Wars of the Stars

You may have noticed, but the wars in the Star Wars movies are very World War Two.

Dog-fighting space-planes landing on space carriers, stormtroopers, armored transport assaults, etc…

What would things look like if the wars of the stars were other wars? It’s fun to imagine.

Greco-Persian Wars

Space

The ships scarcely shoot at one another. The primary tactics are ramming and boarding. Owing to this, the biggest ships are of the most importance (no fighters). Much manual labor is needed for their functioning.

Land

Blasters rarely take someone down, the most dangerous weapons are pikes and spears (vibro-weapons or energy or some fancy alloy). Some soldiers carry large shields.

Eighty Years War

Space

Much of the Rebel fleet is made up of former pirates or privateers. Some of them are former nobles. They receive aid from the Empire’s other enemies (also empires). Ships shoot at each other, but are mostly of the same size.

No individual fighters, no carriers, no giant Imperial ships that dwarf the Rebels’. An important special weapon used by the Rebels is an explosive ship detonated in close contact. Many battles take place near the Rebel homeworld, but they also take the fight to Empire’s outposts and frontiers.

Land

Troops are specialised. Some are armed with powerful, slow blaster muskets. They are protected by others armed with long pikes from swift troops mounted on speeder bikes or alien beasts. Both sides use similar techniques, but the Rebels make use of natural terrain and high-tech fortification. In the end, the Rebels outlast the Empire with superior popular and economic support.

American War of Independence

Space

The Empire tries to blockade the Rebels, but a rival Empire keeps them busy. Ships shoot at each other, but are all of roughly the same size and type.

Land

Battles are thought in the country, in farms, and in cities. Troops are armed mostly uniformly with blaster muskets. The Rebels make use of camouflage and more accurate blaster rifles to frustrate and disrupt the organization of the Empire.

American Civil War

Space

The Empire’s advantage grows with each movie. They blockade the rebels and hunt down smugglers. They become increasingly adept at bypassing Rebel ion-cannons. A notable encounter between two brand-new high-tech ships of strikingly different designs ends in an Imperial victory.

Land

The Empire enjoys a great advantage in troops and industrial capacity, but they have difficulty capitalizing on it. The Rebel leaders enjoy a great reputation and popularity with their men, while the Empire is frequently divided. Mobile Rebellion forces give them advantages in intelligence and raiding. Eventually the Empire gets things in order and puts an end to the rebellion.

Boer War

Space

No space battles in this one. The Empire rolls up in ships, but the Rebels are dirt-bound.

Land

In the first movie, the Rebels win some surprising victories against the Empire. They lay siege to several Imperial cities. The Empire blunders. The Rebels surprise them with their use of terrain and concealment. Scouting via speeder bikes or ride-able creatures is of great importance. In the second movie, the Empire musters up troops from the far-flung reaches and begins to make gains. The Imperial cities hold out, while captured Rebels are treated harshly. In the third movie, the Empire’s victory draws inevitably closer but a few Rebel groups resolve to fight to the bitter end.

First World War

Space

The Rebels have a decisive advantage in Space, but the Empire can still threaten them. They have a battlefleet that they bring out for one giant, dramatic battle, but daren’t risk doing so again. More prominently, the Empire’s stealth ships prey upon Rebellion convoys.

Land

To the surprise of both sides, combat rapidly settles into a stalemate. Turbo-lasers are dangerous enough to make open combat almost impossible, but not powerful or mobile enough to take and hold an enemy position. Battles consistently appear to be nearing success, but just when a breakthrough seems possible a new wave of reinforcements arrives via conveyex. Space-ships struggle to operate in-atmosphere. The use of AT-ATs is seen as pivotal in breaking the stalemate.

Cold War

Space

Forget about dog-fighting, it’s all about Deathstars and Starkiller Bases. These are not secret experimental weapons. The Rebels have them, the Empire has them and they each have enough to blow each other up many times over. Despite a few close calls, they never do.

Land

The Rebels rely on close co-ordination with their aero-space forces along with cover and concealment. Even still, they expect the great numbers of troops the Empire commands to be difficult to stop or even slow down. Both sides consider how sub-planetary Death Star strikes could be deployed, but it doesn’t seem sound.