1st Legion

1st Legion

The1st Legion, orFirst Legion, was an elitestormtrooperlegion in themilitary forces of theGalactic Empire. It was the legion that served under the command of theSith LordDarth Vader and was known as such acrossthe galaxy due to their affiliation withGalactic EmperorSheev Palpatine'sright hand. Itsmembers were recruited from the ranks of the equally renowned501st Legion, another stormtrooper legion that directly served under Vader's command. Those in the 1st Legion who failed to meet Vader's expectations were either transferred back to the 501st orsummarily executed for failure.Kimmund, anofficer of the First Legion, was the fourthcommander inhis particular unit, his predecessors having been either demoted or put todeath by theDark Lord of the Sith.

Prior to theGalactic Civil War, the First Legion deployed to theplanetBatuu alongside theforces ofGrand AdmiralThrawn. Their joint mission brought them into conflict with theGrysks, a warlikepeople native to theUnknown Regions. The First Legion fought the Grysks on several occasions during theirtime with Thrawn, the first of which was at Batuu where Kimmund'stroopersinfiltrated aGrysk long-range heavy freighter and captured severalGrysk warriors. However, theprisoners that they brought aboard theChimaera—anImperial I-class Star Destroyer and Thrawn'sflagship—attempted to steal the First Legion'stransport, theDarkhawk, resulting in abattle that Kimmund survived with the help of Thrawn's personalbodyguard, theNoghriassassinRukh.

Following the failedprisonbreak, the First Legion fought the Grysks in theBattle of Mokivj withDarth Vader leading the ground assault in person. During the battle, Kimmund'stroops rescued most of theForce-sensitiveChissgirls that had been abducted by the Grysks. Thrawn and Vader sought to retrieve all of the captives; therefore, they tracked the Grysks that escaped fromMokivj viahyperspace, leading to aanother confrontation in which the First Legion succeeded in rescuing the remaining Chisschildren. The First Legion supported the 501st Legion'sBlizzard Force during theBattle of Hoth, during which 1st and 501st Legioncold weather assault stormtroopers broke into Echo Base under Vader's leadership.

Description[]

Themen and women of the FirstLegion wereDarth Vader's personalstormtroopers during thereign of theGalactic Empire. Renowned for their affiliation with theright hand ofEmperorPalpatine, the legion'stroopers were proud of their status in theStormtrooper Corps. WhenRukh dismissed the First Legion as "unknowns,"CommanderKimmund rebutted theNoghriassassin's statement, citing his legion's reputation as proof of their fame. Assoldiers they were held in high esteem byGrand AdmiralThrawn, who considered their actions against theGrysks exemplary.^[1]

The First Legion recruited its members from the ranks of the501st Legion, another renownedImperial Military unit^[1] that also directly served under Vader,^[4] ableit with a history that stretched back to before theformation of the Empire^[5] as aclone trooper legion underJedi General Anakin Skywalker during theClone Wars.^[6] First Legionofficers also came from within the 501st, yet those who failed to meet Vader's expectations, such as Commander Kimmund's predecessors, were either demoted and transferred back to the 501st orexecuted by theDark Lord of the Sith. Due to Vader's command style, Kimmund concluded that his only hope for survival was to keep thetroops in line and compliant with orders.^[1]

Beyond Vader and Kimmund, other officers in the 1st Legion includedSergeantsAksind,Drav, andViq.^[1] As a legion in theImperial Army, the 1st Legion could be split into smaller units. Kimmund commandedhis own unit of the 1st Legion, which included asquad.^[7] The 1st Legion also made use of a modified freighterDarkhawk, while Vader used apersonal Lambda shuttle.^[1] During theBattle of Hoth, 1st Legion stormtroopers served ascold weather assault stormtroopers.^[2]

History[]

Vader's legion[]

The 1st Legion^[3] was levied by theSith LordDarth Vader before theoutbreak of theGalactic Civil War between the Empire and theAlliance to Restore the Republic. Following theBattle of Atollon, the Emperor sensed adisturbance inthe Force originating on theplanetBatuu inthe galaxy'sOuter Rim Territories. Vader and GrandAdmiral Thrawn were both sent to investigate; Commander Kimmund accompanied Vader along with acontingent of the First Legion. They traveled to Batuu via Thrawn'sflagship, theImperial I-class Star DestroyerChimaera. TheStar Destroyer was complemented by theSith's privateLambda-class T-4a shuttle as well as the First Legion'stransport, theDarkhawk—a repurposedClone WarseraSeparatiststarship.^[1]

Mission to Batuu[]

During the voyage to Batuu, there was a degree of tension between Vader's legion and the crew of theChimaera, and particularly between Kimmund's unit and Thrawn'sbodyguard Rukh. The Noghri warrior made a habit out of boarding the First Legion's vessel unbidden; therefore, trooperSampa rigged the ship's hatches with intrusion alarms to keep Rukh out. Despite their precautions, Rukh still managed to infiltrate theDarkhawk, thistime making it as far as the electronics shop. Using trooperJid'shelmet to trigger the alarm, he alerted the First Legion and was promptly escorted off of the ship bySergeantDrav and trooperMorrtic. Annoyed by Rukh's actions, Kimmund feared that the next security breach would result in either the Noghri'sdeath or his own at the hands of the SithLord.^[1]

Upon reaching Batuu, Vader and Thrawn traveled to the surface while their subordinates remained onboard theChimaera. Their arrival was followed soon after by a group of Gryskfreighters, thelargest of which wasattacked by Kimmund's forces after Thrawn refused to reveal theChimaera's location to the enemy. The Grysks, a warlikesentientspecies that came from theUnknown Regions, threatened the interests of both theChiss Ascendancy and the Galactic Empire according to Thrawn. While Vader and Thrawn dealt with the Grysks'Darshimercenaries, the First Legion deployed to the freighter via theDarkhawk. After the Grysk vessel'shyperdrive was disabled by asquadron ofTIE/d "Defender" Multi-Role Starfighters led byVult Skerris, the First Legion boarded the freighter and attempted to secure it along with its holdings for the Empire. Kimmund personally oversaw their efforts to capture the cargo hold, in accordance with Vader's instructions to keep the cargo intact, but the Grysks used explosives to destroy their cargo along with themselves.^[1]

Defense of theDarkhawk[]

Despite failing to secure the cargo hold, Kimmund's men were able tostun other Grysks before they could complete theirsuicide mission. The First Legion then transferred theprisoners to theChimaera by order of Thrawn, who wanted to interrogate the Grysks. Thrawn had them confined to personal quarters typically reserved forTIE fighter pilots; in response, Kimmund and SergeantAksind decided to remain aboard theDarkhawk along with itspilotTephan, having felt uncomfortable leaving their ship unguarded with the prisoners nearby. When the Grysk escaped from their makeshiftprison, they attempted to escape from theChimaera by stealing the First Legion's transport. Abrief but intense skirmish ensued between the Grysks and Kimmund's companions, resulting in Aksind's death despite Rukh's timely assistance. Most of thealiens were killed in the fighting, although Kimmund and Rukh were able to recapture four of them.^[1]

Vader was far from pleased; he and Thrawn allowed the Grysks to escape from theirprison so that they could steal one of the ships, all of which had been outfitted withhoming beacons that would have led theChimaera to the enemy's secret headquarters. Kimmund, who had not been informed of his superiors' intentions, inadvertently ruined the plan by preventing the aliens' escape. If the Grand Admiral had not spoken in the Commander's defense, Kimmund believed he might have become the second officer of his unit to be put to death for failure. As a result of the Grysks' decision to steal a Clone Wars era vessel like theDarkhawk, Thrawn concluded that their base was an oldSeparatist droid factory located on the planetMokivj.^[1]

Battle of Mokivj[]

Upon theChimaera's arrival at Mokivj, Thrawn requested use of Vader's stormtroopers, intending to lead theground assault in person. However, the Dark Lord rejected Thrawn's plan and insisted that he remain with thecommand ship while Vader himself led the First Legion to the planet's surface. They successfully infiltrated the factory where Vader created a ruse to distract the Grysks while Kimmund, SergeantViq, and trooperElebe searched for the prisoners they had been ordered to rescue. The Grysks who guarded the prisoners were killed by Kimmund's stormtroopers, although the captives themselves surprised the Commander for they were youngForce-sensitivegirls—three of whom were kept inhibernation chambers—of Thrawn's species, theChiss. Taking thechildren into their custody, Kimmund and his troopers headed to the factory's courtyard and cleared it of enemy units in order to rendezvous with theDarkhawk. Aboard theChimaera,Senior LieutenantLomar informed the Grand Admiral that the First Legion succeeded in their task and would return to the flagship with the rescued prisoners within thehour.^[1]

When Kimmund's unit returned to theChimaera, the Commander was informed by Vader that a small number of prisoners remained with the Grysks, who escaped into hyperspace before Thrawn's Defenders could intercept them. At Thrawn's request, Vader usedthe Force to track the Grysks through hyperspace, believing the Sith Lord'spowers would lead them to the location of the Grysks' main forces, and by extension, the remaining prisoners.^[1]

Rescue operation[]

Having tracked the enemy's lair to astar system, the First Legion planned to ambush the Grysk ship using theDarkhawk while theChimaeraattacked the mainwarships. Vader opted to support the First Legion bypiloting one of theTIE Defenders, believing his presence was not required for Commander Kimmund and the stormtroopers to conduct a breach and rescue operation. The trap was a success; with theengines disabled by Vader, the First Legion boarded the Grysk vessel. Aided by Rukh's tracking abilities,Kimmund's unit began their search for the remaining Chiss captives while two troopers remained with theDarkhawk to guard it. A few troopers perished during the mission and Jid was left behind after sustaining a direct hit from a Grysklightning gun, but ultimately the First Legion was successful in its task, rescuing more Chiss from the Grysks.^[1]

Battle of Hoth[]

With theGalactic Civil War raging between the Empire and theAlliance to Restore the Republic, Darth Vader'sDeath Squadron was tasked with locatingAlliance High Command's base. UsingProject Swarm, the Empire locatedEcho Base on theiceplanetHoth, and deployed its ground forces after arriving and the rebels activated theirdeflector shield generator.^[8] Darth Vader deployed the 501st's eliteBlizzard Force, under the command ofGeneralMaximilian Veers.^[9] Blizzard Force's units were supported by the First Legion in the criticalBattle of Hoth,^[3] which resulted in a major Imperial victory.^[8] Vader led 501st^[4] and 1st Legion snowtroopers into Echo Base.^[2]

Behind the scenes[]

The 1st Legion was created byTimothy Zahn for the2018 novelThrawn: Alliances.^[1] The 1st Legion was identified as such in the English copy of "The Battle of Hoth and the Second Death Star" byDe Agostini, which previously wrote it out as First Legion when translated.^[3] In an interview, Zahn said that he originally wanted to include the 501st Legion as Vader's personal force of stormtroopers, as it was inStar Wars Legends. However, theLucasfilm Story Group vetoed the idea, saying that Vader would not have wanted to be closely associated to a unit that had been commanded by Anakin Skywalker during the Clone Wars. However, due to the 501st's expert troops, Vader would still select his stormtroopers from within their ranks when recruiting for the First Legion.^[10]

The First Legion being Vader's personal legion during the time of the Galactic Empire contradicted the2015 novelBattlefront: Twilight Company, where the 501st were referred to as Vader's personal legion byEveri Chalis.^[11] When asked about the matter, Story Group memberMatt Martin mused that perhaps either Chalis was wrong or that the things could have changed by the time ofBattlefront.^[12] While the "Vader's Fist" nickname was attributed to the 501st inStar Wars Legends,^[13]The Odyssey of Star Wars: An Epic Poem calls the First Legion "Vader's Fist."^[14] However,Star Wars Helmet Collection^[15] andStar Wars: Battles that Changed the Galaxy applied it to the 501st in canon as well.^[4] WhileHelmet Collection was released before^[15]The Odyssey of Star Wars,^[16]Battles that Changed the Galaxy was released after it.^[17]

Appearances[]

• Thrawn: Alliances(andaudiobook)(First appearance)
• Thrawn: Alliances 1
• Thrawn: Alliances 3
• The Odyssey of Star Wars: An Epic Poem(First identified as 1st)

Sources[]

• "Imperial Troops" —Star Wars Encyclopedia
• "The Battle of Hoth and the Second Death Star" —Star Wars Encyclopedia(First identified as 1st Legion)
• A Taste of Unlimited Possibilities onStar Wars: Unlimited'sofficial website(backup link)(First pictured)
• The Grand Admiral and Darth Vader Join Forces in Marvel'sThrawn: Alliances #1 - Exclusive Preview onStarWars.com(backup link)

Notes and references[]