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B1-series battle droids (B1s)—commonly shortened to B1 battle droids, simply called "battle droids," and otherwise known by a multitude of other names—were a line of mass produced combat droids that became the single most numerous automaton in the galaxy's history. However, the B1 battle droid was flimsily designed, easy to destroy, and only truly dangerous in large numbers, with early versions of the droid even requiring a connection to a central computer to function. Nevertheless, numerous models, marks, and variants of the B1-series were manufactured by companies like Baktoid Combat Automata and Baktoid Armor Workshop throughout galactic history. Initially designed for the Trade Federation corporation on the orders of its Neimoidian leaders and the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, B1s saw extensive service as the main soldiers the company's mechanized Droid Army, which saw its first true deployment during the Invasion of Naboo in 32 BBY. Carried to the surface by a fleet of C-9979 landing craft, the army of droids marched into Naboo's cities and kept the Federation's iron grip over the planet in a brutal occupation. The tides began to turn for the Federation and its robotic hordes when the B1 army was dispatched to face the Gungan Grand Army in the Great Grass Plains in what became known as the Battle of Naboo. The massive withdrawal of droids from the capital of Theed left Federation leadership vulnerable, allowing them to be captured by the Royal Naboo Security Forces, and every B1 unit was shut down when a young Force-sensitive pilot named Anakin Skywalker destroyed the orbiting Droid Control Ship.

The defeat at Naboo showed the faults in using a Central Control Computer and cost the Federation thousands of B1s. As such, subsequent generations of the B1-series were upgraded to contain independent droid brains, allowing the B1 battle droid to function without a connection to a central mainframe through a limited degree of independent thought. Additionally, the Techno Union used the loss on Naboo as a basis for a more advanced version of the B1 model, the B2-series super battle droid, although the standard B1 still saw heavy use. The Federation also pledged its Droid Army to the growing secessionist state known as the Confederacy of Independent Systems, allowing for the updated B1s to become the main soldier in the new Separatist Droid Army. Ultimately, the growing army of B1s and other droids was discovered in 22 BBY on the planet Geonosis, where millions of B1s had been produced since the model's inception. In the following Battle of Geonosis, hundreds of B1s joined their fellow Separatist troops in fighting a Jedi assault team within the Petranaki Arena before being greeted by the sudden arrival of the Galactic Republic's new army of clone troopers, who clashed with the Droid Army on the adjacent desert plain. Despite the Republic ultimately winning the battle, the fighting had officially launched the galactic conflict known as the Clone Wars, leaving countless other worlds open to become battlefronts for the two mass-produced armies.

Having been given independent droid brains, however, it became evident that the B1 was dim-witted and suffered programming glitches, which would manifest as personality quirks that made B1 units have banter, question orders, and make commentary on what occurred around them. However, billions of B1 battle droid still served with numerous other combat droid models against the Republic. While B1s were outmatched by the clones troopers, massive numbers of B1s could overwhelm and defeat their organic adversaries, whether they be a small group of clones or members of the Jedi Order. The B1 battle droids—called "clankers," "tinnies," and "tin cans" along with the other Separatist droids—were manufactured in countless numbers for the Separatists, but many military officers, including Supreme Commander General Grievous, grew angry with the B1's limitations. Following the defeat of the Confederacy, B1 battle droids were deactivated by the Galactic Empire along with the rest of the Droid Army. Although battle droids were outlawed under the Empire, B1s continued to see limited use, whether it be through Separatist holdouts or other third parties, throughout the Imperial Era and beyond.

Description

Design and basic information

Part of the B-series battle droid line^[13] and among the simplest Neimoidian battle droids,^[14] B1-series battle droids^[66] were humanoid^[6] fourth class battle droids^[18] that measured 1.93 meters^[2]—or six feet and three inches—tall,^[19] making the B1 a tall^[67] mobile weapons platform.^[68] Although their height made them taller than the standard Geonosian, the B1 model was created by that species^[37] and purposely^[5] designed in their image,^[37] being designed to mimic their bodies^[19] and specifically being made to look like skeletal versions of^[69] the qausi-insectoid species.^[37] Accordingly, because of their shape,^[60] limbs,^[70] and other elements of their design, they also eerily resembled animated skeletons.^[6] Intended to generate a sense of fear in those who saw a force of B1s marching towards them, the resemblance to walking skeletons was purposeful.^[14] B1 units^[71] were constructed with plasteel.^[72]

B1 battle droids could be equipped with masculine programming.^[21] Individual B1s were referred to with he/him,^[73] they/them,^[32] or it/its pronouns.^[74] The droid was also known by a number of other names, including being called the B1 battle droid,^[75] standard battle droid,^[76] regular battle droid,^[77] B1-series,^[78] infantry battle droid,^[18] B1 unit,^[69] B1 mechanical,^[79] type one battle droid,^[80] general-purpose battle droid,^[81] conventional battle droid,^[82] original battle droid,^[83] or simply the B1.^[2] Despite the term referring to the classification of many different droids that were designed for combat,^[18] some people in the galaxy also began to refer to the B1 unit as the "battle droid."^[84] When written out, the "B1" of the name could also be transcribed as "B-One," creating several alternatively spelled forms of its designations, such as "B-One battle droid," "B-One droid unit," and "B-One unit."^[85] The designation could also be written as "B-1," formulating the unit name into "B-1 battle droid."^[86]

Although Count Dooku once stated B1s were expensive to buy,^[87] that was not the case.^[19] In fact, mass production of the B1-series was done at a cheap rate. Able to be quickly built^[37] by the thousands,^[88] millions,^[89] or even billions,^[19] numerous B1s could be quickly constructed on the assembly lines maintained by Baktoid Combat Automata^[75] and other such manufacturers. The Neimoidian Royal Guard Ruug Quarnom likened^[90] the B1's^[46] rate of production in Trade Federation factories to that of simple datapads made for students.^[90] Relatively fragile,^[68] B1s were simple^[19] and easily confused machines^[91] with limited capabilities,^[37] which impacted their performance as soldiers^[44] but kept their production costs low.^[19] Furthermore, the B1 was small,^[74] clumsy,^[1] and flimsy.^[92] Despite being built for fighting,^[93] the B1 was not truly designed for warfare;^[83] instead, the model had been mainly designed with civilian control^[67] and security in mind.^[83]

However, the B1 ultimately became a war machine.^[90][94] The B1 battle droid found its main use as the primary,^[95] disposable^[37] foot soldiers^[95] of mechanized armies.^[6] At a base design level,^[44] the B1 was created for use in large numbers;^[95] instead of relying on^[96] their weak^[91] individual abilities,^[96] B1 battle droids were most effective^[44] when deployed in swarms^[50] to overwhelm their enemies.^[95] While such deployments meant an individual B1 could be easily cut down,^[50] the opponent needed to deal with the collective force^[88] and, should that wave be destroyed, the next wave. Wave after wave of B1s would be deployed until^[50] the foe was overwhelmed by sheer numbers.^[97] As B1s were endlessly replaceable and cheap-to-produce units,^[37] such swarm tactics were justifiable from a financial perspective.^[19] B1s could also be used as shock troops, albeit disposable ones.^[98]

The OOM-series battle droid^[37] was a mark of the B1-series.^[66] Further lines and models of the B1-series included the DL-2 line^[12] and 631 model B1 battle droid.^[99] B1s spoke in Galactic Basic Standard and would often use the phrase "Roger, roger" as a reply. Examples of how B1s used the phrase included using it to say they recognized and accepted orders,^[100] to say they agreed with a statement,^[42][10] as an answer to a question, or a cheer.^[101] Despite sometimes replying with "yes,"^[23] "roger, roger" was the B1-series' typical response to an order.^[93] Another phrase the droids often used was "uh-oh," saying such when faced with a problem.^[91] B1s could also understand aqualish,^[101] binary,^[39] and Geonosian hive-mind.^[43] At least one B1 variant, the droid worker, could speak the latter language.^[102] A great many B1 battle droids had a tan plating color^[15] described as bone-white, but some B1s had different colored plating, including rust brown,^[9] purple,^[23] and grey.^[24]

Programming and independence

Programming overview

Being equipped with combat programming^[19] that contained moves from highly trained organic warriors,^[37] B1s, as opposed to more peaceful droids like 3PO units, were soldiers programmed for destruction^[42] and violence.^[101] Although the droids could also be given specialized programming for a specific mission,^[27] the overall programming of the B1-series was limited, which left them unfit for some jobs,^[103] including the simple military roles B1s were often assigned. In fact, their programming could even give a unit a bad aim, although that varied between individual B1s.^[21] In a similar vein, recalibrating a B1's programming could have the effect of improving that unit's firing accuracy.^[32] Having no skill in diplomacy and not being programmed to be intelligent,^[67] B1s also had no idea how to negotiate terms of surrender with enemies,^[104] so such discussions were handled by their superior officers. Even so, they were able to understand the concept of surrender, with some B1s demanding their foes concede an engagement if they found themselves to be on the verge of victory^[23] or if they simply believed themselves to be superior soldiers.^[27]

The programming of the B1-series also dictated that the droids would blindly obey their orders^[89] without concern^[105] nor question.^[2] While in practice there could be certain cases where a B1 failed to obey a command at first,^[21][106] battle droids like the B1 would, at the end of the day, obey all orders given to them. Furthermore, unlike an organic soldier, such as a clone trooper, battle droids did not face any moral concerns over their actions.^[49] Ultimately, the B1-series proved to be extremely obedient;^[107] its units would carry out their orders for no greater reason than that they were orders^[105] and then carry on.^[49] Indeed, much as Advanced Recon Commando Fives once proclaimed that clone troopers were superior to any robotic double because they could think for themselves when given what they deemed to be morally wrong commands,^[108] Clone Commander Cody reflected during the Imperial Era that clone troopers like himself made their own choices and needed to live with the mental impact of those actions, which made them different from B1s and similar battle droids.^[49]

At least in the case of^[109] first generation^[69] B1s, the standard infantry model was programmed only for the most basic of functions.^[109] A superior officer could push their B1s to work more effectively,^[74] but it was not advisable to push a B1 beyond its regular programming, as that risked causing poor performance and malfunctions.^[19] Even so, a B1 unit designated R0-GR once pondered why B1s were never allowed to download some of the combat techniques used by the elite IG-100 MagnaGuards. R0-GR believed that, if he and his fellow B1s had such programming in their own databases, they could have become creditable threats to Jedi combatants instead of simply being cannon fodder.^[54] Indeed, at least in the case of the modified B1 unit Mister Bones, it was possible to equip a B1 unit with a range of programs, ranging from heuristic battle droid programs to specific patterns from individual warriors or other careers, any of which could teach the droid a range of maneuvers.^[60]

B1s were equipped with battle programs for combat. A B1 unit's battle programs could be revised to ensure the unit was functioning effectively in battle. While victory was seen as proof of well-functioning programming, a superior could claim a loss was simply because their droids' battle programming was failing and needed to be revised. Another piece of software contained within the B1 was a set of self-preservation protocols, although those programs could be deactivated.^{[27] [110]}

The need for, and later removal of, Central Control Computers

Directed from a central source

Inspired by the hierarchical structure of Neimoidian culture^[111] but implemented as a cost saving measure,^[6] early B1 battle droids could only operate through a connection^[37] to an electronically centralized^[112] and networked command center:^[88] a Droid Control Ship that housed a Central Control Computer.^[79] The command center^[2] could also be described as the units' central mainframe^[95] or command hub.^[113] Whilst later B1s^[37] had the option to either be programmed for independent action or controlled through a centralized source, such as a Droid Control Ship,^[2] the original generation of B1s lacked independent programming,^[19] independent action processors,^[14] costly processors, and other complex systems. Overall, they did not have ability to have independent thoughts nor perform independent actions.^[18] Thus, those early battle droids required a connection to^[37] a Central Control Computer kept within a Droid Control Ship^[6] in order to operate,^[37] effectively making them mindless yet deadly puppets.^[75]

While that single^[18] remote computer^[54] was powerful enough to control an entire army of B1s^[114] by wirelessly sending out orders,^[54] other special equipment and computers saw use to ensure the droids operated.^[115] When the control computer^[6] and other pieces of remote control equipment^[115] were located in a Droid Control Ship,^[6] the remote^[116] vessel used radio signals^[117] to transmit instructions, computer-automated commands, orders from leadership,^[6] and any other mission command,^[5] meaning an entire B1 army was dependent on a single starship.^[93] Furthermore, the control battleship^[6] would constantly track the position of every B1, while the comlink booster packs worn by B1 battle droids had signal receivers for command signals;^[37] the orders themselves were sent to the droids through a control signal computer located on the battleship's bridge.^[114]

Because an entire army would be directed from a control ship, it was easy for a single commander to give orders to a force of B1s^[93] or command their activation.^[15] Additionally, the pilot at the ship's navigation station was given manual controls,^[114] which displayed the state of their droids^[15] and were used send out a droid activation signal.^[114] While the droids could still display some signs of individuality, such as vocalizing compliance, fear, or anger,^[15] they had little to no independent functionality^[1] because the use of control computers made these^[6] first generation^[69] B1 models^[118] incapable of independent thinking.^[6] Instead, the droids were forced to obey the control ship's central command signal.^[92] Instead of a droid brain, the head of each B1 contained a receiver for the control ship's orders. The B1 also possessed small processors, which would collect limited sensory data and movement to transmit back to the Droid Control Ship.^[37]

Also located within the head of a B1 unit was the signal transmission lines, dephasing anticode sieve, signal receiver, override signal receptor, and signal confirmation module.^[37] The Central Control Computer was thus the only place standard B1s received their orders^[109] unless an officer directly spoke to them. Furthermore, every B1 droid, whether they were a standard unit or variant model,^[15] would obey a control ship's orders with ruthless efficiency.^[119] While the use of a Central Control Computer saved costs^[6] and helped enable mass production,^[54] the need for a central command signal proved to be shortsighted, as every droid^[92] would automatically deactivate and enter a stand by hibernation mode^[6] once the central computer^[54] and the control ship were destroyed^[6] or disabled.^[54] A disruption of the command signal could also bring about the same shut down result.^[116] As such, the reliance on a central computer was the ultimate weakness of the early B1-series.^[69] Without the constant command signal and its balancing carrier wave,^[119] the droids became immobilized,^[14] making them nothing more than helpless metal statues^[120] and useless "terminals" who were unable to work through self-control nor independent action.^[119]

Independent thinkers, to a certain degree

The danger using a central computer posed was discovered quickly.^[54] After the weakness was exposed when^[118] an entire B1 army was^[1] simply shut down^[121] during the Battle of Naboo^[1] in 32 BBY,^[122] the next generation of the B1-series was given much more independence^[1] in response to the design flaws revealed in that battle.^[123] By the time they were used by the Confederacy of Independent Systems,^[92] newer models of B1 were fitted with an individual independent intelligence center^[95]—a droid brain^[69] processor built into^[116] the head^[124] of each droid. These in-built droid brains^[116] let B1s operate without^[95] a signal from a control ship^[123] and central computer.^[54] Although the B1 was not programmed with an especially robust artificial intelligence^[125] and only given a simplistic droid brain,^[69] autonomous thinking had nevertheless been introduced to the B1-series.^[111] The update was made at the decree of Separatist leadership, who regarded the reliance on a networked command center to be a major vulnerability.^[88]

Nevertheless, the newer B1 models were not able to think for themselves particularly well.^[19] The newer B1 models were capable of prolonged^[88]—albeit limited^[116]—independent action,^[88] limited independent thought,^[37] and able to make their own independent tactical decisions.^[54] Much as their ability for "independent" thought and action was limited,^[116] however, those in-the-field decisions were made under limitations, such as being formulated with their limited intelligence^[126] and established under the constraints of their programming.^[73] The base programming^[124] of each unit was designed in such a way so as to ensure that,^[73] ultimately, the new generation of the robotic infantry was only slightly more independent than their remote controlled predecessors,^[116] thereby ensuring the droid units were still obedient soldiers^[73] by imposing limitations on their new senses of independent thought and action.^[116] Further, the droids were confused when faced with circumstances not detailed in their logic modules.^[19]

Nonetheless, entirely because they were not programmed by a central computer, one grouping of the newer B1s heralded themselves as "independent thinkers," overlooking how their programming still ensured they would have similar thoughts to each other and remain obedient.^[73] While some older B1s were still used, they were largely phased out.^[88] Indeed, another reason for the upgrade to droid brains in the first place was to augment the B1's combat abilities in preparation for battle against the Galactic Republic,^[79] resulting in most B1s deployed into the Clone Wars by the Separatist Alliance to be the newer model^[88] even though the installation of droid brains, in the end, did nothing to make individual B1s comparable fighters to organic personnel.^[116] Further, Central Control Computers still saw use due to the battle droids that still needed them^[6] and because a control ship could override the programming of the newer model,^[54] robbing the units of the ability to form independent thoughts. Despite the ability to be slaved to a computer, the droids were normally allowed to operate in accordance to their own, albeit limited, internal programming.^[69]

Able to make their own decisions^[14] to a certain degree,^[73] the new B1 models, instead of being updated through the central computer, could have their mission parameters directly programmed into them^[69] if they were not simply told what their commands were by a superior.^[23] It was even possible to combine both approaches, with pre-programmed objectives being implanted into the droids before a battle began, while further commands or, if needed, clarifications were directly told the B1s as the engagement carried on.^[27] Indeed, B1s with independent thought were not intelligent, meaning these B1s—even though they could make independent decisions—could do nothing more than basic actions due to^[69] their poor logic.^[122] Thus, even independent B1s—despite storing commands and tactical functions in their brain modules—needed central command to keep them updated and in check.^[69] Still, they could process and receive orders from their superiors—whether that officer was an organic, a cyborg, or a fellow droid—on their own^[14] and act with limited independence.^[116]

Droid brain glitches create personalities

Even though the B1 line was created and mass-produced with the intention of being a force of identical units,^[67] another fault in their design was that they often suffered programming glitches^[2] in their droid brains.^[69] While their limited degree of independent thinking^[37] was still held in check by their programming,^[73] these glitches would manifest as^[2] distracting,^[69] if curious,^[67] personality quirks^[2] and quirky personalities^[9] the droids were known to vocalize.^[32] Such quirks appeared when a B1's droid brain developed issues^[69] and when a B1's logic module was strained past its factory-set abilities. As such, the behavioral quirk often manifested when a B1 was given a new job, during which the droid would endlessly talk about what they were tasked with.^[19] However, such behavior also often appeared during standard deployments,^[21] including in the midst of combat^[128] or starship duty.^[21][127] Ultimately, B1s often made "banter" or other comments^[129] described by an annoyed BX-series droid commando as "chatter,"^[32] with some B1s even making their observations^[27][80] and comments about combat they were in the midst of.^[27][128] Personality quirk glitches^[2] often manifested in "veteran" B1s,^[69] yet they were also able to appear in newly produced droids.^[10]

The B1s' personalities were too slow to adapt to more intelligent foes.^[9] While enemies of^[130] the B1-series^[131] might regard them as uncaring machines^[130] who only brought destruction in their wake,^[101] their personality quirks^[9] had the chance to display another side to affected B1 battle droids.^[106] Their banter^[129] and "chatty" comments^[32] displayed that B1s could hold opinions,^[132] concerns,^[127] hopes,^[32][133] and just generally have thoughts on anything that came to mind.^{[32][132][73][134]} Ultimately, although limited in just how much of an individual they could become thanks to the limits instilled by their programming,^[73] B1s often^[67] demonstrated emotional traits^[73] grown out of their glitches enabling quirks^[2][67] and personalities to surface.^[9] B1s would exhibit those emotions to others through the tone of voice and body language.^[27][127]

Based on what they displayed and vocalized, B1s were able to develop fear, optimism,^[127] relief,^[31] confusion,^{[32][135][136]} politeness, annoyance,^[137] unease,^[45] anger, sadness,^[21] surprise, flirtatiousness, jealousy, hatred,^[27] concern, and joy.^[101] Beyond just having a set of self-preservation protocols,^[27] B1s, tying into their feelings of fear, could feel pain and often made sounds of discomfort, or even screamed, when hurt or destroyed.^[21][27] Accordingly, B1s could come to fear the outcome of a battle, pondering whether there was a chance they would survive as prisoners or simply be destroyed.^[27] Beyond signs of body language that signified fear or the B1 in question outright vocalizing it,^{[73][31][127]} Clone Commander Tacks joked that the robotic face of a battle droid, despite not changing to showcase emotion, could look as if it was scared.^[27] Beyond using body language to convey an emotion, B1 might also simply move about while speaking^[136] or use gestures to underscore their point,^[21] much like an organic would.^[137]

Overall, a B1's personality glitches^[2] meant the droid could develop their own form of limited individuality^[73] in the form of an unconventional personality.^[9] Even though B1s generally had the same thoughts as each other,^[73] it was not unheard of for different B1s to drastically vary in opinions from each other; while one B1 could be confident^[127] or even overconfident in their abilities,^[21] another could be pessimistic.^[127] Even if units were in the same force, individual droids could have very different reactions to what happened to them, each having the ability to display different reactions and differing levels of intelligence or situational awareness.^[21] Indeed, an individual B1 could display emotions from both ends of the spectrum; one B1 could display extreme loyalty and confidence at one moment, such as making exclamations of their patriotism and supposed expertise, only to display annoyance or fear at a later moment, and vice-versa.^[27][32] The droids also took to judging each other's combat ability^[21] and intelligence,^[101][132] with the term "buckethead" emerging as an insult used between B1s to signify stupidity.^[21]

While the B1-series was designed to lack a conscience, meaning true awareness and freewill eluded B1 units unless their programming was altered,^[124] the droids were able to develop friendships,^[27] hold friendly conversations with each other,^[132] and care about the wellbeing of their fellow droids.^[106] Indeed, some B1s grew upset at the destruction of their fellow units,^[27][106] while others showed little concern at the demise of their brethren.^[73] A B1 could showcase upset at the destruction of their fellow droids, only to then display no such emotion a few seconds later.^[106] Still, they could understand the meaning behind gestures like a hug or a pat on the shoulder.^[138] They also had the capability to understand the concept of a home, coming to consider certain locations to be their homes, the concept of hope,^[27] and the concept of a deity.^[133] In fact, some units even called out to one such being, terming it to be their god, when faced with destruction.^[35][50]

Impact of individualism

Disobeying orders

For all the talk of droids being unquestionably obedient soldiers,^[49][108] with the B1 indeed having been designed to be easily controlled and unquestioningly obedient,^[6] there were instances where B1s displayed they could have enough of a personality to question their orders^{[127][106][140]} and leaders,^[43][141] even being able to disobey commands, at least for a short time,^[21] despite their obedience programming.^[32][89] However, an officer could simply repeat the order to see if the droid would obey a second time around.^[106] Indeed, unlike organic soldiers who could call upon their freewill, battle droids were soldiers who ultimately obeyed all their orders^[49] despite those cases of resistance.^{[127][106][140]} Some B1s took to obeying orders they disagreed with out of fear, knowing their lack of compliance could result in them being scheduled to be scrapped for parts.^[139] Alternatively, another B1 might show no such qualms, instead simply snapping back to showing loyalty upon hearing the order repeated once^[106] or several more times.^[21]

In fact, there were units who, despite disagreeing with their orders, followed them anyway simply because it was the command they had been given;^[127] as one B1 explained, the B1-series tended to accept their orders for no greater reason than they were orders.^[105] Two different B1s within the same deployment could also exhibit different levels of independence; while one might have the ability to question their leaders, another could still be locked in their obedience programming and not engage with such questions when asked by their comrade.^[32] In cases where B1s quickly obeyed orders they questioned or were concerned over, they might complain or vocalize their fears while still carrying out the task.^[127] Another reason a droid could decide to work hard at their tasks was that the B1 in question simply did not want to be reprimanded later, while another could be genuinely upset at the prospect of losing his job via destruction if their side lost a battle.^[27] However, there were B1s who displayed the ability to outright dislike their jobs^[127][31] and officers,^[129] disagreeing with^[142] and criticizing their commanders when they felt necessary.^[129][137] Even so, B1s displayed a need for military regimentation, feeling that everyone they took orders from needed to be referred to by an appropriate title, even disobeying requests from such individuals to not be given callsigns.^[143] The B1s truly wanted to give their commanders appropriate callsigns if they lacked one.^[129]

Additionally, the droids would be caught by surprise if they suddenly lacked an officer, being unsure of what to do next unless one of their own possessed the individuality needed to take command.^[144] Still, B1 battle droids were also capable of underestimating and doubting their leaders, even while following orders issued by them.^[141] It was also possible for an officer to threaten the droids under their command by reminding them they may be fated to a scrap pile after a defeat as a way to push them to work harder out of fear.^[27] Indeed, the droids' ability to disobey orders or run from combat was often a result of wanting to avoid pain or destruction. While a number of B1s tended to follow those orders anyway, there were cases of droids who sought out safe locations instead of engaging an enemy.^[127] All the same, B1s found trying to escape from battle were considered to be malfunctioning and would be judged harshly by their fellow B1s.^[27] As a way to restore B1 units to their base programming,^[124] memory wipes were the proposed solution for any B1 that wanted to leave combat^[27] or attempted to highly resist their commanders.^[124] In the case of units trying to retreat, a commander could also order their B1s to deactivate their self-preservation protocols in an attempt to keep the droids in battle.^[27]

Never surrender programming and its limits

Whilst fighting an army of B1s and other battle droid units,^[137] Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi once reflected that the robots could not truly think like an organic, which led to battle droids continuing a fight without realizing they could be at a numerical disadvantage or the need to to surrender.^[145] Indeed, B1 battle droids were programmed to never surrender^[6] and not programmed for failure,^[27] enabling them to serve as fearless soldiers who could carry out orders^[70] without question.^[139] However, a unit's quirks^[2] could instead give a B1 a fearful and cowardly personality. The B1 could then focus on self-preservation, whether that be by trying to avoid^[127] or escape a fight,^[73] surrender,^[146][147] or lie to try to appear less important,^[127] all in the name of trying to avoid pain or destruction.^{[73][146][147][127]} Another B1, meanwhile, might simply give up when faced with great odds instead of fighting until the end.^[127]

All the same, another B1 could know they were outmatched yet continue on with their duty all the same, such as trying to subdue opponents they knew outmatched them^[106] or maintaining their post in the face of an overwhelming attack.^[127] Indeed, the similar thought patterns between B1s at least limited their individuality, as the units would often remain dedicated to their roles despite thinking themselves to be fully independent.^[73] In fact, R0-GR later reflected that never surrender programming forced himself and his fellow B1s to march into battle, with R0-GR even lacking "running way" as part of his original programming directives^[54] despite other B1s holding that ability.^{[127][148][149]} Before reprogramming, R0-GR's only programming directive was field combat.^[54] Another B1 showcased a willingness to refuse surrender and press on with a battle, but only for a short while longer. That B1 believed giving up a fight could be advisable in the long term, so long as they continued the engagement for slightly longer.^[27]

Impacts of fear, pleasure, and more

With B1s showcasing individual quirks,^[67] they did not function as an identical army at all times. Indeed, individualistic traits amongst groups could impact their battle performance, as there was no guarantee each B1 would want to fight; one B1 could instead wish to run away to avoid pain or destruction, while another could simply give up, even if a fellow B1 tried to convince them that they had a chance.^[127] Another B1, even if the droid was tasked with delaying an approaching threat, could demand they not be left behind to deal with that foe out of fear,^[148] while another might try in vain to continue with their duties despite their fear, befitting^[106] their never surrender programming.^[54] Similarly, other B1s would panic at the mere idea of powerful enemies appearing, even if they knew they had to respond.^[133] One quaking B1 went so far as to outright beg clone commando Wrecker to not hit their face.^[80] Another B1, however, might enjoy combat,^[87] long for battle as a source of excitement and fulfillment,^[133] and take joy in their battlefield accomplishments.^[27] All the same, such a B1 might find themself wishing for that action to come to an end if it proved too much for them.^[133] Another B1, meanwhile, might go from concern to confidence should the odds change in their favor.^[106]

When faced with an enemy incursion, efficient B1s would respond by quickly preparing to attack their enemy,^[137] ordering surrender,^[73] or instantly attacking.^[150] Still, a superior could always order the droids to back down if they wanted to deal with the interloper themself.^[137] Sometimes, however, there were B1s who reacted with confusion to an incursion by unauthorized individuals.^[73] Instead of immediately raising their blasters in defense, such confused B1s would ask the interloper how they had managed to get in^[151] or request to know why the individual was in a location they were not supposed to be. Such droids were left open to attack by not adapting to an enemy appearance in time. Other B1s instead reacted with fear at the sudden appearance of a threat,^[73] which also left the unit open to attack if he did respond with action in time.^[136] There were droids who reacted with a mix of any such emotions, growing afraid but nonetheless preparing to fight^[106] or even doing both instantly.^[133] Confused units often quickly found they needed to attack in order to survive the surprise enemy attack,^[136] if they had managed to survive the foes' sudden appearance in the first place.^[73]

A battle droid could also elect to act well mannered, with such droids apologizing for issues like overloading their weapon^[27] and using phrases like "excuse me" when walking past someone else, even being polite to their enemies.^[137] Other B1s elected to mock or insult their foes, even calling them "dogs,"^[23] "fools,"^[27] or "scum."^[138] Such B1s could believe they were superior to their enemies^[27] or other droids,^[152] including other B1 models.^[132] Nevertheless, B1s could also could be impressed by^[134] and compliment their opponents.^[27] The droids also displayed the ability to feel pleasure, seeking out therapies like having their head adjusted because of the relief it offered.^[132] Beyond displaying the ability to form friendships^[27] and hold casual conversation,^[132] B1s could also laugh,^[41] have fun,^[87] and use humor, such as sarcasm^[137] or jokes with a punchline.^[32] One unit was able to enjoy nature and was disappointed they had no one to share it with,^[133] while another B1 had a personal love for receiving gifts.^[104]

Securing full individuality

Despite the limitations input into their individuality as the standard,^[73] it was possible, through outside influence, to modify a B1-series battle droid and transform the unit into a fully fledged individual. During the Battle of Horain^[124] around 20 BBY,^[153] the central processor of B1 unit B1-0516—who would thereafter be dubbed "Bats" by Clone Captain Rex, much to Bats' joy—was struck by a stray blaster bolt, damaging and—as deduced by Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi—short-circuiting the processor. Suddenly impacted by that^[124] as a malfunction,^[153] Bats was initially confused by what was happening around him, not remembering why the other battle droids were attacking their Republic opponents, and quickly decided it was the behavior of bullies to try and overwhelm outnumbered enemies. Wanting to level the playing field and teach those he deemed mean a lesson, Bats agreed to join the Republic and helped save Kenobi and Rex from the surrounding Droid Army.^[124]

As Rex saw the unfolding scene, Bats had developed a conscience thanks to his malfunction. Further, Bats quickly developed a sarcastic and confident personality. The droid was further defined as a brave, if crazy, individual by Rex while his fellow battle droids regarded him as a walking malfunction. The commanding T-series tactical droid intended to return Bats to service theorizing that a complete memory wipe would return the B1 to his base programming. Bats, however, rejected that fate as an immoral action and attempted to fight off the enclosing battle droids. While the tactical droid was quick to then simply order Bats' head be removed from his body, he would ultimately be rescued by Kenobi and Rex, who regarded the droid as a brother-in-arms.^[124]

put mentions of base programming above as well

all for one and one^[154]

Dim-witted intelligence

While the exact level of battle prowess,^[87] situational awareness, and intelligence possessed by a B1 could vary between individual droids,^[134] B1 battle droids were generally goofy,^[83] single-minded,^[9] and dim-witted.^[2] In fact, several^[155] B1s, including an OOM command battle droid,^[156] once became convinced, on sight alone, that two children, Zohra and Dumuz, were dangerous rebels who needed to be executed.^[155] The 631 model of the B1-series was a notably dim-witted model, with its intelligence being even less than other B1 models.^[132] Ultimately, however, the B1-series was not designed to be smart;^[2] as opposed to using clever tactics,^[88] the model's purpose was to be deployed in large numbers as an overwhelming force^[44] and to provide abundant firepower^[88] with those numbers.^[95][67]

Tying into their low intelligence,^[157] B1 battle droids could be unaware of military goals^[27] and proper procedures, such as whether to take prisoners after battles,^[157] although B1s taking prisoners was admittedly an uncommon practice.^[50] One B1 might display confusion as to why groups who were already their enemies would shoot at them,^[35] question if it was a bad thing that an enemy was firing at their transports,^[27] or ask aloud why all their allies died while in battle with an enemy.^[32] While some B1s displayed an understanding of organic anger and thus tried to tread carefully in situations where they feared punishment,^[139][158] another might not understand why an organic could grow angry with and destroy their own robotic forces.^[23] In a similar case, one B1 under the command of General Grievous failed to understand the scope of a military defeat and instead tried to look on the bright side: when Grievous's planned invasion of the extragalactic planet Kamino was foiled via the destruction of an all-clear signal that would have kept his attack a surprise, one B1 attempted to look on the bright side by asking if they could at least take pride in the destruction fo the Rishi Moon outpost that had been transmitting the signal. In response, Grievous snapped at the droid and called them an idioit

One tactical droid found that the droids under its command could have difficulty keeping track of time tables and that the units could need time to "warm up" in order to be more effective.^[27] Depending on how intelligent the individual droid in question was, B1s also displayed a lack of understanding of certain topics or even individual words. One B1 in service of the Bedlam Raiders did not understand why they were called "raiders" until it was pointed out to them that they carried out raids.^[32]

Another B1 took the phrase _ _ _ _ as a compliment

Furthermore, even simple orders could be confusing for a B1; if several orders were given in quick succession, some B1s could get confused as to what they were supposed to do, not even factoring in the idea that they had been ordered to perform multiple tasks.^[138] Other B1s were able to understand multiple orders in such circumstances, however.^[127]

Build and physical design

A narrow, humanoid design

If a battle droid model possessed a humanoid design, they possessed a degree of versatility, and the B1 showcased that by operating different weapons, vehicles, and machinery. They had two legs, two arms, and three fingers^[6]—one of which was a thumb—on each hand. The droids also had two feet, which—if the droid was fast enough and in a situation that demanded such an action—could be magnetized to remain on a metal surface, such as deck plating.^[69] As droids, B1s did not need to drink, eat, or breathe, and units could operate underwater or in a vacuum,^[88] such as space. Thus, their magnetized feet were useful in vacuums, or on starships when the internal gravity was deactivated, as they enabled a B1 to stay in place and easily move despite the lack of gravity.^[127]

Standing tall with a thin^[67] and gaunt build,^[75] the spindly B1^[156] had a narrow design, which made the droid harder to target,^[74] and a rather simple anatomical framework.^[159] Components on B1s included their pistons, which functioned like muscles^[37] and included a piston for arm extension on their upper arms.^[70] Additionally, they possessed balance stabilizers, which battle droids could supposedly quake from fear in,^[124] and at least one motivator,^[31] which was a key component for droids^[160] due to its role in establishing who the unit was to obey.^[161] B1s had a cylindrical head with a long chin,^[74] making the B1^[15] look like it had a beaked head.^[60] Their long chin^[74] was also described as a long snout.^[67]

The unit's chin intersected with the droid's^[74] long neck.^[37] The droid's head^[27] and neck could move three hundred sixty degrees.^[23] Designed for easy maintenance,^[19] the B1's joints were knobby,^[60] exposed,^[6] and motorized, which created a buzzing sound when^[155] the B1^[156] moved.^[155] B1s were also equipped with metal finishes.^[75]

B1s^[156] had gears to move their internal mechanisms.^[155] The battle droids made clanking noises^[91] when they moved,^[23] with the marching of^[90] B1 units^[46] creating a clanking sound that moved with the rhythm^[90] of the droid formation.^[23] The B1 possessed high-torque motors—which were located between their chest and legs^[5]—and several servomotors,^[132] which were devices used for movement in droids.^[37] At least one servomotor was located in the unit's skull.^[60] Exposure to moisture could corrode a unit's servos.^[132] If a B1's circuits became loose, a unit's mental state would be affected, causing the B1 to say things that did not make sense.^[134] Twin railings, which the unit's comlink booster pack would fit over, could be found on the B1's back.^[127]

The internal wiring of B1 units were came in several colors; two wires that connected a unit's torso to the droid's neck were blue and light tan, while several wires that connected the droid's torso to its lower body were red, light tan, dark tan, and blue.^[146] The wires that connected a unit's lower body to its leg piece included several tan wires^[162] and a series of long, maroon wires,^[163] while the legs were connected to that piece with grey circuitry.^[15] At least three tan wires connected a unit's elbow to its forearm, while several blue and green wires were present in the unit's cranium.^[51] The button of the droid's neck piece contained at least three nodes which would help connect the neck into the unit's overall form,^[142] while the piece at that the intersection of the body and neck contained a hole for the neck to fit into.^[140]

Ability to fold up

For maximum efficiency,^[18] the body of the B1 battle droid was also designed so the unit could be able to fold into a^[37] compact form^[6] thanks to their folding joints.^[5][15] Furthermore, the B1's standard issue blaster rifle—the E-5 blaster rifle^[6]—could be stored on a unit's comlink booster pack,^[15] further enabling the droids to be carried in their folded positions.^[68] The stowed configuration^[6] saved space in troop transports, allowing for a number of units to be stored at once on racks. When the B1 units were activated from their folded form, it only took seconds for them to deploy.^[37] Upon activation, a force^[90] of B1s^[46] would unfurl in unison, making a clacking noise as they were turned on^[90] and jolted to life. In massive ranks of droids, some columns and lines would be activated slightly before their fellows, but all B1 units would be switched on in the same small interval of time to allow for a massive force that could then march outward.^[15]

Upon activation,^[15] their limbs deployed first,^[37] with their hands unlatching from around their legs,^[15] their arms bending out, and their legs^[18] then unfolding as well.^[15] Upon standing straight,^[18] the unit's neck was the last part to unfold,^[37] lifting the droid's head into an attack position to signify that the B1 was ready to fight.^[18] With that done, a droid also had the chance to twitch his head if necessary. With this heads elongated, the droids could reach to their back to claim their blaster rifle before marching forward.^[15] Compared to its folded composition, the B1's standing form was considered its combat configuration.^[164] B1 battle droids would also fold into this configuration when their power cells were low, as the unit needed to close down and recharge. Operating on low power impaired a B1's functionality, as the unit would be slower, less reliable, and have an impaired speech. A prolonged journey without stopping could drain a battle droid's power cells.^[35]

Vocabulator, comlink, and other design elements

Every component of the B1—including the unit's vocabulator and photoreceptors—was created in such a way that they could be produced as cheaply as possible, while also being functional,^[69] as the droid was designed to be a disposable and cheap soldier.^[19] While the B1's vocabulator possessed more complex systems than those vocalizers that could only speak in binary so as to allow^[165] the B1 the ability to speak in languages used by organic beings, such as Basic,^[15] the B1's vocabulator was still a simple device.^[5] The B1's long head^[74] held the unit's^[37] speech processor^[69] and vocabulator,^[5] with sound coming out of the speaker under the B1's head.^[60] By speaking, B1s were able to warn and update their allies about what occurred in battle, mention their own status amid damages or combat, such as noting if they had a sudden advantage, or inform their comrades of a new objective. As such, the droids also had a habit of articulating, sometimes by yelling out, their own recommendations and orders for what their fellow units should do during a battle.^[27]

B1 battle droids^[166] spoke with a distinctive voice.^[167] However, the voices of different B1s ranged between many different pitches, including high-pitched tones,^[23] a lower and more monotone voice,^[127] more mechanical complexions,^[15][90] or voices that were both mechanical and high-pitched.^[168][169] Attacks to the droid could result in their words coming out in a glitched, stuttering manner for a short period of time or the sounds around them, including their own voice, briefly seeming deeper,^[27] which was in line with the reaction an organic could experience under shock.^[170] To receive orders^[171] and send messages, B1 units had an^[31] integrated comlink^[88] located at their head.^[31] When faced with falling items, thrown objects, or sudden changes to visibility or illumination, B1s could react reasonably quickly.^[74] When faced with darkness, their photoreceptors could switch to an infrared mode,^[172] which also allowed them to easily find life-signs.^[155] It was also possible for a B1's photoreceptors to light up upon the unit's activation.^[60] B1 units had two photoreceptors, both of which were located on their head.^[69]

To visibly acknowledge an order, a B1 might also nod. If a unit suffered a setback like falling over, the droid could shake their head to help recover.^[135]

While a unit could lock onto a target through use of a scan dart, which further enabled the B1 to scan their enemies,^[27] a B1^[156] could also simply use an infrared mode to track the life-signs of organic foes.^[155] Further, B1s^[46] were equipped with scan boosters for use in trying to find hidden enemies.^[90]

As the B1 battle droid's vision was similar to that of a human being, the droids needed to use binocular models^[37] to see far way objects.^[15] B1s also had the ability to pick up electromagnetic fields, such as the fields generated from holoprojectors,^[136] and possessed scanners. Indeed, B1s possessed some ability to detect enemies and other threats, such as grenades, rapid-fire blasts, heavy vehicles, snipers, and heavy weaponry.^[27] However, it was still possible to sneak up on B1s,^[172] particularly if the attacking party used a distraction.^[101] If a B1 unit got lost, the droid could activate a homing protocol to reunite with other forces.^[173] Indeed, B1s sometimes displayed the ability to hone in on another unit's coordinates and use that information to warn them about nearby attacks.^[27] As they were unaffected by poisons and toxins by virtue of being droids,^[88] B1s could continue to operate if a form of biological warfare had been deployed.^[174] However, like all droids,^[175] B1s had no connection to the Force,^[67] as the energy field bond together the living beings of the universe,^[176] not mechanical beings.^[175] It was also believed B1s did not possess souls.^[2]

If the head and neck of a B1 were attached to the body of a 3PO-series protocol droid, then the battle droid would still be able to function,^[42] but the 3PO unit's body would make movement awkward.^[177] Similarly, the head of a 3PO unit^[42] or RA-7 protocol droid could operate a B1's body, and the limbs of such protocol droids—or the limbs of B2-series super battle droids or EV-series medical droids—could work on B1s. Additionally, the^[174] ten year old^[178] human mechanic Jaybo Hood, having used a macro protocol^[174] to memory wipe^[179] a large number of B1s simultaneously, managed to convert a B1 into a walking radio. The dial for his music was placed on the unit's chest, with the B1 shaking slightly when the music began. Hood also tied a working headlight around the backwards cranial unit of that B1 and several others.^[174]

The metal plating^[4] of the B1-series^[180] was cold to the touch.^[4] While an inexpensive yet durable metal protected the droid's signal-receiver assembly in the model's head,^[6] the B1 was only slightly armored.^[74] The model's armor was thin^[37] despite being strong around the B1's head in order to protect the fragile electronics contained inside.^[18]

One clone trooper attempted to punch a B1 battle droid in the face during the Battle of Christophsis, but the action heavily injured the trooper's hand and left them crying out in pain. Alternatively, during the Battle of Teth, two clones, Clone Captain Rex and another clone trooper, managed to hit two B1s in their faces without causing themselves agony; both soldiers punched the droids in their faces, doing so in such a way that left their necks, and by extension their heads, spinning 360 degrees, which distracted the droids and allowed the clones to grab their E-5 blaster rifles.^[23] During a prison revolt on the planet Krystar, one clone trooper attacked a B1 with an uppercut punch, landing under the B1's left elbow joint and their chin. The attack caused the droid's arm to break off the left joint, while the B1's head and neck shattered from the impact.^[142] During the Battle of Utapau, a B1 and a clone trooper engaged in hand-to-hand combat, in which the clone knocked down the B1 with two back-to-back punches to their chest: one punch landed around the B1's right shoulder, while the next landed towards the center of the droid's chest.^[137]

The most important aspects of the B1 were protected by their cheap yet functional plating.^[69] The back of the B1's head was also a fragile construction.^[89] The droid was not protected against a blaster that had enough force or lightsabers,^[74] with such weapons burning right through the armor.^[69] In particular, a lightsaber was able to cut through^[90] a B1^[46] so easily the sight resembled a normal knife going through something like Nerf butter,^[90] which meant a lightsaber-wielding opponent could quickly reduce^[155] a B1^[156] to multiple, smoldering pieces.^[155]

If their weapons did not strike through the droid's plating, opponents quickly realized they could target a B1's vulnerable joints.^[69] Through the Force, Jedi also had the ability to dodge or deflect blaster bolts;^[74] if they were not overwhelmed^[42] or distracted,^[27] a Jedi could thus easily deflect^[90] a B1's^[46] blasterfire like the incoming fire was nothing but rain being knocked off a speeder windshield.^[90] The Force could also be used to target^[155] a B1's^[156] gears, causing the droid to shake and making its internal gears audibly groan and shriek as they were crushed against each other until the droid's head buckled and exploded.^[155] Another weak point was the B1's capacitors, as hitting between these could take out the unit. Sometimes the damage a B1 took caused pieces of its body to break off.^[181] However, the droids did not require their limbs or bodies to report intel back to central command, meaning that the only decisive way to kill a battle droid was to aim for their head.^[44] If the head of a B1 was physically removed from its body, the droid's body could still function and move, although the unit would have lost their photoreceptors and therefore not be able to see.^[172] An opponent could also blast the intersection between a B1's head and neck, as this would vaporize the droid's processor and make the unit go limp.^[74] When in need of a retreat, the droids could be ordered to activate their evacuation protocols.^[27]

Additionally, the B1's neck joints were rather weak, meaning enemies like clone troopers, using only their bare hands, could rip the combat droid's head^[69] and neck^[142] off relatively easily.^[69] Furthermore, a strong swipe from a metal like duranium could totally sever a B1's head and neck from his body.^[140] Despite being equipped with memory banks to retain information,^[143] the droids did not always have perfect memory; B1s at least believed they were able to forget things, with units questioning their memory if they saw something that contrasted with whatever they believed to be the case.^[142] They were also equipped with a self-destruct mechanism and the ability to preform a diagnostic scan. At least the OOM command units possessed a patriot protocol the B1 droid could chose to activate when assuming authority over several nearby droids.^[27]

Tactics, battlefield roles, and countertactics

Tactics of the B1-series

Swarm tactics

While they were considered to be amazing mechanical creations^[118] and seen as one of the most dangerous droids in the galaxy,^[117] individual B1 battle droids were not powerful,^[91] nor were they the most effective of soldiers, especially when deployed against more capable enemies,^[2] making an individual B1^[106] largely ineffective in battle.^[98] Nevertheless, B1s were relentless,^[37] persistent,^[74] and meant to be deployed in massive numbers.^[95] Deploying a massive force of droids offset the model's weaknesses^[37] and individual fragility,^[182] could effectively overtake civilians,^[2] and allowed B1s to overwhelm^[98] and overpower the more skilled opponents^[157] they could not adapt to.^[9] The ability to fight in large numbers^[18] instead of relying on their^[5] limited individual ability^[118] was the sole purpose standard B1s were designed for,^[18] with such unsubtle tactics compensating for each unit's limited internal programming^[69] and meager^[60] personal capabilities.^[118]

Expendable soldiers^[89] that were considered the personification of the phrase "quantity over quality,"^[69] the cheap cost of the B1 battle droid made deploying swarms of droids a viable tactic for military use,^[92] enabling it to become their primary tactic. With B1s marching in ordered ranks and firing continuously while doing so,^[69] entire droid battalions could be sacrificed for victory without concern.^[92] In line with how every B1 was built to sacrifice itself,^[27] when one wave of B1s was taken down, another would take its place.^[50] As the B1 was designed to be disposable and cheap,^[19] the droid was often be classified as blaster fodder^[129] or cannon fodder.^[183]

The droid was considered an abysmal fighter^[19] due to its low battle prowess,^[129] bad aim,^[68] and other failings.^[37] However, a horde of B1s under the command of a competent officer could be a massive threat^[88] in no small part due to their sheer numbers.^[19] As such, a large number of B1s could become a strong army^[91] despite the weaknesses of each individual unit in that army;^[19] an opponent had to overcome their high amount of blaster fire,^[88] their numbers,^[69] and, if they were operating under a clear plan, the B1s' coordination. While their lack of clever tactics meant an officer would keep the droids in as tight of a rein as possible,^[88] advanced programming was not required for the B1's swarm tactics, so their limited intelligence^[2] and insipid tactical sense^[9] never needed to be fixed.^[2] Thus, although they were lacking in battle tactics, aim, and reaction time, the B1 had numbers, alongside resistance to the elements.^[20] A simple but effective tactic, overwhelming foes with massive armies of B1s was a plan that resulted in the successful conquest of many planets.^[19]

While B1s did not seem dangerous at first glance^[50] and were widely viewed as an inept fighting force by the time of the New Republic Era,^[60] the battle droids could be deadly,^[184] very efficient,^[9] and, due to their sheer numbers^[104] and uniformity, frightening;^[6] the lockstep march of a seemingly infinite number of droid columns became considered one of the most terrifying sights that an enemy combatant could ever see.^[88] Despite being able to run and jump,^[27] B1s were not particularly fast,^[67] although that did not hinder their ability to march.^[23] Early B1 models would mainly swarm and parade into a battlefield, did not possess combat proficiency, and would fail to use basic combat strategies like seeking cover,^[95] although some early units demonstrated that ability.^[15] The later "independent thinking" models of B1^[73] still had similar issues, being clumsy and remaining ineffective soldiers that needed to be used in overwhelming numbers. Thus, they were deployed as such,^[1] or else they could still be quickly defeated by superior enemies.^[73] Overall, the implementation of droid brains did augment the combat abilities of the B1-series,^[79] yet their fighting ability remained inferior to organic soldiers.^[116]

Blaster usage, hand-to-hand combat, and battle stances

During its creation, the B1 was specially adapted to use blaster rifles to fulfill its role as a weapons platform, but they were only equipped with a simplistic firing algorithm.^[68] Although B1s did display the ability to target and load specific threats,^[27] the battle droid suffered from a mostly poor aim,^[37] forcing their commanders to formulate their strategies with the unit's lack of accuracy in mind.^[50] All the same, a massive number of B1s provided a high amount of blaster fire that could overwhelm opponents.^[88]

Within movement sample memory modules, motion-capture data of movement cycles^[69] from highly trained,^[6] bipedal^[69] organic soldiers allowed for B1s to demonstrate a number of combat stances, positions, and maneuvers.^[6] However, that programming did not improve the B1's aim,^[37] which was hampered by their simple firing algorithm. Their bad aim was another reason why the B1-series needed to rely on numerical superiority.^[68] Furthermore, the motion capture-data, stored in the separate memory module to be drawn upon in cases where B1s needed to adapt to new battlefield conditions, could make the battle droids predictable to experienced foes.^[69]

he standard elimination protocol was a procedure^[155] B1s^[156] could be ordered to carry out when they needed to deal with enemies whom they were ordered to kill.^[155]

B1s could also engage in hand-to-hand combat, yet they could be easily taken out in such fighting by a more skilled combatant, forcing the droids to again fall back on their numbers.^[185]

Order of Battle

Even though a numerical advantage was not a guarantee for victory in battle, particularly when faced with more skilled enemies,^[186] the droid wave tactic saw use throughout the history of the B1 model. As such, the B1 battle droid served as the main soldier in the Trade Federation Droid Army and later in the Separatist Droid Army.^[95] During their days serving as disposable soldiers in the former,^[72] the Federation developed a standard invasion plan on how to use its military against planets it sought to conquer; at the first stage of an incursion, a fleet of Lucrehulk-class Battleships would surround a world, deploying Xi Charrian produced droid starfighters^[119]—such as the Vulture-class droid starfighters^[15]—to knock out orbital communication systems and defenses. Then, the Federation would deploy a force of C-9979 landing craft to the surface, which unleashed vehicles and droids to serve as the invasion's ground force. Ruthlessly following their commands, the battle droids would then attack, destroy, or capture any strategic defenses the Droid Control Ship directed them to.^[119]

Later, B1s saw heavy use on the front lines for the Separatist Alliance during the Clone Wars,^[149] by which point droids entirely dependent on a control center had largely been phased out on the order of Separatist leadership, which feared such a reliance was too much of a risk.^[88]

becoming, as Jedi General Anakin Skywalker put it, the "workhorses" of the Droid Army.^[74] The Order of Battle in the Separatist Army centered on the B1 and the vehicles used to deploy them,^[88] while the heavily armored B2-series super battle droids provided backup to the blaster-wielding footsoldiers.^[184] With the CIS often deploying droids in packs^[147] or phalanxes, B1s were typically fielded in columns that were four units wide, while the exact number of columns varied due to how many were needed; as long as a mission succeeded, Separatist leadership did not care about droid losses, allowing large phalanxes to march against entrenched foes and on battlefields. The Separatist Army also tended to field B1s on Single Trooper Aerial Platforms as cavalry.^[88]

Ranks and other roles

With units being equipped with personal credentials,^[27] B1 units could hold specific military ranks^[31] and commands^[147] by upgrading an individual B1's programming to give them more authority.^[64] Ranks that standard B1 units were able to hold included sergeant,^[31] lieutenant,^[128] and captain.^[187] OOM command units could be assigned ranks like commander, although one OOM command unit with that rank was subordinate to Mar Tuuk, an organic captain.^[144] OOM-series security droids were able to secure the rank of corporal.^[15] In the thick of combat, should a B1's commanding officer be taken out^[147] or vanish, such as if that officer fled the engagement,^[140] one of the subordinate B1s would assume command despite a lack of time to update their programming;^[147] should an OOM command unit be next in rank, they would assume command of the operation.^[140] Indeed, B1s of various models, including standard infantry units, exhibited—or at least expressed—the ability to form new squads of up to four units the midst of battle, with those four units able to range from four droids to a collection of allied personnel and vehicles, as well as the B1 who claimed to be forming the squad.^[27]

In cases where several OOM commanders were left, it would fall to the B1s themselves to figure out who was next in charge if it was unclear.^[144] After great losses, command could fall to the extent that one of the standard B1s, depending on where that specific unit fell in the rank hierarchy, would need to assume control of the operation.^[147] In the thick of battle, however, any B1, if they found themself to be on point, had the ability to rally their squad mates to a charge or to follow them, with any B1 also being able to yell for all their fellows to fire against enemy forces or a specific target. ^[27] In the Confederacy military, B1 battle droids also outranked astromech droids.^[39]

B1s could also serve as scouts, snipers,^[70] gunners,^[39] slicers,^[27] starship operators,^[150] personal guards,^[128] and escorts.^[100] The B1 model was also used in crowd control roles^[19] and as security on worlds^[188] or in military locations, such as warships^[126] and bases.^[101] Having a noticeable level of strength,^[67] B1s could also be used for menial labor, although preforming taxing work meant that the droids would need a break.^[150]

B1s could load escort programs for escort missions and activate hunter programs to help with attack runs.^[27]

Close vehicular combat protocol^[27]

The amount of time a B1 unit was deployed for was known as a shift, but a superior could easily prolong how long a B1's shift was.^[128]

Relationship with comrades and leadership

By virtue of being unskilled in the art of military tactics, B1 units, being unable to perform well when dealing with something not detailed in their programming, could also be placed under the command of intelligent tactical droids^[19] if organic officers were not available.^[88] Although tactical units could verbally give orders,^[106] they could also send out a command sequence to give a command remotely,^[105] and tactical units could send out a signal^[189] to remotely activate B1s that were powered down.^[105] B1s and other units in the Separatist Droid Army operated on an efficiently rating, which could drop to levels described by one T-series tactical droid as "ghastly" if a battle was turning into a major loss.^[27]

While it was a known fact that the B1 was not designed to be smart,^[44] nearly^[50] everyone who encountered B1s, even the B1 successor line of B2-series super battle droids, held a low tolerance for them.^[1] Many Separatist officers were angered by the limitations of the B1-series.^[103] General Grievous—the Supreme Martial Commander of the Separatist Droid Armies himself^[190]—outright decried the B1-series as being composed of stupid droids^[35] and idiots.^[157] Grievous went so far as to state it was the failings of the droids under his command that explained his losses against the Jedi Order.^[128]

Fighting against the B1-series

Those who faced against the B1-series had an easy time when fighting a single B1^[106] or a small number of them, particularly if they had the elemet of surprise,^[15] but the level of difficulty the B1s' opponent faced only rose with each droid that arrived into battle. In the end, the droids could quickly become an overpowering army should their numbers arrive in time.^[80] When heavily outnumbered by the robotic swarms, an opponent could try to use the droid's limited intellect to their advantage. While units could still fall back on their numbers, it could provide a distraction or opening in the battle.^[23]

When confronting a horde of B1 battle droids, opponents could try to gain victory by scattering their robotic enemies. To scatter B1s, a useful tactic was the Sword and Shield maneuver, in which a clone trooper would throw grenades into the droid ranks as Jedi blocked incoming fire. Once a multiple of B1s were taken out, and their ranks were successfully scattered, the opponents would form up and push forward.^[50] Alternatively, opponents could find cover and hold their position as a force of B1s attacked, but an alternative tactic, one that was unorthodox for most clone troopers, was to rush B1s head-on with the help of electromagnetic pulse weapons.^[191] Electromagnetic energy could shock the droids into deactivating^[192] and fall to the ground. Clone troopers used Electro Magnetic Pulse grenades, which were nicknamed "droid poppers", against B1s and other battle droids. With the targeted B1 stopped in their tracks, the clones, if they did not simply leave the droids down on the ground,^[132] could hurry to take out the rebooting combat units.^[19]

Although the B1s themselves were able to realize there were situations were a direct assault was impossible,^[27] the droids would become confused when confronted by situations not encoded into their logic modules, which clone troopers came to take advantage of; the droids' confusion distracted them and gave the clones an opening to shoot their robotic foes into scrap metal,^[19] which was something they were eager to do.^[23] By virtue of being droids, B1s could not be affected by mind tricks, but a Force-sensitive could force the unit's head instead to spin around to disorient the robot, whose voice would come out in a stuttering, glitched manner during the attack's duration.^[27] Although, unlike the majority of organic soldiers, the battle droid was able to serve in even the harshest of environments,^[20] it was a known fact that the B1 was a soldier that could easily be reduced to scrap by enemies.^[19] While the B1 was sturdier than the Hutt-produced S-43 enforcer droid, which possessed an un-reinforced chassis,^[88] the B1's relatively fragile build^[68] left the droid, as the B1 unit R0-GR reflected, surprisingly easily to break apart.^[54]

Even though they were supposedly ready for any conflict when armed with E-5 blaster rifles and comlink booster packs, R0-GR admitted his droid series could be easily struck down when things were actually thrown against them. Lacking in structural integrity,^[54] a simple Force push^[15] or fall down a flight of stairs could take out a B1, with the latter having the potential to force the unit to be scrapped.^[1] Even so, R0-GR believed his line's structural failings were supplanted by their reusability, as cleaning droid would find salvageable droids after a battle was over, ensuring B1s could be rebuilt to be redeployed into combat. R0-GR himself had been cut down to pieces many times, yet he was always rebuilt and redeployed.^[54] The battle droids rated the the threat level of their foes on a tiered system, which could rise to threat levels described by B1s as "supreme" and "maximum" if a given enemy was dangerous enough. Another term used to describe enemies that B1s would use in a panic was simply calling the foe a "big danger." Phrases like "big trouble" and "real trouble" also became common warnings in the B1 lexicon.^[27]

The Republic would also develop the electro-proton bomb, which could short-circuit an entire droid army.^[149] Gungan Grand Army had used of explosive plasma known as boomas^[37] against B1 battle droids.^[15] B1s were also less effective against unique tactics that they were never designed to deal with them.^[44] Indeed, the droids had a habit of showing great surprise and fear when an enemy they were not expecting joined a battle.^[27] As they were droids, B1s could be reprogrammed,^[47] and their opponents could perform a robolobotomy on a B1—provided a unit was not heavily damaged—to gain information from the droid. While one needed to pass through the B1's access codes, information from the droid's memory logs and guidance system were available.^[35] It was also possible to interrogate a B1.^[148] Jedi Knight Rissa Mano also once explained that, if a B1 was still functional, she could access the memory banks of a damaged unit. However, if a B1 unit was functional enough to be raided for information, there existed a chance it was also operational enough to transmit information to command.^[143]

History

Origins

A day to come

In the final decades of the Republic Era,^[14] the B1-series battle droid, which would one day become the single most numerous^[69] and often constructed droid in galactic history by an overwhelming majority, was first designed^[1] and produced for the Trade Federation, an interplanetary^[37] megacorporation^[194] with an infamous reputation.^[195] While the B1 was created in the late Republic period,^[14] it featured certain design elements^[15] seen in droids from the earlier High Republic Era.^[196] The B1's long neck^[15] was similar to that of a droid active under the Galactic Republic's Office of the Frontier, although that High Republic Era droid more closely resembled^[196] the B1's BX-series droid commando cousin.^[76] The B1's long head^[15] was also similar in design to a droid who joined^[197] the army^[198] of droid revolutionary Ajax Sigma, who led a hatred-fueled^[197] droid uprising that slaughtered the population of Kligson's Moon^[198] during the High Republic Era.^[199] Another droid in Sigma's army had a similar body design^[197] to the B1,^[15] whereas another had a similar forearm design^[197] to the later battle droid.^[15] In the end, Sigma's uprising was put down by the Jedi Order,^[199] leaving the remains of the two droids amongst others for centuries to come.^[197]

In 82 BBY,^[200] in the aftermath of the High Republic Era and as the final decades of the Republic Era began,^[153] the Jedi Padawan Dooku joined Jedi Master Lene Kostana and her Padawan, his friend Sifo-Dyas, on a mission to the forested world of Asusto in the Outer Rim Territories, where their search for dark side artifacts brought them face-to-face with the last coven of the dark side-attuned Presagers of Hakotei, who attempted to sacrifice the Jedi so as to be granted visions of the future; lost in those visions, Dooku was subjected to glimpses of every possible future, including a vision of^[193] the ultimately real^[153] Clone Wars between the Republic and Confederacy of Independent Systems. In Dooku's vision, a grouping of B1 battle droids—who all acknowledged a command with their "Roger, roger" response^[193]—engaged in battle^[201] with the Republic's One-Eighty-Fourth Attack Battalion,^[193] whose number included a clone commando,^[201] Clone Commander Crane, and Dooku's contemporary Jor Aerith, whom he saw as a Jedi General.^[193]

In the vision, the clone troopers engaged in battles against their enemies^[201] until the sudden execution of Order 66, which resulted in the troops turning on Aerith. The vision also served as an alternative future to one seen by Dooku in which the Jedi would overthrow the Republic as conquerors.^[193] Overcome by the visions as they overlapped in his mind, Dooku—who also saw glimpses of his ultimately real future as a Sith apprentice and return of the Sith Order—only broke out of their grasp when he unintentionally unleashed a deluge of Force lightning against the Presagers, freeing himself, Kostana, and the traumatized Sifo-Dyas,^[193] whose visions of a coming galactic war did not end^[202] on that day. Dooku was very shaken by what he had seen, but Kostana assured him that those sights were only possibilities of the future, not certainties.^[193] Ultimately, however, the B1-series, the Clone Wars, and the triumph of the Sith would come to pass, with Dooku playing a major role in those events^[137] after his departure from the Jedi Order in 42 BBY.^[153]

Road to the Droid Army

Centuries after the High Republic period,^[153] in what would be the final decades of the Republic^[14] as it decayed under increased corruption, its massive bureaucracy,^[15] and the self-interest of many of its representatives,^[203] the Sith Lord Darth Sidious plotted to overthrow the government and Jedi, hoping to fulfill the Sith Grand Plan and place the galaxy under his control. To fulfill his plans,^[137] Sidious established an alliance with the Trade Federation^[15] on the promise that he could provide the company with power and profit.^[115] Notoriously ran by members of the Neimoidian species,^[204] the Federation—despite already being the largest company in the galaxy thanks to the Neimoidians'^[195] natural^[90] skill in business^[205]—sought control over every one of the galaxy's trade routes, ports, and freighters^[206] not already in its possession.^[15] Greatly feared by Federation members^[115] who knew of his existence,^[15] Sidious acted as a mysterious backer^[69] and benefactor to the Federation.^[6] Sidious' plans, including his work with the Trade Federation, were also helped by Dooku,^[207] who had resigned from the Jedi Order despite arising to the position of Jedi Master in order to reclaim his family title of Count of Serenno.^[193] In the time since, he had started to give into the dark side of the Force at Sidious's urging^[88] in order to purge the corruption he hated from the galaxy.^[208]

For his plans, Sidious manipulated^[72] and maneuvered the Trade Federation to his liking.^[209] Eventually, Sidious ordered the Federation to create a powerful droid army.^[115] It would be the B1 that became the primary infantry force of^[95] the Trade Federation Droid Army.^[6] Beyond fulfilling Sidious's orders,^[115] however, the power-hungry^[37] and economically-minded^[210] Federation had seen the need to create a private military^[211] since at least the days of the High Republic.^[212] For a time, the Federation had hired mercenaries as protection,^[213] but the Neimoidians were a species who naturally treated every occasion with a risk assessment.^[90] The Neimoidians^[14] ultimately elected to pay for preassembled battle droids^[213] because the company's leadership did not trust forces they could not control.^[214] Furthermore, the Neimoidians—as a result of their^[121] instinctive risk assessment, which came across as cowardice to other peoples^[90]—wanted to stay out of dangerous situations themselves. In establishing a Droid Army, Federation-employed Neimoidians could keep themselves safe by sending out battle droids to fight on their behalf. Thus, Neimoidians could both avoid direct conflict and gain a guardian force^[121] they exerted direct control over.^[214]

Some of its convoys had also been attacked by pirates.[215]

Another reason^[213] the Neimoidians arranged for the creation of a droid army^[14] was that, over their mechanical lives, automated troops like the B1 battle droid were a much cheaper alternative to an organic fighting force, with the droids not needing food or living quarters beyond the little space they took up.^[213] As such, the Federation decided turning its manufacturing might towards a secret droid army would be beneficial.^[37] Ultimately, the purpose for the B1 in the eyes of the Federation was to increase profits.^[68] Still, for all the power a droid army could provide^[119] the greedy company,^[115] the Federation would never have made their droid army without the machinations of Sidious. He ensured the Federation would be able to take extraordinary measures, including actually making the^[119] B1 army.^[15] One of the reasons Nute Gunray,^[72] who rose to become the Viceroy of the Trade Federation thanks to Sidious's manipulations,^[92] was useful to Sidious was that he was willing to spend great amounts of money on ensuring the Federation had the disposable army.^[72]

Production on Geonosis

B1 battle droids would be manufactured by Baktoid Combat Automata^[6] for the Federation.^[68] Baktoid Combat's sister company, Baktoid Armor Workshop,^[216] also got involved in manufacturing the droid,^[5] as did the Techno Union,^[4] which owned both Baktoid companies.^[216] Baktoid Armor approached the Geonosians—a barbaric, yet naturally industrious^[111] and highly advanced,^[195] qausi-insectoid species native to the Outer Rim planet Geonosis^[37]—to build droid foundries, battle droids, and other machines for the Federation. The Geonosians were well paid for their work, and—while Archduke Poggle the Lesser later claimed they did not know they were working for a trade organization that would bring conflict to the Outer Rim^[111]—the Geonosians were the ones who designed the B1 for the Federation.^[37] Baktoid Combat Automata also had a hand in designing the B1.^[1]

The Geonosians made the droid model in their own image^[37] after the Federation requested the robotic soldiers have humanoid physiques. The Federation commissioned the B1 with such a build^[6] as a cost saving measure^[69] because it allowed the units to operate pre-existing equipment designed for organics. By using existing technology, the Federation could avoid costs associated with rectification and certain production elements. Due to the massive cost that each B1 receiving a droid brain would have been^[6] and as an outgrowth of Neimoidian society's hierarchical structure,^[111] the budget-minded Federation chose to use Central Control Computers to operate numerous droids simultaneously.^[6] On the instructions of Sidious, the Federation commissioned the B1,^[69] becoming the first clients of the Geonosians who purchased B1s from them.^[19] As such, the B1-series was first produced^[93] beyond the Republic's borders^[217] on Geonosis.^[93]

A contract to produce B1s was granted to Baktoid Combat Automata, which did so in the foundries-turned-factories^[6] built by Baktoid Armor on Geonosis.^[111] With his Geonosian workers maintaining the automated factories,^[118] Poggle, who was also backed by Sidious^[6] and had achieved his lofty position in part thanks to the Sith Lord's manipulations,^[218] had millions of B1 battle droids manufactured for the Federation,^[6] as the Geonosian hives, unconcerned with Republic regulations but skilled in droid production, constructed armies' worth of battle droids for the corporation.^[98] Poggle served as the controller of his planet's massive battle droid foundries,^[218] overseeing the droid production for the Techno Union.^[219] In addition to Baktoid Armor,^[5] Baktoid Combat,^[6] and the Techno Union,^[4] Geonosis Industries was also responsible for battle droid construction,^[7] with the B1-series battle droid becoming one of Geonosis's most successful exports.^[220] Over the course of the model's existence, other worlds became home to B1-producing droid factories.^[8] The Federation itself would also construct B1s^[3][46] within its own factories.^[90]

Needing an effective blaster rifle to ensure the B1-series was successful, Baktoid Armor developed the E-5 blaster rifle by adapting the technology of a popular E-series blaster for droid use,^[68] creating what became the standard-issue blaster for B1 units.^[6] Baktoid Armor needed to limit production costs on the E-5 due to the B1 being made for economic reasons.^[68]

One of the droids produced on Geonosis—a B1 with the identification code R0-GR who was later nicknamed "Roger"—later claimed that the Federation had wanted to secretly overthrow the Republic, claiming that was why they created a robotic army of their own design instead of recruiting organic troops.^[54] Although the droids were indeed designed to be used against Republic civilians,^[2] the Federation's dreams of galactic control^[221] were focused upon controlling economic matters.^[206] Full control^[137] over the galaxy was actually Sidious's ultimate goal, but he needed to hide his Sith identity behind his pawns, which included the Federation and its B1 army.^[115] Unaware of the extent of the Sith Grand Plan,^[15] the Federation simply saw its army as a way to increase its income.^[119]

A complete military solution

Despite the galaxy ostensibly being in an era of peace,^[222] the Federation was allowed to maintain its automated army. Because its true power was hidden from most in the Galactic Senate, with others paid to ignore the true scope of the army, the droids were believed to only be a private defense force that would keep Federation forces safe from pirates^[223] and protect valuable shipments.^[222] The droid force was effectively a a cynical manipulation of Supreme Chancellor Finis Valorum's legislative response to the pirate attacks Federation convoys had endured.^[215] After the creation of its military, the Federation became more than willing to use its droids to kill those who opposed it, even sentient beings.^[130]

Serving as the main infantry^[95] and most common soldier^[20] in a mechanical militia^[14] that was effectively a military,^[213] the B1 represented the complete military solution that the Neimoidians desired, being a droid that operated under a centralized command center and that could defend against small threats without complex battle plans.^[112] Additionally, the robotic soldiers presented a solution to labor disputes, which were something the Federation's corporate partners resented even more than pirate raids. Even if they needed to endure unfair working conditions, the Droid Army would never rise up or organize against their management.^[213] Despite Sidious's need to remain secretive, his Neimoidian contacts, such as Gunray, were willing to talk about or to him, via hologram, in the same room as their B1s.^[15]

During its early days, the B1 was mainly used in security roles like protecting transports^[83] and valuable cargo,^[118] but the development of the B1 symbolized a change for the Trade Federation; it was no longer merely a corporation, as it had also become an armed militant force.^[112] Although Federation leadership was reluctant to actually deploy the army,^[15] the corporation developed standard invasion plan for their starfleet and Droid Army.^[119] While the Lucrehulk-class Battleship^[224]—an illegally^[6] modified form of the Lucrehulk-class LH-3210 cargo freighter that transformed the cargo^[75] and merchant vessel into a battleship and blockade vessel^[210]—had already seen use in the High Republic Era,^[224] the droid-centric Federation^[210] made the transformation of freighters into warships a top priority during its military build up.^[75] As such, Lucrehulks were transformed into battle droid carriers that could hold massive armies.^[121] In order to actually direct the Federation's robotic ground forces,^[210] some Lucrehulks were further modified into vital Droid Control Ships^[75] that contained Central Control Computers and, thus, managed entire armies.^[121] To prepare for the Invasion of Naboo, the Federation modified up to a third of its LH-3210s into battleships, all while maintaining their cover as standard shipping vessels.^[225]

The Federation created multiple battalions of B1s, enlisting them to settle disputes^[118] and storing them on Lucrehulk-class Battleships,^[15] which in turn would see use in blockades.^[210] Thus, the battle droids were used to back the Federation's economic might and give the Federation the opportunity to influence local politics.^[88] Furthermore, the B1 army enabled the company to easily target planets that lacked their own military force and other peaceful civilizations.^[75] Ultimately, the Federation's droid army made it so there was little to stand between it and galactic supremacy,^[37] with the powerful company^[226] building many millions of B1s over the model's history.^[184]

Various deployments

Overview and pre-Naboo sightings

Factions other than the Trade Federation would use the B1 battle droid over the model's history.

For example, due to the B1 production that occurred under its watch, the Techno Union was able to use the droid soldier as part of its mechanized army.^[4] Furthermore, the planetary headquarters of the Trade Federation,^[90] the Neimoidian purse world of Cato Neimoidia in the Colonies region,^[227] was home to a planetary government that worked closely with the Federation and made use of^[90] B1 battle droids.^[46] Third party groups also came to secure B1 units to use as enforcers, yet their droid forces were far smaller than those used by official organizations.^[23]

Although it was believed the number was certainly in the billions, the exact number of B1 battle droids built over the course of the model's history was not known,^[1] and those many B1s served in a variety of locations over the model's history.^[23]

Prior to the Invasion of Naboo, Maul trained with a grouping of droids who resembled the B1 and the eventual B2

Undated events

At some point in the history of the B1 line, an OOM-series security droid was struck by friendly fire during an engagement. At least two other B1s were involved in the conflict.^[228] At another point, B1s were involved in an engagement on rocky terrain, with one squad marching beside a Multi-Troop Transport that was deploying more B1s.^[229]

Two B1s once patrolled a forested environment on Single Trooper Aerial Platforms.^[230] During a battle in a damaged city, as at least one vulture droid starfighter flew overhead, one B1 was heavily damaged while a Zabrak, holding up a still-smoking blaster rifle, overlooked the unit's demise. Another B1 had been shot in the chest, resulting in the unit lying inactive at the Zabrak's feet.^[183] At another point, an OOM command unit directed his group of B1s against the threat they were firing upon.^[231] At another point during the model's history, two B1s—one of whom of designated 2341—with E-5s were deployed into a desert environment.^[38]

At another point, several B1 units were involved in a confrontation, though a smoke bomb went off that the droids needed to move through.^[232] In a desert location at one point, a PK-series worker droid, standing amid wreckage that included B1 remains, located the head of a destroyed B1 to work on.^[233][234] At least three B1 units, including an OOM command battle droid, were once in a hangar on Geonosis with Rune Haako,^[235] a Neimoidian who—in his capacity as a lieutenant to Gunray under the title Settlement Officer^[236] and someone involved in their ties to Sidious—served as a major Federation leader.^[15]

The Invasion of Naboo

Road to Naboo

Even though it had resorted to violence before making its droid legions^[109] and kept large numbers of B1s aboard its capital ships,^[69] the Trade Federation was mainly using its droids in training maneuvers^[72] and for security.^[83] Instead of using force, the company tried to use its influence in the Galactic Senate to push through legislation concerning the taxation of trade routes.^[72] Nevertheless, the B1 model underwent battle testing in small engagements against bandits and in war drills, proving the droids to be very effective. Furthermore, their failure rates were considered acceptable; there were enough droids available to make up for those losses. Following those test actions,^[109] the Droid Army would see its first^[37] true,^[source?] large scale, deployment^[109] in 32 BBY^[122] during the Federation's invasion of^[37] the peaceful^[88] Mid Rim planet Naboo.^[72]

On the surface,^[15] the Naboo Crisis, as it would come to be known,^[52] appeared to be a result of the galaxy's ongoing debates^[15] and disputes^[72] about trade routes.^[15] Indeed, the Federation had been angered^[88] and radicalized^[153] by the Senate's passage of Prop 31-814D^[210] around 33 BBY^[237] as the bill made the Free Trade Zones eligible for taxation^[217] and, therefore, would force the Federation to relinquish some of its profits.^[88] In response, the Federation began to threaten the use of blockades as a protest.^[238] The Federation would also put forth its own taxation bill in the Senate.^[72] Unknown to most, however, the events at play were being puppeteered by Sidious, who—thanks to his public identity as Sheev Palpatine, the Republic senator for Naboo—intended to use the crisis to become Supreme Chancellor.^[15] Before the invasion,^[72] Sidious had worked to maneuver the Republic, Jedi Order, Federation, and other parties into place for his Grand Plan to begin in earnest.^[209] Some of his manipulations ensured the pro-Federation bill repeatedly failed in the Senate.^[72]

Amid the Senate's debates over the pro-Federation bill^[72] in 32 BBY,^[239] the Federation sent a very large droid construction order to Geonosis. Upon registering the order, the factory's central computer began the production process, starting a production line. Out of the molten metal and furnaces of the planet^[72] came an army of^[15] Geonosian-produced B1 battle droids^[131] made under the authority of Archduke Poggle.^[240] The droid invasion force would soon see use in the Naboo Crisis but, for the time being, remained hidden in the wilds of Geonosis.^[72] Further, the Federation hid the extent of the army it planned to use for the Naboo invasion by claiming it was a force assembled for defensive purposes.^[109] With the Geonosians having fully devoted themselves to the job despite their natural disdain for outsiders,^[111] Sidious would be pleasantly surprised by how much ingenuity the Geonosian engineers had showcased when they designed the invasion army; they ensured, just as if it was an army of organics, there were droids for every task and rank. Ultimately, Sidious was certain the battle droids would be able to totally conquer Naboo, possibly without damaging the planet much at first.^[72]

The Federation thus had a huge invasion force at its disposal^[241] even though Naboo was a virtually defenseless planet.^[114] Targeting the planet had come at the suggestion of Sidious,^[92] who planned to secure a sympathy vote in a chancellery election by exploiting the suffering of his own people.^[15] All the same, Naboo had also been at the center of Mid Rim trade disputes^[72] and was in its own quarrel with the Federation over plasma mining.^[88] Some months before the Naboo Crisis,^[237][242] talks between the Federation and Naboo had broken down.^[243]

Blockading a Mid Rim world

Lying in wait

A surprised Sidious was forced to move up his plans when the newly-elected Monarch of Naboo, Queen Padmé Amidala, started the process of uniting the Chommell sector through a summit on Naboo. As the isolationist policies of Naboo's prior monarch, Queen Sanandrassa, had left Naboo low on resources, Amidala's summit threatened to provide the Naboo with the means to withstand the coming blockade and occupation, instead of it leaving the under-resources population to starve. Deciding he needed to order the Federation to ready and deploy its Droid Army ahead of schedule,^[72] Sidious ordered Gunray to launch the blockade of Naboo. The Federation dispatched a fleet of armed Lucrehulk-class battleships to Naboo and began its blockade^[15] right as Amidala's summit ended. Filling up each of the several dozen battleships in orbit,^[72] hordes of B1 battle droids were kept aboard the orbiting warships in preparation for the ground invasion.^[15] At the center of the Federation blockade was the Vuutun Palaa,^[245] a Droid Control Ship that could remotely command^[131] and direct the Droid Army.^[98]

Despite everything, the Federation was not interested in causing a war.^[88] Beyond hoping their actions could help their legislation in the Senate^[72] and protest Prop 31-814D, the Federation's leadership sought to see if the Republic would respond, effectively seeing their sudden action as more of a test than an act of hostility.^[88] Indeed, even though the blockade was equipped with the C-9969 landing craft needed to take the B1 army to the planet's surface, Gunray did not want to deploy the droid force to the ground. Fearful of how the Galactic Senate would respond to such an action, he was concerned about the legality of an invasion despite knowing it was part of Sidious's plan.^[15] Hoping to ensure his homeworld could be remembered forever and using Naboo to further his plans,^[72] Sidious, meanwhile, fully intended for the Naboo Crisis to lead the galaxy to war,^[89] with the battle droids serving a major role in his plan.^[72]

Amidala rejected Gunray's demand for her to sign a treaty that would effectively sign over Naboo to the Federation^[72] and legitimize a battle droid occupation.^[15] To force her hand, the blockade remained in place^[72] for the next seven days,^[185] starving the Naboo below.^[246] All the while, the Droid Army remained stowed in the orbiting fleet.^[72] In addition to the Vuutun Palaa,^[245] which remained ready to command the B1 army for whenever the company's act of aggression began,^[114] another ship in the blockade was the flagship Saak'ak.^[206] OOM pilot battle droids and Neimoidian operators were stationed on the flagship's bridge, while OOM-series security droids patrolled its interior as protection.^[15] On the first day of the blockade, Sidious took a moment to overlook a hologram of the blockaded world, reflecting upon the countless droids waiting within the fleet and how they could crush the planet below them if needed.^[72]

Jedi entanglements

A week into the blockade,^[185] Chancellor Valorum sent two Jedi ambassadors—Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi—to negotiate an end to the blockage, albeit without telling the Federation he had chosen Jedi for the job. After their Consular-class space cruiser, the Radiant VII, arrived in a hangar bay on Saak'ak filled with vulture droid starfighters and battle droids, including OOM security droids 2296 and 2391, several of whom began to approach the Republic cruiser as it landed. Escorted out of the droid-filled room, Kenobi and Jinn were brought to a conference room by protocol droid TC-14, who then informed Gunray and Captain Daultay Dofine of their identity as Jedi.^[15]

Terrified at the sudden development, Gunray, Dofine, and Haako contacted Sidious via hologam as two OOM pilots to their right began a discussion of their own. The Dark Lord of the Sith ordered Gunray to accelerate their plans by landing the Droid Army, answering the Neimoidian's concerns about the legality of the B1-invasion by proclaiming he would make the incursion legal. He also ordered the viceroy to kill the pair of Jedi. Thus, as the battle droids stationed in the hangar moved away from the ship, a laser turret destroyed the Radiant VII before dioxis gas was flooded into the Jedi's conference room. A squad of OOM battle droids under OOM command battle droid^[15] OWO-1^[247] were then sent to the room. After OOM command battle droid ordered a security droid corporal to investigate the room under their cover, the Federation lost its transmission with the squad, and the droids were quickly cut down by Jinn and Kenobi.^[15]

At one point during their escape, the Jedi encountered a standard B1 battle droid, which was subsequently cut in half by Kenobi.^[162] As the Jedi made their way to the Viceroy, Gunray ordered^[15] pilot^[114] Tey How to seal off the bridge. The Jedi then arrived and took out the security droids guarding the command deck. To stop Jinn cutting through, the blast doors to the bridge were closed, but Kenobi took out another security droid, and Jinn continued to cut through. Fortunately for the Federation, two droidekas arrived and forced the Jedi to flee up a ventilation shaft. Jinn and Kenobi made their way to a hangar, only to see a droid invasion force about to be sent to Naboo.^[15]

Although the hangars would normally be piled high with cargo, they had been cleared for the transport and mobilization of the battle droids, and cargo containers had been pushed aside to make room for the droid force.^[114] Several other battle droids were also stationed in the hangar, including several security droids standing near the army. Despite Haako counseling against sending the invasion force, Gunray, believing it was too late to stop, moved forward with the plan. Unknown to them or the B1s, Jinn, who thought the Federation sending an army was an odd move, and Kenobi^[15]—having both realized they were outnumbered aboard the Saak'ak^[162]—secretly stowed away on a different landing craft each to get to the surface, seeking to warn the Naboo and contact Valorum.^[15]

Taking the planet

Landing on Naboo

Despite the considerable efforts that had been undertaken by Amidala,^[248] the Federation launched a full-scale invasion^[15] and assault on Naboo^[249] with its massive military force^[241] after jamming Naboo's communications.^[37] Under the escort of vulture droids, C-9979 landing craft were deployed from the blockade^[15] to carry thousands of battle droids down to Naboo.^[6] Landing the Droid Army in the forest of the Lianorm Swamp,^[15] the Federation had sent its droid troops to the surface to create a governmental crisis;^[250] under the escort of B1-piloted Single Trooper Aerial Platforms and B1s exiting the landing ships on their own, Multi-Troop Transports, Platoon Attack Craft, and Armored Assault Tank Mk Is disembarked into the forest and began to move out. As STAPs and those heavy vehicles began to move away from the landing zone, Gunray and Haako contacted Commander^[15] OOM-9—a B1 that was specially programmed to be a command unit and serve as their primary contact^[6]—via hologram to warn him that the Jedi may have fled on one of the landers. OOM-9 promised that, if the Jedi were on the ground, the army would find them, although Gunray warned him to not underestimate their Force-sensitive foes.^[15]

While Gunray oversaw the invasion in his capacity as Viceroy,^[249] OOM-9 carried out command on the developing frontlines themselves.^[6] With his legions^[251] of B1s and other forces landed^[15] before Amidala's court could think of a response to the possibility of a Federation invasion,^[72] OOM-9 ordered his droid forces to occupy settlements and take out communication transmitters, stopping the Naboo people from reporting the Federation's actions or calling for help.^[6] Thus, the first deployment of the B1 battle droid was against the peaceful population of Naboo,^[70] so their planetwide invasion^[130] faced little resistance.^[252] The Federation deployed B1s as shock troops^[131] and sent armies of the droids to capture Naboo's cities,^[2] ultimately overwhelming Naboo's attempts at resisting,^[131] forcing the outnumbered Naboo to surrender, and taking the population to internment camps,^[2] where they would starve as a plot to try to force Amidala to agree to Gunray's treaty.^[130]

Even though Amidala had ordered the Royal Naboo Security Forces be at the ready,^[72] Naboo officials had never considered that their world would actually be attacked, which enabled the secret invasion of Naboo to be very successful.^[226] Furthermore, the Head of Security, Captain Quarsh Panaka,^[70] had predicted their^[15] small planetary defense^[72] made up of security volunteers would be unable to defeat a battle-hardened Federation army.^[15] Indeed, Naboo Royal Forces had failed to stop the impressive droid army from landing despite up-to-date radar equipment quickly reporting the invasion;^[226] while the Federation had mobilized a massive army of B1s and armored support,^[15] the Naboo were a largely peaceful people^[72] who did not even rigorously defend the Royal Palace Amidala resided in. As such, victory came easy for the Federation's mechanized forces.^[130] Furthermore, the size of the invasion force and the speed at which it advanced onto the cities shocked the radar operators of the Naboo Royal Space Fighter Corps.^[114]

Fortunately for the Naboo, both of the Jedi made it to the surface, although Jinn was forced to escape Multi-Troop Transports, ultimately saving Gungan exile Jar Jar Binks, and Kenobi was chased through the Lianorm Swamp by two B1s on STAPs. When the Jedi reached each other, Jinn was able to destroy both droids by deflecting their blaster bolts back at them. With more Federation forces closing in, this trio made their way to Bink's former home, the Gungan^[15] capital^[88] of Otoh Gunga. Once there, Jinn told Boss Rugor Nass that they needed to warn the Naboo about the approaching battle droids, and Kenobi^[15]—understanding the Federation's aggression would not be limited to the Naboo^[249]—tried to warn Nass that the droids would eventually attack the Gungans, pointing out that they and the Naboo formed a symbiotic circle. However, Nass refused both points, so the Jedi left aboard a Gungan bongo submarine, taking Binks along as a navigator. However, while the three made their way to the Naboo capital of Theed, the Federation Droid Army was traveling to the same location.^[15]

Conquest of Theed

Supported by armored vehicles, vulture droids, and STAPs, the B1 battle droids marched into Theed^[15] with the intent of capturing^[119] and occupying the city.^[249] First targeting^[72] the strategic Theed Hangar^[226] and its pilots, thus cutting the pilots off from contact and ensuring the Naboo had no time to moblize the Fighter Corps,^[72] the Droid Army conquered Theed in mere minutes^[226] with little resistance.^[253] The B1s tasked with occupying the hangar^[15] also captured the Queen's starship team when they reached the Naboo Royal Starship, leaving Amidala,^[130] who already found the idea of leaving her people to the occupation difficult,^[15] unable to escape.^[130] The Royal Palace Guard, a force that was largely seen around and in the grounds of Theed Royal Palace,^[37] saw its first taste of true battle, but the sheer number of battle droids ensured Naboo's defeat.^[70] Running from the approaching battle droids in terror,^[15] the city's population tried to escape, it was too late for them to flee;^[253] the B1 army captured the city's population,^[15] taking them to makeshift yet dirty internment camps set up on the plains outside Theed.^[114]

With the few Naboo starships that managed to launch quickly being shot down as the city fell to the droid army, Amidala, looking out a palace window, took a moment to gaze upon her city^[72] as B1 battle droids and AATs approached the palace;^[15] she took the moment, even as the^[72] B1 battle droid army^[15] marred the landscape, to ensure she remembered the architecture and make possibly futile-promises to her people.^[72] As was audible from inside despite Federation ships landing nearby, the Droid Army marched over the stone^[130] streets that led to the palace^[15] to storm the building^[37] and capture Amidala. Meeting only minor resistance,^[130] the droid incursion was the first attack on a Naboo monarch in decades.^[72] As heard by the Naboo Royal Handmaiden Sabé, the invading droids advanced up building's wide marble stairs,^[130] unaware that Amidala had switched places with Sabé to remain hidden, and began to occupy the building.^[15]

Having switched places as the battle droids advanced and debated where it was best to be found by the droids,^[130] Sabé led Amidala, the other handmaidens, and a team of guards to the palace's terrace,^[72] which was soon breached when^[130] B1 units^[131] pushed open its door, coming face–to–face with the disguised Sabé and the others. However, the decoy act was successful, with Amidala finding they had no difficulty fooling the battle droids who confronted them over the course of the Naboo Crisis.^[130] Having waited for their droids to capture the Royal Palace,^[184] Gunray and Haako arrived to the city aboard a Sheathipede-class transport shuttle as B1s stood nearby, OOM-9 informed his viceroy of the supposed Queen's arrest. Once the viceroy was at the palace, the royal entourage was led down the stairs by security battle droids as three other B1 units stood guard.^[15]

Occupation of Theed begins

During their walk, Gunray urged "Amidala" to sign the treaty so the Senate could not end the droid occupation, and OOM-9 ordered that the entourage be taken to Camp Four,^[15] a prison camp made up of tents, currently under construction in Theed's largest market square, reserved for palace and security personnel. Meanwhile, Jinn, Kenobi, and Binks safetly entered the city, carefully avoiding the battle droid patrols despite Binks's clumsiness.^[72] As B1s escorted the captive population throughout Theed, the security battle droids escorted the captive monarch and her company past the others, eventually coming to an empty street^[15] with a small walkway overhead, which the Jedi and Binks were inside. With Jinn spotting the Queen's retinue and their droid escort, the three carefully looked down—with Binks thinking the droid/human group below was a strange procession—before the Jedi jumped down to attack. Binks followed them down,^[72] and the two Jedi made short work of the security droids. After Panaka and the guards took the droids' blasters, the group moved to Theed Hangar to find a transport off planet to^[15] the Republic capital planet^[254] of Coruscant.^[15]

However, the Jedi and Naboo found the hangar and its pilots under watch by a number of B1s;^[15] the droids had captured Amidala's starship team after they had arrived in the hangar.^[130] With Jinn having assured Panaka that they would make short work of the droids^[15] and Sabé, as Queen, declaring they would follow the Jedi,^[72] Kenobi moved to free the pilots while Jinn and the others approached^[15] the rather confused^[255] command droid 2163, who was backed up by several standard B1s, including units 7169 and 1933. After Jinn stated he would be taking those he had gathered to Coruscant, 2163's^[15] confusion increased, so he sought confirmation from^[255] the Vuutun Palaa^[245] in orbit.^[255]

After the Jedi Master affirmed where they were going, the confused commander stated their destination did not compute,^[15] but the control ship's order^[255] to arrest the Jedi and his allies^[15] came in too late,^[255] as Jinn quickly destroyed him and 1933 with one lightsaber strike. Jinn, Kenobi,^[15] and the Naboo security team then made short work of the other battle droids at close range.^[255] All B1s stationed in the hangar were taken out, with only the severed legs of one unit—walking around without sight—left standing. The battle against the hangar's droids allowed for the captured pilots to escape, with some rushing aboard the Naboo Royal Starship. Piloted by Bravo Leader Ric Olié and several others, the Royal Starship flew out of Theed Hangar and into space. Although the blockade fired on the craft, they ultimately managed to escape the Federation's grasp by jumping to hyperspace,^[15] ending the sudden amount of blaster fire and carbon scoring that had surrounded Amidala^[72] since the fight against the hangar's B1s.

Metal fist of the Federation

While the Federation still needed Amidala to legitimize its rule over Naboo,^[15] the Federation had still overrun the planet^[72] and claimed the planetary throne in Amidala's absence.^[256] In the process,^[15] its army of B1s was used to enforce^[98] an oppressive^[15] occupation of Naboo.^[98] Besieged by the Federation, the entire Naboo citizenry found itself taken captive by the mechanical hordes and only had reputation in the form of the also-imprisoned Sio Bibble,^[256] who was largely ignored by^[15] the self-proclaimed King^[256] Gunray. Nonetheless, the droids were also faced by an underground Naboo resistance composed of a few hundred guards or police officers who had avoided imprisonment.^[15]

Sometime following the Federation's takeover of Naboo,^[119] a landing-zone patrol^[6] of B1 scouts rode STAPs to survey the terrain of the Great Grass Plains, transmitting information back to the control ship.^[119] At another point, an OOM-series security droid, a standard B1 unit, and an AAT patrolled a Naboo city, with the security unit gesturing his fellow droid and the tank to the left.^[257]

The Federation also heard rumors of the Gungans' underwater villages. At one point during the occupation, Gunray spoke with Governor Sio Bibble in Theed Royal Palace while being guarded by four security battle droids. After Bibble stated the invasion would gain the Federation nothing because Naboo was a democracy, the viceroy had two droids take him away. OOM-9 then reported that his troops were ready to search the swamps for the underwater villages, promising his battle droids would find the hidden civilization.^[15]

Intending to exterminate the species,^[72] armies^[258] of battle droids eventually found the Gungans^[15] and pushed through their swamps.^[249] With his droids attacking locations ranging from Otoh Gunga to the small city of Otoh Langua, OOM-9 conquered the Gungans' underwater cities^[92] and pushed the Gungan populous out of their homes.^[249] Combined with the pacification of Theed, OOM-9 had thus secured early victories for the Federation on Naboo, but the string of attacks gave the Gungans a grudge against the Federation.^[92] The entire invasion as a whole, in fact, had upset the symbosis of civilizations on Naboo, just as Kenobi had predicted.^[249]

^{[71][259][260][261]}

Battle of Naboo

Gathering of strength

While the Naboo suffered^[72] under B1 occupation,^[98] the Royal Naboo Starship landed on the desert planet Tatooine thanks to a leaking hyperdrive. On-planet, Jinn discovered Anakin Skywalker—a Force-sensitive boy who he came believe was the prophesied Chosen One—and secured a new T-14 hyperdrive generator. After a brief duel against Sidious's Sith apprentice, Darth Maul, the group, joined by Skywalker, finally reached Coruscant. Amidala found little help, only succeeding in calling for a Supreme Chancellor Election, which Palpatine ultimately won, so she decided to return to Naboo^[15] to free her people.^[92] On world, the Droid Army had secured the Federation's grip on the planet^[15] even though only several days had passed since the droid invasion of Theed.^[226] Additionally, the company had removed its blockade, with the exception of the Droid Control Ship Vuutun Palaa. Like the Saak'ak, OOM-series security droids served aboard the ship as protection, while OOM pilot battle droids preformed technical roles.^[15]

In the aftermath of the Federation takeover, Maul was dispatched by Sidious to join the Federation on the ground^[15] to confront the coming Jedi, providing the fight on Naboo^[72] with a combatant who was, often times, more capable than an entire battle droid legion.^[262] In a move that would prove to be vital in defeating the Droid Army,^[263] Amidala combined her forces with the Gungan Grand Army—the militiagungs of which were eager to get revenge on the Droid Army for its attack on the Gungan people^[72]—after returning to Naboo and speaking with Nass. Elsewhere, as security battle droids stood around them in Theed's throne room, Gunray, Haako, and Maul updated Sidious via hologram,^[15] as Maul had ordered the Federation to let the Naboo make the first move.^[72] Even though Federation patrols had found the Royal Starship^[15] after its presence in the Naboo system was detected,^[72] Amidala continued her aggressive plans, as she soon out-lined the plan of attack to her allies.^[15]

Panaka was concerned about the size and power of the Droid Army, but Amidala planned for the assembled Gungans to draw^[15] the majority of the^[72] B1 battle droids away from Naboo's cities, while her team would enter Theed through secret passages.^[15] Eager to strike back against the droids who had tried to destroy them, the Gungans had agreed to the plan.^[72] The Federation soon learned about the assembled Gungan force, and Sidious allowed Gunray to send all of their troops to confront them.^[15] From atop his personal Armored Assault Tank,^[112] OOM-9 commanded a group of MTTs, filled with B1s, and a force of AATs to face the Gungans^[15] on the open ground,^[72] leading to a segment of the brewing battle for Naboo^[15] remembered as the Battle of the Great Grass Plains.^[264] One of the many battle droids^[15] who served in the Battle of Naboo was R0-GR.^[54]

Battle of the Great Grass Plains

Activate the droids

After pulling its might from the cites to deal with the Gungan army, the Droid Army stopped^[15] after traveling forty kilometers south of Theed to reach the Shaak Ridge in the Great Grass Plains.^[92] After looking at what stood before himself—the militiagungs assembled and protected under a deflector shield—with 'macrobinoculars', OOM-9 ordered a barrage from his AATs,^[15] additionally ordering the tanks and MTTs into position.^[75] Nevertheless, the droids' AAT barrage had been expected; given that the shield could hold back the firepower, the Gungan plan,^[92] despite the overwhelming odds against them,^[72] was to continue a standoff until Gunray was captured by Amidala's incursion team.^[92] However, OOM-9, witnessing how ineffective the AAT's attack was to the deflector shield, ordered the tanks to stop^[15] and brought in the MTTs. With the Gungans unable to launch any long range attacks from within their shield, the Federation unloaded the entire complement of B1 battle droids without issue.^[92] Aboard the control ship, the bridge of which was partly staffed by B1 units, Dofine gave the order to activate the droids on the plains.^[15]

Receiving the activation signal from How,^[114] the army jolted to life^[92] and unfolding from their compact form. Arming themselves with their blasters, the B1 army marched directly to the Gungan line and moved through the deflector shield,^[15] which was the moment when Gungan Captain Roos Tarpals realized bloodshed was inevitable.^[92] He warned Binks in^[15] a rueful manner^[92] that the droids were going to bring pain,^[15] which was overheard by some around him.^[92] While they had understood many of their troops could be killed in the battle^[15] and that their victory depended on the control ship being knocked out,^[72] the Gungans had not expected the battle droids to be able to walk through the shield.^[184] Once the B1s had made through, they fired at close-range,^[92] forcing two armies to fight under the cover of the shielding;^[184] the Gungans responded to the B1s with their boomas, which they threw via atlatl sticks or slings, and wielded personal shields to defend against the stream of droid blaster fire.^[15] One of the B1 units who fought at the Great Grass Plains was unit 1138.^[265]

Conflict under the shields

With the diameter of the shield they were standing under limiting options and making tight quarters,^[92] the droids were able to get closer to the Gungan army,^[15] forcing its generals to order their troops use boomas and cesta spears while also redirecting their catapults for less effective, short throws.^[92] The mechanical horde nonetheless continued to advance and fire,^[15] and, even though dozens of the Federation's droids fell to the Gungan's ionized plasma weapons, teams of droidekas entered the battle fast^[92] to assist their B1 counterparts^[15] by opening holes within the Gungan lines.^[92] As the battle at the plains continued, a militiagung deflected a B1's blaster bolt straight back to the unit that fired it, the impact of which broke the droid in half, but the top half flew onto Binks's back. The former exile, who had been who had been promoted to the rank of Bombad General by Nass, panicked, but he managed to throw the B1 off himself.^[15]

As witnessed by his troops,^[92] Binks entangled his foot in the droid's circuitry and panicked, he discovered he^[15] could stomp^[92] to make the B1 corpse fire its blaster. After taking out a B1 by doing this, Binks blasted another unit, 1234, and, after seeing a droideka approach, dived to the ground, which made the dead battle droid's blaster take out the destroyer. As that incident proved,^[15] Binks showed his normal accidental talent for causing destruction during the battle, but, fortunately for the Gungans, it remained focused upon their battle droid enemies.^[266] By that time, some Gungan soldiers had begun fighting droids face-to-face in hand-to-hand combat.^[15] Still, the Gungans were no match for the Droid Army, marking the Great Grass Plains as one of the front that Naboo's forces came to fail upon against the might of the Trade Federation's military.^[267]

Routing of the Gungan Grand Army

The Gungans' fortunes once again changed for the worse when one of their deflector shield generators was destroyed^[15] by a team of droidekas,^[268] taking down the entire shield.^[15] OOM-9 quickly launched his response by bringing the full force of his armed forces to bear. Although the Gungans managed to damage the Federation's heavy equipment, their outnumbered battle formations began to break, and Binks ordered a retreat,^[92] but OOM-9's forces pursued the fleeing army.^[15] Some isolated Gungan victories occurred across the battlefield, including when^[92] Binks was thrown onto the cannon of an AAT. A B1 opened the top hatch and pointed a blaster at the Bombad General, but the droid was taken out when Binks accidentally hit him with a booma. As Binks still clung onto its cannon, the AAT swerved out of control and towards the Federation army, making three B1s and another AAT, which itself had a B1 on its side, move to escape its path. Of the three droids, two B1s avoided the collision while the third was hit.^[15]

Traveling alongside the tank on a Kaadu, Tarpals tried to pull Binks down, leading to both of them tumbling to the ground close to several B1s. On the plains, as PK-series worker droids worked with the remains of defeated droids and STAPs flew overhead, the militiagungs were held prisoner by the Droid Army. Binks and Tarpals were also surrounded, with the former of the two quickly surrendering when told to by unit 7276.^[15] bit from front lines about gungans rushing droids go here?

Battle for Theed

Naboo incursion into Theed

As the distraction at the plains unfolded, Amidala and her strike team moved into the virtually undefended Theed^[92] to reclaim the palace throne room^[72] and capture Gunray,^[92] understanding that the Federation viceroy could return with a larger droid army if he escaped. After arriving in^[15] the capital city,^[37] the Queen's team, among them Jinn, Kenobi and Skywalker, kept out the occupying droids' sight until Panaka's group caused a distraction by having Gian heavy patrol speeder fire on an AAT. In addition to taking out the tank and at least four B1s near it, the blast distracted the other battle droids; the droid forces quickly moved to attack the Captain's group, allowing Amidala's team to enter Theed Hangar with little resistance.^[15] Royal Naboo Security officer Mariek Panaka also led a splinter group into the city to rally the Naboo resistance against the droids.^[72]

While Gunray watched the violence unfold from inside the palace, Amidala, the Jedi, and^[15] their small detachment^[269] of Royal Naboo Security Forces^[15] began a deadly battle against^[226] the B1s in the hangar, as another element of her plan was for N-1 starfighters to attack and knock out the Vuutun Palaa, hoping the defeat of the control ship would immobilize the droids on the surface. During the fight between the team and the hangar's B1 force,^[15] astromech droid R2-C4 passed two battle droids as they exploded,^[270] and Jinn ordered Skywalker to find cover, leading the young Force-sensitive to enter an unclaimed N-1 that astromech R2-D2 had also entered. As Amidala's continued to fight the battle droids and Skywalker's starfighter remained in the hangar, Bravo Flight flew their ships to the Vuutun Palaa, ultimately engaging a swarm of vulture droids.^[15]

Droid defense of Theed Palace

With Theed Hangar clear of droid resistance, Amidala's forces moved past the defeated remains of its battle droids to go to the throne room. However, Maul,^[15] having predicted the Naboo would strike at the hangar, revealed himself at the main access into the palace, ruining Amidala's plan.^[72] While Jinn and Kenobi stayed to confront the Sith Lord, Amidala, Panaka, and their fighters left to take a longer route, then being saved from three droidekas when Skywalker activated his starfighter, only for his autopilot to lead him and R2 to the space battle,^[15] leaving the hanger and the B1 remains within it behind them.^[267]

Amidala and her group then left to continue their journey,^[15] splitting up into two teams to cover the corridors and gardens,^[72] while the two Jedi had begun a lightsaber duel against Maul, fighting nearby the remains of B1s before the Sith threw a piece of a destroyed droid into the controls of a door that led to the Theed power generator.^[15] Elsewhere, even though the garden team, under the command of Sabé, only encountered a manageable amount of droid resistance,^[72] Amidala's advance was stopped in a hallway when they were confronted with a force of B1 battle droids;^[15] despite the Gungan distraction, a large number of battle droids remained on guard in the palace. Pinned down,^[72] Amidala and her team were forced to hide behind cover as they exchanged blaster bolts with B1s, whose number included^[15] a unit designated 3B3-21.^[271]

The entrapment of Amidala's team in the hallway—something that ate up precious time their plan relied on—occurred concurrent to the Gungan retreat on the Great Grass Plains and Naboo Fighter Pilots in space discovering that the control ship's shield was too strong for their weapons.^[267] However, things changed on the Queen's front when Panaka blasted out a window. While some of their forces,^[15] including the handmaiden Rabé,^[72] stayed behind to exchange fire with the B1s, Amidala, Panaka, and several others used the new opening and ascension guns to get to a higher level.^[15] Rabé and the others eventually escaped the firefight and joined up with Sabé's team.^[72]

All roads lead to Gunray

As they made their way to Gunray, Amidala and her team found themselves surrounded by B1s and droidekas, forcing Amidala's surrender. The Queen and her group were brought into the throne room, which some droids were already stationed in as security, by a group of B1s to face Gunray and Haako.^[15] However, Sabé and her team arrived, enabling the handmaiden to quickly see, with a heavy heart, that they were outnumbered and outnumbered; deciding Amidala needed a decoy, Sabé—soon joined by her guard team and electing to speak in Amidala's voice—ensured she entered the full view of the Neimoidian leaders and their^[72] B1 guards. Having caught the attention of Gunray and some of the B1s around him, the Viceroy, once again thinking Sabé was the real monarch, ordered his droids to capture the false queen.^[15] Sabé quickly escaped^[72] while several of her guards blasted the pursuing B1s.^[15]

With Sabé's desperate ploy to save Amidala having worked^[72] when most of the B1s left the throne room to chase the handmaiden and her team, Amidala jumped into action, taking ELG-3A blaster pistols from a hidden compartment on the throne^[15] that only she could open.^[72] While Amidala's team made short work of the remaining droids in the throne room before shutting the^[15] blast doors,^[72] thus preventing any droids outside from helping their Viceroy, the B1s^[15] chasing Sabé failed to do a tactical analysis of what the false queen was leading them to; the battle droids came face-to-face with a force of guards, who quickly fired upon and destroyed the robotic troops. Most of the^[72] B1 battle droids^[15] who chased Sabé were taken out before she even turned around to face them. She herself then shot at least one of the droids, and the last of those droids were quickly taken out.^[72] With the Viceroy's battle droid guards destroyed, Amidala forced Gunray to surrender under a new treaty.^[15]

Chaos aboard the Vuutun Palaa

In space, concurrent to Amidala's brief capture, Skywalker's starfighter was hit by a vulture droid as he flew near the Vuutun Palaa,^[15] something that Skywalker had either accomplished out of sheer luck or by the will of the Force guiding him.^[244] Losing control of the N-1 and finding their into the Droid Control Ship, the human and astromech duo flew over gathered Federation forces, including a number of B1s, and past^[15] an air traffic control station^[114] manned by two OOM pilot battle droids, both of whom were distracted from their work by the passing enemy starship. When Skywalker's starfighter finally came to a halt within a hangar,^[15] a handful of B1 battle droids^[244]—many of which were security battle droids,^[15] with at least a few standard infantry units present of well^[267]—quickly approached the currently overheated ship and surrounded it. Eventually, however, the power to Skywalker's N-1 was restored. The surrounding and approaching B1s attempted to fire upon the starfighter, only for its shields to protect the vessel.^[15]

The young pilot used the ship's^[15] laser cannons^[244] against the surrounding B1s.^[15] Relying on his instincts and reflexes,^[244] he then shot its proton torpedoes. Instead of hitting any of the surrounding or approaching droids, however, both torpedoes flew past the battle droids and collided with^[15] the control ship's main reactor,^[244] beginning a chain reaction of explosions that would destroy the Vuutun Palaa from the inside. After he damaged the reactor, Skywalker elected to escape with R2 and flew away aboard his N-1, taking out one of the secruity droids around the N-1 with the sudden activation of his engine. He destroyed another secruity droid by flying through it, bisecting the unit. As the internal explosions spread, the control ship was destroyed, wiping out every Neimoidian and droid aboard.^[15]

Fall of OOM-9's army

With the destruction of the Vuutun Palaa^[15] and the Central Control Computer inside of it,^[14] every Federation droid on Naboo suddenly lacked a command signal^[92] and instructions.^[6] As such, every B1 battle droid on the surface^[15] automatically deactivated,^[6] falling fell limp where they stood.^[15] Even OOM-9 was rendered temporarily inactive.^[92] At the Grass Plains, Binks, who had been held at gunpoint by unit 1138, was initially confused as to what was happening as the Droid Army around him shut down, but Tarpals understood the control ship had been destroyed. After remarking that, the captain demonstrated his point by knocking over the deactivated B1 in front of him. 1138's head fell off^[15] his^[265] body before Binks knocked them down, and other Gungans soon began to push down the droids in front of them,^[15] celebrating their victory.^[120]

Although the B1s^[15] had surrounded the Gungan forces and held them at gunpoint, one group of militiagungs, whose number included Oma Prumba, had been planning to rush the battle droids;^[92] Prumba herself^[272] had initially been scared during the battle, with the knowledge that it was Binks's first day as a general not helping her mood. However, his actions during the battle, including using^[92] the B1^[15] tangled in his foot as a weapon, led her and others to believe he had been gifted by their gods. Prumba and the others began to act like the general, culminating in their plan to rush the surrounding droids without fear of their blaster rifles. The sudden droid shut down, however, spared them from needing to launch that attack.^[92] The battle ended with thousands of B1 battle droids defeated and inactive.^[6]

With the Droid Army shut down, the Naboo and Gungans had triumphed, the occupation was over,^[15] and Gunray and Haako were captured.^[273] However, it was still not a complete victory for the people of Naboo as Jinn had been killed during the duel with Maul.^[15] Although Maul was presumed dead at Kenobi's hand,^[274] the Sith apprentice actually survived.^[275] Droid remains leftover from the invasion were salvaged and melted down by the people of Naboo. Being made from high-quality materials, the droids were scheduled to be remade into garden trellises, fence posts, and art. Following the funeral of Qui-Gon Jinn and^[72] a victory parade in Theed,^[15] Amidala and her handmaidens went to the same terrace where they had been arrested by^[72] B1s during the fall of Theed,^[131] now taking the moment to listen to Sabé play her seven-string hallikset.^[72]

Galactic implications

The deployment of the Federation Droid Army alerted Republic leaders to the change in the galaxy's status quo,^[37] and the massive droid shutdown^[15] showcased a weakness in using Central Control Computers for battle droids,^[111] ensuring the next generation of B1s developed were given much more independence than those fielded on Naboo.^[1] At the time, the so-called "debacle at Naboo" was believed to be a minor altercation, but, beyond setting the stage for future wars,^[92] the crisis heralded a terrible new era of warfare, as battle droid armies became a common sight throughout the galaxy for years to come, just as how B1s had seen use in the invasion.^[6] Although Amidala had hoped Palpatine's election could prevent the Federation from launching further invasions, or even a second invasion of Naboo,^[72] the company was able to invade other planets^[89] with its battle droids, like it had Naboo,^[184] launching these incursions against worlds that did not yield to its economic domination.^[14] Additionally, Gunray, who would ultimately manage to avoid prison,^[205] sought revenge on Amidala^[276] and wanted to see the Republic taken down.^[277] His hatred would shape the future use of the B1,^[42] although it would be another ten years until the B1 marched into open warfare again. By the time the droid model did, it had become the standard infantry unit of the Separatist Droid Army.^[69]

In the meantime, Palpatine moved to weaken the Federation's influence, partly by having the Galactic Senate pass laws that were designed to dissolve the Federation's security force^[215] of B1s and other droids.^[15] Wanting to calm the Republic's anger, some members of the Federation did demand that they dissolve the battle droid army, but the company instead decided to retreat towards the Neimoidian Purse Worlds in the Colonies, enabling the Federation to continue its plans in secret.^[227] Indeed, the Senate's response to the invasion was inefficient, allowing the Federation to continue its operations.^[185] Upon regaining its composure after the ineffectual sanctions the Senate did managed to apply on it,^[278] the Federation—despite enduring a period of political exile^[279]—remained a powerful force and even retained its seat in the Senate.^[130]

Thus, the Naboo and, at least unofficially, Republic senators knew that the^[130] B1 battle droid army managed to survive^[42] and still belonged to the Federation.^[280] Still^[15] more than willing to use the droids to kill its foes,^[130] the company continued to use B1 battle droids for years to come.^[281] Further, the Federation's defeat at Naboo had pushed it and other companies into seeking new ways to expand their power. During its political exile, it forged alliances with other megacorporations and planets across the Outer Rim, laying the seeds for an alliance of secessionist star systems.^[279]

Amidala had shown great bravery by standing up to the Federation and its B1 army during the Naboo Crisis.^[282] In the aftermath of the conflict, Amidala took steps to prevent another invasion^[27] out of the concern that the Federation, with, as Amidala put it, "seemingly infinite" droids at its disposal, would seek revenge;^[130] after the corporation's B1 army had been able to simply march through Theed and reach the Royal Palace,^[15] Amidala's government moved to install an ion pulse^[130] in the palace^[27] that was made public knowledge, letting the galaxy at large know Naboo possessed defensive weaponry.^[130] The pulse would be able to knock out any electronic threats moving towards the building.^[27]

Whilst the proposal had generated a series of unpleasant debates, with Captain Panaka making failed pushes for greater defenses that damaged his reputation while other Naboo disliked the idea of constructing any weapon at all, the construction carried on as Amidala left office^[130] in 28 BBY^[283] and was completed, remaining in place for years.^[27] Despite the Federation's attempts to smear her,^[130] Amidala did not stop her crusade to help the galaxy, using her subsequent career^[282] as Naboo's senator in the Galactic Senate^[42] to continue to fight for what she believed was right, just as she had whilst standing against the Federation's droids.^[282]

Road to galactic war

In the hands of the Pykes

Following the Invasion of Naboo, Obi-Wan Kenobi became a Jedi Knight, and Anakin Skywalker was made his Padawan learner.^[15]

^[284]

Kidnapping of Yoda

In 26 BBY,^[153] Jedi Grand Master Yoda, Jedi Master Mace Windu, and Master Bant Eerin sought to test the master and apprentice with a fake kidnapping of Yoda, and a part of their plan was to use a squadron of battle droids. These units had been part of a Techno Union droid batch the Jedi recovered from Chagrian smugglers two years prior. At the time, the Union had petitioned the Jedi High Council to return the battle droids, only to be told the batch had become Republic property. In the present, the three Masters used the droids, at least several of which were B1s, in a "break in" of the temple's storage level.^[4]

Following a failed training session in the Jedi Temple's training gallery, during which Kenobi had taken Skywalker's lightsaber, the mentor and apprentice both sensed a disturbance in the Force caused by the staged droid break in. After the two Jedi were told about the apparent intrusion by a team of Temple Guards, whom Kenobi joined to investigate the disturbance, Skywalker disobeyed the orders to stay behind and clean up the training area, traveling down a service duct with two Marksman-H training remotes and reaching a pantry on the service level. Upon sensing that the disturbance was in the training stores, the Padawan ran to the stores and initially found nothing before hearing a sound behind himself. After throwing the remaining remote at the figure, which was actually^[4] a B1 battle droid,^[180] Skywalker jumped away from blaster bolts, looking up to see the B1 and two other battle droids come out of their hiding spot.^[4]

The three battle droids fired simultaneously, so Skywalker jumped up and climbed the room's shelving. He then used the force to throw six crates down at his trio of enemies before rolling into the now-empty shelf. The droids again fired at Skywalker, but the Padawan was soon able to find a box of electroblades and, while he did not know how the training weapons would fare against the battle droids, took two. After dropping down to face the three combat units, he was pleased to see the crates had damaged at least one of the droids, as the unit's arm had been taken off. After this droid raised its blaster, Skywalker used an electroblade to strike the unit's wrist, making it miss the blaster shot, and used his other sword to strike beneath its chest, taking out the battle droid. Smoke even rose from its servomotors after it fell onto its back. The two other droids tried to shoot the young Jedi, but he simply jumped into the air, making their shots take each other out. Shortly after this victory, though, a group of five more battle droids, at least two of which were B1s, arrived and fired at Skywalker. His two electroblades were no match for the amount of blasters, so, despite knowing he would not be able to hold them back for much longer, he Force pushed them back. Skywalker then quickly grabbed a discarded blaster rifle to blast a droid.^[4]

Skywalker turned the blaster to face the next droid, but the unit fired first, shooting the weapon out of his grasp. Desperate, the Padawan tried to topple one of the giant shelving units onto the battle droids. Though it proved to be too heavy for him, Kenobi, who threw his Padawan's lightsaber back to him, and the Temple Guards suddenly arrived. The Jedi began to fight their robotic adversaries, but Skywalker suddenly had a Force vision of the Jedi Council Chamber in disarray. Kenobi saved him from being hit by a blaster bolt and then stabbed a droid with his lightsaber, but Skywalker, who also deemed the few battle droids they fought to be second-rate units, felt he needed to leave to help in the Council Chamber. Kenobi objected, wanting his Padawan to stay in the battle and to go together once it was over, but Skywalker elected to disobey and ran to the turbolift. Kenobi's calls after tried to call after him were lost in the sounds of the droid blasters and Jedi lightsabers. Once Skywalker's lift reached its destination, he ran to the next elevator he needed to take, which would bring him to the Council Chamber, but he found a "Temple Guard" unconscious in front of its open doors.^[4]

Although he considered checking to see if the "Jedi" was alright, he believed the Council could be in danger, so he apologized to the unconscious figure and entered the turbolift. Skywalker hoped the "Jedi" was okay and fought back any remaining guilt, hoping the guard would have done the same as him, but Skywalker had actually avoided another part of the test by moving past the figure. In reality, the "guard" was a disguised and booby-trapped^[4] B1 battle droid,^[180] which was equipped with a green knockout gas. Had Skywalker approached the B1, the droid would have deployed the acrid smoke from his vocabulator. Meanwhile, any remaining thoughts Skywalker had about the secret battle droid disappeared when he reached the Council Chamber, as he saw Yoda in the midst of a lightsaber duel against a Temple Guard. Unknown to Skywalker, this was Eerin in disguise, and the duel was another part of the test. Though Skywalker briefly joined the battle, Yoda was ultimately knocked out after he jumped in front of shattered glass to protect the Padawan. Skywalker tried to pursue Eerin's freighter with a jetpack he stole from a defeated battle droid, but the device failed him as he approached the starship.^[4]

Kenobi helped his Padawan back into the Council Chamber, where Skywalker reported that Yoda had been captured. Pretending to not be part of the test, Windu, speaking to them via a full-sized hologram, pretended to realize the droid attack had been a diversion. A team of Temple Guards then arrived and brought in the disguised "Temple Guard" B1, revealing that it had been a booby-trapped unit. Seeking to learn who the kidnapper truly was, Skywalker used his bit driver to open a droid's faceplate. While the droid receptors had been fused to prevent an investigation, he realized that the signal confirmation module was the type used by the Techno Union, meaning they had constructed the units. Kenobi suggested they approach the Union, but Skywalker also found a non-Union logo between the droid's photoreceptors. Taking this image to the Jedi Archives, Chief Librarian Jocasta Nu cross-referenced the symbol, finding that it was the logo of the Nova Crime Syndicate.^[4]

Learning that the Nova gang operated out of the Wheel space station, Kenobi and Skywalker traveled to the station to find its leader, Grynask Sanberge. They eventually found whom they believed to be Sanberge, yet it was secretly Windu in disguise. Pretending to fall for Kenobi's mind trick, he gave them a comlink that contained a message from Eerin to send battle droids to Coruscant. Deducing the message had been sent from the water world of Glee Anselm, Kenobi and Skywalker found the freighter but learned its databanks had been wiped, much like the battle droids from the temple. However, they came to uncover an underwater base, where they found Yoda and defeated the Temple Guard impostor. As thanks for Skywalker noticing the Nova gang logo on the droids, Kenobi allowed his Padawan to unmask her. With Eerin and then Windu unmasked, Yoda and them revealed that the entire operation had been a test that they had passed.^[4]

Lessons of Naboo

Beyond having cost the Trade Federation thousands of B1 battle droids,^[6] the Federation's defeat at Naboo showcased the faults^[285] and limitations of the B1 model.^[1] While the invasion made it clear B1s could effectively bully civilians, the B1 was not a match for trained soldiers.^[286] Several major shortcomings were discovered after the Federation's research on their standard infantry combat droids,^[287] proving a heavy upgrade was needed for a next generation battle droid.^[1] Thus, Federation leaders commissioned^[70] and began to research concepts for an improved combat droid, resulting in the more advanced B2-series super battle droid.^[6] The technicians of the Techno Union set about designing a new battle droid.^[1] In fact, by 26 BBY,^[153] the Techno Union's active experimentation into the B-series line had led to the development of the D1-series aerial battle droid,

In the end, the post-Naboo experimentation culimated in the creation of the B2-series

Introduced by the Techno Union^[285] after its technicians designed it^[1] as a response to the "lessons" learned from Naboo, the so-called "super" droids possessed more firepower than the B1s,^[286] served as a heavy infantry model, and were designed solely for combat^[285] despite eventually seeing some other uses.^[288]

go into lack of control signal? note that B1s will eventually get that upgrade as well

B2 super droids also held a low tolerance for their B1 counterparts,^[1] but the feeling was at least somewhat mutual, as R0-GR was very annoyed by them. Although he accepted that B1s like himself would never match the strength and durability of the B2-series, he understood super droids were clumsy, slow, and only had just enough processing power to aim their weapons correctly.^[54] Other B1s had a habit of calling B2s by the titles of "boss" or "sir," whereas B2s had a habit of shoving past other droids,^[19] including B1s,^[1] in their haste to battle^[19] and reach their enemies.^[1] Baktoid Combat Automata also designed another unit in the B-series, the E522. It was planned as a light anti-armor and anti-aircraft unit, which would give heavy support to platoons of B1 and B2 droids. However, the E522 was seen as too complex and expensive for a disposable role, so they were scrapped in favor of the B2 and B3 battle droids.^[13]

mention BX-series here too?

The Separatist Crisis

A new purpose

Problems arose for the Republic when Count Dooku^[88]—who had secretly become, in the aftermath of the Naboo Crisis, the new Sith apprentice of Sidious^[208] under the name "Darth Tyranus"—denounced the government and founded the Confederacy of Independent Systems (CIS)^[88] in 24 BBY.^[289] Over the next two years, with thousands of star systems seceding to the Separatist government^[88] after years of being ignored by the Republic,^[290] the galaxy was faced with the Separatist Crisis. In secret, however, many worlds had already seceded in spirit at the urging of the Trade Federation, Techno Union, and other powerful corporate actors and thanks to the Republic's weakness in the wake of the Naboo Crisis. Dooku was already involved by that time, and corporations who had secretly allied with Dooku—and then who became founding members of the CIS state—were given special privileges, such as a seat on the Executive Separatist Council of the eventual government. In the time before Dooku's address, the spiritual separatists—both those on secessionist worlds and within the corporate powers—had already begun to secretly construct a droid military.^[88] Viceroy Gunray^[291] and Settlement Officer Haako^[42] secretly^[123] pledged the Federation's^[291] military might^[244]—including its armies^[280]—to the growing Confederacy,^[244] allowing the B1 battle droid to become the standard soldier of the Separatist Army.^[69]

Believing there was no positive in comprising with the Republic^[88] that had long ignored their plight^[290] and carrying on relatively well after Dooku's public call to separatism officially formed the CIS, the Separatists continued to secretly build up their droid military^[88] and readied for a war^[123] that, on the surface, was to be waged in the name of securing their independence from the Republic.^[290] While they had originally lacked a standing military^[9] despite their private build up, CIS member worlds—by standing as a united organization—did not need to spent all their resources on defense forces.^[88] Instead, the Confederate star systems could use their combined^[88] resources^[217] and wealth to^[9] secretly^[88] purchase^[217] vast,^[9] ready-to-deploy^[217] droid armies.^[9] Sourced from foundries located far outside of Republic space,^[9] the force would be composed of huge quantities of combat automata.^[217] Specifically, most of these droids would be B1 units,^[18] but other droids—like the B2 and droideka—would also enter the army's ranks.^[42] Further, the Separatists funded the Techno Union and Federation to build up the droid armies.^[88] Dooku also personally traveled to Geonosis to renew Baktoid Armor Workshop's contract with the Geonosians^[111] and enlisted Archduke Poggle's help to build a droid army.^[6]

The decision to rely on droid armies had come from Dooku, who had urged many organizations and planets to buy those powerful armies^[184] in what was, unknown to all, the next stage of the Sith Grand Plan.^[292] While the Separatist true believers hoped they could bend their corporate sponsors to their will through zeal of the populous, the Federation, Techno Union, and other corporations had allied with Dooku's Confederacy out of self-interest and would remain as such. Nonetheless, their help in uplifting thousands of rebellious worlds—at least from the perspective of the grassroots Separatists—still gave their planets the chance they had been waiting for to achieve self-determination.^[290] No matter the case, by the time the Confederacy was formed^[118] in 24 BBY,^[289] its military was already prepared for a war thanks to the corporate droid security forces. However, Separatist foundries, whether they were on Geonosis or located elsewhere,^[118] continued to produce battle droids^[42] by the millions^[118] for use in Confederate armies.^[293]

All the while, the existence of the Separatist's robotic force remained a total secret, leaving most in the Republic to believe the only military force at Dooku's beck and call to be the volunteer security forces of individual Separatist planets.^[52] With the eventually war-ready Separatist Army defined by its ranks of mass-produced, expendable, and yet still functional battle droids,^[123] B1 battle droids were vital to the developing Separatist war machine.^[118] Despite having pledged his battle droids to the Separatists, however, Gunray demanded that Amidala—who had since become the senator for Naboo in the Senate—be assassinated in return. Although he threatened to pull his support^[42] in 22 BBY^[153] when he believed the assassination plan was taking too long, Dooku maintained that the request would be fulfilled.^[42]

Mass production and innovations on Geonosis

Although Poggle would later claim the Geonosians did not know Dooku was allied with a Separatist confederacy,^[111] the Geonosians, in actuality, were offered lucrative deals to sell battle droids and manipulated into joining the Confederacy,^[88] becoming incredibly loyal to Dooku in the process.^[294] Geonosian factories were able to produce hundreds of thousands of droids, including the basic B1 model,^[88] and the largest factory was able to speedily produce B1 and B2 battle droids with minimal supervision from organics.^[6] Beyond having secured the support of powerful firms like the Trade Federation^[42] and the Techno Union for help in making the Droid Army,^[295] the excessive industriousness of the Geonosian worker caste became another critical factor in Confederacy's success, with worker drones toiling away in the vast foundries that manufactured B1s and B2s.^[296] The construction of the massive droid army^[133]—the deadly combat models of which heavily violated Republic law—on Geonosis was kept a secret, making it one of many desert worlds in the galaxy that held a surprising truth.^[18]

By mass producing droids like the B1^[42] by the thousands^[88][195] and at quick pace,^[293] Geonosis served as the primary producer of the growing army.^[88] Beyond Geonosis's uninviting nature already limiting possible visitors,^[293] the planet's history of building droid armies for nongovernmental organizations like the Federation helped to cover up the Separatist Army.^[88] Indeed, even as B1s and other droids were being made for the Confederacy on Geonosis,^[42] battle droids meant for currently unaligned corporations were being concurrently constructed on the same world.^[269] Like many other factories in the galaxy, B1 production lines on Geonosis did not have many safety nets or guardrails, meaning a distracted organic worker^[297] or visitor^[75] could easily take a seemingly-bottomless fall^[297] or die in another way.^[75]

Separatist leadership also decreed that relying on networked control centers, such as^[88] Central Control Computers,^[6] was too much of a vulnerability.^[88] As such, several years after the Naboo Crisis,^[14] the B1's need for a command signal—the tactic that had cost the Federation the Battle of Naboo—was removed.^[92] due to the Confederacy giving the Federation a slightly higher budget for droid production. While the Federation did try to update and improve the B1's programming,^[14] it was ultimately Geonosian^[111] engineers on Geonosis who were able to redesign the droid.^[14] The Geonosians gave the B1 autonomous thinking^[111] by providing them independent electronic droid brains, all while keeping the B1's humanoid form so it could use the same weaponry and machinery as before.^[14]

Pawns of Palpatine

As the Separatist Droid Army was assembled over the course of the Separatist Crisis,^[42] the B1-series filled the ranks of the force.^[118] Indeed, the B1 was perfect for the Confederacy's purposes:^[2] although Confederate star systems felt like they had more say in the CIS than they did in the Republic,^[88] the Separatists were but a pawn in Sidious's plot to take over the galaxy, as Dooku and him planned for a war to break out between the two galactic factions.^[42] Thanks to Dooku's hidden nature as^[42] a ruthless Sith Lord,^[137] the Executive Separatist Council being composed of the heads of several^[42] self-interested^[290] galactic corporations,^[42] and other ruthless figures within its ranks,^[290] the Separatists wanted mindlessly loyal soldiers^[2] for the many battles ahead^[164] and whatever atrocities would be carried out under the Separatist banner.^[298] As such, the B1 was happily accepted by the Separatists.^[2]

Despite the desires of Separatists throughout the Confederacy for a peaceful secession,^[290] the Geonosian foundries were building droids in preparation for a war against the Republic.^[299] At least one massive factory was creating droids,^[300] including B1s,^[42] specifically to be used in an offensive strike against the rival government.^[300] Indeed, it was Darth Sidious who had true control over the droid army. In fact, he made sure he would be able to order its deactivation whenever the time was right.^[94] While the Separatist populace was not interested in a "conquest" of Republic space,^[290] the Droid Army was, in truth, mobilized with the aim of destroying the Republic.^[118] All the while, the Confederate citizenry—those the B1 army was theoretically assembled to defend—were open to coexistence with the Republic^[188] so long as their independence was recognized.^[301] However, political power in the Confederacy was robbed from the civilian authorities and instead claimed by the Executive Council, the military,^[290] and, above all, the Sith.^[94]

At the same time, the Kaminoan cloners of^[42] the extragalactic planet^[114] Kamino were completing an army of clone troopers made from the genetic template of^[42] the Mandalorian^[302] bounty hunter Jango Fett.^[42] Standing as an alternate to battle droids,^[293] the army had been created for the Republic at the request of Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas,^[42] who had foreseen a coming war that the government would need an army for.^[202] In 32 BBY, however, the Sith had taken control over the clone army project^[153]—with Dooku even paying the Pyke Syndicate to kill Sifo-Dyas^[202]—and altered it to fit their purposes.^[153] By ensuring the Separatists' massive Droid Army would be too much for the Jedi to face alone, Sidious would force the Jedi to take on the clone army, setting the stage for the Order's downfall.^[292]

Superior to most droids mentally^[118] and in combat skill, the clones trained on Kamino for ten years.^[42] B1 battle droids given a light grey plating coloration and orange target markings on their bodies were used as training units in simulated battles as part of that training.^[181] With both the Separatist Droid Army and Kaminoan clone army in existence, there were thus two manufactured armies^[303] under the control of Sidious^[94] ready to battle for the fate of the galaxy^[244] while, in truth,^[42] standing as pawns for Sidious's rise to ultimate power.^[304]

Eve of war

War between the Republic and Confederacy appeared to grow unavoidable^[305] as the Separatist Crisis carried on. With the Jedi overwhelmed thanks to the CIS, the Galactic Senate debated creating a military^[42] to defend against the Confederacy.^[306] Prior to the vote on the decision^[42] in 22 BBY, ten years after the Battle of Naboo,^[122] the plot to assassinate Amidala was launched after Dooku hired Fett to kill her for Gunray. After following Fett to the planet Kamino, where the Jedi Knight to discovered the secret army of clone troopers, Kenobi followed the bounty hunter to Geonosis. Landing on the planet, Kenobi entered into a Geonosian hive spire that was connected to the droid foundries, so the Jedi witnessed one of the factories producing a large number of B1 battle droids.^[42] Kenobi realized the droids were similar to those used by Gunray on Naboo ten years prior.^[244]

By seeing the droid factory, Kenobi's suspicions that Dooku was preparing for war were confirmed.^[6] Soon after,^[42] he witnessed a business dealing^[307] that officially formed the CIS;^[308] certain that a combined battle droid army could overwhelm the Jedi and the Republic,^[269] the heads of galactic companies on the Separatist Council pledged^[42] and agreed to sell droid forces and arms^[307] to Dooku, combining their armies with the B1s, droidekas, and any other Federation droids already in the Separatist military to bolster^[42] the Confederacy's army and naval forces.^[94] Leaving the tower, Kenobi sent a warning back to the Republic about the growing droid army.^[42] With the Republic having previously believed the CIS's only military was only the security forces of its member planets,^[52] the discovery of the droid factories appeared to give the Republic little choice but to fight back.^[309]

The Senate, shocked at the idea of the droids striking at the Republic,^[310] agreed to give Supreme Chancellor Palpatine emergency powers. Palpatine's first act with the authority was to make the clones discovered by Kenobi into the Grand Army of the Republic. For Kenobi's report about the Droid Army to reach the Republic, however, he had needed Amidala and Padawan Skywalker to retransmit his message to Coruscant. After seeing that the Jedi Knight was in trouble, Amidala, accompanied by Skywalker, R2-D2, and protocol droid C-3PO, took her H-type Nubian yacht to Geonosis in an attempt to rescue him. Once on-planet, all four quickly found themselves in one of the Geonosian droid factories, which was producing a number of B1 battle droids,^[42] maintained by the Stalgasin hive.^[311] After he was separated from R2, 3PO—who found the idea of machines producing battle droids perverse—was left alone on a droideka production line, only for his head to be knocked off and onto a line of battle droid heads.^[42]

Because his cognitive and speech functions worked without his body,^[42] 3PO was able to voice his displeasure when he landed on the B1 production line.^[37] His body briefly wandered without sight until walking onto a B1 production line, where the head of one of the combat units was affixed to the protocol droid frame. The resulting B1 unit quickly realized something was wrong. 3PO's head was then attached to a B1 body while he noted how confused he was. Fortunes for Amidala and Skywalker changed as well, as the senator was surrounded by Geonosian warriors, while the Padawan was captured by Fett and droidekas nearby a number of folded battle droids.^[42] Both were sentenced to death^[312] and brought to the Petranaki Arena,^[42] a place of entertainment for the Geonsians on the desert plains nearby one of the droid foundries.^[6]

The Clone Wars begin

Battle of the Petranaki arena

Kenobi was also assigned to be executed in the Petranaki arena, but he, Amidala, and Skywalker, despite being faced by an acklay, a reek, and a nexu respectively, managed to escape the pillars they were chained to. Although the three were surrounded by droidekas while riding the reek, they were suddenly reinforced when^[42] a two hundred and twelve strong Jedi assault team led by Jedi Master Windu^[37] revealed themselves to be throughout the arena. In spite of that, the Jedi were incredibly outnumbered:^[42] the Geonosians summoned their^[313] droid army^[88] and deployed them as legions^[314] to confront the force of invaders.^[313] Hundreds of B1 battle droids, supported by a small amount of B2 super droids,^[37] were deployed against the Jedi.^[42] While these droids only marked the first time the Jedi saw the Separatist Droid Army, it proved the Confederacy had been actively preparing for a war.^[37]

On the ground of the arena, the battle droids rushed to and fired upon the Confederacy's foes, whereas the Jedi ran to and quickly began to cut down members of the mechanical ranks. The Droid Army did not only fight on the arena floor, however, as Sar Labooda and another Jedi confronted B1 unit 3464 and three other battle droids at a higher level.^[42] Still, as Knight Bultar Swan recalled, the fighting was never meant to occur,^[92] but Dooku had responded to the Jedi with what would ultimately amount to multiple waves of battle droids, so the Battle of Geonosis had turned the political turmoil facing the Republic into a full-scale conflict. During this battle in the arena, B1s, B2s, and droidekas fought side by side.^[37] The battle droid hordes also fought alongside a large number of Geonosian warriors, who helped bolster the Separatists' numerical advantage in the arena.^[315] The Battle of Naboo veteran R0-GR was involved in the Battle of Geonosis, later recalling Skywalker, Kenobi, Windu, and the pain he received in the battle.^[54] Although most B1s who served in the battle were of^[42] the rust brown^[9] plating color,^[42] at least one tan B1 saw action in the engagement, only to be cut down by a Zabrak Jedi.^[316]

As Jedi did battle against the Separatist forces, more droids marched into the arena, including the B1 unit that was using C-3PO's body.^[42] Unfortunately for him, the body design made moving awkward,^[177] making the droid believe he required maintenance. Amidala also managed to grab an E-5 blaster rifle from a fallen B1.^[source?] As the battle continued, one B1 unit fired at a Jedi despite partly lying on the ground, and the acklay defeated a B1 by throwing it with its mouth. Having been given replacement lightsabers, Skywalker and Kenobi used them against B1s, including when Skywalker cut down droids from an orray-pulled cart Amidala had stolen.^[42] At another point, as Skywalker and Amidala fought the enemies surrounding their stolen cart, a B1 focused his attention on Skywalker, looking at the Padawan as he deflected blaster bolts.^[317] Although all hoped had seemed to be lost, Skywalker had found the strength needed^[303] to fight the Reek and then Dooku's battle droids^[42] because Amidala had declared her love for him^[303] as they were led into the arena.^[42]

Jedi Master Luminara Unduli fought against the Separatist droids alongside her Padawan, Barriss Offee,^[318] whom she protected from the worst of the battle. Nonetheless, Offee was mentally scarred^[315] and frightened during the arena battle due to the overwhelming number of factors she needed to deal with,^[303] including the hordes of battle droids.^[315] As fighting against the Separatist troops continued, another force of battle droids arrived in the arena and included C-3PO among the B1s thanks to the mistake in the factory.^[42] Appalled to find himself marching into the fight with his head on a B1 body,^[37] C-3PO protested at the idea of joining a battle. Elsewhere in the arena, Windu took out an OOM command droid, Kenobi deflected a blaster bolt back at a B1, which took out that unit, and the B1 using C-3PO's body fired at a Jedi wielding a green lightsaber.^[42] Being an ineffective soldier thanks to his awkward movement, this B1 was easily defeated^[177] when the Jedi deflected a blast bolt back at it, knocking the battle droid head off the body.^[42]

Other small isolated victories against the battle droids were when a Jedi near Windu simply kicked a B1 down, when a Jedi took out three B1s in quick succession, and when the reek easily knocked a B1 out of its path. C-3PO was also experiencing troubles as,^[42] in addition to having been made part of a Separatist legion,^[6] the B1's^[42] programming sometimes supplanted the protocol droid's own^[319] and affected his reasoning. Thus, the peace-loving C-3PO droid momentarily raged against his Jedi "enemies,"^[37] firing on them and switching between battle cries and apologies.^[319] On one occasion, C-3PO yelled for the Jedi to die and that they were dogs, only to then question what he had just said. Shortly afterward though,^[42] Jedi Master^[70] Kit Fisto Force pushed the protocol–battle droid hybrid down, and a B2 super battle droid proceeded to fall on top of C-3PO, trapping him but delighting Fisto.^[42]

Although other battle droids in the arena were busy fighting,^[42] forcing Skywalker to defect blaster bolts while Amidala exchanged fire with the droids, which ended up becoming a new moment of bonding between the Jedi and the senator,^[311] two B1s were both distracted from combat upon being frightened by the acklay, which was approaching Kenobi to resume its attempt to feast on him. The sight of the creature made both droids back up in fear and cease their blaster fire at the Jedi Knight, yet Kenobi made short work of the beast with his lightsaber. R2-D2 also moved through the chaos to help C-3PO, having retrieved his head from the B1 body to return to his proper droid frame. The situation was not faring as well for the Jedi and Amidala, however, as the B1s and other droids continued the fight against them.^[42] Joined by super droids, who were deflecting blaster shots, the B1s launched an unrelenting assault against the Jedi.^[6] As was common during the battle,^[1] one super droid even knocked a B1, which had already been blasted and was tumbling back, out of the way to keep up his assault, which alarmed two other B1s behind him. After the Jedi and senator were encircled, Dooku ordered the droids to stop with a hand gesture, using the opportunity to give the survivors a chance to surrender.^[42]

As Dooku spoke, Geonosian warriors pushed three other Jedi^[42]—Jedi Knight^[320] Aayla Secura, Jedi Master Plo Koon, and Jedi Master Ki-Adi-Mundi—through the crowd of battle droids, reuniting the three captured Jedi with the surrounded survivors;^[42] Secura had been surrounded^[321] and captured^[42] after bravely^[321] fighting Geonosian drones and battle droids in the arena,^[320] much like Mundi.^[322] When Windu refused Dooku's offer to surrender, the count rescinded his previous command, so the battle droids prepared to execute the Jedi and the senator.^[42] Even though the droids held the advantage,^[92] the Jedi stood ready to face the impending onslaught^[323] and fight to the death,^[321] although Kenobi did wearily look over the surrounding droid army.^[323] However, at that that moment, the newly-formed Republic Military arrived above the arena to reinforce Windu's team; under the command of Grand Master Yoda,^[42] a regiment^[111] of clone troopers, flying down aboard LAAT/i gunships with Yoda, descended into the structure^[42] in waves, beginning a somewhat desperate attack^[303] to rescue the survivors^[42] and wipe out any opposition.^[90]

Reacting quickly, the Droid Army opened fired at their new enemies,^[42] but the clones acted as an overwhelming force^[303] and did the same,^[42] with the gunships' cannons cutting through numerous droids, which were left to fall to pieces.^[323] The gunships soon touched down, allowing the clones to exchange fire with the droids at the ground level and enabling them to rescue the Jedi and Amidala.^[42] The combination of battle droids, clone troopers, and the Jedi created a war-like pandemonium in the Petranaki arena,^[324] which was unable to contain the battle;^[92] with the survivors secured, the first conflict between the clone and droid armies^[42] spilled over to the adjacent desert plain,^[92] although C-3PO and R2 were left in the structure, sitting close to the remains of B1s.^[42]

With the astromech having ensured the protocol droid had regained his body,^[42] C-3PO had found a friend for life in R2,^[37] although he assumed his experience as a battle droid had been a dream. The two of them would ultimately reunite with Skywalker and Amidala sometime after the battle. The battle droid using C-3PO's body in the arena battle, combined by the protocol droid living on Tatooine for years before leaving for Geonosis,^[42] meant his joints were likely filled with sand.^[303] Nearby the remains of several B1s and the reek, Jango Fett's clone "son," Boba, was also in the arena and mourning his father, who had been beheaded by Windu.^[42] The visual of sitting amongst the droid ruins with his father's helmet in his hands remained in the younger Fett's mind for decades.CITE COMICS AND BOOK OF BOBA?

War on the desert plain

... outbreak of battle,

Not even factoring in the other droids deployed alongside the B1-series for the conflict, the number of B1 battle droids deployed into the desert battle greatly outnumbered the clone trooper ranks,^[114] with one veteran of the battle, Clone Captain Rex, later recalling the massive, overwhelming number of battle droids as a notable aspect of the conflict.^[50] To defend the strongholds and factories on Geonosis, B1 battle droids were deployed directly from the assembly line into the harsh desert conditions.^[27] The Republic did, indeed, attack the Geonosian factories^[118] with deployments of clones, interrupting battle droid production on Geonosis.^[133]

Some B1s were in front of the Hardcell-class interstellar transport that Skywalker's gunship targeted.^[42] Unaware of what forces the Confederacy would deploy, the Republic unloaded nearly everything Kamino had given them, and the clones prepared for a counterattack that soon came, as freshly assembled battle droids and super droids marched to the Republic line. After her gunship landed, one of the sights Swan saw was the distant but approaching army, with each speck in the formation being an armed combat droid. After taking in the sights before her, she and fellow Jedi Stass Allie shared a nod before charging into battle.^[92]

In the desert phase of the battle, B1s and B2s were joined by the battle droids recently given to Dooku by corporate leaders. The OG-9 homing spider droids,^[42] which towered over their fellow combat droids,^[245] and DSD1 dwarf spider droids of the Commerce Guild and the IG-227 Hailfire-class droid tanks of the InterGalactic Banking Clan were deployed during the battle on the plain. The battle droid forces were directed by Archduke Poggle, who understood the capabilities of the droids better than Dooku thanks to them being constructed in his factories, from the secure Geonosian War Room,^[92] where he was joined by Dooku and other Separatists.^[42]

In the center, where they could watch the unfolding warfare via a holotable, Gunray recommended sending all available droid forces into combat, but Dooku felt the Republic's numbers were too great,^[42] and Poggle did not seek to win the battle. Instead, he only wanted to delay the Republic advance for his Confederate clients to claim their stock and escape the planet with it. Accordingly, any battle droids that were not already heading to fight the Republic were directed to Hardcell transports and core ships.^[92] Facing the droids that were deployed to the field were Jedi, clones, All Terrain Tactical Enforcers,^[42] and gunships, which would manage to take out knots of droids.^[92] While the Droid Army held the numerical advantage^[114] and had begun their march to confront their new nemeses, all of the Republic's forward positions advanced as well.^[42] During the battle against the Grand Army of the Republic, B1s managed to display a range of combat positions, stances, and maneuvers.^[6]

In total, one million B1 units fought on the desert plain.^[325] During the battle, units ranging from hailfire droids to B1s ran to the Republic Army, but the Separatists found themselves failing in the battle, with Poggle realizing the droids needed to retreat as B1s and other droids were taken out by Republic fire. Elsewhere, as two pilot battle droids were nearby them, Gunray and Haako fled to^[42] a waiting^[119] Sheathipede-class shuttle in a hangar^[42] not far from the command center.^[119] Because the clones were pushing the Droid Army back,^[326] Dooku, now in possession to a secret set of plans, similarly boarded his Flitknot Speeder Bike to escape to his^[42] hidden^[326] Punworcca 116-class interstellar sloop. Back at the battlefield,^[42] after the last Hailfires had been taken out by gunships, the Republic could move forward to the Confederacy's evacuation site^[92] while still fighting the battle droid army.^[42]

Pushed into retreat

Fully supplied Separatist transports launched into orbit, but the Republic prepared its Self-Propelled Heavy Artillery Turbolasers, ultimately managing to shoot down a core ship and several other vehicles.^[92] The core ship crashing to the ground kicked up a massive sand cloud, but clones and battle droids still continued to exchange^[42] relentless blasterfire.^[323] The battle did not continue for long, however, as the Droid Army was soon in a full retreat.^[42] Even though over one million B1s^[325] and numerous other droids had seen use over the course of the battle,^[42] with Kenobi remembering the engagement as an out-of-control massacre involving a seemingly-endless number of droids against a force of seemingly-endless Jedi and clones,^[90] the Republic and Jedi had won^[42] the engagement that was remembered as the Battle of Geonosis.^[92]

Despite the many causalities the Republic sustained, the droid factories and armies on Geonosis had been decimated,^[88] and the planet's capture temporarily stopped battle droid production,^[92] but Dooku,^[42] the Separatist Council, and the majority of war matériel from Geonosis had escaped the Republic. Thus, the two galactic governments had officially been launched into a major conflict: the Clone Wars.^[92] Fuelled by the anger the Separatists felt towards the Republic^[290] and fitting perfectly into the Sith Grand Plan,^[42] the Clone Wars spread across the galaxy like a fire^[217] and moved with alarming speed, escalating in short order^[303] and sweeping countless planets into the clone trooper-versus-battle droid conflict.^[153] Dormé, one of Amidala's Handmaidens, believed Dooku had forces lying in wait for a success on Geonosis, only for the sudden reveal of the clone army to give them an equal opponent that necessitated actual conflict.^[303] In any case, the war quickly became a test between the superior skills of the clone troopers and the greater numbers of the battle droids.^[153]

The Clone Wars

Production and deployment

Unthinkable numbers

The first full-scale war since the genesis of the Galactic Republic,^[42] the conflict widely–known as the Clone Wars, named after the Republic's clone troopers^[327] but sometimes called the "Droid War,"^[328] engulfed the galaxy for three years,^[327] with the Jedi Order leading their new clone soldiers against the mass-produced machines of the Separatist Droid Army.^[303] Even though the work of the Kaminoans was actually groundbreaking science,^[329] at least one B1 in the Separatist Army came to believe the technology that created the Republic's army was primitive.^[27] The Droid Army greatly outnumbered the Republic's clones;^[118] according to the Separatists' own count, the clone troopers were outnumbered by a margin of one hundred to one.^[296] When it came to the Separatists' soldiers, the majority of which were combat droids instead of organic troops^[167] because of their loyalty^[9] and the perceived moral good of mainly sacrificing droids,^[167] the B1 battle droid dominated^[2] the endless mechanical ranks,^[8] serving as the main infantry units^[95] of an army composed of billions of individual droids^[330] that were deemed to be disposable and soulless.^[303]

As a result of being manufactured in incalculable, unthinkable numbers, untold^[69] billions of B1s were built over the course of the war^[19] in massive automated factories as part^[69] of the largest droid army ever established.^[331] Indeed, as individual factories could produce millions of droids on their own,^[118] billions of B1s were deployed by the CIS;^[98] the majority of combat units in the army were the basic infantry model of the B1, while more advanced droids were instead placed in specialized roles. Even though newly designed combat units were added to the Droid Army over the course of the war,^[18] the B1 saw use for the entirety of the Clone Wars.^[137] Even though there were many, varying droid models in the Separatist Army,^[14] many of which saw mass-production^[94] as expendable soldiers,^[303] the B1's cheap price tag allowed it to be produced in higher numbers than other, more capable, droids that could have taken its place in the Confederate military.^[83] The Confederacy's willingness to deploy hordes of battle droids became part of the Jedi Order's rational for joining the war, even if it arguably betrayed their traditional role as simple peacekeepers.^[332]

Having seen use prior use in events like the Invasion of Naboo, the B1 and droideka were already familiar to many people in the galaxy,^[333] with the B1 in particular having been made famous by the Trade Federation's use of it,^[118] but the wide-scale use of droids in combat during the war made them into a symbol of terror throughout the galaxy. Republic propaganda also pushed the image,^[54] characterizing the B1,^[334] along with the B2 and the droideka, as a ruthless killing machine. The Republic's illustrations helped make these three droids into the default images of droid terror,^[217] so the B1 became seen as an intergalactic symbol of evil. Ultimately, the Droid Army^[54] and its actions—particularly the atrocities it would commit,^[290] but also due to its general existence as a force of soldiers that took part in a devastating war^[335] and occupied worlds^[159]—caused for the Clone Wars to be an era full of anti-droid sentiment.^[54] While the Core Worlds were already a hotbed for anti-droid sentiment,^[279] Republic propaganda closer to those worlds, being far from the battlefields during the early war, needed to focus on personal assistant droids as opposed to frontline battle bots^[217] like the B1.^[334]

The Separatist state threw the majority of its assets into the war against^[336] the larger^[279] Republic.^[336] Indeed, the war was an era of massive battle droid production,^[333] with Separatist factories run by companies like the Trade Federation^[60] and Techno Union,^[18] which was responsible for most battle droid production,^[337] building B1s^[19] and other conscienceless killing machines.^[333] Countless B-series droids were produced everyday to serve in the CIS army,^[88] with the B1 being made in great numbers^[92] as the majority of the infantry corps^[125] throughout the conflict.^[92] Furthermore, B1s served as crew members in the Confederacy of Independent Systems Navy in addition to being army troops.^[137] While the B1 model had already been made in nearly in-exhaustible numbers for the Federation,^[20] the number of B1 units in existence exponentially grew when they were used in the Confederacy's droid armies.^[1] While B1s were able to effectively capture Republic planets, being able to intimidate civilians with their weaponry and numbers,^[338] the single minded battle droids were not as versatile^[9] or effective as their Jedi and clone adversaries.^[21] When fighting their rivals, the B1s' quirky personalities were too slow to adapt to the Jedi Knights and their clone forces.^[9] The Jedi^[21] and clones also proved to be tougher opponents than battle droids.^[339]

^[340]

The mass deployment of droids against lab-grown clones also had the effect of covering up the brutality of war,^[341] painting the image of "bloodless" conflict and turning soldiers into commodities.^[290]

Against clones and Jedi

Due to the trooper's training and improvisational skill, a single clone was equal to several B1s, doubly so when a team of clones worked together.^[88] In fact, as a result of the Confederacy deploying so many B1 battle droids, the Republic gained a major advantage, as it was easy to train new troopers to use the droid's quirks to their advantage.^[342] In addition to mocking their robotic foes for seeming to never shoot straight,^[27] clones were known to proclaim themselves to be worth one hundred B1s,^[19] with some clones keeping count of the number of droids they blasted. While he himself did not keep a tally, one Clone Officer—Captain Rex, the same clone who had faced down countless battle droids during the Battle of Geonosis alone^[50] and who became a legendary soldier as the hero of the Republic Army^[343]—later recounted that he likely blasted tens of thousands of B1 battle droids during the war.^[50] Furthermore, during the start of the war, the experience the clones gained from the early skirmishes they survived gave the Grand Army an early advantage over the B1s and their fellow droids.^[92]

The Jedi, too, were able to take down many B1 battle droids with relative ease, creating another opponent the B1 needed to rely on numbers to overcome.^[80] While the Jedi initially lacked a concrete position in the Republic Military, with the ranks of Jedi General and Jedi Commander not being formalized for some weeks,^[90] and the Republic tried to minimalize the Jedi Order's role in the war effort in propaganda,^[217] word spread across the galaxy that a single Jedi was able to take down one hundred Confederate battle droids.^[21] Despite remaining on Coruscant^[94] as part of the Jedi High Council^[344] for most of the war,^[94] Jedi General Mace Windu, by his own count, would come to cut down over one hundred thousand B1 units during the war.^[80] R0-GR found it hypocritical that the Jedi Order, who were meant to be the guardians of all life forms, cut down so many battle droids during the war. He recounted that Jedi used their lightsabers to cut droids in half, then into quarters, and then into even smaller pieces.^[54]

While the term had existed as far back as at least the High Republic Era,^[345] the anti-droid slang term "clanker" took on a new life during the war;^[50] the clones and Jedi took to calling B1s^[93] and other battle droids clankers^[106][133] thanks to the loud^[27] "clanking" noise the robots made when they moved.^[332] For all the droids who would be called "clankers,"^[106][133] with the term also being used for non-combat droids throughout galactic history,^[345] the B1 was considered the epitome of being a "clanker."^[60] Republic forces also called B1s, along with other battle droids, "tinnies"^[344] and "tin cans."^[27] "Clanker" and its fellow slang names were derogatory, with the clone soldiers adopting these nicknames out of the great anger they came to feel towards the mechanical foes^[118] that struck down their clone brothers.^[50]

After taking down isolated patrols of B1s, newer clone troopers sometimes underestimated the droid soldier as an insignificant threat, but that opinion was quickly weeded out, as the basic "clankers" could still be dangerous opponents, although they needed to be used in the large numbers^[88] they were designed for.^[95] Clone units and Jedi Knights alike could be overwhelmed by a large force of B1s.^[118] Although experienced clone soldiers could find the droids predictable,^[69] B1s managed to kill many clone troopers during the war,^[50] and CIS leadership could simply purchase new legions to replace the droids they had lost,^[19] while clone production and training took much longer.^[42] Indeed, the Separatists knew they did not need to win every battle; their forces^[88]—with the easily replaceable^[125] B1-series chief among them^[2]—simply needed to ensure the war became too costly for the Republic,^[88] which already had ethical debates raging about whether it could throw its living clones against mass-produced droids,^[303] to continue.^[88] Krennic finite clones vs infinite droids

As outlined in the Republic's war protocols,^[346] it was forbidden for clone troopers to take pieces from battle droids, including from B1s, off a battlefield without permission.^[347] However, the great animosity many clones felt towards battle droids sometimes led to troops^[118] breaking protocol^[347] by collecting droid pieces as war trophies;^[118] one such clone was Chopper, a soldier in the 7th Sky Corps who was angry at all the droids took from him.^[347] Although Chopper in specific did so because his internal conditioning was defective, he snuck out to battlefields to pluck fingers off B1s,^[348] making them his trophies,^[19] The presence of the Republic's elite clone commandos on a battlefield could inspire fear amongst B1s, even if the clone the B1 proclaimed in fear to be one was not actually a commando soldier, instead a clone jetpack trooper or slugthrower-equipped clone trooper. Furthermore, the appearance of a non-clone enemy when a B1 only expected to face clones could generate a sense of surprise and fear in a B1.^[27]

The command of General Grievous

As the Confederacy's leader, Dooku was regarded as the lord of all Separatist battle droids,^[167] with one T-series tactical droid expecting the B1s and other units under its command to rejoice if the count personally arrived to oversee a battle.^[27] However, while Dooku did lead the Separatist Army^[349] in his capacity as the man who decided overall military strategy^[88] and oversaw military affairs,^[118] his main role was centered on being the political Head of State. Thus, the Droid Army was commanded^[19] and managed by General Grievous, a Kaleesh cyborg^[88] who acted as both a feared Jedi hunter and brilliant strategist.^[350] In his role as Supreme Martial Commander of the Separatist Droid Armies,^[190] Grievous could call upon thousands of battle droid armies, which he deployed against the Republic Military,^[126] Republic planets,^[351] and even those who were neutral or uninvolved in the war.^[298] However, the cyborg became one of many commanders who was frustrated by the B1 battle droid's limitations.^[103] In particular, he was often frustrated by their bad tactical sense and capabilities. Nevertheless, he was still forced to command B1s throughout the war, although Grievous hardly hid his disdain for the droids,^[9] with the General going as far as to insult his B1s.^[35]

Looking down on B1s for their low intelligence,^[35] annoyed with the series' occasional ability to resist initial orders,^[139] and failing to realize how superior his own cyborg abilities were to his slower–witted soldiers, which became one of the general's weaknesses,^[352] Grievous even blamed the Droid Army for losses against the Jedi Order.^[128] Many B1s became victims of the General's temper^[9] as Grievous would sometimes destroy his own battle droids in fits of anger.^[103] Grievous also believed that, by destroying one of his own soldiers, such as a B1, he could motivate his other troops to do better, lest they suffer the same fate.^[353] Digging deeper, however, an analysis of Grievous's character theorized that Grievous hated^[354] and destroyed his own battle droids because he saw his own weakness in them.^[355] Such was outright claimed in the legend surrounding the Battle of Alamass, which also held that Grievous looked down on his droids because he thought they lacked drive, passion, independent thought, and motive.^[355] However, in trying to cover up the possible conflict he felt towards his transformed self,^[354] the cyborg general ultimately did not understand the nature of his robotic forces and refused to acknowledge the similarities between them and himself. Instead, the legend held he focused on his organic heart and believed it made him superior to the soldiers he saw as mere machines who deserved no compassion.^[355]

Under other officers

Beyond being frustrated at their limitations,^[103] many CIS officers were also annoyed by the B1s' habit to endlessly commentate on their jobs.^[19] Another major Separatist commander was the Dathomirian Asajj Ventress, the apprentice^[356] and personal assassin of Dooku himself, but she could also grow annoyed at her robotic subordinates and destroy B1 battle droids out of anger.^[23] On one occasion, Ventress cut down a standard B1 and an OOM command droid with her red lightsabers.^[357] On another occasion, Dooku and Ventress overlooked a grouping of B1s at a rocky terrain.^[358]

Additionally, a large number of standard B1s and at least one OOM pilot droid served as part of an army under the command of an Umbaran officer in a rocky terrain. In that area, while many of the B1s remained in formation on the ground, a number of others rode on STAPs overhead. Two other standard droids and the OOM pilot remained closer to the commander's personal Armored Assault Tank.^[40] In addition to organic commanders, B1s and other units saw service under droid officers^[101] like the T-series military strategic analysis and tactics droid^[106] (T-1),^[124] intelligent droids that were designed to create battle strategies away from a frontline.^[6] However, the infantry droids were not fond of officer units that did as such, with the droid soldiers developing a saying that claimed these units were not able to fight, so they were instead tasked with command.^[54]

In particular, one of the many B1s deployed for the Confederacy, Battle of Naboo veteran R0-GR, despised the T-series, believing these arrogant units were selfish officers who stayed safe in comfortable command centers while their combat forces, whom the T-1 commanders cared little for, died under their "half-baked" strategies. As noted by R0-GR, tactical droids would scream out commands to him and his fellow combat units, but R0-GR argued that they only did so because units like the B1 were the droids "who could actually fight."^[54] During the conflict, some of the military units led by tactical droids that B1s were a part of included the force commanded by a T-series tactical droid^[27] and the force commanded by TX-532, who served as the commander of a Separatist operation to recruit Gungans.^[88]

Also in existence was the ST-series military strategic analysis and tactics droid, an advanced droid officer model^[359] deployed when the CIS needed efficiency and strategic know-how to bolster the more rudimentary battle programming seen in its other battle droid units. Supplying the Droid Army with superior combat skills and strategy^[360] and proving to be far superior to the more-analytically minded T-1 model, these "super tactical droid" units would rise in prominence as the war dragged on.^[359] Additionally, the defensive ability seen in the ST line outpaced that which was seen in the standard B1 units.^[361] For the majority of the early war period, however, the Droid Army was largely led by T-1 units, the faults of which would be exploited by the Republic^[359] and whose failings resulted in the introduction of the super tactical droid line in the first place. R0-GR would later reflect that he found the name "super" tactical droid to be an annoyingly obvious title for the tactical droid's successor line.^[54]

Deployment overview

As the backbone of the Confederacy's military might,^[18] B1 battle droids were deployed to invade Republic planets,^[19] combat Republic starships,^[106] and fight Republic armies^[362] in a war the Separatists believed was waged to free them from Republic tyranny.^[50] To the B1s themselves, however, fighting in the war was simply what they were programmed to do.^[54] The B1s were also ordered to perform other operations for the Separatists, such as fighting their other enemies.^[39][298] While the Droid Army in which they served publicly existed^[88] to fight for Separatist independence,^[363] the Confederacy's B1s and other battle droids ultimately obeyed the commands of Dooku^[364] above all else, with the Count using the war to advance the Sith Grand Plan under Sidious.^[88] Despite the secrecy Sidious depended on,^[137] his hologram communications to his Separatist followers were sometimes done in the same room as B1 units.^{[137][364][365]} On other occasions, he was referenced^[41] or outright mentioned within "ear-shot" of B1s.^[87]

Despite the Droid Army's public strategy to focus on defending planets and cut off trade to the Core Worlds,^[88] the B1 and its fellow droids saw less "noble" uses throughout the conflict, taking part in massacres,^[298] enslaving operations, and conquests of neutral worlds if their commanders so choose.^[45] B1s were even used to terrify civilians.^[101] Within the galaxy, two different Separatist worlds could experience different treatment;^[172][188] one planet's B1s could enforce a brutal military occupation^[31][172] like they had during the Naboo Crisis^[15] years earlier,^[122] while another world's detachment of B1s could be peacefully protecting a population^[188] that remained blissfully unaware of their government's atrocities.^[366] To Separatist believers, battle droids were a liberatory force,^[217] Dooku was an inspiring figure who embodied the spirit of democracy,^[61] and the military's war crimes^[366] were known only as "excesses"^[290] if they even reached their ears at all,^[366] with those "excesses" vocally opposed by the powerless Separatist Senate.^[290]

During the lifetime of the Separatist Army, battle droids were deployed to thousands^[93] or, as recalled by R0-GR, countless planets.^[54] Indeed, the number of planets that clones and droids fought across was countless in number,^[367] with B1s and their fellow droids swarming across Republic planets to exert their masters' will.^[18] Battle droids were also deployed to thousands of starships by the Confederacy.^[93] Working to make the war too costly for the Republic^[88]

By relying so heavily on battle droids to do the fighting and on the support of their movement's corporate sponsor, the average Separatist citizen did not train to fight for themselves.^[290] Instead, Separatist citizens put their trust into the B1-series^[368] and the rest of the Droid Army, which was heralded as a force fighting for Separatist independence.[propaganda] In total truth, however, Sidious awaited for the chance to shut down the droid legions with one stroke[ROTS] and reclaim Separatist space from the unprepared Confederate population,^[290] whose will he wanted to break over the war as well.[RiseandFall]

Assorted battles and fellow droids

Even though the Separatists held the advantage in technological development during the war thanks to the support offered by the Techno Union,^[290] the simple^[19] B1-series remained in service for the entirety of the Clone Wars.^[137] At one point, at least three B1 battle droids, along with another combatant armed an E-5 blaster rifle, cornered^[369] Jedi General^[41] Plo Koon,^[369] but the Jedi ultimately survived.^[137] Two Jedi—a human and a Rodian—and their clone troopers once fought against at B1s and other battle droids in a damaged location, and a Mirialan armed with a lightsaber once fought against a two B1s and a super battle droid. Also during the war, Jedi, clone troopers, and at least two All Terrain Tactical Enforcers scaled skyscrapers while being confronted by B1s and several DSD1 dwarf spider droids. B1 battle droids and at least three homing spider droids once were together on terrain near mountains.^[88] At one point, a large number of B1s were stationed on^[50] the world^[370] of Agamar^[50] in the Outer Rim.^[371] At least two B1s, at one point, were involved with a battle against Venator'-class Star Destroyers aboard a Providence-class Dreadnought; as one droid carried a cannon shell, the other manned a flak gun.^[372]

Many other droids fought side-by-side with the B1,^[39] but R0-GR held opinions on them, much as he did towards the T-series tactical droid; he had a dislike for B2 super battle droids but realized they made effective shields during heavy firefights, found the spider droids terrifying, and felt a respect for the droideka, being proud to fight alongside them and knowing a serious situation was going on if they were dispatched.^[54] Another B1 active in the Separatist Army was willing to bet that the losses their model sustained would never happen to the droidekas.^[27]

Despite B2-series super battle droids being among the more capable, specialized combat units in the Separatist Army,^[118] with their ability to fight Jedi better than their B1 cousins resulting in increased production early in the war,^[92] the production cost of the B2 unit kept it in smaller numbers,^[118] so there were often one hundred B1 battle droids on a battlefield for every one B2^[373] in spite of their combat advantage.^[92] Similarly, the BX-series droid commandos was a faster, sturdier, and more advanced version of the B1^[6] that also had a far superior droid brain to both the B1 and B2,^[374] but the BX's high price relegated them to small numbers.^[375]

Put Mission to Akiva (Clone Wars) here?

Early days of the Clone Wars

Production efforts

Across the galaxy

Like other major corporations,^[188] the Trade Federation officially took a neutral stance in the Clone Wars despite^[90] allowing its droid soldiers, chief among them the mass-produced B1, to be used in the Separatist Droid Army.^[42] The Neimoidian people themselves also declared neutrality, but, while they truly believed in that stance, the soon-to-be promoted Skywalker continued to view them as enemies, in large part because he saw^[90] and fought^[23] their droid troops up close.^[90] Through their neutrality, the Federation and other major companies did business with both the Republic and Confederacy,^[307] with Federation Senator Lott Dod claiming that any Federation starships and droids used by the Confederacy's armed forces were purchased fairly through the free market. In secret, Dod himself kept both sides well supplied to keep the conflict going^[376] while Federation droid armies marched across the galaxy in the name of the Separatist Alliance.^[377] The true, Separatist-leaning loyalties of the Trade Federation, Techno Union, and other major corporations were barely held at bay by the mask of neutrality, with their Separatist allegiances little more than an open secret.^[290] Even once their true loyalties were fully exposed to the public as the war dragged on,^[217] the neutrality claim would stand in a legal sense for the entire conflict.^[290]

Furthermore, the Separatists themselves were to establish factories that produced B1 battle droids.^[3][8] Many of these Separatist factories were automated facilities,^[8] with the Geonosian droid factory design something of a blueprint for droid production facilities.^[378] While some droid factories did rely on more typical organic labor,^[290] the vast majority of battle droid production across Separatist and unallied space was undertaken within Geonosian-run plants or in automated facilities. Fortunately for those droids that needed to be constructed or serviced by more typical laborers, the Confederacy experienced a boon of loyalist technicians, the ranks of which swelled thanks to citizens who wanted to display their patriotism; these were citizens who joined CIS-aligned technician guilds because, with battle droids making up most of the Separatist military, they did not have the more typical route of military service to display their patriotic belief in the cause. The quickly-expanding battlefront and growing need for more and more troops over the course of the war resulted in more and more Separatist loyalists becoming droid technicians, with even children joining the ranks of the Intergalactic Association of Amalgamated Droid Builders.^[217] Indeed, many of the typical workers who toiled away in organic-operated droid factories were true believers in the Separatist cause, pushing onward despite their suspicious of the movement's corporate sponsors.^[290]

Despite the corporate loyalty towards the Separatist cause,^[290] the CIS would still need to pay for each batch of B1 units produced in a foundry if the location was operated by a technical third party,^[12] such as the Trade Federation.^[3] Indeed, Senator Amidala suspected the construction of the Droid Army would continue as long as the Separatist supply lines remained intact and the Federation was free to collect money from the Confederacy.^[303] With the Techno Union's subsidiaries, all the while, millions of battle droids were constructed for every one Republic warship those same companies produced.^[88] Overall, the total cost of the CIS filling up its galaxy-wide army with B1 battle droids proved to be expensive^[87] even if an individual B1 was cheap to make^[19] and its mass-production was cheap to sustain.^[37] In one case, within the catacombs of the Outer Rim planet Akiva under its capital and the important Separatist holdout Myrra,^[12] the Federation and Separatists operated an advanced droid factory that the Federation openly marketed as a Separatist installation^[60] despite the company's alleged neutrality.^[90] One sign outside the Akiva production plant even promised that its output would help rally the galaxy "against Republic oppression." While other signs outside the facility offered civilians a chance to make purchases that would go towards the CIS by framing its products as direct, Separatist-made droids,^[60] the CIS itself needed to purchase the product constructed within the facility, paying for batches of B1s produced in the thousands.^[12]

Under chief supervisor Poreni, the factory produced a massive amount of battle droids—including standard B1s and, based on what the later technician Gedeek Obaz thought he saw within, the B1's OOM command variant^[12]—at a rapid pace^[60] for the Separatist war machine. Once B1s or other combat droids were complete,^[12] the battle droid units would be risen to the surface for delivery through a telescoping platform, with starships then arriving to pick up that droid detachment. Droid parts that instead were turned to waste and scrap, meanwhile, made their way to massive craters outside the factory known as the junk pits.^[60] Furthermore, the factory was also able to reconfigure broken battle droids into new, shining units already ready for the war. The collective droid production and refurbishment created a countless number of battle droids over the factory's existence, with criminal Jet Kordo writing that the factory's output was "impressive." Elsewhere on Akiva, at some stage of the war, Doctor Aiyah Pellorean hid Test Unit 08-B and its final report in a Separatist bunker, where a number of B1 battle droids would remain despite the effect of the project on their kind; as Test Unit 08-B was able to amplify ion weaponry, the project caused nearby battle droids to become violently disoriented, resulting in Separatist high command and Pellaorean agreeing to pause the project until the war's end, lest it be used against the CIS's own soldiers. Pellaorean's final report would be left upon a table near B1 pieces. The bunker and its B1s, however, would be destroyed and left abandoned over time.^[12]

The failures of Batch 4652-A

Early in the war,^[379] the Akiva production plant was contracted to build a batch of over twenty-six thousand B1-series units identified as Batch 4652-A for Grievous's forces. After the batch was finished ahead of schedule, much to Poreni's joy, the thousands of B1s it composed were directed to Hakara as per the facility's deal with the general and, as promised by Poreni in a post-production transmission to Grievous, would be ready for combat immediately. However, upon entering battle with Republic forces, Batch 4652-A proved to be insufficient for the general's purposes, with field data of over twenty-six thousand Batch 4652-A B1s being studied and reflecting that less than five percent survived conflict against Republic personnel.^[12]

The droid C-5DS forwarded Grievous's complaints to Poreni via transmission, demanding that the production issues that caused Batch 4652-A's poor performance be addressed before any further B1s were ordered from the Akiva factory. Responding via a transmission of their own, Poreni expressed shock at the failings of the Akivan-produced B1s and apologized, promising that the facility would quickly work to improve its B1s by their next delivery. Further, Poreni offered Grievous a twenty percent discount on his next B1 orders in order to regain his trust. Agreeing to take the discount, Grievous had droid C-5DS respond and take the deal, with Grievous also having C-5DS place an advance order for twelve thousand BX-series droid commandos in the same transmission because their successful field tests had come to his attention.^[12]

Operation on Hissrich

Occupation of a jungle world

A short time after the battle on Geonosis,^[380] as the Confederacy swept further into the Outer Rim to grow its numbers and power, the Separatists launched an operation on the remote jungle planet Hissrich in the Outer Rim. Deploying a force of battle droids to carry out the operation,^[133] the Confederate plan called for harvesters to collect plant life^[143] until Hissrich was completely stripped;^[129] the flora only received around an hour of sunlight per month, meaning the plants contained massive amounts of photosynthetic energy, which could provide an immense power supply and become an advantage for the war.^[143] B1 battle droids were one of several droid models deployed to defend the operation^[133] and occupy Hissrich,^[381] making it one of many new Separatist footholds in the Outer Rim, which the Jedi feared was a sign that the Confederacy would begin to move towards Coruscant once its presence in^[133] the galaxy's spiral arm^[92] was cemented.^[133]

Anticipating that the Jedi would try to stop the plan when reports indicated the Republic had learned of the Hissrich maneuvers, General Grievous, unable to lead the operation himself due to his responsibility over the entire Droid Army, hired AD-W4, a droid mercenary with experience killing Jedi, to oversee and protect the project. Despite his pay, the mercenary, who already had expressed a dislike for the Droid Army's "military drones,"^[129] became annoyed by the B1s he was leading.^[133][129] While he did not want his battle droids to call him by a military title,^[143] Ay-Dee ultimately needed to remind his B1s about that demand several times during the operation.^[133][143] After a large number of Confederate ships landed on Hissrich, the Jedi High Council dispatched Master Windu and a squad of Jedi—consisting of the Miraluka Jedi Master Prosset Dibs, Master Fisto, and the Devaronian Knight Rissa Mano—to the jungle world aboard the modified T-6 shuttle Westwind. Able to arrive undetected thanks to a scrambled signal, the ship also remained unnoticed by a B1 on lookout duty when it landed upon Hissrich; despite flying directly the B1, the lookout was busy admiring Hissrich's environment, becoming disheartened that he had no one to enjoy the nature with.^[133]

As such, the unnoticed Westwind landed a few kilometers west from the main Separatist outpost, and the Jedi moved until coming across a patrol squadron made up of several battle droids, including an octuptarra tri-droid and a few B1s, in sector two zero nine. After seeing the small group, Windu gave a plan of attack; the Jedi would attack the droids fast and hard, with Fisto and Dibs going in above and around, while Mano would go in with himself. The patrol was unaware of the Jedi's presence, with two B1s—the first of whom found patrol duty boring and wanted to have fulfillment in life through battle—even discussing whether they should see active combat. When the second of the two B1s heard Windu and Mano ignite their lightsabers, both Jedi sprung into action, causing these B1s to fire, with the second fearing his comrade's statements had jinxed them. As the Jedi attacked, Mano took out a B1, making the droid that had wanted to see combat think he was facing too much of it.^[133]

As Windu and Mano continued to fight, the squadron's B2-HA super battle droid ordered his remaining troops to kill the Jedi, but the droids were soon overwhelmed and defeated. While standing near the squad's remains, however, the Jedi realized their troubles were not over; the team was soon surrounded by native aliens. Unbeknownst to them, they were also spotted by a B1 stationed with lookout duty on a tower. Traveling to the Separatist outpost on a STAP and past the forces stationed outside it, which included B1s on Federation Troop Transports, the droid entered the base and reported the Jedi presence in sector two zero nine. Although this news concerned another B1, Ay-Dee displayed no signs of fear, instead claiming that, like the "drones" of the Separatist Army, the Jedi were slaves to their doctrine. Unlike their Order, Ay-Dee stated he served the galaxy's highest power, and one of the B1s questioned if he was referring to a some kind of deity. The mercenary instead revealed that he was talking about the galactic currency of credits.^[133]

Meanwhile, the Jedi were led into the Subterranean Caves by the native aliens, whom Dibs speculated had in some way encountered the Separatists, which Mano agreed with after seeing a defeated B1 in their possession. While she began to analyze the droid, the Separatists at the outpost were ready to launch their forces. A B1 informed Ay-Dee all regiments were ready to move. The two were standing in front of several other B1s, but–after the mercenary ordered the battle droid to stop talking to him after the unit proposed some possible military titles–Ay-Dee was called over to a hologram. Thanks to the deactivated droid in the caves, a B1 reported that they had found something in sector S2C, so the mercenary ordered their operations to continued as planned and stated he would personally escort the forces heading to sector S2C. In the caves, Mano affirmed that the dead B1 unit was a scout. Although the droid was damaged, she believed it could still be functional and that she could be access the B1's memory banks. Windu, however, realized the droid could still be functional enough to transmit data, which would allow the CIS to find them.^[143]

Before Windu could fully warn her, as the Separatists launched their operation above, a force of B1s on STAPs and droidekas attacked the caves, preventing the Jedi and natives from escaping. Stealing a STAP from a B1, Windu focused on fighting the destroyers, but he was soon confronted by Ay-Dee. As Fisto and Mano took out battle droids, Windu and the mercenary dueled each other, although Ay-Dee ultimately defeated Windu by throwing a ball of destroyed droids at him. Reunited with his squad amid the droid attack, Windu ordered Fisto to lead the underground charge against the droids before he headed to the surface with Mano. After encountering a harvester and seeing that the Separatists were collecting plants, the two engaged the Droid Army. Underground, Fisto and Dibs continued to battle the droids attacking them, but the cave soon collapsed. After looking over a group of harvesters collecting flora,^[143] Windu and Mano engaged a group of B1s. After Windu explained that the Force would eventually share a plan with them, Mano defeated the battle droids with a Force pushed to take out her frustration on the wait.^[129]

Hunting the Jedi

When Windu then took both of their lightsabers to fight a harvester, three B1s tried to kill Mano as she stood over the ruins of their fallen comrades, only for her to use a fallen droid's blaster to take out three units before Windu returned her blade. In the Separatist base, Ay-Dee eventually started a conversation with Grievous via hologram as a B1 and an astromech droid stood by. The mercenary reported their progress but began to complain after Grievous questioned how he found the Droid Army's assistance. As the mercenary insulted the battle droids, he was suddenly interrupted by the B1, who began to complain about their treatment under the hired mercenary. The complaining B1 was quickly shot by Ay-Dee out of annoyance, prompting the mercenary to quip that the units worked well as blaster fodder. Despite agreeing, Grievous inquired about the status of the Jedi by questioning if any droids had been destroyed by individuals other than the mercenary. When Ay-Dee tried to raise his pay by claiming he killed Windu, Grievous demanded the lightsabers of the supposedly fallen Jedi squad as proof.^[129]

With the conversation over, a B1 obliviously noted that they did not have any of the lightsabers, resulting in the annoyed mercenary shooting the unit in the head. Afterwards, droids were ordered to form search parties to locate the Jedi, with one such group being made up of a large number of B1s, supported by STAP–mounted B1s and walkers. Spotting that large group while traveling with Windu, Mano suggested moving in and attacking the Separatist outpost while its robotic defenders were away, but Windu elected to wait until all four members of their Jedi squad were together. Meanwhile, the Separatists had affirmed that at least one location was clear of the Jedi and continued their hunt. After a B1 reported that the sector they were in was clear, AD-W4 had the search parameters expanded.^[129] Ay-Dee eventually returned to the Separatist outpost.^[381] The four Jedi were actually at the Westwind, where Dibs—who had become disillusioned with the Jedi Council for joining the Clone Wars after seeing corpses belonging to the natives they'd tried to protect—began a lightsaber duel against Windu.^[129]

After Windu defeated him and had him imprisoned aboard the Westwin, the remaining three Jedi were able to focus on destroying the Separatist outpost with a twofold assault, intending to take out both the base's droids and the harvesters across the world. At the base, as two other B1s stood guard behind them, a B1 informed Ay-Dee that the Jedi had not been located within eastern quadrants, yet the mercenary responded that they would nevertheless locate their foes. Suddenly, an explosion proceeded to rock the outpost, shaking Ay-Dee and at least two B1s. When the mercenary demanded to know what was happening, a B1 at a screen reported that the Jedi had arrived, making Ay-Dee shove the droid away in order to look; Fisto had made a dramatic entrance into the base^[381] to distract the droids^[382] with his one man raid. Upon entering, Fisto saw that he was in a room containing a large number of B1s^[381] and began to fight them. Even as one B1 unit ordered to trap the Knight in the room by sealing the doors, Fisto, as another B1 observed, simply stood his ground, successfully taking out every droid that tried to fight him.^[382]

While fighting, Fisto explained to the droids that he was acting like the fangs of a wooriid, large creatures from his homeworld of Glee Anselm, claiming his robotic foes were already doomed; Fisto was in fact only a distraction for Windu and Mano, who had also infiltrated the base. In one hallway, after B1s passed by, the two parted ways to play their separate roles. In his command center, Ay-Dee ordered his droids to load all cargo for transport and throw everything, including themselves, at the Jedi to keep them back. Windu, who took down two B1s in the control room, soon revealed himself and began to fight the mercenary. Fisto did not fare as well, however, as he had finally been overwhelmed and was about to be fired upon. Fortunately for him, Mano suddenly arrived and cut down a B1, catching the attention of Fisto and at least three other standard battle droids. The Knight cut down a few more droids before standing back to back with the Master, and the two proceeded to attack the surrounding battle droids. The two managed to clear the room of robotic resistance.^[382]

Additionally, before arriving in the droid–filled room to help Fisto, Mano had ensured the flora would not be taken off-world. Elsewhere, a DH-Omni Support Vessel began to fly down to collect the plant life as a number of B1s stood under it. Thanks to Mano's actions, however, the supply ship soon exploded, thus robbing the Confederacy of the energy source and Ay-Dee of^[382] the second half^[129] of his payment. After Windu used the Force to crush Ay-Dee's escaping head, the mission ended in a Jedi victory^[382] that brought about the liberation of Hissrich.^[383] Additionally, Master Ki-Adi-Mundi stated Republic troops would be sent to Hissrich to deal with any remaining droids and help the native population.^[382]

Amongst the sand and rocks

During the first weeks of the war, a series of ground and air battles erupted on a rocky planet; the Separatist forces on world included^[303] B1 battle droids^[384] while the Republic dispatched members of^[303] the 7th Sky Corps^[116] under the command of^[303] the currently-informal^[90] Jedi General Kenobi,^[303] Clone Marshal Commander^[385] Cody,^[303] who served as Kenobi's second-in-command throughout the war,^[385] and Padawan Skywalker, who, like Kenobi, had commanding authority, albeit as^[303] an informal^[90] Jedi Commander.^[303] Both Kenobi and Skywalker had also constructed new lightsabers^[386] after losing their prior weapons on Geonosis and relying on loaned blades over its subsequent battle.^[42]

In those early weeks of the war, Skywalker became unknowingly desensitized to the sight of^[90] B1 battle droids,^[46] whose appearance did not intimidate the young Jedi but instead created an urge within him to fight.^[90] Over his service, Skywalker found that he was very effective against the Confederacy's droid soldiers^[74] as he continued to cut down B1s and other such units, creating an ironic new status quo for the man who had spent his boyhood repairing droids.^[134] Skywalker, further, found joy in his service against^[303] the B1-series,^[384] justifying that glee by thinking of each^[303] B1 battle droid^[384] as an obstacle to the justice and order the Jedi Order needed to restore. Thereby, he believed the act of cutting down battle droids was a simple outgrowth of the Order's typical peacekeeper role and, with each droid he destroyed, felt was helping the galactic population in a small way.^[303]

One day during the rocky planet battles, Skywalker—who leapt into battle against Separatist forces at every opportunity on world—and the less enthusiastic Kenobi broke from their clone forces, with whom they had yet to develop effective joint-tactics, to engage a grouping of Separatist forces^[303] that included several B1s. Those several B1s attempted to engage Skywalker,^[384] who cheerfully cut through their number and reduced them to half-smelted remains. After the dismembered droids collapsed around Skywalker^[303] and as the fighting continued elsewhere,^[387] Kenobi took the moment to argue against his apprentice's joy for combat, to which Skywalker explained his point of view about upholding justice via the destruction of battle droids and asked what was not to like about it when viewed from that perspective. Skywalker's glee was interrupted when he noticed four clone troopers had been killed in combat, however, leading him to converse with the clone trooper Sister before another formation of Separatist droids attacked their position.^[303]

Also in those early weeks, multiple droid armies were dispatched to attack and annex the sandy, mountainous planet Langston for the Confederacy. A mining world^[90] in the Expansion Region^[388] that would be defended by Republic clone troopers, Langston produced a great many minerals, most notably for the Confederacy's purposes nyix,^[90] which was useful for armor^[389] and warship hulls.^[390] B1 battle droids^[46] served as part of the invading armies and saw action within the mining district of Langston's largest continent, where they clashed with enemy clones. While the Separatist invasion was ultimately fought off, the battle brought ruination to decades' worth of infrastructure and architecture, with one family of Gharal—whose number included the adolescent Rokura—in the mining district watching the conflict between^[90] B1s^[46] and clone troopers unfold. The sight generated fear in the family, who also lost the eldest of their number in the Separatist attack and had to suddenly make by with either a damaged or outright destroyed home.^[90]

Siege on Hebekrr Minor

Around the same time as the battles on a rocky planet, a possible shift in the Trade Federation's "neutrality" emerged thanks to the rogue Neimoidian Oje N'deeb, who hoped to redeem the Federation's image by placing it under new leadership and lured Amidala to the planet Hebekrr Minor in the Outer Rim to meet her. To maintain her presence in the Senate, Amidala's former handmaiden Sabé took her place on Coruscant, where she encountered the newly-returned Skywalker, who had secretly married Amidala and been serving on the frontline on the rocky planet. When Skywalker claimed the war was simple, Sabé remembered fighting battle droids^[303] like the B1^[15] during the Naboo Crisis and therefore suspected the combat was not as simplistic as Skywalker made it out to be, but the Padawan stayed firm in his opinion. Meanwhile, because Hebekrr Minor's government had refused to sell their mineral rights to the Confederacy,^[303] B1s^[84] served as part of a small invasion force, composed of several thousand battle droids, that had besieged the planet almost as soon as the war began.^[303]

Held back by the Hebekrr militia and a company of clone troopers under^[303] the then-informal^[90] Jedi General Sivad, Sivad's Padawan, and Clone Commander Sticks, the Droid Army focused on bombarding and attacking the planet's main city and, to try to force the planetary magistrate to agreeing to Separatist demands via a treaty, spreading destruction. Because the siege was a low priority for the Confederacy, which did not even provide substantial air support to the invading army, the Republic hoped to draw the siege out to a point where the invasion force would run out of droids. Nonetheless, the Confederacy established a base encampment, which was protected by battle droids^[303] like the B1.^[84] In a bid to coax out the Magistrate and force her to submit to their treaty, Separatist forces kidnapped members of the Magistrate's family and imprisoned them in the base.^[303]

Joined by one of her guard captains, Gregar Typho, and undercover as mercenaries, Amidala was lured to Hebekrr Minor by N'deeb and arrived ten hours after the kidnapping. Agreeing to help rescue the family members from the Separatist encampment because they had arrived in a neutral ship that could get close to the base, Amidala and Typho brought Sticks and a team of clones in stealth armor to the enemy base's landing bay on the claim that they would sell the Separatists Chadian rum; although the Separatists suspected the delivery was a ruse, the clones took out the droids that greeted them at the dock and broke into the base, while Amidala and Typho stayed behind to dump the alcohol and hold the landing bay. As the clones carried out their precision strike and Amidala moved the final sled of rum into its new position, a second wave of battle droids^[303]—composed of two B1s^[84] and a droideka—arrived and began to fire.^[303]

As the three droids were a credible threat and would be able to outflank the two undercover Naboo, even if the rum crates prevented an explosion and could serve as cover for the time being, Typho, pinned down on the ship's ramp and unable to use the craft's weaponry, gave Amidala the single most dangerous request he had yet to ask her of: to take out the droideka with a vibroblade hidden in her sleeve while he handled^[303] the B1s.^[84] After Amidala agreed to the plan without hesitation, the three droids were soon distracted by Typho's plan, as the captain yelled out and ran off the ramp, leaving the droids to turn towards the left as the ran.^[303] Both of the B1s^[84] were shot by Typho before Amidala rushed in and took out the droideka. Afterward, the two piloted their shuttle towards the extraction point, where they collected the clones and the rescued hostages before escaping from incoming droids. During the infiltration, Sticks and his men also destroyed the droids' recharging stations and armory.^[303]

Although he was aware that the droids could use solar charging stations as a backup and was unsure of how many droids the invasion force had left, Sticks estimated the droids had at most a week of power left. The impeding droid shutdown left Sticks with the opinion that the battle would end in a Republic victory. After the mission, Amidala finally spoke with N'deeb and was hopeful that dream of his new Federation leadership presented a way to halt the growth of the Separatist Droid Army,^[303] but the new leadership never came to pass.^[137] When Amidala returned to Coruscant and informed Senators Organa and Mon Mothma of her mission, she entered into a brief debate with Mothma, a devote pacifist, about whether it was right for her to get into active combat, as she had against the battle droids. Mothma ultimately agreed with her and that Amidala was the senator who would be sent into "aggressive negotiations." Indeed, the siege on Hebekrr Minor^[303] was not the last time Amidala^[134]—who was possibly the most action-ready senator in the Republic^[391] while also being someone who wanted to establish peace without further bloodshed^[188]—engaged in direct combat with B1 battle droids during the war.^[134]

Cato Neimoidia rescue

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^[392]

^[393]

During the early weeks of the war, the neutrality of the Trade Federation and the Cato Neimoidian government were threatened by a catastrophic bombing on Cato Neimoidia secretly orchestrated by the Sith, so Kenobi, who had recently been made a Jedi Master and member of the Jedi Council, was dispatched to investigate the disaster and clear the Republic's name. During his mission, he allied with a Neimoidian Royal Guard named Ruug Quarnom, who had previously served in the Neimoidian special forces. Over the course of her service to her people, she had become familiar with the sound of^[90] B1 battle droids^[46] unfolding in unison. With the help of the recently-Knighted Skywalker, who arrived with R2-D2 and Jedi Initiate Mill Alibeth, Kenobi was able to escape the trial he was forced to undergo as bombing evidence began to point towards the Republic, escaping battle droids and Neimoidian guards to acquire evidence with Quarnom that proved a third party was behind the catastrophe. For her part in Kenobi's mission, Quarnom was certain her former partner Ketar Nor, who had been radicalized by Commander Ventress, would identify her as a traitor.^[90]

Quarnom was indeed arrested on charges of treason, but she escaped when her prisoner transport was disabled and crashed. Landing under the city of Kyr Uneris, Quarnom believed her status as a political prisoner would afford her the obscurity of someone not worth a hunt, but the Cato Neimoidian government instead dispatched a battalion of Federation-produced^[90] B1s^[46] on a Platoon Attack Craft to arrest her again. When the attack craft landed near Quarnom's position, the battalion^[90] of B1s^[46] unfolded in unison and march out, scanning and searching for the escaped guard through the thick Cato Neimoidian mists. From her position, Quarnom could see and hear the droids, allowing her to estimate nearly one hundred^[90] B1 units^[46] were present. While the sight made her believe she would meet her end on Cato Neimoidia, which she deemed to be a fitting end due to her years of service for her people, Kenobi and Skywalker had received a report about her crashed prisoner transport and elected to save their ally, returning to the Neimoidian Purse World to launch a nearly impossible rescue mission. Arriving a distance away from the scene and igniting their lightsabers, the two Jedi attacked from behind and systematically cut down several rows^[90] of B1s^[46] before the droids even realized they were under attack.^[90]

Almost all at once,^[90] the B1 battle droids^[46] turned and fired at the Jedi despite their continued and significant losses, only for the Jedi to deflect all incoming fire as they pushed on. Perfectly complementing each other as they cut through^[90] the B1^[46] battalion, Kenobi and Skywalker—who used more aggression against the droids, while his former master used more precise strikes, which further balanced the two out—made short work of the remaining rows of droids, leaving the last^[90] B1^[46] to fall and groan before they approached Quarnom. Having been initially unsure if what she saw was real or just droids vanishing into the thick fog, Quarnom had realized her two rescuers were likely Kenobi and Skywalker as their attack carried on, with the sight of them cutting down battle droids leaving her with the opinion they were unstoppable together.^[90] Afterward, Kenobi and Skywalker continued to serve in the war as heroes of the Republic,^[394] with Skywalker's promotion to Jedi Knight meaning he had also become a Jedi General. Furthermore, the positions of Jedi General and Commander were made formal military ranks by the Galactic Senate via the Jedi Military Integration Act.^[90]

The strikes of Skywalker

Leading from the frontline^[395] as one of the greatest heroes of the Republic,^[74] Skywalker regularly fought through the B1-series^[396] and was given command over the elite 501st Legion for the war effort,^[27] with Captain Rex joining him as his first-in-command.^[397] Beyond Skywalker^[54] and Rex's own effectiveness against the B1-series,^[50] many B1s found themselves defeated by the legion's proud infantrymen, who regularly squared off against and overcame the Confederacy's B1 units. Living to tell stories of their victories over the B1-series, those experiences also allowed members of the 501st to learn the model's weaknesses and how to best overcome them. One such trooper in the 501st was Bow, who would arise to the rank of Clone Lieutenant and came to consider B1 units as mere "stupid machines."^[85] During the war, there were also moments when Skywalker or his troops, if they did not have binders to keep a prisoner ready for pickup, found that they could usually lay a few downed B1s over the target's arms and legs, with the droids' weight proving useful to them in these and other circumstances.^[74]

At one point during the war, several B1s were stationed within the hangar of a starship when Skywalker, flying his Delta-7B Aethersprite-class light interceptor with astromech R2-D2, crashed into the hangar. The starfighter collided with several B1 units, all while another B1 stood in Skywalker's path. Another unit, however, was a safer distance away.^[398] At another point, three OOM-series security battle droids confronted Skywalker, who leapt into battle against them with his lightsaber ignited.^[396] R0-GR was sliced into pieces by Skywalker on many occasions. After R0-GR met C-3PO in the years after the war and learned Skywalker had built the protocol droid, the B1 unit believed his destructions at Skywalker's hands gave him a close, almost familial, bond with Skywalker's creation.^[54]

Hunting an artifact

Count Dooku's expedition

find a Jedi artifact

General Grievous's trap

Under orders from Count Dooku to find a Jedi artifact,^[399] General Grievous targeted the Wookiee Senator Yarua^[148]—who represented his species' homeworld,^[400] the Mid Rim planet Kashyyyk,^[75] in the Republic Senate—because he owned the valuable item.^[148] With a whole army of battle droids at his back,^[401] Grievous arranged an ambush to capture Yarua on the moon of Staggec in the Outer Rim, where the senator had traveled with his daughter Viiveenn, Senator Amidala, and several others as part of a supposed diplomatic mission. Quickly springing the trap by arriving in two Munificent-class star frigates, Grievous dispatched his forces to capture Yarua and the others, but the Wookiee senator managed to hide the valuable within Viiveenn's doll and ensure she escaped into the woods before he was detained by Grievous's B1s. Amidala, too, was captured, but she managed to get a message to the Jedi Council, leading to Kenobi and Skywalker arriving on the moon in an Eta-class shuttle and finding Viveenn, who was able to lead them to where the B1s were holding her father. Under a cliffside, two of the the droids escorted the captured senator aboard a waiting Sheathipede-class Type B shuttle while several others stood guard, with the Jedi being able to hear the clank of their movement from their position.^[148]

One of the B1s caught sight of Kenobi when he ran down after Viveenn, who was trying to reach her father, and ordered his comrades to open fire, forcing the Jedi Master to dive forward to push the young Wookiee away from incoming blasterfire. As such, Kenobi hit the ground but pretended to be knocked unconscious by the impact as he and Viveenn were surrounded by the B1s, who elected to take the young Wookiee and seemingly knocked out Jedi captive. After two B1s brought Kenobi aboard their shuttle, the ship took off as a distressed Skywalker ran down after his former master, leaving four B1s behind to deal with the Jedi. At least two of those droids, however, did not want to be left behind to deal with Skywalker, with one openly questioning where the ship was going while the other demanded they not be left behind. As Skywalker ignited his lightsaber, one of them quickly realized they were in danger, and Skywalker quickly cut through the entire droid compliment, even though two tried to run away, without realizing he would need to keep at least one B1 alive for interrogation.^[148]

As he stood amongst the remains of the droids had just cut down, Skywalker realized his error and instead mediated on what to do. Meanwhile, Kenobi, Viveenn, and Yarua were brought aboard a larger craft in orbit and watched over by several B1s, only for the Jedi to be given an opening to escape: when one the droids realized Kenobi needed to be restrained before he awoke, another unit agreed and ordered the other droid to check on the ship's other prisoners afterward. As the B1s split up, Kenobi snuck out and overheard two speaking about how the restraints and other captives were kept on level 3 of the starship. As the droids were tasked with bringing Yarua and his daughter to Grievous, the B1 heading to level 3 ordered his fellow unit to report to Grievous before doing so. At the same time, Skywalker piloted the Eta-class shuttle to the Separatist ship and requested permission to board within a hangar, only to exit the shuttle and begin attacking B1s present within the bay. Ignoring a B1's order to halt, Kenobi joined into the battle and directed Skywalker to save the others while he dealt with Grievous.^[148]

Firing upon three B1s with a stolen E-5 blaster when Skywalker found them, however, Amidala had already been leading her fellow prisoners in an escape mission. As they escaped back to the shuttle, Grievous, who had been told Kenobi was restrained, finally came face-to-face with Yarua and Viveenn as two B1s stood guard. When Kenobi jumped down from the vents and engaged Grievous in a brief duel, the two droids stayed back and guarded the prisoners. However, when Grievous threatened his daughter as a means of forcing Kenobi down, Yarua was able to rush the cyborg and push him through a hangar bay door, giving Kenobi and Viveenn an opening to escape. Believing Yarua dead, the two Jedi and their Republic allies escaped with Viveen, who still held onto the valuable item in her doll.^[148]

Fall of Muunilinist, miracle from Alamass

During its early days, the Clone Wars came to^[402] the Outer Rim^[371] planet Muunilinst, a Separatist stronghold owned by the Banking Clan. In the financially devastating battle,^[403] B1 battle droids were armed with sniper rifles by their commanders, who simply hoped for the best after arming the droids. These sniper units were deployed to protect the CIS command center by monitoring the Republic's advance towards it, serving as a defense alongside rocket launcher–armed B1s. When a team of clone Advanced Recon Commandos were sent to take down the large Separatist artillery force on world, the sniper–armed and rocket launcher–armed B1s crossed paths with the ARC troopers, yet the droids' poor aim, even despite being armed with advanced sights, hampered their ambushes. As such, the ARC troopers suffered few casualties,^[109] and the battle, after devastating Muun cities, ended in a Republic victory.^[403]

According to legend, another early engagement came with an important battle for the distant ice planet Alamass, where the Republic had established a stronghold of tactical importance. During a space battle over Alamass, at least one B1 served aboard the bridge of Grievous's current command ship alongside his T-series tactical unit. As another B1 unit spoke to the tactical droid via an imagecaster, the B1, which was missing legs by the time Grievous was strangling him, was attacked by Grievous in anger. After watching Grievous destroy entire bridge crews of battle droids day after day, the tactical droid had grown so angry at his general that, on the eve of when an army of simple battle droids was to be deployed to Alamass, he disobeyed his programming by altering the plan Grievous had given the Droid Army; Grievous's orders would bring about Separatist victory, but the strategy would sacrifice a third of the deployed army to the dangerous environment, so the tactical droid sent out a new strategy that resulted in Grievous's first major defeat but greatly reduced droid losses. Upon learning the droid had altered his command, Grievous destroyed the tactical unit, but many droids of various models,^[355] including B1s^[404] and droidekas, came to learn of the T-1's bravery. Ultimately, the tactical unit's story became a legend and inspired many droids to stand up to anti-droid oppression.^[355]

Besiegement of Devalok

Marching through Devalok

At some point after the Battle of Arantara,^[405] multiple legions of B1 battle droids^[406] were involved in a devastating, multi-week siege of the strategically irrelevant planet Devalok. The Separatist forces on Devalok acted in a very tough manner and were supported by an orbital blockade. While a Republic force under Skywalker, Kenobi, and Clone Commander Varna had managed to arrive, the Droid Army pressed on and mounted a winning battle against the Republic, even being reinforced as the conflict continued and the planet was brought to ruin around them. All the while, battle droids patrolled the conquered cities, with one group of^[155] four B1 battle droids, one of which of an OOM command unit,^[156] moving into an abandoned neighborhood and eventually an apartment complex within it^[155] as the battle continued in the distance.^[168] One of the apartments was home to two children, Zohra and Dumuz, who had been living on their own for five days since their parents left for food in the Enki greenhouse. Having tried to get Dumuz's mind off the crisis unfolding around them, Zohra had allowed them to play a game—during which Dumuz declared himself a Jedi who would cut down the invading droids—and feared the droid patrol only entered their complex because they overheard them.^[155]

As they grew closer to the children's' hiding place,^[155] the B1s^[156] shot down doors, walls, and windows—which scared Zohra—on orders from^[155] the OOM commander^[156] to locate any survivors in the apartment bloc. After wrecking their way through the apartments across the hall,^[155] the four B1s^[156] blasted through the front doors of Zohra's apartment, creating the first moment where Zohra, hiding in a cupboard with her brother, could see the battle droids up close through the little sunlight that leaked in from their boarded up windows. As^[155] two of the B1s^[156] destroyed the family's supplies, with the first knocking down a water container from its stool with his foot while the other crushed their foot supplies with the bottom of his blaster,^[155] another B1^[156] moved to search the rest of the apartment.^[155] The OOM commander,^[156] meanwhile, looked around from the center of the room before ordering his units to switch to infrared mode, which quickly revealed the children's location.^[155]

Uncovering "dangerous rebels"

Horrifying Zohra,^[155] one B1^[156] tore open the cupboard, pulled the girl out by her hair, and dragged her to the center of the room before^[155] another B1,^[156] ignoring his protests and kicking, carried Dumuz over and dropped him next to his sister. Standing over the children, whom they assumed to be dangerous rebels, and readying their blasters, the two^[155] B1s^[156] were ordered by^[155] their OOM commander^[156] to execute the children through the standard elimination protocol. Although Zohra did not beg for their lives and found she was not afraid, the two children were saved just as the commander lowered his blaster to be mere centimeters from her face; Skywalker and Kenobi had entered the building and used the Force to target^[155] the OOM command droid's^[156] gears, causing its head to explode before Skywalker revealed himself in the doorway.^[155]

Deflecting a blaster bolt fired at close range by^[155] one of other B1s,^[156] the droid was then cut into three pieces in the blink of an eye by Skywalker. When^[155] the B1^[156] who had been exploring the other rooms ran towards on the Jedi Knight's left flank, Kenobi appeared and altered his fellow general to the sudden arrival before deflecting the droid's blaster shot.^[155] That B1^[156] was torn open by Kenobi cutting into his core, and both Jedi then took out the last^[155] B1^[156] together, leaving the unit to fall onto the ground in three pieces. With the children suddely saved, Kenobi and Skywalker introduced themselves, with Skywalker also picking up the water container^[155] one of the B1s^[156] had knocked over, even though the unit had let its contents leak out.^[155]

Battle at the Enki greenhouse

En route to the frontline and amid the ruined highways leading to the city,^[155] legions of B1 battle droids^[406] marched onward, as did droidekas and tanks, as a Republic defeat loomed on the horizon. However, these legions and other Separatist forces failed to notice Skywalker, Kenobi, Zohra, and Dumuz, who hid from the Droid Army while journeying to the bombed out Enki greenhouse to find the childrens' parents. Shortly after night fell and that group had found Zohra's father and Zohra's mother within the Enki greenhouse vault, a battle tank commanded^[155] by a B1 unit^[168] discovered the group.^[155] The B1^[168] ordered the group to surrender or be fired upon, only for Kenobi to jump fifteen meters into the air to sever the vehicle's cannon.^[155]

Commanding the Jedi to get off the vehicle,^[155] the B1^[168] quickly also ordered their fellow units to remove the Jedi General,^[155] which one B1 verbally responded to^[168] before several battle droids exited to face Kenobi. As the tank was swerved around to get the attacking Jedi off it, Skywalker threw a massive tree trunk into the vehicle, leaving it and any droid still inside it to be destroyed. As Separatist reinforcements turned their attention to the former garden, a Republic gunship Kenobi had previously called for arrived, although the two Jedi ultimately needed to leave the craft to engage the Droid Army once more to give Zahra's family a chance to escape. Later, as the family traveled to Naboo aboard a Republic capital ship with thousands of other refugees from Devalok, Zohra turned the events she had her sibling had lived through into a story to tell him to pass the time.^[155]

Activity on Benglor

At another point after the Battle of Arantara,^[407] the Republic sent General Skywalker and members of his 501st Legion to the hot planet of Benglor to investigate Separatist activity on the planet. While traveling through a forest, clone trooper Bellow found the head of a B1 in a sand mound, proving that some kind of Confederate operation was based on the planet. As Rex questioned what could have happened to the droid unit, another clone found a B1's chest piece, and one more trooper, who expressed joy at seeing "clankers" in pieces, then found a B1's leg. However, Rex and Skywalker understood it was not normal to see a droid broken up into such clean pieces and realized something was wrong. Indeed, they were being led into a trap by a native quadruped, but Rex and Skywalker managed to defeat the beast after it ate Bellow.^[146]

Occupation of Quarmendy

At another point, the world of Quarmendy and its hyperspace route fell to the CIS, with B1 units occupying the planet's previously neutral Nexus trading outpost. In control of the defensive station, Emir Wat Tambor,^[141] who was also the foreman of the Techno Union^[92] and a member of the Separatist Council,^[42] remained stationed in the control room along with his T-series tactical droid and a number of B1s. Tambor was certain the Republic would eventually attack them, even telling his battle droids as such. Indeed, Jedi General Plo Koon and his 104th Battalion were assigned to retake the Nexus in order to take back Quarmendy. Koon planned for his forces to attack from the air, thus drawing out the Separatist detachment, while Clone Commander Wolffe and the Wolfpack squad would launch a separate assault.^[141]

During the attack, a B1 reported to Tambor that Republic ships were closing in, which only made the overconfident Emir happy, much to the confusion of another B1. Believing they held the advantage, he launched vulture droids in response before turning his attention to the custodian of the Nexus, Orkle, who was brought before him by a pair of B1s. She had managed to evacuate her people from the city, but Tambor decided to keep her as a hostage to use against the Republic. As Koon and his starfighters launched their attack against the vulture fighters, the JT-12 jetpack-equipped Wolfpack arrived at the Nexus's outer wall. Scared upon receiving an alert about their attack, a B1 in the control room altered Tambor to the new incursion, so the Emir, declaring that the droid had underestimated him, deployed a group of D1-series aerial battle droids in response. While a B1 in the control room was able to monitor the Wolfpack's position, Wolffe managed to plant a bomb on one of the D-wing droids and throw the unit towards the control room.^[141]

A B1 quickly altered Tambor about the fast approaching droid, concerning the T-1 and Tambor, who was nevertheless confused by the B1's comment that one of their own units was approaching. The D-wing crashed into the control room and exploded, taking out the station's command center and security systems. The torso of one of the command station's B1s and the remains of Tambor's tactical droid were thrown outside the room by the explosion. Standing in-between the B1's body and the T-1's remains, Tambor refused to surrender and instead activated the outpost's self-destruct. While the Emir was carried away by a pair of D-wing droids, Orkle and the B1 body began to slip, but the clones managed to rescue the custodian and then reunite with Koon aboard a LAAT/i gunship.^[141]

Jailers of Krystar

At another point, a B1 battalion was secretly stationed on the muddy planet Krystar, which was still a Republic member world but [get into why the clones are here]. The battalion was tasked with guarding a compound—located near the Krystar palace in middle of the world's habitable zone—holding clone prisoners of war, who had been brought to the planet by the Confederacy. Clone POWs would remain in the compound under B1 guard until Regent Queb sold them to Trandoshans for hunting expeditions. However, planetary representative Vishar Koss came to learn of the operation, leaking intelligence, albeit without knowing about the droids, to Senator Amidala, who in turn assured the Republic would respond. Unable to launch an attack on Krystar due to it still being a Republic planet, General Kenobi and his 212th Attack Battalion, joined by at least one member of the Wolfpack, were tasked with discovering whether Koss's report was true.^[142]

With Amidala ensuring they could get on Krystar under the guise of a diplomatic aid operation, trooper Waxer led a clone squad, which included fellow trooper Boil, through the woods to investigate the compound during her limited time on world. After coming around a kilometer away from the compound, Waxer used his helmet's electrobinoculars to look inside; he indeed saw imprisoned clones, yet he quickly spotted and alerted his squad about the B1 battalion. Alerting Kenobi about their findings, the clones and the Jedi also heard from Amidala and Koss, who had learned about Queb's deal with the Trandoshans. After Kenobi allowed them to attack, Waxer and Boil, seeing that their squad was heavily outnumbered by the B1s, snuck into the compound by covering themselves in mud, allowing them to cut off the compound's power and free their clone brothers.^[142]

While one B1 noticed that the cell power was cut and the fence was no longer electrified, he soon realized the clones were ready to escape; trooper Wooley and the other POW clones quickly attacked the droids, while Waxer and Boil's squad also launched an assault. Being unarmed and outnumbered, the escaping clones were quickly overwhelmed, only for Clone Commander Cody to arrive with reinforcements. Cody and his troopers revealed their arrival by firing upon several B1s before the droids could execute the unarmed clones. After reinforced clones continued their battle against the B1s and eventually escaped, Kenobi defeated the Trandoshan representative, and a new clone team was deployed to arrest Queb.^[142]

Defense of Melagawni

B1 battle droids were assigned to and staffed a Separatist weapons depot^[104] on Melagawni,^[153] an astronomical object under Separatist control^[104] in the Mid Rim.^[408] Also guarding the installation, the B1s fell under the command of a ST-series military strategic analysis and tactics droid^[104] even though that unit would not yet see wide-scale use.^[359] The ST unit-commanded weapons depot on Melagawni supplied armed to a world the Republic was focused on liberating, which resulted in Commander Woffle deployed a squad of clone deserters—troopers Heater, Racetrack, Charlie, and Sync—to take out the facility, promising them the chance to leave the army if they succeeded. After their LAAT/i was shot down by a surface-to-air missile, resulting in the squad crashing in an abandoned sector of a city, a B1 in the weapons depot's command center altered the super tactical droid to the infiltration.^[104]

As two B1s were in the midst of a discussion and other B1s worked at their stations, the tactical droid noted the low odds of such a small team launching a successful assault, making another B1 claim he was thinking the same thing. Concluding the clones did not have a frontal assault in mind, the droid officer ordered all battle droids to be on alert for the enemy strike before moving to defend the depot's power generators. Soon enough, the clones made their move; Racetrack, holding two of his brothers' helmets, approached two B1s guarding the depot, much to their confusion. Claiming to the only survivor of the gunship crash, Racetrack claimed he wanted to negotiate surrender, which the B1s were unable to do, before handing them the extra helmets, claiming they proved his squad was dead and that they contained presents. Although one B1 became excited, he quickly saw that the "gift" was a bomb. The explosion took out both B1s, and the other clones believed the all the depot's B1s were rerouted to the site of the explosion.^[104]

Believing their distraction worked, Heater, Sync, and Charlie infiltrated the generator room, where they placed charges and realized Racetrack had abandoned them. Having anticipated the squad's plan, the tactical droid and a force of B1s revealed themselves at that moment, surrounding the clones and ordering that they surrender or die. As the tactical unit expressed his belief that Heater would not activate the charges while his squad remained inside, Racetrack suddenly returned, having been unwilling to abandon his brothers. Revealing himself by shooting a B1, Racetrack and the squad engaged the B1s, as the tactical droid had failed to calculate the fourth clone's involvement. After Heater blasted the ST-series unit, the clones escaped and detonated their charges, destroying the facility. Afterward, the squad decided to remain with the army.^[104]

Operation on Caliban

The Outer Rim ice moon of Caliban became one^[138] of the many^[350] astronomical objects General Grievous invaded during the Clone Wars. In addition to angering members of the native Qubey species, his attack destroyed a lunar ice bridge—which connected one side of Caliban to the other—needed for the Separatist advance. On Caliban, whilst in command of a force of B1 battle droids, Grievous captured members of the 212th Attack Battalion. Grievous had his B1s hold General Kenobi and his clones at gunpoint, though the Jedi quipped that they had been in worse situations, much to the confusion of trooper "Gearshift." Unconcerned with violating Galactic Accords about prisoners of war performing manual labor, Grievous forced the Jedi and clones to construct a new bridge, although they only decided to ensure the bridge was functional after realizing its destruction had separated a family of Qubeys. Upon meeting with other Qubeys, they agreed to ally to defeat Grievous and his B1s.^[138]

As more time passed and the 212th continued to work on the bridge, Grievous, escorted by several B1s, arrived to the ridge and argued about their lack of progress with Kenobi, only for several Qubeys to jump out and, as noted by one B1, seemingly hug onto Grievous. Although he shook them off—making one B1 question if he would prefer a pat on the shoulder, only for Grievous to demand the unit move away from him and surprise the droid when he swiped his arm out at him—the Qubey had actually used the hugs to get close to the cyborg and retrieve Kenobi's lightsaber from the Jedi killer. Later, after the 212th completed the bridge, Grievous returned with his battle droids, who prepared to execute the clones and Jedi. However, the B1s were caught by surprise when the Qubeys jumped out with spears and attacked. Grievous quickly demanded his droids call in reinforcements and attack the clone troopers, which only confused his nearest B1 because the droid was unsure of which order to follow, leaving Grievous decry his droid troops as idiots.^[138]

As Kenobi unveiled his lightsaber and began to duel the cyborg, his clones and the Qubey fought the droids; in the battle, one B1 fired his E-5 blaster rifle at the attackers, scaring one Qubey as another tried to run at the droid from behind. Meanwhile, another Qubey directed one of the clone to help against that droid, while another B1 lost his E-5 to Commander Cody, who threw the droid off the nearby cliff to claim the weapon. As Cody fired the stolen blaster at their robotic foes, Gearshift claimed a blaster from a B1 taken out by a Qubey spear. Next, he removed the arm of another B1, using it, instead of the E-5 he held, to take down the droid. Following Gearshift, the 212th soldiers charged the B1s guarding their LAAT/i gunship. As Cody and another clone provided covering fire against the droids, the clones reclaimed the vessel to escape before droid reinforcements could arrive.^[138]

Meanwhile, as a B1 stood behind him, Grievous overwhelmed Kenobi, only for the Jedi Master, having baited the cyborg into the perfect position, to use the Force to begin an avalanche, much to the surprise of Grievous and the battle droid. With the cyborg and droid soldier buried under the snow, Kenobi elected to leave the moon, understanding that Separatist reinforcements were arriving and it would further endanger the Qubey if they stayed to capture Grievous. After making sure the Qubey family reunited, the 212th destroyed the bridge they had built, which Kenobi hoped would keep the CIS away from Caliban, before departing.^[138]

Siege of Hisseen

As the Separatist military continued to spread across the galaxy,^[146] resulting in more systems falling under CIS control,^[141] the Confederacy besieged planet of Hisseen,^[146] trying to take away the freedom of the Hisseenians^[104] to ensure the star system fell under its control. Faced with three of the Jedi High Council's most trusted Jedi–Generals Kenobi, Skywalker, and Koon–and their clone forces,^[146] B1-series units saw heavy use in the ensuring battle for Hisseen, making up part of the invading droid army that refused to yield to the Republic's defense.^[104] The droid army dispatched to Hisseen was under the command of Count Dooku himself, who was also aided by Commander Ventress.^[141]

Amid the fighting, as Dooku moved to finalize his control over the planet by locating and dissolving Hisseen's parliament, Republic clone troopers were ordered to protect^[146] Hisseenian civilians^[138] in a village. Fighting alongside Hisseenian troops, the clones found themselves in the midst of a battle against a force of B1s under the authority of an OOM command battle droid. Although the troops tried to hold the droids back, the battle droids kept up their assault and were reinforced by at least three B2 super droids. As Clone Commander Wolffe considered flanking the droids from the west to give an opening to attack the B2s, the droids did not keep their advantage for long; the three Jedi returned and began to make their move by levitating a super droid, catching the attention of at least two of the B1s.^[146]

After levitating the super droid over those two B1s, the Jedi jumped overhead from behind to start their attack against the battle droids, scaring those two same units. After the Jedi moved in front of the droids to fight, with Koon Force pushing a B2 into several B1s to take several units out, the clones and at least one Hisseenian soldier joined the Jedi officers, leaving the battle droids to be quickly outmatched, with one B1 even asking to surrender before being shot. With the droids defeated and while standing near their remains, the three clone leaders–Commander Cody, Wolffe, and Captain Rex–were told how close Dooku was to taking the planet before being ordered to continue defending the village. After the three Force-sensitives left to pursue Dooku and Asajj Ventress, Cody expressed his belief that another wave of battle droids would likely attack the village. Indeed, after Rex told the story of the mission to Benglor, the clones found themselves under attack by another force of battle droids, many of which were B1 units.^[146]

As they exchanged fire with the droids, trooper Boost received a transmission from Koon. Although the hologram was unable to come in clearly^[146] because of the mountains where the Jedi were, the Jedi General still tried to order his men to reach the Hisseenian parliament; although Dooku and Ventress were preoccupied with the Jedi, the count had nevertheless deployed a droid force^[141] under the authority of an OOM command battle droid^[142] to reach the parliamentary representatives. Aware that the droid squad—made up of several B1s and droidekas—was moving to their location, Koon sent his troops the necessary coordinates.^[141]

Thus, while Rex and the others stayed to defend the village from the attacking droids, Wolffe decided that the Wolfpack^[141] and several members of the 212th^[142] would follow the coordinates. However, the battle droid squad reached the parliament building before the clones, forcing the Republic soldiers to watch six B1s and two droidekas take the representatives hostage. Aware that the Separatist military had no regard for innocent life, Wolffe decided they needed to attack^[141] despite being outnumbered^[142] and despite risk of civilian causalities. Unaware of the clones watching them from the woods,^[141] the squad's OOM commander spoke with Dooku over hologram, being ordered to ensure the representatives remained in custody. Speaking with one of his B1 subordinates after the call, the OOM commander was sure that Dooku was being paranoid, believing that, with the Jedi preoccupied on the other side of Hisseen, they were safe from attack.^[142]

The battle droid was soon proved wrong, however, when the clones threw Electro Magnetic Pulse grenades at the Separatist squad. Although the commander and his subordinate both recognized the weapons, many of the droids were caught in the EMP attack, enabling the clones to run out^[142] under the leadership of the Wolfpack^[141] and take down any remaining droids. As the clones took the droids by surprise, 212th trooper Boil approached and removed a B1's head and neck with his bare hands. With the droids defeated and the representatives secure, Boil and trooper Waxer reminisced on the mission to Krystar, which they both found similar to this skirmish.^[142]

Meanwhile, Rex and the other clones at the village found themselves overwhelmed^[142] and besieged by a growing number of battle droids,^[104] with B1s making up a majority of the force. Contacting Cody as the rescue squad traveled with the parliament, Rex requested they return while being fired upon by the advancing droid army. After his call for aid,^[142] Rex and his troops tried to hold the droids back by standing their ground in the face of the droid horde, which moved to surround the clones' position. While the overwhelming number of enemy droids was a cause for glee in trooper Hardcase, as it gave him more targets to fire upon, fellow trooper "Twitch" began to panic, demanding they retreat until trooper Heater grew angry. While the B1s and other combat droids continued to advance, Heater told Twitch about his past as a deserter, intending to convince Twitch to stand his ground.^[104]

Twitch was indeed convinced, but Heater lost his confidence after being shot and realizing they were surrounded. As three B1s closed in, Twitch remained hopeful, proclaiming to the three droids that he would defend his injured brother. Instead, however, these three units were shot by the returning rescue team. Nevertheless, the clones were still taking losses to the droids, who still had them surrounded and outnumbered despite the away team's return. One droid even threw a thermal detonator into the Republic's position, knocking down^[104] the Clone Officers, along with any troops near them,^[138] and forcing Rex to call anyone he could for backup.^[104] Despite their valiant efforts against the droids, the troops who escaped the worst of the explosion were also not faring well, as they were struggling to hold their position against the growing droid army. Meanwhile, an OOM command battle droid and his force of B1s found the Clone Officers, ordering the three of them to surrender.^[138]

Although Rex was unwilling to give up, Cody took the opportunity to remember the battle on Caliban, trying to explain that they could survive being captured by the B1s. As he finished the story, the OOM commander prepared his B1s to execute the officers and other surrounded clones, only for the Jedi—having picked up Rex's distress call while they were chasing Ventress and Dooku—to jump out of the woods and cut the robots down with only a few seconds to spare. Armed once more, Rex and the others joined the Jedi in battle, taking out any nearby battle droids. Standing over the remains of destroyed B1s, the Republic and Hisseen forces stood victorious. With the clones having rescued^[138] the parliamentary officials,^[142] Dooku had been unable to take over the planet, enabling the 501st, 212th, and 104th to depart Hisseen to return to Coruscant, having received word they were being assigned a new mission.^[138]

Enslavers of Kudo III

Before the official outbreak of the Clone Wars,^[244] a battle droid factory capable of producing B1 battle droids and vulture droids was established on the moon Kudo III^[8] in the Inner Rim Territories.^[409] However, the facility was never fully automated before the conflict began,^[244] necessitating the usage of organic labor in constructing its droid output.^[8] During the early days of the Clone Wars,^[311] while the factory was still unknown to the Republic, the Separatists elected to take advantage of its non-automated output and launched a plan involving the Kudon population of the moon; instead of automating the factory's droid construction after all, the Separatists gassed a nearby Kudon village, leaving its inhabitants to wake up inside the foundry and be told the Republic would come to kill them. Thus, B1 battle droids^[8] became enslavers:^[311] under the watch of B1s acting in the factory's minimal security detail,^[8] the hundreds of captured Kudon were forced to run the factory lines,^[244] building battle droids, including the B1 model, as Separatist slaves.^[8]

With civilians running the production output, the Confederacy then prepared to leak intelligence about the foundry,^[8] baiting the Republic into a strike that would kill the Kudon inside.^[311] After the destruction of the foundry, Separatists could then use the many civilians killed in the Republic attack to sway neutral worlds to join their cause.^[8][244] The B1 guards within the factory were left under the impression it was their role to defend the facility as they would any other, unaware that their number had been limited so as to make the coming Republic attack easier.^[8] In order to get the Republic's attention, vulture droid starfighters^[311] built in the foundry^[8] attacked Republic starships in the Corvair sector, enabling Republic Intelligence to locate the facility on Kudo III.^[8]

The Republic believed that the droids built in the factory were rushed into production rather than deducing the truth behind the Confederate operation.^[8] After the Battle of Corvair and other Republic offensives in the sector,^[311] General Skywalker was informed of the factory by Admiral Yularen;^[8] even though it seemed like the destruction of the factory would be a key victory to move towards winning the Clone Wars,^[244] Skywalker, learning of the Kudon involvement in droid production, did not want to take part in an all out attack that would kill the Kudon, so he departed aboard his Delta-7B Aethersprite-class light interceptor with R2-D2 to infiltrate the foundry^[8] and destroy its generator^[311] on his own. Once inside the factory, however, he was faced with the reality that the Kudon had been enslaved, watching B1s enforcing that work as the Kudon toiled away in the construction of further B1s.^[8]

Angered upon realizing the Kudon had been enslaved as it reminded him of his own past, Skywalker jumped down to the foundry floor, catching the attention of B1 guards. Skywalker quickly ignited his lightsaber and, although he was fired upon,^[8] violently attacked^[311] the B1 battle droids, destroying every one of them. After Skywalker freed the Kudon, more B1s arrived, but, at Skywalker's suggestion, the Kudon picked up the fallen battle droids' blaster rifles and began to fight their robotic oppressors.^[8] After the factory was deactivated^[311] and Skywalker inspired them to fight against the occupying battle droids,^[244] the Kudon were free once more. With Skywalker's return, the Republic deduced that the Confederacy had purposely leaked intelligence about the droid foundry.^[8]

The war's first year drags on

Competition for hyperspace routes

Conquest of a crystalline world

Following the Battle of Geonosis, the Droid Army made a swift and successful strike to take control of major hyperspace lanes^[23]—a move that encircled the Republic^[217] and separated it from the majority of the Grand Army^[23]—and claim new territory for the Confederacy. Rushing to halt the Republic's territorial losses,^[92] the Jedi led the clone army against the Confederacy's advancing battle droids despite suddenly lacking the soldiers needed to gain a foothold in the Outer Rim.^[23] As the war entered into its new stage^[217] some months after the conflict's beginning,^[410] B1s were aboard the same starship bridge as Count Dooku, General Grievous, Viceroy Gunray, and Foreman Tambor. At least one B1 was involved in an engagement aboard a Republic starship around the same time; the droid was cut down by Jedi General Koon before he and Jedi General Fisto took out a trio of super droids.^[23]

Meanwhile,^[23] another struggle, which would become a hotly contested battlefront between droids and clones, came when the Confederacy launched a full–scale invasion of the Outer Rim planet Christophsis^[411] in the crucial^[347] Christoph system.^[122] A strategic world that was one of the Confederacy's first targets despite its peaceful status,^[94] the bold conquest^[92] and capture of Christophsis^[75] was one of the opening offensives of the war,^[412] with the planet having been targeted for its mineral resources and its position on the Corellian Run^[92] super-hyperroute.^[413] To claim the planet, the Confederacy launched a brutal ground campaign^[92] performed by an army of battle droids^[94]—many of which were B1s^[135][347]—placed under the command of the formidable General Whorm Loathsom.^[94] Anticipating a Republic counteroffensive, the Confederacy also established a thirty-craft blockade, crewed at least in part by B1s, under the authority^[92] of one of its best naval commanders,^[94] Admiral Trench, a merciless Harch^[88] who was the master strategist of the invasion.^[414]

Using the blockade to keep Christophsis–based Republic forces trapped^[415] on the surface with the invading B1s and other droids, Trench commanded his fleet from his Providence-class Dreadnought,^[135] the Invincible.^[52] Stationed aboard the command ship of^[94] a heavy–armed blockade^[416] that was starving the Christophsians below,^[88] the bridge crew of the Invincible was made up of Trench himself, T-series tactical unit TI-99, and a number of B1 battle droids. While commanding the droid blockade, Trench used similar tactics to those he had used during the Battle of Malastare Narrows^[135] before the Clone War.^[417] At one point during the blockade, two B1s stood by TI-99 while the tactical unit was focused on a discussion.^[418]

The droid^[94] invasion on the ground, combined with the blockade in orbit, showed that the Confederacy intended to maintain control of the planet.^[92] On the ground, B1s and the rest of the invasion force showed no mercy towards the beautiful crystal world;^[347] Loathsom's droid armies^[92] enforced an occupation against the peaceful population,^[94] annihilated pockets of Christophsian rebels,^[92] who were defending their world the best they could after their leaders had abandoned them,^[94] and attacked anyone else whom Loathsom deemed to be a "hostile target."^[92] Commander Ventress was also dispatched to the planet^[347] to serve as Loathsom's senior officer^[414] and a shadowly agent,^[419] giving the battle droids on Christophsis yet another^[347] invasion leader^[414] to obey. One example of how the forces^[347] under the command of Ventress and Loathsom^[420] battered and besieged the crystalline planet came when a droid detachment was deployed from a C-9969 landing craft and engaged a force of rebels.^[347]

Marching towards rebel–controlled buildings, the force was made up of several formations of B1 battle droids, who were supported by three AATs and two octuptarra tri-droids. Spotting the approaching droids, several rebels fired from a building's catwalk, but the droids were able to advance. At least two OOM command battle droids involved in the attack, having previously been hidden under their tanks' top hatches, then sat up in^[347] their AAT command stations,^[44] firing the main cannons and taking down at least one building. Each of these two tanks were also supplied with a B1 on each side of their hulls. As engagement continued, the rebel force, some of whom tried to fight the droids on the ground, was forced into retreat as the B1s pushed forward.^[347] At some point during the fighting, three B1 battle droids—all of whom did not wear comlink booster packs—encountered^[421] a Clone Comms Technician,^[422] who hid behind cover while at least one of the B1s opened fire.^[421]

Eventually, Loathsom pulled his^[92] B1s and other forces^[135] largely away from the capital of Chaleydonia, moving them into the eastern exurbs to take out any remaining rebels and a Galactic Senate–sponsored relief effort, which had managed to slip through the blockade, led by Senator Bail Prestor Organa.^[92] Defended by a force of clone troopers^[135] and entrenched in the cellar under the Minister of Sustenance's compound,^[92] the relief mission became trapped on the surface^[423] when Trench patched the hole in his blockade the group had exploited, leaving their position to be besieged by an eager–Loathsom, who sent his droid troops and heavy cannons against the relief team. As such, the volunteers^[92] and their clone guardians^[135] were left to hold out and await Republic aid.^[92] After the Christophians called upon the Jedi High Council for help^[347] a short time into the invasion,^[414] and when the Republic saw it had no choice but to rescue Organa's effort despite the long odds^[92] and battle droids awaiting them,^[347] Jedi Generals Kenobi and Skywalker,^[94] leading a combined force of the 501st Legion and 212th Attack Battalion,^[414] were assigned to liberate Christophsis.^[94]

Having already held back attempts at supplying Christophsis with more^[424] humanitarian supplies,^[94] Trench and his droids kept up their seemingly–unbeatable blockade when Skywalker's fleet arrived in the Christoph system during the morning. On the ground, as the camp ran out of supplies^[135] and weapons, the massive droid armies that marched across Christophsis grew closer to overwhelming Organa's position;^[424] a force of B1s and AATs were on their way to attack the Senator's position, while^[135] Skywalker's task force^[425] began to sustain losses^[135] from the blockade's long–range attacks.^[426] Trench was able to bring out a level of efficiency in his droids that other commanders could not and, after the Invincible began to bear down on Skywalker's fleet, the Harch admiral gave his B1 bridge crew a series of orders, intending to take out Skywalker's Pelta-class supply ships. Indeed, one such craft was then destroyed by Trench's fleet. Ultimately, while Organa's position on the ground was overrun,^[135] Skywalker's attack in space was faltering.^[94]

Nevertheless, Skywalker's flagship, the Venator-class Star Destroyer^[135] Resolute,^[140] continued its attack, making Trench order his droid crew to maintain the Invincible's position and intensify its forward deflector shields. Unable to break the blockade, the Resolute and Skywalker's other craft soon retreated to Kenobi's position behind the moon of Leesis. As the Republic retreated and one of his B1s looked around the bridge, Trench, knowing that his orders were to maintain the blockade and that the enemy fleet would soon return, chose not to pursue the task force behind Leesis. Catching the attention of both droids, the admiral then ordered two B1s to re–cycle the shields and let the cannons reset to full charge, although both units proceeded to walk into each other before going in their separate directions. Meanwhile, Skywalker boarded Kenobi's flagship,^[135] the Venator-class Star Destroyer Negotiator,^[427] and was assigned command of a prototype IPV-2C Stealth Corvette, a small starship equipped with a cloaking device, to deliver supplies to Organa.^[135]

Before Skywalker departed, Admiral Wullf Yularen, in part because of the efficiency the blockade's battle droids had shown throughout the engagement, realized Trench was commanding the blockade. Joining the Jedi General as a tactical advisor, Yularen, Skywalker, and a crew of clones slipped into the Separatist blockade aboard the cloaked craft. Meanwhile aboard the Invincible, as Trench and his droids waited for another Republic strike, one of the admiral's B1s overlooked the status of their blockade through the bridge's overhead datascreen, while the admiral and TI-99 were left to debate why the enemy fleet had not attacked. On the planet below at that time, however, on-the-ground resistance to the Confederacy's invasion force was crumbling. Learning that from his T-1, Trench tried to draw the enemy task force out by ordering TI-99 to send Hyena-class Droid Fighters/Bombers against Organa's position. TI-99 had one of the bridge's B1s relay the command, adding an aerial front to the attack on the Senate relief effort.^[135]

However, the Republic fleet did not attack. As TI-99 and Trench discussed that, one of the bridge's B1s, while looking at his monitor, showed confusion and rubbed his cranial dome, only for the Republic's new plan to reveal itself; Skywalker was going on the offensive by de-cloaking and firing several torpedoes at the Invincible. Although the strike would nevertheless make Trench, TI-99, and several B1s lose their balance, the admiral had the command ship raise its thermo–shielding, repelling the attack. As the B1 bridge crew prepared to fire all cannons, the stealth ship re–cloaked and, thanks to its flares, avoided being hit by torpedoes. One of Trench's B1s quickly followed the admiral's order to fire a spread of lasers, but Skywalker was able to avoid the entire assault, revealing to Trench that a Jedi was piloting the cloaked craft. Thus, he ordered a B1 to patch him into a communications channel via an open frequency to taunt Skywalker^[135] into attacking.^[428] After discussing records Trench's previous battles, Skywalker hypothesized that the admiral would try to track their magnetic signature.^[135]

Launching another attack, the stealth ship's second blast of torpedoes again made Trench, TI-99, and at least two B1s briefly lose balance while the Invincible's shields protected them. As Skywalker had predicted, Trench had his droids lock onto the stealth ship's magnetic signature, lowering his shields to fired four tracking torpedoes. Diverting all power the engines, Skywalker flew the stealth ship directly towards the Invincible, and, with the bridge crew unable to raise the ship's now-recharging shields, a B1 behind the admiral showed signs of panic. When the stealth ship passed over Trench's bridge^[135] at point blank range,^[429] the pursuing torpedoes collided directly into the command ship,^[135] destroying the bridge^[92] and crippling the Invincible. While Skywalker delivered supplies to Organa, the other Republic ships proceeded to attacked the blockade,^[135] which faltered after Trench's defeat. As such, the Republic was able to land a company of clone troopers in Chaleydonia^[92] to reinforce its troops on the planet.^[430]

Ambushing an ambush

Encountering little resistance^[92] but marking the start of a furious ground battle^[430] between clones and droids,^[347] Kenobi and Skywalker captured Chaleydonia's western district. Having gained experience from previous engagements, the clones involved in the conflict on Christophsis, like many other troopers throughout the galaxy, held an advantage over the droids they would encounter,^[92] forcing the B1s to fall back on their numbers.^[347] Loathsom, pulling his forces back from attacking Organa's relief mission, quickly returned to the capital^[92] with a force of battle droids,^[347] but the battle turned into a stalemate,^[92] only for the Republic to then find its operations in Chaleydonia faltering;^[94] immediately upon arrival,^[92] the treacherous Clone Sergeant Slick,^[347] a rogue clone who had helped enable the invasion of Christophsis in the first place,^[411] began to leak military intelligence to Ventress and Loathsom.^[94]

Wanting to free his clone brothers from the military service he saw as slavery,^[92] Slick's^[347] efforts to bring about a Jedi defeat to end the war^[92] eventually led to the day where he leaked information about an ambush set to be launched from the forty–sixth levels of a double-towered building in Chaleydonia. A daring strike^[347] planned by the Jedi,^[431] the ambush was set to be launched against a battalion of B1 battle droids, who were scheduled to march through the plaza both two towers overlooked. The strike had the ability to turn the tide of the battle for the Christoph system, thereby preventing more bloodshed and destruction. However, the battalion's commander, a T-1 tactical droid designated TJ-55, learned of the planned ambush thanks to Slick, enabling the droid to tell his B1s about where they would find the Republic forces and adapt his strategy; TJ-55 supplied armored support to his B1s in the form of several AATs, while also intending to order his droids to spilt up into three columns as they reached the building, while another force of B1s, broken into two teams, would raid the south tower, where a team under Kenobi, Commander Cody, and Slick was based.^[347]

As the time of the ambush drew closer, the Republic unknowingly played into TJ-55's hands by continuing its operation as planned, preparing its soldiers and several heavy repeating blasters, while Kenobi^[347] readied himself for the battle^[431] by overlooking the approaching B1s with macrobinoculars, telling his troops when the droids began their advance. When the B1 battalion advanced toward the towers on schedule, clone trooper Gus, who was stationed as a lookout in the south tower, was surprised to see that the droids had brought AATs, only for TJ-55 to then order his force to split up, surprising Gus and making Kenobi realize something had gone wrong, into three directions. Slick, meanwhile, pretended to be surprised by the B1s' change in tactics. Before the Jedi could finish an order,^[347] Kenobi's command center^[432] was suddenly attacked by a force of B1s that had entered the building^[347] and swarmed out of the lefthand turbolift.^[432]

Having been divided into two teams to attack from two directions, the droids on Kenobi's left were simply first to arrive, quickly firing and taking out several clones before taking a single casualty.^[347] Intent on surrounding Kenobi's team to prevent their escape,^[432] the droids on the right appeared next, having killed any clones who spotted them early. Leaking in from two directions, the battle droids compromised Kenobi's position,^[347] forcing the Jedi to deflect their shots as his clones scattered^[432] and engaged into close-quarters combat. As such, one clone decided to take out a nearby B1 by hitting the droid with his DC-15A blaster carbine, only to then be shot by another B1, only for that droid to be shot by a different clone. Able to see the combat between Kenobi's team and the droids through the windows, Skywalker, who was stationed in the north tower with Captain Rex and their troops, contacted his fellow general over comlink, learning from the surrounded Jedi Master that the droids were onto their plan.^[347]

After ordering clone pilot Hawk to evacuate them at the south tower, Skywalker and his clones used ascension cables to travel to the other building, only for the B1 units below to spot them and fire up. While the droids managed to hit two of the Jedi's clones, knocking one of those two troopers off his cable, Skywalker, Rex, and the others were able to enter the south tower through a window, joining the battle and clearing one path of the standard battle droids. The combined Republic teams were then given an opening to escape when Kenobi temporarily halted the droid's advance by throwing a blaster cannon into the B1s. After the Republic teams escaped to the roof via a turbolift, B1s and TJ-55 took the lifts as well, arriving at the roof to continue the skirmish.^[347] Amid the clones' and droids' exchange of blasterfire, Gus,^[433] who was injured by a droid at some point during the skirmish, also managed to rip off TJ-55's cranial unit. As the LAAT/i left, a B1 moved back from his suddenly-headless but still functional commander to avoid being shot by him. The B1s on the roof tried to shoot down the fleeing troop transport, but the gunship escaped.^[347]

After the teams returned to the Republic's^[347] main base,^[94] trooper Chopper hid at the south exit, where he strung together^[347] a necklace^[346] out of three B1 fingers he had collected^[347] as trophies,^[19] thus breaking war protocols.^[346] In the command center, Rex and Cody preformed a robolobotomy on TJ-55's head, accessing an audio file of when the tactical droid had told his battalion about where the Republic teams were stationed, which affirmed that the droids had been given Republic intelligence, only for the head to stop processing before any further analysis could be taken. Suspecting that there was a spy within their ranks, Cody and Rex stayed in the Republic's base to find the operative while the Jedi Generals left on BARC speeders to infiltrate the Separatist headquarters in Chaleydonia. As they traveled throughout the damaged city, the Jedi were watched by a number of B1s on an overhead bridge, only for one of the droids to tell his robotic comrades not to fire on them.^[347]

Having been told about the Jedi's journey by Slick, Ventress had ordered the battle droids to only to keep the Force-sensitives' communications jammed, preventing them from speaking with their Clone Officers, while she waited to confront them in the headquarters. The Jedi were forced to realize that the Separatists likely knew of their mission upon seeing their stalkers steady grow in number—including at least two additional B1s, one of whom watched them with electrobinoculars, stationed on the side of the road—over the course of their journey. Because none of their stalkers tried to stop them, Skwaylker and Kenobi realized they were being led into a trap, and the two Jedi were indeed confronted by Ventress upon arriving at the unguarded base. Meanwhile, Rex and Cody had learned the traitor was sending transmissions from Slick's barracks and began to question^[347] the sergeant's squad.^[19]

The last trooper they interviewed was Chopper,^[347] who reluctantly^[346] admitted he had strung together a necklace of B1 fingers. Explaining that he had wanted to get something back from the droids, the trooper reasoned that he felt as though the droids owed him something for all they had taken, and Slick seized on the trooper's actions to try to make it seem like his entire character could be called into question, only to instead accidentally expose himself.^[347] Meanwhile, Ventress had been stalling the Jedi to give Slick the opportunity to destroy valuable Republic equipment^[434] and to give a new invasion force time to get into position.^[419] The massive droid army^[347] arrived on the planet^[346] aboard C-9979 landing craft, as witnessed by Kenobi and Skywalker when they chased Ventress to a balcony. The army was placed under the command of Loathsom.^[347] By landing its troops and defeating Trench, the Republic had frustrated^[92] the Confederacy's near-total subjugation of Christophsis,^[135] but the newly arrived force^[346] signified that the droid takeover of the planet had^[435] once more^[135] begun.^[435]

Marching in ordered ranks, the army included a large number of B1s, while a number of B1–piloted STAPs supplied air support by flying around the landing zone. Escaping from Ventress after dueling on atop an Octuptarra tri-droid, the Jedi stole two STAPs from their B1 pilots to return to the Republic base. Ventress, meanwhile, landed near Loathsom and several of his droids, including a few B1s. Upon watching the Jedi escape as Skywalker kicked the B1 pilot off his STAP, she ordered the army to prepare to march on Chaleydonia. As the droid ranks advanced, Ventress also ordered a T-1 tactical droid to have the droids delay the Jedi for as long as possible, needing to use Loathsom's army as a distraction while she carried out her next mission^[347] on Tatooine. Before she left aboard her Trident-class assault ship^[436] known simply as the Trident,^[346] Ventress gave the final order to march on Chaleydonia,^[436] leaving the actual attack in the hands of Loathsom.^[437]

Final pushes against the entrenched Republic

With its reinforcements on world, the Droid Army was poised to finally take total control of Christophsis. After Kenobi and Skywalker returned to the Republic base and learned that Slick, who had been captured by Rex and Cody, was the spy, they warned their two Clone Officers about the approaching droid army, with Kenobi reasoning that there were around one thousand droids in the force.^[347] In time,^[23] Loathsom deployed his seemingly endless army to advance against the Republic's position on the ground.^[122] The deployed force included a large number of B1 battle droids, which were backed up by B2 super battle droids^[23] tasked with reducing Republic targets to ruins.^[438] Furthermore, the B1 and B2 frontline^[23] was backed up by columns of Armored Assault Tank Mk Is and fearsome Octuptarra tri-droids.^[439]

Even though Skywalker and Kenobi saw no choice but to admit their forces were no match for the powerful droid army,^[94] the Jedi and their clones had nevertheless dug into their positions,^[23] preparing for a tough battle against a force with^[94] a major numerical advantage. Even though the Republic at large came to incorrectly assume Kenobi and Skywalker had won the battle,^[23] they were immediately at risk of losing control of the engagement^[440] despite holding back the first wave Loathsom deployed.^[23] Additionally, the Separatists jammed Republic communications^[94] and managed to re-establish their fleet^[23] into a blockade.^[94]

An experienced^[92] and skilled commander, Loathsom knew how to best deploy an overwhelm number of droids, supported by heavy artillery and tanks.^[94] Indeed, Loathsom's numbers would be able to overrun the Republic's position in due time, with only long–range AV-7 Anti-vehicle Artillery Cannons keeping the Droid Army at bay;^[92] as Slick had destroyed^[347] most of^[23] the Republic's heavy walkers, the Republic had fortified its position with these cannons,^[92] which were supported by the few surviving AT-TEs,^[23] to block the only path the Separatist Army could use^[94] to reach them.^[23] Indeed, the AV-7s played a vital role in driving back the droids^[414] throughout the battle. After the Republic had sent a starship away for supplies, Loathsom^[23] began a new skirmish^[92] when he deployed a second wave, with B1s, B2s, and three Octuptarra tri-droids leading the attack against the heavily outnumbered Republic Army. B1s were also deployed to another street that was located to the right of the tri-droid supported force.^[23]

As the clones and their Jedi officers fought the droids at the front^[23] of their entrenched position,^[92] the AV-7 cannons kept the Separatists back by taking out scores of B1s and B2s.^[23] However, Skywalker realized that the Republic would nevertheless need reinforcements to take control of the ground battle.^[440]

Loathsom, meanwhile, was unaware of the cannons, which was why he had launched his second wave without the protection of^[23] his biggest asset, a portable deflector shield.^[441] While^[23] these cannons inflicted heavy losses upon the Droid Army,^[414] other B1s were at the back of Loathsom's line, riding on the sides of AATs nearby Loathsom. At the front, Kenobi and, from behind cover, a number of clones battled the approaching army, while Skywalker led^[23] a squad^[92] of 501st troopers^[23] to thin the enemy's numbers. By hiding in the upper stories of nearby buildings, Skywalker's team could to attack the middle of droid formations before withdrawing.^[92] Skywalker led his jetpack-equipped clones against the tri-droids while Kenobi's forces charged at the battle droids, with one trooper even losing his DC-15A blaster rifle but deciding to run at and directly punch a B1 unit. The clone cried out in pain upon doing so, only to be immediately shot by the B1 at point blank range.^[23]

That unit and his fellow battle droids, three of whom were taken out by Cody in physical combat, continued to fire and march against the Republic despite their casualties; in fact, Skywalker and his squad were able to defeat the trio of tri-droids before the Jedi General took down two nearby B1s, yet the Republic was still in need reinforcements to defeat the droid ranks, with only their artillery cannons keeping the Droid Army back.^[23] Stung by his losses^[92] and after learning about the cannons from^[23] a B1 captain,^[187] Loathsom ordered his troops to retreat^[23] to the Separatist-controlled portion of the capital^[92] to set up deflector shields. On the frontline of the Separatist advance, an OOM command battle droid relayed the retreat order to a force of B1s.^[23]

After witnessing the droid retreat, Skywalker and Kenobi spotted an arriving Nu-class shuttle, which was carrying Jedi Commander Ahsoka Tano, who had been assigned to be Skywalker's Padawan. The Jedi Generals tried to relay a message for help against the overwhelming droids through the Resolute, but the Star Destroyer ultimately needed to escape Christophsis's orbit. Thus, the battle droids were free to prepare for another attack^[23] while the Republic troops prepared to die in battle,^[94] as it was clear to them that the Droid Army would soon find a way around the AV-7 cannons. Indeed, Rex's troops kept watch on the droids' preparations. When the Droid Army activated^[23] its large^[94] deflector shield—one strong enough to hold back the cannon fire—to protect themselves, the B1s and their fellow units marched towards the Republic position for a final assault.^[23] The shield's barrier advanced at the same pace of the droid ranks,^[92] constantly increasing to stay just ahead of the battle droids,^[23] whose lines were bolstered with the addition of AATs and NR-N99 Persuader-class droid enforcers.^[92] With its shield, the army, led by a formation of B1s and AATs, would be able to march directly to the heavy cannons and destroy them.^[23]

With the shield overhead, the battle droids had a chance to quickly reach the Republic's frontlines^[92] and cannons.^[94] As the clone forces pulled back and the lead CIS tanks approached the city center, Loathsom told one of his B1s over hologram that they were to reach cannons as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, Rex, Kenobi, Skywalker, and Tano prepared a plan of their own while overlooking a hologram, which displayed approaching the B1s and AATs to represent Loathsom's army. Skywalker and Tano were tasked with sneaking through enemy lines, while Kenobi and the clones would distract the Droid Army. Ultimately, after Skywalker overlooked the approaching droids with macrobinoculars from a building, the Jedi General realized that they could disguise themselves. Meanwhile, with their AV-7 cannons unable to breach the shield, the Republic pulled its troops back to fight^[23] the steadily–advancing droids^[441] in the buildings, where they knew they were at a disadvantage; the Republic was outnumbered by the battle droids, limiting their ability to engage in urban warfare without their cannons for support.^[23]

While Kenobi and the clones planned to hold their line to protect the cannons,^[442] Skywalker and Tano snuck through the droid lines by hiding under a box. While one B1 briefly walked into the box and Tano thought they should fight the droids, the cover allowed the two of them to move through the Separatists' ranks. At the same time, Kenobi, who surprised several B1s with his sudden attack, and Rex's forces let the shield pass over them to confront the battle droids, but Rex and his clones were quickly overwhelmed by their robotic enemies. The droids killed the majority of the clone unit Rex led into battle, forcing Rex and his surviving troops to fall back. All the while, the B1s and other droids pushed onward and grew closer to the AV-7s, creating a sense of inevitable defeat in Rex. With Kenobi promising to delay the droids, Rex and his clones fell back to the cannons to protect them. The Jedi General then quickly took out a B2 and two B1s, but he was soon surrounded by Loathsom's forces. Sitting near the remains of at least two B1s, Kenobi held a fake parley with Loathsom to stall the Kerkoiden general.^[23]

Alongside DSD1 dwarf spider droids, many B1s moved out of the safety of the deflector shield, marching at the front of the Separatist force as they moved closer to the cannons. As the unprotected droids and those under the shield pushed the Republic line back once again, the clones made their final stand against the Droid Army. Fortunately for the Republic troops,^[23] Kenobi's false parley had delayed the Confederacy's final push for long enough that^[92] Skywalker and Tano could detonate the shield generator. The sudden disappearance of the shield concerned at least one B1 and confused a number of them.^[23] Taking advantage of the sudden opening and firing before the droids could retreat,^[94] the Republic then opened fire with its long-range artillery, taking out Loathsom's front line,^[92] which included a number of B1s,^[23] and filling the boulevard with the wreckage^[92] of droids and tanks.^[23] With the droid army crushed^[94] under the devastating barrage,^[443] Kenobi arrested Loathsom as a prisoner of war.^[92] Additionally, a new Republic fleet, carrying ground reinforcements, had broken through the Separatist blockade,^[23] discouraging the Separatist forces from pushing any further. The Confederate armada retreated into hyperspace.^[92]

Despite the various gains the Republic and Separatists had achieved over the course of the engagement,^[88] the complex^[414] Battle of Christophsis^[92] thus ended as a Republic triumph. Nevertheless, while he was presumed dead by Republic leadership,^[88] Admiral Trench actually survived the destruction of his command ship, being outfitted with an array of cybernetics. As such, he continued to serve in the CIS military after his defeat over Christophsis.^[444] At one point, Trench was stationed in the same room as a B1 battle droid, an OOM pilot droid, and super tactical droid Kraken.^[40] At another point, Kraken was stationed on a starship bridge, giving an order to a B1^[445] in order to verify his current fleet was in the optimum position to inflict the most possible damage.^[446]

Battle of Teth

"Defense" of the Teth Monastery

Even though Christophsis had been a coveted target for the Separatists due to everything it could offer their cause,^[94] Loathsom and his droid army were only a distraction for Ventress's new mission.^[347] Concurrent to the fight on Christophsis,^[23] she kidnapped the infant Huttlet Rotta, the son of crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure as part of a plan to manipulate the Hutt Clan into joining the CIS.^[94] It was Dooku and Sidious's intention to frame the Jedi for the kidnapping, paving the way to giving the Separatists'^[23] exclusive access to Hutt Space^[447] and the cartel's hyperspace routes.^[448] For the operation, Dooku allied with Jabba's uncle^[23] and fellow Hutt crime lord^[79] Ziro Desilijic Tiure, who used B1 battle droids for security within his palace on Coruscant. Ventress took Rotta to the planet Teth in Wild Space—a galactic sector that the Republic believed the Separatist Army was not operating in—and secured him on world within an abandoned^[23] B'omarr Order Monastery that Ziro had turned into a smuggling base.^[449] Under Ventress's command, a force of B1 battle droids, joined by B2-series super battle droids, droidekas, and DSD1 dwarf spider droids, occupied the monastery, believing they were stationed there to ensure the Confederacy controlled the building.^[23]

In actuality, the plot called for the droids to fail so the Jedi could get close to Rotta, enabling them to be framed as the kidnappers so as to anger Jabba. Another force of battle droids would then arrive to "rescue" Rotta from the Republic, enabling his return to a grateful Jabba. So as to frame the Republic, the Separatist' droid personnel for the operation included the spy droid 4-A7,^[23]

As several droids stood guard outside the building, Ventress spoke with Dooku and Darth Sidious, while the Republic had launched an operation to rescue Rotta to build an alliance with the Hutts; by tracking bounty hunters dispatched by Jabba to rescue his son, two Advanced Recon Force Scout Troopers located the monastery, seeing that it was heavily fortified by, from their estimations, at least two battle droid battalions. Meanwhile, the hunters Jabba had dispatched were killed, with their heads being sent back to crime lord's palace on Tatooine. When the Republic dispatched^[23] Torrent Company^[450] to liberate Rotta, the scout troopers informed Skywalker about the droid defense aboard the 501st's Acclamator-class transgalactic military assault ship.

Thus, began^[23] the Battle of Teth,^[75] as the 501st deployed

build the falcon 94

[Teth, and Zrio's palace here]

^[23]

Assault on the Teth Monastery

Twilight owned by Ziro^[451]

Skirmish in the Monastery grounds

The plot unravels

Oom on tatoonie

Over the course of her ensuing service in the Clone Wars, Tano fought her way through^[452] many^[188] battle droids.^[452] All the while, the Jedi invested in a new form of training remote to simulate battle droids and better prepare their Padawans, such as Tano, for combat against the Separatist Army. Skywalker, however, would ensure Tano took time to training against Rex and the 501st, reasoning that taking the time to defend against^[453] the far tougher^[339] and skilled clones would prepare her for the battlefield ahead. Keeping up that training^[453] and fighting through the robotic Separatist ranks,^[188] slicing through sinister battle droids became Tano's favorite hobby.^[454] However, the mindless^[452] robotic military became her main representation of the Separatist Movement, instead of its organic supporters.^[188]

Trials on Kamino

Just as they had prior to the war,^[181] Kamino continued to use B1 battle droids as training units as the conflict raged on. In addition to B1s, B2 super battle droids, BX-series droid commandos,^[16] and droidekas^[27] were used to train clone cadets^[16] in simulated battle scenarios,^[27] as the droids gave a realistic sense of enemy fire.^[455] The training battle droids had a light coloration, orange targets on their head and body, and fired orange blaster bolts, which were able to injure cadets. If a training course needed to end prematurely, the battle droids could be deactivated by the individuals overseeing training.^[16] At one point during the history of the clone army, a group of cadets, while also under fire from training^[456] gun towers,^[457] in the Tipoca City Training Facility were involved in an exercise against several B1s and other units.^[456]

2021 Topps Star Wars Bounty Hunters Card: Bric (backup link)

^[17]

^[458]

[link to Double-barrel repeating blaster here?

[“After a training session finished, the defeated droids were cleaned up by a maintenance crew. In addition” is not needed. Just cover how 99 and a crew were called in the clean up the mess. maintenance duty clone page and link to it.]

Invasion of Ryloth and aftermath

Due to its strategic hyperspace location^[92] and resources,^[94] the Confederacy launched an invasion of the^[92] Outer Rim^[459] planet Ryloth.^[92] The local Twi'lek population had attempted to stay out of the war, but their planet became a prize for both factions^[460] and was, to a certain degree, already already aligned with the Republic.^[185] In an invasion masterminded by Wat Tambor,^[92] who selfishly pushed for the invasion so as to claim the wealth hidden on Ryloth by his fellow Separatist councilor Passel Argente,^[94] the CIS military struck quickly^[92] with a massive offensive, blockading the planet and deploying an invasion force of B1s and other battle droids. With the planet under siege,^[25] soon the only forces left to oppose the Separatists was the Republic's^[92] Outer Rim garrison and the Twi'lek Resistance, led by Cham Syndulla, who worked alongside Jedi General Ima-Gun Di and his clone troopers so as to protect his world against the invading Droid Army.

[ultimate star wars says Toydaria relied on the federation so the aid for ryltoh needed to be secret for that reason. however, the episode might say that

[link to thermal detonator when the b1 threw it into Keeli and the clones in supply lines

During the mission to Rugosa, a B1 battle droid at the controls of laser cannons missed every shot he fired at Republic escape pods, but the droid blamed his poor aim on flawed programming.

^[21]

^[461]

As Ventress's guards, both took to looking around the area during their deployment

^[77]

The Malevolence Campaign

mention that a control computer was used but that droids had individuality

databank history gallery says they had many jobs, but their limited programming made them unfit

Rising malevo source^[41]

^[87]

^[134]

Battles of Mimban and the Rishi Moon

check Mimban Campaign for some background info from solo guide^[363]

^[462]

^[463]

^[395]

Rex spent several hard-fought hours making his way to the shield generator, culminating in his stand against a grouping of B1 battle droids and a B2 super battle droid. While several B1s and the B2 were taken down by the captain, with one B1 limb even left abandoned to Rex's left as he battled the grouping by a tree line,

At the same time as the Battle of Mimban, General Grievous and Commander Ventress moved to launch a full-scale invasion of the clone homeworld of Kamino; while Ventress slipped onto the planet as a spy, Grievous rallied his forces for the attack, gathering a droid army, which included a number of B1s and B2s, that would be carried to Kamino aboard an attack fleet of Munificent-class frigates and Lucrehulk-class Battleships. Grievous led the fleet from his own Munificent, the bridge crew of which was staffed by B1 battle droids.^[157]

prisoners has already been linked too

the landing craft deployed a large^[157] (Think about where to put it being a squad) squad,^[83]

of B1s, aided by several B2 super battle droids.^[157]

Declaring the clones to be cowards, the command droid ordered the base be secured and took position in the command center

Filoni regards the end of the battle, where the b1s claim the base, as proof the b1s still were a threat, include as last sentence with something like "testament to their usefulness"?

at least one b1 in the slaughter of republic forces on hypori

^[316]

Skytop Station campaign

^{[140] [464]}

^[132]

A B1 unit, who had taken a seat to Grievous's right at one of the bridge control stations^[132] as the battle progressed,^[465] informed^[132]

^[99]

The twilight hits at least one battle droid heading through the debris

Multiple 631s on Skytop?

Robotic servants of Separatist leadership

stalemate

Towards the end of 22 BBY,

^[100]

poor logic^[122]

^[364]

gunray escapes in Early 21 bby ^[128]

b1 bodies removed when grievous talks to dooku?

^[139]

The Clone Wars continue

Battles in the Outer Rim

^[467]

^[106]

the name "Battle of Quell" can be cited to ^[19]

However, because the battle made it was clear an armed clone squad and a single Jedi could cut through an entire battle droid formation, the Confederacy began to research anti-Jedi biological weapons.^[92]

^[101]

Despite the high number of B1s involved in the defense, there were no oblivious faults in Durd's security

the mood among the B1s quickly changed when durd asked for volunteers

separatist base on Orto Plutonia is secret

• Talz in the Databank

Blue Shadow Virus project

bio warfare has already been linked to

note this is their return to naboo after being in the naboo invasion

^[468]

^[174]

^[178]

[info on why the Separatists may have chosen naboo for the blue shadow virus experiment. mentions vindi is a mad scientist, the blue shadow virus was to be used against Naboo and the rest of the galaxy, and the virsu was improved (it being made airborne, as the episode says, can be taken as the improvement)

(ultimate star wars says it was a federation lab and gunray sponsored vindi's work.

[mention that Vindi worked in a subterranean laboratory,^[469]

which was apparently built during the Invasion of Naboo,^[470] located beneath^[6] the eastern swamps^[468] (confirmed to be from invasion in Star Wars Helmet Collection: B-wing Pilot Databank A-Z: Vibroblades–Cikatro Vizago)

Having long since developed an impulse to slice down Federation battle droids on sight alone,^[90] Skywalker rushed forward

Jaybo's droids display different levels of damage/wear. check characteristics for what has been linked to

Fight for Ryloth

^[144]

Viewscreen

droids involved were techno union droid army?

if not in the clone cadets section link to J-10 dual blaster cannon here

maybe mention the Electropole B1s use the equipment section for reference on how to write it and link to it there if it is not put here

retreat to staging area

Ryloth invasion fleet^[31]

^[73]

• Star Wars Helmet Collection: Boushh Databank A-Z: Cut Lawquane–Lothal for info on bridge

"Mace neutralizes its STAP-riding battle droid escort and then uses his lightsaber to cut his way aboard the vehicle. Mace signals to Commander Ponds that he will need a diversion. Ponds readies the rest of the troops, and they hold position slightly over a kilometer away from the city." ^[471]

catalyst chapter 18

Combat from Felucia to Malastare

^[344] Felucia blockade

Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon 21

^[127]

already linked to the proton bomb

^[149]

Second Battle of Geonosis

After the First Battle of Geonosis, Republic engineers realized that the Geonosian droid factories could not be changed to fit their purposes, making Geonosis less important in the eyes of the Republic Military, but it was placed under a military occupation.^[92] Additionally, the Republic elected to demolish the droid factories on planet.^[296] However, the Geonosian species, holding a great deal of loyalty to Count Dooku,^[294] continued to produce battle droid armies for him^[121] and the Confederacy^[294] during the war.^[121] One such way they

banking clan and geonosians rebuild factories ^[296]

clovis lives, factory sponsored by clovis^[472]

The Rise of Clovis, he funneled money to cis factories

info from ^[315]

^[294]

^[10]

they save lives via factory destruction

^[43]

catalyst notes what happened to factories

Battles of Saleucami and Nal Kapok

"Worthless" — Stories of Jedi and Sith, per audiobook and "perky" chirp

As the Confederacy and Republic tried to thwart the other in a series of cat and mouse maneuvers,^[94] the Separatist military continued to make advances through the Outer Rim despite the Republic's growing number of victories, with General Grievous remaining ahead of the Republic's attempts to locate him. Able to command thousands of droid armies, Grievous, at the moment, had moved his flag to a Recusant-class light destroyer, which was staffed by TV-94—a T-1 tactical droid^[126] that served as his second-in-command^[94]—and a number of battle droids. In addition to the B1 battle droids that served on the bridge, other B1s were stationed aboard the craft, with several serving as security patrols throughout its corridors, alongside B2s, commando droids, and Grievous's IG-100 MagnaGuards.^[126]

Having decided to target members of the Jedi High Council,^[35] Grievous launched a surprise attack against the Jedi General Eeth Koth and his fleet^[94] in the Saleucami system,^[118] ultimately boarding the Steadfast—the Venator-class Star Destroyer that served as Koth's flagship—and capturing the Jedi Council member.^[126]

^[473]

^[474]

^[475]

the deserter episode guide or another online source says grievous abandoned his troops

R0-GR served in the Battle, which he later stated was an agonizing five months, and the Battle of Nal Kapok, which he considered to be the worst battle he fought in.

Figure out name for this section

Battle of Murkhana

^[52]

^[476]

Following the attack on^[332]

^[365]

Actions at Kamino and Pantora

^[477]

^[281]

Databank history says there were hordes of battle droids and maintenance clones (note: multiple maintenance clones) joined with regular clone troopers and cadets

Dooku's expedition

^[85][478]

Foot soldiers of a prolonged war

War without peace

also put ^[188] here

[put “at some point during the second year of the clone war” ] story of Q5-7070 can go here. Mention that he was remembered and CR-8R told it (actually put that in notable droids^[173]

Servants of Dooku's apprentices

At some point before^[479] Battle of Sullust,^[436]

^[356]

B1s and other members of the Separatist Military were left to believe that Ventress had been a traitor^[298]

^[274]

The people of Devaron, who would remember the Clone Wars as a war waged against "the droids," knew of the battle and came to tell a story about how Jedi sorcerers decided to summon a demon warrior for help in their battle against "the machines." According to their story, however, that spell was not done correctly and thus the warrior turned on their summoners, killing and entrapping their spirits at Eedit forever.^[480]

Republic infiltration of the Citadel

mention Capture of Lola Sayu

• The Citadel in the Encyclopedia
• Star Wars: Build the Millennium Falcon 75 Guide to the Galaxy: Lola Sayu and the Citadel
• The Citadel in the Databank

Citadel droid unit

^[47]

^[171]

^[154]

Operations on Felucia and Retta

That grievous clip in Padawan Lost maybe new footage

TZ-33's droid battalion

^[481]

Same clones, but new gear

At some point in 20 BBY,^[source?] Phase II clone trooper armor was introduced to the Republic Military, creating a

a clone trooper with orange markings on his armor held a B1's severed head.^[40] At one point, several B1 units joined Grievous and an IG-100 MagnaGuard in overlooking the aftermath of a crushing defeat for a Republic force, the remains of which were left stranded across the dirt field. One of the B1s—who lacked a comlink booster back and instead only had the back antenna^[482] like some OOM commanders did^[15]—directed Grievous's attention to a specific area.^[482]

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

^[33]

then battle of mon cala ^[483]

Battle of Horain: treason in the ranks

^[124] Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

Return to Naboo and capture of Gallia

gungan swe link to see attack on naboo would be a conquest of the planet

Around the time of the annexation of the Qiilura system,

^[151]

Service over Umbara

Following the assassination of its senator, Mee Deechi, the world of Umbara seceded to the Separatists, but the Republic launched an invasion to retake the planet^[6] and control its strategic star system.^[484] Clone troopers under Generals Kenobi, Saesee Tiin [need to link to Tiin here?], and Pong Krell clashed with the advanced^[485] Umbaran Militia,^[19] and B1 battle droids served aboard the DH-Omni Support Vessel that was used to deliver arms to the Umbaran capital city.^[150]

republic victory on umbara^[108]

Re-establishing the Zygerrian Slave Empire

^[45] slave empire given authority over b1s

^[301]

Attack on the Nightsisters

Although at least one B1 was able to get close to Talzin, the droid was destroyed^[486]

Another B1, meanwhile, found themself in the immediate vicinity of a quintet of Nightsister zombies, which allowed at least one of the zombies to tear off the B1's head and neck.^[487]

The Nightsisters had been eradicated by the brutal Separatist invasion; even though other witch groups Talzin's clan had all but been wiped out, leaving few survivors

Leaving Dathomir a wasteland filled by wreckage,^[488]

^[489]

wreckage in brothers

maybe info from Bug (short story)? it has note on wreckage at least

dark disciple wreckage

Closing battles of the Clone Wars

Onderonian Civil War

In 22 BBY,^[490] the world of Onderon in the Inner Rim was invaded

formed as soon as king replaced^[491]

^[492]

then go into the civil war

The rebels and Jedi Council in 20 BBY^[493]

collapse of republic art

^[494]

Onderonian disruptor

^[44]

^[172]

^[136]

ultimate star wars new edition, including kalani page

Conquest of the Florrum system

^[495]

^[39]

build falcon 89

The enemies of D-Squad

^[152]

^[496]

^[497]

Battle of Ringo Vinda

[Ventress remembered the slaughter of her sisters. Remembered it when she was a bounty hunter and saw two sisters hurt. Recalled Grievous, the droids, (including B1s) attacking the nightsisters)^[499]

maybe put krennic poggle conversation from catalyst here

As the war continued to intensified^[472] while the Republic inched closer to victory,^[500]

[add ringo vinda]

^[498]

heated battle^[501]

File:Force Speed 2018 SWD Store Championship alt card.png

five rotations line in another episode of the arc, conspiracy?

Kraken has already been linked to

link to Trench's army

Invasion of Scipio

[mention B1s are on Dooku's ship and he lands on the planet]

^[502]

While Amidala was able to warn the Republic about the invasion, she was soon captured and brought before Clovis and Lawise by a B1 and a commando droid, upsetting Clovis. Dooku revealed himself and the role he had played in Clovis's rise before ordering the two droids to arrest Amidala, although Lewise warned Dooku that the Separatist parliament would not approve of his actions. However, Amidala suddenly ripped the B1's blaster rifle away, pointing it at the droid and at Dooku. However, the Count used the Force, pushing the blaster away from himself and forcing it to fire on Lawise. Amidala ran to the senator's body, giving the B1 a chance to regain its blaster. Both battle droids stood back as Dooku explained that the Confederacy controlled the banks, and Amidala was then secured by the droids.^[502]

Arms deal on Utapau

^{[503] [504] [505] [158]}

Within months,^[506] thousands of battle droids were deployed^[40] in the invasion of Utapau under the leadership of Grievous.^[507]

The cortosis of Mokivj

need to provide context from Thrawn Ascendancy: Chaos Rising?

if a Thrawn and Anakin quote is used use whatever we replaced {{Quote}} with, or maybe it is still that template. Maybe that is needed for Padme and the characters she was with

you could use File:Thrawn-Padme-Skywalker.jpg

[bring up that [Grysk]s gave the metal to control the CIS but Dooku surprised them (according to thrawn) (but Palpatine truly was the one who had the clone armor made)]

link to Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet and Chiss Ascendancy

[under control of Solha]

[B1s are guards at the facitiy and more powerful droids aren’t used to cover up the operation]

[cortosis factory was taken over and (the mine was built or taken over?)]

[[[Duja]] finds out]

[the mission]

[seps from Batuu arrive in ship late, allowing for the Republic’s escape]

[[[Mokivj catastrophe|mine destroyed]]]

^[74]

[mention imperial story in imperial era section? since they fight in old droid factory?

Campaign against the Shadow Collective

- may need recap of maul season five?

- following events like the Mission to Serenno (Krayt's Claw)

^[24] Droids that stand behind Sidious and Dooku

mention B1s had grey plating? - do so once, or each time there is a new deployment?

^[508] -mention 8th Sector Army in Ord Mantell section?

^{[509] [510]}

dathomir held by cis?

Nightbrothers forced to move to villiage seen in fallen order

Kardoa and the Third Battle of Mygeeto

- note battle droids are in rubble on mygeeto

- battle droids behind grievous

However, mere months after the Third Battle, Mygeeto again became embroiled in the Clone Wars,^[511] with B1 units again seeing use on the [maybe move this to where you will cover the fourth battle, also issue 69 has info

Outer Rim Sieges

Confederacy crumbling

Outer Rim Sieges

"Looks like the Republic found the factory." "They found nearly all of them. Drove us to the Outer Rim. It was the beginning of the end." dialogue can be reflected in text

Sep contingency plan maybe can be reflected. Pages 39 to 41, page 193, page 203, page 206, start of chapter 26, page 270, page 365, ^[290]

• Soujen can fight "where a droid army is insufficient" page 195

• Not sure where Siege of Saleucami should go, but helmet collection 33 has info

Battle for Anaxes

"the battle droids have suddenly become adept at anticipating the clone troopers' every move."^[512]

Unidentified droid battalion

Unidentified Separatist platoon

Mace Windu's unit

An example of this rarer tactic came from Clone Force 99, a special forces squad of clone commandos, in the form of plan 82. This tactic was where the squad would push towards the droid ranks, as "Wrecker" would use his strength to bring a form of cover to block incoming blaster fire, while the squad fired at the droids. Once they got closer, Wrecker would stop, and, as the squad was safe behind their cover, "Tech" reported a position in the droid ranks for "Hunter" to throw an Electro Magnetic Pulse grenade into. Once the grenade was at a desirable location, "Crosshair" fired his sniper rifle at it, and the resulting electromagnetic pulse would take out a large number of B1s.

^{[191] [513] [514] [80]}

(Bring up Kix post Anaxes)

Conquest of Kaller

After one B1 was decapitated by Dume, the Padawan rushed towards a second droid and, while a third B1 watched on, kicked the unit in the head. Leaping off the second B1 as the unit's head exploded, Dume, while two B1s watched, flung himself to yet another B1 and stabbed the droid through the chest.

kanan comic

• is there a better image to use?

b1 army

Kleeve flees

mention bad batch in death of CIS section

Loss on Yerbana

^[515]

Anakin encyclopedia and Scarif and Other Outer Rim Planets give lore

Striking Coruscant

^[145]

note that "the Republic was crumbling under Separatist attacks" somewhere?

write "a short time after the droid loss on yerbana"

Battle of Coruscant

• Besieging the enemy capital planet,^[290]
  • The Confederate battleplan focused on the capitol and the effort to capture Palpatine, although the battle itself would unleash destruction upon the civilian population across Coruscant as collateral damage^[290]
  • After Confederate warships had made their way into orbit and all while debris rained down from above, battle droids landed on Coruscant itself and marched their way through the Coruscanti streets, which horrified the populace as their futures suddenly became uncertain. The Droid Army was able to make its way to the outside of the Senate Building, itself another a horrifying development for the Republic^[290] and

word "endgame" used in either sidious or grievous databank history

anakin turning to dark side is last objective of the war, page 13^[94]

Background details with droids, R2 trips one

Fall of Akiva

Towards the end of the Clone Wars, specifically at a point where—in the words of Akivan Norra Wexley—the Separatist had "brought" the conflict into the Outer Rim,^[60] Republic forces whose number included clone commandos and at least one Jedi attacked the droid production plant in the catacombs of Akiva. The factory would find itself wrecked and destroyed, with the entire facility being abruptly abandoned at the war's end on top of that. With that, numerous B1 battle droids were left inert across their assembly lines, whereas other, destroyed units—such as B1 unit 275, B1 unit 699, and B1 unit 888—were left abandoned or in pieces throughout the facility. All the while, the factory and its droid remains would be exposed to the elements of Akiva, a world which experienced treacherous rainfall and floods. The presence of those destroyed B1s and the damage to the facility led BX unit ND-5 to later conclude the battle had been a last stand for its Separatist occupants.^[12]

Collapse of the Separatist Alliance

By the end of the war, the Confederacy Military's number of droids still stood in the billions.^[290] However, the Droid Army's numbers had been severely depleted since its height, greatly impacting whatever deployments could be managed,^[147] all without many factories left to replenish its ranks.^[12]

mention Arsin Crassus?

b1s stormed planet fallen order^[516]

Infantry Support Platform Unit Expansion twin beam cannons

^[147]

The Best of the Batch?

1-series rocket droids on kashyyyk

OOM-series security droids on Utapau, see File:Security-droids-Utapau.png

anything about kashyyk you need to put in Chewbacca and Other Aliens of the Rebellion and the Resistance?

The clones had previously prided themselves on their freewill, seeing their independence as a way they were superior to pre-programed battle droids. The troopers even came to see that they had the liberty to disobey orders that they morally disagreed with, while the^[108] B1 units^[89] and other droid foes they fought were supposed to mindlessly obey every command they were given,^[108] even if the B1's personality quirks^[2] sometimes got in the way^[127] of that programming.^[89] Upon the execution of Order 66, however, clone troopers executed the Jedi, even younglings, as if they were no different from the battle droids they had long fought^[290]

The Battle of Utapau^[350]

(cody fires on kenobi, per Time of Death no battle droid...)

^[517]

^[518]

B1 units had also seen use on Saleucami^[137] once more,^[35] with the planet having been the site of a Republic siege....

Ending the Clone Wars just as suddenly as it had began three years prior, every battle droid^[111] that received the shut down command^[50] began to power down. All at once, the Separatist Droid Army ceased its campaigns and conflicts, creating an effect similar to what happened to droids connected to a suddenly destroyed Central Control Computer.^[111] All the while, the Separatist Council had ceased all contact with the Separatist military, whose members were not immediately aware of that the council members had been executed.^[290] Vader's slaughter^[137] was officially covered up in any case, with official records claiming the Separatist Council had lost all hope of winning the war and that Gunray had taken his own life.^[217]

maybe give "impact of shutdown" its own subsection, thats where lokori and end of kashyyk can go? perhaps include kalani's droids and make his conversation with rex the header? or galen erso's guess about the control shop?

Vader's massacre of the Separatist Council and its guards^[137] was witnessed by the hibernating Soujen Vak-Nhalis, who was supplied data about the status of the war while in a state of slow sleep. Further, he bore witness to the galaxy-wide shutdown of a billion or more droids and the collapse of entire Separatist armies without their commanders, although he was unsure as what was a nightmare and what was real. With that confusion, Vak-Nhalis had trouble deducing if the slaughter of the Separatist Council—from his point of view perpetuated by the Jedi—was real or if they had just surrendered, nor if the mass droid shutdown had happened. The nightmares interrupted Vak-Nhalis' more pleasant dreams of Separatist victory, such as those that depicted droid armies marching onto untouched worlds and the delight of workers within droid factories.^[290]

Battle on Lokori^[112]

on lokori, the erso ... (galen still has nightmares though, and it is mentioned throughout rest of book)

page in ^[94] about how war was final step, pages two through three really. also page about how he wanted to discredit the jedi (the page with the image of clones and sidious with baby)

Age of the Empire

The earliest days of the Empire

In the immediate aftermath of Order 66, the Bad Batch returned

b1s on targets in bad batch barracks

b1 head in barracks. everything in barracks is later removed

cut's b1 scarecrows

All the while, Saw Gerrera and his followers in the Onderon resistance movement, those same fighters who had been trained to fight for the Republic^[147] and prepared for battle against B1s and other Separatist droids,^[44] refused to bow to Palpatine's new government and turned their weapons against the Empire's living soldiers. While it would take time for those fighters,^[290] who were reorganized by Gerrera into the Partisans,^[75] to get used to fighting living opponents instead of the droids they had come to excel at destroying,^[290] they remained a persistent annoyance to Imperial power as the Emperor's reign continued^[519] and, given time, helped contribute to a growing dissent against the Empire.^[520] Fighting clone troopers as if they were the same as the droids he fought during the Clone War, Gerrera walked away from that conflict with the memory that the Confederacy had been able to produce new battle droids no matter what losses their ranks had sustained, which was a tactic he recognized the Empire applied to its clone troopers.^[290]

Where should Master of Evil go?^[85][478]

Outlawed and dying out

B1 treatment in the Imperial Era

^[105]

The Best of the Batch?

Despite the effort on the part of Confederate propaganda to paint the Droid Army as heroes, the wide-scale use of droids in combat during the Clone Wars^[217] and the devastation they wrought^[521] led to an increase in anti-droid sentiment and rhetoric.^[217] A general fear of droids^[522]—nurtured by the Droid Army's actions^[521] and wartime propaganda—was a defining component of the Imperial Era for droids who lived through it.^[54] With anti-droid sentiment kept alive by memories of the still-recent conflict^[522] and fostered by the Empire itself^[54] under its High Human cultural model,^[516] the Imperial Era was a time where, as B1 unit R0-GR later wrote, droids were treated as lesser by their organic fellows.^[54] Faced with by a galaxy ruled in part by a fear of droids,^[522] R0-GR would later conclude the end of the Clone Wars was only the start of a battle for droid rights. Due to his own past in the Separatist Army, he would blame himself in part for the anti-droid sentiment so many droids faced during the Age of the Empire.^[54] While the backlash to the droid armies was Empire-wide in the wake of the war^[290] and remained long afterward, affecting both the usage for droid labor^[335] and the battle for droid rights,^[290] planets that had seen the deployment of battle droids as combatants^[335] or occupiers^[159] had particularly long memories about the conflict and sat as hotbeds for anti-droid sentiment thanks to the battle droid army.^[335]

Due to the destruction battle droids caused during the Clone Wars, droids that were constructed solely for warfare were outlawed by the Empire,^[523] with production of battle droids banned by the Imperial Senate.^[37] With public sentiment^[290] and the law against battle droids clear,^[37] the ability for corporations to produce battle droid fell steeply with the war's end, which also had the effect of limiting possible corporate defense against Imperial actions they disagreed with.^[290] All the same, the B1 battle droid continued to turn up in the possession of third parties like smugglers, crime bosses, and pirates^[1] for years.^[524] Nevertheless, during the early Imperial Era, smuggler Has Obitt believed the combat droids fielded by the Confederacy would be useless in the face of Imperial technology, instead thinking the droids would be used for parts or simply destroyed.^[111] Indeed, the Empire made it a priority to decommission, which really meant to destroy,^[525] the B1s and other droids that had made up the Separatist military^[105] in facilities which, ironically, were similar to the Geonosian droid foundries were many droids had been built.^[525]

Furthermore, the victorious Empire spread into Separatist space:^[526] with the droid armies withdrawn^[94] and shut down by war's end,^[137] the Imperial Military was free to be deployed across the galaxy^[94] and into Confederate territory,^[526] where they would enforce the Imperial versions of order^[527] and peace without a military power to oppose it.^[94] Once defended by a fleet and a ground force of B1 battle droids,^[188] even the former Confederate capital of Raxus Secundus fell subject to Imperial occupation.^[526] Most Separatist civilians, having allowed the corporate sponsors and battle droids to fight the war on their behalf, were unprepared to fight for themselves and, thus, were swallowed into the Empire.^[290] Meanwhile, the clones who found themselves serving the Empire^[290] as the first generation of Imperial stormtroopers^[528] were reduced to little more than organic battle droids, who would be replaced like machines if they were killed^[290] and were expected to follow commands without question.^[49]

Some Separatist holdouts attempted to fight against the new galactic government,^[111] but the Empire's stormtroopers were deployed to bring remaining Separatist planets into line^[6] and ordered to wipe out surviving battle droid forces, including any remaining B1s. As such, stormtrooper standing orders—or "the drill," as one Stormtrooper Commander bluntly called it—called for the destruction of any surviving B1 units on sight. Furthermore, remaining B1 units also needed to contend with growing old and losing battery life, all without a galactic power to supply materials and support.^[50] Indeed, the Confederacy's remaining supporters themselves were left without the support of a massive Droid Army nor their corporate sponsors, preventing any large scale reformation of the Separatist military. Instead, those corporations that had survived the rise of the Empire sued for peace with the new government, dropping any support for the Separatist cause.^[290] While some Separatist-supporting companies were nationalized,^[351] as was the case with the Trade Federation^[14] and Techno Union in specific,^[529] most corporations that had supported the Droid Army were allowed to persist^[118] after abasing themselves before the Empire.^[290]

All these threats to their survival wiped out most battle droids that survived the Clone Wars^[50] and prevented a replenishment of their ranks. Indeed, without the financing of their sponsors, the support of the Droid Army, and the leadership they had trusted, most Separatist fighters abandoned the cause even despite the execution of the Jedi.^[290] For the decades to come, battle droids—once a symbol of glory to their corporate masters^[118] and Confederate leaders^[167]—were left to linger in workshops or under the control of partisan and pirate factions.^[118] While the B1 would see uses by such third party factions^[1] and despite the massive numbers it had once been produced in,^[118] the B1 battle droid would ultimately become a rare sight in the galaxy.^[50] After the Clone Wars, the B1s were also remembered as an incompetent fighting force.^[60] Nevertheless, the leftover battle droids could still be dangerous to those who were unwary.^[530]

Shortly into its reign, the Empire began to move away from cloning,^[186] instead deciding to recruit and conscript natural born humans into the Stormtrooper Corps through Project War-Mantle.^[531] While it was hoped^[50] stormtroopers would be superior in combat to any regiment of battle droids through the many advantages they held over those mechanical soldiers, such as their independent thought and range of mobility,^[532] the non-clone stormtroopers were often only dangerous when deployed in large numbers,^[60] much like the B1 battle droids^[88] before them. Considering the stormtroopers' total dedication to their role and discipline as advantage over their battle droid counterparts,^[532] however, the Empire had always understood natural born recruits would not be as skilled as the clone troopers who came before. Instead, it was hoped there would be a nearly–endless supply of willing conscripts to make up for that,^[186] much like how the Confederacy had been able to produce new B1s to make up for fallen units.^[19] Additionally, the eventual E-11 medium blaster rifle wielded by stormtroopers was very similar to the E-5 blasters that had been used by the B1-series.^[68]

mention gotra?

^[279]

^[368]

Smelting interruption on Corellia

One smelting facility where B1 units were "decomissined" was located on Corellia

^[49]

B1 on slot machine in Cid's Parlor (Cid, who owned a parlor where B1s were pictured..., sent the Bad Batch)

^[189]

wrecker noting that their old room is different, including missing b1 stuff

Defenders of Desix

^[49]

context for tk troopers includes that they are part of the transfer to recruits phase?

OOM appears on screen in Faster?

Wreckage and remnants

B1 units where reflected in the files of the former Jedi Padawan Ferren Barr, a survivor of Order 66 who gathered what information he could about the rise of Palpatine's empire. The B1s were included in at least one holographic file, which featured two units in combat against the then-Padawan Anakin Skywalker, whom Barr had learned was Darth Vader. During the Imperial invasion of Mon Cala^[533] in 18 BBY,^[153] Barr, who was on Mon Cala to manipulate King Lee-Char so as to ensure Mon Calamari starships would rebel against the Empire,^[534] told his disciples about Vader's past life as Skywalker. While discussing the former Jedi's battle prowess, his R1-series astromech droid, Endee, displayed the file of the Padawan Skywalker fighting B1 battle droids.^[533] At another point, Vader himself was in the Petranaki arena on Geonosis for a meeting with loyalty officer Sid Uddra. Before talking with her, Vader remembered his past as Skywalker, picturing his former allies and himself fighting B1s and other enemies in the arena.^[535] It was also possible to reactivate a B1. This was the case for R0-GR, as he was reactivated on Ord Tellarom. He was reprogrammed by the Freemakers, recalling the experience as leaving blasters for bedtime stories, and was "stationed" on the Wheel, which he said was better than Nal Kapok. However, he did briefly return there at one point.^[54]

In an example of how the leftover battle droids could still be a dangerous foe to the unwary, one B1 went rogue and, adopting a neutral yet malevolent stance in galactic affairs, became a bounty hunter. At a point where battle droids had become an uncommon sight, the droid was involved in a battle, during which the unit used a vibroblade. By the time of the battle, the B1 was heavily modified. With their upper body looking almost entirely different^[530] from that of their standard B1 siblings,^[15] the bounty hunter B1 was also equipped with a red cape and a vibroblade, which had the word "armblade" written on it.^[530]

tarkin oom pilot mention

Piles of dead B1s on Bracca, which was a battlefront in the war but also is scrapyard

While on Kashyyyk^[516] in that same year,^[536] Cal Kestis and his droid companion, BD-1, saw the remains of B1s who had stormed the planet during its Clone Wars battle.^[516]

Pango Two-Teeth and other bounty hunters use a b1 arm?

B1s in Rebel Rising? Per the "Battle droids and Bx commandos" line or whatever it is. add to appearance section if so

The Petrusian uprising

^[537][538]

pictured here

Sometime later,^[source?] while looking for pirate queen Rane Mahal's NP-unit servo-droids, undercover pirate Makkeer and smugglers Han Solo and Chewbacca went to the droid museum on Nubia. When a female Zygerrian pirate and R5-P8 stole the NP-unit from the Kentas Gallery, Chewbacca pursued R5 in a part of the museum where B1s were on display. The Zygerrian and R5 managed to escape, but the NP-unit was a booby trap, making the Zygerrian crash her speeder into a wall. The droid CR-8R eventually learned of the treasure hunt and recounted it during the fact-finding mission to the Outer Rim.^[539]

[put Chewie talking to nightfall here after the lando comic

Additionally, the B1-series shared its named with a gladiator known as "B1 Beatdown," who was scheduled to appear in the second of a series of droid undercard matches in Grakkus Arena, which was located in Hutta Town on^[540] the Outer Rim moon of Nar Shaddaa,^[541] between 10 BBY and 3 ABY.^[542]

Servants of the Bedlam Raiders

One B1 working with a B2 found that the B2 was running a perimeter scan every five minutes despite neither unit finding anything. The B1 finally raised that the scan was not necessary as the super droid started yet another one, only for the B2 to ignore them, complete it, and report that another scan would be conduced in exactly four minutes and fifty-six seconds. One B2 working with a B1 informed the smaller droid of how a raider had polished their bottom, which the B1 questioned the point of, only to learn the B2 did not know either. When one B2 remarked that all Jedi needed to be killed, a B1 chirped up that they would not hesitate to attack, promising to take out the target once they had the Jedi in their sights. The B2, however, insisted the B1 could not be trusted to succeed in the mission and trusted themself to complete the mission. One B1 was told by a B2 to never kill a raider despite the B1 never considering it, although the super battle droid felt the need to repeat that command. One B1 raised to a B2 their belief that the Raiders were overworking the battle droid detachment. When the super battle droid described themself as having a limitless capacity for any work, the B1 declared them a suck up.^[32]

On patrol with a B2 unit, one B1 claimed themself as having given the patrol orders, which the B2 claimed to be impossible by declaring themself the B1's superior. Another B1 working with a super droid attempted to tell a joke to their fellow unit about a protocol droid speaking to a medical droid in binary. One B1 asked a B2 why the super droid was larger and stronger, only to have little response when the B2 revealed being better than the B1 was part of their design.^[32]

This section of the article assumes 100% game completion of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. Any alternate stories may be noted in the "Behind the scenes" section. The events in this section may or may not have been confirmed as canon.

Over the course of Kestis's journey, he overheard those many conversations between B1s or concerning the droids. Kestis destroyed all battle droids he came across. In battle with Kestis, one B1 once asked whether the Jedi would successfully block all of their blaster bolts.^[32]

^[32]

Kestis kills the "I'd sooner be broken down for scrap than get pushed around by anyone else!" droid and makes a sarcastic "happy to help" comment

Unofficial end of the Clone Wars

the super tactical droid General Kalani continued to command some remaining battle droids and droidekas at a wrecked Separatist supply ship on Agamar. These droids had not been given the shut-down code issued years prior, as Kalani had believed it was a Republic trick. After the rebel group known as the Spectres—joined by Rex—made contact with the Separatist remnant, the two forces joined to fight off an Imperial attack. With the aid of two Jedi, Kalani and several of his B1 battle droids were able to escape the planet in a Sheathipede-class transport shuttle. Due to this mission, Kalani and Rex came to an unofficial end to the Clone Wars, which they both accepted as the war's end.^[50]

Unidentified DH-Omni Support Vessel (Agamar)

ultimate star wars new edition, including kalani page

[sward and shield has already been linked to, has Battle Plan Zeta?

[mention the droids were old, and what Pablo says (their droid's equipment was subpar and had gone to waste) the imperial super commandos rebels recon. Also put that link under sources

^[543][543]

Defense on Geonosis

^[544]

^[53]

Maybe info in siege on Geonosis?^[545]

Battle of Xorrn maybe?

Use by various third parties

Around 0 BBY, during what ended up being the final days of his exile on Tatooine,^[546] he reflects on clone wars, remember wrecked B1s do appear in flashback of kenobi 4 at the dark side fortress. in Kenobi 4 he also pictures B1s as a representation of the start of the war.

The Weapon of a Jedi: A Luke Skywalker Adventure sees Sarco Plank find a B1 head, based on R2's line to 3PO? add to appearances if so

Droid worker already linked to

^[547]

^[11]

^[102]

Several B1 battle droids were among the rebuilt battle droids in the workshop owned by Ruen on the Wreck Belt. Although Ruen did not treat his droids well, he kept them controlled through ethical programming and control loops. Sometime following the Battle of Vrogas Vas, Ruen activated his battle droids, including B1 battle droids and B2 super battle droids, to apprehend the assassin droids 0-0-0 and BT-1 while the two were there for business. BT-1 quickly destroyed all of the droids Ruen had activated, and Ruen was forced to help the two assassin droids. After this was done, however, BT-1 was able to hack into the remaining droids and remove the restraints Ruen had placed, which 0-0-0 viewed as an act of emancipation. Ruen tried to contact Quarantine World III to report about 0-0-0, but the remaining now-freed B1s and other battle droids turned on him. The droids killed Ruen and destroyed the workshop as BT-1 and 0-0-0 watched from a distance. As the two left the Wreck Belt they discussed how they believed that if organics treated droids better, violence between droids and organics wouldn't be necessary.^[548]

At one point during the Imperial Era,^[549]

^[163]

call the crush ones "B1-derived pirate droids" or something? Unidentified monster droid model

^{[550][551][552]}

Vader 17 mention establishes he knew held back against the crush

does ND-5 have a B1 finger?^[12]

^[55]

remember vader boards star destroyer. remains of b1s in facility as well^[56]

Two B1-derived crush pirates were disptached ^[553]

• Jul Tambor's forces^[57]

Jul's droid army as cannon fodder^[58]

Ought-Six's discussion on how shabby replacement parts could be particularly resonated with one of the B1s in the audience, whose right arm had been replaced with a B2 arm and thus was not balanced to a B1's frame.^[58]

^[22]

^[59]

Sabé's droid

New Republic Era and beyond

Surviving B1s march on

Even though they were widely regarded as "old clankers" that were worthless soldiers,^[60] B1 battle droids—even after the Battle of Endor,^[1] a major victory for the Rebel Alliance^[554] in 4 ABY^[122] that saw the death of Palpatine, the redemption of Anakin Skywalker, and destruction of the DS-2 Death Star II Mobile Battle Station^[554]–continued to be found in the hands of third parties like criminals.^[1] By the time following the Rebel Alliance's transition into the New Republic, a B1 was on display inside the Palpatine Archive in the Coruscant system alongside other droids. Landonis Balthazar Calrissian,^[555] who had become a general for the Rebellion^[554] and then New Republic, Lepi smuggler Jaxxon T. Tumperakki, and Rekk Chancellor Asera passed the B1 when they infiltrated the archive to ensure the liberation of Rekkana.^[555]

In the aftermath of Palpatine's death, red sentinel droids were deployed to certain Imperial officers for his contingency plan, playing pre-recorded messages commanding the start of Operation: Cinder to attack Imperial worlds in retaliation for the Emperor's death.^{[27][159][556]} The bodies of Palpatine's sentinel droids resembled^[557] those of the B1-series,^[15] but their frames were then covered by red robes^[27] that resembled those used by the Emperor's Royal Guard.^[554] The sentinel droids had been created by 20 BBY,^[558] a year during which^[122] B1s were still seeing heavy use in the galaxy due to the Clone Wars,^[356][44]

ghosts of vader's castle 5 is important to explaining the dreams

Keeping up the fight on Akiva

[second half? of Aftermath

Liberation of Kashyyyk

^[559]

Playing a part in the fall of the Empire

Battle of Jakku

keeps a backup of bones, mention that here or below?

Battles that changed the galaxy page about new republic using droids (mention that it is after Military Disarmament Act?)

^[560] doesn't outright mention the b1s in the flashback, but does get into boba remembering the aftermath

The Loradil survivors

^{[561][562][396][563]}

Droid population of Plazir-15

"Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season Three Companion" — Star Wars Insider 222

^[564]

and Lady Bo-Katan Kryze, the very same woman who had once been a part of the Death Watch movement. Abandoning terrorism^[565] and trying to become a better leader for her people,^[566] Kryze had been named regent of Mandalore towards the end of the Clone Wars but ultimately lost control of her world to the Empire, which left the planet a bombed husk of its former self in the Great Purge of Mandalore after Kryze attempted to lead Mandalore into rebellion. Around 9 ABY, Kryze was working to reunite the Mandalorian people

^[61]

Memories and remains

There's two B1 corpses in Shadow Warrior, one is an OOM Commander. Thanks to Cobalt for the news

When the pirate Jod Na Nawood was searching for the droid SM-33 during his escape from Borgo Prime, he briefly activated a B1 battle droid to check if it was SM-33. Upon activation, the battle droid confusedly asked "did we win?" only for Na Nawood to shut the droid back down.^[567] - Benjar Pranic uses B1 leg? - Any info that can go in description?

Relics of a long gone age

A star and former professional Huttball player,^[569] the Wookiee warrior Grozz^[570]—who disliked the Separatists^[571] and had a habit of literally disarming droids and other enemies^[570]—had the right legs of two tan B1s, which he used as a pair of clubs known as the Huttballer Clubs. One leg was missing its foot, while the other foot's was damaged, and both had wrapping around their bottom portion for use as handles. Along with some golden highlights on certain parts, the leg connecting piece was also colored orange on both legs. Along with a pair of clubs made from B2 arms, Grozz had the B1-derived clubs at his disposal when he competed in the Hunters of the Outer Rim tournament on the planet Vespaara^[571] in 9 ABY,^[572] although he mainly used a pair of clubs fashioned from the arms of the KX-series security droid^[569] K-A0S. All the same, Grozz once used the Huttballer clubs in a match against fellow hunter "Slingshot,"^[571] the villainous on-stage persona of the Ugnaught Dizzy and his modified droideka.^[573] Hit in the face by the B1-clubs, Slingshot was quoted after the match as saying that, while B1s themselves were flimsy, their parts could hurt a lot when used as blunt weapons.^[571]

The Jawa hunter has a b1 hand backpack

Shadow of the Sith: Ochi hires Droid Crush Crush pirates in Chapter 11, Droid Crush carried out Attack on Halo Squadron?, Chapter 21, Chapter 22, Ochi kills pirate captain and later asks sith eternal for non-droid troopers in chapter 24

^[574]

^{[62] [63]}

Following the fall of the Empire, some surviving Imperials,^[575] Grand Admiral Sloane among them,^[576] fled into the Unknown Regions and secretly prepared a return to galactic power by reforming themselves into^[575] the Empire's successor state, the First Order.^[577] After it was developed by Kuat-Entralla Engineering,^[578] the Resurgent-class Star Destroyer saw heavy use as the main Star Destroyer of the First Order Navy.^[579] At some point, a group of at least four B1 battle droids fought in a confrontation in the hangar of a Resurgent-class Star Destroyer. While one of the units was blasted, that was an acceptable loss, and the other three B1s kept up their blasterfire.^[580]

^[48]

Kix began leading Ithano's crew to lost Separatist treasures^{[581] [582]}

^[583]

^[51]

[mention 3po having at least one flash of having the body of a B1

A short time after the destruction of the New Republic at the hands of the First Order^[217] in 34 ABY,^[122] a book entitled A History of Persuasive Art in the Galaxy was released, having been made to cover a history of propaganda in the galaxy. In the book, whilst covering propaganda from the Clone Wars, it noted how B1 battle droids, B2 super battle droids, and droidekas became images of "droid terror" in his section on the poster "Keep Our Republic Secure" by the Zeltron artist Yosyro Modoll.^[217]

On the world of Ahch-To in the Unknown Regions,^[584] after the Force-sensitive Rey left him and he met with the Force spirit of Yoda, Luke Skywalker found his faith in the Jedi ways restored after he had rejected them, having felt guilt over the betrayal of Padawan Ben Solo and the destruction of his Jedi Order. Before using Force projection to save the Resistance during the Battle of Crait,^[579] Skywalker completed a historical record of the Jedi, which he dubbed The Secrets of the Jedi. Inside the book, Skywalker included an image of Obi-Wan Kenobi cutting through a B1 battle droid in its section on the offensive uses for lightsaber combat.^[585]

Even though they were not recommended for deployment so long after their day and age, B1 battle droids could still be found for sale^[568] if one knew where to look.^[64] Eloc Throno, an author and galactic explorer, knew as such; in at least one version of his Traveler's Guide to Batuu, Throno mentioned B1s in the Droid Buyer's Guide section but did not recommend the unit to potential buyers. Giving the droid one point out of five on his rating key and calling them relics from the Clone Wars, Throno cited their lack of effectiveness during their time period.^[568] Around the same time,^[586] Hondo Ohnaka,^[98] the very same pirate who had fought against B1 battle droids during the Clone Wars,^[39] described the B1 in his book Galactic Explorer's Guide in its section on Geonosis and, in the section about Naboo, compared them to the more destructive droidekas.^[98]

Encountering the Resistance

^{[64] [587] [110]} failsafe against a mutiny Neeku Vozo in the Databank

The New World Episode Guide on StarWars.com says it was a squad

The Lost Stories, Part 3, he takes the place of Q5-7070. perhaps even the reflection upon his story can go here?

Rise of skywalker junior novel

Around the same time,^[source?] Sidious worked to complete a history of the Sith Order and his life. Entitled The Secrets of the Sith, Sidious discussed his rise to power within his text, with three B1s being pictured amongst other Separatist forces and leaders in the finalized section.^[292]

R6-D8 wants to be like Mister Bones?

Bones' programming is destoyed

Equipment

Weaponry and gear

E-5 blaster rifles and comlink packs

By virtue of being mobile weapons platforms, a B1 was only as effective as the blaster he was armed with, forcing Baktoid Armor Workshop to invest in making an effective blaster for the droid line.^[68] Ultimately, the company created^[6] and produced the E-5 blaster rifle, which was actually based on an effective E-series blaster made by BlasTech Industries.^[68] The E-5 served as the standard issue blaster for B1 battle droids.^[6] Designed to be remarkably easy to handle and maintain^[68] despite its bulky build,^[303] the E-5 proved to be perfect for the dimwitted B1-series, and its grip was specifically designed for the B1's three-fingered hands^[68] even though non-droids like humans could wield the weapon.^[23] Believed to be easy to use in battle^[68] and ideally suited for the droids' never-surrender programming,^[6] the E-5's simple trigger was equipped with a continuous shooting function,^[68] allowing for a B1 to unleash a continuous amount of blaster fire^[6] with little effort.^[68]

In order to ensure the E-5 did not overheat, the lightweight blaster was equipped with a residual energy conduit, venting excessive heat from the gas chamber and barrel;^[68] the heat made the blaster hard for an organic to wield, but battle droids were free to unleash a continuous volume of blaster bolts.^[6] Thanks to the energy duct, a B1 could wield an E-5 for a long period of time without fear of overheating the blaster. Nevertheless, B1s were programmed to give their weapon time to rest during battle.^[68]

Despite being able to use a lot of other equipment originally designed for organics, the E-5 blaster needed to be designed with a large trigger guard due to the B1's three fingered hands.^[69]

The comlink booster pack^[6] was a type of power-augmenting backpack typically worn by B1s.^[69] Fit over the twin railings on a B1's back,^[127] the backpack was removeable,^[source?] but it could be built into the droid to provide power throughout a unit's long deployments.^[109] While not required for a B1 to function,^[127] the only way to individually distinguish a B1—the battle droid's designation number—was on the back of^[6] some^[148] comlink booster packs,^[6] with a great many B1s lacking any such writing on their backs^[source?] nor on their backpack.^[23][148] Indeed, listing the designation was only for organic commanders, as the control ships would track every battle droid.^[37]

(It was also able to boost signals. ^[69] or ^[source?])

Also on the backpack was a signal reception/transmitter booster antenna^[69] called the Integrated Comms Antenna,^[38] which could receive remote commands.^[19] The antenna was also able to store general commands^[69] These antenna would rise along with the B1's head during a unit's activation.^[15] At least in the case of post-Naboo, independent B1s,^[source?] it was not necessary for a unit's Comms Antenna arise for a battle droid to stand and join combat.^[588] Indeed, while damage to the antennae could result in them being bent out of shape,^[148] the B1 could still function all the same while wearing a backpack that contained damaged antennae.^[64] As seen on a number of OOM commanders^[15][27] and some regular B1s, some units possessed antennae attached to their back without the larger comlink booster assembly.^[148]

^[117]

A droid's E-5 blaster was also stored in a holster on the^[68] comlink booster pack's^[6] right side, with the blaster handle facing forward^[68] and up. Thus, droids could be folded into their^[15] compact transport form^[6] while armed. Upon unfolding, a phalanx of B1s could simultaneously reach to their backs and grab their blasters, allowing the droid force to march and fire.^[15] Thus, the E-5 normally remained stowed on the^[69] comlink booster pack^[6] until the B1 unit was deployed.^[69]

the massive amount of waste heat generated was not a problem for B1s, while an organic soldier would be uncomfortable ^[19]

B1s fired at the waist level^[68] except in some circumstances^[source?]

As seen amongst members of the Droid Crush Pirates of Bestoons and several units on Coruscant, even the B1-KX monster droid built with B1 pieces made use of E-5s as a common weapon. Many of those monster droids also were equipped with a backpack akin to the comlink booster, although the monster droids' backpack was much larger.

Other weapons

Beyond their E-5 blaster rifles, B1-series battle droids could use other equippment, proving to be dexterous enough to use most equipment made with a living humanoid in mind.^[69]

During the Fourth Battle of Mygeeto, a B1 fired a different blaster rifle at Jedi General Ki-Adi-Mundi.^[518] Particularly for close-range attacks, B1 battle droids could rearm themselves with a scatter gun.^[27] They could also operate double-barrel repeating blasters.^[31] Kelvarek Consolidated Arms' RLR-331 "Bulldog" rocket rifle, which was sold in bulk to the Confederacy, was used by heavy-support B1s as a light anti-armor and anti-materiel weapon. In addition to the fearsome reputation it gained, the "Bulldog" was used to great effect against the Republic's heavily armored clones and combat vehicles.^[34]

While it was also heavily used by the Republic during the Clone Wars,^[88] the B1 could also be armed with the RPS-6 rocket launcher^[35] produced by Sienar Fleet Systems.^[88] B1s were also able to use macrobinoculars, allowing them to see things that were far away,^[73] and the Class-A thermal detonator.^[25] During the Battle of Ryloth, two B1s in Nabat used electropoles on the captured Gutkurrs, forcing the beasts toward Republic forces.^[31]

operated turrets in Counterattack?

At some point, a B1 armed with an E-60R rocket launcher once wielded the weapon while near mountains covered in greenery.^[29]

At one point on Geonosis, one B1 stood near a canyon while armed with an E-5C heavy blaster rifle blaster,^[26]

While on Felucia, a camouflaged B1 armed with a E-5s sniper rifle focused on his target.^[28]

One B1-KX monster droid wielded a DLT-19 heavy blaster rifle alongside another such monster droid, who was wielding a rocket launcher.

B1s could also be assigned slicing missions, for which they would upload a slicing programs into an enemy computer. With such a program, a B1 was able to interface with the computer, scan its database, find its countermeasures, and upload a virus into the enemy computer.^[27]

Vehicles

Role on ground vehicles

served as pilots for vehicles like the Single Trooper Aerial Platform^[589]

Used by B1 scouts and snipers,^[5] the STAP was created to be a patrol and recon vehicle in the Trade Federation Droid Army, with therepulsorcraft's designers customizing its dimensions to fit the B1. The STAP would go onto be used by the Separatist Alliance,^[27] and, while commando droids and organics could fly the craft,^[154] B1s remained their typical pilots. Their humanoid frame could most easily control the repulsorcraft, though the lightweight vehicle^[222] was only large enough to fit one battle droid,^[91] allowing the single droid to sweep through dense forests that larger vehicles could not patrol.^[5]

B1s could also operate Armored Assault Tanks^[590]

gunners for Armored Assault Tank

Regular B1s can also serve as pilots for Platoon Attack Craft^[15]

Using the handholds on the sides of the AAT, up to six B1s could ride on the tank.^[119]

transportation in Multi-Troop Transports. In this configuration one hundred and twelve B1 battle droids could be stored into the troop transport, and,

R0-GR calls mtts uncomfortable

pilots for STAPs, AATs?, MTTs?, Federation ships?

Semi-autonmous (source to builder's droids) J-1 cannons

The lightweight design E-5 blaster rifle also greatly increased the amount of weaponry and the number of battle droids that could be transported together.^[68]

Additionally, an MTT was not the only vehicle that could be used to ferry B1 battle droids into a battle, as over a hundred folded B1s could also be stored on the deployment rack of a the unarmed Trade Federation troop carrier.^[37] These craft were piloted by one^[137] or two battle droids, which could be OOM pilot units.^[119]

The droids could also use the compact form to attach onto racks placed on the bottom of HMP droid gunships, which could carry droids in an atmosphere^[27] or in the vacuum of space.^[495]

can be transported on NR-N99 Persuader-class droid enforcer

Role on spacefaring craft

While B1 unit R0-GR originally lacked the programming needed to serve as a pilot,^[54] B1-series battle droids were used as the pilots for a number of vehicles, including the Sheathipede-class transport shuttle^[35] used by the Trade Federation^[15] and Confederacy of Independent Systems.^[35] Neimoidians who owned Sheathipede shuttles never considered flying their own transport, so OOM-series battle droids were among the most commonly used pilots for their craft.^[591] Sheathipede info included in Star Wars Helmet Collection: Shoretrooper Databank A-Z: Serenno–Anakin Skywalker?

helmet collection (or build R2?) about pilot droids maybe being only pilots. worth noting builders droids says, out of the four we see in the films, blank b1s are always normal troops. i think you can disregard the build r2 about all pilots being oom pilots. also all the sources that point out blue is used to specifically point out oom pilots

vast fleets^[5]

Large numbers of B1 units were carried on the capital ships used by the Trade Federation^[69]

Numerous B1s could be stationed in core ships,^[37] and an entire army of B1s could be placed in a Lucrehulk-class Battleship.^[88]

While Neimoidian officers were put in charge of actually flying the craft,^[18] B1 battle droids served aboard

The Confederacy of Independent Systems's early navy was made up of bulk transports from member corporations, but, as the Clone Wars continued, allies like Pammant Docks built new capital ships, which were crewed by B1s.^[88]

^[446]

• Separatist Supply Ship in the Databank

Specialized B1 battle droids

Overview

Even though they were said to have no distinguishing features,^[109] variations existed within standard B1 model,^[15][149] such as the different plating colors sometimes seen amongst B1s. "Rust brown"^[9] plating designated a B1 as being connected to Geonosis,^[27] but not all B1s built^[131] on Geonosis^[72] had that color.^[131] During the Second Battle of Geonosis, these units additionally had yellow markings on their bodies.^[10] Additionally, Geonosis-colored units did not need to be exclusively fielded on Geonosis, and the standard tan colored droids could be fielded on the desert world.^[27] In fact, during one of the battles of Geonosis, a tan OOM command battle droid led a force of similarly tan B1s into combat, rushing forward as core ships took off.^[592][593] One tan B1 unit active during the Clone Wars also had blue accents on his leg and arm joints.^[148]

In fact, in the Separatist Droid Army, B1 variants that were more menacing than the standard model augmented the droid ranks, although the standard units remained the chief foundation of the army.^[118]

OOM-series,^[37] B1s could be specially programmed to work as command droids.^[6] In the Separatist Army, modified B1 commanders led forces below the strength of a regiment, although the Confederacy preferred its organic leaders.^[88]

write non-pilot b1s instead of regular no not needed

different ranks impressed even sidious

B1-series variants

OOM-series battle droids

Overview

Main article: OOM-series battle droid

OOM command battle droids

Main article: OOM command battle droid

Regular? B1 not designed for giving commands or tactical judgements^[14]

contained within the oom unit were a series of strategic control circuits, which the unit could activate whenever they needed to lead troops into battle

Compared to the standard B1, the commander was a modified unit^[88]

OOM pilot battle droids

Main article: OOM pilot battle droid

specialized programming, page 72 ^[18]

OOM-series security droid

Main article: OOM-series security droid

...these security units had specialized software that recognized infiltrator consistent patterns in environments, which was something the standard B1 lacked.^{[594] [5]}

Assassination protocols

Covert operations mode

"Stealth routines"

AAT Driver/jungle battle droids

Main article: AAT Driver Battle Droid

'Jungle battle droid'—For combat in dense forests and jungles, some tacticians gave their B1s camouflage to make them less detectable.^[27] Also known as the Kashyyyk Battle Droid,^[595] jungle units included recolored standard B1s, specialist units, command battle droids, and Heavy Battle Droids.^[27]

Other variant models

• 631 model B1 battle droid—
• Assault Battle Droid—
• B1 melee battle droid—B1 droids specialized in melee combat and deployed by the Bedlam Raiders.^[32]
• B1-series rocket battle droid—Standard B1 droids that were specifically modified to hunt down escape pods in space.^[78] They donned rocket packs and were distinguished by their orange and black colored bodies.^[41]
• B1 grapple droid—A B1 variant that were specialized in hand-to-hand combat and had white and green plating.^[30]
• B1 recon droid—A variant of the B1 used for reconnaissance purposes.^[30]

• B1 repeater blaster droid—A B1 variant that utilized a repeating blaster. The droid had the same markings as the standard B1 battle droid.^[30]
• B1 rocket launcher droid—A variant of the B1 that used a missile launcher, and this variant had the same markings as the standard B1 battle droid.^[30] <-- Doesn't need to be put here? Or just give all the reg b1s with special weapons their own section?
• B1 supervisor droid—
• 'Battle Droid Assassin'—
• Droid worker—Modified battle droids that were created by and served Karina.^[11]
• Firefighter battle droid—battle droids tasked to suppress and extinguish fires. Firefighter droids were positioned aboard the Malevolence during the Republic's assault on the vessel. Their bodies were mostly colored black with yellow stripes, and a single red spot could be found on their heads.^[134] Even though most B1s were considered fourth-class droids due to being combat units,^[source?] the firefighter B1s were classified as class three droids.^[18]
• Grenade droid—
• Heavy Battle Droid—battle droids designed to support heavy fire in battle. Armed with repeating blasters, these battle droids were capable of wielding heavy weaponry such as Z-6 rotary blaster cannons. They were identifiable by the overall gray body and dark red paintings.^[27]

Mister Bones

While not an entire variant line, instead a singular battle droid, Mister Bones was remarkably different from the standard B1 due to the modifications

Successor models

B2-series super battle droids

Main article: B2-series super battle droid

resulting in a stronger, bulkier,^[6] better-armored,^[92] and more advanced version of the B1^[6]

Although they were taller^[92] and, because of their programming,^[288] substantially more aggressive than the B1,^[596] the super droid incorporated a number of components from its B1 predecessor^[75] for economy,^[70] but they were packed into the model's sturdier shell. The B2 also had a delicate signal receiver that was identical to B1 components, but it was kept in the super droid's heavily armored upper chest, which also held a basic cognitive processor. The B2's limited intelligence^[6] and independent computer brain gave the unit one of its most significant advantages over the B1; the super droid,^[37] albeit in a limited capacity,^[1] could operate without receiving commands from a Droid Control Ship.^[37] However, the unit's lack of complex thinking meant a control ship was needed for optimum performance.^[6]

b1s get independtn thinking too

though he also recounted a B2 could be used as a shield against blaster fire in heavy firefights,

^[220]

cousin^[75]

B2s also contained an integrated weapons system instead of needing to wield a weapon like a B1^[118]

Super droids: "bigger, tougher versions of regular battle droids. They carry more powerful weapons, and are harder to destroy"^[89]

even at their^[1] first deployment^[source?] on Geonosis

BX-series droid commando

Main article: BX-series droid commando

As of right now, a lot of the context for the BX is in the clone wars section, much can be moved here

D1-series aerial battle droid

Main article: D1-series aerial battle droid

D1-series aerial battle droid These flying units^[141] were an alternative to the standard B1^[597] and a Techno Union experiment of the B-series.^[88] description of them being sleeker than regular B1s in Obi-Wan and Anakin choose your own destiny book

include the clanker with wings quote here?

Monster droid model

Main article: Unidentified monster droid model

Throughout its history, the B1 would see its part used for a number of monster droids. However, one particular model of monster droid would come to see a great degree of use during the Imperial Era, during which even the Galactic Empire made use of the unit.

Per Vader 29, head functions on its own without B1 body

should lando's thoughts go here? or in description? or in both?

Behind the scenes

First appearance and name

The B1-series battle droid was created for^[599] and appeared heavily within the 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace.^[15] The B1 was first teased to the Star Wars audience before the film's release within its marketing, including the film's trailer.^[600] Their first narrative appearance came with Terry Brooks' novelization of The Phantom Menace,^[601] which was released prior to the film itself on April 21, 1999. With the Star Wars canon reset of 2014 and establishment of the Star Wars Legends continuity,^[491] Brooks's The Phantom Menace novelization^[601] and other topical tie-in material that featured the B1^[602] was rebranded as part of the "Legends" continuity.^[491] Canonically speaking, therefore, the B1 made its first appearance in The Phantom Menace film. Despite their major role in The Phantom Menace^[15] and its tie-in material,^[601][602] the term "B1 battle droid" was never used,^{[15][601][602]} with the Trade Federation's robotic infantry only being called "battle droids" by the film's characters.^[15]

Within canon, the term "B1 battle droid" was first used in the 2014 mobile game Star Wars: Galactic Defense,^[30] and the model's full name of "B1-series battle droid" was first used in the Droid Directory of 2017's Star Wars: Build Your Own R2-D2 30.^[69] The "B1" designation first emerged in the Revised Core Rulebook for the Star Wars Roleplaying Game in 2002.^[603] Previously, the Roleplaying Game had identified the droid as the "Nemoidian Series" in its 2000 core rulebook,^[604] but the new name helped differentiate the B1 from the many combat droid models^[603] introduced in the 2002 film Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones.^[42] Canon has introduced the term "Neimoidian battle droid" as well, turning it into the title of an overall line of battle droids that the B1 was simply one of.^[14] Additionally, works like Star Wars: Episode I: The Visual Dictionary called the unit the "infantry battle droid,"^[605] a term that was re-canonized through the episode guide for the Star Wars: The Clone Wars Season Two episode "Grievous Intrigue," which first aired on January 1, 2010.^[473]

The Prequel trilogy

Development

The "robotic stormtrooper"

The Phantom Menace was written and directed by the^[15] creator of Star Wars,^[491] George Lucas.^[15] On January 15, 1995, Lucas requested a design for what he termed a "robotic stormtrooper,"^[599] the antagonistic^[176]—but also human^[6]—infantry forces of the Galactic Empire in his original trilogy of Star Wars films.^{[176][554][607]} In response,^[599] Design Director^[608] and concept artist Doug Chiang^[599]—who had a love of the droids already seen within the Star Wars franchise^[609] and had developed a love for technological, robotic designs thanks to Star Wars^[610]—drew a piece of concept art for the robotic soldier during his first day on the project,^[599] making this B1 concept art Chiang's first drawing for The Phantom Menace.^[611] At that time, the battle droids were identified only as "baron droids" by the design team as a means of identifying the yet to be named droids, taking the temporary name from their usage by trade barons^[612] who were comparable to the robber barons of real world history. Eventually, those barons would themselves recieve a proper name as the Neimoidian species.^[606] Author and film historian Paul Duncan suggested that the "battle droid" name would have only emerged later into production after the script was finalized and when filming was set to begin.^[612]

Chiang has since reflected that he considers his first battle droid drawing his first failure and first big lesson.^[611] Although StarWars.com writer Jon Waterhouse once wrote that the design was "clearly robotic,"^[613] Chiang felt he took Lucas's direction to make a "robotic stormtrooper" too literally; he drew what he later described as a "guy in a costume" that only appeared as if it was robotic.^[611] The droid's face was also designed to harken back to the stormtrooper helmets seen in the original trilogy.^[613] Indeed, according to the original Databank website, a number of the early battle droid designs were "clearly inspired" by the stormtrooper, with the similar designs implying there was an evolution of large-scale military forces across the Star Wars timeline.^[614] Ultimately, the clone troopers have been used in the Star Wars canon to foreshadow the stormtroopers instead.^[615] The concept art design would later be reused for the Trade Federation assassin droids that appeared within the Star Wars: Obi-Wan video game,^[616] which was released in 2001 and falls under the Star Wars Legends' continuity.^[617]

After the "failure" of the first design, Chiang shifted his design process for the battle droid to give it a more robotic appearance.^[611] During his 2019 Star Wars Celebration Chicago panel, Chiang reflected that Lucas insisted the designs be abstract instead of appearing like an actor in a suit, which opened new possibilities.^[599] Having learned from Lucas that research helped the creative process, Chiang, according to what he later told StarWars.com, found inspiration in a book on African sculptures. Chiang moved his battle droid design to resemble the stylization and proportions of these African works.^[611] Duncan later claimed that Chiang was inspired in specific by one singular African statue he had seen.^[618] Nonetheless, as Chiang told StarWars.com, the African sculptures, which he thought were elegant and almost seemed mechanical, became the B1's foundation.^[611]

Indeed, as argued by the original StarWars.com Databank, the finalized B1 design remains reminiscent of African sculpture.^[614] Commentators have also drawn a connection between the battle droid's design and that of British artist Jacob Epstein's work Rock Drill,^[619][620] a 1913 statue that has also been compared to General Grievous's design.^[621] As was relayed by Duncan in 2020, Chiang had not drawn on Rock Drill in creating the battle droid and only became aware of the statue after the release of The Phantom Menace. As such, Duncan,^[618] who had himself noticed the parallels between the B1 design and that of Epstein's sculpture,^[622] was able to affirm that the B1 design had its roots in African tradition.^[618] One early design, which had towering droids twice the height of humans,^[614] was a result of this (What's "this?" Lucas's abstract request?) and his inspiration from African works.^[599] Nevertheless, subsequent iterations kept their height at human size.^[614]

One concept art was very close to the B1's final appearance, albeit with a different design for its limbs and central body. Additionally, this design possessed two additional smaller arms connected to its chest and lacked^[611] the backpack often placed on the final B1 design.^[15] Eventually, finding that his design was starting to come together, Chiang also slowly elected to make the droid units distinctly frightening by making them resemble living skeletons.^[611] The stormtroopers of the original trilogy were also designed with this idea in mind, which Chang has spoken of as something he enjoys about their design.^[623] Chang told StarWars.com that this skeletal inspiration meant battle droids were "originally" very thin,^[611] but, at Celebration 2019, stated this was the reason the droids are thin in the film.^[599] Chiang also initially wanted the droids to be totally silent^[611] by not speaking, thereby making them mysterious, deadly,^[599] and continuing the idea they were like marching skeletons. However, he later described this as taking his idea too seriously. Nevertheless, he found this process helped inform his personal creative process; as he told StarWars.com, there is an internal logic behind the shapes he uses.^[611]

Much of the concept art for The Phantom Menace—along with a 1/8th scale concept model of the B1 made during production—depicts the droid unit in a^[599] stark white color,^[608] which was part of Chiang's idea to make the droids look like moving skeletons.^[599] According to those who worked closely with Chiang, he modeled the thin appearance of the B1 specifically off the skeleton warriors seen in the influential film Jason and the Argonauts,^[608] the stop motion effects of which were done by special effects innovator Ray Harryhausen.^[624] When Harryhausen visited the production of The Phantom Menace, Chiang first showed him his "Wall of Shame," a collection of rejected concept art that included images that depicted B1s. In front of the wall stood a B1 prop, which Harryhausen and Chiang took a picture in front of.^[599]

Finalizing the design

Despite Chang's inspirations, finalizing the design of the battle droid had not been a simple process,^[608] with concept model maker John Duncan later recalling that it had been a collaborative effort. According to Duncan, the team needed to keep the droid gaunt to match Chiang's wish for it to be skeletal, and Chiang and other artists made designs for certain parts of the B1, with some artists having a specific vision for certain aspects of the droid. In particular, Chiang was very focused about the shape of the B1's head. Duncan recalled about five different head shapes were created before reaching the design Chiang wanted;^[625] the B1's finalized design includes an elongated head, which was directly inspired by proportions seen on African sculpture.^[611] In its included interview with Duncan, the Star Wars: The Complete Saga blu-ray depicts five concept art designs as he speaks about the five head designs, ending with the art that looked similar to the final design with the exception of its different looking body and two spare arms.^[625] In addition to spending time on designing different head shapes, it took the artists a time to figure out the B1's color scheme.^[608]

At one point in 1995, Chiang made another sketch of B1 concept art that—in addition to being even closer to the final design, albeit with a larger backpack—he recreated over twenty years later in 2019, presenting the recreation and original sketch at Celebration Chicago. During this panel, he also noted he had wanted the B1s to have jetpacks, but Lucas denied the idea, resulting in the droids instead having "simple utility backpacks"^[599] that modern sources have since dubbed "comlink booster packs."^[6][75] Nevertheless wanting to see the droids fly, Chiang began to develop designs for flying speeders. Although his planned "motorcycle-copter" did not pan out, this design eventually became Darth Maul's Bloodfin Sith Speeder;^[599] the original droid version of the Bloodfin can be seen in a October 3, 1995, concept art piece by Chiang while the Sith speeder design was being worked on by October 3, 1996, as seen in another concept art piece. Paul Duncan suggested that, at the time of that droid speeder design in 1995, battle droids were still known as "baron droids." The piece featured a B1 unit with a yellow chest circle marker piloting the speeder.^[626] After the rejection of that initial speeder as a droid vehicle, Chiang continued to experiment with what the B1's speeder could be; taking inspiration from the shapes of jet skis and humming birds, the battle droid's Single Trooper Aerial Platform was created. He compared B1s patrolling a forest on STAPs to "giant prehistoric hummingbirds." Around a year after the STAP was finalized, the B1's colorization was changed from white to tan.^[599]

Parts of the B1's form like their feet and back were mostly left out of the droid's concept, resulting in Duncan needing to design them. In the computer modeling phase, the team was unsure of the specifics of what a B1 would need to do, although they assumed it needed complete mobility like a human would have; they designed the droid to be able to walk up stairs, climb ladders, and carry a blaster. Motion capture footage of an actor was used to help this, with the actor at one point needing to fall down. At another, the actor held a prop E-5 blaster rifle. Wanting to ensure it could function like a person, Duncan made sure the parts of the droid could actually function. As he recalled on The Complete Saga blu-ray, the team sometimes needed to slightly adjust aspects of the design. Although these aspects would work in concept art, they needed to be slightly fixed so the computer animated droids could actually function onscreen. Ultimately, Duncan recalled it was "neat" to see the B1 in the final film; he was witnessing the B1 battle droid, a design he had spent much time on and helped create, in action.^[625]

Duncan suggested the B1 name came out as a way to distinguish the different battle droids of Attack of the Clones from each other^[627]

refer to "Pushing Boundaries" — Star Wars Insider 217 for challenges of the cg? no doubt other sources for the challenges and groundbreaking

Rob Coleman interview in Insider 197? (has a wrecked B1, add to souces?)

From Star Wars to Star Wars: The Story of Industrial Light & Magic

anything in Star Wars: The Power of Myth? include mention from The Power of Myth on StarWars.com? Does that part go in post-release

^[628]

if need to talk about Hal Hickel, note how he wanted to work on droids because he loves robots (and thus worked on the droideka)^[629]

^[630]

^[631]

^[632]

^[633]

Star Wars Insider 40? Star Wars Galaxy Collector 4?

Chiang later used the concept art image of B1s, Naboo, and those original Neimoidians to demonstrate how the Star Wars universe was a mix of the real world and fiction (around 8:50 minutes) ^[634]

The mechanical sound of their movements was recorded years earlier by Ben Burtt, during filming Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi; the sound of the servomotors of Jabba's puppet attracted his attention and recorded it on tape, and eventually used it for The Phantom Menace.^[635]

The droids speak with a monotonic voice, performed by different actors. Initially Burtt wanted to experiment with recording words independently, without intonation, which then would be synthesized to form phrases. This effect, similar to automated answering machines, would highlight their low intelligence. This concept was abandoned as it made them too impersonal and dumb, without "sense of purpose and will to survive".^[635]

Filming for The Phantom Menace

Although the B1 battle droids are depicted through computer generated imagery in the final film,^[15] several full scale props were created to represent the droids while filming. For example, as shown on the Star Wars: The Complete Saga blu ray, several static battle droid props were placed around the actors portraying Naboo pilots during to the main characters' escape from Naboo. The props remained standing until actor Ewan McGregor,^[625]—who portrayed Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi throughout the prequel trilogy,^{[15][42][137]}—hit them with his lightsaber prop, making the B1s fall down and into pieces.^[625] Speaking to a behind the scenes documentary camera, Visual Effects Supervisor John Knoll stated that, during the scene where Nute Gunray, Rune Haako, and Darth Maul speak with a hologram of Darth Sidious, the camera would pan over to an archway filled with a force of battle droids and their tanks.^[598] However, no such shot appears in the final film.^[15]

At one point during production, a B1 prop was struck with an explosion by Assistant Stunt Coordinator Andreas Petrides as part of a visual effects test. An image of the test was later posted to StarWars.com on November 7, 2000, as part of the website's Episode I Snapshot collection.^[636]

At one point during the production of The Phantom Menace in 1997, George Lucas showed his friend Steven Spielberg their Naboo set and one of their B1 props; he explained to his fellow filmmaker that the battle droids were the movie's version of a stormtrooper and that the droids were not an efficient force, saying that Jedi could easily cut the robots down. Spielberg, holding one of the prop's arms by its hand, agreed with Lucas's sentiment, comparing the now dangling arm to a weed. When he tried to reattach the arm using what he had not realized to be the unit's hand, Lucas helped him, making Spielberg joke that the designers of the B1 misunderstood human physiology. Afterward, Lucas compared the battle between the Gungans and B1s to a scene from the story of War and Peace, with both filmmakers agreeing that the scene, which Lucas said involved ten thousand soldiers on both sides, would end up great.^[598]

Industrial Light & Magic was responsible for visual effects for the film. While giving an interview in front of a B1 prop, Visual Effects Supervisor Dennis Muren stated that, because of their effects, the audience could see the "really neat" battle involving "four thousand Gungans fighting four thousand droids."^[637] The voice actors who provided voice lines for B1 battle droids were uncredited in The Phantom Menace.^[15] Battle droid voice actors also remained uncredited in Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones^[42] and 2005's Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith.^[137]

information from Droids of Episode I?

Within StarWars.com's Episode I Snapshot collection, behind the scenes photos of a squad of white B1s at Leavesden Studios^[638] and a destroyed white B1 were posted by StarWars.com^[639] on May 24^[638] and May 28 of 1999, respectively.^[639] The squad of B1 props was described as "standing guard" over the studios, with those units also lacking^[638] the shoulder covering^[15] seen as far back as Chiang's near-final concept art^[599] and on the finalized design.^[15] All units also lacked a backpack accessory, although one backpack prop can be seen in the photo's background.^[638] On August 3, 2001, a photo was posted of a B1 prop being worked on as a stormtrooper prop loomed in the background, with StarWars.com taking the opportunity to joke about how they were soldiers of different times.^[640]

^[641]

Sunday Times Magazine May 16th 1999 Star Wars collectors edition released before the film introduced battle droids to its readers, identifying them as mechanized soldiers who would never disobey the whims of their Trade Federation masters

When asked by a fan in 2020 about the behind the scenes budgetary details of making B1 battle droids look realistic in The Phantom Menace, Coleman reflected that the budget was not his area of expertise, instead only reflecting how they had been making a film alongside George Lucas, who was the owner of ILM at the time, and, thus, had access to time, talent, and technology.^[642] One B1 unit featured in the film—the unit who holds Bombad General Jar Jar Binks at gunpoint before deactivating^[15]—is designated "1138" via its^[265] comlink booster^[79] backpack,^[265] a reference to Lucas's first feature film^[643] and directorial debut, the 1971 movie THX 1138. This is only one of many uses of the digits "1138" as a reference to that film across the Star Wars franchise.^[265] According to Coleman, the 1138 detail was added as a texture paint over the B1 animation model.^[644] Does ^[645] say something?

Deleted and altered scenes

• Mention the original “Coruscant that doesn’t compute” scene used security droids not B1s
• Dominic West's droids are shut down scene

Attack of the Clones

Attack of the droids

Again portrayed via computer generated imagery, B1-series battle droids reappeared in Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones, which was released in 2002. Although the B1s seen throughout most of the film are depicted in a^[42] rust brown color,^[9] animatics for the Battle of Geonosis depicted the droids as the same tan color^[647] as seen in The Phantom Menace.^[15] The decision to alert the B1s' coloring occurred, at least, by the time several behind the scenes photographs were taken during the filming of the Battle of Geonosis; both later uploaded to StarWars.com as part of its Episode II Image Attack collection,^[648][649] one depicts a bisected B1 with a dirtied color to his plating,^[648] while the other image depicts the severed torso of a B1 unit with a reddish coloration.^[649] Tan B1 battle droids do appear in the final film, however, in the form of two OOM pilot battle droids who escort Nute Gunray and Rune Haako to their Sheathipede-class transport shuttle Lapiz Cutter.^[42] During the early development of the film, it was planned for the various companies seen in the movie to deploy the same battle droid models as the Trade Federation, albeit with different colorizations to showcase their different loyalties. However, in order to provide more visual diversity among the ranks of the Droid Army, new droid models were ultimately designed for the Banking Clan, Commerce Guild, and Corporate Alliance.^[650]

Early Neimoidian concept art for The Phantom Menace had them resemble the B1s^[651] because Chiang wanted the droids to resemble their creators.^[599] This would have meant the Neimoidians were both the creators and commanders of their B1 forces.^[652] Even though the Neimoidian design was ultimately changed, the B1-inspired design was reused for the Geonosians^[599] after Chiang emailed Dermot Power a design by Iain McCaig.^[653] Indeed, modern sources have affirmed the Geonosians to be creators of the B1.^[2][37][19] Therefore, the B1s have an ironic similarity to their clone trooper rivals; given the similarity between phase I clone trooper armor and the faces of Kaminoans, it can be said the soldiers were made in the image of the cloners, meaning the infantry of both the Separatists and Republic were made to resemble who created them.^[654]

[move this discussion of neimoidian design to phantom menace section? move up geonosian bits to there as well or keep them here?]

Also during the development of Attack of the Clones, the crew designed the B2-series super battle droid. Initially, Lucas had not wanted to update the battle droids, having made an army of awkward and clumsy machines for The Phantom Menace, but he decided to introduce a stronger, next generation unit while writing Episode II's script.^[653] At one point, Chiang described the B2 to Duncan as the "big brother" to the B1 unit,^[655] but early concept art featured in The Art of Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones depicted the super droid to be very close in appearance to the B1. Eventually, it was changed,^[653] with Duncan and the others designing what he described as a "football player type" droid that would look more imposing than the skinny B1-series.^[655]

On June 28, 2000, concept artist Marc Gabbana created a piece depicting numerous B1 units in a Geonosian droid factory.^[656] Late into production, after principal photography had finished, the characters' journey into a Geonosian battle droid factory was added, adding another action scene into the film and also telling the audience about the size of the Separatist Droid Army. The scenes were filmed in 2001 and were mostly acted against bluescreen.^[657] On the "State of the Art: The Previsualization of Episode II" featurette included with the DVD release of Attack of the Clones, Visual Effects Supervisor Ben Snow was interviewed in front of a B1 prop. Discussing the Geonosis battle between the Republic and Separatist armies, Pre-Visualization Supervisor Dan Gregoire noted that, between the B1s and other troops involved, thousands of characters are depicted in the final film.^[656]

Destroyed B1 props saw use in the filming of the battle within Geonosis's Petranaki arena. A bisected B1 prop from the shoot was captured in a behind the scenes image that was later featured in the Episode II "Image Attack" collection on the official Star Wars website. Uploaded on August 2, 2002, the image was given the title "Half a Droid" and a description that remarked he would not be saying "Roger, roger" anymore. The droid had been destroyed in the fighting, having lost his right hand and the lower half of his body. The B1 also appears to be lacking a shoulder covering piece for his left arm. By his remains, however, lays a dead Jedi and their fallen lightsaber.^[648] Another image from the filming of the Battle of Geonosis—uploaded to Image Attack on October 30, 2003, dubbed "Jumping Jedi!" after the extra seen leaping in the picture—features a B1 prop in the form of a droid torso, representing a B1 who was destroyed in the arena. The B1's torso is left abandoned by a gathering of rocks as the nearby Jedi fight in the battle.^[649] As the Separatist forces of the arena were set to be depicted via CGI,^[42] no visible enemies are seen amid the Jedi actors in the photo.^[649]

While uncredited,^[42] Attack of the Clones marked the first time where Matthew Wood provided voice lines for B1 battle droids ^[646]

^[658]

How George Lucas Explained Star Wars’ Battle Droids Getting ‘Ridiculous’ In The Prequel Films by David, James on www.cinemablend.com (October 9, 2021) (backup link archived on May 15, 2025)

Information from The Droids of Episode II and

information from

• insider 65
  • People misheard die jedi dogs as die jedi die, gets explained with the fact that dogs have been mentioned in star wars before
• insider 66, War Factories: Inside Kamino and Geonosis

https://web.archive.org/web/20060821185939/http://www.starwars.com/episode-ii/bts/production/f20021122/indexp4.html

- also cast of thousands says b1s in phantom menace were motion capture? Creating the Worlds of Star Wars: 365 Days does talk about CG B1s tho. See also^[659] and ^[660]

https://web.archive.org/web/20040812194022/http://www.starwars.com/episode-ii/news/2002/04/news20020408b.html

https://web.archive.org/web/20061111193456/http://www.starwars.com/episode-ii/bts/production/beacon76.html

Separatist forces in the final battle specifically always move from screen left to screen right so as to keep the sides of the battle clear to the audience, with the Republic..... Further, "a gloomier sky," as it was described by StarWars.com, was placed behind the Confederate lines to contrast the sun visible behind the clone army.^[661]

^[662]

Deleted scenes

• Raid on Control Ship (Per Ki-Adi-Mundi, was on hyperspace?)
  • ^[663]
  • ^[664]
• Original clone wars footage?
  • ^[665]

Revenge of the Sith

Droids in the finale

B1 battle droids went on to reappear in Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith in 2005, the final film of the prequel trilogy. During the film, as General Grievous ignites his lightsabers to begin a duel with Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi on Utapau,^[137] an "easter egg" occurs when a B1 in the background gets the droid to his right to pay attention to the generals. According to Animator Director Rob Coleman, moments like this were allowed because they did not distract from the primary focus of the scene. Thus, Coleman believes Easter Eggs like the moment between the two B1s added extra detail to the film^[666] and was the type of detail the crew loved to add.^[667]

Information from The Droids of Episode III?

Over the course of the prequels, B1s, in addition to being antagonists, often had scenes were they played a comic relief role.^{[15][42][137]}

Deleted or altered scenes

• Elevator antics
• Death of Shaak Ti
• Escape through the hangar
• Utapau chase
• Kashyyyk and Order 66 animatic

3D-animated Star Wars series

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Early development, the film, and season one

B1 battle droids went on to appear in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated project, which began in 2008 with the release of the The Clone Wars film^[23] before premiering as an animated television series that same year.^[461] Early during the production of The Clone Wars, George Lucas,^[669] who was the creator and an executive producer of the series,^[21] discussed the possibility of being inspired by Japanese anime, so the crew brought in Studio I.G. and one of its famous artists, Atsushi Takeuchi.^[669] Supervising Director^[21] Dave Filoni tasked him with several designs.^[669] Takeuchi developed the show's stylized depiction of the B1.^[670] In the series, B1s often served a comic relief role in addition to being antagonists.^[671] In addition to appearing in The Clone Wars film,^[23] B1 battle droids were ultimately featured in all seven seasons of the show's complete run.^{[21][344][16][483][44][498][191]}

In The Clone Wars film^[23] and series, every B1 was voiced by^[21] Supervising Sound Editor^[672] Matthew Wood, who also provided the voice for the B2-series super battle droids and General Grievous.^[673] As B1s did not have mouths that needed to be synced to dialogue, the Skywalker Sound team was able to added additional lines to the robots, whether the line was plot relevant or comedic relief. For example, in^[672] the series premiere episode^[461] "Ambush," the team added Command Droid 224's last words "But I just got promoted!" towards the end of production. As they did not tell the other members of The Clone Wars crew, the exclamation earned a laugh when the crew watched the episode back.^[672]

Wookieepedia Interviews - Steven Melching (Part 1) on the official Wookieepedia YouTube channel

^[674]

^[675]

The Clone Wars team also intended to introduce a new B1 variant dubbed the "Red Shoulders," which served under Grievous and, thanks to a special program sensor, could rotate their body. Additionally, concept art for the series claimed the B1s' E-5 blaster rifle had a gun control system; their blaster could be connected to their arm via a port, enabling a B1 to shoot directly from their arm.^[676] In the Season One episode "Rookies," the show introduced the BX-series droid commando, a second generation of battle droid the crew introduced to show a technological evolution caused by the war. According to Filoni, the commandos were "more evil" and calculating when compared their "goofy" cousins, which he considered units of a bygone era. Even so, he noted that it was the regular B1s that retook the Rishi Station during the episode, proving the standard units were still a threat, while the commandos were more expensive to produce. The commando droid design, while more human-looking than them, was a hybrid of the B1 and B2. While regular battle droids would loudly march forward, the commando droids were given muffled sounds to make them more like guerilla fighters.^[677]

In the Season One episode "The Hidden Enemy,"^[678] the story begins with a Republic ambush set to be launched against B1s from a double-towered building, only for the battle droids to raid Kenobi position instead;^[347] the original script called for the clones to set up their own combat droid, a modified^[679] LIN demolitionmech autonomous minelayer^[680] nicknamed "the Beast," that they would use in the engagement, but the robot was ultimately cut from the episode. In part, the decision was made to keep the sides of the battle clearly defined as "clones verus droids," instead of showing the clones supplementing their ranks with droids to fight against other droids.^[679]

Clone trooper Chopper, while only a misdirect in the search for the identity of the titular hidden enemy, is revealed to kept the fingers of B1 units to form a necklace; this was a reference to real world soldiers who would keep human remains as reminders of battle. According to Filoni, this was a result of "his wiring" being off when compared to other clones, and he felt that Jedi Generals Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi should ask the trooper more questions after learning he had broken the rule of taking back the droid remains to make a necklace.^[348] Concept art depicting B1 battle droids on STAPs as part of the Christophsis invasion force was later released on StarWars.com.^[681]

The Clone Wars: Season Two

In The Clone Wars: Season Two episode "Cargo of Doom," the crew made the purposeful decision to tone down the voices of the B1s present in the scene where bounty hunter Cad Bane tortures and kills Jedi Master Bolla Ropal. Filoni compared their voices to undertakers, making them sound more morbid for the serious scene. Additionally, he noted Bane disregarding the advice of his droids helped to establish him as a villain.^[682]

connection between notorious and "Senate Spy"^[683]

During post-production for The Clone Wars: Season Two and voice recording for Season Three, Wood was interviewed for the "Tales of a Sound Droid" article of Star Wars Insider 116, which was then released in March 2010. In the interview, Wood explained that he found he had more fun doing the voices for the B1s compared to voicing Grievous, noting how heavily processed the cyborg's voice needed to be after recording,^[673] although he had revealed in a previous interview from late 2009 that, for scenes with both, he voiced Grievous and battle droids "continuously."^[684] In "Tales of a Sound Droid," Wood stated he enjoyed the "arc" the battle droids' characters went through, with Wood even noting Filoni had realized the phrase "Roger, roger" had appeared less in the show's second season.^[673]

^[684]

The Clone Wars: Season 6 and Legacy

While the Lucasfilm Animation team working on The Clone Wars wanted to update the battle droid's animation model, it was never a priority for the team, resulting in the same model being used for all of the show's^[685] initial^[191] run.^[685] The series was cancelled after the release of The Clone Wars: Season Five, with a sixth season of "Lost Missions" later being released digitally on Netflix on March 7, 2014.^[686] Other episodes of the series were planned and never finished, with B1 battle droids playing a role in several of those stories.^[505][158] In time, several of these stories were released under the banner of The Clone Wars Legacy,^[687] with B1s playing a role in the Star Wars: Darth Maul—Son of Dathomir comic series^{[24][509][510]} based on screenplays for season six^[688] and the unfinished episodes "Crystal Crisis" and "The Big Bang," which were part of an arc set around a kyber crystal uncovered Utapau^[505][158] that saw a release on StarWars.com^[689][690] and the Star Wars: The Clone Wars – The Lost Missions Blu-Ray.^[691]

B1 units also appeared in "The Bad Batch," the newsreel of "A Distant Echo," and "Unfinished Business," which were part of an arc set around Clone Force 99–the so-called "Bad Batch"–and return of ARC trooper Echo^{[191][513][80]} that were first shown as story reels at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim^[692] before being released on StarWars.com.^[693] Another product of The Clone Wars Legacy was the novel Dark Disciple by Christie Golden.^[167] The novel is based on a series of episodes involving former dark acolyte Asajj Ventress and Jedi Master Quinlan Vos.^[687] As established by a story reel scene shown at the "Untold Clone Wars Panel" at Celebration Anaheim, B1s were involved in the story, being depicted in a scene where Count Dooku fights the bounty hunters of Krayt's Claw.^[694] However, no droid in the novel is outright named as a B1, with terms like "battle droid" being used to describe robotic Separatist forces.^[167]

Nonetheless, certain phrases—such as mentioning if a battle droid has a high-pitched voice—helps to narrow down if a unit featured in Dark Disciple is a B1 battle droid.^[167] Furthermore, Golden confirmed via BlueSky in 2025 that several of the droids featured within the book—specifically a trio of battle droids on Raxus Secundus with Grievous, a further few droids with "distinctive voices" overheard by Ventress on Raxus,^[166] the droids who bring Vos to Count Dooku on Serenno, the two deactivated battle droids used by Skywalker and Kenobi, and the several battle droids Skywalker speaks to through his deactivated unit^[695]—were meant to be read as B1s. With this in mind,^[166][695] battle droids read in the same voice within Dark Disciple's audiobook adaption can be assumed to be B1 units. The audiobook is narrated by^[169] longtime Star Wars audiobook narrator^[696] Marc Thompson, who provides the B1 units of Dark Disciple a high-pitched, yet also robotic, vocal tone.^[169]

Star Wars: The Clone Wars deleted and altered scenes

- you should probably breakdown by season and use or put under the above subsections, not down here - Season five onderon scene, you first saw it on Rex's legends page

Star Wars Rebels

First premiering in 2014, Star Wars Rebels told the story of a rebel crew^[491] known as the Spectres^[185] and their fight against the Galactic Empire,^[491] but it also held connections back to Star Wars: The Clone Wars. In particular, "The Last Battle," the sixth episode of Season Three,^[698] brought an unofficial ending to the conflict, featuring B1 battle droids under the command of General Kalani.^[50] For their appearance in Rebels, the battle droids were given their long awaited animation model update, resulting in a more film accurate appearance,^[685] and were again voiced by Matthew Wood.^[50] In The Last Battle, battle droids fight Imperial stormtroopers, which Pablo Hidalgo of the Lucasfilm Story Group noted was a situation fans had never gotten to witness on screen, comparing the scene to figures from different toy lines interacting.^[697]

"The Last Battle" also featured OOM command battle droid B1-268, whose designation was made by^[699] story editor^[50] Steven Melching after his own birthday.^[699] Originally, Padawan Ezra Bridger was to befriend the droid^[700] and nickname him "Roger." However, the LEGO animated series Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures featured a B1 unit nicknamed "Roger" first,^[701] so the outline was changed to dub the B1-268 "clanky," but the idea was removed from the episode early in production.^[700] The Rebels crew also considered adding B1-268 to the crew of the Spectres, but they decided there were enough characters in the group,^[702] and the battle droid was ultimately killed by a stormtrooper in the final episode. After the command unit's death, one of his subordinate B1s is crushed by an AT-AT's foot,^[50] but the official Star Wars twitter account accidently referred to this unit as B1-268. Nevertheless, Melching retweeted it to reveal it was his favorite moment in The Last Battle.^[699]

Star Wars Resistance and the Ithano thread

Again voiced by Wood, the B1-series returned to Star Wars animation in the second season of the Star Wars Resistance series, first appearing in the episode "The Mutiny"^[64] on January 5, 2020.^[703] While the Bucket's List segment for the episode stated multiple B1s appeared,^[587] the unit nicknamed "B1" is the only unit of his series to physically appear, with the only other B1 being depicted as an image on a datapad.^[64] The B1-series was again given an upgraded animation model, although its head^[587] looked closer to the initial The Clone Wars model,^[23] while the rest of its body^[64] resembled the B1's appearance in the prequel trilogy^{[15][42][137]} and Star Wars Rebels.^[50] The Resistance animation model also purposely included more details and mixed up components.^[587] Previously, the B1-series had been glimpsed in the series through an arm on the monster droid Glitch, whose ....... Gitch's arm, looks like Rebels? B1 arm, not the arm of the B1 in the series

In Resistance, B1 is brought into the plot after being sold to the Warbird Gang along with^[64] a battalion^[110] of B2 super battle droids by the pirate Sidon Ithano,^[64] a character who has largely been explored in the works of author Landry Q. Walker. Beginning with the short story "The Crimson Corsair and the Lost Treasure of Count Dooku"^[48] from November 30, 2015,^[704] Walker has—over the course of years^[705]—crafted a storyline involving Ithano, his crew, and "the last clone trooper," Kix. The storyline has been told via short stories^[48][582] and comics.^[51][583] As noted by Walker, Ithano beginning to collect battle droids like B1 and the B2s is a direct continuation of the events of "The Crimson Corsair and the Lost Treasure of Count Dooku." Walker himself had also touched on the aftermath of the initial short story in^[706] the Star Wars Adventures Ashcan.^[51] Released on July 12, 2017, via StarWars.com^[707] and featuring art by Derek Charm, the brief story glimpsed in Ashcan saw Ithano, Kix, and their fellow pirate Reveth confronted by emerging B1 battle droid in a swampy environment.^[51] Walker later described these units as "zombie battle droids."^[706]

After the release of^[708] the short story "Galactic Tales: The Crimson Corsair and the Sinister Secret of the Binary Star," which was released as part of Star Wars Insider 234^[582] on October 14, 2025,^[709] Walker suggested he had more to tell with the story^[708] of Ithano's gathering of battle droids; in "the Sinister Secret of the Binary Star," he established Ithano as gathering battle droids in order to prepare for war.^[582] He claimed that the as of yet unpublished story "The Crimson Corsair and the Trial of the Last Clone" would help to, at least slightly, explain what role battle droids played in the developing Ithano storyline.^[708] Walker also stated that, personally speaking, he would not have shown Ithano as willing selling battle droids if he had been in charge of Resistance.^[706]

The Clone Wars Season Seven and The Bad Batch

In 2018, it was revealed Star Wars: The Clone Wars would return for a seventh and final season on Disney+.^[710] As revealed at a clip shown at Star Wars Celebration Chicago, B1 battle droids and B2 super battle droids were given updated models for the new season. The B1's new model made the droid look closer^[711] to its Star Wars Rebels^[50] and prequel trilogy designs.^[15] Although its story reels had depicted the B1 with its initial animation model,^[712][713] the Bad Batch arc was finalized for the final season, including being given the new battle droid appearance.^[191] Several differences exist between the story reels and final episodes. For example, in The Bad Batch, less battle droids make up the force that Clone Force 99 fight on the plains of Anaxes.^[712][191]

Wood returned to voice the B1-series battle droids in Season Seven^[515] and Star Wars: The Bad Batch, a series focusing on the Bad Batch team^[147] introduced in The Clone Wars.^[191] The Bad Batch series continued to use the updated B1 animation model^[147] seen in the final episodes of The Clone Wars.^[191] In the opening newsreel for the premiere episode "Aftermath," the series also recreated moments^[147] from Revenge of the Sith, including^[137] shots involving OOM pilot and security battle droids aboard the Invisible Hand. Despite using the updated model for one of the droid pilots that runs from Kenobi, the other unit resembles the^[147] initial B1-series model used^[23] before The Clone Wars: Season Seven.^[191]

As revealed by the series trailer on April 2, 2025, the B1-series also appeared via remains in Star Wars: Tales of the Underworld on May 4 of that year.^[714] The scene was storyboarded by Justin Bruce Lee.^[715] The 2020s B1 battle droid animation model was also featured on the twenty years of Lucasfilm Animation poster^[716] made by animator Greg Verreault, who tried to include as many characters as possible.^[717] Given to attendees of the Lucasfilm Animation panel^[718] and also released online, the poster was revealed during Celebration Japan and released on April 18 of that year.^[716]

Other canon appearances

Further appearances in live action projects

The Rise of Skywalker, The Mandalorian and Skeleton Crew

Rise of Skywalker

^[719]

To Chiang, working with the B1-series battle droid again was like reuniting with an old friend. In fact, during production, Chiang recreated an old behind the scenes image from the days of The Phantom Menace by taking a photo of himself beside the prop.^[720]

• SKELETON CREW Ep3. My Experience on the gordontarpley YouTube channel

Cancelled appearance in Andor: A Star Wars Story

A B1 battle droid in a green livery was pictured within concept art for the Andor Season 2 in events^[721] that were realized through the season premier episode "One Year Later,"^[722] which debuted on Disney+ on April 22, 2025,^[723] after an early screening at Celebration Japan on April 19.^[724] While not featured in the final episode,^[722] the concept art—publically revealed via the April 22 video "Andor Season 2 Declassified: Time"—featured the B1 as a member of the Maya Pei Brigade,^[721] a Neo-Republican rebel cell that opposed the Galactic Empire during the early rebellion against the Empire.^[492] Led by a rebel named Maya Pei, the brigade suffered heavy losses during an ambush^[722] and found themselves stranded on the moon Yavin 4 in 4 BBY,^[721] leading to their appearance in "One Year Later" and, by extension, the concept art.^[722]

In the concept art, the B1 is seen holding a human prisoner and stands with other members of the stranded Maya Pei Brigade, who don Clone Wars era equipment^[721] also not seen in the final episode.^[722] The B1 and their fellow rebels also watch another brigade member take the rebel agent Cassian Andor prisoner,^[721] something the final episode explains occurred because the rebels thought he was an Imperial after he arrived in an Imperial test pilot uniform and aboard^[722] a prototype TIE Avenger.^[725] In truth, Andor had just stolen the Avenger for the Axis rebel network, but the brigade refused to believe he was part of the growing rebellion. In the final episode, Andor himself is the only prisoner taken by the rebels,^[722] as opposed to there being another figure to correlate to the individual held by the B1 in the concept art.^[721] Instead, the only other individual involved is a pilot named Porko, whom the brigade killed before Andor's arrival.^[722] The art also depicts^[721] Andor's Breon HOY-39, which Andor had expected to depart aboard after delivering the Avenger to Porko,^[722] as an intact ship,^[721] but it has been destroyed by the time of its appearance in the final episode.^[722]

The Aftermath trilogy

First appearing in the Aftermath Trilogy of novels,^{[60][559][159]} Mister Bones is a fan favorite B1 character^[727][728] created by author Chuck Wendig when he was writing Aftermath, the first book of his trilogy. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Wendig explained the name "Mister Bones" came from the phonetic spelling of the term "B1 battle droid."^[726] When asked by StarWars.com about the character for an interview to mark the release of Aftermath: Life Debt, Wendig described Bones as a murderous yet loyal unit, which made him a fun character to write. Sweet in his own twisted killing machine way, Wendig stated Bones was naïve like many droids, although that did not change his capacity for murder, and that the character needed to be lightly used in order to avoid being annoying.^[727]

Prior to the release of Aftermath: Empire's End, the final book in the trilogy^[729] and one in which Bones was given a character arc,^[728] Lucasfilm Senior Editor Jennifer Heddle credited Bones as one of the reasons she enjoyed the trilogy.^[729] When asked to describe why anti-hero droids like Bones are so popular among fans in an interview for Empire's End, Wendig told StarWars.com that giving droids "dialed up" human characteristics was both fun to write and watch.^[728] In that novel, Bones is also given a line that is reminiscent of^[159][730] Star Wars Legends assassin droid HK-47.^[731]

Star Wars 2017 Del Rey Sampler

Further novels and audio dramas

Overview and early canon novel, 2014-2019

Since the canon reset of 2014, B1-series battle droids have continued to appear in many canon Star Wars novels^[167] and short stories.^[155] Nonetheless, much like Dark Disciple,^[167] several canon books have featured scenes with combat droids only described as "battle droids," making it unclear whether the units featured are meant to be taken as B1 units.^[111] Whether through confirmation from the author of these books,^[71] a look into the language used to describe the droid, or confirmation from another source, however, the appearance of the B1-series can be confirmed

The 2016 novel Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel by James Luceno includes a scene in which a formation of battle droids approach the Erso family and other civilians during the battle on Lokori in the final moments of the Clone Wars. These units are not outright described as B1 units, instead only being called "battle droids."^[111] The 2017 reference book Star Wars: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know, Updated and Expanded, however, would later use an image of a B1 to depict the Erso family's experience during the battle.^[732] Finally, the 2018 reference book Star Wars: Geektionary: The Galaxy from A - Z would outright affirm that these units were indeed B1s.^[112]

In the flashbacks of the 2018 novel Last Shot by Daniel José Older, as Lando Calrissian and his droid companion L3-37 uncover a droid massacre, Calrissian spots the head of "one of those old Separatist battle droids," which is described as having a "beaked head."^[538] As this matches the description of B1 units given in other sources, such as Mister Bones in Aftermath,^[60] this article assumes Calrissian uncovered the head of a B1 unit. Later in the flashback segments of the novel, Calrissian muses about a possible sexual encounter between "those old battle droids" from the Clone Wars" and astromech droids, something that he theorizes would culminate in the creation of "astrobattle droid babies."^[538] Older had expected Lucasfilm to tell him to get rid of the paragraph and was surprised it survived the editing process.^[733] Older later confirmed in 2025 that the battle droids in question were the standard B1-series.^[537]

In the novel's present day story, unit described as only "a tall battle droid" helps to hold back Calrissian as he confronts the antagonist Fyzen Gor, grabbing onto Calrissian's rifle before he can shoot the mad scientist.^[538] When asked about this unit in 2025, Older he could not remember what specific model he had intended the droid to be. Although he said it makes sense to assume it is a B1,^[734] this article does not assume if this battle droid was a B1 droid and will not unless confirmed by another source.

Jason Fry's Dorkery — Notes: Weapon of a Jedi, Pt. 2 on Tumblr (January 19, 2017)

In the 2019 audio drama Dooku: Jedi Lost by Cavan Scott, B1 battle droids appear in a vision of the Clone Wars experienced by Dooku. While not outright named^[193] and only identified as "battle droids" in the audio drama's official script release, these "battle droids"^[201] are depicted with high voices,^[193] so this article assumes they are, indeed, B1 units. The script suggests the execution of Order 66 occurs in a different battle from the B1-featuring scene,^[201] but the audio drama itself depicts them as the same confrontation.^[193] On September 20, 2021,^[735] a German-exclusive novelization, which Leland Chee of the Lucasfilm Story Group suspects was never reviewed by the Story Group,^[736] features more detail about the battle Dooku foresaw that,^[737] due to the novel's dubious nature,^[736] this article disregards: in the novelization, the battle droids are said to be part of an inconvincibly massive droid army that is clashing with multiple battalions of clone troopers and their air support in a desert wasteland, which Dooku suspects is either on Tatooine or Geonosis. As causalities mount, turning the battle into more of a massacre, Order 66 is executed, claiming Jedi General Jor Aerith's life, much to Dooku's confusion as he had just seen Jedi fighting alongside the clones against the droids. The novelization also depicts the security droids used by the Serennian royalty at the Funeral of Countess Anya ^[737] in 82 BBY^[200] as responding to orders with the "Roger, roger" phrase,^[737] something not seen in the audio drama^[193] nor its official script.^[201]

Star Wars: Queen's Series

The opening of E. K. Johnston's 2019 novel Queen's Shadow depicts the capture of Padmé Amidala and members of her royal entourage during the Invasion of Naboo at the hands of a group of Trade Federation droids. While the text does not specify what model of droid these units are,^[130] the history gallery for the battle droid's entry on the StarWars.com Databank had previously confirmed B1-series droids had captured Amidala,^[131] meaning these units must in fact be B1s. The next novel in Johnston's series came with the prequel Queen's Peril in 2020. While it too does not specify what battle droid models appear throughout it, the book adapts a number of scenes^[72] from Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace. As The Phantom Menace visually depicted B1s as being the battle droids in many of the scenes^[15] adapted by the novel,^[72] B1s can also be confirmed to appear in Queen's Peril.

Furthermore, when asked by a fan in 2025, Johnston affirmed several more instances of droids within the text of Queen's Peril whom she had intended to be B1 units.^{[71][259][260][261]} In affirming doing so, it also affirmed another indirect mention of B1 units in Queen's Shadow;^[130] as the droids who brought the Handmaiden Saché into questioning were B1s according to Johnston,^[260] as were the droids whom she crossed paths with during her later walks through Camp Four,^[261] the reference to those units in Queen's Shadow is logically a mention of the B1-series.^[130] The novel Queen's Hope, released in 2022 as the final book in the Queen's trilogy, depicted early events of the Clone War, including a siege on Hebekrr Minor that features "battle droids" fighting alongside a droideka.^[303] As various sources, such as Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition, establish droidekas to be a model of battle droid.^[75] this article assumes the only reason the novel would have to call out "battle droids" that are separate from the droideka is that they are B1s.^[84] Johnston also went onto affirm in 2025 that several more battle droids seen within, the droids who are noted to have been destroyed by Anakin Skywalker during the battles on a rocky planet, are intended to be B1 units.^[384]

Brotherhood and Shadow of the Sith

^{[46][392][393]}

^[404]

The Eye of the Beholder

Shadow of the Sith^[574][62]

^[284]

^[85][478]

Star Wars: Choose Your Destiny

B1 battle droids appeared in the 2019 Star Wars: Choose Your Destiny book An Obi-Wan & Anakin Adventure by Cavan Scott. Although not all the battle droids seen are identified as B1s, two of the units are seen in an image, and two other droids are described as having a "beaked face" or "beaked head." Given that these are battle droids and the "beaked" phrase was also used to describe^[4] Mister Bones in Aftermath,^[60][180] this article assumes that at least four B1-series battle droids were involved in the events of the story: the two units seen in the image,^[4] and those two that match the description of a B1 battle droid.^[180] When asked in 2025 by a fan if he had intended every battle droid featured in the story to be a B1, as the units are all described as having been part of the same batch, Scott admitted he could not remember as it had been so long since he had written the book.^[738]

alternate paths

Comics and manga

Subsection name

Beyond their appearances in books, B1s have also made many appearances in canon comic book stories.

Star Wars: Age of Republic (HC) has art process page with B1s

Adapted for comic form by Alessandro Ferrari and illustrated by Kawaii Creative Studio, Andrea Parisi, Matteo Piana, Davide Turotti, Star Wars: The Prequel Trilogy – A Graphic Novel was a comic adaption of the Star Wars prequel trilogy^[739] released on April 4, 2017 by Disney–Lucasfilm Press^[740] which included many scenes from the films that involved B1s. However, the graphic novel's art time contains errors whilst depicting B1s; as Trade Federation forces land on Naboo during the Naboo Crisis, OOM-9 is seen floating above his AAT without a lower bodie nor lower arms.^[267]

[leia manga

Released on April 12, 2017, and written by Kieron Gillen,^[741] Doctor Aphra (2016) 6 serves as the sixth issue of the 2016 ongoing comic series Star Wars: Doctor Aphra. While B1s do not appear within the story's contents, which instead focus on the Twilight of the Ordu Aspectu,^[742] a B1 was featured on a variant cover for the issue by artist David López. The cover depicts the B1 and a number of other droids, including a droideka, as being trapped in the bottom of a pit, from which they reach up towards a descending, rope-bound Aphra. In 2025, Lopez, after posting a textless version of the piece,^[743] explained that the idea behind the cover was to harken Aphra back to Indiana Jones^[744]—a fictional archeologist, the protagonist of Lucasfilm's Indiana Jones franchise, and the character whom Aphra was designed to be the opposite of^[745]—by giving Aphra her own "snake pit" style scene, just as Jones was confronted by. Lopez credited^[744] comic editor and Aphra's co-creator^[745] Heather Antos for the idea, as she had explained the Indiana Jones connection to him. Going off his memory of the event, he even reasoned that Antos had been the one to pitch him the idea of doing a snake pit homage.^[744]

Jedi of the Republic – Mace Windu

B1s also appeared within Star Wars: Jedi of the Republic – Mace Windu, a 2017 Marvel comic miniseries written by Matt Owens and illustrated by Denys Cowan. The first issue of the comic starts with a depiction of the First Battle of Geonosis, although it is unclear whether it is meant to be an out–of–universe moment for the benefit of the reader or a genuine flashback, given that Mace Windu and Ki-Adi-Mundi are recalling the battle in the moment.^[133] Although inaccurate by showing Jango Fett and a clone trooper fighting in the same phase of the battle,^[746] the panel does showcase B1-series battle droids during the arena fight, with one of the B1s being cut down by Luminara Unduli.^[133]

Mace Windu on Comic Art Fans (backup link archived on May 10, 2025)

Star Wars: Mace Windu #1, Page 1 on Comic Art Fans (backup link archived on May 10, 2025)

Star Wars: Mace Windu #1 Page 18 BL Inks on Comic Art Fans (backup link archived on May 10, 2025)

Star Wars: Jedi of the Republic - Mace Windu 3 Page 13 on Comic Art Fans (backup link archived on May 10, 2025)

Star Wars: Jedi of the Republic - Mace Windu, Issue 03, Page 06 (Inks) on Comic Art Fans (backup link archived on May 10, 2025)

Star Wars: Jedi of the Republic - Mace Windu, Issue 03, Page 04 (Inks) on Comic Art Fans (backup link archived on May 10, 2025)

Mace Windu 1 page 12 on Comic Art Fans (backup link archived on May 10, 2025)

Star Wars: Jedi of the Republic - Mace Windu 1 Page 19 on Comic Art Fans (backup link archived on May 10, 2025)

Star Wars: Mace Windu - Jedi Of The Republic #5 Pg. 1 on Comic Art Fans (backup link archived on May 10, 2025)

Star Wars: Jedi of the Republic - Mace Windu, Issue 05, Page 07 (Inks) on Comic Art Fans (backup link archived on May 10, 2025)

Star Wars: Jedi of the Republic - Mace Windu, Issue 05, Page 08 (Inks) on Comic Art Fans (backup link archived on May 10, 2025)

Star Wars: Jedi of the Republic - Mace Windu, Issue 03, Page 17 (Inks) on Comic Art Fans (backup link archived on May 10, 2025)

Star Wars: Jedi of the Republic - Mace Windu, Issue 05, Page 08 (Pencils) on Comic Art Fans (backup link archived on May 10, 2025)

Star Wars: Jedi of the Republic - Mace Windu, Issue 05, Page 02 (Pencils) on Comic Art Fans (backup link archived on May 10, 2025)

Mace Windu on Comic Art Fans (backup link archived on May 10, 2025)

B1s are also featured on a variant cover by David Nakayama, whose work features two units being cut down by Windu. Nakayama used the cover to experiment with a more sparse, graphic-style for his artwork via a purple background that helped emphasized Windu's iconic purple lightsaber. Before deciding on featuring only two B1s behind Windu, Nakayama made several drafts with varying numbers of battle droids, considering putting Windu against as few as two or three to over a dozen. Another version Nakayama considered would have seen all the droids already destroyed and left crumbled under Windu's feet.^[747]

Star Wars: Darth Vader (2020)

Raffaele Ienco (@Raffaele_Ienco) on Twitter (post): "Darth Vader #25 comes out tomorrow, July 20, 2022... Here's the first 4 pages of line art..."

Raffaele Ienco (@Raffaele_Ienco) on Twitter (post): "July 12, 2023 for Darth Vader #36... 4 page linework preview..."

Raffaele Ienco (@Raffaele_Ienco) on Twitter (post): "Darth Vader rough pages from issue 35 with Dr. Aphra"

Raffaele Ienco (@Raffaele_Ienco) on Twitter (post): "Dear Diary, I just reached this personal milestone just in time for Fan Expo Toronto. I'll be there this Saturday only, come by and talk comics if you're going." --> contains ink work via the image

Raffaele Ienco (@Raffaele_Ienco) on Twitter (post): "Darth Vader #38 out tomorrow!"

Raffaele Ienco (@Raffaele_Ienco) on Twitter (post): "Darth Vader #35, page 20, inks..."

Raffaele Ienco (@Raffaele_Ienco) on Twitter (post): "July 12, 2023 for Darth Vader #36... 4 page linework preview..."

Raffaele Ienco (@Raffaele_Ienco) on Twitter (post): "Darth Vader #47 out tomorrow, June 12, 2024... line art preview..."

^{[550][551][552] [748]}

Greg Pak (@gregpak.net) on Bluesky (post on November 24, 2024): "ha ha yeah i can't remember exactly... i think we just liked 'em and had permission to use 'em so we did lol" (screenshot) (In response to: "A very quick question I have as I write up B1 battle droid lore lmao, why were the imperials using battle droids in Vader 24 and 25? Was it to foreshadow the Jul Tambor arc, material left over at the old science colony, provided by Crimson Dawn, or simply that you wanted to use battle droids lol?")

B1s then featured in a major role in Darth Vader (2020) 36,^[58] which was released on July 12, 2023,^[749] and saw both B1s and B1-KX monster droids join the ranks of the droid uprising to finally enact revenge upon Vader.^[58] Ahead of release on July 8, Pak teased an panel featuring B1-KX monster droid units from the issue in order to praise the world of Ienco, colorist Federico Blee, and letterer Joe Caramagna.^[750] The issue saw jumps back-and-forth between the planning of the droids' attack on Vader and its actual execution, which Pak felt was the most effective and fun way to tell the story while maintaining its twists. It was an unusual writing technique for Pak but gave him the chance to experiment with something new.^[751] The issue also featured a B1 unit with orange accents similar to the engineer battle droid class of Star Wars Legends, but Ienco confirmed the droid was not intended to be a canonization of that B1 variant.^[752] Pak finished writing the issue on February 4, 2023,^[753] while Ienco finished his inking for Vader 36 on March 17 of that year,^[754] but the issue's appearance of a B1 with a B2 super battle droid arm^[58] is similar to a mix and match piece drawn by Ienco that he posted on December 1, 2022, with that art depicting a B1 unit with two super battle droid arms.^[755]

Further 2020-Star Wars comics and onward

Stefano Raffaele's cover for Doctor Aphra (2020) 38 depicts Tagge prototype battle droids with B1-like arms and wielding E5 blaster rifles in claw-like hands.^[756] Their actual design has unique arms that feature built-in blasters (but can use held weapons nevertheless?)

For the last of his four The Clone Wars anniversary covers,^[757] artist E.M. Gist composed an oil painting 24 inch by 16 inch featuring B1 battle droids marching past Senator Padmé Amidala,^[758] who prepared herself to attack the passing battle droids, in an urban environment.^[757] Gist also sold the original canvas of the cover.^[757]

^[759]

Star Wars 2025

B1 battle droids—along with several other droids from the Separatist war machine—returned in force in Star Wars (2025) by author Alex Segura and artist Phil Noto.^[563] After being teased in the final panels of Star Wars (2025) 3^[562] on July 16, 2025,^[761] and via dialogue in Star Wars (2025) 4^[561] on August 20,^[762] B1s appeared in force as antagonists in Star Wars (2025) 5^[563] and Star Wars (2025) 6,^[396] released on September 17^[763] and October 1, respectively.^[764] According to Segura, the idea for crafting the battle droid story came from how fun the concept would be.^[765] While issue three depicted B1s in a The Clone Wars-styled appearance,^[562] issues five switched to their film-established "live action" design.^[563] Issue six then went onto feature a great many OOM-series security battle droids instead of focusing on standard B1s,^[396] something Segura confirmed ahead of release was intentional.^[766] According to Segura, fighting against battle droids like his father and the other Jedi of the Clone Wars-era was a chance for Luke Skywalker to compare himself to the Jedi of old with a common reference point.^[767] Segura has referred to the droid force seen in the storyline as a "horde"^[760] and "armada."^[768]

Before the release of issue three,^[761] the role B1s would play in the Star Wars line was teased by Noto's cover for issues five, which was released as part of Marvel's September 2025 Solicitations and features Han Solo, Beilert Valance, and Skywalker running into battle against a group of B1 units. Another cover by Alan Quah depicted a grouping of B1s in combat with, and being cut down by, Skywalker. The cover featured OOM-series security droids and command units,^[769] although security units ultimately would not appear until issue six^[396] while no OOM commanders were seen in the story arc.^[563][396] Luke Ross also drew an alternate cover for Star Wars issue 6 that featured an OOM commander, along with several standard B1s, in the reflection of a clone trooper helmet,^[770] something donned by Solo, Valance, and Skywalker in the story to stand against the droid hordes.^[396] Ross's cover was also able to depict the wear and damage sustained by the B1s seen in the story.^[770]

E.M. Gist also painted a variant cover for issue five^[771] on a canvas,^[772] that featured a team of B1 battle droids under the command of a super tactical droid.^[771] These B1 units feature a coloration reminiscent of the B1 design seen in^[773] the 2005 Legends video game Star Wars: Republic Commando, which depicted B1 battle droids in a metallic silver and grey appearance. Also heavily rusted and featuring glowing white photoreceptors,^[774] B1s appeared as aggressive enemies^[775] in a design intended to invoke a sense of real danger. The redesign was created by concept artist Greg Knight, who wanted to contrast the larger-than-life Star Wars saga films with an on-the-ground, darker reality experienced by Delta Squad. To that end, the battle droid design served as a grittier interpretation for a, by that time, already well known Star Wars enemy.^[776] When a fan pointed out the coloration on his B1s was similar to those in Republic Commando, Gist stated that the connection was "not really" intentional. Instead, Gist stated he colored the B1s in that way to better contrast the cover's orange background.^[773] Gist also sold the original canvas upon which he painted the cover.^[772]

and beyond

Released on ------, 2026, B1 battle droids are also featured in the Hyperspace Stories: Grievous graphic novel by Michael Moreci. The story featured art by Caio Filipe,^[777] who had started working on the art—including pages featuring B1 battle droids—around May 4, 2025.^[778] Ahead of its formal announcement on June 26, 2025,^[777] Filipe shared line art for the issue, including B1 units being taken down by clone trooper Pickaxe and Jedi General Cardiff Baye in honor of Star Wars day on May 4 of that year.^[778][779]

Physical games and products

Subsection name?

Spark of Hope, https://www.artstation.com/artwork/1nRk2q Electromagnetic Pulse card was not released? During another assignment, a trio of B1s in a starship corridor were taken out by an electromagnetic pulse attack.^[780]

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/9eV5wa

File:Shatterpoint-Kenobi-B1battledroid-wallpaper.png

want to get into the mythos statue and explain why its okay to not treat as non-canon lol?

Star Wars Legion and Shatterpoint

Models and artwork

In promotion of Legion and Shatterpoint products, the official Atomic Mass Games Twitter has put out pre-posed images of painted figurines, depicting possible battles between soldiers and leaders, including using B1s. To promote Rebellion era Ahsoka Tano, the account used the Rebellion era Ahsoka Tano (TCW ahsoka not out?) promising she is ready to take on the B1s and their OOM commander. Can this ahsoka not even be used as a republic troop?^[781] Clone Commander Cody's miniature is posed over the remains of a destroyed B1, which was painted as a secruity unit in an image featured on Atomic Mass Game's website.^[782]

Adapting the strike on the Corellian droid decommissing facility for the "The Bad Batch Operative Expansion, artist Chris Bjors featured deactivated B1s in his Omega art piece, in which he attempted to meld the animated designs with a more realistic painting style. Bjors stated the the piece was, therefore, a great deal of fun^[783] Bjors also used the same stylization for B1s in the "Do What We Do" art for the same expansion pack

For Atomic Mass Games' overhaul of Legion,^[source?] artists Marcellino Tan and Evander Ravanelli worked together to create a piece featuring a formation of B1 battle droids under the command of an ST-series tactical droid. Ravanelli had a great deal of fun working on the piece and entitled it "An Army In Sync" on ArtStation.^[784] In Legion, the piece was instead entitled "They Too Will Suffer" via the name of the card it was featured on, taking inspiration from a line used by General Kalani in The Clone Wars

Unlike other Star Wars games, it is unclear how literally card created for Shatterpoint is meant to be taken.

Added to the webpage in 2025,^[785] B1s are featured on the core rulebook banner for Shatterpoint provided the AMG website. Depicting a battle in a rocky environment between Republic and Separatist forces^[786] in either 20 BBY or 19 BBY,^[787] the battle sees a group of B1s are led into battle by Count Dooku and General Grievous. Facing down the clone troopers of Jedi Generals Mace Windu and Shaak Ti as a Republic gunship provides enemy air support, the battle sees two of the B1s destroyed, with their heasds broken from their bodies, as the others continue the conflict.^[786] The rulebook itself features an image of confrontation between Dooku and Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi while both are surrounded by the remains of B1 units.^[788]

Staff hobby challenges

In promotion of Atomic Mass Games products, members of the company's staff have been involved in Staff Hobby Challenges, in which they craft their own specialized teams out of AMG miniatures, including with Star Wars Legion products. For example, AMG staff members used Star Wars Legion to create pieces and narratives around a "crashed vehicle scenario," with the results being published to the AMG website on August 4, 2023. B1 battle droids, including an AAT Driver Battle Droid, were featured within^[789] graphic designer^[790] Justus Morschauser's piece centered around a battle worn AAT. In Morschauser's headcanon, the ground-deployed B1s—whom he colored after the B1 battle droids seen in the Republic Commando^[789] video game^[774] were part of a special operations team alongside the featured B2 super battle droids, T1 tactical droid, and PK-series worker droid. Meanwhile, the AAT and its pilot, who was given standard AAT driver markings—was an outsider to the team, the members of which grew annoyed with the pilot for always getting the AAT stuck and in trouble. For all the T1's efforts to find a way to justify losing the AAT, however, the AAT driver was able to save the team in the end. When asked what their favorite part of the display was, Morschauser pointed to how the AAT driver could call for help from the tank's hatch.^[789]

For the later "special operations team" hobby challenge, the results of which were posted on February 15, 2024, members of the AMG staff created their own special operation detachments out of Legion miniatures. B1s depicted with a red and black color scheme and bright blue photoreceptors were featured in Creative Director Dallas Kemp's entry, which featured B1s, B2s, and a worker droid acting as a special operations team under the command of a T1 unit. Until that point, Kemp had not yet presented himself with the chance to paint B1s, which informed his decision to make a CIS team. Previously, he had considered the red and black coloration for an ultimately abandoned B1 project. Reasoning that the red and black color scheme would remain a special operations coloration, even if he expanded the specific army he created for the challenge, Kemp returned to the idea for the hobby challenge and planned to paint the B1s with a sponge in order to quickly paint them. While he was able to sponge-paint the tactical droid, the B1s proved to be too thin for that method of painting, necessitating the use of an airbrush and washing. Nonetheless, he told the AMG website he might revisit sponge-painting B1s in the future after how happy he was with the T1.^[791]

Star Wars: Unlimited

Thorn used for stand to the end idea,^[792] but features B1s

For the fifth set of the card game Star Wars: Unlimited, Legends of the Force,^[793] artist Marc Escachx composed the piece "Army of the Dead,"^[487] which featured Nightsister zombies of the titular army joining the Battle of Dathomir against the Separatist Droid Army. In the complete piece, a B1 battle droid—whose head and neck is pulled off their body by one of the zombies—is seen in the left hand corner.^[794] However, the cropped version of the art seen in the finalized card^[487]—which was released on July 11, 2025, with the rest of Legends of the Force^[793]—leaves out most of the B1's body, which left it unclear if it was a B1 being featured until Escachx posted the full art piece on ArtStation on July 17, 2025.^[794]

Video game appearances

Star Wars Battlefront II

Overview

Standard B1 battle droids appear as the assault class for the Separatist Alliance faction in the 2017 Electronic Arts and DICE video game Star Wars Battlefront II,^[27] with one EAStarWars tweet describing them and other assault class fighters as troops who moved their faction's front forward.^[796] Additionally, OOM command battle droids appeared as the Separatist faction's officer class,^[27] becoming the "lynchpin" that hold Separatist teams together,^[797] while the Heavy Battle Droid variant served as their heavy class,^[27] therefore making the unit a powerful offensive and defensive fighter.^[798] Finally, the OOM-series security droid, identified as "Specialist Droids," serve as the specialist/sniper class for the Separatist faction. Later, Battlefront II DLC provided additional skins for all four classes, allowing players to color their droids as OOM pilot battle droids, jungle battle droids, or Kamino training units.^[27] Like in Star Wars: The Clone Wars^[23] and Star Wars Rebels^[50] before it, all B1 battle droids in Battlefront II are voiced by Matthew Wood.^[27]

The B1 battle droid's model has its roots in the Battlefront team's prior desire to add^[799] the droid bounty hunter^[79] IG-88 into^[799] DICE's prior Battlefront game, 2015's Star Wars Battlefront,^[491] as a DLC character. However, the team did not have the time to add a bipedal droid combatant into Star Wars Battlefront during the DLC development timeframe. Nonetheless, it helped paved the way for the B1s seen in Battlefront II.^[799] A great deal of battle droid dialogue was written for the game by^[800] longtime Star Wars writer^[801] Alexander Freed, who stated in 2021 he had written nearly one thousand lines for the droids.^[800] In 2022, he stated he had written "thousands of wacky droid lines" for the game.^[802]

One of Freed's lines was^[800] the OOM officer^[27] declaration of "Good luck, turret!" That line is said sometimes when a turret was deployed by an OOM commander^[800] and was a particular favorite of Creative Director Dennis Brännvall, who first noticed the line in August, 2017. Upon discovering it, he publicly thanked Freed and Wood for the dialogue through a Tweet.^[803] The Tweet also prompted team member Christian Johannesén to reveal that he, too, loved the game's B1s.^[804] The line is also a favorite of Star Wars author Kelly Knox.^[805] Other lines written by Freed include "I'm capturing the throne room. It's so fancy!"^[800] said sometimes by a B1 over comms during the siege of the Naboo Palace^[27] and "It's been a good life,"^[800] which is said by an upset B1.^[27] Freed had fun writing the in-game combat chatter.^[801] In 2021, Freed would reflect that what he remembered most fondly about his time on Battlefront II were the "funny droid barks" he contributed.^[795] When one fan revealed that Battlefront II's B1 humor was one of the ways they were able to find joy during the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020, Freed responded he was thankful he could help the fanbase in at least a small way.^[806]

Appearances on game cards

In Battlefront II, players can equip and power their characters through in-game Star Cards, which feature imagery of the game's cast to explain the card's purpose. Within these images, B1s are featured and depicted in snapshots of events. Amongst the game's Ability Cards, which allow a player to replace a class's pre-existing ability with something new, B1s can be seen on the "Recharge Vanguard" card and the "Mobile Sentry" card. In the former, a slugthrower vanguard-equipped B1 is seen rushing into battle amid blasterfire. The latter depicts a Z-6 rotary blaster cannon-equipped Heavy Battle Droid walking through battle in a Venator-class Star Destroyer with the backing of two standard B1s.^[27]

Beyond an OOM command battle droid being depicted as holding up their RG-4D on the Marksman card for the officer class, B1s appear on several Boost Cards, a type of Star Card used to enhance a player's abilities. Amongst Chewbacca's Boost Cards, B1s are depicted within the Wookiee Warrior's "Charging Frenzy" card, where two Kashyyyk-deployed B1s are depicted as the victims of Chewbacca's charge, and his "Impervious" Boost Card, which sees a B1 unit on a Kashyyyk-landed Venator-class Star Destroyer in the path of a leaping-into-action Chewbacca. Finally, they are also seen on his "Slammed" Boost Card, where two B1s on Kashyyyk are unknowingly attacked from behind by a jumping Chewbacca. A B1 is also seen on Obi-Wan Kenobi's "Forward!" Boost Card, which depicts a B1 on Geonosis facing down against the lightsaber-wielding Kenobi.^[27]

Timeline concerns

The player can use any of the four primary B1 types and their skins in the multiplayer modes of Battlefront II, where B1s and their fellow battle droids are seen as part of a Separatist military unit under the command of a T-series military strategic analysis and tactics droid, who remotely communicates to their forces. In opposition to the Confederacy stands a clone trooper regiment under Clone Commander Tacks. However, these multiplayer matches are not bound to the timeline rules of other Star Wars media: whether they play as the Republic or Confederacy, the player is able to bring in hero-class characters from across several eras. If the player uses a hero-class character from a different era, a B1 can sometimes be heard calling over comms that, while they are unsure of who this new ally is, the Droid Army is thankful for the help. Another B1 line sees a surprised unit over comms remark how strong the new enemy is, while a third sees a B1 panic and question who the non-clone trooper foe who just appeared is. While such dialogue cannot be taken as an in-universe fact, it does demonstrate how B1s were able to feel thankful for aid, the ability to be both surprised and impressive by a foe, and panic at the sight of an unexpected foe.^[27]

Another simple B1 line sees a unit simply note over comms that a new ally has arrived on site. A clone, too, might note that the Droid Army is following the lead of an unidentified opponent and report it over comms. Because these multiplayer battles are not totally bound to the standard laws of Star Wars storytelling, this article does not reflect these battles within the above subsections. All the same, in-game dialogue from player characters or their unit commanders—the tactical droid and Tacks—can still reflect in-universe information on matters such as droid programming, performance, and opinions. This article assumes such in-game dialogue concerning battle droids can be applied to the B1-series because they represent the default in-game droid soldier, who will always be able to overhear or be the subject of such dialogue.^[27]

Role in Galactic Assault

In the game's Naboo stage in Galactic Assault, B1s form part of a Confederate assault on Theed, with the Separatist starting area even showcasing B1s unfolding from a Multi-Troop Transport and holding clone troopers hostage. The player's droid force is noted to be the second wave used in the battle and have been deployed after a landing incursion. Throughout the Mtt's journey to Theed Royal Palace, the battle droids must protect the vehicle from Republic ion weapons. If the Confederate team can push past the Republic players, the Droid Army will raid the building to try to assure their victory. If the Republic prevails, the Separatist Army is forced into a retreat, but a Separatist victory ends with the palace under droid control.^[27]

A similar scenario occurs in the Kashyyyk stage of Galactic Assault; as the Confederate fleet battles for orbital supremacy, B1s serve as part of the T1 tactical droid's ground force, having been ordered to prevent Republic craft from launching. In order to reach a Venator-class star destroyer, the battle droids are tasked with escorting another MTT and ordered to protect it from Republic ion weapons. If the MTT completes its course, the Republic defense will be pushed back to the star destroyer, which the droids attempt to detonate. If the droids succeed, it is noted by the tactical droid that the Confederacy will soon conquer the jungle world, while a droid failure results in the cruiser being able to launch. The remains of destroyed B1s can also be found throughout the Kashyyyk landscape.^[27]

Another scenario concerns a Separatist invasion of Kamino, during which B1 battle droids—after being powered on by their tactical droid commander—serve as invasion units in a four stage plan to destroy a cloning facility. Faced with a their limited time, the droids are ordered to slice into Tipoca City's genetic archive to corrupt its stored samples. If the Confederate team succeeds, the Droid Army is tasked with taking over the facility's landing pads. Ordered to "remove" any remaining clone troopers after taking the landing pads, success on the pads will enable the droids to march to the city's barracks and hangar. The fourth and final phase concerns destroying the facility's fusion core to cripple the Grand Army of the Republic, yet the T-1 warns the droid troops that Republic reinforcements will destroy them if they fail. A droid victory ensures the clone army will be unable to be be reinforced with new troopers, while a Confederate defeat ensures the next generation of clones is saved.^[27]

The final Galactic Assault map B1s can be fielded in concerns a battle for Geonosis, which begins with a droid attempt to reclaim the droid factory controlled by the Trippa hive.^[27]

Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes

In Galaxy of Heroes, a promotional image for the "Mechanized Menace" event depicted three B1s in combat on the planet Felucia outside of a Felucian domicile. Armed with E-5 blaster rifles, the three B1s exchange blaster fire with unseen opponents. Another promotional image—used in the bundle and pack deals for the "Mechanized Menace" event—feature a single B1 standing outside another such Felucian building.

In-game model was upgraded at some stage?

Kit Reveal: "I am the Captain Now" Tarpals by CG Tusken Meathead on Electronic Arts' official website (March 4, 2024) --> "The visuals on his abilities really call back to the Battle for Naboo against the Trade Federation Battle Droids"

Seagulls! STAP it now! - Kit Reveal by CG Tusken Meathead on Electronic Arts' official website (February 6, 2024) --> references the viral stop it now video

Star Wars Jedi

After a minor appearance in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order—a video game developed by Respawn Entertainment and released on November 15, 2019 by EA—in the form of wreckage, B1s

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor - Meet 8 of Cal's Enemies | IGN First by Mitchel Saltzmann on IGN (backup link archived on February 9, 2023)

first confirmed to be in survivor by figure?

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/OGgVgy

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/elmWgD

Fallen Order concept art?

https://x.com/alexjkane/status/1674127800767336459 --> Endpoem podcast by alex james kane

^[807]

EA Star Wars (@eastarwars) on Instagram (post on July 3, 2023): "Rumors run rampant in Pyloon's Saloon. Have you investigated any of these? 👀 #StarWarsJediSurvivor" (screenshot)

George Rushing (@grushing) on ArtStation: Bedlam Raiders Lucrehulk Outpost

Star Wars Outlaws

Cosmin Genete (@cosmingenete) on ArtStation: Star Wars Outlaws - Old Droid Factory

Stanescu Dan-Eugen (@stanescudaneugen) on ArtStation: Star Wars Outlaws - Myrra Droid Factory

Horia Mocanu (@hcmocanu) on ArtStation: Star Wars Outlaws - Myrra Droid Factory Part 1

Horia Mocanu (@hcmocanu) on ArtStation: Star Wars Outlaws - Myrra Droid Factory Part 2

Star Wars: Galactic Conflict

B1s were set to appear in the cancelled game Star Wars: Galactic Conflict

Set around 22 BBY, the game would have depicted

Other game appearances

B1 battle droids made several appearances as collectable cards within the Star Wars: Force Collection card game. Additionally, the promotional art for^[808] the five star "Qui-Gon Jinn [Fated Duelist]" card,^[809] depicted Jinn cutting down a B1 during the Naboo Crisis with his lightsaber.^[808] However, the final card art merely depicts him swinging the blade without the battle droid's remains pictured.^[809]

Storm Commando is a good way to handle

B1s also appear within the 2026 turn-based tactics game Star Wars Zero Company by Respawn Entertainment and Bit Reactor, serving as enemies faced by the player-controlled Zero Company.^[810] First teased to be appearing through a hologram held by^[811] game protagonist Hawks^[812] in the game's reveal poster on April 14, 2025,^[811] B1s were established to be appearing as in-game enemies through its Celebration Japan-released announcement trailer released on --- ^[810] (And in panel? watch panel.) The trailer also features a narrative involving B1s, where B1 battle droids clash with

Hawks, who had overlooked a hologram of the battle to be

Young reader's works and StarWarsKids

Galaxy of Adventures

B1 battle droids also appear in two episodes of Star Wars Galaxy of Adventures, a 2D-animated micro-series^[813][814] that is not meant to be taken as literal canon.^[815] In "Chewbacca - Wookiee Warrior," B1s appear in a flashback to the Battle of Kashyyyk, riding on the side of a NR-N99 Persuader-class droid enforcer. However, Wookiee Warrior Chewbacca jumps down, which scares one of the B1s before the Wookiee lands on the side of the droid tank, taking all three B1s out and sending their parts flying. With the B1s taken out, Chewbacca then plants charges upon the side of the droid tank, escaping before it explodes.^[813]

In Obi-Wan Kenobi's short, B1s appear in the Jedi Master's flashback, with him remembering Master Qui-Gon Jinn and himself as a Padawan surrounded by B1s aboard the Saak'ak. Kenobi then recalls cutting down B1s aboard the battleship. The short also adapts the duel between Kenobi and General Grievous seen in^[814] Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith,^[137] albeit without^[814] depicting the many battle droids that overlooked the duel.^[137]

Star Wars Adventures

B1s have also appeared within the IDW Publishing comic line Star Wars Adventures and its 2020 continuation.^[source?] Aimed at younger readers,^[816] B1s have made appearances on comic covers in addition to the stories themselves.

tweet about Q5-7070

B1s also appeared as an imagined image in the 2019 IDW comic "So Much More." Printed in Star Wars Adventures Annual 2019, the story was written by Pierrick Colinet and Elsa Charretier, while the illustrations were done by Margaux Saltel. In the comic, at some point during the Imperial Era, Queen Breha Organa of Alderaan tells^[282] her adoptive^[137] daughter, Leia Organa, about the late Senator Padmé Amidala,^[282] who was secretly Leia's birth mother.^[137] While Breha talks about Amidala, the comic displays various images of the Senator's life; two B1s appear behind her as she is speaking against Viceroy Gunray and Rune Haako during the Naboo Crisis. As it is unclear whether the B1s have been drawn to represent a genuine flashback or simply for the benefit of the reader, this imagined appearance is not reflected in the article above.^[282]

Star Wars: Visions

Development and appearances

B1-series battle droids also appeared in two episodes of Star Wars: Visions,^[817][818] a nine episode animated anthology of shorts produced by major anime studios. Star Wars Visions was released on September 22, 2021, on Disney+. Because Lucasfilm has established that Visions shorts were not required to fit within the larger Star Wars timeline,^[819] so this article does not include their events in its body. Within Visions, the remains of a destroyed B1 appeared in the opening flashback of^[817] the second short,^[820] "Tatooine Rhapsody," which was produced by Studio Colorido and follows the story of a former Jedi Padawan,^[817] Jee Ken Tsokee,^[821] and the other members of the band Star Waver.^[817]

B1 battle droids played a larger role in the fourth short,^[source?] "The Village Bride," which was produced by Kinema Citrus.^[818] B1s were revealed to be part of the short by a T-shirt.^[822]

also look at episode guides

Destroyed in battle

During the Clone Wars^[817] in 19 BBY,^[823] at least one B1 was part of the Separatist force involved in an engagement against the Republic force Jedi Commander Jay fought with. The B1 was destroyed during the battle, with his remains, which were left in a severely broken state, left on the ground^[817] like many of the other droids and clone troopers involved in^[820] the carnage–filled engagement.^[824]

The B1 was left next to a downed B2 super battle droid, two clone troopers, an E-5 blaster rifle, and two DC-15A blaster carbines. The battle continued following the droid's destruction,^[817] although Order 66 was issued by Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine during the engagement, turning Jay's clone troopers against him^[823] and forcing the Padawan into retreat.^[817] Jay running through the battlefield with his lightsaber still ignited, combined with the bodies^[820] of the B1 battle droid^[817] and other downed soldiers still littering the ground, created a jarring scene for any onlookers.^[820]

Enforcers on Keelia

Portrayal

move around some writing about wood here in bts. and again note the uncredited in prequels?

When asked what he liked about voicing the battle droids in 2009, Wood stated that he loved their "sad determination," as well as "their quest to be better than their programming." In that same interview, StarWars.com writer Bonnie Burton asked Wood if he liked to answer telemarketers with his battle droid voice or that of another character he performed, although Wood jokingly responded that he was more likely to "forward all telemarketer calls to the Spice Mines of Kessel phone tree."^[825]

^[826]

"My Star Wars" — Star Wars Insider 117 and Voices of Episode I

Interviewed for Jason Fry's article "Voices of Episode I" in Star Wars Insider 48, Serafinowicz told Star Wars: Insider he voiced "a couple" battle droids in the film.^[827]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZTO_IAnXms

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWBw892h-ts

should top quote be wood talking about how iconic "roger roger" has become at celebration 2023? or made a fandom/cultural impact section? would all references to fan reaction to b1s get moved to there?

At Star Wars Celebration Chicago 2019, Tom Kane–who provided the voices of Grand Master Yoda, the show's opening announcer,^[711] and Admiral Wullf Yularen^[23]–noted that Wood could easily switch between his Grievous and B1 voices once he became experienced with them, and Catherine Taber, who provided the voice for Senator Padmé Amidala, joked that Wood's personality perfectly encapsulated Grievous and the B1s.^[711]

Reception

Fandom and in popular culture

Over the course of the prequel films,^{[15][42][137]} The Clone Wars series,^[829] and other appearances,^[830] B1s, in addition to being antagonists, often had scenes were they played a comic relief role.^{[15][42][137]} Although some critics have considered the B1s to among of the weaker characters of the three films and disagreed with their depiction within and since,^[831] the droids have continued to appear in Star Wars storytelling, as has their use as comedic relief. Many Star Wars fans have come to enjoy this use of the droid characters.^[829][830] As such, their portrayal has helped to earn the B1-series a following as fan favorites.^[164]

with StarWars.com writer Amy Ratcliffe even ranking their "Roger, roger" catchphrase as one of her top eight droid quotes in Star Wars. She even noted she found herself quoting the line in day-to-day life, trying to do so in a B1 impression as well.^[832]

As such, many fans enjoy the comedic relief moments B1s are often used for.^[829][830]

^[828]

Christian Johannesén, beyond his professed love for the B1 battle droids as depicted in Star Wars Battlefront II,^[804]

^[805]

^[833]

,^[834] further using a Tumblr post about her love of the B1 to recommend fans watch The Freemaker Adventures on Disney+.^[835]

After its debut in the 2005 Legends video game Star Wars: Republic Commando, the term "clanker" was popularized by The Clone Wars animated series,^[836] within which the term was employed against Separatist battle droids^[21]—who "clank" while moving^[332]—by clone troopers^[21] and other, anti-Separatist characters^[106][467] as a derogatory insult.^[118] The term has continued to appear in Star Wars works since and even has been used as an insult for non-combat droids,^[345] but the term is largely remembered^[836] for its usage against battle droids by clone troopers^[837] in The Clone Wars.^[836][837] In fact, in lore, it also is largely remembered for its usage during the conflict by clone troopers against the Droid Army^[50] even though it has canonically existed as far back as the High Republic Era at least.^[345] While many Separatist battle droids have been called "clankers" across Star Wars material,^{[106][133][838]} the term is most often applied to the B1-series,^[60][93] who are thought of as the epitome of being a "clanker."^[60] In the real world, with the rise of artificial intelligence in the early 2020s, the term started to be used as a real world, mock derogatory term for robots^{[836][837][839]} thanks to the popularity it gained in The Clone Wars.^[836]

Analysis

Machines vs nature

^[840]

Sentient or non-sentient?

In his 2022 book The History and Politics of Star Wars: Death Stars and Democracy, Doctor Chris Kempshall, a historian who went onto become an official Star Wars author,^[185]

"Roger Roger" raises that, in-universe, b1s don't have a conscious

Freelance writer James Floyd, who has worked on several Star Wars works,^[841]

Clone trooper voice actor Dee Bradley Baker, however, believed that an important part of the Clone Wars time period was that it was a conflict between men and machines, with a human army of individual, distinct clone troopers being opposed by a uniform, homogeneous droid army.^[842]

To roger or not to roger?

^[843]

Tactical and historical analysis weapon

In-universe^[44] and within reference works, the B1-series is often described as a poor combatant that needs to rely on numbers to secure victory.

Star Wars author and historian^[838] Paul R. Urquhart compared the combat strategies of the B1 battle droid to the Italian L3/33,^[844] a World War II-era tankette^[845] that Urquhart thought was "immensely stupid."^[844]

Doctor Kempshall went onto write the article "Combat Ready, or Clankers?" for Star Wars Insider, which was published as part of Star Wars Insider 232^[846] on June 24, 2025.^[847] In an analysis of the B1-series,^[846] Kempshall hoped to evaluate the drawbacks and benefits of the battle droid line. In the process,^[848] Kempshall compared the B1 to real world weapons^[846] that he deemed could be seen be analogous, real world equivalent to the combat droid.^[848] He also analyzed these real world weapons.^[846]

Inconsistencies in canon

The OOM-unit's place in the B1-series

The information as presented

The 2015 magazine Star Wars Jedi Master Magazine 1 and the 2018 reference book Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary, New Edition both say the OOM-series battle droid was created before the B1-series.^[20][37] However, 2015's Ultimate Star Wars and 2019's Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition both contain battle droid pages that list the model as B1. Therefore, all information on the page applies to the B1 battle droid, but the section also mentions the security, pilot, and command droids^[6][75] that The Complete Visual Dictionary treated as part of a predecessor line.^[37] Additionally, both versions of Ultimate Star Wars state that OOM-9 is an OOM command battle droid and a B1.^[6][75]

Two other reference books—Star Wars Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded and Star Wars Character Encyclopedia, New Edition—similarly include a battle droid page that list the droid type as a B1, but they also include information on pilot battle droids.^[5][70] Star Wars Battlefront II, the reference book Star Wars: Droidography, and the 2019 Fantasy Flight Games sourcebook Rise of the Separatists all also state pilot battle droids were B1s.^[27][54][88] Rise of the Separatists also describes OOM command battle droids as "modified B1 droid commanders."^[88] The battle droid Databank entry on StarWars.com does not mention a difference in model despite including information involving B1s^[2][131] and OOMs.^[849]

The Rebels episode "The Last Battle" featured an OOM command battle droid by the name of B1-268.^[50] Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary later established that the OOM-series was a mark of the B1 line.^[66] The Star Wars Resistance episode "The Mutiny" featured mechanic Neeku Vozo instantly recognize a battle droid, who had security and command markings, as a B1 unit.^[64] The 2021 book Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Character Encyclopedia - Join the Battle! again stated the OOM command, pilot, and security droids were part of the B1-series,^[19] while another 2021 book, Skywalker: A Family at War, established that the droids who surround Anakin Skywalker aboard the Vuutun Palaa in Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace are B1s;^[244] the film showed that OOM security droids were present,^[15] meaning they must be part of the B1-series.^[244] Given these contradictions, this article sides with the majority of sources and assumes Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary, New Edition is incorrect.

The Droid Directory of 2017's Star Wars: Build Your Own R2-D2 30 also claimed the OOM-series had come before the B1-series.^[69] However, Star Wars: Build Your Own R2-D2 31 then said that command droids were B1s. Despite saying security battle droids existed before the B1-series, the issue also states that the security droids in turbolift^[342] 31174 of the Invisible Hand, first seen in Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith,^[137] were B1s. It also notes that blue markings on pilot droids differentiated them from their "fellow B1 droids."^[342] Star Wars: Build Your Own R2-D2 30 states that OOM units were the majority of the Naboo invasion force, although B1s also saw use. It also implies there were more OOM units than B1s at the Great Grass Plains.^[69] However, in addition to contradicting the many canon sources that state OOM units are B1s,^{[6][75][70][27][54][66][19]} 2019's Star Wars: The Galactic Explorer's Guide stated that the Federation deployed an army of B1 battle droids to take Naboo.^[98]

Star Wars UK (@StarWarsUK) on Twitter (post on July 18, 2023): "You can choose one of these to protect you, the rest will attack you. What are you choosing?" --> Alt text says OOMs are B1-series droids

Star Wars UK (@StarWarsUK) on Twitter (post on May 6, 2024): "An appreciation for the humble B1. Watch more from the Droid Army on @DisneyPlusUK."

Disregarded information

As a result of contradicting the majority of sources,^{[6][75][70][27][54][66][19]} Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary, New Edition, Star Wars: Build Your Own R2-D2 30, and Star Wars: Build Your Own R2-D2 31 present other information^{[37][69][342]} not represented in this article. According to The Complete Visual Dictionary, prior to constructing their army of B1 units, the Federation were already fielding a small number of identical OOM battle droids as security aboard their starships, with the droids becoming a common sight aboard their craft. Additionally, the book states the OOM-series could preform more functions when compared to the B1, stating they had more independent reasoning in their programming when compared to their successors.^[37] Indeed, Jedi Master Magazine had referred to the OOM-series as being independently programmed.^[20]

Alternatively, Build Your Own R2-D2 30 states the OOM droid, in addition to being slightly more expensive, was less-sufficient when compared to the B1. It also states the capabilities of the OOM-series were limited when they needed a control ship for decision-making during their Invasion of Naboo.^[69] Build Your Own R2-D2 31 attempted to establish that the B1s "produced for the Clone Wars" were based on the OOM-series security droid, stating this was not a favorable decision because the security units were known for lacking in coordination and combat accuracy. The very same section then uses the phrase "B1 security" to refer to a group of security units active during the Clone Wars. Although this would imply the OOM-series became part of the B1-series at some point after the Battle of Naboo,^[342] it contradicts Ultimate Star Wars and Ultimate Star Wars, New Edition, which establish OOM-9, an OOM-series droid involved in that invasion, was a member of the B1-series.^[6][75]

Star Wars Bust Collection 13, released as issue 12 when it was released in English in 2021, contained another telling of events, claiming that the OOM-series were the first battle droids created, that only OOM units were involved in the Invasion of Naboo, and that the B1-series was only created afterward.^[14]

Within Legends

The apparent contradiction surrounding the OOM-series and B1-series dates back to Star Wars Legends material.^[850] Material contemporary with The Phantom Menace, such as Star Wars: Episode I: The Visual Dictionary, simply lists the units^[605] later categorized as OOM variants^[851] as a part of the battle droid line^[605] that would later be identified as the B1-series.^[838] The 2002 sourcebook Arms & Equipment Guide was the first to designate an "OOM Series,"^[851] building off the prior designation of droids such as OOM-9,^[605] the yellow-marked battle droid commander of the Invasion of Naboo seen in The Phantom Menace.^[15] Beyond outright identifying the command battle droid as being part of this OOM-Series, the sourcebook also drew specific attention to the blue-marked pilot droids and red-marked security droids as "similar speciality droids." Nonetheless, the sourcebook foregrounded these units as being part of "the basic remote-operated battle droid" model.^[851] As Legends continued, the vast majority of sources would continue to reflect the OOM-series as being a subdivision of the overall B1 line,^{[838][852][853]} but some would forward the idea that the OOM-series was, in some way, a predecessor model to the B1,^[850][854] contradicting the majority of sources in the process.^{[838][852][853]}

The 2001 novel Cloak of Deception by James Luceno helped chart the development of the combat-ready B1-series in Legends, but it weighs little into the debate surrounding the OOM-line.^[855] As is often the case in canon literature,^[72] no unit in the book is outright called an "OOM" or "B1" unit, but the description of droids provided^[855] clearly aligns with information identifying them as B1-series droids.^[15] The text establishes that, in Legends, B1 units such as the OOM command droid originally existed as security-designed units, but a more combat-oriented B1-series was then created, with its design based on that pre-existing security model. The novel then goes onto feature an OOM command droid of that combat-standard model. Per its telling, therefore, OOM units existed as part of both the security-era and combat-era designs of the B1. It is not clear in the text if the security B1s seen before the combat design are intended to be a form of OOM security droid,^[855] yet that still would not change the majority of Legends sources, which mostly continued to describe the OOM-series, including its security variant, as a part of the greater B1-series.^[838][852] Nonetheless, as Cloak of Deception itself firmly depicts both a security-designed and combat-designed OOM commander, the OOM-line saw an upgrade into the new design.^[855]

Adaptional differences

Throughout the Star Wars prequel trilogy, OOM-series battle droids are depicted without comlink booster packs, with OOM command battle droids in fact only possessing the antennae of the backpacks instead of the entire assembly.^{[15][source?]} Although the later Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie and series confirmed OOM-series droids could wear comblink booster packs,^[source?] Star Wars: The Prequel Trilogy – A Graphic Novel erroneously depicts many OOM battle droids involved in prequel trilogy events as wearing comlink booster backs.^[267] Bad Batch episode one oom pilots have booster packs?

During the Invasion of Naboo in its adaption of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, the graphic novel also depicts OOM-9 speaking to Nute Gunray and Rune Haako outside a Naboo forest, with his droid forces landing at the edge of the forest and a plain.^[267] However, in the film itself, OOM-9 and his forces land within the Lianorm Swamp, with OOM-9 also holding his discussion with the Federation leadership while still in the swamp's forest.^[15] Later, far fewer B1 battle droids^[267] than in the film^[15] are seen standing guard when Gunray and Haako arrive in Theed after the city has fallen to the Federation. As Gunray leads the captured royal entourage down the stairs of the captured palace while telling Amidala of the treaty, one OOM-series security battle droid can be seen taking the place^[267] held by a regular B1 battle droid in the film,^[15] only for a subsequent panel to not include any B1s in the scene except for OOM-9.^[267]

Additionally, no OOM security battle droids are pictured around Gunray, Haako, and Darth Maul as they talk to Darth Sidious before the Battle of Naboo, and fewer B1 battle droids^[267] than there are in the film^[15] are seen during Amidala's incursion into Theed hanger, nor are there any visual B1 remains as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Qui-Gon Jinn begin their duel against Maul.^[267]

also taking the place of the

[these problems carried onto individual release?

Other contradictions

The 2016 reference book Star Wars Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded claimed that B1 battle droids in service to the Separatist Alliance were fearless and emotionless soldiers.^[5] This claim was carried over into its 2019 update, Star Wars Character Encyclopedia, New Edition.^[70] However, works like Revenge of the Sith and The Clone Wars regularly showed B1s in the Separatist Army was possessing emotions, including fear.^[source?] The emotional traits expressed by B1 units were explained by other sources as quirks in the unit's droid brains giving them personality quirks^[source?] or full "quirky personalities."^[source?] The 2021 update to Character Encyclopedia, Star Wars: Character Encyclopedia, Updated and Expanded Edition, finally was updated to reflect that B1s of the generations with the capacity for independent thought "can," in the book's words, "exhibit emotions."^[source?]

The reference material included in Star Wars Builders: Droids stated that B1 units never used the word "yes" to reply to their orders, instead always saying "roger, roger."^[93] However, story material has showcases situations where B1s do use the former term

Star Wars: Geektionary: The Galaxy from A - Z incorrectly states that the only weakness of the B1-series was that they would succumb to electromagnetic weapons.^[112]

Ultimate Sticker Collection: Star Wars states that B2s are smarter than B1s, refer to Thrawn: Alliances to prove that as untrue. See also Droidography, where R0-GR insults B2 intelligence

The 2021 Star Wars Encyclopedia "Blasters and Firearms" described B1s as having little strength, which forced them to hold their E-5 blaster rifles in front of their torsos with both of their hands. However, the issue also described the blaster as being lightweight.^[68] Additionally, several episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars depicted B1s as being strong enough to preform manual labor by lifting objects.^{[150][496][158]} Star Wars: Build Your Own R2-D2 30^[69] and the Star Wars: Card Trader B1 Galactic File card^[67] both of also stated B1s were strong.^[69][67] As such, this article assumes the majority of sources are correct.

Battle Droids and Other Droids of War says the entire Federation army of B1s was made with the intention of invasing Naboo, but queen's peril shows the origin of the actual invasion army itself. front lines says naboo was palpatine's suggestion

Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Character Encyclopedia - Join the Battle! stated that B1s were sturdy droids.^[19] However, Blasters and Firearms, Rise of the Separatists, and the short story "Sharing the Same Face" establish that the B1 battle droids were instead fragile units.^[88][77][68] As the majority of sources describe B1s as fragile, this article assumes Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Character Encyclopedia - Join the Battle! is incorrect.

the height issues, see Star Wars: The Clone Wars: Character Encyclopedia - Join the Battle!

Star Wars: Build Your Own R2-D2 31 claims that pilot battle droids were "often," but not always, identified by blue markings; in doing so, the magazine attempts to claim that the non-marked B1 units seen working as pilots in works like the Star Wars: The Clone Wars series were actually pilot model B1s, simply without markings. To make this point, the magazine uses an image of two B1 units working aboard the Malevolence.^[342] However, numerous canon sources make it clear that the specific pilot model was always identified with blue markings^{[6][75][37][54][93]} in order to visually identify the unit's special role,^[37][54] as well as to distinguish them from regular B1 units^[19] and their fellow specialist droids.^[93] As such, this article assumes only blue-marked B1 units were the specific pilot model. Therefore, non-marked B1s seen in such tasks, despite fulfilling the role of piloting a vehicle, are simply regular B1s given that job. Establishing a degree of overlap in B1 duties, both standard B1s and specific OOM pilot units can, therefore, be assigned piloting roles.

Star Wars: Build Your Own R2-D2 30 then even just says "B1 droids" acted as crew on large starships with picture of standard b1 on supply ship

^[856] supported by Mando season 3, overrules Annual 2015

Non-canon content

LEGO TFA has r0-gr and a command droid?

Freemakers [development of R0-GR goes here. (First appearing in “mention his first appearance,” R0-GR served as a main character and went on to appear in LEGO Star Wars: All-Stars, again serving as a major member of the cast.” ^[857] [history of r0-gr goes here.

LEGO Star Wars 7

LEGO Star Wars 101 comic

Appearances

Non-canon appearances

Sources

Non-canon sources

Notes and references

External links

[[Category:B-series battle droid models]] [[Category:Baktoid Armor Workshop products]] [[Category:Baktoid Combat Automata products]] [[Category:Crimson Dawn]] [[Category:Droid models of the Alliance to Restore the Republic]] [[Category:Droid models of the Confederacy of Independent Systems]] [[Category:Droid models of the Galactic Empire]] [[Category:Droid models of the Galactic Republic]] [[Category:Droid models of the Hutt Clan]] [[Category:Droid models of the Jedi Order]] [[Category:Droid models of the New Republic]] [[Category:Droid models of the Resistance]] [[Category:Droid models of the Trade Federation]] [[Category:Droids with masculine programming]] [[Category:Techno Union products]] [[Category:Trade Federation products]] {{RelatedCategories |[[Category:B1-series battle droid line models]] |[[Category:B1-series battle droid models]] |[[Category:B1-series battle droids]] }}