Thomas Gaudin

Thomas Gaudin
Discovered (world)	Sturmundrang
Discovered (period)	c.877.M30
Legion	Tenth
Heraldry/Sigil

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.

Youth

Not much is known of Gaudin's early childhood once he landed on Sturmundrang, only that the planet was mired in a bloody and stagnant civil war. The use of chemical and nuclear weapons rendered the very air caustic to breath, so much so that it was impossible to survive for more than a few seconds on the scarred surface without a breathing apparatus and a body suit. All that is known of Gaudin's arrival on Sturmundrang is that he was raised in a neutral domain by it's ruling Lord. Due to Gaudin being able to survive on the surface of Sturmundrang without assistance thanks to his enhanced physiology, Gaudin was recognised by his surrogate family as a truly valuable individual.

Due the neutrality of his foster domain, Gaudin's home had a very small standing army of men but a fairly sizeable reserve of vehicles, mostly infantry fighting vehicles and tanks. These vehicles were a necessity for effective military movement as they were sealed from the caustic air, used a recycled air filtration system and were able to refill air tanks for ground troops. Noticing how stagnant the fighting was on his world, Gaudin used the little troops he had to revolutionise warfare on Sturmundrang. By having a small number of men, Gaudin was able to give them all specialised training and to establish nearly all of them into IFV's and tanks those who could not were placed in reserve or put in support roles i.e. artillery, supply, communication and medical care. Long since sickened by the seemingly endless and brutal war, Gaudin vowed to use his new army to unite the planet under one banner.

Using this small, well trained and highly mobile force, Gaudin set out beyond his lords borders and began his crusade across the war-torn, toxic surface. Having been taught that mercy is a necessary and sadly rare virtue among leaders by his adoptive father, Gaudin offered terms to all those who would listen. If they refused to listen to them or refused to obey them, Gaudins army would crush them under track and boot. In rare cases a pocket of resistance managed to halt the roaring advance of the crusaders, sometimes for days other times for weeks or even months. Impressed by the guile and courage shown by these men, Gaudin would allow any survivors who were willing to either join his army or to return home to their families. In most cases they joined his forces and were placed in veteran companies, acting as the spear tip in his advance.

The Great Crusade

With their father now restored to them, a new name granted and the Legion united and complete, it was immediately dispatched to the very forefront of the Great Crusade, where Gaudin immediately set out to put his oaths into action in the name of his father and his cause. In warzone after warzone, bloody battle after storming campaign the Crusaders lived up to their name and the legacy that name gave them, as the foremost instrument of the Emperor’s Great Crusade.

As the Crusade reached its terminal stages, the star of the Crusaders shone all the brighter, though never enough to eclipse that other Legions like the Scions or the Wolves of Dawn. Time and again the Emperor used them as one of his personal instruments, to reinforce, support and prosecute campaigns that He Himself saw as important to the overall progress of the Great Crusade.

High in favour and honour though they were, the Crusaders’ status did not sit well with some of their brother-Legions. The Mastodontii, the only Legion to exceed the Crusaders in the number of vehicles and in the skills of armoured warfare were known to both respect and dislike them for their ‘abuse’ of their vehicles' Machine Spirits and their cavalier attitude.

At the same time that Hektor was appointed Warmaster, Gaudin was himself granted the tile of the Praetorian of Terra. As Hektor would take over push the Great Crusade on to final victory, the Crusaders would withdraw with the Emperor to Terra to establish a guard around Him there, though for what reasons was not revealed to Gaudin. Gaudin took up his new position, though privately he was dismayed that he would miss out on the many campaigns that still had to be fought.

As the Heresy began to break upon the Imperium, the bulk of the Crusaders Legion was still in the mindst of a full scale withdrawal to Terra. Due to the many requirements of the Great Crusade, not all the detachments had been able to comply with the order, and it is estimated that about half the Legion was absent by the time Hektor’s treachery became known, and of that half two thirds would never reach Terra at all.

The Crusaders were never among the most numerous of the Legions, with the most conservative estimate of the Legion around the time of the Heresy giving them around 105,000 line Astartes, with a considerable armoured reserve, second only to the Mastodontii Legion, though while the Mastodontii favoured heavier vehicles like the Fellblade and Typhon, the Crusaders preferred faster vehicles such as the Predator and Sicaran. The Crusaders also used a specially modified pattern of Rhino fitted with ‘Lucifer’ pattern engines to increase its speed, vital for the type of warfare the Legion espoused.