The Complete Archives of the 501st Legion - Longest Serving Unit in the Galaxy 

“In recognition of our service and loyalty to the Emperor, the 501st were placed under the direct command of Lord Vader. Armed with deadly new weapons, blazing new ships, and shiny new armor, our presence let the galaxy know that the days of the Old Republic were well and truly over. We were establishing a new era, an era of order and peace.”

“Remember, you’re part of the 501st. The best of the best.” -CT 7567 a.k.a. Rex

"But not even they could shake off a Vader's Fisting." Not a line I expected to hear today.

You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. Except Fives and Rex. They’re cool.

The fact that Torrent Company almost wiped out multiple times just makes it even more amazing that Ridge survived almost the entire war

The 501st was one of the most elite fighting force within both the Republic and Empire for good reason. They were led by a hyper-competent leader, they were extremely courageous, they were able to achieve victory in impossible battles, and they were reliable on each other to secure the overall goal of every battle.

The 501st was named after the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, which served in the US Army in WW2. They were named by the founder of the costume club, who named it after his dad's military unit.

When the Clone Troopers were phased out with Stormtroopers, the 501st Legion was one of the few units that have 100% Fett DNA under Darth Vader's command.

“Good Soldiers Follow Orders.” 😢 The clones deserved better.

Lets remember that the 501st probably served under the absolute best Skywalker (Jaina Solo Fel) when she became empress. And continued to serve loyally under her and Anakins decendents for well over 100 years. Hell, you could even assume they might've been deployed during the battle on the forgotten world and helped to purge the majority of sith from the galaxy.

Not to mention Kix was awoken from cryo sleep during the time of the sequels, so the 501st was still kicking ass there too in a sense.

The 501st Legion are my personal favorite unit in the Star Wars Universe. I may not be a fan of the Empire, the 501st are still my favorite. Plus I thought it was awesome that they are basically the best of the best. The 501st also being the one trusted to complete Operation: Knightfall, knowing they would get the job done. Plus they were awesome during Star Wars the Clone Wars. But that's just my opinion.

They served even under the Fel Empire in the Legacy era.

I heard or read somewhere that Vader gathered all surviving clones into his unit when the empire started taking in natborn recruits. So for the entirety of the empire, all of Vader's fist was comprised of clone troopers.

A moment of silence for the tens of thousands of civilian contractors and the families of officers who died on the Death Star.

A very long & storied career for one of the most well-known units of troopers in the Star Wars universe.

I was a little disappointed that you didn't mention that Thrawn's 501st were trained by Daric Larone's squad - the Hand of Judgement

Idk if the journal said he participated in ALL the battles, but the thing is he could have started the journal in the last days of the war, with perhaps the legion being split. We almost never see him and skywalker with each other other than in knight fall. So I think it’s likely he DID participate in those battles and the other battles that occurred during that time also happened. And yes it was legends and all but it still could’ve reasonably happened

30 minutes of pure 501st lore. Good. Good!

From Skywalker'boys to Vader's Fist.

The moment I hear special treatment and kaminoans in the same sentence, I feel a sense of foreboding

I was under the impression that Rex wasn’t (initially) promoted to Senior Commander as Ahsoka, being a Jedi Commander, technically held that role, making her officially the 501st’s second-in-command and Rex the third-in-command

I didn't know that the 501st legion went on for so long in time thank you for the video Geetsly 10/10.

And on Kashyyyk, Vader took a small boy as his secret apprentice

The 502st Journal never claims to be all by the same guy. In the booklet thay came with the disc it even says it was multiple troopers.

Giant genocide ball? Now that’s a description I should use for the Death Star more often lmao

"Not even they could walk off a vaders fisting" Oh god that sentance killed me.

those evil rebels killed all those innocent clones and destroyed the empire's new giant genocide ball IT HARDLY GOT TO DO EVEN A LITTLE GENOCIDE

Watching this video made me imagine getting transferred or having to work with another legion and having jokes made about you because you're a "famous 501st trooper". Thinking about what's going on in the background of the movies and shows is a nice deep dive. When watching bad batch I wonder how many people were thinking that knightfall was going on whilst force 99 were on kamino

"not even the kaminoans could walk off a Vader's fisting" I don't know how to feel about this.

501st is like the 101st Airborne. And Delta Squad is their Seal Team Six. (With a little bit of the A-Team Thrown in) Bad Batch...I think of them as the TMNT Brothers.

The narrator of The Journal isn't the same guy throughout. They are all clones, and they all talk to each other. The Journal is a remembrance told by a clone from the points of view of ALL the clones who were at those battles, and then relayed as after the fact info of the mission you play.

very good video on 501 Now special quotes from unit "I used to believe that being a good soldier meant doing everything they told you. That's how they engineered us. But we're not droids. We're not programmed. You have to learn to make your own decisions." ―Rex] . Come on, Rex, admit it. You've thought about what your life could look like if you were to also leave the army. Choose the life you want." "What if I am choosing the life I want? What if I'm staying in the army because it's meaningful to me?" "And, how is it meaningful?" "Because I'm part of the most pivotal moment in the history of the Republic. If we fail, then our children, and their children, could be forced to live under an evil I can't well imagine." ―Cut Lawquane and Captain Rex talking in the second year of the Clone Wars. "You… came for me." "It should have been me who went in the first place." ―Captain Rex and Anakin Skywalker So if you're a captain, and I'm a Jedi, then technically I outrank you, right?" "In my book, experience outranks everything." ―Ahsoka Tano and Rex Rex, ol' boy, it's time to join the party." "With pleasure, sir! "Come on, grunts! We are leaving! "Rex? You… you came back for me." "Yes. Yes. I did." "Wh…What…happened? Where am I?" "It's okay, Echo. You're safe now. Just sit tight, trooper. You're goin' home." ―Echo and Rex "Rex? Are you okay?" "Yeah. Yeah, kid. I'm okay. I'm sorry for what happened earlier. I almost killed you." ―Rex apologizes to Ahsoka after nearly killing her AND NOW THE MOST FAV OF MINE "This Ship Is Going Down And Those Soldiers, My Brothers, Are Willing To Die And Take You And Me Along With Them

15:45-“What I remember about the rise of the Empire is... is how quiet it was. During the waning hours of the Clone Wars, the 501st Legion was discreetly transferred back to Coruscant. It was a silent trip. We all knew what was about to happen, what we were about to do. Did we have any doubts? Any private, traitorous thoughts? Perhaps, but no one said a word. Not on the flight to Coruscant, not when Order 66 came down, and not when we marched into the Jedi Temple. Not a word."

Technically the 501st lives on into the sequel era with one of their troops being cryogenicly frozen

I beleive the could make an entire televivision series dedicated to the 501st Legion and I think it cold be amazing, almost like a war drama, dark and gritty to show, almost like Band of Brothers but for the 501st Legion

Captain Rex: Company! Ten hut! *all stand attention and salute to one of the greatest SW RU-vid channels of all time*

1) I always had a theory that Anakin never promoted Rex because it would allow there to be a "Legion Commander" to organize the detachments and direct them, so Rex could be alongside Anakin and not be burdened with logistics and command and control 2) if they remained pure clones of Fett, the journal having the timeline but the narrators sounding identical, even into the Imperial times would fit your explanation of the irregularity

Oh, this is going to be a gem.

"No One Messes with the 501st!"

Notice too, that there was not a single battle the 501st took part in that happened on a desert world 🤔

Blessed be the 501st. Sucks to be the now lost and forgotten 212th, 41st, 327th, 21st, and so many more units. Seriously, whatever happened to them after the Clone Wars, both in Legends (especially) and the Alt-universe (ongoing lore, yes, but still)? Addendum: Love the implication that a contingency of the 501st were there on Endor, by the way. Legends lore (as shown on Wookieepedia) sure missed out putting such a group in that influential battle.

The different detachments theory makes a lot more sense in the end. After all, how are we to tell it's the same clone? They all have the same voice after all. Plus, it seems more meaningful & sentimental if the journal was written by several different clones.

If the nick name legion is just for elite units, then the 501st is a corps since in Star Wars tcw it is mentioned that the 501st had within its ranks three brigades, therefore making it a corps. Tcw is both canon in the EU and disney canon so yeah it’s a corps

You know the first battle of geonosis was a hellhole when a trooper says “this isn’t like the simulations”

Would love to see a canon version of this too

501st was the eye sore of the republic an example to every sector of the expectations a precedent set all the way up to the empire

The 501st Legion held the title of elite unit from the time it formed all the way into the Legacy Era. I actually viewed the 501st Journal as a form of Imperial Propaganda, serving as a form of recruiting for the post-Hoth 501st legion. (Note: The journal makes up the campaign of the 2005 BF2, but ends at Hoth, even though the 501st were present at later battles.) This is also due to the fact that some of their missions likely belonged to other units. (Mygetto, Felucia, Kashyyk and Utapau) This can also be backed up by the fact that BF2 contradicts Dark Forces. In Dark Forces, Kyle Katarn steals the Death Star plans from an Imperial research outpost, while, in BF2, a group of Rebels who escaped from the Death Star prisons stole the plans, transmitted them to the Polis Masa group, who then sent it to Princess Leia. Since Dark Forces had a more fluid storyline, I'm going to say that's what happened. I'm not saying that all missions are fictional, just that some of the missions feel like they belonged to other units, or that they're made up.

"Vader Fisting" Padme: Oh?

To be fair, journal of 501st could very well be different people, as there isn't much to imply it's just one clone. Every clone has the same voice afterall.

I’ve just come back to Star Wars after 2 years. Great to see all these channels I watched during our 2019 lockdown thriving today. Gonna head over to some other channels just to see what they’ve got.

If you're looking for longer video ideas, how about one on the complete history of The Clone Wars, or at least the Outer Rim Sieges?

The 501st of the GAR needed to use dirty tactics because they couldn't face the might of the Confederacy. Vader's Fist was able to use conventional warfare well enough to not need too. That is the difference

501ST JOURNAL. "In the waning months of the Clone Wars, the 501st faced missions critical to the agenda of Chancellor Palpatine. When we arrived at the bombed out ruins of Mygeeto, our Jedi commander believed we had been sent to take out a droid energy collector. What Ki-Adi-Mundi didn't know however was that our unit of the 501st was really after an experimental Mygeetan power source, that the Chancellor wanted for his superlaser. Keeping Mundi in the dark wasn't easy; the Jedi had become increasingly wary of the Chancellor's doings, and was on the lookout for the slightest hint of treachery. Just like the rest of them though, he never caught whiff of what was really going on, until it was far too late."

Driving to work, thinking about what I’m gonna watch before my shift starts, think “ I wanna watch Geetsly, need some of that Star Wars lore “ just sat my ass down and see a new video

This was a great backstory.

No one could handle a Vader's fisting lmaooo

501st - Vader's Fist 502nd - Vader's Middle Finger >;)

501st Journal has entered the chat

rex was the most badass clone trooper, not to mention the most important one in all of starwars history, he had served in countless battles, and was basically a god among the clones. his iconic dual blaster pistols style was forever etched into many starwars the clonewars fans.

One thing I’d like to know is why Cody doesn’t wear all the commander gear.

I wish we would have seen the clone rebellion. Would have made a cool episode of Bad Batch. But... "Officially, there never was a clone rebellion."

The attention to lore in the writing here is great

Video Idea: The Most Irredeemable Jedi in History

Fun fact Ridge was part of the original Torrent company and survived basically the whole war until order 66.

"Not even they could walk off a Vader's Fisting" I choked on my energy drink, that caught me so off guard

My favorite clone legion

Good seeing my boy Denal get some love in the thumbnail

for me i took BOTH campaigns of the OG battlefront games and turned them into a story from Naboo to Endor ive had a character go from battle to battle, war to war, faction to faction i gave him the orignal name of Unit 0 as droids in that game where named Unit # with 0 not being there Unit 0 to CT-7320 to ST-7320 to the "man" known as Zero to eventually become a bounty hunter, he REALY is old OOM Security Droid by the time the empire falls if Zero though where to survive to the legacy era and continue to replace parts and exchange droid models he would be the last remninant of 4 whole armys over a hundred years later

A Vader’s fisting lmafo🤣🤜🏻

The newest and the most mysterious question in Star Wars: Why Skywalker did not promote Captain Rex to Commander earlier until the near end of the Clones Wars?

I like your idea that Battlefront 2's missions are all being fought by different squads...and it's easy to write off because all the narrators would sound the same (Or it could be Rex relaying the stories told by his compatriots)...and every time you die, you take control of a different trooper anyway, so it makes sense...

So what made them so special during the CW except the high casualties? They often won but were decimated so often that it could barely grow into an elite unit. It had a few great names in it's ranks but what else?

Well one way the journal of the 501st could work is simply they’re clones they’d all have the same face and voice and rather than hearing from one clones perceptive we’re hearing multiple clones perceptive and it’s all being read by the same voice….since they’d all have the same voice

I wanna hear more videos about the imperial knight series or whatever it was called I remember buying and issue at like kmart and it came with a action figure of a imperial in red armor with a white lightsaber

I loved❤️ the video enjoyed it keep up good videos!!!!

I like that clip of stormtroopers fighting xenomorphs that's an interesting concept

"Outraged that the Rebels were so evil as to destroy their genocide ball" made me chuckle a bit.

Got to love how brigade for the republic are small divisions for us.

13:15 Isn't it? All the clones have the same voice, and the second mission is to take part in the battle over Coruscant, after which, as a result of serious losses in GRA, the legion may have been divided into smaller units to serve in different sectors, then perhaps it is not so impossible?

Amazing sw content 💯

Couldn't help noticing there was no mention of Disney's fanfic "canon" truly great content keep up the good work

My complements, this is excellent.

Hell yeah

I wonder if the 501 was actually able to hit their targets. What was their fire accuracy rate?

I used to adhere to the idea that Canon and Legends stuff could happen in the same timeline, but that’s become harder lately. Besides Star Wars Rebels and the Sequel Trilogy outright being impossible to place in Legends since they tell events far differently, there’s simply the fact that the Clone Wars tv show is also incompatible with Legends novels and comics set in the time period. So to me, the 501st is just a regular clone trooper unit with an outstanding record during the Clone Wars and one of Vader’s two fists, the other fist being the 1st Legion. They took their orders from Anakin/Vader, Ahsoka, Rex, Appo, Piett, and Veers, but not Palpatine. Their Legend’s counterpart is certainly quite interesting and some of it may still be compatible with Canon, but I’ll take the Canon version of the 501st over the Legends one.

Wouldn't it be more probable that the Journal of the 501st could be 100% accurate due to the fact they're clones? It may not necessarily be the same guy, but different clones on each Battlefront?

24:45 - "Even they couldn't walk off Vader's fisting."

Covering the history of the Empire of the Hand would be cool

Random question So in the clone wars when Plo Koon finds Sioho Dias's lightsaber what hapoenes to the lghtsaber?

I'm pretty sure 501st would be a Division because it's troop count is closer to a Division then a Brigade. Also in a few other countries they call Divisions Legions. Edit: not trying to be rude or anything just wanted to point it out since I know alot about military unit organisation and plan on becoming a Battalion Commander in the US army.

Long live the 501st.💙💙

Very Kool 👍

501st unorthodox methods are inspiring

The kind of quality lore we'll probably never see from Disney SW 😅

The Senate served his people the longest.

Nothing like the simulations got my like 😂 I love it

It's not explicitly mentioned that the 501st was present on Endor. The 501st journal ends after Hoth and various battles occurred after that. The next BF game that covers the Battle of Endor never mentions the 501st on the ground. It's possible they were either left on Hoth as an occupational force (highly unlikely) or was dispatched to Sullust as a distractionary force during the battle of Endor. Which means the unit may have survived the war mostly intact until divied up by the Imperial Remnants.

not so fun fact: a clone company is 144 total troops on Umbara, the 501st lost more than an entire company's worth of clones

Maybe there’s a q source that the journal is based on and it’s a compilation of different recounts.