Navy of the Grand Marshal

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Revision as of 14:42, 13 September 2006

The Fleet of the Grand Marshal was a breakaway force around a third as large as the Imperial Navy. It served as the invasion force during the Battle of Hoth and the Battles of Yavin during the Grand Marshal's rise to power.

After his self-declaration that he was Galactic Emperor, as opposed to Ysanne Isard, he renamed his fleet the Grand Imperial Fleet of Aden'la Darasuum.

Its primary functions were first to protect his base on Iego, then to invade and overrun Rebel forces on Hoth, Yavin, Anchorhead and to destroy the captured Death Star III, renamed by the Rebels as the Hope Beacon. After that, the ships of the Fleet of Aden'la Darasuum were to orbit those planets and enforce Imperial rule there.

Key ships of the fleet

The Fleet of the Grand Marshal's primary capital ship was the Venator-class Star Destroyer, and the main frigate was the Acclamator assault ship. They were relatively light and fast as opposed to the Imperial-class ships and the Victory-class frigates. Another reason was because the Grand Marshal was short in money, and could not afford a massive fleet, whether by direct purchase from Kuat Drive Yards or bribing Imperial commanders into giving up their ships.

The flagship of the Grand Marshal was a Vindicator-class Star Dreadnought, around half as long as the Executor. It had at least five bridges, and, with some assistance from three or four Venators, could tear through a planetary shield and from that point on single-handedly perform orbital bombardment on a Kessel-sized planet.

Organization

The Fleet of the Grand Marshal was a mixed-arms navy, showing strength in both capital ships, frigates and starfighters. This was demonstrated by the usage of smaller capital ships, namely the Venator-class and opposed to the Imperial-class star destroyer.

His tactic was to form a long line of broadside-firing Venators, and to have the Acclamators fill in gaps in the line (a unique use of frigates), assaulting enemy capital ships and preventing enemy starfighters from attacking the destroyers. The ratio of frigates to capital ships was unusual, usually much more than the usual. This strategy was lost forever after his forces were decimated during the Third Battle of Yavin.

Fleet

This was the largest unit in the Grand Marshal's fleet, commanded by the Grand Marshal itself. This was the sum total of all the system forces, squadrons, lines, and sub-lines. It was commanded from Iego, where it was a stationary force. Once the invasion of the Rebel Bases was complete, the Grand Marshal headed the fleet from his Aden'la-class Star Dreadnought. It was this fleet, though spilt up, that acted as the Marshal's "arm" during his short reign as Emperor.

Systems force

A systems force was made up of several squadrons. The Grand Marshal's fleet had around five to six system forces. As the name suggested, a Systems Force was enough to keep a system in line and under the will of the Empire. It was a systems force that attacked Yavin 4 and Hoth, and two systems forces were sent to destroy the Third Death Star.

Squadron

A squadron would be the sum total of a line and a sub-line. A Rear Admiral would be in charge of a squadron. A squadron was the smallest force capable of assaulting and orbitally bombarding a planet. More often than not, more than one squadron would attack a planet, being commanded by the Rear Admiral from an Imperial-II class Star destroyer. It was a Squadron that attacked Anchorhead Base.

Line

A line would usually consist of ten to twelve capital ships. The overall command of the line was given to a Commodore. A line was the backbone of a naval force: they would fire broadsides at passing cruisers and use rotating turrets to gun down surrounding starfighters, and after wiping aside the enemy, to perform orbital bombardment. A Commodore would have complete control over who was to fire where and at who, and was the lowest-ranking officer who could order a general retreat.

Sub-line

This was used to refer to the commander of the frigates that surrounded the line. The sub-line would fill the gaps in the line of sail, covering the unprotected flanks and bridge of the Venator-class destroyers. and fly around opposing ships and fire at them. They also acted as physical barriers between the starfighter force and the line. They would most often be commanded by a Line Captain - an explanation why so below.

Group

A group of ships would be half the size of a Star Destroyer line or Frigate. They would be commanded by a Line Captain (Line) or a Captain (Subline). This was introcued to allow more officers into command postitions, and to increase flexibility of the fleet. The order to "close in" would be given by the Commodore of the Line to the groups, to make the ships go in close to increase orbital bombardment and density of the line, preventing attack from opposing starfighters.

Individual Ship

The basic unit of the Grand Marshal's fleet. Each Venator-class star destroyer is headed by a Captain, and the head of each frigate is usually the rank below, a Commander. This is the exact reason why a Captain of the Fleet has the same powers as that of a Commodore when he is heading a Sub-line. Each individual ship was capable of breaking apart from the group/line, if permission was given. Most often frigates would do so in order to pursue escaping enemy cruisers.

Ships of the armada

Atmospherical craft

• Desert Swoop speeder

Multi-purpose fighters

• TIE Advanced
• Alpha-3 Nimbus-class V-wing starfighter
• Tie Assaulter
• R-52 Baza-class snubfighter

Scouts

• Eta-2 Actis-class Light Interceptor
• [http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Alpha-3_Nimbus-class_V-wing_starfighterAlpha-3_Nimbus-class_V-wing_starfighter
• TIE Interceptor

Bombers

• Tie Assaulter
• TIE Advanced
• Firespray-class patrol and attack ship

Transport ships/shuttles

• Acclamator I-class assault ship
• Lambda-class shuttle
• Low Altitude Assault Transport Gunship
• Sentinel-class landing craft
• Y-85 Titan dropship

Corvettes

• Assassin-class corvette
• CR90 Corellian Corvette
• DP-20 Corellian gunship

Frigates

• Acclamator II-class assault ship
• Dreadnaught-class heavy cruiser
• EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigate
• Lancer-class frigate
• Tartan-class patrol cruiser
• Victorious-class frigate

Destroyers

• Imperial I-class Star Destroyer
• Imperial II-class Star Destroyer
• Tector-class Star Destroyer
• Venator-class Star Destroyer

• Recusant-class light destroyer?
• Providence-class carrier/destroyer?

Cruisers

• Viator-class Communications Ship
• Lucrehulk-class battleship

Battlecruisers/Dreadnoughts

• Mandator II-class Star Dreadnought
• Vindicator-class Star Dreadnought

Battlestations

• Hope Beacon, called Death Star III while under Imperial control.