Mandalorian shock trooper was a collective term referring to the Mandalorian combatants who followed the way of the traditional Mandalorian warrior. The concept of shock trooper therefore encompassed many different groups of Mandalorians throughout history, with sometimes apparently very little in common. In any case, Mandalorian shock troopers could be defined as the Mandalorians who respected the ancient Canons of Honor, a code aiming to lead any warrior to attain glory though combat and loyalty to a clan. Mandalorian shock troopers were easily recognizable for their distinct Mandalorian-styled armor.
The tradition of Mandalorian shock trooper dated back to the legendary Taung Shadow Warriors. The Taungs fought epic battles on the ancient Coruscant and eventually settled the planet Mandalore, becoming the first Mandalorians. Although the species eventually vanished, Humans and other species of Mandalorians continued the Taung warrior tradition as the Mandalorian shock troopers.
Mandalorian Crusaders, one of the earliest groups of Mandalorian shock troopers.
The first Mandalorian shock troopers identified as such were the Mandalorian Crusaders who waged violent and rather primitive crusades during several centuries. These fierce warriors were finally defeated by the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order during the Great Sith War around 4000 BBY. In the next decades, their successor, the Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders, assembled a powerful army in prevision of an apocalyptic war. They conquered many worlds in the so-called Mandalorian Wars, ultimately declaring a total war to the Republic. Although the Neo-Crusaders were defeated and decimated, the Mandalorian culture survived. However, for the next 2,000 years, the few remaining shock troopers would never be united and served almost exclusively as mercenaries. Mandalorian shock troopers therefore fought as mercenaries in the majority of the major galactic conflicts, including the Great Galactic War, the War against Zakuul, and the New Sith Wars.
Mandalorian Protectors, one of the latest groups of Mandalorian shock troopers.
The reunification of the Mandalorian shock troopers began in the century prior to the fall of the Republic, when the former Journeyman Protector Jaster Mereel created the Supercommando Codex. This new code was a revived and modernized version of the millennium-old Canons of Honor with stronger principles of ethics and honor. A number of clans accepted to follow Mereel's creed but a splinter group of ruthless and amoral Mandalorians known as the Death Watch rejected it. Eventually, the ideological conflict turned to civil war and all the Mandalorian shock troopers roughly organized onto two camps: Jaster Mereel's True Mandalorians and Tor Vizsla's Death Watch. The two factions were virtually annihilated during the conflict but both groups later rose from the ashes during the Clone Wars. The Death Watch rose under the leadership of Pre Vizsla and his shock troopers fought the Republic-backed New Mandalorians for the control of the planet Mandalore. Meanwhile, the former ARC trooper Spar assembled a small army of supercommandos named the Mandalorian Protectors inspired by Jaster Mereel's True Mandalorians. These protectors sided with the Confederacy of Independent Systems in the war against the Republic. By the end end of the Clone Wars, most of the Mandalorian shock troopers had been killed in combat. However, the Mandalorian Protectors emerged as the main force of Mandalorian shock troopers.
The Mandalorian Protectors strengthened after the end of the Clone Wars and the rise of the Galactic Empire under the leadership of Fenn Shysa. Mandalorian shock troopers eventually freed Mandalore from the Imperial presence and sided with the Rebel Alliance and the New Republic during the Galactic Civil War. In the next decades, the Mandalorian Protectors became the main defense force of the Mandalore sector and Mandalorian shock troopers fought bravely against the Yuuzhan Vong during the Yuuzhan Vong War.
- "The History of the Mandalorians" — Star Wars Insider 80
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
- Star Wars: Age of Rebellion Core Rulebook