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Count Dooku ordered the clone army as he impersonated Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas in order to get the clones commissioned.

In this scene, he wasn't surprised when the Army of the Republic arrives:

He was calm and relaxed when the clones landed. Did he really know that the clones were coming, considering that he had an allegiance with the Galactic Republic (secretly with Darth Sidious) and the Confederacy of Independent Systems?

fez
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The Witch King of Angmar
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    "Yes, he did", "No, he didn't", both answers are interesting and I don't know enough about Star Wars to know which one to upvote :( – isanae Apr 06 '17 at 00:33
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    Split the difference. The Jedi were always intended to find the army, but that doesn't mean that Dooku expected them to find it so quickly. – Harry Johnston Apr 06 '17 at 02:05

3 Answers3

67

Yes, he did

The dialogue at the end of the film between Dooku (Tyranus) and Palpatine (Sidious) makes it explicit that their plans had been fulfilled:

DARTH TYRANUS: The Force is with us, my Master.

DARTH SIDIOUS: Welcome home, Lord Tyranus. You have done well.

DARTH TYRANUS: I bring you good news, my Lord. The war has begun.

DARTH SIDIOUS: Excellent. Everything is going as planned.

The whole plot was carefully orchestrated to lead up to that point. Consider:

  • Jango, who was working for Dooku, made a clumsy attempt on Padme's life.

Seriously, there was no sensible reason for the assassination attempt. All it did was draw the Jedi's attention.

  • He leaves behind evidence from Kamino.

When his accomplice was about to talk, he shot her with a Kaminoan sabredart. He could have used a blaster bolt - a common, near-universal weapon, which leaves no physical evidence. Instead he used a weapon apparently unique to Kamino, which left behind physical evidence the Jedi could examine and trace back to Kamino.

  • When Jango meets Obi-wan, he behaves in a carefully provocative manner.

He gives obviously evasive answers, he leaves his armour where Obi-wan can see it, despite having ample warning to hide it - indeed, if you watch the scene, you see that he comes out of the room the armour was in, leaving the door open behind him. He stands between Obi-wan and the armour, then he moves aside, making sure Obi-wan can see the armour, and draws attention to it by having Boba go over and close the door.

  • Jango heads straight to Geonosis.

Again, why? Of all the places he could go after a fight with a Jedi, he goes running straight to his real employer?

So what we have is Dooku's chief henchman first leading the Jedi to Kamino, to discover the clone army that has been bred specifically for the Republic's use, then leading the same Jedi to Geonosis. Either Jango is seriously incompetent, or it was deliberate.

  • Dooku stalls, 'interrogating' Obi-Wan instead of just killing him right away. He waits for Obi-Wan's rescue to arrive, and when they aren't what he'd hoped for - just Anakin and Padme - he sets up an overly-elaborate and time-consuming execution for them.

  • After the battle with the Jedi, Dooku continues to stall. He offers the Jedi a chance to surrender. He takes his time ordering their death. He does everything he can. FINALLY, Yoda turns up with the clones, all hell breaks loose, and Dooku quickly gives up all hope and tells the separatist leaders to evacuate.

  • After the battle, Tyranus returns to Coruscant to meet with his master. The dialogue goes thus:

It is very clear from the dialogue that what happened was EXACTLY what they had planned.

The whole film consisted of Sidious and Tyranus leading the Jedi around by the nose, carefully laying out the pieces and waiting for them to bite.

Werrf
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22

Dooku didn't anticipate the arrival of the Jedi, nor of the clone army.

The film's novelisations and screenplay (which includes both external and internal dialogue from Dooku) both clearly indicate that Dooku had absolutely no idea that the Jedi were coming. He was looking forward to a nice execution and was surprised by both the arrival of the Jedi strike force and then doubly surprised by the arrival of the Army of the Republic.


His surprise at the arrival of the Jedi

Mace Windu stood next to Jango, his lightsaber glowing a clear purple. The noise of the crowd must have covered the sound when he ignited it, Dooku thought. He hid his surprise with an elegant nod of welcome. “Master Windu, how pleasant of you to join us. You’re just in time for the moment of truth.” He gestured at the arena. “I think these two new boys of yours could use a little more training.”

Attack of the Clones: Official Junior Novelisation

and

[COUNT DOOKU masks his surprise elegantly as he surveys the arena and sees JEDI KNIGHTS standing at every entrance and exit.]

Attack of the Clones: Original Screenplay

His surprise at the arrival of the Army

“The Jedi have amassed a huge army!” Nute Gunray cried.

“Where did they get them?” Dooku asked, sounding perplexed. “That doesn’t seem possible. How did the Jedi come up with an army so quickly?”

“We must send all available droids into battle,” Nute Gunray demanded.

But Dooku, staring at the myriad of scenes, at the many battles and explosions all about the region, was shaking his head before the Neimoidian could begin to argue his reasoning. “There are too many,” the Count said, his voice full of resignation. “They will soon have us surrounded.”

Attack of the Clones: Official Novelisation

Obviously he knew of the existence of the clone army in general terms (having funded its creation) but the fact that he was on the planet all, the fact that he had to flee to prevent his capture and the fact that the entire Separatist leadership were nearly killed would strongly suggest that he had no idea that the Jedi would be able to access this army, nor that they could bring it to the planet in sufficient numbers to face down the droid armies of the Geonosians.

fez
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Valorum
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    But he ordered the clone army right? So why he didn't know that clones are coming? – The Witch King of Angmar Apr 05 '17 at 16:15
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    @anakindchosenone05192005 - That's actually a pretty good question. Why doesn't he recognise their distinctive armour, for example. I have no answer for that. – Valorum Apr 05 '17 at 16:15
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    Pretty sure that just shows him playing it up for his 'allies'. – Werrf Apr 05 '17 at 18:14
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    This dialog is not really "internal" - all we see is Dooku's apparent reaction, not his internal thoughts. When it says he was "sounding perplexed", it doesn't mean that he was necessarily really perplexed; it could just be an act. – Southpaw Hare Apr 05 '17 at 20:59
  • @SouthpawHare - I agree to some extent. It seems pretty clear to me that "staring at the myriad of scenes, at the many battles and explosions all about the region" indicates a certain amount of surprise. But you're right, it isn't completely explicit. He could simply be looking at them rather than emoting. – Valorum Apr 05 '17 at 21:00
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    @Valorum If he was really trying to be deceptive, this is precisely how he'd act deliberately to really sell it. – Southpaw Hare Apr 05 '17 at 21:01
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    The second quote seems like weak evidence. From the wording, we could just as easily argue that Dooku is feigning surprise to convince Gunray; there's no text that explicitly rules it out. The first quote is stronger, but is it possible he's surprised by something more specific? Maybe he's surprised by the fact that the Jedi attempted to launch their own rescue mission without back up? – jpmc26 Apr 05 '17 at 23:29
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    @jpmc26 - I already agreed with that sentiment in an earlier comment. It's not explicit, but in context it's hard to see how you'd square his actions (basically dumping the entire Separatist leadership in harm's way) if he had the slightest inkling that an army was on its way. If they hadn't gotten lucky, their ship would have been the one that got shot down and the entire war would have ended there and then. Sidious is happy because despite the monstrous cockup that just happened things are still going to plan – Valorum Apr 05 '17 at 23:53
  • This comment thread was getting a bit out of hand, so I've moved it to chat; please continue the discussion there. – Rand al'Thor Apr 05 '17 at 23:55
  • @TheWitchKingofAngmar I would bet dollars to donuts that Dooku ordered the clone army posing as Sifo-Dyas (to make the order legitimate) but he/Separatists/Sith were planning on picking them up. He was surprised that Obi-Wan figured this part of the plot out and the Republic/Jedi took delivery of the army instead. – Jesse C. Slicer Jul 12 '23 at 16:46
3

Tyranus, without question, knew of the Army's existence. He also did not appear at all surprised when they arrived.

Jango Fett: "I was recruited by a man called Tyranus on one of the moons of Bogden." That was before Sidious was even Lord of the Sith, he was still apprenticed to Plagueis. I’m fairly certain Darth Tyranus/Count Dooku was involved in Sidious’s plot to betray and murder Plagueis.

The Clone Army was commissioned by Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas. Sifo-Dyas was very likely manipulated through psychological and Force manipulation into this by Darth Plagueis and his then apprentice, Darth Sidious. I used to have a theory that Sifo-Dyas was an alter-ego of Plagueis or Sidious. The new information on Sifo-Dyas from Clone Wars kind of throws a kink in that, but I think there still might be something there. https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Sifo-Dyas/Legends

More evidence to support Sidious and Tyranus being behind Sifo-Dyas ordering the army, from the original script for Episode I: NOTE: THIS IS NOT THE FINAL SCRIPT IN THE MOVIE. I HAVE PUT CERTAIN KEY DIFFERENCES AND CUT LINES IN ITALICS.

OBI-WAN: Then you must know Master Sido-Dyas?

JANGO: Master who?

OBI-WAN: Sido-Dyas. Isn’t he the Jedi who hired you for this job?

JANGO: Never heard of him. I was recruited by a man called Darth Tyranus on one of the moons of Bogden.

OBI-WAN: No? I thought...

TAUN WE: Sido-Dyas told us to expect him. And he showed up just when your Jedi Master said he would. We have kept the Jedi’s involvement a secret until your arrival, just as your Master requested.

OBI-WAN: Curious...

https://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Star-Wars-Attack-of-the-Clones.html

fez
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Braden Dodge
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