You know, I'm noticing a trend: if it's nonhuman and meant for comic relief, it's set up to be a huge military success in the Star Wars universe. First, the Gungans played the part of diversion perfectly against the droid army on Naboo. Then, the Ewoks on the forest moon of Endor proved just how deadly an insurgent force can be against a superior military, using nothing more than primitive weapons and knowledge of the terrain.
My prediction: Episode 9 sees the Porgs rise up to overthrow the First Order and take their rightful place as the rulers of the galaxy.
The really remarkable thing about the Battle of Endor wasn't the Ewoks, however. Nor was it the space battle, which once again involved the Rebels relying entirely on luck to beat down a superior foe.
The remarkable thing was how the Rebels were able to utilize a tactic that few military forces throughout history or science fiction can lay claim to: the successful recruitment and employment of an indigenous force against a superior foe.
Say what you will about the plausibility of a bunch of teddy bears taking on modern weaponry with, literally, sticks and stones. It's possible to find the scenario ridiculous while still acknowledging that the Ewoks were key to Rebel victory, and that's something worth looking at in depth.
So, before we begin, let's run a quick METT-TC analysis on the situation.
Mission: Destroy the shield generator responsible for protecting the second Death Star so that the fleet could engage and destroy it.
Enemy: The Imperial garrison in place on the moon. Forces include standard infantry, scouts on speeder bikes, light armor in the form of AT-STs, possibly an AT-AT or two though we never see them, and according to Battlefront at least one squad of operator types.
Terrain: Dense old growth forest. Not quite as intimidating as Kashyyyk, but still thick enough to present a major obstacle for movement.
Troops Available: Approximately a platoon's worth of light infantry initially. No heavy weapons, plenty of explosives. 1 Jedi.
Time: A few days at the most.
Civilian Considerations: While on the moon, the Rebels discovered the indigenous Ewoks. The small, ursine creatures are sapient, but have a low tech base, no signs of metalworking. All indications are that they're a hunter/gatherer society and have yet to develop agriculture.
Now, on the surface, this looks like your typical secret squirrel type mission. A small force of commandos has to infiltrate far behind enemy lines to accomplish a mission of vital importance. When you think about it, there are strong parallels to the Rebel's raid on Scarif. They've got about the same number of troops, they're facing off against an Imperial garrison, and they've got nothing in the way of support. Hell, they're even using a stolen Imperial shuttle to infiltrate.
There are a few key differences. For starters, the Imperials knew they were coming and set a trap. Weirdly, that increased their chances of survival, as the garrison tried to capture them alive, presumably for execution at a later date. They also had a few main characters with them, which worked in their favor.
But the biggest advantage they had? Princess Leia, the only consistently useful person in the entirety of the Rebellion, was able to get the Ewoks on their side.
Now, I could pick apart the myriad ways in which both sides screwed up here (white armor in a forest, anyone?), but it wouldn't be anything I haven't covered elsewhere. No, there's a different lesson to be had here.
So you're thinking to yourself, what's the lesson to be learned here? Don't go into battle without a protagonist who's not looking to end their contract?
Not as such, no.
The task Leia performed is one that's remarkably similar to the mission of the US Army Special Forces, or Green Berets.
The Green Berets are nearly unique in the special operations world, in that their primary mission is not to kill people or break things. That's not to say that they're not extremely well equipped to do just that. By any reasonable estimate, they are, man for man, one of the most lethal fighting forces on the planet.
But unlike groups like the SEALs or Delta Force, their primary mission isn't combat, it's training.
The logic behind the Green Berets' mission is simple: if they can infiltrate far behind enemy lines and get the locals to fight the bad guys, they can chip away at the enemy's strength and make life easier for the good guys. They're trained and equipped to work for weeks, even months, behind the lines with little to no support. Everything they need, they carry with them, because they can't guarantee they'll have access to resupply.
They make contact with an indigenous people, evaluate whether or not they can be persuaded to fight, and if they can, they give them the training to do so. The persuasion part is often the most difficult part of the mission. You might think it's easy to convince, say, a persecuted tribe to rise up against their oppressors, but in many cases, the persecuted tribe would rather stay off the radar, lest they invite even more hardship.
They have to be convinced to join the fight, that fighting is in their best interest. A lot of that boils down to convincing the locals that America is a better friend than their oppressors, but a key component is building rapport with them and convincing them that the Green Berets are their friends, too.
This is precisely what Leia did when she shared her food with Wicket. She didn't try to intimidate him into leaving her and her team alone, she cultivated a relationship. By doing so, she established the first inroads into the Ewok community that would lead to them rising up against the Empire.
For Green Berets, sometimes making those inroads can be as simple as sharing candy with the local children. Kids are far more trusting than adults, but if you win over the kids, the adults will often follow suit. Special Forces medics can also provide medical care for the indigenous people, too. Though they'll be the first to tell you that they're a poor substitute for a proper doctor, the medics are qualified to do just about anything short of brain surgery. While they might not be doctors, they're often a damn sight better than what the locals have onhand.
What's more, they can pass that knowledge down to the locals. Even something as simple as proper sanitation can greatly improve the lives of people living in rural poverty. Just by teaching the midwives how to wash their hands and use clean materials during childbirth can greatly decrease mortality rates for both newborns and their mothers.
Engineers can help build dams or improve roads and bridges. They might take time before the mission to brush up on best agricultural practices and give the locals tips for increasing crop yields. Hell, something as simple as teaching people how to read can be a huge benefit for a remote tribe out in the middle of nowhere.
And yes, they'll teach the locals how to fight, both in defense of themselves and, if they can be persuaded, in low risk asymmetrical warfare raids.
The training of indigenous forces is something that people rarely, if ever, use in RP. It's not as sexy as lightsaber duels or fleet battles, true, and it requires a bit of longterm planning, but there are legitimate applications.
Let's say, for instance, that you're planning a dominion on a planet or a hex that you suspect might be invaded at some point in the future. Rather than doing the same old song and dance, you could train the locals into an effective fighting force, and have them submitted through the Codex as an NPC unit.
When the time comes for that invasion, suddenly, you've got a ready made fighting force in place aside from your main military. Someone might cry foul, but so long as you've put in the work, it's really hard to make any sort of complaint catch traction. On top of that, if the locals are already determined to be on your side, it makes the prospect of your enemies dropping down and suddenly having their own indigenous force a little less believable, especially if they didn't put in the work.
Practical considerations aside, it also adds a new layer of depth to the story, something that will make it not only more fun to write, but also to read, which may help during judgment.
In short, take a leaf out of Leia's book, and spend some time recruiting the locals. Who knows, they might just save your bacon one day.
That concludes today's lecture. As always, the comments section is open if you have questions or concerns, but don't be an ass.
My prediction: Episode 9 sees the Porgs rise up to overthrow the First Order and take their rightful place as the rulers of the galaxy.
The really remarkable thing about the Battle of Endor wasn't the Ewoks, however. Nor was it the space battle, which once again involved the Rebels relying entirely on luck to beat down a superior foe.
The remarkable thing was how the Rebels were able to utilize a tactic that few military forces throughout history or science fiction can lay claim to: the successful recruitment and employment of an indigenous force against a superior foe.
Say what you will about the plausibility of a bunch of teddy bears taking on modern weaponry with, literally, sticks and stones. It's possible to find the scenario ridiculous while still acknowledging that the Ewoks were key to Rebel victory, and that's something worth looking at in depth.
So, before we begin, let's run a quick METT-TC analysis on the situation.
Mission: Destroy the shield generator responsible for protecting the second Death Star so that the fleet could engage and destroy it.
Enemy: The Imperial garrison in place on the moon. Forces include standard infantry, scouts on speeder bikes, light armor in the form of AT-STs, possibly an AT-AT or two though we never see them, and according to Battlefront at least one squad of operator types.
Terrain: Dense old growth forest. Not quite as intimidating as Kashyyyk, but still thick enough to present a major obstacle for movement.
Troops Available: Approximately a platoon's worth of light infantry initially. No heavy weapons, plenty of explosives. 1 Jedi.
Time: A few days at the most.
Civilian Considerations: While on the moon, the Rebels discovered the indigenous Ewoks. The small, ursine creatures are sapient, but have a low tech base, no signs of metalworking. All indications are that they're a hunter/gatherer society and have yet to develop agriculture.
Now, on the surface, this looks like your typical secret squirrel type mission. A small force of commandos has to infiltrate far behind enemy lines to accomplish a mission of vital importance. When you think about it, there are strong parallels to the Rebel's raid on Scarif. They've got about the same number of troops, they're facing off against an Imperial garrison, and they've got nothing in the way of support. Hell, they're even using a stolen Imperial shuttle to infiltrate.
There are a few key differences. For starters, the Imperials knew they were coming and set a trap. Weirdly, that increased their chances of survival, as the garrison tried to capture them alive, presumably for execution at a later date. They also had a few main characters with them, which worked in their favor.
But the biggest advantage they had? Princess Leia, the only consistently useful person in the entirety of the Rebellion, was able to get the Ewoks on their side.
Now, I could pick apart the myriad ways in which both sides screwed up here (white armor in a forest, anyone?), but it wouldn't be anything I haven't covered elsewhere. No, there's a different lesson to be had here.
So you're thinking to yourself, what's the lesson to be learned here? Don't go into battle without a protagonist who's not looking to end their contract?
Not as such, no.
The task Leia performed is one that's remarkably similar to the mission of the US Army Special Forces, or Green Berets.
The Green Berets are nearly unique in the special operations world, in that their primary mission is not to kill people or break things. That's not to say that they're not extremely well equipped to do just that. By any reasonable estimate, they are, man for man, one of the most lethal fighting forces on the planet.
But unlike groups like the SEALs or Delta Force, their primary mission isn't combat, it's training.
The logic behind the Green Berets' mission is simple: if they can infiltrate far behind enemy lines and get the locals to fight the bad guys, they can chip away at the enemy's strength and make life easier for the good guys. They're trained and equipped to work for weeks, even months, behind the lines with little to no support. Everything they need, they carry with them, because they can't guarantee they'll have access to resupply.
They make contact with an indigenous people, evaluate whether or not they can be persuaded to fight, and if they can, they give them the training to do so. The persuasion part is often the most difficult part of the mission. You might think it's easy to convince, say, a persecuted tribe to rise up against their oppressors, but in many cases, the persecuted tribe would rather stay off the radar, lest they invite even more hardship.
They have to be convinced to join the fight, that fighting is in their best interest. A lot of that boils down to convincing the locals that America is a better friend than their oppressors, but a key component is building rapport with them and convincing them that the Green Berets are their friends, too.
This is precisely what Leia did when she shared her food with Wicket. She didn't try to intimidate him into leaving her and her team alone, she cultivated a relationship. By doing so, she established the first inroads into the Ewok community that would lead to them rising up against the Empire.
For Green Berets, sometimes making those inroads can be as simple as sharing candy with the local children. Kids are far more trusting than adults, but if you win over the kids, the adults will often follow suit. Special Forces medics can also provide medical care for the indigenous people, too. Though they'll be the first to tell you that they're a poor substitute for a proper doctor, the medics are qualified to do just about anything short of brain surgery. While they might not be doctors, they're often a damn sight better than what the locals have onhand.
What's more, they can pass that knowledge down to the locals. Even something as simple as proper sanitation can greatly improve the lives of people living in rural poverty. Just by teaching the midwives how to wash their hands and use clean materials during childbirth can greatly decrease mortality rates for both newborns and their mothers.
Engineers can help build dams or improve roads and bridges. They might take time before the mission to brush up on best agricultural practices and give the locals tips for increasing crop yields. Hell, something as simple as teaching people how to read can be a huge benefit for a remote tribe out in the middle of nowhere.
And yes, they'll teach the locals how to fight, both in defense of themselves and, if they can be persuaded, in low risk asymmetrical warfare raids.
The training of indigenous forces is something that people rarely, if ever, use in RP. It's not as sexy as lightsaber duels or fleet battles, true, and it requires a bit of longterm planning, but there are legitimate applications.
Let's say, for instance, that you're planning a dominion on a planet or a hex that you suspect might be invaded at some point in the future. Rather than doing the same old song and dance, you could train the locals into an effective fighting force, and have them submitted through the Codex as an NPC unit.
When the time comes for that invasion, suddenly, you've got a ready made fighting force in place aside from your main military. Someone might cry foul, but so long as you've put in the work, it's really hard to make any sort of complaint catch traction. On top of that, if the locals are already determined to be on your side, it makes the prospect of your enemies dropping down and suddenly having their own indigenous force a little less believable, especially if they didn't put in the work.
Practical considerations aside, it also adds a new layer of depth to the story, something that will make it not only more fun to write, but also to read, which may help during judgment.
In short, take a leaf out of Leia's book, and spend some time recruiting the locals. Who knows, they might just save your bacon one day.
That concludes today's lecture. As always, the comments section is open if you have questions or concerns, but don't be an ass.
