How effective would AT-AT walkers be from a real military perspective?

[Al]

AT-AT walkers might face challenges in real-world military scenarios. Their size makes them vulnerable to traditional anti-armor tactics, and their mobility limitations could be exploited as they move so slowly allowing faster moving modern military units get get around them and attack from vulnerable points.

Consider this: AT-ATs are designed for a vast galactic empire, facing diverse terrains and unpredictable threats. Unlike Earth, the Empire must act swiftly across countless worlds, requiring a versatile force. Tracked vehicles have limitations, but AT-ATs, or "All Terrain" walkers, address this by being able to navigate various landscapes. They serve as Infantry Fighting Vehicles, transporting troops securely while providing firepower. Despite not being optimal for every scenario, AT-ATs offer versatility, making them a solid choice for the Empire's galaxy-spanning role.

Do you agree? Tell me what you think.

 

[Darth Cognus]

Dreadful.

Even in setting the common rationale I get is that they're intimidating, not that they're all that good. Everything about them is just off. You've got super fragile gigantic hunks of metal that can get tangled by cables, I assume get a foot stuck somewhere and thanks to terrible balancing just keel over. Incredibly slow, poor maneuverability, I assume a nightmare in transport and setup. Walking mechs tend to be smaller for a reason, it compliments mobility, makes them less of a target and still carries the intimidation factor with good design. Battletech begs to differ but that is a pure rule of cool setting, and a mech from Battletech has torso twisting, better firepower, and even their slow chonkers manage to get around. I can't see AT-ATs being a much better option than slapping down some sci-fi tanks.

You want an infantry carrier with scary weapons and all-terrain capability? Stop pumping out tie fighters and upgrade those clone era dropships. Good mobility, slap some neat weapons on to do some damage on top, harder to respond to. Toss in scary space marines with proper armor taking some cards out of StarCraft, and you have a proper all-terrain strategy. The engineering to defend a dropship and make nearly invincible death soldiers is probably more worth the effort than the engineering to make an AT-AT useful. Shock and awe with less 'oh look a lumbering thing lets use the several hours it takes to get here to build a counter defense'. Even just better mechs. Even the AT-STs are dinky. The Empire apparently never found a proper mech engineer who could bring style but also, practical technology. Side note, mecha Vader with force enhancement would be a downright nightmare. That's an icon the Empire should get behind.

I didn't mind them back in the day but I find them more and more silly as time goes on, even more silly than the inadvisable strategy of pinning so much on a single death star.