Editing The Mercurials (section)

==Chapter Combat Doctrine==
Unlike their mighty sires, the Void Angels, the Mercurials disregard the psychological factor of warfare.  Carron's time fighting against the Traitor Legions convinced him that the most dangerous foes of the Imperium could not be defeated through attacks on their morale.  Instead, he emphasised the Fifth Legion's manoeuvre strategy and aimed to fight at such a high tempo that the enemy was unable to effectively respond. This required a change to the ''Institutorum Astartes'' doctrine: rather than the second Squadron infiltrating on foot or by bike, it would deploy by jump pack from gunships.  The Mercurials also made heavy use of transport vehicles for their Battle Squadrons.

The central concept of the Mercurial battle doctrine was the "decision point", a small area of the battlefield on which the Chapter can concentrate forces to achieve a break-through.  Once the enemy line was broken, mobile forces poured into the enemy's rear areas to disrupt lines of communication.  The independent spirit of Mercurial subcommanders was critical to their success in this fast-moving style of warfare.  Rather than issuing strict instructions, this Chapter's commanders merely expressed their general intent and left their subordinates to interpret the best course of action according to the situation on the ground.