Gungan Grand Army

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"Gungans no dyin' without a fight. Wesa warriors. Wesa got a grand army."

―Jar Jar Binks^[1]

The Gungan Grand Army was a massive army and standing militia on the planet Naboo composed entirely of Gungans. Its efforts were key to victory in the conflict when the Trade Federation launched an invasion of Naboo and enslaved the Naboo people. Later, the army assisted in the Battle of Mon Cala at the request of Jedi Grand Master Yoda.

History[]

Early history[]

The Gungans, the native amphibious species of the peaceful Mid Rim planet of Naboo, were suspicious of outsiders and maintained an Army, or a large standing militia.^[6] However, the army's main function was to contain dangerous animals and, by the Invasion of Naboo, the army itself had not been assembled for battle in years.^[3]

Invasion of Naboo[]

"Yousa doen grand. Jar Jar bringen usen and da Naboo together. So, wesa make you Bombad General."
"General??! Oh, no…"

―Boss Nass and Jar Jar Binks, the latter passing out^[1]

Ten years before the outbreak of the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the Trade Federation placed a blockade around Naboo and then invaded and occupied the surface. During the battle to free the planet from the Federation's grasp, the Gungan Grand Army was summoned by Boss Nass at the request of Queen Amidala of the Naboo. Under the command of General Tobler Ceel, the Gungan Grand Army battled the Trade Federation Droid Army on the Great Grass Plains 40 kilometers outside the planetary capital of Theed, acting as a distraction to lure the battle droids away from the city in order to allow Amidala and the Royal Naboo Security Forces to infiltrate the Theed Royal Palace and capture Viceroy Nute Gunray. Militiagungs in the battle believed that one Gungan officer, Bombad General Jar Jar Binks, was being gifted by the gods. The Grand Army was initially defeated, but the battle droids were shut down after^[3] Anakin Skywalker destroyed the orbiting Droid Control Ship.^[1]

Following the victory over the Droid Army of the Trade Federation, the Gungan Grand Army triumphantly entered Theed where they were warmly greeted by the inhabitants as liberators for their part in freeing Naboo from the Trade Federation. Boss Nass and Jar Jar Binks along with the rest of the Army was cheered by the human civilians of Naboo as they paraded through the city, with Boss Nass being gifted the Globe of Peace by Queen Amidala, signaling the beginning of friendly relations between the Gungans and humans of Naboo.

Clone Wars[]

Mon-Calamari — The army being transported to Mon Cala as reinforcements.

During the Clone Wars, Jedi Grand Master Yoda contacted the Gungan Boss Lyonie of Otoh Gunga to request aid in the Battle of Mon Cala. Binks, now a Senator in the Galactic Senate, convinced Lyonie to assist the Grand Army of the Republic. A portion of the Grand Army was sent to Mon Cala onboard a Venator-class Star Destroyer. Many Gungans died in the battle against the AQ-series battle droids, and many more were captured when the Separatist leader Riff Tamson used a Trident-class assault ship to create a whirlpool. The prisoners were sent to a prison camp among Mon Cala's coral reefs.^[5] Soon after, the Mon Calamari prince Lee-Char visited the camp and told the prisoners to wait for his signal before attacking. Lee-Char was captured, brought before Tamson, and scheduled to be executed. The members of the Grand Army were freed by the Quarren, who had originally allied with the Separatists but betrayed them. The Grand Army was able to fight back, and some Gungans joined Captain Ackbar in taking down a Trident assault ship. In the end, the battle was won by Republic and Gungan forces, and Lee-Char was crowned king.^[7]

Later in the Clone Wars, unrest began to occur on Naboo due to circulating rumors stating that the Gungans had allied with the Separatist Alliance. Boss Lyonie called on the Grand Army to march on Theed. Amidala, now Naboo's senator, and Skywalker returned to Naboo to defuse the situation. They met Binks on Lake Paonga, and the Gungan took them to Otoh Gunga to meet Lyonie. Lyonie rejected their help, but Skywalker noticed Lyonie was under a form of mind control from a necklace given to him by Minister Rish Loo. The Jedi crushed the necklace using the Force and freed Lyonie. Loo then stabbed Lyonie as the Boss confronted him. Loo escaped Otoh Gunga and went to the surface to inform the Grand Army that Lyonie was dead and rally them to march on Theed.^[2]

Though Lyonie survived being stabbed, he remained unconscious. Skywalker, noticing that Binks resembled Lyonie, convinced him to pose as the Boss in order to convince the Grand Army to call off the attack. Binks was able to fool the Grand Army into believing that he was Lyonie, and Rish Loo, seeing that his plans had been foiled, escaped deeper into the swamps on a Flitknot speeder. Three C-9979 landing craft landed in the vicinity, and one deployed a tactical droid with a B2-series super battle droid escort. Binks and General Tarpals followed the tactical droid onto the landing craft, where they met General Grievous. Binks, still posing as Lyonie, told the general that he wasn't going to attack Theed. That angered Grievous, and Binks caved and ordered Tarpals to prepare the troops for battle. Tarpals went on to contact Amidala, who suggested a strategy. Meanwhile, Grievous was able to see through Binks' ruse and attempted to kill him. Binks managed to escape and realized that the Grand Army had succeeded in shutting down the droid army and had gathered around Grievous. Tarpals and several other warriors fought the general. Tarpals was fatally stabbed by Grievous, but managed to impale the cyborg with a electropole. The distraction gave the other Gungans enough time to attack Grievous with boomas and capture him.^[2]

Skywalker pursued Loo to his secret outpost, which was being used by Count Dooku, the head of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Dooku killed Loo, and then subdued and captured Skywalker. Amidala agreed to free Grievous in exchange for Skywalker, and the Grand Army delivered the general to Dooku. The Separatist army then left Naboo. Queen Neeyutnee then praised Binks for reuniting the Naboo and the Gungans again.^[2]

Equipment and vehicles[]

GunganPersonalShield-SWE — An average Gungan soldier

Unlike the Royal Naboo Security Forces at the human city of Theed, the Gungan Grand Army utilized organic beings and limited technology in battle, and was oriented towards a more defensive strategy. Never the less, their weaponry employed shield and plasma technology that was exceptionally formidable. The army was composed of roughly 1,000 battle-ready animals including fambaas, falumpasets, and kaadus. Faambaas often carried deflector shield generators which could enclose large contingents of Gungan troops, falumpassets pulled large battle wagons while the kaadu served as cavalry mounts for leaders such as Captain Roos Tarpals, who decorated his kaadu with large feathers won as race trophies.^[8]

Gungan soldiers were often armed with spears or one armed throwing devices known as atlatl, which could throw grenade-like energy weapons known as boomas. Manufactured by the Otoh Gunga Defense League with exotic plasma naturally found in the porous crust of Naboo, boomas could also be thrown with the spear-like cesta or falumpaset-towed catapults.^[6] Protecting Gungan forces were the widely distributed Gungan personal energy shield, which utilized hydrostatic bubble technology to protect against blaster fire and physical weapons.^[9]