Editing Lions Rampant (section)

=Organization of the IXth Legion=

==Order of Battle==
At its inception the IXth legion operated under the standard Terran pattern of organization. Organization across all ranks reflected the battle doctrine that had evolved from the unification wars, and formed the practical basis for the numerous expeditions spearheaded by the dour Highland Raiders. Though unremarkable, this manner in maintaining the legion was successful in keeping tally of losses and incorporating chapters into the Emperor's long crusade.

The discovery of Cromwald brought change to this longstanding tradition within the ranks. Raised and trained in the arts of war as exercised on Sommesgard, the Lion saw it necessary to restructure the legion  in the image of his homeworld. He combined elements of Terran military structure with force allocation learned in the unity wars, and from this emerged the quintet of primary divisions that would form the backbone of the legion's strength. More notable than the dynamic shift in the legion's militant assets was the wholesale embrace of civilian elements as part of the IXth's order of battle. The iterator and remembrancer corps held a presence among every legion, but the Lions did not merely tolerate or accept them. These capable historians, scholars and diplomats were wholly embraced by the Lions and regularly were inducted into the organizational structure of the legion at multiple levels of command. While never given battlefield control of astartes, their words and advice were given weight similar to that of astartes specialists by the officers in the field.

In the wake of Cromwald's reforms, the legion stood as five distinct, separate entities. These divisions stood at a nominal strength of twenty-five thousand marines, all commanded by a Field Marshal. Under this umbrella fall a quintet of brigades, over which stands a Brigadier. For each division the first brigade is a dedicated heavy armor formation, where the majority of the legion's heavy and superheavy assets are gathered. Remaining brigades are predominantly infantry, though the particular allocation of materiel differs between divisions. Comprising each brigade are multiple battalions of roughly one thousand marines, commanded by a Major. These battalions are formed from companies of one hundred under a collection of captains, which are then further broken into sections and then into individual squads of nine marines and a sergeant.

The clear organization developed in the wake of Cromwald's discovery affords a doctrine of gathered strength, and relies on each division being its own autonomous whole. To this end, each of the five possess fleet and logistical elements to engage in protracted crusades wholly removed from allied astartes support, and hold dedicated auxilia and retainer forces tied to the Field Marshal's command. These top generals are the highest authority among the legion bar one: the command battalion serving as the primarch's personal retainers. This organizational entity exists outside of the divisional structure of the legion, and cycles between the five primary divisions as the needs of the crusade mandate. As the primarch arrives command is ceded from the Field Marshal for the duration of time Cromwald deems necessary, during which he acts as supreme command for all forces under the Lions' control. Once the period if need has passed, the Field Marshal is restored to sovereignty over his division, and the primarch moves on.

A final segregation from the core divisional strength of the legion is the sixth recruitment division. While nominally commanded by a Field Marshal and held at similar strength to the main combat divisions, the reality is that the majority of the sixth's strength lay in recruits and trainees still undergoing implantation. The number of full blooded astartes on the rolls varies wildly as training companies are fully inducted into the legion and await reassignment, but the average tends towards a core of one thousand veterans, with another thousand legionaries either freshly graduated or recently rotated away from combat duty.

==Specialist Units==
* Goshawk Squads
The utility afforded by jump packs extends far beyond the common use in assault formations. As part of the Lion's arsenal, jump packs are afforded to specialist teams attached to the command structure with the important task of providing forward observation of the enemy and communication of their intentions. These Goshawk squads are daredevils, bold marines hand chosen for their insane courage and supreme skill in operating in isolation from friendly lines. They are outfitted with sophisticated auspex equipment and powerful extended range vox units. With this wargear they intrude into enemy territory and set up forward observation posts in defiance of the enemies guns, then relay coordinates for the legion's firepower to crush the foe.

* Warden Counter-Assault Squads
Lions' doctrine affords hand to hand combat as an essential skill of every marine, but advises against charging into the enemy's guns. Instead, a doctrine of marines equipped for and tasked with counter-assault was developed. These formations are equipped with combat shields and power blades in addition to their standard kit, and form a reserve that deploy where the enemy has gathered strength for a charge. Should the foe brave the storm of bolter fire laid down by the tactical squads, the Wardens surge forward to check the enemy's momentum and shatter their cohesion in close quarters.

* Predator "Lancer" Formations
Armored doctrine of the Lions was largely pioneered by the Lionhearts, who formed the first Lancer formation. Consisting of three tanks of varying patterns, the Lancer is a spearhead used to outpace and slay the largest enemy vehicles and beasts. Two vehicles, typically autocannon equipped predators or vindicator siege tanks form the jaws of the unit, while a third vanquisher pattern predator forms the spearhead. Upon identifying the target, the vanquisher engages at range, hobbling the enemy with precise fire to the treads or legs. With the enemy crippled, the jaws spring shut, pounding the crippled prey with merciless heavy ordnance.

==Fleet Assets==

==Notable Allies/Auxilia==
* The Cramalthian Dragoons (Imperial Army)
The bold men of Cramal rose to prominence in service to the Lion. Borne to an industrialized world burdened with a swelling population and natural resources better suited to the foundries than the bellies of their children, these men adopted an autocratic regime to closely ration the wealth of their world while scientists raced to pioneer a road to their verdant world of Bounty. They were discovered at the turning point in their history, when the initial invasion landed to claim Bounty from her inhabitants in a tide of steel and flame.
The Lions' arrival ended the blooding of the Cramalthian army prematurely, yet in doing so made an offer far greater than the oligarchs could have imagined. Impressed by the armored might of the relatively backwater world, Geoffrey the Lionheart offered them the resources of the burgeoning Imperium to feed their people, and the technical expertise to produce ever greater engines of war. His terms demanded only the loyal service of the fighting men of Cramal on the long crusade to come. The oligarchs saw the opportunity to alleviate the strains of overpopulation, and agreed to the pact. Regiments were raised and equipped with new weapons and vehicles to take their banner to the stars.
At war, the Cramalthian Dragoons adhere to a doctrine of ironclad cavalry, using their tanks and personnel carriers in lieu of flesh and blood horses. They are a swift force reliant on overwhelming firepower to smash the enemy under their treads. This complements the more nimble Lions, who often outpace their allies with their rapid deployments and unparalleled mobility.
* House Borgias (Imperial Knights)
Fast movers, almost uniformly outfitted to keep pace with their peers in the Lions

* Legio Martyax, the Man Eaters (Titan Legion)
In the wake of the battle for Berau, few among the Lions Rampant would have expected Cromwald to turn to the titans of the Mechanicum for aid. It was by their hand his arm had been lost on the fields of his homeworld. Despite the Emperor's reconciliation of both parties, the cynical veterans of the legion were bitter towards the priests of Mars. They were guilty of leaving them with a broken primarch, to match their broken and ignoble legion. In the wake of the reformation it then came as a shock when Cromwald approached the high princeps of the very legion responsible for his injury with terms of alliance. He knew well the power of the titans of Mars, and wished to join them to the strength of his astartes. It took time to negotiate the terms of authority, but the titans agreed to be the primarch's answer to the most stubborn and entrenched of foes.
Legio Martyax marches to war in livery of deep, bloody red edged in lustrous silver. Their titans are predatory things, equipped with laud hailers to allow the snarling roars of the vicious machine spirits to terrify the enemy. With each engine of war given a deaths' head visage, they are truly unsettling to face in battle; on longer campaigns foes would learn to fear the sign of the gaping blue maw, knowing it heralded monsters hungry for carnage.

==Elite Formations==
* The Lionhearts
The first brigade, third division have borne the title of their first and greatest lord marshal in the wake of the victory over the hulking Tsulkik xenos. When faced with the terrifying alien juggernauts, the lord marshal gathered his armored assets to meet the lumbering enemy armor on the field of battle. It was here that the first "Lancer" formation of vanquisher equipped predator and vindicator tanks was fielded. With mobility on their side, they harried the xeno war machines at extreme range, driving the enemy forces into disarray. What followed was a bold assault to finish the disorganized xeno armor, with the marshal's land raider "Indomitable" forming a mailed fist that hammered through the enemy guns. Lauded for their victory, the armored might of the 3rd division have since proven time and again that their courage will not be broken.
Since the initial christening, the Lionhearts have refined the armored doctrine further. The Lancer formation now forms the backbone of their strength, with other patterns of tank supporting the vanquishers when enemy armor is engaged. Always the Lionhearts pursue aggressive, direct tactics; their penchant for focused aggression and dauntless courage continues under the command of marshal Basil Heart, who leads in the wake of his mentor.