Imperial Army The Imperial Army , also known as the Imperial Forces or Imperial ground forces , was the land - based branch of the Galactic Empire ' s military . The stormtrooper s , the Empire ' s elite shock troops were organized under the Stormtrooper Corps , which operated as part of the army . It also comprised of the Maritime Division , the Army Air Corps , and Special Forces Command , which served as its nautical , starfighter , and special forces branches , respectively . Description . As the branch of the Imperial Military that dealt with surface operations , the Imperial Army was composed of many sub - units and organizations , and utilized a vast array of vehicles to achieve its objectives . The General Staff was responsible for making decisions for army operations and was itself a part of Imperial High Command . The Army Engineering Corps served to construct Imperial installations and demolish enemy fortifications . The Imperial Armor Corps was also part of the Imperial Army , as was the Imperial Artillery Corps , a sub - unit of the Armor Corps . The Imperial Army also maintained its own Military Police , although they were overshadowed by the Stormtrooper Corps , they projected a degree of fear . Although the Stormtrooper Corps was part of the Imperial Army , it was led by Stormtrooper Command , which was also part of Imperial High Command . The Imperial Army also consisted of the Maritime Division , as well as the Special Forces Command . The Imperial Army also had an abundance of smaller organizations , including general maintenance and administration . The Imperial Army also maintained numerous TIE fighters for combat use in planet ary atmosphere s as part of the Army Air Corps . As a result , TIE fighter pilot s in the Imperial Army were nicknamed ground - hogs unlike their Imperial Navy counterpart , the vac - heads . Since vac - heads maintained better public recognition through the HoloNet News , a bitter rivalry existed between the two branches , with each having their own anthem and bars at Imperial flight base s in order to avoid conflict . However the Bright Jewel Oversector Flight Base did not separate its bar between the branches , in one instance resulting in members of Nashtah Squadron to provoke other members of the Imperial Navy by singing the Ground - hog anthem . History . The Imperial Army originated from the Grand Army of the Galactic Republic , and served as the Empire ' s ground forces for maintaining control of the countless worlds under the New Order . Imperial consolidation . In 14 BBY , Imperial Army forces were garrisoned on the Imperial protectorate of Ryloth , which was in reality under Imperial occupation . Colonel Belkor Dray served as Governor Moff Delian Mors ' second - in - command and commanded the Imperial Army forces on Ryloth . The stormtroopers on Ryloth operated outside the Imperial Army command structure and answered directly to the Empire . He used his senior position within the Imperial government and military on Ryloth to spy for Cham Syndulla , the leader of the Free Ryloth movement . Other elements of the Imperial Army were stationed at the Equatorial Communications Hub , which was commanded by Major Steen Borkas . Though their base was attacked , Borkas ' forces including stormtroopers assisted Moff Mors in rescuing Emperor Palpatine and Darth Vader and foiling Dray and Syndulla ' s plot to assassinate the Empire ' s leadership . Following the failed assassination attempt , the Imperial authorities embarked on a crackdown on Ryloth and strengthened the stormtrooper presence on the planet . By 5 BBY , Lothal ' s Academy for Young Imperials was training Imperial cadet s for both the Imperial Army and Stormtrooper Corps . Cadets selected for the stormtrooper program received a more rigorous program than those training for the Army track . Cadets training as Imperial Army officers including Zare Leonis underwent a series of grueling training exercises including multiple sessions in a simulated combat chamber called The Well . Promising Army officer cadets also underwent training at the Arkanis Academy , which was run by the charismatic Commandant Brendol Hux , the architect of the First Order ' s stormtrooper program . Battling the Rebellion . During both the early rebellion and the Galactic Civil War , the Imperial Army saw action against various rebel forces including the Spectres , the Phoenix Cell , Saw Gerrera ' s Partisans , and the Alliance to Restore the Republic . The Imperial Army was deployed on many worlds across the galaxy including Tatooine and saw action on multiple locations including Hoth and Endor . During the Battle of Hoth , General Maximillian Veers commanded the Imperial ground assault on Echo Base . At the Battle of Endor , Imperial Army forces and stormtroopers defended the second Death Star ' s shield generator . Despite dogged resistance , the Imperial forces on Endor were defeated by the rebels and their local Ewok allies . Following the death of the Emperor and Darth Vader at Endor , the Imperial Army and other branches of the Imperial Military fought against the New Republic on multiple worlds and fronts including the Wretch of Tayron , Naalol , Akiva , and Sevarcos . By 5 ABY , elements of the Imperial Army on Kashyyyk came under the command of Grand Moff Lozen Tolruck . Several Imperial Army personnel were stationed at Lozen Tolruck ' s island fortress including Forest trooper s . Many Imperial personnel were killed when Han Solo , Chewbacca and their associates staged a successful Wookiee slave uprising against the Empire . After Fleet Admiral Gallius Rax took control of most of the Imperial remnants , his forces on Jakku included elements of the Imperial Army and Stormtrooper Corps . The Clone Wars veteran General Hodnar Borrum commanded the Imperial ground forces during the cataclysmic Battle of Jakku , which saw the defeat of the Empire and the triumph of the New Republic . The Galactic Concordance stipulated the dissolution of the Empire including its vast military . While civilian functionaries were given conditional pardons , all Imperial officers were designated as war criminals . Legacy . The remnants of the Empire subsequently relocated to the Unknown Regions where they reestablished themselves as the First Order , a military junta dedicated to restoring the " Old Empire . " The First Order ' s army was established from the remants of the former Imperial Army . Brendol Hux ' s son Armitage Hux became a high - ranking general in the First Order ' s army . Nearly a generation later , the surface of Jakku was still littered with wreckage including Imperial Army AT - AT walkers , one of which became the home of the Force - sensitive scavenger Rey . Organization . Drivers and pilots . As the Imperial Army used a large variety of vehicles , they deployed different variants of the Imperial combat driver . Several variants included AT - ACT driver s , AT - AT pilot s , AT - ST driver s , Imperial combat assault tank commander s , and Imperial combat assault tank pilot s . As part of the Imperial Army , the Army Air Corps utilized TIE fighter pilot s . Mercenaries . In addition to its own infantry forces , the Imperial Military also employed mercenaries to do their bidding . Dowutin Hunter s , Fathier Rider s , Tognath Marksmen , Twi ' lek Incinerator s , Luggabeast Munitioneer s , as well as Gamorrean Warrior s usually saw service with the Empire . Stormtroopers . In the early rule of the Empire , the Imperial Army continued to utilize clone trooper s , as well as clone shock trooper s and Clone Commander s . As the Empire grew older , its military forces transitioned from clones to birth - born human recruits and conscriptions and re - designated as stormtrooper s . Stormtrooper commander s were stormtrooper officer s that commanded groups of other stormtroopers . Their rank was denoted by the colored pauldron they were equipped with . Elite units . The Imperial Army used special and elite stormtroopers for a number of operations . Special Commando Advanced Recon trooper s were used for special missions , Storm Commando s were special forces that were efficient in close - combat tactics , Purge Trooper s were special units deployed in the Anoat sector , shadow trooper s were elite units with experimental armor , and Imperial shock trooper s were used as heavy frontline troops as well as bodyguard s for Emperor Palpatine himself and as heavy weapons specialists . At times , the experimental phase II dark trooper s were also used by the Imperial Army . Environment . The various environments in the galaxy called for a variety of stormtroopers that specialized in different surroundings . Swamptrooper s were specialized for operations on swamp ed worlds , seatrooper s were equipped for underwater combat , magma trooper s and Crimson Stormtrooper s specialized in activities on volcanic environments , cold weather assault stormtrooper s for sub - zero combat , sandtrooper s and their sub - variant , the dewback trooper , were utilized for desert operations , spacetrooper s for operations in vacuum environments such as space , coastal defender stormtrooper s for tropical environments , forest trooper s for densely forested conditions , and the Mimban Stormtrooper s , which were used on the swamped planet Mimban . Specialized . The Imperial Army had a wide array of stormtroopers that specialized in a type of combat or weapon . There were several variants of the Heavy Weapons Stormtrooper , which included the Heavy Sandtrooper , the Heavy Snowtrooper , and the Heavy Shoretrooper , and also used was the Imperial Heavy Trooper . The Army also made use of Jumptrooper s , which had several variations as well . They included Arctic Jumptrooper s , Desert Jumptrooper s , and Forest Jumptrooper s . Stormtrooper sniper s , sniper trooper s , and scout trooper s were used as recon and sniper units . Demolition Trooper s , rocket stormtrooper s , and stormtrooper grenadier s used heavy ordnance , while flametroopers utilized flamethrower s . Other specialized stormtroopers used by the Imperial Army included the riot control stormtrooper s , the patrol stormtrooper s , and the Range trooper . Other . Although the core of the Imperial Army was composed of stormtroopers and combat drivers , the Imperial Army also used Kubaz Invader s , Ongidae Oppressor s , and Rodian Recon Sniper s as part of their forces , different from mercenaries . Mudtrooper s were also used on the world Mimban . For black - ops missions , the Army deployed the deadly Imperial Army Special Missions trooper s that were able to effectively act as saboteur s , infiltrators , assassin s , commando s , and slicer s . Engineer s were also frequently used by the Army , and were part of the Army Engineering Corps . Vehicles and machinery . As the ground forces of the Galactic Empire , the Imperial Army possessed a vast arsenal of ground and surface vehicles . Part of the Imperial Army , the Imperial Armor Corps made use combat speeder s and infantry fighting vehicle s . Artillery . The Imperial Artillery Corps , a sub - unit of the Armor Corps , utilized several artillery pieces , including the fixed 1 . 4 FD P - Tower , and the mobile SP . 9 and Self - Propelled Heavy Artillery Turbolaser . Nautical vehicles . The Maritime Division of the Imperial Army used several surface ships , including aircraft carrier s , submarine s , and waveskimmer s . The Imperial Army also utilized OMS Devilfish subs and another type of submarine . Repulsorcraft and wheeled . While the Imperial Army commonly used walkers , they also made use of wheeled and repulsorcraft vehicles . Wheeled vehicles included the HAVw A6 Juggernaut , the treaded MTV - 7 light vehicle , the HCVw A9 turbo tank , and the tracked TX - 225 GAVw " Occupier " combat assault tank . The larger models of repulsorcraft deployed by the Imperial ground forces consisted of the 2 - M Hover Tank , the INT - 4 Interceptor , the Imperial assault tank , the " Imperial " - class 1 - H repulsortank , the Imperial combat speeder , the Imperial Troop Transport , and the TX - 225 GAVr " Occupier " combat assault tank . The Empire maintained several models of speeder bike s . These included the 74 - Z speeder bike , the 614 - AvA speeder bike , Interceptor speeder bike , and the BARC speeder in the early rule of the Empire . Starships . The Imperial Army ' s Starfighter Corps , the Army Air Corps , used airspeeder s and TIE line starfighter s to conduct army operations . The Imperial Army also made use of aerial landing platform s that served as mobile staging grounds for occupation forces . Walkers . The Imperial Army used walker s to achieve various objectives on the battlefield . Early in the Imperial Army ' s operations , it utilized the Clone Wars - era walkers that were later retired such as the All Terrain Recon Transport , the All Terrain Tactical Enforcer , the AT - AP Walker , and the All Terrain Open Transport . Later walkers used were the All Terrain Armored Transport , which consisted of two variants , one model of All Terrain Armored Transport was notably used during the early rebellion against the Galactic Empire , and another All Terrain Armored Transport used throughout the Army ' s operational history . The Elite AT - AT was a more upgraded version of the standard AT - AT , while the All Terrain Armored Cargo Transport was used for the transport ation of equipment and supplies . Other walkers used by the Imperial Army was the All Terrain Defense Pod , the All Terrain Scout Transport , the AT - ST Mark III , the Cold - weather AT - ST Mark III , the All Terrain Missile Platform , the AT - MP Mark III , the Mobile Heavy Cannon , the Cold - weather Mobile Heavy Cannon , the AT - PT , and the AT - DT . Weapons and equipment . The Imperial Army had a vast range of infantry weapons to utilize . Shortly after the transformation of the Republic into the Empire , the Army deployed the later retired DC - 15A blaster , the DC - 17 hand blaster , and the DC - 15 blaster rifle . It later came to use the E - 11 blaster rifle , the E - 11D , the E - 22 blaster rifle , the EE - 3 carbine rifle , and the TL - 50 heavy repeater . As well as larger weapons like the RT - 97C heavy blaster rifle , the DLT - 19 heavy blaster rifle , the T - 21 light repeating blaster , For heavier ordnance , the Army deployed the Z - 6 rotary blaster cannon , the MWC - 35c " Staccato Lightning " repeating cannon , the E - Web heavy repeating blaster cannon , and the Reciprocating quad blaster . For long range purposes , the Imperial Army made use of the T - 21B heavy blaster , the E - 11s long - range blaster , the DLT - 19D heavy blaster rifle , the DLT - 19x targeting blaster , and the DLT - 20A laser rifle . For close encounters , the Army utilized blaster pistol s , which included the SE - 14C blaster pistol , the SE - 14r light repeating blaster , the RK - 3 , as well as the EC - 17 hold - out blaster , and made use of baton s and electrostaff s as melee weapons . The Imperial Army also had an array of special weapons such as flamethrower s and grenade s such as the Class - A thermal detonator , the N - 20 Baradium - core thermal detonator , the Sonic Imploder , the thermal imploder , the Flash grenade , the smoke bomb , and the C - 25 fragmentation grenade . Heavy weapons included the T - 7 ion disruptor rifle , grenade launcher s , the RPS - 6 rocket launcher , the Smart Rocket , and the MPL - 57 . Equipment used by the Imperial Army included DRK - 1 Dark Eye probe droid s , suits and heated breather masks powered by a battery pack that could last up to two standard week s , ice boots , and insulated belt kama .