Clone troopers
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
|
Republic Grand Army Clonetrooper  |
|
|---|---|
| Class: | Foot soldier |
| Type: | Elite Shock troops |
| Affiliation: | Galactic Republic |
| Standard weapon: | DC-15 blaster rifle |
Republic Grand Army Clonetroopers are fictional soldiers from the Star Wars saga. The precursors of the stormtroopers seen in the classic trilogy, clone troopers first appeared in Attack of the Clones, and returned in Revenge of the Sith. In both films, the troopers are completely computer-generated; not a single clone trooper suit was ever built for either film. However, since the premiere of Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, several costuming companies and fans/fangroups have begun making movie accurate replica costumes.
History
The clone troopers were created by the cloners on Kamino, as part of the secret Army of the Republic commissioned by the mysterious Sifo-Dyas. The clone troopers were cloned from, and trained by, Jango Fett, outfitted with armour styled on Fett's Mandalorian battle armour, and armed with weapons and vehicles from Rothana Heavy Engineering.
The Battle of Geonosis marked the first engagement of the Clone Wars, and the first battle for the clone troopers. Working with precise coordination to rescue the remnants of Mace Windu's Jedi strike team, the clone army fought the Separatist forces on the rocky surface of Geonosis. Downing countless Confederate transports, the clones earned their first victory.
Following that battle, the clone troopers were spread throughout the galaxy to engage the Confederacy of Independent Systems. After three years, the Confederacy was defeated, but the clone troopers had one more mission to fufill. When the Galactic Empire was formed, by Order 66 of Emperor Palpatine/Darth Sidious - who held supreme control over the clones - the soldiers of the Republic turned on the Jedi Knights. (The clone troopers in Revenge of the Sith have armor which is supposed to be a cross between the armor worn by stormtroopers and that worn by the original clone troopers and incorporates elements from both designs.)
Some clone troopers became Palpatine's loyal stormtroopers, though by the time of A New Hope, most of the original clones had been replaced with fresh clones secretly grown after the end of the Clone Wars and some exceptional recruits from the Imperial Academy. Eventually, most, if not all of the stormtroopers would be drawn from the Academy and conscription. According to the Star Wars Empire #27 comic, only one survived to fight for the Rebel Alliance in the Galactic Civil War: Able-1707, formerly under the command of Shaak Ti who was stranded on a planet for 20 years after his unit was decimated in an attempt to destroy Confederate Separatist forces attacking them. He later became an Alliance intelligence agent and his fate is unknown. It is also rumored that a few other clone troopers also survive in remote places.
Ranks
Initially, the rank of the troopers was determined by color worn on their helmet, arm and shoulder armor. Although the rank of each trooper was determined in the cloning process by the Kaminoans, battlefield promotions also sometimes took place.
- None - Trooper
- Light green - Sergeant; command squads, made of 9 troops
- Blue - Lieutenant; command platoons, made of 36 troops (4 squads)
- Red - Captain; command companies, made of 144 troops (4 platoons)
- Yellow - Commander, tasked with leading regiments of clones (2,304 in total, 16 companies) into battle. Many of these commanders were grown with more capacity for independent thought than their troops, and were sometimes known by names rather than numbers. Notable clone commanders included Cody, Bly, Gree, Bacara, Appo, Neyo, Odd Ball and Thire.
Toward the end of the Clone Wars, armor markings designated legion affiliation and position rather than rank. Some officers wore rank squares on their white armor, with color schemes resembling those of the later Imperial Navy and Imperial Stormtroopers, to indicate their commanding position. Additionally, many commanders chose to distinguish themselves physically with custom additions to their armor.
External links
- Star Wars: Databanks | Clone trooper (http://www.starwars.com/databank/organization/clonetroopers/index.html)es:Clone Troopers
