Ground warfare Ground warfare relates to the use of infantry and ground vehicles to engage other ground units on a planet ' s surface . Along with space warfare and starfighter combat , by 0 BBY ground warfare was one of the three most significant branches of warfighting . Ground battles and the tactics employed during them were modified throughout the millennia , spanning from the first combats between primitive civilizations to the formation of organized militias and other military forces , to the invention of the blaster and the repulsorlift , to the construction of the first battle droids . Technology . Infantry . By far the most numerous component of any army , infantry were soldiers who fought on foot to close with , assault , capture and occupy enemy positions . Throughout history , infantry had been equipped with a huge variety of weapons , which could be categorised as either ranged weapons or melee weapons . By the period of the Galactic Civil War , the former category was almost universally represented by some kind of rifle , whether a slugthrower or a blaster . Historical examples of ranged weapons ( some of which were still used by more primitive species ) included thrown spears , bows and arrows , and lanvarok s . While ranged weapons technology had become fairly standardized across the galaxy by 0 BBY , a large number of species continued to use their own traditional weapons or combined them with new technology : Wookiee bowcasters and Chiss charric s were the equals of any Imperial blaster , while despite emerging from a completely different technology base , Gungan cestas , atlatls , and boomas proved more than capable of disabling B1 battle droids at the Battle of Naboo . When they invaded the galaxy in 25 ABY , the Yuuzhan Vong brought with them a bizarre array of organic weapons , including amphistaff s capable of spitting venom up to twenty meters , and thud bugs , razor bug s and blast bug s that could be hurled in great swarms at the enemy . Melee weapons were used when infantry had closed to close - quarters during an assault , and could include knives , swords , polearms and axe s . For soldiers of the Imperial Period , vibroblades were the most common melee weapon . An uncommon but nevertheless extremely well - known melee weapon was the lightsaber of the Jedi Knights , which developed a reputation of being able to cut through anything and in the hands of a skilled Jedi , could be used to deflect blaster bolts . Infantry of the Imperial Period could additionally carry explosive grenades to help clear enemy positions , anti - vehicle or anti - structures missile launchers , sniper rifles to harass the enemy at a distance , area denial weapons like mines , and repeating blasters to suppress the enemy . The most basic infantry tactic was to fix an enemy in position with ranged weapons to allow other soldiers to close with and destroy the enemy in close quarters . Infantry could also have varying equipment depending on the environment or situation of a ground warfare campaign . For instance , the Stormtrooper Corps had various types of Stormtroopers for varying environments , from aquatic - based seatroopers , to wetland - based swamptroopers , to Geologic - based lavatroopers , to even Radtroopers for heavy radiation zones , with their armor and training being supplied specifically to deal with these situations . Vehicles . Assault vehicles were used by armies for their mobility , protection and firepower , which could be used to support , complement , and increase the mobility of infantry . Armored fighting vehicles evolved out of the use of animals in war , such as the kaadus of the Gungan Grand Army which served as rapid response shock cavalry , and the war behemoths of the ancient Sith Empire , which marched into battle with massive gun turrets on their backs to smash enemy formations . Even by the Galactic Civil War , animals were still used when environmental conditions made vehicles unusable : the Rebel Alliance made heavy use of scouts mounted on Tauntauns at Echo Base on Hoth . Vehicles could be categorized based on their form of locomotion , which included wheel s , repulsorlifts , and massive armored legs . By the Clone Wars , wheeled vehicles were considered a graceless form of technology from a bygone age , but wheeled vehicles like the HAVw A6 Juggernaut typically had a lower ground pressure than walkers , and their connection to the ground meant that they could pass through theater shield s that would block repulsorcraft . However , the need for a low - riding chassis impeded the range of their line - of - sight weapons and reduced their terrain - handling capability . Repulsorcraft were typically faster and could handle terrain better than wheeled vehicles and walkers , and could rise above obstacles to give their guns a better aim , but their drive units were easy targets for land mine s and missiles with a Gravity - Activated Mode and they could not pass through shield perimeters . Walkers had all the advantages of a wheeled vehicle and could increase the range of their weapons by elevating them on tall legs , but they were typically maintenance - heavy . Thus , an army would use a balanced mix of armored vehicles . According to the Galactic Empire ' s military doctrine , heavy walkers were best used by elite assault divisions in frontal attacks on enemy fortresses , while repulsortanks and other such repulsorlift vehicles were better suited for " mid - intensity " combat , such as urban warfare and fast - moving campaigns in grassy or forested terrain . Vehicles could also be classified according to role . Tanks and heavy walkers like the All Terrain Armored Transport were used in frontal assaults against enemy fortifications . Speeder bikes and light walkers like the All Terrain Scout Transport and All Terrain Recon Transport were used for reconnaissance , screening the flanks of an assault , and pursuing retreating enemies . Under the " flying force " doctrine of the last decades of the Galactic Republic , speeder bikes and swoops were popular among regular light cavalry units , including the Single Trooper Aerial Platforms of the Separatist Droid Army and the Biker Advanced Recon Commandos of the Grand Army of the Republic . Troop carriers like the All Terrain Tactical Enforcer , the All Terrain Open Transport , and the Multi - Troop Transport could carry large numbers of infantry into battle under heavy protection and firepower . Militarized airspeeders like the Low Altitude Assault Transport or the V - wing airspeeder could provide extremely heavy close air support to friendly troops on the ground . Although the term " ground warfare " would generally imply constant use of hovercrafts and more terrestrial - based vehicles , it can also apply to the usage of vehicles and vessels that are more maritime - based in nature should the conflict in question occur on a more aquatic - based planet or simply if the current ground campaign was near water . The Imperial Maritime Division of the Imperial Army was utilized for maritime - based battles during ground warfare which included various vehicles and equipment meant for more aquatic use . Artillery . Artillery referred to large weapons designed to fire far beyond the range and power of infantry weapons , and could be immobile , towed , or vehicle mounted . It could include anything from the energy catapults of the Gungans to the most powerful blaster artillery . Artillery included mortar s like the Merr - Sonn MM - s3 grenade launcher , which could project fragmentation grenade s up to a kilometer , and could be mounted on a WW - 676 repulsorlift sled to create a mobile fire upport weapon . Anti - infantry batteries like the DF . 9 could have a range of up to 16 kilometers , and could be immobile emplacement weapons or mounted on a hoversled to act as a mobile support gun . Anti - vehicle pieces like the AV - 7 had built in repulsorlifts , allowing it to be towed until it reached a suitable firing position where it would entrench itself on the ground . By the end of the Galactic Civil War , the New Republic had replaced nearly all its fixed artillery pieces with repulsorlift - equipped units . Some mobile artillery units were large enough and armored enough to be entirely self - contained vehicles , an example being the SPHA series of the Grand Army of the Republic , which could carry a capital ship - scale turbolaser capable of blasting through the heaviest shielding and fortifications . Because laser cannons were inherently line - of - sight weapons , the SPHA series included a number of indirect fire variants , including the SPHA - C concussion missile launcher and the SPHA - M mass - driver cannon . Further developments in blaster artillery resulted in the development of the MAS - 2xB self - propelled turbolaser by the New Republic era , which was used as a heavy siege weapon in the most important ground battles . Battle droids . Battle droids were a constant feature of ground warfare throughout history , but their effectiveness on the battlefield varied dramatically . Battle droids were attractive in that an armored droid could withstand far more punishment than an organic soldier , and could carry more weapons than an entire infantry squad . They could also be built , programmed and equipped far more quickly , easily and cheaply than recruiting and training organics . However , droids could be easily out - thought in battle and living beings often proved to be far better at improvising in the heat of battle . War droids first appeared on the galactic stage with the Rakatan guardian droid s of the Infinite Empire . Their most famous early use , however , was in the Guardian Corps of Xim the Despot . The Juggernaut war droid s of the ancient Republic was a move to the mass use of battle droids , but development was rapidly halted when they were a key component in the Great Droid Revolution of 4015 BBY . The galaxy thereafter regarded battle droids with fear and revulsion , a perception only increased by the greatest use of battle droids in history during the Clone Wars : the Separatist Droid Army consisted of trillions of B1 , B2 , droideka , Hailfire and spider battle droids . This was the apex of battle droid use , and thereafter , the Galactic Empire , New Republic and Galactic Alliance would only sporadically resort to the use of battle droids , and then only in very small numbers . Famous post - Clone Wars examples of battle droids like the Dark Troopers and the YVH - Series were exceptions that proved a rather ironclad rule . Combat support . Just as important as weapons and vehicles , and without which they could not function , was combat support , including logistics , engineering , communications , and medics . During the Clone Wars , quartermasters and logistics officer s used the acronym COMETS - Q to refer to the seven elements of combat support : Chemical , Ordnance , Medical , Engineer , Transportation , Signal and Quartermaster . " Chemical " referred to protection measures taken against like Fex - M3 or dioxis . The clone troopers of the Republic and their successors , the Imperial Stormtroopers , wore full suits of sealed white armor to filter out chemical , radiological and biological contaminants . Other militaries issued breath masks for the purpose . Other measures against chemical weapons might include field decontamination centers for affected personnel . " Ordnance " referred to the procurement , storage and maintenance of large amounts of ammunition , which could be as diverse as bomb s , missiles , blaster gas , blaster power pack s , and grenades . " Medical " referred to procedures for preventing and treating injuries and maladies . It was a truism that throughout military history , disease had killed more soldiers than actual combat . By the Clone Wars this was no longer true , with medical droids like the IM - 6 stabilising injured soldiers in the field , before they were triaged and transferred by medlifter to field medcenters like the Republic Mobile Surgical Unit s for treatment with bacta , cloned organ replacement , or cybernetic replacement limbs . " Engineer " referred to repair , construction and demolition activities made under field conditions . " Transportation " referred to the shipping of troops and materiel to support the engagement , which could be a complex task that might not always meet the supply demands of troops at the front : at the Battle of Praesitlyn during the Clone Wars , the Republic army consumed 2000 metric tons of supplies per day of operation while resupply could only occur at a rate of 1000 tons per day , and with a high number of transport casualties . " Signal " referred to military communications made through technology such as comlinks , as well as countermeasures such as jammer s . Finally , " Quartermaster " referred to those military personnel responsible for supply and support . History . Ancient wars . The first ground battles took place between armies equipped with spears and swords , for example , the Taung s and the Battalions of Zhell in their ancient war on Coruscant . Subsequent developments included slugthrowers and wheel ed armored vehicles . Technology developing at different paces could create armies using eclectic mixes of equipment : Rakata n infantry of the Infinite Empire were known to go into battle with swords and shocklances while being supported by ancient battle droids equipped with blasters and primitive starfighters . An extremely well - documented ancient military was that of Xim ' s empire . Xim the Despot ' s military was extremely advanced for its day , built from lost Rakata n technology . The scale of his armies and conquests meant that numerous examples of Xim ' s weaponry survived to the Galactic Civil War era . Xim ' s infantry were divided into several castes . Most were janissaries taken from occupied worlds , trained from childhood to serve as soldiers . They wore armor and helmets of lightweight ceramic alloy and carried either slugthrowers or heatbeam s , which used lasers to generate jets of plasma . Heatbeamers wore tough , fireproof padded gloves and " kamas " a protection against their weapons ' superheated exhausts . The " kama " would later be adopted by the Thyrsus Sun Guard and by the Mandalorian people as part of their culture . Among Xim ' s elite units were the Duinarbulon Star Lancers , who wore gloss - black ceramic armor and in addition to traditional lances , carried advanced beam - tube s , distant ancestors of the blaster . The infantry was supported by tracked tanks , armored groundcar s , and floater s armed with beam - tube cannons . Elite vehicles were armored with kiirium to reflect energy weapons . Xim ' s most famous soldiers were the War - Robots of the Guardian Corps , three - meter tall battle droids armed with heatbeams , particle dischargers , and pulse - wave cannon s . The War - Robots were typically kept in reserve for use as shock troops . Xim ' s forces were ultimately defeated in his final war with the Hutt Empire . Little is known about ancient Hutt warriors , but ancient Sakiyan chronicles recorded Hutt cavaliers armored with iron shells and maneuvering via metal limbs , treads or wheels . These would later be compared to the Shell Hutts of Circumtore . At the Third Battle of Vontor , Xim ' s Guardian Corps and other infantry were overwhelmed by vast numbers of spice - maddened Nikto , Vodran and Klatooinian warriors , spelling an end to the Despot ' s dominion . The Wars of the Republic . The early Galactic Republic was founded without an army or navy , but the Tionese War of 24 , 000 - 23 , 900 BBY forced it to become a centralized military power . Throughout its long history , the Republic Army and the Planetary Security Forces would fight many ground battles . Ground warfare was a perennial feature of the Pius Dea Crusades from c . 12 , 000 to c . 11 , 000 BBY . Pius Dea cathedral ship s would deploy troops by the millions onto planets that were deemed impure by the religious cult and were to be occupied , plundered and purified . Attritional trench warfare was a feature of these many battles . During the Waymancy Storm of 7811 BBY , the Republic Military found its best beam - tube s , heatbeam s and plasma caster s entirely outclassed by the pulse - wave blaster s of Waymancy Hollow , which used the Sif - Alulan process to create much more powerful , faster firing weapons . Millions died both in space and on the ground before the Republic successfully reverse - engineered Waymancy weapons to create the squintpipe process and its own pulse - wave blasters . Republic Rocket - Jumpers armed with pulse - wave carbines won one of the Republic ' s first victories in the conflict by routing the Neshtab ine nest in the Tantara system . By the 7500s BBY , further advances in the squintpipe process had produced strong , reliable , and portable deflector shields , allowing armies to make use of large theater shield s to protect fortifications . However , ground vehicles were rarely equipped with shields , and personal energy shields faded from military use after the Jedi Civil War : personal shields required large power packs that needed frequent replacement , exposed their users to unhealthy magnetic and radioactive forces , and could fail catastrophically with fatal results . Blaster technology continued to mature from 7000 BBY , however problems related to pulse - wave weapons ' accuracy and range meant that melee weapons were still a decisive component of armies ' arsenals , particularly the lightsabers of the Jedi Knights . This was seen most clearly during the Great Hyperspace War of 5000 BBY , when forces of the Sith Empire led by Naga Sadow invaded Corsucant . Sith Massassi warriors fought with pulse - wave rifle s alongside their traditional baradiches and lanvarok throwing discs , and cannon turrets crowned the backs of elephantine war behemoths . Throwing discs could skim through deflector shields , and war beasts could stride where armored vehicles could not . The Republic opposed them with blaster artillery supporting armies of spear - wielding infantry , led by lightsaber - armed Jedi . The blaster had matured by 4000 BBY and the end of the Great Sith War . By the start of the Mandalorian Wars , the Republic Army would be recognisable to a warrior of the Clone Wars , with a familiar tactical organization , and with uniformly - equipped armored infantry armed with lightweight blaster rifles . Similarly - equipped soldiers and troopers served the Republic during the Great Galactic War , the Cold War , and the Galactic War , fighting against the Imperial soldier s of the Sith Empire . The Sith Imperial Army was also notable for its heavy use of war droids . Ground warfare was a feature of the New Sith Wars from 2000 to 1000 BBY . The Republic Army suffered one of the worst defeats in its history in 1466 BBY when the New Sith crushed Republic and Jedi forces in the Battle of Mizra . This bloody conflict was later immortalized by the poet Felloux . Over five hundred thousand soldiers died in the battle and hundreds of Jedi converted to the Dark Side . Around 1010 BBY , during the last years of the New Sith Wars , the Republic Army was incorporated into the Jedi - led Army of Light under the command of Lord Hoth . In a gruelling series of Seven Battles on the planet Ruusan , the Army of Light slowly ground down the Sith Brotherhood of Darkness . By the Seventh Battle of Ruusan , what had begun as an advanced , combined arms army composed of starfighters , speeder bike - mounted infantry , and armored vehicle units had been reduced to a ragtag collection of local levies armed with whatever weapon was available , lending the Army of Light the appearance of a spear - wielding feudal army more appropriate to five thousand years earlier . The Army of Light eventually won a costly victory at the Seventh Battle of Ruusan , when most of the Sith were destroyed by the machinations of one of their own , Darth Bane . The Rise of the Empire . The Ruusan Reformation s of 1000 BBY abolished the Republic ' s standing armed forces . Nevertheless , ground warfare was an unchanging feature of the Republic ' s final millennium , conducted by the ground troops of the Judicial Forces and the Planetary Security Forces . In the absence of a centralized military force , the galaxy ' s greatest megacorporations like the Trade Federation , the InterGalactic Banking Clan , the Techno Union and the Corporate Alliance began establishing their own armies to protect their commercial operations , typically composed of large numbers of battle droids . As relations between the central government on Coruscant and the megacorps slowly collapsed from the 40s BBY through to the start of the Separatist Crisis , these companies began to pursue a massive military buildup , with manufacturers like Baktoid Combat Automata and the Colicoid Creation Nest developing a number of battle droid models designed to wage war against the Republic . The Battle of Naboo of 32 BBY was the first deployment of large numbers of battle droids by the Trade Federation Droid Army . In a diversionary action fought on the Great Grass Plains , this force engaged with the Gungan Grand Army while Naboo strike teams led by Padmé Amidala infiltrated into occupied Theed to capture Viceroy Nute Gunray . The battle on the plains was of a sort rarely found in galactic society : the Gungans ' fambaa shield generators reduced the effectiveness of the Trade Federation ' s Armored Assault Tanks , and B1 battle droid infantry had to be deployed to march through the shield . Consequently , the battle was fought at close range like a traditional land battle between armies largely composed of infantry , and military historians marvelled at the rare opportunity to study such an engagement . In the aftermath of the Invasion of Naboo , Jedi Master Sifo - Dyas sensed that the Republic would soon face an existential threat , and approached the cloners of Kamino to produce a clone army for the Republic . A massive mechanized force of clone troopers produced from the Mandalorian bounty hunter Jango Fett , the Grand Army of the Republic was developed in complete secrecy over ten years . Its doctrine and vehicles , ranging from gunships and walkers to assault ships and artillery , were built around unleashing the maximum amount of force incredibly quickly . This differed from the approach seen in ground warfare for thousands of years , where armies had deployed their strength cautiously over long periods . The clone troopers were clad in white full - body armor which protected them against heat , poison gas , impacts , and glancing hits , and were inculcated with Mandalorian warrior traditions by Fett , which proved ideal for reinforcing their genetically engineered inclination toward loyalty and unit cohesion . The Grand Army took the ancient Mandalorian marching chant " Vode An " ( " Brothers All " ) as its anthem , and took as its motto " Darasuum Kote " , " Eternal Glory " in Mando ' a . The Clone Wars , beginning with the First Battle of Geonosis , were fought by the Grand Army of the Republic and the Separatist Droid Army across hundreds of different fronts on thousands of worlds . Generally , the Grand Army served as a rapid reaction force while the Republic ' s disparate Planetary Security Forces operated in defensive deployments - a number of battles in the Clone Wars were fought entirely by Planetary Security Forces without a clone trooper or a battle droid in sight . The GAR ' s largest operational units were the sector armies , which typically maintained one corps intact as a rapid reaction force while splitting its other three corps into hundreds of small , fast - moving raiding companies . Known as the " militia model " , this allowed small numbers of clone troopers to mobilise far larger numbers of local guerrillas and execute planetary coups , a strategy that was successful at the Battle of Malastare , the Battle of Haruun Kal , and the Battle of Giju . The Separatist Droid Army , meanwhile , was a hodgepodge of vast numbers of different types of battle droids , reflecting the eclectic nature of the factions that made up the CIS . In the initial months of the war , this diverse army worked together poorly , but the Republic was unable to take advantage of the Confederacy ' s disarray as it faced the same challenge of trying to build up its centralized army while coordinating the efforts of local forces . The Separatists pursued a defensive strategy for the first few months of the war , seeking to blunt Republic drives into their dispersed territories . Its first offensive moves were combinations of surgical strikes and terror operations , a stateless strategy designed to deny the Republic key invasion corridors , undermine support for the war , and sever key fleets ' supply lines . Only after a massive military buildup and the appointment of General Grievous as Supreme Commander of the Droid Armies was the CIS able to launch a sustained strike - Operation Durge ' s Lance - deep into Republic space . By that point of the Clone Wars , however , the Republic had been able to devote its superior industrial capacity to the war . Amid horrific attritional fighting on planets like Mygeeto , Saleucami , Felucia and Boz Pity in the Outer Rim Sieges , the Confederacy was slowly ground down by the Grand Army of the Republic before the deactivation of the Droid Armies by Darth Vader . The Galactic Civil War . With the Declaration of a New Order , the Republic was reorganized into the Galactic Empire . The clone troopers of the Grand Army became the core of the Stormtrooper Corps , elite shock troops whose loyalty was solely to Emperor Palpatine . Meanwhile , the Planetary Security Forces were nationalized and they and the non - clone humans of the GAR and the Judicials were transformed into the Imperial Army . The human elements of the GAR were specifically placed into the Imperial Army as a means to bring Separatist sympathizers in line , owing to their experience during the Clone Wars , as well as prime itself for surface superiority . Imperial Army trooper s garrisoned planets and piloted most of the Empire ' s ground assault vehicles , including repulsortanks , juggernaut s , floating fortresses , and most famously , walkers . The towering All Terrain Armored Transport had first seen service at the Battle of Jabiim during the Clone Wars , and it and its lighter counterparts like the All Terrain Scout Transport and the All Terrain Recon Transport dominated the battlefield under Imperial Army doctrine . Designed for frontal assaults against enemy fortresses , these walkers were often thought to resemble ancient pachyderm cavalry , as if they had been designed in imitation of the war behemoths of the Sith Empire . For all their material advantages , however , Imperial Army commanders during the Galactic Civil War were noted to be somewhat uncreative , using outdated " by the book " tactics learned in the Imperial Academy . Most Imperial commanders could be more easily defeated if faced with an unexpected situation for which there was no conventional solution . The Imperial Army ' s orders generally came from a top - down aspect , whereby the Emperor supplied the orders which were transmitted from Army Command down through a clear hierarchy . In addition , Imperial commanders were expected to follow established protocol , and often did so by set objectives that defined in the type of units deployed into battle and how these units were to be used . As such , while the Imperial forces could afford to field specialized troopers in great numbers and in various formations , their Rebel counterparts in those fields tended to have greater training than Imperial specialists . The Imperial Army had a tendency to ignore complaints from civilians due to answering to the Emperor and not to citizenry , although Imperial Army Special Missions trooper units generally ignore that aspect of protocol . The Imperial Army also had a tendency to treat assets with extreme callousness , such as exploiting their loyalty to the Emperor to be used in no - win combat situations . A particularly notorious example of this was General Rom Mohc ' s treatment of the Ailon Nova Guard . The Imperial Army ' s opposition in the ground warfare of the Galactic Civil War was the far smaller Alliance Army , whose numbers amounted to just 3 . 5 percent of the New Order ' s total military forces . In addition , the Rebel forces on most Imperial - occupied worlds could not afford open combat against Imperials because they lacked the troop strength to do so at the regimental level , while the Imperial Army could . However , this was the equivalent to Imperial occupation forces for fifteen sectors , and the Alliance Army was devoted almost entirely to offensive operations . Furthermore , since the Rebel Alliance was for the most part a clandestine insurgency , its strength was more impressive than a direct comparison suggested . Nevertheless , the Rebel troopers of the Alliance Army were a ragtag bunch . Organized into thousands of Sector Force s , they had no common uniform , and differed in every way from how they might organize their units to what equipment was available . Some Sector Forces , like the Airam Clans or the Karthakk resistance , could muster tens of thousands of troops with ground vehicles and artillery . Others had just a few thousand irregulars , saboteurs and agitators with only a few crates of blasters and thermal detonators . The most capable Rebel soldiers were the Alliance Special Forces , or SpecForce . Optimized for commando warfare and numbering barely one hundred thousand beings , the SpecForces were a flexible backbone for the entire Rebellion . Permanent SpecForce detachments guarded the most significant Rebel base s and barracks regiments acted as specialist support echelons for other elements of the Alliance Military . Most actual fighting was done by temporary task forces assembled on an " ad hoc " basis for missions , or to bolster weak Sector Forces . The Alliance ' s initial war plan , Operation Domino , called for the strongest Sector Forces to defeat local Imperial Army garrisons in set - piece battles and then dig in behind planetary shields , proving that planets could free themselves from the Empire and so inspire a revolution across the galaxy . In the event , Operation Domino was a disaster , and the uprisings were rapidly crushed . Thereafter , the Alliance never tried to take and hold territory until after the Battle of Endor , instead relying on the SpecForces and the Starfighter Corps to strike at the Empire as insurgents . But for when they had to defend against set - piece Imperial attacks on their bases , such as at the Battle of Hoth , Rebel ground warfare consisted overwhelmingly of raids lasting less than a day . Conducting themselves according to General Crix Madine ' s Rules of War , the Rebel Alliance sought to preserve its limited military resources by using speed and maneuver , psychological warfare and unpredictability , and creatively unorthodox tactics to defeat an Imperial Military overly dependent on superior numbers and doctrinaire thinking . The Battle of Tiems was a textbook example of Madine ' s Rules of War : making use of a mobile defense and fighting with three regiments against four Imperial , General Carlist Rieekan successfully drew half the Imperial force into a trap , encircling and destroying them . Though the Imperial commander had another four regiments in reserve , he waited another twelve hours for the weather to clear so his next offensive could be launched with air support , by which time Rieekan had achieved his objective and evacuated his three regiments from Tiems . Elsewhere in the galaxy , the Empire was repeatedly defeated by local forces with superior morale : the Dressellian resistance drove the Empire from Dressel by making heavy use of primitive projectile rifles , which eventually caused the Empire such high casualties that they chose to abandon the planet . At the Battle of Endor , the Imperial Tempest Force was overcome by Ewoks who , despite possessing only primitive weapons , defeat them through superior natural camouflage and terrain knowledge , giving a SpecOps strike team led by General Han Solo time to destroy the shield generator protecting the orbiting Second Death Star , winning the greatest Alliance victory in the Galactic Civil War . With Emperor Palpatine ' s death at Endor , the Alliance Army was reorganized into the New Republic Army : the SpecForces were reorganized as bridgehead commandos for planetary assault , while the rest of the Army , composed of the Planetary Security Forces the New Republic had proclaimed denationalized with the Defense Declarations , served as an occupation and peacekeeping force . The Imperial Army and Stormtrooper Corps , meanwhile , suffered badly in the aftermath of Endor , split between ambitious warlords and severely reducing the Empire ' s ability to resist the advance of the New Republic . Significant post - Endor ground battles included the three - month Milagro campaign , an attritional slog marked by open combat between Republic repulsortanks and Imperial AT - ATs , as well as subterranean struggles between both sides ' sappers , miners , and engineers ; the savage Battle of Mindor against Lord Shadowspawn ; and the Liberation of Coruscant . The New Republic Army suffered heavy casualties in Operation Shadow Hand , however , and in the 12 ABY reorganization of the New Republic Defense Force , was abolished . Many of its responsibilities were transferred to the local defense forces , while the New Republic Marine s took over the planetary assault role under the command of the naval battle group s as part of a fully - integrated Defense Force . Strategy and tactics . Battles on the surface of a planet were conducted by an attacker to seize control of objectives , which could be as small as a single military base to as large as a city or even the entire planet itself . For the attacker , ground warfare comprised the invasion and control phases of a planetary assault operation , and was possessed of numerous advantages , including the ability to supply bombardments or starfighter bombers from an orbiting fleet . The defender also had a number of advantages , however , such as the ability to dig in in entrenched positions or occupy fortresses . As seen in the Battle of Tiems , an invading force might act defensively while a defending force might also act aggressively . The Imperial Army of the Galactic Empire identified several objectives a ground force might seek to achieve in surface missions include utterly obliterating an enemy possession ; engaging enemy infantry and mechanized units ; providing strategic insertion of commandos or expeditionary forces ; securing control of a key planetary resource or supply line ; and holding to a position and destroying enemy attackers attempting to reclaim it . These strategies emphasized demoralizing the enemy , specifically through the use of overwhelming firepower to leave them shell - shocked and helpless in the face of a massive , numerically - superior frontal assault . The Empire also emphasized striking to disrupt the enemy ' s plans and expose their flaws while they were in disorder . Because of the Rebels ' adoption of an insurgent strategy , the Imperial Army saw its first priority as being to eradicate the existence of Rebel cells immediately and decisively , comparing the process to sterilizing a wound with heat . The Imperial Army emphasized the frontal assault as the centerpiece of ground warfare , which drove the development of massive walkers like the AT - AT , which could use its immense height to deliver overwhelming firepower against targets from far outside the range of most artillery or ground vehicles . The polar opposite of the Empire ' s mass - , numbers - , and firepower - based tactics were the Rebel Alliance ' s maneuver - based tactics , which advocated defeating the enemy by incapacitating their decision - making through shock and disruption . Because of the numerical advantage enjoyed by the Empire , Alliance Army commanders were taught to avoid straight - up frontal attacks against the Imperial Army , which could always guarantee victory by bringing in more reinforcements . Instead , Rebel commanders used speed and force concentration to overpower smaller Imperial forces in detail and achieve decisive victory quickly . Furthermore , Rebel commanders were also taught to use psychological warfare to break the enemy ' s morale prior to battle and encourage in them fear of the Rebel ' s fierceness and unpredictability , so as to make the enemy more likely to make mistakes such as overreacting to a feint . This form of doctrine encouraged independent thinking in commanders and an emphasis on taking intelligent risks against the enemy . Ground battles could vary immensely in size and scale : the Battle of Endor was intended as an infiltration raid by a small number of troops in support of the space battle in orbit , while the Battle of Naboo was a series of small engagements to seize control of the Theed Royal Palace while a larger battle was fought on the Great Grass Plains as a diversion and a space battle was fought in support . In contrast , the First Battle of Geonosis involved nearly 200 , 000 Republic clone troopers and in excess of a million Separatist battle droids and many thousands of vehicles across many miles of ground . In addition , although ground warfare was generally considered a separate form of combat from space warfare and starfighter combat , there have been instances where they had direct interaction . Aside from the noted elements of planetary assault operations , a particularly notable example of combined fronts of space and ground warfare was the Battle of Endor , which featured a combination of both elements . There are some cases where ground warfare was conducted by accident and was not the intended conflict . A particularly notable instance of this is the Battle of Hoth , where the Imperials intended to launch a bombardment at the Rebel - owned Echo Base at a far enough distance to avoid picking up detection from the Rebel scanners , but the hasty actions of the then - " de jure " leader of Death Squadron , Admiral Kendal Ozzel , resulted in the Rebel forces generating a theater defense shield around the base , forcing the Imperial forces to conduct a costly ground campaign to defeat the Rebel forces , and the Rebels buying enough time for most of their forces to escape .