Guide to the Separatist Droid Army

The Guide to the Separatist Droid Army

was a small pocket guide book created for the Confederacy of Independent Systems citizens' education on the structure, and the more popular militias, vehicles, weapons, and heroes of the army, by order of Count Dooku and General Grievous, and made into many copies. It was expanded upon little by little as the Clone Wars progressed, and was found in libraries and bookstores on many Separatist worlds; it was also a visual reference book, and was meant to entertain as well as educate. After the rise of the Empire, most known copies of the book were rounded up and destroyed by Imperial forces with the intention of destroying the memory of the CIS, but the Separatist holdouts that survived the Dark Times and eventually joined the Rebel Alliance preserved some copies, and after the defeat of the Empire, the New Republic and Galactic Alliance opened the book to the public again by request of Mon Mothma, in memory of one of the greatest armies ever created, second only to the Imperial Army, and in respect to its more honorable heroes. Leia Organa Solo kept a copy of the book as a historic reference, and sometimes shared it with her brother Luke Skywalker and her husband Han Solo. Below are abridged excerpts of the content of this book.

Battle droids[]

B1, B2 and BX[]

The B1 battle droids and the B2 super battle droids are the backbone of the droid army. They are not known for their intelligence, but they're not supposed to be smart. Their purpose is to overwhelm the enemy with sheer numbers. Most B1s have been programmed to be independent thinkers and have been put to new tasks besides blaster (and lightsaber) fodder, like pilots, gunners, and emergency responders. They've turned out not to be very good at them, however, and their independent thinking has caused them to become "chatty", offering comical running commentaries on their situations that annoy most Separatist commanders to no end. The Confederate public finds this entertaining, though, and some of them want to see the B1s chat in person. The B2s are less chatty and wear tougher armor, but are no smarter than most B1s.

The BX-series droid commandos are a good improvement over the standard foot soldiers. They don't chat at all, they have tough armor, and they are elite fighters with skills like those of the Jedi. They carry vibroswords as well as blasters, and know how to use them, and they can move very fast. Unfortunately, the commando droids are more expensive to produce, so the droid army has them in smaller numbers than the B1s and B2s. But when they are available for the army to use, they lend it much needed support.

Tactical droids[]

The T-series tactical droids are very useful as military thinkers to direct battle droids, particularly when an intelligent organic commander isn't available. They think things through with precise calculations and can react quickly to Republic tactics and changing situations. However, they also tend to have arrogant personalities, reveling in their own superiority and scorning the feelings and emotions of organics as impediments compared to the cool logic of mathematics.

Droidekas and aquas[]

Droidekas are the superior firepower of the droid army. Their rolling speed and twin repeating blasters have mowed down many a foe, even some Jedi, and they are rightly feared for it. Aqua droids are useful for underwater battles, supplementing water-based militias. They're specially built for swimming and blasting underwater, and their durasteel bodies are made not to short-circuit in the water, too.

Droid starfighters[]

Vulture droid fighters are the most common and popular droid starfighters in the Confederate Navy, and are also able to transform into land-based droids walking on their wings like legs. Like the B1s and B2s, the vulture droids are not smart or skilled, but can overwhelm enemies with their numbers. Droid tri-fighters have become more commonplace recently, however, and while still not as good as the best clone and Jedi aces, they're faster and cleverer than the Vulture-class fighters, and also have discord missiles that can release buzz droids to tear apart enemy fighters, frigates and battleships.

Octuptarras and crabs[]

Both versions of the octuptarra droid, the Octuptarra combat tri-droid and the Octuptarra magna tri-droid, and the LM-432 crab droid, are ingenious fighting machines. The octuptarras can blast a foe from any direction, and can't be caught be surprise, unless, of course, a Jedi leaps on top of them. The crab droids can scuttle about rapidly, and in addition to their blasters, they can crunch enemies with their four to six legs, or spray muddy water at the enemy to blind or confuse soldiers or clog up the machinery of a vehicle.

MagnaGuards[]

The IG-100 MagnaGuards serve primarily as bodyguards for the highest leaders of the CIS, like Count Dooku and General Grievous. They are also used in small battles against the Jedi, because the MagnaGuards are designed, programmed and trained specifically for fighting Jedi above all else. They're not usually used as infantry soldiers, though, because despite their tough armor and long endurance, they aren't trained to use blasters or march like living troopers.

Gallery of battle droids[]

Command structure[]

Confederate Army[]

Each of the major Separatist forces-the droid armies of the Trade Federation and Techno Union, the Commerce Guild's Punitive Security Forces, the IGBC's Collections and Security Division, and the Corporate Alliance's Policy Administration directorate-once had its own order of battle. Those orders of battle were reorganized by General Grievous, Supreme Commander of the Droid Armies, who assembled task forces and armies from the various forces available to him. While each commercial faction has its own military leader, as do local forces pledging loyalty to the Confederacy, all report to Grievous.

The chain of command for the Separatist Droid Army is very simple; battle droids report to droid officers, and droid officers report to organic commanders.

Squad (8 battle droids): A squad consists of eight battle droids. While organic squads are led by a sergeant, droid squads don't need an officer, as the squad members are directed remotely or programmed before an engagement.
Platoon (56 battle droids): A platoon consists of seven squads.
Company (112 battle droids, plus support droids): A company consists of two platoons transported via either an MTT or a troop carrier, commanded by a battle droid officer.
Battalion (784 battle droids, plus support droids): A battalion consists of seven troop-carrier companies and a squadron of twenty-four AATs, commanded by a battle droid officer.
Vanguard (1,232 battle droids, plus support droids): Designed to break through heavy defenses, a vanguard consists of eleven MTT companies and a squadron of eighteen AATs, commanded by a battle droid officer.
Regiment (4,368 battle droids, plus support droids): A regiment consists of four battalions and a single vanguard, commanded by a battle droid officer. A regiment is the total force carried around one C-9979 landing craft.
Division (21,840 battle droids, plus support droids): A division consists of five regiments, carried into battle via a section of five C-9979 landing craft.
Corps (109,200 battle droids, plus support droids): A corps consists of five divisions, carried into battle via a section of twenty-five C-9979 landing craft.
Army (218,400 battle droids, plus support droids): An army consists of two corps and represents the total surface force carried aboard a Lucrehulk-class battleship, commanded by the battleship's captain.

Confederate Navy[]

As with the droid army, the Confederate Navy is built up from hundreds of component fleets belonging to the commercial factions and Separatist systems and sectors, and combined under Grievous.

The command structure of the Separatist admiralty consists of six levels.

Section (2-4 vessels, plus maintenance and support crew): The smallest group in the Separatist admiralty is the section, commanded by a captain.
Flight (4-16 vessels, plus maintenance and support crew): A flight consists of two to four sections, commanded by a commodore.
Squadron (12-64 vessels, plus maintenance and support crew): A squadron consists of three to four flights, led by a commodore.
Task group (36-640 vessels, plus maintenance and support crew): A task group consists of three to ten squadrons, led by a rear admiral.
Task force (72-1,280 vessels, plus maintenance and support crew): A task force consists of two task groups, led by a vice admiral.
Fleet (200-4,000 vessels, plus maintenance and support crew): A fleet consists of three task groups, led by an admiral.

Organic soldiers[]

The Confederacy has its share of living troopers, too. Several species of the Separatist Alliance have contributed elite warriors to the army, and countless militias, some of which are described below, also have lent their support to the Separatist cause.

Separatist units[]

Neimoidian Gunnery Battalion: The Gunnery Battalion is a unit that serves as personal protectors of high ranking members of the Trade Federation, including Viceroy Nute Gunray and his aide, Rune Haako. They are unusually selfless for Neimoidians, less concerned with their own wealth and greed, and more with preserving the lives of those who do like their profits.
Gossam Commandos: The Gossam Commandos are the soldiers employed by the Commerce Guild to outfight and outwit the most elite and strongest of clone troopers. They serve in very grueling conditions, becoming very hardened warriors with good knowledge on how to battle in any environment. The Guild Presidente Shu Mai also uses them as her personal bodyguards, and they are plentiful on Separatist worlds like Felucia.
Koorivar Fusiliers: The Fusiliers are the best of the best among the organic Separatist military units. Trained extensively to be the roughest and toughest men available by the Corporate Alliance, they serve as bodyguards for Passel Argente and elite warriors with their own command structure much like that of the Republic's Grand Army. Under certain situations, they can even fight many foes with their bare hands.
Geonosian warriors: The Geonosian warriors fight in great numbers, to overwhelm the enemy, like the standard battle droids. It's because of their status as drones that they don't mind if they're expendable, fighting as a collective whole for the Separatist cause.

Gallery of Separatist units[]

Separatist militias[]

Merai's Mon Calamari faction: The Mon Calamari who worked with Commander Merai are fighting for the cause of freedom in the galaxy. They have impressive amphibious starfighters that can "fly" underwater as well as in air and space, and also have the battle expertise to use them.
Quarren Isolation League: The Isolation League uses droids, but it also uses real soldiers, and to great effect. The Quarren warriors are superb fighters, serving as sailors and marines in the droid army, and are always stationed on- or underwater. Their main purposes are to help the CIS fight its battles on watery worlds, and to split from the Mon Calamari.
Nimbus commandos: Alto Stratus' Nimbus militia have an almost unmatched fighting spirit in the CIS Armed Forces. They fight for the freedom of their world from the ignorance of the Republic they were once loyal to, and to show the Republic's Jedi enforcers the pain they have caused the Jabiimites.
Mandalorian Protectors: Former Republic ARC trooper Spar, now known as Mandalore the Resurrector, created the Mandalorian Protectors to fight a Republic he sees as oppressive. The Mandalorians are the greatest warriors not imbued with the Force that the galaxy has ever seen, and can fight against any Jedi or clone troops with little problem, because they have been trained for this.
Death Watch: Another Mandalorian faction, Death Watch, is led by Pre Vizsla, a warrior much like Spar, and fights to preserve the militant traditions of his people. They are some of the dirtiest fighters the CIS has, and rival the fighting skills of the Mandalorian Protectors.
Umbaran militia: The Umbaran soldiers fight with some of the mightiest weapons the galaxy has ever seen. They can withstand the most powerful and destructive of Republic equipment, and pierce even the toughest and thickest of the Grand Army's vehicles' armor.
Nosaurian resistance: New Plympto has a shattered economy because of the Republic's callousness, but the Confederacy has offered to help, which ironically has incurred reprisals from the stubborn Republic. Though the Nosaurians of New Plympto have little hardware besides their blasters and swords, they are very good at using them, proving to be as elite as the Nimbus are.

Gallery of Separatist militias[]

Vehicles and weapons[]

Many vehicles and weapons have been used by the Separatist Alliance. Some especially unique ones are described below.

Amphibious fighter: Amphibious fighters are a great favorite of Commander Merai and his faction, with their ability to swim underwater as well as fly in the air, a strength Merai thought was sorely lacking in so many other one-man or droid fighters. Unfortunately, they have become less popular with his death on Kamino early in the war.
Ocean Troop Transport: The Ocean Troop Transport, or OTT, is a modified Multi-Troop Transport, or MTT, than can transport B1 and B2 battle droids underwater through lakes, rivers and oceans, and are also used to transport aqua droids and drop them off at their underwater stations. They are very useful for sneaking droid troops into populated locations that are partly protected by large bodies of water, and for deploying aqua droids in subterranean battles.
Umbaran mobile heavy cannon: This is one of the strongest and toughest weapons the droid army has. With its super-strong shields and massive heavy cannon, the only weapons that can easily match it are superweapons, and other Umbaran kit and weapons.
NR-N99 Persuader-class droid enforcer: The most favored weapon of the Corporate Alliance, the droid tread tank can not only roll on land, but it can also hover on water, making it a very effective fighting machine when it comes to attacking or defending from enemies on a beachfront or a lake. It can also serve as a transport for battle droid foot soldiers, and is often used on the frontline of a conflict.
Heavy Missile Platform: The HMP, or droid gunship, is the Confederacy's answer to the LAAT/i Republic gunship. With its heat-seeking missiles, and laser cannons, some of which are turrets, it is more than a match for even the best clone gunship pilot, and unlike the Republic gunship, it can instill fear into most enemy soldiers, making it more formidable than the LAAT/i.

Gallery of vehicles and weapons[]

Heroes of the droid army[]

The Separatist Droid Army and Navy have a lot of heroes, and here are described some of the most universally-admired and special heroes of the CIS Armed Forces.

Commander Merai: One of the greatest Mon Calamari commanders ever, rivaling the Republic-loyal Mon Cala Captain Ackbar, Merai is a decorated hero of the Quarren War, and has proved himself as a Confederate hero, too. He fought for freedom and justice with intelligence and his heart, always putting the needs of others ahead of his own, and gave his loyalty to the Corporate Alliance. He's also modest, not desiring recognition, just good results. He bravely sacrificed himself for the Separatist cause at the First Battle of Kamino when he intended to destroy the cloning facilities.
Admiral Trench: Another legend of the Corporate Alliance, and of the Confederate Navy, Trench has made himself a name in the CIS Armed Forces as a strong and ruthless fleet officer. Without him, the Ando colonies would have found it harder to secede from the Republic. He also showed the Republic a thing or two when he devastated the Republic Navy fleet over Malastare in 34 BBY. He's also one of our best survivalists, able to survive the loss of some of his flagships with armored pressure suits. Whether he pulled that trick at the Christophsis or not when his new flagship was destroyed has never been learned, but he must be dead since he still hasn't resurfaced again.
Tofen Vane: We have been losing so many battles, but with this brave and honorable new pilot and hero of the Confederacy from Valahari, the Separatist Alliance can be led to many new victories. Vane and his family have a legacy of courage and idealism, and he has become a symbol of hope to many Confederate citizens through destroying many Republic fleets and defeating many Jedi aces. He has a strength in his heart, too, that prevents him from being corrupted, like many Republic citizens have been. He'll fight until the whole galaxy is free of the Republic, if necessary.
General Whorm Loathsom: Though merciless and a bit vain, General Loathsom is a bold and faithful Separatist General. Loathsom truly believes in the principles of the Confederacy, preaching them to the peoples of the worlds he claims, and assuring them that they will have independence to live whatever way they want. He almost liberated the beautiful but arrogant planet Christophsis during the Battle of Christophsis, but Republic troops and Jedi defeated and captured him; but he won't give up, now that he's escaped Republic custody.
Alto Stratus: Stratus is a fiery warrior who trains his Nimbus commandos to be much the same. He's killed several Jedi on Jabiim, and made many charismatic speeches that inspire his people to take action. He loves his people and family, and called blood for blood in return for their deaths, making him a dangerous solider, indeed. He demonstrated this very well at each of the Battles of Jabiim, until he fell at the hands of a Jedi in the most recent battle.
Mandalore the Resurrector: This former ARC trooper is proof that even a programmed clone trooper can overcome his conditioning and live freely. Spar, his proper name, has never had any loyalty to the Republic, a trait shared by only one other Jango Fett clone, Boba Fett, and wants to support the nearly extinct "True Mandalorians". He created the Mandalorian Protectors, and has used them to fight and win many battles for the Confederacy, to help his people.

Gallery of heroes of the droid army[]

Separatist Droid Army legacy[]

This is an excerpt of a postscript written by New Republic Head of State Mon Mothma two years after the Rebel Alliance's victory at Endor and posted at the end of the book.

The droid army of the Confederacy of Independent Systems has left an impression of ominous fear on the galaxy, much like the Imperial Army, particularly the Imperial Stormtrooper Corps. They left much death and destruction in their wake, and the army's fearsome Supreme Commander, General Grievous, put unbearable fear into many Republic citizens, just like Darth Vader, Supreme Commander of the Imperial Military, did to virtually the entire galaxy during his own reign of terror.

250px-MinaBonteri-HOBS — Senator Mina Bonteri, a hero of the Confederacy

However, the droid army has not left an entirely wicked legacy. The organic soldiers and militias of the army fought with conviction, passion, and a genuine desire to be free of corruption, even if they did exaggerate the corruption of the Republic somewhat. Their fighting spirit, now that I know more about it, reminds me, to an extent, of the fighting spirit of the Alliance and it's own troopers and pilots. The individual heroes of the Confederacy are also further proof that there were heroes on both sides during the Clone Wars rather than just in the Republic, as I originally thought. I believe that Commander Merai should be just as commemorated a hero for his attempt to destroy the Kamino cloning facilities as our Admiral Ackbar has been for his own heroism, now that the clones became traitorous stormtroopers and ravaged the galaxy in the name of the Empire. I also gladly recognize Separatists like Tofen Vane and, to some extent, Alto Stratus, as heroes, for their strength and bravery as fighting heroes, and their desire to be free from oppression.

Most of all, though, I recognize a deceased Separatist Senator named Mina Bonteri as a hero of the Confederacy, even though she did not serve in the droid army. Instead of using violence to achieve her ends, she tried to end the Clone Wars with peace negotiations with the Republic, and I was one of the Republic Senators who supported that bill, because I knew that she was right; that war was a needless war. It's mainly because of her courage, and her sacrifice when an unknown assailant murdered her for her ideals, that I wanted some of the Separatist holdouts that survived the Dark Times to help the Rebel Alliance in our struggle against the Empire, and now that we have the victory, I think that every Separatist soldier and hero who died for their ideals instead of just hate or greed has been rightfully avenged against the Empire and it's Emperor.

Behind the scenes[]

The Guide to the Separatist Droid Army is loosely based off of the real-world article in Star Wars Insider 84, called the Guide to the Grand Army of the Republic.