Brigade

A brigade was a large military infantry formation. The Grand Army of the Republic made use of brigades in its unit structure as massive formations of clone troopers. Two entire brigades, for example, were made up of many individual battalions. Furthermore, the Republic organized its personnel within administrative brigades, such as its special forces under the Special Operations Brigade, and young clone cadets into various Clone Youth Brigades. Standard clone troopers organized into brigades were led by a Jedi Commander. Senator Mon Mothma, serving as Chancellor of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, believed that a single brigade of clone troopers could penetrate a planet's orbital defenses and conquer the world.

The Confederacy of Independent Systems utilized maintenance brigades within the CIS Navy. These brigades were deployed after the Subjugator-class heavy cruiser Malevolence was critically damaged during the Battle of the Kaliida Nebula. The Battle of Utapau at the end of the war saw two full clone brigades, including personnel from the 7th Sky Corps, deployed against the CIS.

During the Imperial Era, the rebellious factions against the Galactic Empire utilized the designation, such as the Maya Pei Brigade. The Empire itself also included brigades within the Imperial Army, with one such formation being under the command of Colonel Brenna. A resistance group allied with the Rebel Alliance during the Coruscant civil war went by the name of Anklebiter Brigade. Years later, the Empire's successor state, the First Order, also utilized brigades, with one brigade being led by a First Order major.

Text and facts from the “Brigade” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.