous physical and academic training, you will receive a commission as a lieutenant in the Imperial Navy. You will know more than your peers, and have greater responsi- bilities than your peers. if you perform your duties well, they will not remain your equals for long. Officers from this Academy - and only this Acad- emy- are recognized as the very best the Emperor has to command.
"You will serve the Emperor best by mastering everything you have come here to learn: the behav- ior and standards expected of an officer of the Imperial Navy, if you are selected for flight school, you have even more demanding training ahead afteryourgraduation. You are expected to complete it with the same degree of excellence you will show in your Academy studies...
"The exact location of the Imperial Naval Academy is unknown to most who study there. Cadets board a transport and disembark on the grounds of the institution ignorant of which world they are on. Only in this way can the wealth of highly classified information and equipment at the Academy be protected from Rebels, other insurgents, and the politically questionable who cannot be trusted with the secrets of the Empire."
Tactics: Imperial naval training program. No wonder the Rebellion needed so many Imperial Navy defectors.
"The highest aspiration of most young naval officers is to become a starfighter pilot. It is the single most dangerous, demanding, and prestigious job in the Imperial Navy. Only officers who graduate in the top five percent of their class qualify for flight training. The remaining top third of their class qualifies for flight-related specialties such as astrogation, weapons systems, and other support skills. Because of the tough entrance requirements and extensive training offered at the Imperial Naval Academy, all officers in the top third of the Academy qualify for flight."
Poltics: The Empire must have a pretty good propraganda system to get so many TIE-pilot wannabees. Oh right, it's glamorous.
"I cannot disguise the fact that some of these are unexciting missions, galling to the crewman anxious to prove himself in service, to the Empire. I can encourage you to take heart, for your duty assignment is re-evaluated biannually. if there is need, and your performance warrants it, you will be transferred to a more vital assignment. In the same way, those who have seen combat for more than two standard years are rotated out to less taxing duties, allowing fresh vessels and crew to take their place. At least, that is the ideal the Navy strives for."
Tactics: Wasn't that tried in Vietnam? Oh well, I guess it's not so bad if the veteran experienced troops are rotated back into combat after 2 years of depot guarding.
"Then, as suddenly as it started, the skirmish is over, Rebels escaping back to atmosphere. There are no orders to pursue, not this time. As you turn back to Victorious, you once again force yourself to relax an over-tense grip. There's no need for nerves, now. Your first combat training mission is over. You survived."
I guess survival alone is an accomplishment for a TIE fighter pilot.
