Star Wars and History Read online

  B-52 dropping bombs over Vietnam; (inset) Imperial Star Destroyer and TIE fighters pursuing the Millennium Falcon. (The Empire Strikes Back)

  Next, consider the Vietnam War. In the 1960s, the American Empire was a global superpower with enormous firepower and space-age technology, yet “pajama-clad” Vietnamese insurgents armed with relatively primitive AK-47s prevailed. Indeed, the Vietnamese had nothing remotely comparable to American military might. A caption stamped on the back of an official U.S. Air Force photo of a B-52 Stratofortress dropping bombs on Vietnam illustrated the “Goliath versus David” theme: “The high-flying, heavy bomber delivers bomb loads of more than 38,000 pounds in strikes against Viet Cong strong-holds in the Republic of Vietnam.” Yet as awesomely destructive as B-52 bombing raids were, the enemy remained unbowed.2

  Now, consider the Star Wars galaxy. An empire with enormous reach and firepower, with a ruthlessness to match the planet-shattering abilities of its Death Star wonder weapon, meets its demise at the hands of a precocious farm boy from Tatooine wielding a primitive lightsaber and a Rebel Alliance that has little more than a ragtag fleet and a fervent belief in the righteousness of their cause.

  Princess Leia briefing the snowspeeder pilots on Hoth. (The Empire Strikes Back)

  Beneath all of the thrills of lightsabers, Star Destroyers, and Death Stars, the true audience attraction of Star Wars is the triumph of hope over oppression at the longest of odds. Indeed, George Lucas titled Episode IV (the original Star Wars movie released in 1977) A New Hope. That hope was based on the compelling power of belief in freedom: freedom from the tyranny of a power-mad Emperor and his murderous henchman, Darth Vader.

  This belief is first manifested in the original trilogy by Princess Leia Organa. Throughout the original Star Wars trilogy, a determined Leia never wavers in her belief in political freedom, a belief that sustains her quest to restore the Old Republic and its empowerment of individual autonomy. So strong is her belief that it survives torture, administered at the orders of Vader (later revealed as her father), as well as severe personal and organizational setbacks (the capture and freezing of her beloved, Han Solo; the rapid retreat under fire of the Rebels from the Hoth system at the beginning of The Empire Strikes Back). It is Leia’s backbone that stiffens the resolve of the young Luke Skywalker and that provides a serious counterpoint to the “scoundrel” Han Solo, and it is she who gives the pep talks to pilots before they set off into deadly combat against the Empire. Leia’s belief in, and allegiance to, the cause of freedom and restoration of the Old Republic is the force multiplier that proves decisive; such belief is the sine qua non of successful rebellions, whether in the galactic wars of long ago in Star Wars or in the real events of the American Revolutionary and Vietnam wars.3

  Keys to Rebel Success: A Trilogy of Wars

  Looking solely at the balance of forces in the American Revolutionary War, in the Vietnam War, or in Star Wars, one would be excused from concluding that in each case, the rebels had no chance of prevailing. The material odds overwhelmingly favored the British in the 1770s, the Americans in the 1960s, and the Empire after the collapse of the Jedi and the rise of the Sith Emperor. The results of all three of these wars, factual and fictional, remind us that “might” does not always “make right.” As Abraham Lincoln famously noted in his Cooper Union address in 1860, being on the side of the “right” may also make might.4 Belief in being in the right can sustain a rebellion even at its lowest ebb, whether it be George Washington and the Continental Army at Valley Forge in 1777, the North Vietnamese after the Tet Offensive of 1968, or the Rebel Alliance after Darth Vader’s capture of Han Solo and defeat of Luke Skywalker at the end of The Empire Strikes Back.5

  Rebels, in other words, can be vanquished only when their ideas and idealism are extinguished, when their faith in the movement is destroyed. That said, even with a just cause, it is hardly easy for rebels to defeat an enemy in possession of superior material resources and seemingly overwhelming firepower. To borrow an expression from Yoda, rebels must unlearn what they have learned; they must believe they are capable of the impossible, a tall order but one they must sustain through the most harrowing of events and the most trying of times. For although one may not be able to kill an idea, one can kill enough adherents to discourage the rest; such unbounded ruthlessness is not unknown, either in history or in the Star Wars galaxy (consider here the annihilation of Leia’s home planet of Alderaan by the Empire’s Death Star).

  Put in concrete terms, rebel movements seek to advance an ideology and to overthrow an existing order by following a strategy known to military theorists as “People’s War.” Often associated with Mao Zedong, who put its maxims to work in his successful bid to gain control over China during and after World War II, People’s War is compelling in its boldness.6 Its goal: the overthrow of an existing order and its replacement with a rebel-led new order.

  Think here of the American Revolutionary War. Its “rebels” spoke of inaugurating a Novus Ordo Seclorum, a new order of the ages, an idea they enshrined in the Great Seal of the United States.7 As misguided and megalomaniacal as he proved to be, Mao Zedong succeeded in inaugurating a new, communist order in China. Ho Chi Minh in North Vietnam sought independence from colonial domination and the imposition of a communist system in a united Vietnam. And in Star Wars Leia and her allies seek nothing less than the overthrow of a totalitarian dictator and a recasting of galactic rule along democratic, rather than autocratic, lines; a rule by republican consensus rather than by imperial fear and fiat.

  Mao Zedong, successful practitioner of People’s War, with Richard Nixon in 1972.

  The rebels’ goal in People’s War may be easy to state, but the means to achieve a “new order” often prove incredibly complex. These means typically encompass social, economic, psychological, military, and especially political dimensions. As long as the rebels remain convinced of the rightness of their cause, strength of will and endurance usually favor them. Because they are fighting for a belief and an ideal, a quasi-religious calling, they often outlast their opponents, who may be fighting strictly out of duty and for little more than a paycheck.

  Consider here the motivation of Hessian mercenaries in the American Revolutionary War, of American draftees in Vietnam, or of the nameless and faceless Imperial stormtroopers of Star Wars, and contrast this with the “Give me liberty or give me death!” motivation of the American Sons of Liberty, of revolutionary Viet Cong cadres, or of the Rebel Alliance in Star Wars.8 The latter believe that “the Force is with them,” that their cause is just and that they are on the right side of history. This “force” sustains them through the darkest of days and is ultimately the difference between victory and defeat.

  People’s War: A Trilogy of Phases

  Military theorists see “People’s War” as passing through three phases.9 In Phase One, the rebels (or insurgents, hence the term counterinsurgency) attempt to build a political infrastructure, while seeking allies among the people, which they do in part by spreading their ideas (or propaganda, depending on one’s point of view). Every insurgent—every rebel—should be a “true believer” and thus an ambassador for the cause. At the same time, due to their comparative military weakness vis-à-vis their opponent, they seek to establish safe havens, often on the periphery of the state or the empire (or the galaxy), in inaccessible or impoverished areas where they can draw sustenance from the misery or alienation of the people. The more difficult the terrain for their enemy to negotiate, the better for the rebels, whether it be the narrow streets and forested trails of New England of the 1770s, the central highlands and triple canopy jungles of Vietnam of the 1960s, or the blast furnace heat of Tatooine and the freezing wastes of Hoth in the Star Wars galaxy of long ago.

  U.S. soldiers confront the punishing terrain of Vietnam.

  The “inhospitable” terrain of Hoth. (The Empire Strikes Back)

  In this political/cadre-building phase, intimidation may be necessary, to include fending off
rivals to the rebel cause. Serious arm-twisting may be needed to convince fence-straddlers (such as an ambivalent Han Solo) to join the cause. Once revolutionary cadres are formed, the rebels take action that is aimed both at undermining the legitimacy of the established order and at rallying more recruits and converts to the cause. Naturally, such actions will be labeled by the prevailing powers as terroristic and treasonous. Thus, in the original Star Wars, while operating under a thin veil of diplomatic immunity, Leia steals secret plans to the Empire’s latest wonder weapon, the Death Star, an act of treason, as seen from the perspective of the Empire’s leaders. Her mission to Tatooine is a classic case of “Phase One” operations, for her goal is to recruit General Obi-Wan Kenobi to join the Rebel Alliance in an attempt to destroy the Empire’s latest terror weapon. By the Imperial definition, however, she herself is a weapon of terror, a traitor plotting seditious acts against a legitimate government of which she is a privileged representative.

  Leia, of course, sees herself not as a terrorist but as a freedom-fighter. For her, the Empire is a tyrannical monstrosity and is therefore illegitimate. In the view of American revolutionaries, Britain’s King George III had similarly made tyrannical demands and had therefore forfeited his “divine” right to their allegiance. In the case of the Vietnam War, the Viet Cong and their North Vietnamese allies saw Americans as foreign invaders and their South Vietnamese allies as American stooges.

  Yet it is not enough to organize against illegitimate power: one must act to overthrow it. In all three cases, the rebels recognize that risky acts—acts that they know will be denounced as terroristic by the powers-that-be and punished as such—are needed both to weaken the empire and persuade more people to join the rebel cause.

  Hence, when enough recruits are enlisted and enough arms are gathered, rebels may then move on to Phase Two of People’s War: larger-scale action (to include military operations) to gain control over the political landscape, while further weakening the legitimacy of the establishment. This is when so-called guerrilla tactics come to the fore.10 Such tactics are typically of the small-unit, hit-and-run variety and place a premium on surprise and political impact. They are designed not so much to defeat an empire militarily but rather to wear it down, to erode its political will, while perhaps provoking it as well into making further and harsher reprisals that, in breeding resentment and accelerating recruitment among the people, ultimately serve rebel ends.

  Attack of the Rebel Alliance on the Death Star. (A New Hope)

  Thus, the main target of guerrilla operations is not the empire’s troops but rather the will and legitimacy of its leaders, although striking at a high-profile military target is often the best way to target that will and legitimacy. Consider the original Star Wars movie. The attack against the Death Star is a classic case of guerrilla tactics, of Phase Two of People’s War. The rebels obviously have no “death star” of their own to wield against the Imperial version. Their only hope is a David versus Goliath scenario: a well-timed, well-aimed shot by an intrepid fighter that somehow manages to fell a giant.

  At the same time, Leia’s very act of stealing the plans to the Death Star touches off a harsh Imperial reprisal that proves vital to the success of the attack and, ultimately, to the Rebellion in general. Although unknown to Leia, Luke Skywalker is key to the Rebellion, but he is at first reluctant to join Obi-Wan Kenobi and leave his home. Yet on discovering the ruthless murder of his aunt and uncle by a vindictive Empire, Luke willingly follows Kenobi into a new life of training to become a Jedi to avenge these murders (and, ultimately, to avenge his real father’s seduction to the dark side of the Force, as orchestrated by the Sith Emperor).11

  Whenever outnumbered and outgunned rebels stand and fight against a militarily superior enemy, they take a gamble. In A New Hope, if the Rebel Alliance had failed to destroy the Death Star, the Rebellion would have been crushed. The Rebels’ resolute yet highly risky decision to stand and fight pays off when Luke Skywalker is able to call on the Force to make a kill-shot against the Death Star, seconds before this planet-pulverizing machine is able to deploy its own kill-shot against the Rebel base. This stunning victory, achieved at the longest of odds, demonstrates that the Rebels are a force to be reckoned with.

  American Revolutionary forces accept the British surrender at Saratoga, a surprising Phase Two rebel victory in 1777.

  Like the Battle of Saratoga in the American Revolutionary War or the Tet Offensive in the Vietnam War, the Battle of Yavin that ends with the Death Star’s destruction is a key turning point: the “end of the beginning” of an incredibly audacious but ultimately successful rebellion.12 Winning a major battle, after all, is usually not enough to win a war; powerful empires do not give up their power easily, and they do indeed strike back. When they do, rebel forces, obeying the dictums of People’s War, must be prepared to retreat when necessary, to fight delaying actions, to ratchet back military operations, even to go into hiding, licking wounds and marshaling reserves to fight when the timing and conditions are again opportune.

  In any rebellion, opportunism is key; so, too, is boldness, with the most dangerous step for rebels to take occurring in Phase Three, the final phase of People’s War. In this phase, rebel forces risk it all in a major military assault whose aim is to overthrow the existing order. In Star Wars, we witness Phase Three operations in Return of the Jedi. In the climactic battle of the trilogy, the Rebels marshal all of their forces in a conventional, all-out assault on the Imperial fleet and its latest iteration of the Death Star. The assault proves to be a trap, one that is sprung by an Empire in full confidence of its colossal power. Yet in Luke the Rebels possess a secret weapon of their own: a leader who gains access to the very core of the colossus but who refuses to betray the Alliance, despite promises of unimaginable power.

  In a sense, Luke is a Trojan Horse inserted into the command nexus of the Empire. The Emperor (wrongly) sees him as Vader’s natural successor, his new henchman and future enforcer of Sith hegemony. For the Emperor to have turned Luke to the dark side would have been like Britain’s King George III turning George Washington back into a Loyalist, or Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger convincing Ho Chi Minh to give up the fight and accept a divided Vietnam under an American umbrella. Considered in these terms, the Emperor’s fervent desire to turn Luke makes perfect sense, for he is the linchpin of the Rebellion. When the Emperor fails in the attempt, however, his true evil blazes forth in a murderous fury that is undeniable even to Vader, who is moved at long last to break free from the Emperor’s powerful grip and save his son.

  Luke as Trojan Horse confronts the Emperor Darth and Vader. (Return of the Jedi)

  Interestingly, the powerful climax of Return of the Jedi represents a return to Phase One of People’s War. For in the end, Luke succeeds in turning his father, Anakin Skywalker, back to the Rebel cause. His father ceases to be Darth Vader and returns, if only for a brief moment, to his former place as Anakin Skywalker, the chosen Jedi protector to the Old Republic. This turnabout, a true revolution, marks the symbolic return of republican autonomy and a political process enabled by free debate guided by a philosopher-warrior elite (the Jedi), of which Luke is now the sole surviving member and Master.

  This return to the “old ways,” this triumph of the Rebellion that ends in the recruitment of Vader to the cause and the death of the Emperor, highlights a vital reality of People’s War: its flexible, often nonsequential, nature. For example, while conducting guerrilla operations (Phase Two) against a prevailing power, rebels also continue to build their infrastructure, conduct acts of terror to delegitimize the state, and spread propaganda, all of which are associated with Phase One of People’s War. Even during Phase Three—the general offensive—rebels continue efforts associated with the previous two phases. If Phase Three fails, as it did for the North Vietnamese in the Spring Offensive of 1972, the rebels simply return to the previous two phases, biding their time until the next opportunity presents itself for a general offensiv
e, which it did for North Vietnam in 1975.

  The rebel American horse unseats its imperial master, King George III, in this 1779 satirical drawing.

  The complex and nonlinear nature of People’s War was expressed by the historian John M. Gates when describing the U.S. military’s difficulty in coming to grips with the decisive North Vietnamese invasion of 1975. In his words:

  American conventional war doctrine does not anticipate reliance upon population within the enemy’s territory for logistical and combat support. It does not rely upon guerrilla units to fix the enemy, establish clear lines of communication, and maintain security in the rear. And it certainly does not expect enemy morale to be undermined by political cadres within the very heart of the enemy’s territory, cadres who will assume positions of political power as the offensive progresses. Yet all of these things happened in South Vietnam in 1975.13

  Even in cases where the rebels overestimate the weakness of the enemy and lose large-scale battles, they have the option, if managed correctly, to slip back into the earlier two phases of People’s War, striving to weaken the established order before the next general offensive aimed at securing victory. What ultimately sustains them through setbacks and dark times is belief: a belief that may become a quasi-religion, a force (or the Force, if you will) that multiplies their efforts, making them far more powerful than the sheer size of their army would indicate on a bloodless balance sheet.