A War for the Stars

[Raging Deadstar]

I like this story because it gives you ideas on how the empire expanded and grew to it's size and i like the idea of the tie fighters and storm troopers coming into the story! This is going to get interesting

[Erax]

Hi everyone. I'd like to take a break from the story to show the system I'm using for Imperial ranks. My two main sources are the Star Wars Technical Commentaries site and the Star Wars Miniatures Battles game. Comments are welcome (getting the ranks in here also makes it easier for me to reference them when writing).

Imperial Army Ranks

Unit - Commander rank - # SEIV inf units - # SEIV vehicle units
Sector Army - High General - (4 armies) - x
Army - General - (4 corps) - x
Corps - Lt. General - (4 battleGroups) - x
Battlegroup - Brigadier General - 1280 - 256
Regiment - Colonel - 320 - 64
Battalion - Major - 80 - 16
Company - Captain - 20 - 4
Platoon - Lieutenant - 5 - 1

2nd Lieutenant, Lt. Colonel, High Colonel and Major General are staff ranks.

Sizes for the upper echelons are not given because they usually contain units of differing types.

[Erax]

Now the stormtroopers:

Imperial Stormtrooper Ranks

Unit - Commander rank - # SEIV inf units - # SEIV vehicle units
Corps - General - 3840 - 768
Division - Brigadier - 960 - 192
Brigade - Lieutenant Brigadier - 240 - 48
Battalion - Commander - 60 - 12
Company - Captain - 20 - 4
Platoon - Lieutenant - 5 - 1

Ranks are equivalent to Army ranks for the same unit size (a Stormtrooper General, for example, is equivalent to an Army Lt. General).

Stormtroopers have no 'staff' ranks. Their organization above the Corps level is not well known.

I'll do the starfighter ranks tomorrow.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

so, is that slight hint of compassion there going to be developed?

[Erax]

It will have to be developed one way or the other when the war begins.

[Erax]

And now the starfighter ranks.

Imperial Starfighter Force Ranks

Unit - Commander rank - # Craft - Army equivalent rank
Starfighter Force - Commodore - (4 Groups) - Brigadier-General
Group - Group Captain - (4 wings) - Colonel
Wing - Wing Commander - 72 - Lieutenant Colonel
Squadron - Squadron Leader - 12 - Major
Flight - Flight Lieutenant - 4 - Captain
Element* - Flying Officer - 2 - First Lieutenant
Single* - Pilot Officer - 1 - Second Lieutenant

* - The flight is the smallest official unit in the Imperial command structure. Elements and single craft may operate independently depending on their mission.

Starfighter organization is quite flexible. In practice, the upper echelons are organized according to the needs of the sector armed forces, which means they rarely have the theoretical sizes given here.

You may get the Navy Ranks directly from the SWTC site (in the story it will usually be obvious how many ships a naval officer commands). I won't post a list of ISB ranks unless I absolutely have to.

[Desdinova]

story! story! story! i want more STORY!

[Erax]

Admiral Wiers' private log, SGY 2403.8:

The Andarr were quite willing to re-establish their treaty with us. We must now watch the Hutt for signs of unrest.

Seeker I entered the Prazhi system; this is another system we can exploit, with one fully and six partially colonizable planets. Captain Veren will re-enter the Gesaril system and proceed towards the Last unexplored hyperconduit, which may lead to the Yakrin systems.

Fyrine I's trip to Virgillia V was interrupted and she was redirected to Gesaril IX, where the Army's First Planetary Assault Regiment will be built; they should be ready for action in three tenths. On Gesaril II, the first two squadrons of the First Carrier Starfighter Wing have been raised; these two TIE fighter squadrons will operate from Black Sword I.

A few more tenths and we will have a small but adequate invasion task group - one carrier, one transport and Seeker I. I hope the Yakrin come up with no surprises in the meantime.

[Desdinova]

thank you. i was starting to go thru withdrawal.

[Erax]

Admiral Wiers' private log, SGY 2403.9:

Everything proceeds according to plan. Black Sword I has been launched and is currently at Gesaril II, picking up the first and second squadrons of the First Carrier Wing. There was intense competition among our naval officers for her command; we chose Captain Suvent from the many candidates because of his past experience with starfighters. Black Sword I will serve as headquarters for the entire Carrier Wing; we expect her captain to coordinate well with his Wing Commander.

We have drawn up plans for our sector Stormtrooper forces, which will be headed by Brigadier Tefnar, formerly Major Tefnar of the Imperial Army. His loyalty and dedication to the Empire should be an example for our citizen Stormtroopers; he will have to train them long and hard if we hope to match the high standards of true Imperial Stormtroopers. Army installations on Gesaril IX have been turned over to the new combat arm and that planet is now our sector's first Stormtrooper training center. We will establish others as necessary.

Seeker II is heading back to Syned I for fuel and supplies, after having discovered another uninhabited system which we named HolLastin. It looks quite promising, with several large planets, one of them fully colonizable. We will build a few Nova-class colonizers here on Virgillia, to reach the systems we have discovered beyond Arkonne.

Commodore Haase is trying to infiltrate Yakrin society with several covert ops teams. They will be invaluable once we get them in place.

It is now four years since I arrived on Virgillia. Four years, and no contact at all with the Empire. I begin to wonder if any of us will ever see the rest of the Galaxy again.

[ May 12, 2003, 09:32: Message edited by: Erax ]