Grand Army of the Republic

The Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), also known as the Great Army of the Republic, the Republic Army, the Grand Army, the Galactic Army, or simply the clone army, was the army branch of the Republic Military throughout the duration of the Clone Wars. At the time of the Battle of Geonosis, the Galactic Republic activated hundreds of thousands of clone troopers to fight the Separatist Droid Army of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. In addition to human clones, all grown from the bounty hunter Jango Fett's genetic template, the GAR also had Jedi and other non-clone leadership as well as regular conscripted soldiers, though they formed the minority of soldiers in the Grand Army.

During the waning years of the Republic, Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas contacted the government of Kamino to commission the creation of a clone army, convinced that the galaxy would be consumed by war. As thousands of star systems joined the Separatist movement, the Galactic Senate invested wartime powers in Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine. As a result, the Grand Army of the Republic was formally established, comprising thousands of clone soldiers with millions more being developed in Kaminoan facilities by the start of the Clone Wars. The Jedi Knights, having served as peacekeepers for a thousand years, became Jedi Generals when the Senate called on the Jedi Order to lead the Grand Army against the enemies of the Republic.

For three years, the Grand Army fought on all fronts across a war-torn galaxy, from the campaigns in the Outer Rim Territories to a Separatist attack on the Republic capital of Coruscant. Through the machinations of Palpatine, revealed to the Jedi as the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, who was behind the war and deceiving both sides, the clones were ultimately forced to turn against their Jedi leaders, slaughtering them throughout the galaxy and inside the Jedi Temple as directed by Order 66.

With the official end of the Clone Wars, the Grand Army secured the victorious Republic as Palpatine declared himself Emperor of the Galactic Empire, with the Grand Army of the Republic being absorbed by the New Order and reorganized into the Imperial Army, allowing the remaining clone troopers to serve as the first generation of stormtroopers. However, the continued production of clone soldiers was deemed financially unfeasible, and the Empire terminated its contract with Kamino in the early months of its reign. Over time, the remaining clones in the Imperial military were decommissioned due to factors like their advanced aging and were replaced by conscripted soldiers instead.

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