How dependent is the clone army on its Jedi commanders?

Question

The true reason that the GAR is commanded by the Jedi is to serve Darth Sidious' scheme of spreading their numbers thin across the galaxy, grind them down in a war of attrition, and lure them into trusting their men so that they will fail to foresee their eventual betrayal, thus ensuring the success of Order 66.

Prior to that though, the public objective of the GAR is to win the Clone Wars for the Galactic Republic. As such, when it comes to formulating strategy and tactics as well as fighting the battles themselves, how reliant is the GAR on its Jedi commanders?

Answer 1

The function of Jedi within the GAR were primarily as Commanders and leaders. The Jedi have a long history acting as generals, commanders and leaders on the battlefield due to their intuition, quick and often unconventional thinking, and this was a role they once again undertook during the Clone Wars.

The GAR was however bred with its own class of Clone Trooper Commanders which fulfil such roles, and a number of non-clone commanders and fleet admirals were also present within the command hierarchy of the GAR. Additionally, Jedi were utilised as front-line units and often formed the vanguard of an attack, a role for which the GAR had numerous commando units to undertake if Jedi were not present.

It should also be noted that Jedi were only ever assigned to GAR stations and campaigns across the galaxy which were considered critical, as the relatively small number of Jedi limited their deployment prospects. Most GAT positions and garrisons could be easily managed by Clone Commanders.

In short, the Jedi were a valuable asset to the GAR and boosted their overall effectiveness, however the Jedi were not critical to the functionality of the GAR, as Sheeve Palpatine (The architect of the GARs creation and the Jedi's demise) had planned for the GAR to operate in the service of the Galactic Empire after the execution of Order 66.

Source: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Clone_trooper_commander

Answer 2

I believe your doubt may come from the Ep. IV scene where Obi-Wan can easily influence the Storm Troopers minds using the Force, and whether this could be used to command them in the battlefield. However, these Storm Troopers are not Clones (need a cite here), but regular people (probably abducted and brainwashed), so you cannot really say if you could do the same to the Clones.

Then, based only on the information in Ep. II and III, I would say that they are pretty much like any other military unit: they obey their commander's orders on the general strategy and respect the chain of command, but have some level of independence on the tactical field. Still, they are definitely brainwashed as well, but this will only serve to ensure obedience through normal commands, with no need for the Force.

A proof that they have this independence is that they have ranks among them, so there is a clear chain of command.

I suppose there is much more information on the extended universe beyond the films. Let us wait for the real experts to enlighten us.