Editing The Crusaders (section)

=='Left-Behind’==

As the Crusade set out beyond the light of Sol, the VI Legion was now at chapter strength, and swiftly entered the line alongside their brothers. In these first glorious campaigns the X Legion did not show and particular specialties, such as the mass-warfare of the Wolves of Dawn, the armoured thrusts of the Steel Wing or the rapid assaults of the Emerald Doom. They in fact became infamous for how unremarkable they were, as if they were the perfect exemplar of the standard Legion organization as laid out by the Principa Belicosa. Infantry assaults with armoured support was the norm, their campaigns measured affairs that did not win worlds quickly or efficiently, but did not leave them smoking ruins either. They showed a certain flair for technological ability, and were in high demand by the Mechanicum to assist them in pacifying recalcitrant Forgeworlds and Knight Worlds including the pacification of Dieseleum, a Forgeworld that rejected the primacy of Mars. But the slow speed of their gene-seed bonding meant that casualties could only be slowly replaced, and the Legion because highly casualty-conscious as a result. Larger campaigns often crippled the Sixth Legion’s combat abilities for years, and their battle-roll of honours remained very small compared to their peers. This bred a sense that the Legion was an underdog, struggling against both the foe and their own brothers, who they felt looked down upon them.

One thing that became noted of the early Legion was that once oathed to a battle, they would push on regardless, determined to secure victory at any cost. This meant that some campaigns would grind on for many months and the legion would suffer unnecessary casualties in finally pressing a win. The Legion's victories were often far between and no matter what, the price was always high. The Legion became known as ‘The Emperor’s Sledgehammer’ for they were a blunt, unwieldy instrument that bashed worlds into the Imperium, slowly but surely and with a great deal of effort. The Gene-Seed issues meant the increased casualties of the growing battles began to bite, with the Legion dropping below 50,000 Marines after the First Ruavu Grun Xenocide, where that first wave of Extragalactic Invaders ravaged the northern Solar Segmentum and four Legions were diverted to destroy them. The VI Legion were far from the forefront of the Great Crusade, and while the V Legion gained the nomenclature ''Tag-along'', the VI were known as ''Left-behind''. 

The Legion might have eventually ground itself to nothing had this trend continued, but it was very timely that their Father was to be found early into the Great Crusade in the Sol Segmentum, and he would completely remake the Legion in his own image and thus save it.