Militiagungs were Gungan warriors, trained and incorporated into the ranks of the Gungan Grand Army. These Militiagungs exhibited unwavering loyalty to their Gungan Boss, prepared to sacrifice their lives in service to their leader. Their common armaments included atlatls designed to launch boomas, alongside a personal energy shield for defense.
The existence of Militiagungs predates 3000 BBY, the time of the War of the Gungan tribes. During this conflict, numerous tribes trained Militiagungs to engage in battle against rival factions. Ultimately, Boss Gallo emerged as the victor, defeating Boss Rogoe, the instigator of the war, with an army composed of Militiagungs and other Gungan military units. Subsequently, the Gungan Grand Army was established.
The Gungan Grand Army remained largely uninvolved in warfare until 32 BBY, when the Trade Federation invaded Naboo. Many Militiagungs were mobilized for the Battle of Grassy Plains, where they confronted the Trade Federation forces. Their defeat was averted by the actions of Anakin Skywalker, who destroyed the Droid Control Ship, effectively disabling the battle droids on Naboo.
During the Clone Wars, a significant contingent of Militiagungs ventured off-world to Mon Calamari to support the Mon Calamari in a conflict against the Confederacy of Independent Systems, led by Riff Tamson. The initial engagement resulted in substantial Gungan casualties, with the surviving members being confined to prison camps. Eventually, Prince Lee-Char of Mon Calamari spearheaded a rebellion against Tamson, aided by the Militiagungs, leading to the defeat of Separatist forces on the planet.
At some point during the Clone Wars, the Gungan people were nearly tricked into invading Theed after Boss Lyonie was hypnotized by Separatist spy Rish Loo. This deception was uncovered by Anakin Skywalker, by then a Jedi Knight, who, together with Jar Jar Binks, deceived the Separatist forces planning the Theed invasion into believing the Gungans were still their allies. This allowed them to capture the army's leader, General Grievous, at the cost of several militiagungs including General Roos Tarpals.
Militiagungs remained in service to the Gungans during the Galactic Civil War.
Around 3000 BBY, the Gungan tribes were engaged in constant war, and militiagungs were used extensively in the battles. Boss Gallo was an exception, as he initially avoided using militiagungs and refused to participate in the conflict until his city, Otoh Sancture, was destroyed by semi-feral Bursas. Gallo later discovered that Boss Rogoe, the warlord manipulating the war, had sent the bursas, fearing Gallo's potential power. With the assistance of Captain Marsune, a reformed rogue, Gallo formed an army of militiagungs and proceeded to resolve the issues that had caused the Gungan tribes to fight each other. Eventually, Gallo amassed a large enough army to invade Spearhead, Rogoe's base, and defeat the tyrant. This battle ended the war, resulting in the creation of the Gungan Grand Army and the construction of Otoh Gunga on the ruins of Spearhead.
Three millennia subsequently, the Trade Federation invaded Naboo. Initially, the Gungans were safe from the Federation's reach because they were unaware of the Gungan's existence, until a captured marine from the city of Harte Secur informed the Trade Federation of myths of a mysterious water-dwelling civilization. Droid Commander OOM-9 was dispatched to attack the city of Rellias with the assistance of Darth Maul, the Sith apprentice of Darth Sidious, the manipulator of the invasion. The droid army easily reached the city and killed all of the Gungans there, including the militiagungs defending the city, except for Boss Ganne, whom Maul used a mind trick on to lead them to the Rellias Straits, the entrance to Otoh Gunga. The droids defeated the Militiagungs scattered on the path to the channel with ease. The attack on Otoh Gunga led the Rep Council to decide to evacuate the city.
The Gungans who escaped from Otoh Gunga immediately sought refuge at the Gungan Sacred Place. Many militiagungs had reached the Sacred Place before Boss Nass arrived. A scout reported the presence of a nearby Trade Federation camp. To ensure the Gungans' safety, Nass ordered a large group of militiagungs to attack the camp. The battle was short, with the Gungans sustaining only minor losses.
The Gungans remained in hiding until Queen Amidala of Naboo, accompanied by Jedi Knights Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, arrived to negotiate with the Gungans. The group defeated a large number of B1-Series battle droids before encountering the militiagungs guarding the Sacred Place. Several militiagungs challenged the Jedi to combat, but were easily defeated by the Knights. The Gungan Security Chief then challenged the Jedi, but was also defeated. The Chief then allowed the Jedi to proceed and meet with Boss Nass.
Queen Amidala successfully persuaded the Gungans to form an alliance to remove the Trade Federation from Naboo. Nass began preparations for the upcoming campaign with General Tobler Ceel. They discovered that a significant number of militiagungs and Naboo soldiers had been captured by the Trade Federation and imprisoned in Camp Fourteen, a prison camp near the ruined city of Spinnaker. The Gungan army attacked the camp and freed the prisoners, subsequently liberating Spinnaker from Federation control.
The Gungans' next target was Camp Six, a Trade Federation prison camp for fambaas, which they intended to skin and sell. The militiagungs used fambaas to carry shield generators and other heavy equipment, so the Gungans attacked Camp Six to free the beasts. The militiagungs also fought in the ruins of Harte Secur, another city destroyed by the Trade Federation.
The militiagungs were then called into action as part of a diversion, allowing the Royal Naboo Security Forces to retake Naboo from the Trade Federation. The Gungan Grand Army engaged the Trade Federation Droid Army in open battle on the Great Grass Plains. The army began the battle with their fambaa shield generators, which initially prevented the battle droids from successfully attacking the Gungans. However, the droid forces eventually breached the shields and began to kill the militiagungs. The militiagungs continued to fight the battle droids, but began losing the battle and suffered even more casualties when the shield generators were destroyed, allowing the Federation's heavy machinery to fire upon the Gungans. General Ceel eventually ordered a retreat into the swamps. However, the Trade Federation droids began rounding up the militiagungs who hadn't escaped in time, including Jar-Jar Binks, Roos Tarpals, and General Ceel. The fighting ceased, and the Gungans believed they had failed, until the young pilot Anakin Skywalker destroyed the Federation's Droid Control Ship, deactivating all of the droids and allowing the militiagungs to claim victory.
Around 21 BBY, during the Clone Wars, the aquatic world of Mon Calamari came under attack by the Separatists, led by the Karkarodon Riff Tamson, who was allied with Nossor Ri, the leader of the Quarren. Boss Lyonie, Rugor Nass's successor, committed a large contingent of militiagungs to serve as reinforcements during the battle. The reinforcements boosted the morale of the Republic soldiers and briefly turned the tide of the battle. However, Tamson used the Confederacy's trident ships to create whirlpools, disorienting the Republic soldiers. The Separatists capitalized on this opportunity, killing and capturing many Gungans. Many of these captives were held in prison camps until the arrest of Prince Lee-Char. The prince's execution was nearly carried out, but Nossor Ri betrayed the Separatists and intervened, saving the Prince. All of the Gungan and Mon Calamari prisoners were freed and fought in the final phase of the battle, which saw Tamson killed by Lee-Char and Mon Calamari liberated from Separatist control.
Later, unrest arose on Naboo. Rish Loo, a Gungan minister, secretly allied himself with the Confederacy and manipulated Lyonie, the Boss of the Gungan capital, Otoh Gunga, into preparing for war against the Naboo people. Boss Lyonie had a hypnotic necklace planted on him by Loo. The Separatists were planning an invasion of Naboo and intended to use the deceived Gungans to fight alongside them. Senator Jar Jar Binks, concerned by Lyonie's rallying of the militiagungs, invited Anakin Skywalker and Amidala, then a [Senator](/article/senator-legends], to resolve the situation. Skywalker immediately noticed Lyonie was acting strangely and discovered the necklace controlling him. The necklace was crushed, and Lyonie regained his senses. He went to confront Rish Loo, who, upon being discovered, stabbed Lyonie and fled, with Skywalker in pursuit. With Boss Lyonie injured, Binks impersonated him and spoke to the gathered militiagungs, dissuading them from war. General Grievous then landed a Confederacy invasion force and held a private meeting with Jar Jar (who he thought was Lyonie) to find out why the invasion was cancelled. Amidala contacted General Tarpals during this time and suggested deactivating the droid army. Grievous then realized that Binks was not Lyonie and emerged from the meeting, enraged at discovering his army was deactivated. The militiagungs ordered him to surrender, but Grievous simply attacked the militiagungs with his lightsabers. Several militiagungs were killed before Tarpals attacked Grievous with an electropole. Grievous managed to stab the experienced militiagung, who in his last moments stabbed Grievous with his spear, giving the militiagungs a chance to capture Grievous. Grievous was held in captivity until Count Dooku revealed he had captured Skywalker and was willing to trade for Grievous. The trade took place, and Skywalker was returned to the Republic.
Militiagungs continued to be used by Gungans during and after the Galactic Civil War.
Before the formation of the Gungan Grand Army, militiagungs were in service to the tribe where they received their training. With the tribes united by Boss Gallo, the Grand Army was established, requiring each city to conduct annual drills. This ensured that the Grand Army could be assembled within thirty-six hours of being summoned. The soldiers were trained to understand the Grand Army's system of horn, drum, and whistle signals, and they followed orders from professional commanders. The militiagung ranks included Trooper Recruit, Trooper, Heavy Trooper, and Repeater Troopers.
At the time of the Invasion of Naboo, a typical militiagung was equipped with an atlatl, a cesta, and a personal energy shield. Atlatls were used to launch energy balls, known as boomas, at the enemy. Personal energy shields served to deflect blaster fire, protecting the militiagung. Some militiagungs also used electropoles.
Militiagungs were first introduced in 1999 with the release of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace and its associated tie-ins. They were re-imagined in LEGO form for the 2005 video game LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game, which was also included in its 2007 compilation re-release. The video game Star Wars: Battlefront II, also released in 2005, allowed players to fight as or against the Gungan Grand Army in "Hunt Mode."