501st Legion

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501st Legion
General information
Founder(s)	Supreme Chancellor Palpatine
Leader(s)	Captain CC-7567[1] Darth Vader[2] Senior Clone Commander CC-1119[3] Commander Bow[4] Chak Fel[5] (temporarily) General Oron Jaeger[6]
Notable members	CT-0000/1010[7] Daine Jir Choral[8] Cloud[8] Dropkick[8] Rex[9] Su-mil[8] Shadow[8] Jorm Whistler Mackenni[8] Watchman[8] Commander Vill[10]
Headquarters	Coruscant,[2] Death Star,[2] Nirauan,[5] Bastion[6]
Historical information
Founding	Around 21 BBY
Other information
Era(s)	Rise of the Empire era[2] Rebellion era[2] New Republic era[5] Legacy era[6]
Affiliation	Galactic Republic[2] Galactic Empire[2] Empire of the Hand[5] Fel Empire Darth Krayt's Sith Empire Empire-in-exile[6]

[Source]

The 501st Legion, also known as "Vader's Fist" and the Five Hundred and First^[11] during the Galactic Civil War, was a legion of elite clone troopers commissioned by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine during the Clone Wars.

The 501st later became Darth Vader's personal stormtrooper unit after he led them during Operation: Knightfall. After fighting in some of the greatest battles of the post-Ruusan Reformation era, the 501st became one of the most well-known and most feared legions.

During the Galactic Civil War, the 501st was the last remnant of the Grand Army of the Republic fully composed of clones of Jango Fett, as opposed to the ever-growing and more diverse Stormtrooper Corps where the Fett clones became a minority with the inclusion of a pool of clones from different templates and birth-born recruits. Eventually, with the relaxing of Imperial NhM policies, more diverse recruits would be added to the 501st, including even non-Humans.

Members of the 501st constructed a journal of their thoughts during some of the most well-known battles in which they fought.

[edit] History

[edit] Clone Wars

501st troopers on Mygeeto.

Some troopers of the not-yet-formed 501st fought in the Battle of Geonosis. About a year later, a group of clone troopers and Kaminoan technicians were transferred from Kamino to Coruscant. There, an elite clone unit was commissioned by Palpatine to help end the Clone Wars sooner. These clones were given elite training by some of the clone trooper commanders to make the 501st the most feared legion in the galaxy.^[12]

In the final days of the war, the 501st was always on the move, heading from battlefield to battlefield, often split up into special mission groups to supplement other clone missions.^[2]

Operating outside of the usual command structure, detachments of the 501st served at many famous campaigns. The troopers fought in the Battle of Felucia and the Battle of Mygeeto, just to name a few, serving under the command of many Jedi. At Mygeeto, the 501st was involved in Project Hammertong, a top-secret mission to acquire a power crystal for the Chancellor's superlaser. They succeeded, and crucial to the mission, did not let their commander, Ki-Adi-Mundi, become aware of what was happening.^[2]

The 501st also fought in the Battle of Coruscant. Members of the 501st, many flying starfighters in battle for the first time, destroyed many droid starfighters and capital ships. Most importantly, they created a diversion, clearing a path for Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi to infiltrate the Invisible Hand and rescue Chancellor Palpatine.^[2]

After that battle, some members of the 501st were dispatched to Kashyyyk. When they jumped out of hyperspace, they found the planet blockaded by the Separatists. The 501st was forced to punch a hole in the Confederacy's fleet, which they accomplished along with stealing a set of attack plans for the upcoming battle. They then landed on the planet's surface, where they fought alongside the 41st Elite Legion and Yoda.^[2]

They served valiantly in that battle, after which a detachment of the 501st was transferred to Utapau. They fought with Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi, and helped the 212th Attack Battalion defeat the droid forces there by taking down various CIS gun batteries and destroying an energy column.^[2]

[edit] Great Jedi Purge

The 501st Legion march up the steps of the Jedi Temple to eliminate the Jedi.

When the battle was winding down, a group of clones were taken and discreetly transferred to Coruscant. This was in preparation for Order 66. On Coruscant, they met Anakin Skywalker, now Darth Vader, and were given their orders: destroy the Jedi. Though they appreciated the Jedi, their loyalty lay first with the Supreme Chancellor.^[2]

Vader led them into the Temple, ready for battle. Though some held quiet doubts about what they knew was soon to happen,^[2] they did not voice them, and with cold-blooded efficiency, the troopers of the 501st killed almost every Jedi in the Temple; due to their training, it was very likely they could have killed everyone in the Temple without Vader's help.^[3] Meanwhile, Palpatine was transmitting Order 66 around the Galaxy to different clone commanders. Nearly all obeyed their orders without question. Hundreds of Jedi were killed during Order 66, sending pangs of anguish and shock across the Galaxy. Even Masters Ki-Adi-Mundi, Stass Allie, and Plo Koon were killed, though not by the 501st.^[13] However, some such as Yoda,^[14] Obi-Wan Kenobi,^[15] Shaak Ti,^[16] and Quinlan Vos^[17] survived and went into hiding.

Members of the 501st Legion wipe out Jedi in the Jedi Temple.

The 501st Legion then went on to help Darth Vader take down the Jedi Conclave on Kessel. Vader fought all eight Jedi there, and though he was wounded, the 501st, led by Appo, aided him and killed several Jedi. When it was over, the eight Jedi lay dead. Vader's reputation, along with that of the 501st, grew tremendously with this victory.^[18]

[edit] Imperial rule

After the rise of the Empire, the members of the legion took the designation "stormtrooper," as well as new armor and ships.^[2]

501st troops on New Plympto.

Though the Clone Wars were over, pockets of Separatist resistance remained. On the planet New Plympto, Regimental Commander Vill lead a detachment of the 501st against Nosaurian forces still loyal to the Confederacy. The Nosaurians held out for quite some time, but Vill and his men completely annihilated the Nosaurian rebels at the Battle of Half-Axe Pass.^[10]

The 501st then followed Vader to Murkhana where they confronted a group of clones who had refused to execute Order 66. Vader killed most of them and had the rest taken into custody, and then led his men to Kashyyyk once more, where they confronted a group of Jedi who had survived Order 66. Led by Commander Appo, they killed and enslaved tens of thousands of Wookiees in an effort to gain workers for the Emperor's new secret project, the Death Star. Some of the Jedi, including Roan Shryne, were killed.^[3] However, before dying, Shryne managed to kill Appo, after which Commander Bow assumed command.^[4]

One crucial mission took place early in the Empire's reign. The Queen of Naboo, Apailana, had been a thorn in Palpatine's side ever since the rise of the Empire. She was suspected of hiding Jedi fugitives. After several failed negotiation attempts, the 501st was sent to Naboo to deal with her. She resisted, and attempted to flee, guarded by several Jedi, but was killed along with her Jedi guardians. This mission was the first time the 501st would "adjust" a planet's government, but not the last.^[2]

Later, the 501st was sent to Mustafar to stop a droid rebellion led by the rogue Geonosian Gizor Dellso. Dellso had found a hidden droid factory and had started it up, producing an army of battle droids. The 501st first had to fight his fleet, led by a Providence-class carrier/destroyer, and steal a Belbullab-22 starfighter. They then landed on the planet. There, they destroyed numerous droids as well as the prototype battle droid schematics before confronting Dellso and his bodyguards. The troopers killed Dellso as well as his guards, then bombarded the planet from space.^[2]

In approximately 10 BBY,^[19] the 501st was sent to Kamino due to suspicions of a rebellion on the planet. True to Vader's word, the Kaminoans were waiting with specially trained ARC troopers. The 501st was led by Boba Fett, due to his knowledge of the inner workings of Tipoca City and the cloning centers. Their mission was to kill as many rogue clones as possible, and destroy the cloning facilities. They destroyed two gunships, and with the help of the young bounty hunter, destroyed the cloning mechanisms. The rebellion on Kamino had been put down. It was after this incident that Palpatine decided to use different templates for the clone army, as an army of genetically similar soldiers was too dangerous.^[2]

After these incidents, the 501st gained the nickname "Vader's Fist," as they were his personal stormtrooper squadron, and executed many top-priority missions, doing the "dirty work."^[2]

With the annihilation of the last remnant of the Separatists and the Empire's increasing hold over the galaxy remaining largely unopposed, the men of the 501st finally had some time to relax, instead of constantly fighting enemies all over the galaxy.^[2]

[edit] Galactic Civil War

Years later, the 501st would have their first encounter with the Rebel Alliance. A group of prisoners on the Death Star rebelled, led by a captured Jedi, and stole a set of schematics for the superweapon. The 501st managed to put down the brief insurrection, and captured a set of the plans, as well as kill the Jedi.^[2]

501st stormtroopers swarming onto Tantive IV.

The 501st soon learned that the plans they thought they had recovered was a decoy. They followed Vader around the galaxy, trying desperately to get back the lost plans. They headed to Polis Massa, where once again they thought they had the plans. Much to Vader's displeasure, it was once again a decoy from the Alliance. They then learned that Princess Leia Organa had the plans. With that, aboard the Devastator, they followed the Tantive IV. Above Tatooine, they stormed the ship, and stunned Leia, but failed to get the plans as an escape pod containing the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO had been jettisoned, and the plans were inside R2-D2.^[15] Though some troopers were tired of this chase, they were after all, merely clones trained to obey orders without question, even though they were not so foolish as to voice their complaints. After the attack on the Tantive IV, the 501st were astonished that a pampered princess could withstand Darth Vader's interrogation methods, especially since many of them had witnessed his brutal methods of persuasion.

At least one stormtrooper did not like the Imperial philosophy, and planned to defect following the invasion of the Tantive IV. However, he was shot and killed by Organa during the battle.^[20]

They headed back to the Death Star, and were one of the many squads aboard when it was destroyed. Over half the men died in the explosion, and another third caught in the explosion. In response, the remnants of the 501st joined the blockade of Yavin 4 and stormed the Rebel base on the moon's surface. They fought Rebel ships, destroying many cruisers and ships. Then, they landed on the surface, where they battled the Rebels. They managed to kill three Bothans who were among the Alliance leadership. Still, the 501st was furious. They had treated the Rebellion like it was merely a disobedient child, and had paid for it with the lives of millions. The men were determined to end this threat once and for all.^[2] The 501st would later be transferred to Vader's Death Squadron.^[2]

The 501st fighting Rebels on Hoth.

In 1 ABY, the unit was sent to Makrin City along with Vader on a mission to capture Leia Organa and arrest Governor Barshnis Choard for high treason. Though Leia escaped with the help of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca, and five rogue stormtroopers, they later followed Vader to the governor's palace, where he was placed in Imperial custody.^[21]

In 3 ABY they took part in the Battle of Hoth along with Blizzard Force. The 501st then landed on the surface and deactivated the shield generator. After nearly capturing the Millennium Falcon, they placed a homing beacon under the last Rebel transport, and several Star Destroyers bombarded laser fire down on it, killing many Rebels, and destroying the transport. The 501st believed they had finally ended the Rebel Alliance threat, calling this battle their finest hour.^[2]

Once again, they were wrong. At the climactic Battle of Endor in 4 ABY, the 501st was stunned when the Rebels, allied with the Ewoks, destroyed the shield surrounding the second Death Star. Above, the Alliance Fleet, led by Admiral Ackbar, destroyed hundreds of fighters. With the destruction of the shield, Lando Calrissian was free to fly into the Death Star's reactor and destroy the battlestation, killing Palpatine. The 501st was in shambles, and was essentially destroyed.^[22]

[edit] Post-Galactic Civil War

Members of the 501st as of 130 ABY.

Even after the fall of the Empire, the squabbling of local warlords caused the 501st Legion to be dissolved and its soldiers assigned to other units. Grand Admiral Thrawn, upon assuming command of the Imperial military, resurrected the name 501st Legion, knowing the important symbolism of the name. Thrawn assigned the unit to protect the Empire of the Hand in the Unknown Regions.^[5]

Outsiders who encountered them, such as Mara Jade Skywalker, assumed that Admiral Voss Parck had revived the designation and built up a new 501st from scratch, but no direct evidence is known to substantiate this, although there were some indications that the 501st may have been reorganized as a significantly smaller formation than previously. Unusually for an Imperial legion, this generation of the 501st now incorporated non-Humans into its ranks, such as the Eickarie, Su-mil.^[5]

A company was now just forty troopers strong, and apparently designated by one of the thirty-four letters of Aurebesh. This suggests that the total strength of the legion, which had never previously been much less than 10,000, may now have been as low as 1,360 men. Also, by this time, most of the original clones were long past fighting age, and the 501st was no longer completely composed of Jango Fett clones. Thus, the last "pure" fighting force to be composed completely of the Fett clones was long gone. With the stormtrooper ranks depleting faster and faster following the Empire's defeat at Endor, the Imperial Army needed more troopers fast—even if these new stormtroopers were not exactly of the same caliber as the pre-Endor era troopers, much less up-to-par with the Jango Fett stock.^[5][8]

The 501st kneeling in the presence of Emperor Roan Fel in 137 ABY.

As reformed, the most basic unit in the 501st was a squad of four troopers, capable of acting as a fire team within a larger force, but also able to serve as a self-supporting commando team on special missions. For instance, in 22 ABY, Unit Aurek-Seven from Aurek Company accompanied Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker on a mission to the remains of Outbound Flight, under the temporary command of Chak Fel, Baron Soontir Fel's son.^[5]

The inclusion of non-Humans into the 501st intensified over the years, thus specialized armor was created for certain species. Reforms made in the Empire finally allowed females to be recruited into the legion. This new 501st Legion was still in operation as of 130 ABY, serving Emperor Roan Fel and the Fel Empire, acting as a praetorian guard. In 137 ABY, the 501st left the service of Darth Krayt when Emperor Fel called on them to retake the Empire from the Sith usurper during the Fall of Bastion. Their commander at the time was General Oron Jaeger.^[6]

[edit] Known members

Appo and the 501st Legion taking orders from Darth Vader.

• Bow^[4]
• CC-1119 (Appo)^[3]
• Choral^[8]
• Cloud^[8]
• CT-0000/1010 (Fox)^[7]
• Daine Jir^[15]
• Dropkick^[8]
• DV-523^[15]
• DV-692^[15]
• Oron Jaeger^[6]
• Jorm Whistler Mackenni (Twister)^[8]
• NT-311^[23]
• Rex^[9]
• Shadow^[8]
• Su-mil (Grappler)^[8]
• Vill^[10]
• Watchman^[8]

[edit] Battles fought

[edit] Galactic Republic

• Battle of Geonosis (prior to formation of unit)^[2]
• Battle of Mygeeto^[2]
• Battle of Coruscant^[2]
• Battle of Felucia^[2]
• Battle of Kashyyyk^[2]
• Battle of Utapau^[2]
• Operation: Knightfall^[2]

[edit] Galactic Empire

Troopers from Unit Aurek-Seven in 22 ABY.

• Conclave on Kessel^[18]
• Battle of New Plympto^[10]
• Battle of Kashyyyk^[2]
• Battle of Naboo^[2]
• Battle of Mustafar^[2]
• Battle of Kamino^[2]
• Death Star Uprising^[2]
• Battle of Polis Massa^[2]
• First Battle of Tatooine^[15]
• Battle of Yavin^[2]
• Fourth Battle of Yavin IV^[2]
• Fifth Battle of Yavin IV^[24]
• Battle of Hoth^[2]
• Battle of Endor^[2][25]

[edit] Empire of the Hand

• Battle of Kariek^[8]
• Battle of the Redoubt^[5]

[edit] Fel Insurgency

• Fall of Bastion^[6]

[edit] Behind the scenes

The 501st was first canonized in Survivor's Quest by Timothy Zahn. This was a reference to the fan organization known as the 501st Legion charity group. Formed by Albin Johnson and Tom Crews in 1997, it was originally composed of members who wore stormtrooper costumes. The group has since expanded to include all trooper variations, as well as Sith Lords, bounty hunters, and other villains from the series, and as of May 1, 2007, boasted over 3,500 members in 40 countries.

The 501st Legion helps coordinate volunteers at Celebration, the official Star Wars convention. The group also has the nickname "Vader's Fist," which was subsequently also made the in-universe designation for the legion. The honorary leader is David Prowse, the actor who physically portrayed Darth Vader in the original trilogy.

In a further tribute to the real-life organization, the legion of blue clone troopers led by Darth Vader into the Jedi Temple in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith was designated the 501st. Although this name was not mentioned in the film itself, much of the support material and merchandising for the film make this reference, including the popular video game Star Wars: Battlefront II, from which much of this article is based.

The Databank's page for CC-7567 mentions the 501st as a Battalion, so this may indicate that the legion began as a smaller command structure.^[1]

[edit] Appearances

• Star Wars: Battlefront
• Star Wars: Battlefront II
• Star Wars: The Clone Wars
• Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (Retcon)
• LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game (Non-canonical appearance)
• Star Wars Republic: The Hidden Enemy
• Star Wars: Purge
• Star Wars Dark Times 1: The Path to Nowhere, Part 1
• Star Wars Dark Times 2: The Path to Nowhere, Part 2
• Star Wars Dark Times 3: The Path to Nowhere, Part 3
• Star Wars Dark Times 4: The Path to Nowhere, Part 4
• Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader
• Star Wars Dark Times 7: Parallels, Part 2 (Appears in flashback(s))
• Evasive Action: Recruitment
• A Two-Edged Sword
• Echoes of the Jedi (Mentioned only)
• Death Star
• Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (First appearance) (Retcon)
• Trooper (Non-canonical appearance) (Retcon)
• Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds (Retcon)
• LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (Non-canonical appearance)
• Allegiance
• Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (Retcon)
• Entrenched
• Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron
• Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (Retcon)
• Fool's Bargain
• Survivor's Quest (First identified as the 501st Legion)
• Revelation (Mentioned only)
• Star Wars Legacy 3: Broken, Part 3

[edit] Sources

•  501st Legion in the Databank
• The New Essential Chronology
• The New Essential Guide to Alien Species
• Revenge of the Sith: The Visual Dictionary
• Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary
• Star Wars Chronicles: The Prequels
• Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide
• Star Wars: Complete Locations
• Star Wars: Legacy 0
•  "Guide to the Grand Army of the Republic" - Star Wars Insider 84
•  "Order 66: Destroy All Jedi" - Star Wars Insider 87
•  "Strangers Among Us: The Aliens Who Built the Galactic Empire" - Star Wars Insider 96

[edit] Notes and references

[edit] See also

• 501st Legion (organization)
• Journal of the 501st