Steel Marshals

This page details people, events, and organisations from the /tg/ Heresy, a fan re-working of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe. See the /tg/ Heresy Timeline and Galaxy pages for more information on the Alternate Universe.

Steel Marshals
Battle Cry	"Ad Victorum!"
Number	XXVI
Founding	First Founding
Successor Chapters	Grey Wardens, Steel Seekers, Tempest Marshals, Steel Knights, Storm Wardens
Primarch	Roman Albrecht
Homeworld	Centauri Primus
Strength	170,000
Specialty	Offensive Siege Experts, Close Quarter Assault
Allegiance	Loyalist
Colours	Steel with Golden Trim, some Purple to display Veteran Status

Summary of Legion XXVI

Numeration: The XXVI Legion

Primogenator: Roman Albrecht (also known as "The Duelist, the Lord Knight, the Blade of the Emperor, The Wild Warrior")

Cognomen (Prior): The Tempest Knights.

Observed Strategic Tendencies: Siege Assault, Tunneling, Massed Infantry

Noteworthy Domains: Centauri Primus (Legion Homeworld)

Alliegence: Fedelitas Constantus

The Steel Marshals were the 26th of the Legiones Astartes, founded from the geneseed of their Primarch, Roman Albrecht. They were led by the 26th squad of Hektor Conathos' Sacred Band before their Primarch's discovery during the Great Crusade. Where other Legions would crush the enemy and grind them into dust, the Steel Marshals break the enemy, destroying the corrupt and parasitic, and bringing those who remain into the fold of the Imperium of Man. Though the other Legions find these tactics time-consuming, none can contest the results. As more worlds were brought into the fold, the Marshals grew stronger. Through the strength and will of humanity, the Marshals proclaimed, the galaxy would be conquered.

Centauri Primus
Segmentum	Segmentum Tempestus
Sector	Arthurius Sector
Sub Sector	Priori Subsector
System	Centauri Dominus
Population	15 Billion
Temperature	Temperate

Legion History

Unification of Terra

Formation: The 26th Squad of Hektor's Sacred Band (The Original Legionnares)

Notable Battles: Burning of the Brasilia Hives, Battle of the Boliva Spire

Before the rise of Imperium at the hands of the Emperor, the first Astartes rallied behind the Emperor and his son Hektor, slowly marching across the Hives of Terra. Those Space Marines who would one day form the core of the Legions Astartes, the first three hundred, were organized into the 30 squads of Hektor Conathos's Sacred Band. Of these men, the 26th Squad, dubbed the "Tempest Knights" by Hektor would one day form the heart of the Steel Marshals. These (in)famous warriors were:

Dietmar Hohn - The Lord Commander of the Tempest Knights (Status: Deceased, Battle of Terra. Traitoris Excommunicatus.)

Helmut Woidich - The Warden of the Tempest Knights (Status: Deceased, Defense of Rosskar.)

Arthur Marzluff - The Marshal of the Tempest Knights (Status: Deceased, passed away among the Steel Seekers.)

Konrad Wohlfarth - Dread-bringer of the Brasilia Hives (Status: Deceased, Battle of Terra. Traitoris Excommunicatus.)

Kilian Fach - Hero of the Saturn Front (Status: Deceased, The Scouring.)

Gustav Wild - Butcher of Hive Boliv(Status: Deceased, Battle of Terra. Traitoris Excommunicatus.)

Lutze Seeger - The Blade-bound (Status: Unknown, last seen on Penitent Crusade into the Eye of Terror.)

Dieter Noeske - Honor Guard to Hektor (Status: Unknown, was with Hektor before outbreak of the Heresy. Presumed Dead.)

Luft Loehr - The Iron Baron, Future Magos of the Techmarine Convent (Status: Interred inside a Contemptor Dreadnought, The Scouring.)

Otto Henkenschuh - The Floating Blade, Future Chief Librarian of the Legion Librarus (Status: Unknown, lost with the Battle Barge Priori in a warp storm.)

Burning of the Brasilia Hives

Led by Dietmar Hohn, the first Tempest Knight, the 26th Band followed Hektor's lead, sieging enemy citadels from foot or below the ground, their natural talents even showing then. They were instrumental in the taking of the Brasilia Hives. The southern continent refused the Emperor and his might, and it was laid to the 26th Squad to bring them into compliance. Storming Hive Ven'zula, the Tempest Knights would soon become infamous as brutal killers, the most aggressive of them moving ahead of the troops, leaving a bloody path to follow. The worst of the lot, Konrad and Gustav, relished the bloodshed and would care not for collateral damage except when Dietmar reigned them in, and the Lord Commander only did so when under Hektor's supervision.

Argenten Aerial Aces

Unlike the sieges of the Brasila Hives, the cities of Argenten were well fortified against ground attacks once news spread about the Emperor's men. With ground attackers being hampered by enemy air, the 26th Squad and the Imperial forces were stalled. It wasn't until Luft Loehr, one of more technical minded of the Sacred Band, began tinkering with old Brasilia aircraft. Adapted for the Astartes large physique, he and other members took to the air, engaging the enemy in aerial duels while the ground forces began making advances. It was in the skies of Argenten that Luft earned the title of the Iron Baron, following a code of honor that his Demi-Chapter would follow well into the end of the Crusade.

The Conquest of Sol

Formation: The Tempest Knights (The Beginning of the Legion)

Notable Battles: The Sieges of Saturn

The Sieges of Saturn

Such savage tactics would not mar the rest of the Sacred Band long, however. With their successful sieges, they were proven and the raising of the Legion began. The first real battles as a Legion saw them in the sieges of Saturn's moons. It was during these battles that the honorable members of the Sacred Band, and many in the nascent Legion, were able to prove themselves. Kilian Fach distinguished himself during this time after charging the gates of Hyperion's largest fortress, Hold Keats, with but a melta-charge and his boarding shield. Other such tales of bravery survive, but are paralleled by darker deeds during that time.

Seeds of Dissent

The Tempest Knights served without fail during the next five decades, seizing worlds that would not comply with the Emperor's will, with Dietmar leading the Knights into bloody sieges, though the Lord Commander mostly allowed the other Sacred Band members to lead their own men into battle. It would be at the end of one these campaigns that the Legion would find out their Primarch, and new homeworld, were found. While many rejoiced at the discovery of their primarch, Dietmar quietly voiced his opposition to Hektor. Why should a man he had never met command his Legion, let alone someone from such a lowly planet? Perhaps Hektor dismissed it as uncertainty, or he managed to calm the man, but it was here that the seeds of betrayal were laid within the Knight's highest ranks.

The Great Crusade - Before Roman (798.M30 to 831.M30)

Formation: The Tempest Knights (Roughly 100,000 Marines before Roman's discovery)

Notable Battles: The Siege of the Iron Ring, Purge of the Xathite Khanate, The Decimation of Falrak

The Great Crusade - Discovery of Roman (831.M30 to 005.M31)

Formation: The Steel Marshals (Roughly 180,000 Marines by the end of M30)

Notable Battles: Liberation of the Eral System, Destruction of the Dark Citadel, Battle of the Five Legions, Salvation of Reichmar IV, the Hathor Campaign

The Hektor Heresy (005.M31 to 014.M31)

Formation: The Steel Marshals (Conservative estimate of 150,000 Marines by the end of 014.M31)

Notable Battles: The Hathor Truce, the Lion's Corridor, the Liberation of Rosskar, the Forgotten Crusade, Liberation of Sol

The Scouring

Formation: The Steel Marshals (Roughly 100,000 Marines after the Crucible)

Notable Battles: The Great Chase, The Lion's Den, The Crucible

Legion Organization

The Steel Host

Prior to their Primarchs discovery, just after the conquest of Sol and the bolstering of the Legion, the Tempest Knights were more or less informally organized into the ten "Demi-Chapters". Each Demi-Chapter was led by one of the members of the 26th Squad, the first led by Dietmar Hohn himself. Roughly operating as war bands, their numerous victories were darkened by the acts of barbarism by certain members of the former 26th Squad. Unless otherwise organized by their Captains, the Tempest Knights were not specialized and in some cases could be called a horde of Astartes that would descend on their foes.

Upon their Primarchs discovery, Roman reorganized the Legion with great detail. Reformed into the Grand Orders, each of these consisted of ten Orders. Each Order then consisted of roughly two hundred Astartes and twice that many Aspirants. It was Roman who thought that the aspirants should be tested in the heat of battle, for that is where they would truly become an Astartes. Each Order was then further split along battlefield duties, including line infantry, siege breaker squads, assault squads and heavy support squads.

The following example is a rough outline of a Steel Marshal Order.

304th Order of the Steel Marshals

-Centurion Avard Kalos (Legion Champion), Commander of the 304th Order, Hand of the Marshals, Breaker of Dark Citadel, Lord of the Rheldian Steppes (Accompanied by a Legion Command Squad)

-Attached Apothecarion Detachment and Techmarine Covenant

-Contemptor Dreadnought Valahad (Interred during the Dark Citadel Campaign)

-Terminator Squad ‘Knecht’ (Five Marines, Cataphractii Pattern Armor)

-One Veteran Tactical Squad (Ten Marines)

-Three Tactical Squads (Ten Marines each)

-Two Assault Squads (Ten Marines each)

-Four Siege Breaker Squads (Twenty Marines each)

-Two Tactical Support Squads (Five Marines each)

-Two Legion Outrider Squads (Five Marines each)

-Two Legion Heavy Support Squads (Five Marines each)

The 304th also possessed a number of transports and support vehicles depending on the mission type, terrain, and necessity.

Legion Tactics

The Steel Marshal's are a force built to raze enemy strongholds to the ground and crush the heart of their resistance. While other legions crush the enemy by weight of bombardment or armor, or else defeat the fortifications by cautious planning or brutal swiftness, the Marshals wage war through grit and strength of the marines themselves. They specialize in aggressive engineering, using excavators, drills, or their own bare hands to undermine the enemy and bring their walls crashing down. "Friendly" rivals to the Gatekeepers, they were clever in building forward positions, strong points and muster grounds from which to prosecute the extensive mining and engineering projects that circumvent enemy defenses and drive the men into the enemy from unexpected angles.

Once a means of bypassing the enemy's static defenses has been formed, the Marshals drive the onslaught home with a spearhead of heavily armored infantry. Specialist formations equipped with flamers and area-denial weapons drive the enemy from the breach, clearing the way for their battle-brothers to erupt from the earth and get to grips with their foe. The fighting here is often brutal and close quarters, as the Marshals often emerge within the bastions of the enemy and are forced to fight from room to room with swords and axes as much as they do with gun and flamer.

Legion Equipment

Trademark of the Steel Marshal's arsenal is an extensive array of mining engines, geo-augurs, and similar devices. Heavy lift vehicles line the bays of their transport craft, which haul the equipment needed to excavate on a grand scale.

The individual marines are heavily armored; the legion boasts a large stockpile of Mk 3 "Iron" power armor. Terminator formations are common, and have developed early-pattern storm-shields. Additionally, the individual marine is quite often armed with incendiary weapons and power weapons are common, even among the rank and file. A variant of the common power sword used by the Steel Marshals was the Austrich Power Blade, a weapon designed to deflect and parry rather than block, it's use in duels and close quarters combat made it popular for officers to use.

Unique to the Steel Marshals is the Castra pattern dreadnought, which eschews long ranged heavy firepower for close in heavy weaponry. Sporting a breacher siege drill for its main weapon with underslung heavy flamer, it is meant to grind through earth, stone, rockcrete and plasteel to immolate the foe within their fortifications. It would pave the way for future developments that lead to the "Ironclad" dreadnought.

Legion Doctrine

In the wake of Roman Albrecht's arrival, the Steel Marshals adopted a strong, unified culture espousing the virtues of the crusade and the strength of man. This code quickly evolved into a fully fledged philosophy that permeated the culture of the legion. It espouses unwavering resolve, peerless courage, and above all the endless strength of man. Though bordering on a religious fervor, this ideal within the legion remained detached from superstition and mysticism. Instead, it promotes ritual to reaffirm the virtues of reason, and to prove the endurance and willpower of the individual marine through trials of stamina and tests of strength.

The shift became most marked in the prosecution of war; where the Marauders would raze the foe to the ground and move on, the Marshals burn the heart from the enemy and offer the defeated the chance to join the Imperium as proven survivors and adherents to the doctrine of the Retainer's Creed. In this respect, new recruits would in many cases be drawn from the best and hardiest of the natives of worlds brought into the fold; they would be claimed by the Marshals to add new blood to the legion and strengthen the belief that to be man is to be ascendant in the galaxy.