The Ninety-Sixth Legion. Seemed like fodder at the beginning, but now they're one of the toughest legions I've had to fight against.
—Yosip Zagoonga, reflecting on the 96th Legion late in the Clone Wars
The 96th Legion was a clone trooper legion in the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars commanded by Jedi General Jon Ternath, Jedi Commander Jedaana Lokka, and Clone Commander CC-3527. On numerous occasions, the 96th Legion combated the forces of Marshal General Yosip Zagoonga of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Despite suffering several defeats early in the war, the 96th Legion eventually helped to stop Zagoonga's advance and led a major offensive against him that turned the tide of the Clone Wars in the southern sectors of the galaxy. The 96th Legion later became a stormtrooper legion of the Galactic Empire, and served well into the Imperial Era.
Description[]
One of the Grand Army of the Republic's thousands of legions, the 96th was commanded by Jedi General Jon Ternath during the Clone Wars and organized under the 18th Sector Army. It had approximately 16,000 total personnel, including 9,216 enlisted clone troopers, 1,381 clone trooper officers from sergeants to commanders, and 5,400 others such as support personnel and vehicle crews. Following the GAR's standard organization, the clone troopers were divided into four regiments. Jedi Commander Jedaana Lokka and Clone Commander CC-3527 both led one of the 96th Legion's regiments.
The unit color of the 96th Legion was medium blue, with the hue being slightly lighter than that of the 501st Legion. Most Phase I troopers had the standard white armor. Upon the introduction of Phase II armor, all troopers in the 96th had blue markings. However, all customized markings were removed shortly after the transition to the Empire. Many variants of clone troopers served in the 96th Legion, such as heavy weapons clone troopers, clone sharpshooters, and clone jetpack troopers.
The entire 96th Legion was often carried on the Acclamator-class transgalactic military assault ship Intrepid. They were also sometimes stationed on Venator-class Star Destroyers, including the Persistence. The 96th Legion utilized walkers including the All Terrain Tactical Enforcer, All Terrain Reconnaissance Transport, All Terrain Open Transport, AV-7 Anti-vehicle Artillery Cannon, and later in the war the All Terrain Attack Pod. The 96th also had repulsorcraft such as the TX-130 Saber-class fighter tank and BARC speeder, and furthermore they used the wheeled HAVw A6 Juggernaut and JTEw heavy assault tank.
History[]
Early war[]
Formation[]
The 96th Legion was established in 22 BBY, at the beginning of the Clone Wars. Jedi Master Jon Ternath was put in command of the legion as a Jedi General. His Padawan, Jedaana Lokka, became a Jedi Commander in the legion.
Battle of Zanjurro[]
The 96th Legion's first major deployment was on the Expansion Region planet of Zanjurro along with the 79th Armored Division. The two units were sent there to defeat the Frenzanian forces at Etosh City in what would be known as the Battle of Zanjurro. The 96th Legion was deployed from the Acclamator-class assault ship Intrepid and assaulted the walled city along with the 79th Division, but they encountered significant resistance form the Frenzanian Royal Expeditionary Legion and were unable to immediately get into the city.
The Frenzanians held out long enough to allow Confederate Marshal General Yosip Zagoonga to arrive with Army Group FZM. The 96th Legion diverted most of their forces from attacking the city to combating the massive incoming Separatist Droid Army forces. The battle was fought on a salt flat with very little cover, resulting in the 96th sustaining high casualties. Their troops and vehicles especially were also decimated by Zagoonga's new TMAV-28 super-heavy tanks.
General Ternath agreed with General Ropar Umnaro that they should retreat from Zanjurro, so the surviving elements of the 96th Legion made it back to the Intrepid. They managed to successfully retreat from Zanjurro, but the 79th Division's Acclamator-class was destroyed, leaving no survivors. The 96th Legion lost over a quarter of their personnel and over half of their vehicles. Though the losses would soon be replenished by new recruits, the massive defeat at Zanjurro severely damaged the 96th Legion's reputation, with many in the GAR viewing them as disgraceful and incompetent despite the difficult circumstances during the battle.
Battle of Jakol[]
This planet is basically a metaphor for how the legion's doing.
—A 96th Legion clone trooper on Jakol
By 21 BBY the 96th Legion had been deployed to Jakol, an impoverished urban Inner Rim planet. Many within the 96th, including Jedaana Lokka, viewed them being sent to Jakol as a punishment because the planet was not believed to be a target in the immediate future. However, this was not the case as some Jakolite oligarchs were assisting Yosip Zagoonga for an upcoming invasion.
The CIS Navy unit Task Group Xeron arrived to engage Battle Group Iota-4 in orbit, beginning the Battle of Jakol. The 96th Legion was tasked with defending the Polura metropolitan area from being captured by Confederate forces. They would be fighting in scrap yards and dilapidated urban areas this time, which proved to be much more manageable than the completely open battlefield on Zanjurro. However, Separatist battle droids still vastly outnumbered the 96th Legion along with Jakol Loyalist volunteers.
For the next few days, the 96th Legion fought tirelessly against the Separatists, but were ultimately unable to stop the enemy forces from securing strategic locations. The Intrepid, which had previously been in orbit, made to the surface of Jakol to retrieve the clone forces that remained. The 96th Legion had lost about 10% of their forces during the battle, and suffered a major blow to their morale due to this second defeat.
Battle of Foless[]
The Battle of Foless
The 96th Legion was later sent to defend the Colonies planet Foless, which was believed to be the next target of Marshal General Yosip Zagoonga. During the ensuing Battle of Foless, which was the largest battle the 96th had taken part in so far, they engaged the Army Group FZM in the dense cityscape of Foless. The 96th was only one of many clone units defending the strategically important planet, as the 87th Sentinel Corps was also there in addition to a few other legions and the Foless Security Force.
The Battle of Foless went on for weeks and many troopers of the 96th feared another defeat, but as clones with unquestionable loyalty to the Republic they continued to fight their best. Despite being vastly outnumbered, the 96th Legion eventually managed to turn the tide of the massive ground battle. Yosip Zagoonga's forces suffered high casualties and were eventually forced off of Foless and defeated in space, ending the battle in a Republic victory. The 96th Legion was commended by many Folessi due to the unit's bravery during the battle, resulting in the 96th Legion's reputation being significantly improved.
On the offensive[]
While the 96th Legion had been humiliated by General Zagoonga in the first half of the Clone Wars, they would become a large part of the GAR force spearheading Operation Armbreaker. The operation was the codename for a major offensive aimed at pushing CIS forces in the southern area of the galaxy out of the Inner Rim, Expansion Region, and Mid Rim.
Recapture of Jakol[]
In 20 BBY, the 96th Legion returned to Jakol to retake in from the Confederacy. The Intrepid landed near Kejarz City, deploying the clones who then fought against thousands of battle droids, organic Separatist troops, and Sergon Security Services mercenaries. The 96th Legion was able to take over the city within a day, inflicting heavy casualties on CIS forces without sustaining significant clone trooper losses. Other clone legions managed to capture cities and strategic locations across Jakol, ending the battle in a decisive Republic victory.
Battle for Felinia[]
The 96th Legion was later commanded to go to the Mid Rim planet Felinia, where the Republic and Felinian Militia had been fighting the Battle for Felinia against Confederate forces led by General Schkakerro for almost two standard years. The Intrepid was one of multiple Acclamator-class assault ships to land on Felinia. Tens of thousands of clone troopers assisted millions of Felinian combatants who were fighting against Schkakerro's massive droid army.
After a few days of fighting, the Republic gained the upper hand by destroying Separatist bases all across Felinia. The 96th Legion attacked General Schkakerro's fortress on the planet, managing to break through the defenses there. Jedi General Ternath attempted to confront Schkakerro by himself but was instead captured. Ternath was taken aboard a shuttle, which was attacked by Commander Lokka and several clones aboard an LAAT. They managed to get inside the shuttle, successfully rescue Ternath, and get out all while in the sky. However, they failed to eliminate Schkakerro, who escaped.
Battle of Alakatha[]
Not long after the victory at the Battle for Felinia, the 96th Legion fought on the resort moon Alakatha in the Outer Rim. They secured targets on land while the 53rd Aqua Corps fought underwater. The Republic soon emerged victorious, with the 96th Legion not taking significant casualties.