Galactic Histories: Heroes of the Clone Wars – 332ⁿᵈ Division

Welcome to the latest instalment of my Galactic Histories series, a series of articles that looks at events and characters throughout the Star Wars canon. Generally speaking, this will often focus largely on characters or events that go beyond the movies, to help people get to know the wider canon a little better and see if there is anything that catches their interest.

Within this series, this will be latest of a miniseries subtitled Heroes of the Clone Wars. In the live action movies, we only get to see the beginning and the end of the conflict, and yet the war raged over 3 years. Now when you hear about heroes of the Clone Wars, I imagine that your mind automatically goes to the Jedi, who are the focus of the movies, but I will instead be focusing on the clones of Jango Fett, who were born to fight and die for the Republic. In this miniseries, I will be looking at many of these clones and their histories, breaking things down by looking at a specific unit per article. Of course, some clones I will be covering will have featured in more than 1 of these units, so I will be specifically focusing on their exploits in the unit I am covering at that time.

This will contain spoilers for The Clone Wars

Heroes of the Clone Wars

For this article, I am looking at the 332ⁿᵈ Division. Originally a part of the famed 501ˢᵗ Legion, the 332ⁿᵈ was created when Jedi Generals Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker allied themselves with the former Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano and the Mandalorian Bo-Katan Kryze with the intention of retaking Mandalore, which was under the control of the former Sith Lord Maul, the members of Death Watch who had remained loyal to him and his Shadow Collective. Their plans to join the attack were ended by the Separatist attack on Coruscant and the capture of Chancellor Palpatine, which necessitated Kenobi and Skywalker to return to the capital to rescue the Chancellor. Unwilling to completely break the alliance they had created and knowing the importance of stopping Maul—probably also helped by the generals’ close relationship to Ahsoka and Kenobi’s ties to Clan Kryze—Skywalker split the 501ˢᵗ into 2, taking the remainder of the original unit back to Coruscant with him while the newly created unit, the 332ⁿᵈ Division would take part in the Siege of Mandalore under the command of the clone Rex, with Tano serving in an advisory role—though the clones treated her as a commander within the Grand Army of the Republic due to their past experiences with her. After a successful campaign on Mandalore, the unit was again split into two, with some accompanying Tano and Rex as they took the prisoner Maul back to Coruscant about the Star Destroyer Tribunal, while the remainder served remained on Mandalore to help facilitate a peaceful transfer of power. During the return to Coruscant, the unit received Order 66 and turned on Tano, who was forced to release Maul as a distraction to aid her escape. Maul caused irreparable damage to the Tribunal, which caused it to leave hyperspace and crash into a nearby moon. With Maul, Tano and Rex the only ones to escape the Star Destroyer before its crash, the rest of the clones on board were killed either by the fleeing trio or in the crash. Following the crash, Tano found the bodies of as many of the unit as she could and buried them.

Rex

The former second-in-command of the 501ˢᵗ, CT-7567—known as Rex—was promoted from captain to commander in order to lead the newly-created 332ⁿᵈ Division, as Ahsoka Tano could not officially lead them due to no longer being a part of the Jedi Order. Rex led the 332ⁿᵈ through the Siege of Mandalore and was present at the capture of the former Sith Lord Maul. Leading the transportation of Maul back to Coruscant on the Star Destroyer Tribunal, Rex received Order 66 from Palpatine, and though he initially tried to resist, his inhibitor chip forced him to attack Tano. Tano—having learned of the chips—successfully incapacitated Rex and removed his chip, and together they attempted to flee the Tribunal, which was on a crash course for a nearby moon. Rex’s “violation” of Order 66 saw him demoted back to captain and considered a target as an ally of the Jedi, and he and Tano were forced to fight through the unit to find a ship to escape in, eventually getting away in a Y-wing—Rex was the only clone on bard the Tribunal to escape and therefore survive the crash. Rex would eventually go on to free and assist as many of his brothers as he could, and eventually settled on an old AT-TE on Seelos alongside his fellow clones Wolffe and Gregor. Many years later, the trio were found by the Spectres, who successfully recruited them to the Rebellion, with Rex leaving the planet to join Phoenix Squadron.

Ridge

Having served with the 501ˢᵗ throughout the Clone Wars, Ridge was one of the clones transferred to the newly-created 332ⁿᵈ. Ridge fought in the Siege of Mandalore and was part of the unit tasked with escorting Maul to Coruscant. During the journey, Ridge received Order 66, but he was incapacitated by Maul as he caused mayhem throughout the Tribunal and died in the ensuing crash.

Jesse

CT-5597 “Jesse” was one of the older, more experienced clones in the 332ⁿᵈ, having earned the ranks of lieutenant and ARC Trooper during his time in the 501ˢᵗ. At the Siege of Mandalore, Jesse was involved in the liberation of the capital, Sundari. Having survived the early combat, Jesse was captured by Maul during a counterattack as Maul sensed that he was an older clone. As a result, Jesse was taken with the intention of getting information on who Ahsoka Tano was; he refused to give any information, but Maul finally used the Fore to probe his mnd and get the information he required. Jesse was returned to the 332ⁿᵈ as a gesture of good will from Maul as he looked to negotiate with Tano. With Maul captured, Jesse was a part of the unit who escorted Maul to Coruscant on the Tribunal. During the journey, the unit received Order 66 and Jesse turned on Tano, taking a lead role in the hunt for her after she escaped the initial fight. During the hunt, it eventually became clear that Rex had been compromised and was assisting Tano in her attempt to escape. Jesse ordered the remaining troopers of the 332ⁿᵈ to the hangar, realising that it was the only possible route of escape with the Tribunal crashing and all escape pods jettisoned. Getting there ahead of Rex and Ahsoka, Jesse gave his commanding officer one last chance to prove his loyalty before taking control, before taking command, accusing Rex of treason, demoting him and sentencing him to execution. Rex and Tano successfully held off the unit’s attacks long enough to escape, and Jesse was killed in the crash. Jesse’s body was one of those recovered and buried by Tano, with his helmet marking his grave.

Sterling

A soldier in the 501ˢᵗ then afterwards the 332ⁿᵈ, Sterling was one of the later batches, so not an original member of the 501ˢᵗ. Sterling fought in the Seige of Mandalore within the capital of Sundari. After surviving the early battles, a unit that he was in was sent along with Jesse to reinforce the Undercity, however the unit was hit by a counterattack from Maul’s forces. With Jesse captured,the unit sustained heavy casualties, with Sterling taking a blaster shot to the chest. He was one of the few to survive the attack and called for assistance, informing Tano of Jesse’s capture when she arrived.

Vaughn

A captain transferred from the 501ˢᵗ to the 332ⁿᵈ, CT-0292 “Vaughn” was involved in the taking of the capital Sundari during the Siege of Mandalore. He survived the early combat, but when his unit accompanied Tano into the Undercity, they were caught in an ambush by Maul’s forces and wiped out, with Vaughn dying in Tano’s arms.

Thanks for reading. Good soldiers follow orders….