The First Order Army was the ground-based branch of the First Order military. In addition to maintaining order throughout First Order space, the First Order Army spearheaded the conquest and colonization of the Unknown Regions. In order to quickly and efficiently raise a capable army, the First Order abandoned the conscription practices of the Galactic Empire, and instead kidnapped and indoctrinated infants throughout the galaxy. The Unknown Regions provided a safe haven for the hermit state to effectively train and mobilize these child soldiers into an army of fierce stormtroopers with a zealous loyalty to the Supreme Leader.
The First Order's rearmament policy violated the terms of the Galactic Concordance, which saw the Imperial Military dismantled in the aftermath of the Galactic Civil War, but continued nonetheless as the New Republic sought to avoid the escalation of the Cold War into open warfare. With the Galactic Senate unwilling to risk another armed galactic conflict, Senator Leia Organa formed the Resistance to oppose the First Order's rise to power. The First Order Army discarded the facade of a defense force in the wake of the New Republic's destruction through the Hosnian Cataclysm in 34 ABY, and embarked on a campaign to conquer the galaxy which was initially overseen by Supreme Leader Snoke. However, command of the First Order Army was usurped by Kylo Ren, the Supreme Leader's dark apprentice, who assassinated his master during the Battle of Oetchi. By using the Force to coerce General Armitage Hux, Ren secured the Army under his control as the new Supreme Leader of the First Order.
In addition to Ren, the First Order Army served under the command of Allegiant General Enric Pryde, whose title gave him authority over both the Army and the First Order Navy. Under the leadership of Ren, much of the galaxy was conquered by the forces of the First Order. However, the First Order lacked the resources to subjugate the remaining holdouts until the discovery of the Sith Eternal cult's secret army of Sith troopers as well as a vast armada on the planet Exegol. Ren planned to supplement his forces with that of the Sith cultists in order to gain full control over the galaxy, thereby transforming the First Order into a true empire. Following the Battle of Exegol, however, Sith Eternal military lay in ruins and the galaxy rose in open rebellion against the First Order.
The First Order army was formed in the years following the defeat of its predecessor, the Imperial Army.
Following the defeat of the Galactic Empire at the Battle of Jakku and its surrender with the signing of the Galactic Concordance, the First Order and its military eventually formed in the Unknown Regions where it plotted its eventual return to power. The First Order Army was descended from the Imperial Army, which served as the ground forces of the "Old Empire." The Army was responsible for enforcing order throughout First Order space and the colonization of the Unknown Regions.
The First Order utilized propaganda to indoctrinate its forces from a young age, causing them to become fiercely loyal to the First Order and their Supreme Leader. General Armitage Hux considered his soldiers well trained and reliable because they had been programmed since birth.
During the Cold War, the stormtroopers of the First Order Army saw action against the Resistance on various locations and operations including Ovanis, Spalex, the search for Lor San Tekka, and the quelling of the strike at Pressy's Tumble.
On another occasion, Kylo Ren led the First Order Army during a massacre on the planet Tehar. The sole survivors were Kel and Eila, who managed to flee to the Colossus space station on the planet Castilon. There, they met Resistance spy Kazuda Xiono, who alerted the Resistance leadership about the activities of the First Order Army and Ren.
The First Order used conscripted children to form a new generation of stormtroopers.
In 34 ABY, First Order stormtroopers were deployed during the attack on Tuanul and the search for the map that led to Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. The First Order Army was led by General Armitage Hux, who also commanded Starkiller Base. Substantial First Order army forces including walkers were stationed on the snowy planet, which doubled as a superweapon. The First Order Army and other branches including the First Order Navy were involved in the construction of the massive superweapon.
Following the kidnapping of Torra Doza, First Order forces including stormtroopers occupied the Colossus refueling station. After the Hosnian Cataclysm, Colossus resistance forces led by Xiono and Jarek Yeager expelled the First Order occupation forces and took the Colossus into uncharted space. First Order stormtroopers also saw action against the Resistance during the Battle of Takodana, in the wake of Hosnian Prime's destruction. The First Order military sustained many casualties during the Battle of Starkiller Base. As the First Order moved to conquer the galaxy and crush the Resistance, it had ten thousand battle ready troops at its disposal.
Captain Phasma aboard the Supremacy with her soldiers shortly before her demise.
Kylo Ren seized control of the First Order Army from General Hux, shortly after assassinating Supreme Leader Snoke during the Battle of Oetchi. Hux protested Ren's actions at first, upset that Ren thinks he can command that Hux's Army, to which Ren utilized the Force choke ability against him, coercing the General's allegiance to the First Order Army's new Supreme Leader. Ren's rise to power would leave Hux isolated and deprived of much of the influence he gained during Snoke's rule. During his reign, Ren promoted the career of Allegiant General Enric Pryde, granting the former Imperial officer the power to command both the First Order Army and Navy.
During the Battle of Crait, significant First Order ground forces including stormtroopers, snowtroopers, AT-ATs, AT-STs, All Terrain MegaCaliber Six walkers, All Terrain Heavy Haulers, and a Superlaser siege cannon assaulted the Resistance outpost on Crait.
Despite the Resistance's escape from Crait, the First Order conquered a large amount of territory throughout the galaxy, becoming an Empire in all but name. However, the First Order lacked the resources of its predecessor, the Galactic Empire, leaving a number of free worlds unconquered by 35 ABY. This changed when Ren discovered the hidden Sith world of Exegol, where the Sith Eternal had cultivated an army of elite Sith troopers as well as a fleet of planet-killer Star Destroyers. Ren estimated that the Sith cult's forces in addition to his remaining forces in the First Order would grant him the ability to rule the First Order as a genuine empire.
Large swathes of the galaxy fell to the forces of the First Order led by Supreme Leader Kylo Ren.
Ren simultaneously focused on his goal to turn Jedi Padawan Rey to the dark side of the Force, having learned of her lineage as the grandchild of Sith Lord Darth Sidious. After tracking Rey and her Resistance allies to the planet Pasaana, Ren deployed a contingent of the First Order's ground forces including jet troopers, stormtroopers, and treadspeeder bikes along with the Knights of Ren to capture her. Jet troopers riding treadspeeders pursued Rey and her comrades Poe Dameron, Finn, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and BB-8 through the desert, sustaining casualties.
The First Order-Resistance War ended in the First Order's defeat. The Sith Eternal's forces were destroyed by the Resistance and the Citizens' Fleet in the Battle of Exegol, after which the First Order's remaining forces were attacked on various worlds in a pan-galactic uprising against the First Order.
Following in the footsteps of their Republic and Imperial predecessors, stormtroopers served as infantry soldiers in the First Order army.
The First Order army was largely composed of stormtroopers; inspired by the memory of the Galactic Empire's stormtroopers as well as the clone troopers that served the Galactic Republic, First Order stormtroopers represented the latest generation in the history of white armored soldiers in the days of the New Republic Era. The First Order trained its troops from birth, using combat simulations and live-fire exercises to encourage battlefield improvisation, whereas the Empire's standard routine produced soldiers that were considered less dangerous than their First Order descendants.
In addition to the basic infantry unit, the First Order army fielded various types of stormtroopers such as snowtroopers, SCUBA troopers, megablaster heavy assault troopers, flametroopers, riot control stormtroopers, rocket troopers, executioner troopers, and First Order stormtrooper gunners.
Other positions in the army included First Order officers and the subset of vehicle commanders, First Order Walker Drivers, engineers, and gunners.
Both infantry and armored units was commanded by trained officers. From squad leader to Supreme Leader, many different ranks existed in the First Order's military with various levels of power.
A 125-Z treadspeeder bike
The First Order army employed a variety of ground assets for their ground operations. It used an arsenal of walkers for transportation, artillery, and other objectives. Such walkers included the All Terrain MegaCaliber Six, the First Order All Terrain Armored Transport, the All Terrain Heavy Hauler, the All Terrain Mobile Artillery, the First Order All Terrain Scout Transport, the All Terrain Patrol Droid, the All Terrain Heavy Scout, the mobile assault walker, and the spider walker and the Urban Assault Triped Transport
The Army also made use of other vehicles, including the elite speeder bike, 125-Z treadspeeder bike, the Light Infantry Utility Vehicle, and an unidentified flametrooper transport. The Army was also equipped with a superlaser siege cannon that served as an artillery piece.
The First Order army had an array of weapons, from the standard F-11D blaster rifle to the heavy FWMB-10 repeating blaster.
The First Order army possessed a variety of weapons and equipment. Ranged weapons included DLT-19D heavy blaster rifle, the FWMB-10 repeating blaster and its variant, the FWMB-10K, the RK-3 blaster, the SE-44C blaster pistol, and the F-11D blaster rifle. The Army's weapons arsenal also consisted of the F-Z0 antipersonnel blaster cannon, the D-93 Incinerator flamethrower, smart rocket and the G125 projectile launcher.
The Army was also equipped with melee weapons, which included the Z6 riot control baton, electroprod, the BL-155 Laser ax, the electrostaff, the riot shield, and the vibro-knife. Equipment deployed by the Army incorporated quadnoculars, jump packs, NJP-900 integrated jetpack, pauldrons, and thermal detonators.
According to , director of the Star Wars: Visions short "THE TWINS," the Galactic Empire seen in the short was established by remnants of the First Order Army, erroneously described as the "Imperial Army," after the events of the Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker.