From: "Doomriser" <doom.riser@3web.net>
Newsgroups: alt.startrek.vs.starwars
Subject: [PDD] ISB Ch. 11-12
Date: Sat, 17 Aug 2002 18:48:31 -0400

CHAPTER ELEVEN
SPECIAL MILITARY FORCES

"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

CHAPTER TWELVE
Recruitment, Training and Indoctrination

"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
forpromotion 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.

 --
-=Doomriser

"We've been very careful. The continuity is airtight. Believe me. We know.
We know."
-Brannon Braga

