High-ranking officers within the Grand Army of the Republic who were also Jedi were known as Jedi Generals. Though initially an unofficial designation, the title gained official status in 22 BBY, early in the Clone Wars, via creation. It was then exclusively held by Jedi Knights, Jedi Masters, and members of the Jedi High Council—the Jedi Order's governing body. As generals, these Jedi were tasked with commanding the Galactic Republic's clone trooper army in their battles against the forces belonging to the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
By 19 BBY, the Jedi's presence was stretched across the galaxy. As the conflict neared its end, Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine gave the order for the clone army to execute Order 66. This military directive authorized the annihilation of the Jedi Order, and the clone troopers, programmed to obey without question, followed it. Consequently, many unsuspecting Jedi generals were swiftly executed by their own [soldiers](/article/soldier]. However, some, like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Grand Master Yoda, managed to escape into exile.
With the majority of the Grand Army's Jedi officers eliminated, Palpatine—secretly Darth Sidious, a Dark Lord of the Sith—declared himself Emperor of the Galactic Empire. Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi General who embraced the dark side of the Force, became the Emperor's apprentice and enforcer, adopting the identity of Darth Vader.
The [Jedi Military Integration Act](/article/jedi_military_integration_act] granted the Jedi the power to command the Grand Army of the Republic through the rank of general. A Jedi general held the position of commanding officer over a battalion of clone troopers, who were elite soldiers cloned from Jango Fett's template and conditioned for absolute obedience. Their responsibilities during wartime included leading troops on the battlefield and collaborating on strategy with the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic. Additionally, Jedi Generals handled routine administrative tasks related to staffing, equipment, resupply, promotions, training, and even budget requests. The Jedi High Council, as the governing body of the Jedi Order, guided the Jedi in their roles as military leaders. However, the High Council could also enter the battlefield, fighting alongside their [troopers](/article/trooper], as exemplified by Jedi Master Mace Windu during the campaign to liberate Ryloth. Direct combat with the enemy was seen as an act of valor.
Clone troopers were under the command of their Jedi Generals. While they generally displayed loyalty to the Jedi and the Republic, instances of disobedience did occur among the ranks. In such situations, a Jedi could use their authority as a general to order the arrest and court-martial of the offending clone. For acts of treason, the general had the power to have the prisoner immediately executed. The execution could be performed by a firing squad or by the general themselves.
Throughout its history, the Jedi Order had to engage in conflicts against various adversaries, including the Sith, the slave empire of the Zygerrians, and Mandalore. Following these wars, some Jedi chose to renounce warfare, preferring to maintain galactic peace despite their close connections to the Galactic Republic. As the Nihil conflict continued during the High Republic Era, the Jedi and the Republic grew closer at the government's urging. Although the Jedi fought alongside and led the Republic Defense Coalition and Galactic Republic troopers to defeat the Nihil marauder threat, Jedi Master Stellan Gios emphasized to Supreme Chancellor Lina Soh that the Jedi would not become her soldiers. Nevertheless, the Outer Rim Territories were largely engulfed in war during the Nihil conflict, which many Jedi struggled to accept. The arrival of the Clone Wars more than two centuries later threatened the Order's role as peacekeepers.
During the First Battle of Geonosis in 22 BBY, the Jedi did not officially hold military rank in the newly-formed Grand Army of the Republic. Despite this, high-ranking Jedi functioned as de facto generals, commanding over 80 regiments of clone troopers. The clone army, under the Jedi High Council's leadership, achieved air and ground dominance against the forces of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Following their victory on Geonosis, the Jedi Order continued to play a role in the Republic's military, with Jedi Masters and Jedi Knights serving as high-ranking officers, but their position remained unofficial. The term "general" became an informal title given by the clones, who were unsure of the Jedi's role in military matters. Other Republic officials respected the title. Several weeks into the Clone Wars, the Jedi Military Integration Act was passed, formally establishing the rank of Jedi General for Knights and Masters, while Padawans became Jedi Commanders.
Throughout the Clone Wars, Jedi generals enjoyed the loyalty of clone troopers who followed them into battle across the galaxy. However, by the war's end, the clones turned on the Jedi, executing them as enemies of the state under Order 66, a military directive authorizing the liquidation of the Jedi Order. Unbeknownst to the clones, secret behavioral modification biochips had been implanted within them, compelling them to follow Order 66 without hesitation as part of a Sith plot to eliminate the Jedi and seize control of the galaxy. While generals Yoda, Quinlan Vos, Oppo Rancisis, and Obi-Wan Kenobi survived the initial purge, Sith Lord Darth Sidious proclaimed himself Emperor of the Galactic Empire following the fall of the Jedi Order in 19 BBY.
After decades spent in exile, Princess Leia Organa sought out Kenobi. Aware of the former Jedi general's service during the Clone Wars through her adoptive father, Bail Organa, she sent a message pleading with General Kenobi to assist the Alliance to Restore the Republic in their struggle against the Empire. Kenobi agreed that the time was right to openly confront the darkness again, but his mission was cut short when he sacrificed his life during the battle on the Death Star. Ultimately, both Kenobi and Yoda supported the Alliance by mentoring Luke Skywalker, an aspiring Jedi and the son of the fallen Jedi General Anakin Skywalker, who had become Darth Vader, the Dark Lord of the Sith's apprentice. While they did not hold the formal rank of general after the Clone Wars, followers of the Jedi path, such as Luke Skywalker and Rey, continued to lead battles against the Sith and their puppet factions, much like their predecessors. Master Skywalker, in the book he authored after meeting Rey, praised the Jedi who defended the Republic, referring to them as noble warriors and presenting them as inspirations in the Jedi way.
The concept of Jedi as generals was initially referenced in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, the inaugural Star Wars film, where Leia's message introduces Obi-Wan in this role. Jedi were first depicted leading the Grand Army of the Republic in the 2002 film Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones from the prequel trilogy. However, at that time, the Jedi only acted as de facto generals because the rank of Jedi General had not yet been established in-universe, according to the 2016 canon reference book Star Wars: Complete Locations. When High Republic Era Jedi Master Stellan Gios stated that the Jedi should never become warriors in the novel The High Republic: The Rising Storm, author Cavan Scott intended it as a reference to the Jedi Order's eventual transformation into generals.