User blog:Trooper116/The 501st Legion (Vader's Fist) VS The Tanith First-and-Only (Gaunt's Ghosts)

The 501st Legion:

The stormtrooper unit who were responsible for the destruction of the Old Jedi Order and the Old Galactic Republic!

The Tanith First-and-Only:

The Imperial Guard regiment from Tanith, Verghast and Belladon who personally defended Saint Sabbat and became the bitter enemy of the evil Blood Pact!

WHO...IS...DEADLIEST?

The 501st Legion
The 501st Legion, also known as the 501 or 501st Battalion during the Clone Wars and later known as "Vader's Fist" and the Five Hundred and First, was an elite unit of clone troopers commissioned by Supreme Chancellor Palpatine during the Clone Wars that later became a stormtrooper unit. Made up of units like Torrent Company, the 501st fought in many battles, such as the Battle of Teth and the Battle of Coruscant, becoming one of the most well-known legions. In 19 BBY, the 501st became Darth Vader's personal unit as he led them during Operation: Knightfall, in which the clones helped take down the Jedi, whom they believed to be traitors to the Republic.

Following the rise of the Galactic Empire, the 501st transitioned into a stormtrooper unit, like other clone units. Given new armor and weapons, the 501st faithfully served the Empire, operating under the direct command of the Sith Lord Darth Vader. After the Battle of Kamino, the 501st became the last remnant of the Grand Army of the Republic fully composed of Jango Fett clones, 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, while others were not clones, but humans from an Imperial academy; by 0 BBY though Vader was known to comb through the ranks of all stormtrooper units and transferring the very best to the 501st, a fact that angered other Imperial agents - like Mara Jade - who had to work with lesser qualified units.[19]

The legion fought in a number of battles during the Galactic Civil War in an effort to defeat the Rebel Alliance and bring peace to the galaxy, although the Alliance ultimately triumphed. Though the 501st was disbanded after the Battle of Endor, the Chiss Grand Admiral Thrawn resurrected the designation by forming a new 501st Legion. He also added more diverse recruits to the 501st, including non-Humans. The reconstituted 501st was stationed in the Unknown Regions, where they protected Thrawn's Empire of the Hand. Over a century later, the legion was in the service of a new Empire, by then under the rule of Emperor Roan Fel.

When Fel was deposed by Darth Krayt shortly after the conclusion of the Sith–Imperial War, the 501st Legion fell under the control of the Dark Lord of the Sith in the year 130 ABY. Seven years later, however, Fel returned from exile and joined in the war against Krayt in order to reclaim his throne. Under the leadership of General Oron Jaeger, the 501st deserted the Dark Lord's Galactic Empire in order to join the Fel faction.

(As taken from Wookieepedia, the Star Wars Wiki)

This version of the 501st Legion will be from during the height of the Galactic Civil War against the Alliance to Restore the Republic (aka Rebel Alliance). Thus, they will be stormtroopers rather than clone troopers.

Weapons of Choice:

Long Range: T-28 Sniper Rifle

Medium Range: E-11 Blaster Rifle

Short Range: SE-14r Light Repeating Blaster

Explosive Weapons: V-1 Thermal Detonators

Special Weapons: Vibroknife

Armor: Stormtrooper Armor

The Tanith First-and-Only
The Imperial Guard regiment known as the Tanith First-and-Only, officially called the Tanith 1st Regiment but better known as "Gaunt's Ghosts", is a regiment that was raised from the world of Tanith in the Sabbat Worlds Sector. The regiment has been heavily engaged in the combat to retake the Sabbat Worlds from the Forces of Chaos during the Sabbat Worlds Crusade. The regiment's nickname originally came about as a result of the name of their commanding officer, Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt, and the disenfranchised status of the original Tanith soldiers after their homeworld was destroyed. It has proved to be a nickname of some further application, as the Verghastite personnel influx into the regiment also considered themselves "ghosts" due to the destruction of their home city, and the regiment as a whole is noted for its stealth and reconnaissance abilities being almost uncanny in nature.

If the Imperial Guard is the so-called “Hammer of the Emperor,” the infamous regiment known as “Gaunt’s Ghosts” finds more in common with the medical scalpel: small, fragile, but incredibly deadly when employed correctly. Its Founding coincides with the complete destruction of the heavily forested Frontier World of Tanith, and this single regiment and its men contain the last living memories and traces of their world. Highly skilled in special operations, the Tanith First-and-Only display exemplary small-unit tactics, brilliant leadership, precise marksmanship, and uncanny stealth skills. All of these abilities were integral to their many achievements during their time of service as part of the Sabbat Crusade, a hard-fought effort to reclaim the worlds that bear that Imperial Saint’s name from the Forces of Chaos.

Until the events that forged the Tanith First-and-Only, the Forest World of Tanith most notably exported the exceptional “nalwood,” and otherwise went unnoticed amongst the numberless planets of the Imperium. Colonel-Commissar Gaunt arrived to take charge of his troops just in time for disaster to strike Tanith. A splinter Chaos fleet, fleeing from an Imperial victory, descended upon Tanith. Faced with a horrible choice of deploying his unseasoned troops in a hopeless defence of their homeworld or salvaging what he could, Gaunt chose to withdraw, and the new regiment escaped with just enough time to watch the Chaos warships utterly annihilate their planet.

Despite the trauma of losing their entire homeworld, the Tanith very quickly saw their first action on the fields of war. The Tanith were tested on brutal battlefields on Blackshard, Becephalon, Fortis Binary, and other worlds in the Sabbat Worlds Sector. Each time, they acquitted themselves well despite terrible foes and staggering odds, using their specialist skills to pull victories from the jaws of apparent defeat on numerous occasions.

Alongside their successes, the Ghosts’ behaviour managed to earn them a number of enemies amongst the other forces of the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, including the Volpone Bluebloods and Jantine Patricians. The Ghosts negotiated these trials and tribulations, facing threats internal and external, and continued to survive to serve the God-Emperor thanks to their incredible stealth skills and the heroism of leadership figures such as Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt, Colonel Colm Corbec, and Major Elim Rawne.

Of their many engagements during the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, those on the worlds of Menazoid Episilon and Verghast stand in particular note in the Ghosts’ battle records. On the former, the regiment contended with a plot devised by a rogue Inquisitor and a Lord-General to seize control of the Crusade, facing a corrupted horror from the Dark Age of Technology in the process. On Verghast, the Tanith helped defend the manufactoria of Vervunhive, and in the wake of the battle, drew a large group of reinforcements from the ruined hive city. Later in the campaign, the Tanith First-and-Only received more external recruits, this time from the Belladon 81st Reconnaissance Regiment, which had also suffered losses that put it beneath optimal strength. Over time, the three elements grew into a single, cohesive regiment not only in spite of their diversity, but because it.

Over the course of the Crusade, the Tanith would again and again play a pivotal role in thwarting conspiracies, vanquishing foul servants of Chaos, and safeguarding the Imperium of Mankind. From planet to planet and from narrow victory to narrow victory, the Tanith First-and-Only’s history travels a long, bloodsoaked path of service and sacrifice alongside the Sabbat Worlds Crusade.

(As taken from the Warhammer 40,000 Wiki)

This version of the Tanith First-and-Only will be from shortly after the event of Blood Pact but before Salvation's Reach.

Weapons of Choice:

Long Range: Long-las Sniper System

Medium Range: Mk III Lascarbine

Short Range: Laspistol

Explosive Weapons: Fragmentation Grenades

Special Weapons: "Straight Silver" Dagger

Armor: Flak Armor & Camo Cloaks

The Edges & Why
LONG RANGE

I am giving this to the Long-las due to the fact that their "shots" are more powerful, even though the T-28 has more rounds in a magazine. At the end of the day, I would prefer the quality over the quantity of the "shots". Plus, the Long-las is basically a Dragunov while the T-28 is a SR-25, giving the Long-las a reliability factor.

EDGE: GAUNT'S GHOSTS

MEDIUM RANGE

I am going to call this a tie. The Mk III Lascarbine is known for its' robust design and full-auto firing ability. With the E-11, it is known as a very accurate blaster rifle in STAR WARS. If we had to compare the two sci-fi guns to real guns, the Mk III is an AK-74 while the E-11 is more like a M-16.

EDGE: EVEN

SHORT RANGE

This is going to the First-and-Only's Laspistol. It has a larger magazine of shots and when it comes down to it, I would want the larger round capacity over the smaller size and easy hiding ability of the SE-14r.

EDGE: GAUNT'S GHOSTS

EXPLOSIVE WEAPONS

I am going with the 501st's V-1 Thermal Detonators. Fragmentation Grenades are a rather predicatable type of explosive. Just boom and off go the shards of metal while on the other hand, you have basically a miniature nuclear bomb in the palm of your hand.

EDGE: VADER'S FIST

SPECIAL WEAPONS

This is a close one, but I am going to give it to the Ghosts' "Straight Silver" Dagger. While the Vibroknife is more powerful due to its' internal generator that causes vibrations, the Dagger is more versatile in the fact that it can mounted as a bayonet on the Lascarbine or wielded in hand-to-hand.

EDGE: GAUNT'S GHOST

ARMOR

This is another close call, but I am going with the Stormtrooper Armor. The Flak Armor of the Ghosts is only covering their bodies and nowhere else while the Camo Cloaks don't offer protection if moving about. The Stormtrooper Armor meanwhile is able to cover more and allows more mobility. Plus, it can be detailed to blend into the surroundings of the battlefield of their deployment.

EDGE: VADER'S FIST

The X-Factors
DISCIPLINE

Fist: 88

Ghosts: 83

The 501st Legion is a highly-trained force that receives discipline through training. The Tanith First-and-Only meanwhile gets discipline through experience. A subtle difference, but a difference nonetheless.

EXTREMISM

Fist: 83

Ghosts: 90

Gaunt's Ghosts, in their universe, are raised to worship the God-Emperor and to hate or fear everything that was deemed "abnormal". Vader's Fist, on the other hand, aren't so narrow-minded in their thought process.

OPERATIONAL EXPERIENCE

Fist: 78

Ghosts: 85

The Tanith First-and-Only have experienced the worst of the Sabbat Worlds Crusade's battlefields, from airborne assaults to trench fighting. The 501st Legion, though, have similar but not as desperate battles that they have fought in.

AUDACITY

Fist: 81

Ghosts: 88

Vader's Fist is a fearsome force but they have a system of battle tactics & strategies that they will adhere to. Gaunt's Ghosts are more able to be flexible in combat with their tactics and strategies due to the enormous degree of command granted to junior officers and NCOs.

Notes on the Voting Process and the Battle

 * 1) Each vote must be at least two paragraphs long and explain the voter's logic.
 * 2) Any votes found to be short of the above requirement will count as a half vote.
 * 3) The voting process will go on for a period of four weeks, ending on the night of 23rd of September.


 * 1) The Battle will taken place on an unidentified world to both the Galactic Empire and the Imperium of Man.
 * 2) The Sides will consist of one officer, one sniper and four stormtroopers/Guardsmen, for a six-on-six fight.
 * 3) The four stormtroopers/Guardsmen will have both their respective explosive & special weapons.
 * 4) The snipers will have their respective special weapons alongside their respective long-range weapons.
 * 5) The officers will have all their respective weapons minus their respective long-range weapons.
 * 6) It is to be a fight to the finish with the winner granting victory to their side.

THE 501ST LEGION...VADER'S FIST

THE TANITH FIRST-AND-ONLY...GAUNT'S GHOSTS

WHO IS DEADLIEST?