Lit Why there are people in the Galaxy in awe in front of the Mandos ?

Notice that the whole gig started in the movies, where Captain Attitude (AKA, Boba Fett) fired his gun once, before getting owned by a blind guy.

The Mandalorians have the following interesting characteristic.

1)They are a culture based on war, which translate usually in wanton agression over everyone near them.

2)And they always end up losing, and losing badly.

I mean, when exactly the way of the Mando ended up with them winning a war ? They lost against the Zhells, they lost against the Republic, they lost against Revan, they will likely lose against the Republic in the Cold War, they lost against the Judicials. The only time they won was against the Vong, and Traviss wrote this bit after the NJO. With other authors, Mandos usually ''win'' by attacking targets that can't defend themselves

Not mentionning that the whole ''all right, let's settle who is the leader of our civ by a virile duel to the death'' usually get them enthralled to various galactic despots....

Why were the Prussians/Germans regarded as having the best military yet they always lost their wars in the ends?

The Mandalorians have been roving hordes and won MANY victories conquering and pillaging worlds. After that they created their own little 'empire' and fought the Republic. Even being severely outnumbered they still got as far as Duro and nearly broke the Republic, the Republic only won due to having Thrawn with force powers show up with a bunch of Jedi, and even then it was a tooth and nails battle.

After that they were less powerful but still managed to cause trouble for the Republic in the Sith War and Cold War. Then during the Dark Ages they fought with and against the Republic. By that point they were pretty much mercenaries, and the best mercenaries. A mandalorian warrior should be worth at least 10 regular soldiers. And Jango Fett managed to kill Jedi hand to hand. Every time the Mandalorians lose the victors have a ton of dead to deal with.

The outcome of a war does not reflect the quality of the solider.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Mainly because Karen Traviss said so, so every character in her books had to believe so.

Mandalorians have been known as the galaxy's best soldiers long before Karen Traviss wrote her first page in Star Wars.

Yeah, but it might well reflect the quality of the generals.

The OP makes a good point. The Mandalorians are a people who are bred entirely for war, so you'd think they'd actually manage to win one at some point. They're just militarist brutes. At their peak they weren't much more than Sith dogs who got pointed in the direction of the Republic and then let off their leashes.

They have won some wars. They conquered many worlds, they had many successful campaigns. We only see their wars against the Republic.

Mandalorians are the best soldiers, some of the greatest tacticians. But in terms of strategic thinking they rank at the lowest. They pick fights they cannot win simply for the heck of it. They make promises they can't keep but still try to keep them. If the Mandalorians ever got a leader who read 'The Art of War' the galaxy would be in big trouble.

I don't really think anyone is in awe of the Mandos as a force after the Old Sith Wars. They're the equivalent of gangster thugs who keep harking on about their glorious history.

That is not fair, Fenn Shysa was a honorable man who was willing to help further a good cause. At least until you know who thought it would be neat to retcon him into some regular schemer.

I don't think Fenn Shysa setting up an organized resistance against the Empire degrades his honor what so ever.

The Mandalorians are nomadic by nature. This makes them fantastic at winning battles and gathering a huge army, but without central leadership of a Mandalore, they fall apart into tribes.

They're great at winning battles, but not at holding territory. On the offensive, they could challenge the Republic and go toe to toe with forces far larger than they are. But once the Mandalore falls, they fall with them.

Not really, as the Ailon properly beat them at soldering, as they are way better organized, trained and disciplined.

And as warriors, hmm Noghri, Mistryl, Sun Guard, the Old Hutt and of course the Emperors royal guard properly match them in that.

With an explanation that made me go “hü?” when reading it. As the Vong would just seed the planet with Vong creatures or toxic bomb it untill nothing was alive there.

Considering how badly some people wnat to ape gangsters in RL, I think you just proved the point.

You refer to the battle at Norval II where the Ailon were aided by 20 Jedi Knights and 20,000 Clone Troopers? And the Mandalorians numbered only 212? And they were ambushed? And yet at the end of the battle the only survivors were 3 Mandalorians? I think the Mandalorians proved themselves the better soldiers that day.

And in terms of warriors I'd say they would all be pretty much even, it would depend on the individuals. I'd bet Boba or Jango against all of them, but a regular Mandalorian... I'd give him a 60% chance.

Jango Fett Open Season came out two years before Karen Traviss started writing for Star Wars and that established that 20 Jedi vs a minimum of 22 Mandalorians would get 11 Jedi killed, and 5 were done by Jango Fett with his bare hands. Show me another group that can fight the Jedi with around the same numbers and give the Jedi a 50% casualty rate that aren't Sith.

Look at it this way. The Spartans are most well known not for a victory but for a defeat, Thermopylae. That's the way it is with the Mandalorians, if they lose, you can guarantee they take at least half of the enemy with them. And when looking for mercenaries, that's what you like to hear.

As of the 1997 Encyclopedia the Ailon & Sun Guards aren't even worthy of inclusion. No where are the Hutts mentioned in it as warriors and both the Mistryl Shadow Guards & Imperial Royal Guardsmen are pretty exclusive little clubs. You might as well have included the Jedi Order and the Sith on your list as well.

The Nohgri likely are comparable because they are a civilization, none the less they came around in 1992 or so, not 1982.

The Mandalorians have been known for their war making prowess for a long, long time. If their guns are bigger than someone elses isn't really relevent.

Not to mention how may of those groups have been able to fight the Republic and almost win? You don't see the Noghri conquering vast swaths of the galaxy.

A Mandalorian who read the Art of War and actually took the lessons of the work to heart likely wouldn't progress far enough in Mandalorian society to do much good. He'd probably be written off as a girly man. The kind of adroit, subtle cunning that actually comes with such strategy is pretty alien to Mandalorian manly-man warrior culture. I mean, entire sections of the Art of War are specifically about knowing when to fold 'em, yet Mandalorians are among the biggest Leeroys in the Galaxy, seemingly by nature.

The Spartans lost more than that. We think of them as being invincible, and they were powerful, but they couldn't adapt their tactics worth a crap. There were battles where Athenian rowers armed with basic javelins managed to route an entire phalanx of Spartan hoplites., simply because the Spartans were as slow as a snail and had no cavalry.

There have to be way more Mandos there, as Vosa alone killed 20 of them. And your sure Jango killed 5 with his bare hands? I mean the knocks a few around, but they might just be stunned as the comic is not that clear on it.

The Mandos brought the Battle Legionnaires to Norval so there was a lot more on the battlefield than just 212 of them.

And is was going for more in general actually, just from the approach to the whole thing, as Mandos seem to degenerate into plundering mobs (Kotor comics), though ymmv, which the Ailon wouldn’t and the Ailon would generally even win battles they weren’t expected to or actually set up to get themselves killed in, Mandos in contrast seem to go down guns blazing.

The Spartans weren’t actually alone at Thermoylae (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Thermopylae )

The old Encyclopedia was a bit slim and afaik it did mention the Sun Guards under the Royal Guard stuff.

Neither are they in modern SW sources, culture flip and all, but they started out as such and are still very successful at Empire building. Funny enough Satines Mandos seem to also be better off trying that approach.

The Shadow Guard seems to have been way bigger in the past, as they build their own little Empire during the Clone Wars and Mandos warriors are also pretty exclusive as of late, 212 protectors and Boba didn’t have much more available at later times either. And the Royal Guard seems to be pretty numerous.

Force sensitive warriors cheat.

Mandos might just be better at bragging about it that other warrior cultures.

The Hutts actually outlasted the Republic (several incarnations of it in fact), which you can’t really say about the Mandos, as like the Tionese they got beaten into the dirt and pretty much just made a provincial backwater of the Republic.

If he were still alive, the Dark Underlord might have something to say about Mandos never winning.

He would properly have won if not for that little problem of getting killed by a Jedi

PS:

http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Morgukai