Mighty 501st Legion

"We have established a new era, an era of peace and order".

— Unknown trooper from the 501st Legion

I decided to write about the main hero of the single-player campaign—the 501st Clone Legion, also known as "Vader's Fist".

501st Legion—an elite clone legion of the Republic (later becoming Imperial stormtroopers), during the Clone Wars executed direct orders from Chancellor Palpatine (aka Darth Sidious). During the uprising (Episodes IV-VI) it was the only unit composed entirely of clones of Jango Fett, while the others were filled with clones from different donors and regular recruits.

Clone Wars

Approximately a year after the Battle of Geonosis, a group of clone soldiers was transported from Kamino to Coruscant along with several specialists. On Coruscant, after training and instruction from clone commanders, they were formed into strike teams of elite clones (Coruscant Security Forces) and the 501st Legion. Soon after the Battle of Jabim, the 501st was stationed on Coruscant.

In the closing days of the war, the 501st Legion was in constant motion: moving from one battlefield to another, supporting other clone combat groups, and undertaking various special missions.

Operating outside the main army structure, special detachments of the 501st Legion performed tasks on Mijeto, Felucia, Utapau, and Kashyyyk, and fought in the defense of Coruscant. There were even several individual soldiers reassigned to other battalions, which they presumably joined. However, the whereabouts of all 501st Legion soldiers were tracked to return them to Coruscant if necessary.

Despite being beholden to the Jedi they served under and the citizens they were sworn to protect, their ultimate loyalty was to the Republic and, in this case, the Supreme Chancellor, as he held extraordinary powers. That is why they participated in the execution of Order 66.

At the end of the Clone Wars, the 501st Legion, led by Darth Sidious's new apprentice, Darth Vader—formerly Anakin Skywalker—arrived at the Jedi Temple to carry out Order 66, marking the beginning of the Great Jedi Purge. With cold precision, the soldiers of the 501st Legion exterminated numerous Jedi present in the Temple; it is highly likely that due to their training, they could have killed everyone in the Temple without Vader's assistance. The diary of the 501st Legion suggests that the soldiers storming the Temple under Vader's command harbored great doubts about the righteousness of their actions, although at the time none of them had the courage or willpower to openly express their hesitation; later on, they did not speak of their doubts either.

Galactic Empire

After the Empire was established, the soldiers of the 501st Legion ceased to be called clone soldiers and adopted the title "stormtroopers". Because they had previously operated under Vader's command, the legion became known as "Vader's Fist" and was tasked with patrolling the galaxy, enforcing imperial laws, and eliminating dissenters.

During one of the early missions of the Galactic Civil War, the 501st was sent to Mustafar to oust the fugitive leader of the Geonosians, Geonosian Dalson, from his hideout and destroy the droid armies he was creating. Another mission took them to Naboo to eliminate Queen Apailana, who had sheltered the fugitive Jedi. This mission was the first but certainly not the last during which the 501st Legion brought "imperial justice" to the planet. Later, a special unit was sent to Kamino to destroy a batch of clone soldiers that a group of defiant Kaminoans were trying to send against the Empire. The stormtroopers enlisted the support of Boba Fett, because he knew the internal layout of Tipoca City and the cloning facilities. Soon, the mere mention of the "strike 501st" instilled terror in the hearts of those resisting the Empire, especially those attempting to overthrow the Emperor. As a result of the uprising on Kamino, the imperial army gradually became more and more diverse, as the Empire began to trust clones of Jango Fett less and less, along with other clones from various donors and regular recruits squeezing out clones of Jango Fett, which had initially formed the backbone of the army. By the time of the Empire's fall, the 501st Legion was the only strike unit fully staffed with clones of Jango Fett, as they remained loyal to the Empire.

After quelling a brief prisoner uprising on the first "Death Star", the 501st undertook several missions concerning the discovery of the stolen plans for this battle station, culminating in the capture of Princess Leia Organa aboard the "Tantive IV". The Legion was among the stormtrooper troops stationed on the "Death Star", although many soldiers were sent to other locations to assist in the search for the lost plans. During the station's destruction, the 501st lost about two-thirds of its original complement. In the retaliatory measures, the remnants of the 501st Legion were joined by forces blocking Yavin IV, and stormed the rebel base on the planet's surface. Later, this unit was transferred to Death Squadron under the personal command of Vader, participating alongside the "Buran" squad in the Battle of Hoth, which was considered their finest hour.

The 501st Legion survived even after the fall of the Empire, although it ceased to be a unit of "pure" stormtroopers, clones of Fett, whose necessity remained. Although Darth Vader was regarded as the brightest symbol of betrayal, having slain the Emperor, the 501st Legion was too powerful a fighting unit and symbol to simply flee, as many Imperial officers and others associated with the former Sith Lord had done. It is unknown whether the 501st Legion retained the title "Vader's Fist" after his betrayal, but it is unlikely they were allowed to use this title during official actions.

In 16 ABY, the legion fought for the Empire of the Hand, which was an imperial force in the Unknown Regions, still loyal to the late Grand Admiral Thrawn.

Outsiders who dealt with the legion, such as Mara Jade-Skywalker, believed that Admiral Vos Park restored this name and formed a new legion from heterogeneous parts. But this belief cannot be substantiated as there is no direct evidence. However, there are some indications that the 501st Legion was reorganized and existed at this time but was significantly smaller in size than originally. At this stage of its activity, the 501st Legion admitted aliens into its ranks, which was unusual for the imperial armed forces.

This combat unit now consisted of only forty units, and was presumably named after one of the thirty-four letters of Aurebesh. This suggests that the total number of the legion, which had never had fewer than 10,000 soldiers before, was now less than 1,360. By this time, most of the originally bred clones had long since aged out of active service, and the 501st was no longer fully staffed with clones of Jango Fett. Thus, the last "pure" strike force consisting entirely of Fett clones had long since ceased to exist. After the defeat of the Empire at Endor, the ranks of stormtroopers dwindled rapidly, and the imperial army required new soldiers—even if these stormtroopers were no longer the same as before, prior to Endor, and were far inferior to the batch of clones of Jango Fett.

After reorganization, the main combat units of the 501st Legion became teams of four soldiers, capable of operating as a strike group within a larger unit, as well as a separate special group during special missions. For example, in 22 ABY, the team "Aurek-7" from the "Aurek" squad under the temporary command of Chuck Fel, son of Baron Sunter Fel, accompanied Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade-Skywalker on a mission related to what remained of the "Long-Range Project".

The number of aliens in the 501st Legion continued to increase, leading to the creation of specialized armor for each race. The reforms conducted by the Empire ultimately allowed women to join the legion as well. This new 501st Legion was still in service in 130 ABY, serving Emperor Ron Fel and the Restored Empire. In 137 ABY, the 501st Legion refused to serve Darth Krayt when Emperor Fel called upon it to wrest the Empire from the hands of the usurping Sith. At that time, it was commanded by General Oron Jeager. Fel, overthrown by Darth Krayt, flew to Bastion to gain the support of loyal imperials. A certain officer attempted to assassinate Fel, but the 501st Legion stopped him.

The further history of the greatest military unit throughout the entire history of the Star Wars universe (so far) is unknown…

It is also worth mentioning that the name 501st Legion was derived from a real fan organization

Most of the text is sourced from Wookieepedia