Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Seed or Star Wars. They belong to their respective copyright owners. This story is not created with commercial aim. I make no money from it.

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Interlude: Historical Notes

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AN: This is to put it bluntly born from frustration of answering the same questions again and again. For more blunt and to the point explanation see the AN at the end of the update.

Most scholars and military historians agree that Clone Wars were divided into multiple phases. However, there are relatively few publications that examine in depth the question what would have happened if the CIS had more competent leadership from the start… or as they still claim, they fought to win since day one instead of being used as puppets by the Sith. That is why, this book divides the war in more phases than common wisdom suggests.

Phase One covers the first six months of the war. That period was characterized by the Confederacy lacking a coherent strategy for victory with the leadership, both military and civilian alike believing that Count Dooku, the Sith who is widely believed to be the driving force that ignited the conflict, had a master plan he kept close to his chest. That phase was characterized by the CIS military spending a large amount of resources striking a huge number of strategically insignificant systems. There was little to no coordination between the various theatre commanders with multiple high ranking officials pursuing their own agendas that often had little to nothing to do with winning the war. Nowadays it is accepted that this phase wasted an incredible opportunity.

Declassified Republic, Imperial and Confederate documents point at a singular conclusion. Even with the advent of the GAR proving a nasty shock for the CIS military, there was little that the Republic armed forces could have done to stop a Confederacy with a coherent strategy for victory striking at strategically important objectives. It is considered a fact that the only thing that could have halted them in that period were logistics concerns, which would have set the stage for the second phase of the war.

Phase Two – six months to a year since the beginning of the war. This period saw general Veil receiving his rank after his valiant actions at Rodia, the Ryloth Campaign and as importantly, it was then when he and general Telar Valentra began various initiatives that would prove crucial for the later stages of the war. Those include the rigid screening of the Jedi generals to ensure that they actually commanded forces that they had the skills to lead, something that led to the demotion of a great number of the Jedi officers and their reassignment to leading strike teams of various sizes – something that led to a number of stunning successes until the Jedi Coup. Another initiative was an emphasis on raising volunteer armies within the Core, something that proved to be critical after the destruction of Kamino…

… the influence generals Veil and Valentra had upon Republic R&D efforts of the era could not be understated. Their efforts led directly to significant upgrades of infantry kit, radical redesign of the IFVs, APCs and tanks used by the Republic and later Galactic Empire… In space, the widespread adoption of the GUARDIAN system and antimatter weaponry as well as Mobile Armours and the first engineering and Combat Mobile Suits can be directly credited to general Veil along with tactical and strategic superweapons like the Silencer and…

If the Confederacy had its change of leadership during this period, they would still have had enjoyed a great amount of strategic advantages even when accounting for the time it would take to shake up their military. The first major Republic construction cycle was still underway with the economy being in the middle of the transition to war footing. At worst, the CIS would have been able to launch a series of escalating strikes at strategic targets while setting up the groundwork for an even more successful Grand Offensive like the one they actually launched a few months before the completion of the second Republic construction cycle. The balance of forces was such that the only viable response for the Republic would have been nationalizing of all local defence fleets within the Core and sending them to the front-lines. While that was still a better outcome than what would have happened during Phase one – a defeat in detail while local governments hoarded their assets in the vain hope of protecting themselves and dissuading an attack by the victorious Separatist armadas, doing something like that was still a political impossibility… a fact underlined by what happened historically. Even with more time to nationalize local forces and less immediate threat and demand to keep them home, it was only during and after Operation Star-hammer, the liberation of the Corellian system that a significant number of Core system defence fleets were released under GAR control…

Phase Three – twelve to eighteen months since the war began. This phase contained multiple notable events, including Second Geonosis, the transition to war economy for the Republic and the completion of the first construction run. It was at the end of that phase that the Confederation suffered a coup that removed Count Dooku and the Sith from power and in the following months eradicated their influence. Most notably, the Triumvirate that took power put admiral Trench as a Supreme Commander of the Confederate military, who in turn reshaped it in his image. For the first time since the war began the Confederacy had a strategy to win the war, their fleets were put under command of the best people they had and they were given free reign to prosecute the war under the strategic guidelines drawn by Admiral Trench and approved by the Triumvirate and it wasn't a moment too soon.

The Confederacy nearly missed their window of opportunity for winning the war but not quite. Multiple in depth studies and war-games point to a singular conclusion – even without the Jedi Coup significantly aiding the Confederate Grand Offensive, it had at least fifty/fifty odds of achieving its strategic objectives. In contrast, if the CIS transition to a more effective leadership had occurred just a few months later and thus their offensive too, the successful and uninterrupted completion of the second Republic construction cycle would have made a victory in the core highly unlikely even if the disruption caused by the Jedi Coup had been worse.

Without said coup? The completion of the second Republic construction cycle would have shifted the tide of the war irrevocably in the Republic's favour. It is hotly debated to this day what would have happened if the Confederacy had waited or failed in their Grand Offensive. Republic nationalists claim that it was a string of bad fortune that allowed the Separatist to go as far as they did, however they often forget that if thing were different, the Republic could have ceased to exist just few short months after the war began…

Phase Four – eighteen to twenty four months since the war began. There is no shortage of critical events that occurred in this period. From the Battle of Mandalore and the ascension of general Veil to leader of the Mandalorian people, to the Crimson Crisis, the Separatists Grand Offensive, the Jedi Coup, the fall of Corellia and later Kuat, the foundation of the Mid-Rim Alliance, the Starfire at Sullust, the Rape of Bothawui to the Skyfall that heralded the end of that phase and everything in between…

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AN: The way I envisioned the CW turning if the CIS actually fought to win since the start and how that would change if it happened later.

First six months of the war – the Republic loses outright or it is put in untenable position when the CIS onslaught is stopped by logistic issues. The CIS spends a few months to build up the supplies needed to end the war and unless the Republic sues for peace the next phase of the war is very bloody grind through the part of the Core that is still in Republic control. The CIS wins either military or due to the Republic shattering politically. There's simply no time at all for the Republic industry to make any difference.

Six months to a year – if the CIS becomes competent in this period the situation is somewhat better for the Republic. The Separatists had wasted a lot of time and ships going after targets that don't really matter in strategic sense. The Republic is closer to full war economy with a lot of cruisers and assault ships roughly half complete. At this point the Republic might actually avoid defeat if all system defence navies got placed under unified command and send where they're needed. It is going to be close, though if they could work together well enough and the CIS screws up enough, it's possible for the Republic to hand on until their first construction run is complete.

That actually happening is highly unlikely if possible.

Now, after the first construction cycle is complete, the Republic actually gets a bit of breathing room though they're still hugely outnumbered, just not as badly. The best chance for CIS victory is gone, however the CIS still holds most of the cards… and all this is just the pure military and economic situation largely in a vacuum. Add the political dimension and suddenly, things begin to look even worse for the Republic.

To put it bluntly, again. As I see it, RK is a story about what happens when many if not all the problems the Republic has, come home to roost. The CIS getting competent leadership and fighting to win, the Jedi becoming aware that the Sith are actually running the Republic and launching a desperate coup to remove Sidious from power and once that happened, the dominoes begin to fall and the Republic is in an increasingly untenable position, especially politically.

Yes, the Republic is in a bad spot, one that might actually become somewhat worse. They might very well lose the war and do it off the battlefield, perhaps on it as well. Why so many people consider this an issue or a problem with the story? I certainly won't be giving the Republic or the "good" guys and gals a break because they're the good guys or the protagonists. They will have to earn it and it might very well not be enough. Or perhaps they can hang enough for a Droid Rebellion to give them the opening they need to more or less put their house in order for long enough not to lose the war if not actually win it.