The Empire's "finest legion" vs The RDA

[Star Wars 888]

After failing to take Pandora, the RDA decides to try and take Endor (which they somehow have access to in this scenario) because it apparently in this scenario also has that metal that they really want. An RDA force of about the same size as the one in Avatar invades Endor, and comes in conflict with the Empire's "finest legion" of the same size as the Battle of Endor, but after the Battle of Endor when the Empire already lost. After a small skirmish, both sides are aware of the other's presence and the battle is on!


Oh, and for the kicks, that mobile infantry force sent to try and invade the bug homeworld in Starship Troopers (the movie) are also stationed in Endor and want to take Endor to use as a forward base to attack the bugs.

The Ewoks start out hostile towards the Empire, the RDA and the mobile infantry, and will probably stay that way for this battle.


So; who wins between some of the biggest jokes in Sci Fi (except for the Ewoks; they're pretty awesome)?

[DudeGuyMan]

Starship Troopers wander into the woods and are eaten by Ewoks.

If the RDA gets their gunships and the Empire gets no aircraft, the RDA owns them. If the Empire gets some TIE fighters, the RDA and their gunships get owned. If no one gets any air support, I'm still going with the Empire. The Empire had at least one AT-AT on Endor and I don't think the RDA has anything that can hurt one.

[Sarevok]

The 501st legion had AT-ATs on Endor. Pray tell other than scratch the paint what RDA aircraft can do to these ? Also RDA gunships fly low and slow. They would get shot down by small arms anyway. I imagine a squad of stormtroopers could take down 3-4 vtols by themselves easily. You wont even need AT-ATs and their big fuck off laser cannons set to surface to air mode.

[DudeGuyMan]

They had a lot of gunships, and their missiles certainly seemed destructive enough to dispose of Imperial infantry and topple/destroy scout walkers. Sure they'll take losses, but the air support they provide is likely to be decisive. If that bizzare flying battleship of theirs is sturdy enough to withstand small arms fire, it could represent a substantial threat as well.

No one is going to be dumb enough to fly in front of the non-turreted guns of a slow-manuvering AT-AT and let themselves be blown away. It was frankly ridiculous that they were able to shoot down any snowspeeders at all in ESB. Without substantial support from lighter forces, an RDA gunship could practically land on top of one.

They have no practical way of keeping infantry from either running up from the sides or being dropped onto the roof and planting demolition charges all over anything they can reach. The RDA certainly didn't suffer from a lack of explosives or the will to use them unconventionally.

If the two sides bases are close enough to one another without any intervening terrain that can deter an AT-AT, however, their heavy guns are likely to wipe out the RDA base before anything else can make a difference.

[Darth Yoshi]

Couldn't the snowspeeders have been shot down the supporting AT-STs? That's pretty much what they're there for, since they have neither the range nor firepower to decisively deal with the Rebel emplacements like the AT-ATs did.

[D.Turtle]

I actually think that Starship Troopers will take this one - they have a force of at least hundreds of thousands, while they are largely just infantry with guns, they simply have such a humongous numerical advantage, that they should be able to take on and destroy the other forces.

[Kingmaker]

There seem to be some serious discrepancies in force size here. The RDA security forces are probably somewhere between company and battalion sized. The 501st is regiment-to-division sized (unless the OP means to refer only to the force guarding the bunker), and the Klendathu invasion force from SSTM is probably on the order of hundreds of thousands (if not more). The SST might take it on numbers alone. But probably not.

On the other hand, neither RDA nor the MI have anything capable of scratching the paint on an AT-AT, though RDA might at least be clever enough to improvise a trap. The MI probably could do something similar, especially with nuclear RPGs, but I really doubt they have the flexibility and intelligence to do so.

Even considering RDA airpower, I just don't think RDA has the manpower (or technology) to pull off a victory, and I don't think the MI has the tactical competence to exploit their huge numerical advantage (wookiepedia-not a ideal source, but whatever-gives the size of a legion at around 10,000) or overcome their technological inferiority. 10-1 odds aren't that bad when you have crushing technological superiority, light and heavy armor support, and a foe who tactics were stale circa 1918.

[DudeGuyMan]

I remember asking this during my "Endor strike team versus WW1" thread and not getting a good answer, so I'll ask here. Where were all these thousands of Imperial troops on Endor supposed to be during the battle?

If they entered the battle they would presumably crush whatever number of soldiers the Rebels could fit in that one little shuttle. But it seems a little weird to assume they were just sitting around having crumpets and tea, blissfully unaware as the Rebels mined their base and blew them to hell.

Was there supposed to be some massive "4,000 Stormies versus 20,000 Ewoks" battle going on somewhere that was just never shown in the movie or referenced in any way whatsoever?

[NecronLord]

I remember asking this during my "Endor strike team versus WW1" thread and not getting a good answer, so I'll ask here. Where were all these thousands of Imperial troops on Endor supposed to be during the battle?

If they entered the battle they would presumably crush whatever number of soldiers the Rebels could fit in that one little shuttle. But it seems a little weird to assume they were just sitting around having crumpets and tea, blissfully unaware as the Rebels mined their base and blew them to hell.

Was there supposed to be some massive "4,000 Stormies versus 20,000 Ewoks" battle going on somewhere that was just never shown in the movie or referenced in any way whatsoever?

I always imagined the whole facility was pretty damn huge, it does after all, shield an entire moon, and they were spread out guarding it.

[Scottish Ninja]

I always thought that Vader had his hand deep in the cookie jar in that case. He knew that Luke was on board the Tydirium, and then let them go regardless. If he really wanted to (a) capture Luke and (b) stop the Rebels, all he had to do was order the shuttle to dock with the Executor. Boom. Rebels foiled. This really makes me believe that Vader let the Rebels land, and probably ordered the main force of Stormtroopers to stand down, so as to have the Rebels as insurance against whatever Palpatine might try to do.

[Sinewmire]

I always thought that Vader had his hand deep in the cookie jar in that case. He knew that Luke was on board the Tydirium, and then let them go regardless. If he really wanted to (a) capture Luke and (b) stop the Rebels, all he had to do was order the shuttle to dock with the Executor. Boom. Rebels foiled. This really makes me believe that Vader let the Rebels land, and probably ordered the main force of Stormtroopers to stand down, so as to have the Rebels as insurance against whatever Palpatine might try to do.

I figure the Emperor already knew the rebels plan, that's why he had a Legion in ambush anyway, so why bother stopping the shuttle?
He ordered that Luke should be be allowed to split up from a presumably successful insertion, so that the shock value of hearing his friends had been surprised and were certainly going to die would be enormous, helping the attempt to turn Luke to the Dark Side. The Emperor wanted to present the doomed rebel fleet and the doomed friends at the same time, to have Luke rippling with impotent anger.

[DudeGuyMan]

I always imagined the whole facility was pretty damn huge, it does after all, shield an entire moon, and they were spread out guarding it.

Evidence that the shield protected the entire planet? There's absolutely nothing I'm aware of indicating that such a thing would even be possible with just that single dish pointing into the sky.

As an aside, I suppose we're expected to assume that this dish could somehow magically project shields off to the sides and all around itself, right? (But not in a way that would deter or even merit mention by surface attackers.) Because otherwise the Rebels are flaming morons for not just sending a wave of fighters down to swoop in low and instantly blow the shit out of it.

I always thought that Vader had his hand deep in the cookie jar in that case. He knew that Luke was on board the Tydirium, and then let them go regardless. If he really wanted to (a) capture Luke and (b) stop the Rebels, all he had to do was order the shuttle to dock with the Executor. Boom. Rebels foiled. This really makes me believe that Vader let the Rebels land, and probably ordered the main force of Stormtroopers to stand down, so as to have the Rebels as insurance against whatever Palpatine might try to do.

Or he was just heeding the Emperors "Patience, in time he will come to you!" lecture by not having Luke's shuttle tractored aboard the Executor the moment it arrived. That's a much simpler explanation for his actions.

I'm of the general opinion that there just plain weren't THAT many troops down there. Certainly not thousands. I know the Emperor said "legion" but... visuals over dialogue.

I figure the Emperor already knew the rebels plan, that's why he had a Legion in ambush anyway, so why bother stopping the shuttle?

To eliminate the slim chance that they eek out an improbable victory and blow up his Death Star?

He ordered that Luke should be be allowed to split up from a presumably successful insertion, so that the shock value of hearing his friends had been surprised and were certainly going to die would be enormous, helping the attempt to turn Luke to the Dark Side. The Emperor wanted to present the doomed rebel fleet and the doomed friends at the same time, to have Luke rippling with impotent anger.

Palpatine could have just captured everyone and then had Luke's friends tortured to death one by one right in front of him until he snapped and called on the dark side. If he had known about the shuttle.

But it was Vader who sensed the Rebels, and he was more interested in letting Luke come to him than worrying about the shield installation, which Palpatine seemed to think was totally safe anyway. Maybe if Palpy had been there he would have just said "Yeah I changed my mind, screw letting him come to us, tractor his ass aboard!" but who knows?

[adam_grif]

Evidence that the shield protected the entire planet? There's absolutely nothing I'm aware of indicating that such a thing would even be possible with just that single dish pointing into the sky.

I believe the implication he was making was that there were multiple individual facilities that needed guarding, so the entire force was not stationed at one single bunker. The thing they raided was the part of the shield generator complex that shielded the DSII, which is small potatoes compared to the size of an actual moon.

[Sarevok]

They had a lot of gunships, and their missiles certainly seemed destructive enough to dispose of Imperial infantry and topple/destroy scout walkers. Sure they'll take losses, but the air support they provide is likely to be decisive. If that bizzare flying battleship of theirs is sturdy enough to withstand small arms fire, it could represent a substantial threat as well.

Prove that the gunships can reliably hit stormtroopers before they are swatted like flies by blasters and E-Webs. The RDA gunship flies slower than a WW 1 biplane and has about the same effective weapon range. Imperial stormtroopers will have a field day swatting them like flies.

No one is going to be dumb enough to fly in front of the non-turreted guns of a slow-manuvering AT-AT and let themselves be blown away. It was frankly ridiculous that they were able to shoot down any snowspeeders at all in ESB. Without substantial support from lighter forces, an RDA gunship could practically land on top of one.

AT-AT effective weapon ranges are in excess of 17 kilometers. Their anti air mode was so accurate they tore apart repulsor drive equipped snow speeders with lethal accuracy. If you are deluded enough to to think RDA gunships with speed and agility of a WW 1 biplane can land them you need to be send to a mental insitution asap

They have no practical way of keeping infantry from either running up from the sides or being dropped onto the roof and planting demolition charges all over anything they can reach. The RDA certainly didn't suffer from a lack of explosives or the will to use them unconventionally.

Yes because RDA infantry now have the speed and stamina of a Jedi using the Force. And they have explosives with more penetration than a lightsaber.

If the two sides bases are close enough to one another without any intervening terrain that can deter an AT-AT, however, their heavy guns are likely to wipe out the RDA base before anything else can make a difference.

More like AT-ATs drivers take a nap while a single stormtroopers squad kills half the RDA army by themselves. They have bullet proof armor. Rapid fire blasters that one shot even walkers and gunships. And helmet mounted sensors that penetrate the jungle.

[Sarevok]

Evidence that the shield protected the entire planet? There's absolutely nothing I'm aware of indicating that such a thing would even be possible with just that single dish pointing into the sky.

The shield generator used in RoTj was a SLD-26. As known from the SW:Rebellion videogame a single unit of this type can protect a planetary body.

I'm of the general opinion that there just plain weren't THAT many troops down there. Certainly not thousands. I know the Emperor said "legion" but... visuals over dialogue.

The standard Imperial Stormtrooper legion is around 10000 men. If the Emperor had fewer men deployed he would said "my finest battalion" or somesuch.

As for visuals...how many thousand US troops do you see in a movie set in Vietnam ? Are you so immature that you expect the entire stormtrooper formation on Endor to stand in one place ?

To eliminate the slim chance that they eek out an improbable victory and blow up his Death Star?

Hindsight is 20/20. Not so when you have perfect prescience that let you conquer the galaxy before. It never failed Palpatine in more perilious situations before. So why would he distrust his visions when he was sitting in a moon sized battlestation ?

[Bakustra]

I always imagined the whole facility was pretty damn huge, it does after all, shield an entire moon, and they were spread out guarding it.

Evidence that the shield protected the entire planet? There's absolutely nothing I'm aware of indicating that such a thing would even be possible with just that single dish pointing into the sky.

As an aside, I suppose we're expected to assume that this dish could somehow magically project shields off to the sides and all around itself, right? (But not in a way that would deter or even merit mention by surface attackers.) Because otherwise the Rebels are flaming morons for not just sending a wave of fighters down to swoop in low and instantly blow the shit out of it.

You just answered yourself. They didn't send fighters to destroy it, and the shuttle needed the shield deactivated to land. There is also the fact that the Death Star debris didn't trigger a nuclear winter on Endor, which requires that something is keeping it away from the planet.

The large size of the facility is evident- we have the landing platform, the main door, the back door they used, and the dish- all of which were scattered at least some distance from each other. (They mention having to walk past the platform to the front door when the Ewoks tell them about the back way.) A legion could easily be spread out enough over that area, and inside the bunker complex, so that only about a hundred at most were hanging around the back door. We see, for example, an AT-AT walking around that doesn't show up again.

[Raptor_Pilot]

Starship Troopers wander into the woods and are eaten by Ewoks.

Why is everybody down on Starship Troopers? Sure the movie is terrible, but they do issue NUCLEAR MISSILES as a platoon support weapon.

Seriously, ewoks come hording out of the forest, and then the Lt. says "nuke 'em"! RDA Forces show up, "nuke 'em"! Stormtroopers show up, "nuke 'em"! Game, Set, Match.

[Star Wars 888]

Why is everybody down on Starship Troopers? Sure the movie is terrible, but they do issue NUCLEAR MISSILES as a platoon support weapon.

Seriously, ewoks come hording out of the forest, and then the Lt. says "nuke 'em"! RDA Forces show up, "nuke 'em"! Stormtroopers show up, "nuke 'em"! Game, Set, Match.

Their nuclear launchers are powerful, but their tactics in using them are laughable. If they were to do what you suggest, they would have won the war against the bugs already. Instead, they don't ready their nukes until the battle actually starts, in this case they would get shot before they can fire, especially if they are ambushed (and they don't seem to have any sensors) at close range where launching a nuke would be suicidal.

Besides, those nukes wouldn't take down an AT-AT. The handheld nukes appeared to be sub kiloton in terms of weapons yield. AT-ATs can apparently take megatons of damage.

[Zor]

Starship Troopers wander into the woods and are eaten by Ewoks.

Why is everybody down on Starship Troopers? Sure the movie is terrible, but they do issue NUCLEAR MISSILES as a platoon support weapon.

They would be an area with many trees, which would reduce the effectiveness of these missiles sugnifigantly by reducing line of sight and offering a whole bunch of things which would get in the way said missiles, causing them to go off nearby the guys who shot them and blow their dumb asses off?

Zor

[Raptor_Pilot]

They would be an area with many trees, which would reduce the effectiveness of these missiles sugnifigantly by reducing line of sight and offering a whole bunch of things which would get in the way said missiles, causing them to go off nearby the guys who shot them and blow their dumb asses off?

Zor

Just replace their dumb asses with replacements. M.I. are treated as disposable cannon fodder in the films, I don't see why I couldn't do that here. In the Starship Troopers movie the total casualties during the attack on Klendathu were over 300,000. I wouldn't mind expending a few hundred thousand in order to win this scenario. Besides, once you light off a few hundred nukes, there is no more forest for the enemy to hide in. "Fresh meat for the grinder, eh?"

[Raptor_Pilot]

Besides, those nukes wouldn't take down an AT-AT. The handheld nukes appeared to be sub kiloton in terms of weapons yield. AT-ATs can apparently take megatons of damage.

You don't need a direct kill against an AT-AT, just shoot nukes at the ground until it falls over.

EDIT:

I'm not saying the M.I. would win by using any form of skill or tactics whatsoever, sheer weight in numbers would be more than enough. As an estimate, if you consider the 300,000+ casualties on Klendathu, and factor in a 50% casualty rate, then the numbers for the landing force could be estimated at anywhere from 500,000 to 1 million troops. Just grind them up into hamburger until you win. That was the tactics used in the films anyway.

[Star Wars 888]

You don't need a direct kill against an AT-AT, just shoot nukes at the ground until it falls over.

EDIT:

I'm not saying the M.I. would win by using any form of skill or tactics whatsoever, sheer weight in numbers would be more than enough. As an estimate, if you consider the 300,000+ casualties on Klendathu, and factor in a 50% casualty rate, then the numbers for the landing force could be estimated at anywhere from 500,000 to 1 million troops. Just grind them up into hamburger until you win. That was the tactics used in the films anyway.

How would they counter gunships or AT-ATs? Besides, a fortified RDA or imperial position would slaughter a human wave assault by the MI. The MI lack any sort of sensors or aiming sites, armor capable of stopping blasters (although it's implied that their helmets can stop bullets), or any sort of tactical competence. E web positions would mow them down.

And the MI would probably get lost in the forests. Ewok traps would capture or kill a lot of them, as would Ewok ambushes.

[Raptor_Pilot]

How would they counter gunships or AT-ATs? Besides, a fortified RDA or imperial position would slaughter a human wave assault by the MI. The MI lack any sort of sensors or aiming sites, armor capable of stopping blasters (although it's implied that their helmets can stop bullets), or any sort of tactical competence. E web positions would mow them down.

And the MI would probably get lost in the forests. Ewok traps would capture or kill a lot of them, as would Ewok ambushes.

RE: My previous post. Light off a few dozen nukes = no more forest, or ewoks. I can't believe you are actually suggesting ewoks would win against M.I. Bullets, aimed or not will kill ewoks, not to mention every group of 50 or so M.I. carries a nuke launcher with nukes. Each trooper also has a fully automatic 5.56mm rifle(with no real sights), an underbarrel shotgun(also with no sights), hand grenades(big fat ones), and a throwing knife(only because it was in the book). Also there are Carbine, and Sniper versions of the service rifle.
However, the psychology behind the movie makes this acceptable. Remember, the M.I. are seen as expendable. So long as they can shoot in the general direction of the enemy, then it doesn't matter how many casualties they take.

In the original post, the M.I. force was stated to be the one that landed on Klendathu, which could have anywhere from 500,000 to 1 million troopers. (Rough high and low estimate based on on-screen clues) They easily outnumber all other available forces (Ewoks, RDA, Stormtroopers) by a comfortable margin, and are not adverse to taking massive casualties and still accomplish their objective. The M.I. in the movie are willing to expend hundreds of thousands of troopers to accomplish an objective. Also if every 50 troopers have 1 nuke launcher, the total force would have 10,000 launchers (also estimated) with reloads at their disposal. Easily enough to deal with all of the forces involved. Not to mention those nukes have at least some target tracking or guidance, as we see nukes in the movie turn in midair to hit targets, and are even capable of flying down an underground tunnel.

Gunships? Nuke 'em! AT-AT's? Nuke 'em! Dug in defensive positions? Nuke 'em! Even though the M.I. are tactically and strategically incompetent, they still easily have the firepower to wipe this battlefield clean of all opposing forces. Airburst nukes will clean up gunships, and ground bursts can still get a mobility kill against AT-AT's. (Just knock them over) They may have the intelligence of a bunch of rednecks who never went through any form of education, but they're space redneck nazis with handheld nuclear bombs.

[Star Wars 888]

RE: My previous post. Light off a few dozen nukes = no more forest, or ewoks.

Endor is a large place. I doubt that they have enough nukes to nuke every forest that they see, and then the radiation would make them trying to cross the forest rather suicidal. It also removes almost all of their possible cover, as well as food and water.

I can't believe you are actually suggesting ewoks would win against M.I. Bullets, aimed or not will kill ewoks, not to mention every group of 50 or so M.I. carries a nuke launcher with nukes.

If ambushed at close range, trying to launch a handheld nuke would be suicidal.

Each trooper also has a fully automatic 5.56mm rifle(with no real sights), an underbarrel shotgun(also with no sights), hand grenades(big fat ones), and a throwing knife(only because it was in the book). Also there are Carbine, and Sniper versions of the service rifle.
However, the psychology behind the movie makes this acceptable. Remember, the M.I. are seen as expendable. So long as they can shoot in the general direction of the enemy, then it doesn't matter how many casualties they take.

A big disguised ditch could drop a lot of them. Other traps could work too.

In the original post, the M.I. force was stated to be the one that landed on Klendathu, which could have anywhere from 500,000 to 1 million troopers. (Rough high and low estimate based on on-screen clues) They easily outnumber all other available forces (Ewoks, RDA, Stormtroopers) by a comfortable margin, and are not adverse to taking massive casualties and still accomplish their objective. The M.I. in the movie are willing to expend hundreds of thousands of troopers to accomplish an objective. Also if every 50 troopers have 1 nuke launcher, the total force would have 10,000 launchers (also estimated) with reloads at their disposal. Easily enough to deal with all of the forces involved. Not to mention those nukes have at least some target tracking or guidance, as we see nukes in the movie turn in midair to hit targets, and are even capable of flying down an underground tunnel.

The MI do not seem to have any sensors nor the competence to do successful advance scouting or real time, quick radio communication. Scout troopers, RDA troops or Ewoks in ambush could suddenly attack a section at close range, take them out and retreat. Launching a hand held nuke at close range would be suicidal.

Gunships? Nuke 'em!

RDA gunships are low flying, so nuking them would be suicidal.

AT-AT's? Nuke 'em!

A hand held sub kiloton nuke won't do much to an AT-AT, which outranges those hand held nukes and is capable of withstanding them without much damage.

Dug in defensive positions? Nuke 'em!

You may have a point here.

Even though the M.I. are tactically and strategically incompetent, they still easily have the firepower to wipe this battlefield clean of all opposing forces.

In this case, not really. MI handheld weapons are incapable of piercing stormtrooper armor. Aside from a limited amount of handheld nukes that are probably suicidal to use against low flying gunships, they have no anti air or anti armor capabilities.

Airburst nukes will clean up gunships,

And the MI

and ground bursts can still get a mobility kill against AT-AT's. (Just knock them over)

I don't think that their handheld nukes have that much kinetic energy, and an AT-AT's legs are NOT weaker in terms of armor by any significant margin. AT-ATs have an effective attack range of 17 kilometers.

eThey may have the intelligence of a bunch of rednecks who never went through any form of education, but they're space redneck nazis with handheld nuclear bombs.

Quite frankly if the movie Starship Troopers tried to modern day Earth the movie Starship Troopers would get their asses kicked.

[DudeGuyMan]

The shield generator used in RoTj was a SLD-26. As known from the SW:Rebellion videogame a single unit of this type can protect a planetary body.

Does this shit even count? Because I seem to recall years worth of "An X-wing can't really solo-kill a Star Destroyer by shooting the shield domes off, that was just a video game, it doesn't count you stupid Trekkie!" and such around here and similar places.

The standard Imperial Stormtrooper legion is around 10000 men. If the Emperor had fewer men deployed he would said "my finest battalion" or somesuch.

As for visuals...how many thousand US troops do you see in a movie set in Vietnam ? Are you so immature that you expect the entire stormtrooper formation on Endor to stand in one place?

How many troopers did we see? Maybe a hundred? So we're supposed to believe that literally 99% or more of the Imperial forces were never seen, never heard from, never referred to by anyone participating in the battle, didn't react in any way whatsoever to the Rebel attack they were placed there specifically to thwart, and in fact all died quite surprised when the Rebels undermined their base and blew them up as they were sitting around unseen and unmentioned doing nothing?

Prove that the gunships can reliably hit stormtroopers before they are swatted like flies by blasters and E-Webs. The RDA gunship flies slower than a WW 1 biplane and has about the same effective weapon range. Imperial stormtroopers will have a field day swatting them like flies.

Because they're wearing near-luminous white armor in a brown and green forest while firing highly visible blaster bolts, making them about a thousand times easier to spot and kill than real world troops? Because even if these are Internet Debate Version Stormtroopers who can actually hit things, and not the movie ones whose incompetence is a pop cultural meme, they're still going to have to deal with RDA infantry trying to attack them?

AT-AT effective weapon ranges are in excess of 17 kilometers.

In one direction.

Their anti air mode was so accurate they tore apart repulsor drive equipped snow speeders with lethal accuracy. If you are deluded enough to to think RDA gunships with speed and agility of a WW 1 biplane can land them you need to be send to a mental insitution asap

Walkers are slow as shit and gunships can hover.

Yes because RDA infantry now have the speed and stamina of a Jedi using the Force. And they have explosives with more penetration than a lightsaber.

I'm sorry, the whole thing with Luke using Force Speed and the stamina of a Jedi to close in on the walker before hacking through thick armor that required all the penetration of a lightsaber must be unique to Internet Debate Star Wars. You know, that version with the ten-thousand Stormtroopers on Endor.

I've only seen regular Star Wars, where Luke jogs up to the thing as it's plodding by, climbs up, and takes half a second to snip the hinges on a little doggy door in the bottom. That's the version 99.9% of humanity has seen, all of whom would scratch their heads and go "I dunno, like sixty?" if you asked them how many troops were guarding the Endor base.

Without adequate defense from lighter forces, guys with satchel charges will be swarming all over its ankles and roof.