SPECULATION The Great Galactic War

This is just a rough outline of how I see the respective territories of the New Republic and the First Order at the start of TFA. It's quite literally guess work so if anyone has any suggestions or improvements to it I am all ears.

I'm unsure whether I should post this in TFA forum or this one but seeing as it deals with the time in between Ep.VII-VIII and is more important to the potential plot of the next film this forum is probably the place for it. In quite a few of my other posts I've made various mentions of how I see the conflict unfolding leading up to Ep.VIII and I thought it would be better to compile my thoughts here and get a good discussion going around this topic rather than shoehorning it into others.

I'll start by outlining how I see the state of the galaxy, specifically its two largest factions, at the end of TFA with the destruction of the Hosnian System and the Starkiller base. The best analogy I've thought of to describe these two events are the Pearl Harbour attack and the subsequent Doolittle Raid during the Second World War. The Starkiller's destruction of the Hosnian system mirrors the Pearl Harbour attack in that it was a pre-emptive strike aimed at crippling a larger enemy to give them an advantage in the following conflict, the difference lies in that the FO attack was far more successful by destroying the NR Senate and, we presume, the majority of the NR fleet. The destruction of Starkiller only mirrors the Doolittle Raid in that it was a retaliatory strike but again was wildly successful in destroying the base and a massive morale boost for the Resistance/NR.

However, despite the loss of Starkiller base, and maybe a one or two star destroyers, the visual dictionary and Snoke's reaction would seem to imply that this isn't a massive setback to the First Order, especially as it has achieved its objective of striking at the heart of the NR. The scenario is much graver for the New Republic which is in disarray at the end of TFA as it needs to form a new government and rebuild its military power. If we assume that what's outlined above is the state of affairs at the end of TFA then it seems natural that the FO will take advantage of NR's weakness to launch an all out assault with its fleet hidden within its territory in the Unknown regions.

With the majority of the NR Fleet destroyed it would seem obvious that the FO would attempt to seize the core worlds, where the majority of the industry/population would be, to prevent the NR rearming and rallying. However, all is not lost for the NR as while its main Fleet has been severely reduced we know from military disarmament act that much of the remaining NR defence budget was allocated to local defence forces. So while the main strike force of the NR is crippled it may not be entirely undefended with local planetary/system defence forces who wouldn't be able to strike back at the FO but would certainly be able to put up a fierce defence. So while the FO will make good initial progress by catching some systems by surprise/overwhelming the weaker ones and some systems may defect, I believe BTA implies a few might although their officials might just be corrupt rather than the population being in favour of the FO, they will quickly grind to halt around certain hard points in the Mid Rim/edge of the Inner Rim: thus begins a stage of brutal planetary sieges. To give another WW2 analogy, forgive me, imagine the quick progress made by Nazi Germany with their sudden invasion of the USSR which eventually ground to a halt with sieges around cities like Leningrad, Stalingrad etc.

One of these planetary sieges would be an ideal place to be a focal point for Ep.VIII where these NR local/militia forces will be struggling to hold out while the NR rearms and reorganises its main Fleet/Army. This would give us a different setting to previous Star Wars films with a good mix of ground/space combat and a potentially dramatic ending with a hastily assembled NR Fleet arriving at the end to lift the siege or the defence collapsing to the FO but enough time having been bought for the NR: so the ending wouldn't represent a dramatic setback for either side. We could follow Finn/Poe during the early stages of film with them having been based at this planet for a while and also introduce a KoR who would be overseeing the assault. Rey/Luke/Kylo would then be introduced later as they are dispatched to aid their respective sides.

In my proposed scenario I want to emphasise that the Resistance wouldn't exist as it was only formed by hardliners due to the New Republic's reluctance to take the First Order threat seriously which clearly won't be an issue any more as there would be open war between the NR and FO: thus many of their personnel, most of whom are ex-NRF vets, will rejoin what is left of the NR military. I imagine that Leia will be brought in from the cold now that her fears were proven to be correct and be elected as a wartime Churchillian Chancellor of the emergency NR government, that's assuming Carrie Fisher wants such a large part.

TLDR: The end of TFA has left the NR on the back foot and the FO will take advantage by launching a blitzkrieg campaign but will quickly grind to a halt around several heavily defended planets. Ep.VIII will be centred around one of these sieges. Leia is the Wartime Chancellor of the NR and the Resistance has disbanded and its members have rejoined the NR military.

So what do you think? Would you prefer the NR to have been entirely destroyed like General Weasley promised? Did you imagine the FO seizing direct control of the galaxy and following the Resistance fighting a guerrilla campaign? How do you imagine the galaxy at large proceeding from the events at the end of TFA?

 

What do you mean by sensor? And none of the labelling of the planets is done by me, I've just shaded colours over the existing galaxy map provided by the visual dictionary.

 

Yes! That's a good parallel, you could also say that the Resistance is similar to the International brigades during the Spanish Civil War which would fit in nicely with Facist qualities of the First Order. Obviously, I also agree that the Resistance should end up being reabsorbed by the Republic military unless TPTB actually intend to hit the reset button and have the NR be entirely destroyed which would irritate me to no end.

That's also a good idea for a ep.VIII setting and it has the benefit of granting multiple locations for the film to be set in although I'm not sure how keen TPTB would be to have large CGI space battle rather than a real world set. Either way in both my scenario and yours there would be a chance for a massive space battle with dogfighting, capital ship combat and boarding parties, including dramatic lightsaber duels on damaged ships etc. the whole works.

 

Yes, I certainly think that both Rakata Prime and Moraband will both be visited over the course of the trilogy, the former may even be the capital of the First Order (although visual dictionary says that Snoke moves his HQ around) or certainly one of its core worlds.

 

Hmm, that's possible but I wonder if the audience would suffer another super weapon like device, I know I wouldn't. I think what's more likely to be found on these planets is a knowledge of the history of the force and perhaps some lost teachings as to its use.

Most definitely. I expect them to gain a lot of territory around the outer rim/Western Expanses with a sharp wedge of territory cutting into the mid rim/core.

I don't know, I assumed not but its a good question.

 

Yes, both a Midway or a Stalingrad in space would be a great setting/event for Ep.VIII and I sincerely hope the TPTB behind that episode have as much fondness for WW2 analogies that we have, I honestly feel it would be a wasted opportunity not too.

 

Exactly, though I don't expect they will get all of that on screen in 2 movies but they will certainly cover the pivotal battles like the potential ones we've been describing. After all most of the films in the franchise contain one conventional battle in them to accompany the mystical force conflict in the background.