442nd Siege Battalion

The 442nd Siege Battalion was a battalion of clone troopers that served within the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Specializing in planetary assault missions, the battalion was deployed to secure the planet Cato Neimoidia during the final year of the war. The 442nd was also deployed during the Battle of Coruscant, where it fought alongside Jedi General Agen Kolar against Separatist battle droids within the hangar of a Separatist dreadnought.

Description[]

The 442nd Siege Battalion was a clone trooper battalion that specialized in planetary assault missions.^[1] It was one of four battalions that made up one of the Grand Army of the Republic's clone regiments. The 442nd Siege Battalion was composed of four companies and had 576 clone troopers under its command,^[3] including AT-RT drivers,^[4] along with support personnel.^[3]

Led by a clone battalion commander, a clone trooper major, and a Lieutenant Colonel,^[2] the battalion's clone troopers wielded the DC-15S blaster carbine and the DC-15A blaster rifle, and wore Phase II clone trooper armor with lime green markings.^[7] The unit also utilized All Terrain Recon Transports^[4] and Infantry Support Platforms that sported lime green markings.^[5]

History[]

442nd-coruscant — The 442nd Siege Battalion participated in the Battle of Coruscant.

In 19 BBY, toward the end of the Clone Wars between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems,^[8] the 442nd Siege Battalion was deployed to capture the^[1] Colonies planet^[9] Cato Neimoidia, a key Trade Federation stronghold.^[1] The same year,^[10] the 442nd Siege Battalion participated in^[6] the Battle of Coruscant, assisting Zabrak Jedi General Agen Kolar^[11] in a skirmish against^[6] Separatist OOM security battle droids and droidekas,^[12] within the hangar of a^[6] Providence-class carrier/destroyer.^[13]

Behind the scenes[]

Origins and development[]

Clones variations concept rots — Concept art of a 442nd Siege Battalion clone trooper (third from right), designed by Alex Jaeger

The 442nd Siege Battalion was first pictured, albeit without being named, in the reference book Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith: The Visual Dictionary,^[14] written by James Luceno and published on April 2, 2005.^[15] The battalion was later identified as part of an action figure in Hasbro's 2006 Star Wars: The Saga Collection line of toys.^[1]

The design for the 442nd Siege Battalion's clone troopers was originally concept art for the 2005 film Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. The art was created by Alex Jaeger as part of a series of concept art pieces depicting different clone troopers designed for different theaters of war. The design was first showcased in the Prequel Update section of the seventy-fourth issue of the Star Wars Insider magazine,^[16] written by Jane Irene Kelly and released on February 24, 2004.^[17]

LEGO Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith[]

Lego-442nd — A LEGO 442nd Siege Battalion trooper.

The 2005 LEGO Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith set "Wookiee Catamaran" showcased two 442nd Siege Battalion troopers piloting an Infantry Support Platform while being fired upon by an^[18] Oevvaor jet catamaran^[19] carrying Jedi Masters Luminara Unduli and Yoda, the Wookiee Chewbacca, and a Wookiee warrior.^[18]

Replacing the "Clone (Episode III, Swamp)" characters from the 2005 LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game, which originally had blue markings on their armor,^[20] the 442nd Siege Battalion made its first appearance in LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga, a non-canonical video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by LucasArts^[21] on November 6, 2007.^[22]

In the game's Defense of Kashyyyk level, the battalion's clone troopers were shown hunting down Jedi Master Yoda and Chewbacca on the planet Kashyyyk, following the activation of contingency Order 66 by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine. The 442nd's clone troopers attempted to stop the Jedi from reaching his escape pod, but ultimately failed as he escaped the planet. Following the completion of the level, the player may unlock a 442nd clone trooper as a playable character for 12,000 LEGO studs, who was also called "Clone (Episode III, Swamp)."^[21]

The 442nd Siege Battalion was incorrectly identified as the 42nd Siege Battalion in the 2011 LEGO Star Wars Character Encyclopedia reference book written by Hannah Dolan.^[23] The 2015 LEGO Star Wars Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded reference book also incorrectly identified the battalion as the 42nd Siege Battalion.^[24]