When Will Mankind Finally Understand: Fill & Download for Free

Harald Hardrada, the last viking, finest military leader and greatest warrior king of his age.I've avoided writing about Harald on Quora, he's somewhat of an obsession of mine and I've wasted half a decade writing a book about his life, which frustrates me somewhat.Harald ever since his youth, craved competition, he would wrestle with his men and encouraged his warriors to engage in various sports during down time. There are accounts of Harald and his soldiers playing field games while on military campaigns throughout his life, while besieging forts in the service of Byzantium, his men would strip bare chested and hold wrestling contests.Naturally, this bizarre behaviour by the ages foremost warrior and the leader of fierce veteran mercenaries, was considered unusual.What follows, is one of the costliest mistakes in military history, when a formidable invading army of 10,000 warriors, lost because they wanted to play games and swim in a river on a hot day.Battle of Stamford Bridge, 1066.After invading England, achieving the stunning victory at the Battle of Fulford and capturing York. Harald undoubtedly the most experienced Warlord of his age, was very confident, he understandably expected the Anglo-Saxons to take a month or more to gather an army and march north to challenge him.The weather that September was unusually hot and Harald’s warriors had little to occupy their time, with a third of his warriors guarding his camp near the substantial Norwegian fleet of longboats and small groups of men garrisoned in York and scouting across the North of England.King Harald and his warriors grew bored in camp, the heat was scorching and the enemy were in the south of Britain, offering no realistic threat. So, Harald accompanied by 5 thousand warriors travelled across the region on that blisteringly hot day, to meet northern Lords to accept hostages. Harald arrived at a meadow alongside a deep cool river, and decided to engage in traditional field games, while they waited.Harald and his men left their armour at camp and travelled light on that hot day, just shields, swords, axes and spears, no mail or helmets. They frolicked in the water, wrestled and played games in the meadow, such fun they had on that day.Suddenly scouts appeared on the horizon, racing towards the meadow, carrying dire news of a massive army approaching. At first, Harald believed it must be his garrison from York with the Lords or some of his force guarding the fleet.The Anglo-Saxon army had arrived. The enemy utterly surprised Harald, by force marching relentlessly, reaching the North far sooner than he expected. Riding horses, armoured in mail and prepared for battle. Ten thousand Anglo-Saxon Housecarls, supported by the Fyrd and household warriors, the full might of Anglo-Saxon England, had come to battle the King of Norway.Harald, the 6′10″ blonde haired warrior king, who had fought in countless battles during his epic life, an unequalled Lord of war, who had commanded the elite Varangian Guard and fought battles from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean, had made the costliest mistake of his long, successful life of waging warfare.There is a legend of a Berserker who defended Stamford Bridge single-handed, slaying many English soldiers, and buying time for Harald to form his shieldwall. This tale was recorded by both the Norwegians and Anglo-Saxons.Harald sent messengers for reinforcements from camp, before ordering his elite warriors to form a circular shieldwall and made his finale stand. Unarmoured, the greatest Warlord of his age, his fierce warrior spirit unbowed and unbroken, King Harald fought with his men until the end, against the best warriors of Britain, who were dressed in mail and wearing metal helmets.Harald and nearly all his veteran warriors died that day, but even unprepared and unarmoured, they dealt such unexpected damage to the English army, that it was significantly weakened and lost the Battle of Hastings a few weeks later.So ends the life of Harald Sigurdssons, truely the greatest military man of his age, a warrior of legend and Renown. Defeated and killed, because he wanted to play sports on a hot day.Harald in the blue tunic, with his unarmoured men, fighting English warriors dressed in mail.Fun fact, vol XII; After King Harald fell and his army began to collapse, reinforcements led by Harald’s son in law Eystein Orre, finally arrived.Leading 3,000 heavily armoured Norwegian warriors from their camp, to save their King. Upon realising they had arrived too late, they entered a frenzy and charged into the Anglo-Saxons, who were out of formation, thinking the battle won. That final legendary counter attack by Eystein Orre, is known as Orre’s Storm by Norwegians. Those 3 thousand armoured warriors that arrived late, dealt such unbelievable carnage and death amongst the Anglo-Saxons, fighting with abandonment, in a bitter battle to avenge the death of their great king.These events, mark the end of the Viking age.

Well, this answer is going to stir up some anger. Disagreeing with historical consensus often does. No- I would say Alexander does not deserve the title “the great” or even “the good”.First, why is King Alexander III of Macedon “great”?Well there are a few reasonsHe won every major battle he ever fought (he was forced to retreat in small skirmishes once or twice)He often won these battles severely outnumberedIn battles, he used seemingly brilliant tactics to win the day despite the oddsHe conquered the entire Persian Empire and even parts of India- creating the largest Empire mankind had yet seenHe did all this before he was 30In summary, he was one of the first truly great conquerors in human history. I mean look at the size of his empire after his death. Keep in mind he only inherited Greece from his father- all that other stuff was taken by him.On the surface this all makes Alexander look great. I mean he was a great general-or was heWhen I got into history at a young age I saw a history channel documentary on Alexander and fell in love with the period. I read up on him and became convinced he was the greatest general in history.For years I thought this and everyone agreed.Then I went to college and I was forced to learn every little detail from the period.With history the deeper you go the less you find out that you know. What seems true from the start is rarely so by the end. There is always complexity and when you get the full picture you realize things are not so clear.So was Alexander truly great? NoWas Alexander good? Eh- kinda. He was fair- fair at best.That’s a bold statement- I mean the man nearly conquered the known world before he was 30. How can you say he isn’t great?The first thing to understand about Alexander was his army.The army of Macedon was molded by Alexander’s father Phillip the 2nd. He had turned it into the greatest military force so far in human history.Macedon had always had great cavalry and for generations, it was able to compete with Greece thanks to their mounted warriors. These mounted warriors were known as the Companion cavalry.The companions were actually the only cavalry unit on earth capable of charging an enemy. Stirrups hadn’t been invented so charging a formation of infantry would just get riders knocked off the horse. The companion's carried a hollow light spear and were trained for decades on horseback riding. So they could smash into an enemy infantry formation head-on- making quick stabbing motions with their spears. Also, thanks to their triangle formation they could pull back and regroup to charge again at will. This made them the most devastating cavalry force in history at the time.Phillip wanted to conquer Greece though and he knew he would need infantry to do so. Philip decided to create the Foot Companions- a basic Greek phalanx with a twist. Instead of the usual 6–8 foot spears Athens and Sparta used the Macedonians would use a 13–20 foot spear.These far longer spears took time to learn to use and thus the entire infantry formation of the Macedonian army were hardened trained warriors- drilled in marching, small unit tactics, and complex formations. Note that this was uncommon for the time. Phalanxes were used partially because anyone could fight in a phalanx with minimal training.But with these spears the foot companions could draw first blood. They could inflict heavy losses while the enemy was still out of reach. Combine this with their training and no infantry force on earth could match them.Then Philip created the Shield-Bearers. These were a light infantry unit- equipped with larger shields, shorter spears, and swords. They were the spec-ops guys of the age. Light and nimble, they could do complex crazy things quickly- things nobody else could do.Like everyone else, the shield bearers were super well trained and highly experienced warriors.So why am I going on about this? Well, Alexander inherited this army when his father died.His army was second to none. They were by far the greatest fighting force on earth and this becomes important.So what was wrong with AlexanderHe was reckless. He always led from the front fighting battles with his army. This sounds noble but it is actually stupid. He had no heirs and was the leader of his army. He would be deploying reinforcements to weak points on the lines, issuing orders to his subcommanders, and monitoring the battle for changes. He had 50,000 trained killers- he needed no more of them. Had he been killed his army would be leaderless and kingless stuck in enemy territory as a civil war for the throne breaks out back home.He was over-confident. Alexander always made the bad choice. At the battle of Granicus Alexander came to a large river with his army and found a larger Persian army on the other side. Now, river crossings are super dangerous and hard to do- no general would cross a river with his army in full view of the enemy. Alexander did though. He led the charge himself and got seriously hurt. He won the day because of that awesome army but he always took really heavy losses- wasting the lives of his men unnecessarily.At the start of his reign, he went to suppress some rebellious tribes to the North. Without taking any food he just marched to meet the enemy army. He literally marched into a trap- surrounded by a river and crescent-shaped set of hills occupied by an enemy army. He was lucky to escape across the river with his army intact and had his army not been “perfect” he would have lost this early on in his reign.His battle plans appear brilliant but actually aren’t. To make this simple Alexander’s battle plans were overly complex. Great generals know that plans rarely survive contact with the enemy. Trying to predict things is a fool’s errand and thus creating really simple and flexible battle plans is the best way to go. You need to be able to shift plans on a moment's notice based on what the enemy was doing. Planning out what you’re gonna do step by step is like planning out sex with a person you just met- you have no idea what’s coming.Alexander would write up these insane plans where infantry would be concealed in his cavalry and break out to occupy the enemy cavalry so Alexander could charge the enemy king and his reserve forces. These plans relied on the Persians doing what Alexander thought they would do and even then they were way too complex.Since Alexander had a perfect army where everyone was a trained veteran his plans worked. Had he not had a perfect army every one of battles would have fallen apart in minutes.He ignored important things. As King, he needed to secure the succession of his heir and establish a lasting Empire. Alexander neglected these things and after he died his empire immediately broke into warring states run by his generals. In the end, this did nothing good for Greece or Persia or the average person. He tore apart the stability of the Middle East and left a bunch of weakened successor states in his wake. His conquests counted for little as they were all lost when he died.He was a jerk. The first time his army demanded they be allowed to return home he killed the ring leaders and re-established total control.Finally, after conquering all of Persia and invading India the army again demanded they be allowed to go home. They had been fighting for years away from their families. They had died and bled for Alexander’s glory and they just wanted to see their loved ones again.How did Alexander respond? He agreed to return home- but to punish his army he marched them back through the worst terrain he could. Half his army died of exhaustion, dehydration, or sickness on the way home.This was the most experienced, best trained, and most victorious army on earth, an army leaps and bounds ahead of every other fighting force there was and Alexander allowed half to die because they wanted to see their families. What a petty person. Caesar would NEVER do something like this to his army.In summary Alexander’s army was great- he was not. Give him a standard army of the era and he would get destroyed in his first battle. He would likely die in that battle too given he would be at the front fighting with his army.Great generals are patient, careful, flexible, loyal to their men, logical, and even-tempered. Alexander was hot-headed, impatient, overconfident, inflexible, and irrational.It’s just sad he gets the credit for what his army did. Such is the fate of warriors I suppose.

Original Question: You are given the authority by the Imperium to create your own Imperial Guard regiment. What would they be like, what tactics would they use, what would they look like?Oh boy, I’ve been waiting for another question like this to come along.So, I’m going to use this opportunity to talk about a Dark Souls themed Imperial Guard regiment that Christopher and myself have been working on. Alot of what comes next will be already written lore snippets and stuff.So. Ladies and Gentlemen, servants of the immortal Sun-Emperor, behold the Ashen Crusaders.+Imperial Archive log_Querry: The Ashen Crusaders++Thought for the day: Blessed be the mind too small to doubt+-Spreading the Sun-Emperor's divine will across the Galaxy.-Background:Planet Information:(The Kiln. A world on a decaying orbit, condemned to someday burn in it’s own star’s embrace. Taken from here.)The world designated +The Kiln+, is located in Segmentum Pacificus, in the Galactic West. It is a fairly temperate world, with a single massive landmass, known as +Lordran+ by it's inhabitants.Settled sometime during the dark age of technology, and lost for nearly eight thousand years during the age of strife, the world regressed into a primitive feudal state.Planetary History:Being exposed to minor warp anomalies early in it's life, the world turned to faith to protect them from the warp. In time, this seemingly secular decision, had turned into a planet wide cult, with total control over it's citizenry's life. Their object of abject worship, was their own sun, which routinely banished the wicked shadows of the night, purified bacteria, and gave energy for all things to grow.Faith had largely united the world into a single global power, united by a single culture, and an utter fear of the warp beasts without their walls, and the witches and warlocks within.For about five thousand years, the world was largely populated with fortified pockets of human settlement, while warp beasts prowled it's vast forests and mountain ranges. However, as the warp storms subsided, and the Great Crusade began on distant Terra, so too did the warp beasts upon the world vanish, and a faith driven crusade begin to reclaim their world.Much like the Horus Heresy, this crusade too met it's end as it stood upon the brink of total success, as religious disputes and schisms within the ruling church tore the united human society apart.It would remain in this warring and feudal state for a further two thousand years until the arrival of the Tyranid splinter fleet; Noctus.(A walled bastion of human might. A lone flickering light, surrounded by darkness. Taken from here.)Arrival of Hive Fleet Noctus:In late M37, the planet's skies were darkened by a single hive-ship. Wounded from prior battle, and near-dead, the colossal beast was caught in the +Kiln's+ gravity well, and pulled into the planet below.Though the ship died on impact, it's Norn Queen survived, and instinctively reacted by breeding swarms of organisms to harvest biomass to rebuild a bio-ship.At this point, the human civilizations had grown beyond their need for few walled citadels, and had covered much of the continent with hamlets, villages, and settlements. The world's first notice of the tyranic invaders, was when an entire province of the +Kingdom of Berrenike+ was suddenly overrun by horrific beasts. Though only the most primitive hormagaunts were being fielded in the beginning, they were more than sufficient to scatter what little resistance could be mounted.Legends say that it was only when crown prince Tarkus himself saw the threat for what it was, and intervened, mustering the levies, that the swarm's advance was stopped. Using brilliant tactics and playing to the strengths of his pike-men, heavy cavalry, and crossbowmen, did the prince destroy a force of ten thousand of the xeno beasts in a battle designated +Sen's killing fields+.However, such feudal weapons could only delay the alien locusts. Soon, as entire forests near the hive-ship began to be digested, greater and greater swarms of hormagaunts did appear. Eventually, the ranged gaunt variant, known as the termagaunt also appeared upon the field, which utterly broke pikewalls with their ranged firepower.The tide finally turned decisively, when at the +Second Battle of Blight-Town+, the crown prince Tarkus, of the Black Iron, was slain by a massive lumbering creature that imperial scholars have identified as a +Carnifex Brood+.Such massive creatures were immune to all methods of attack, and with their devastating ranged weaponry turned all battles into decisive routs. With the brutal subsequent invasion of Berrenike's capital, as well as it's heartlands, the rest of the squabbling kingdoms could not ignore the threat any longer.This was an existential threat to their whole world.(The broken remnants of a Berrenike city. Taken from here.)The kingdoms mustered vast hosts, numbering in the hundreds of thousands from their tenant farmer populations. Though nowhere near as skilled as the professional killers of Berrenike, these conscripts were zealously devoted, and armed with knowledge of their foes.In the capitals, new weapons were being created, such as mighty crossbows, with far greater draw weights, and ever longer pikes. New strategies were crafted as well, crossbowmen would be integrated into pike formations, where they could deliver killing shots onto both the aggressive hormagaunt units, and into the ranged termagaunts.The first few years of the war were slow. Both sides were limited to foot traffic, and neither force had great strategic control. The Human forces scraped out a few notable victories, such as the +Battle of the Great Swamp+, where two thousand soldiers of the +Grey Legion of Farron+, held the line for six hours against near six times that number of gaunts, dying to the last man, but never once breaking ranks. Their sacrifice, bought time to the famed +Anor Londo greatbowmen+, to get into a suitable firing position, and utterly slaughter the diminutive monsters with volley after volley of spear sized arrows.All victories were hollow in the end, the swarm brushed off casualties, and everywhere the great nightbeasts (+Carnifex Broods+) trod, death and defeat followed. Over three more years, the tyranid forces slowly but surely forced the humans back, securing nearly half of the continent.If any more time had passed, the hive ship would have awakened, and the planet would have been lost. It was then, in this darkest moment, that a Black Templars crusade ship arrived in orbit.(The Lance of Dorn, performing combat operations in the Armageddon warzone, 998.M41. Taken from here.)Under the command of company captain Solarius, and brother chaplain Siegward, the Templar did descend into the xeno ranks with fire and fury, during their assault upon the great citadel of +Anor Londo+.A transcribed description of the battle from a local Greatbow captain reads as follows, +There was all at once a crack like thunder, and the night was chased away by great dragons of steel that cut across the sky. All of us upon the parapets wept at it's beauty. It was nothing short of a sun-given miracle. From the dragons, which spat fire and death into the foe's ranks, great armored figures emerged, and descended upon flaming wings into the heart of the foe's teeming ranks. 'Huzzah', our priest, brother Petrus shouted, 'An answer to our prayers! Angels have come to smite the foe'. And angels they surely were, like men, but greater. They utterly destroyed the foe, killing hundreds of the smaller monsters in a mere instant. But it was only when one of the largest creatures, that had broken our walls at the battle's start had fallen to their blades, that our stupor faded.With a noble cry, the exhausted soldiers in the streets below rallied, and moved forwards to aid the angels. Like a mighty tide we swept the enemy from the city, then, from the plains beyond. By the sun's decent, the battle was won, and all the foe lay dead. It was a miracle.+Once the tyrannic assault was driven back, and tens of thousands of their smaller bioforms were slain, the Astartes met with the local government, amidst vast hordes of cheering people.The exact details of the meeting between the +High Cardinal+, and Brother Captain Solarius are unknown, but it can be generally surmised that the planet was formally brought under the banner of the imperium, and that the Astartes pledged to rid the world of the xenos scum that infested it.As the hive ship launched another series of assaults, further politics were placed on hold, as the templars and the remaining planetary armies were forced to hold back the assault. Many more battles were fought in this time period, lasting several months. Several legions of Farron soldiery spent two weeks and almost fifteen thousand lives reclaiming the +Great Swamp+, where their brothers had stood and died only a few years before.The remote holy site known as +Emberlink shrine+ was desperately defended by a single company of one hundred heavily armed +Caterinian Great-Swordsmen+. Guarding a single narrow mountain causeway for three hours against a teeming horde of smaller xenos, and suffering heavy casualties, the knights nonetheless held the enemy in place until a strike team of Astartes arrived to deal with the bottle-necked foe.All along the width of the continent, such scenes were repeated time and time again. Everything from a lone company of a hundred men holding the line against overwhelming odds, to an entire army bravely and furiously defeating the foe. Anywhere the lines faltered, or faced insurmountable threats, teams of black templar were swiftly deployed, to end threats the moment they appeared, and to inflame the spirits of the zealous soldiery.Eventually, the xeno offensive slowed, and the tide turned. Now, it was mankind's turn to lead a devastating offensive. The reclamation of the planet had begun.It would take an archive far greater than this to recount every noble deed, every heroic loss. Such is the nature of the imperium, I am afraid. Still, noteworthy battles were fought, most notably when the crusade reached the former +Berrenike territories+, and the displaced citizenry and knights fought ever more furiously to reclaim their homes.An entire company of surviving +Berrenike Cataphracts+, cobbled together from the remnants of a dozen near-broken mighty cavalry formations, resplendent in their defiantly polished and untarnished black heraldry, took to the field beside a dozen sword brethren of the Black Templars. Together, they alone cleared the fields surrounding the lost kingdom's capital. Thousands of the xenos foe were simply trampled by their monstrous horses, whilst thousands more met their ends at the templar's blades.By week's end, the entirety of the ancient citadel was purged of xenos presence.By month's end, the scattered elements of the crusade had all gathered beneath the fortresses' walls, and made ready for the final push. An eyewitness account of this historic moment, delivered by a local volunteer watchman+On the walls, I was, under watch captain leoric's orders. The city was ours again, you see, and all the filthy night-spawn had been driven out, but we wasn't quite sure if they was all dead, you know. So I was walkin the walls, like the rest of the lads was walkin the rest of that part of the... [Subject is asked to cease his pointless tangents, and cut to the important part of the remembrance] right, right... So I looks out over the walls, I do, and I see the plains before the city are covered with a field of banners and tents, like the fields of oats that covered the plain before. Never seen so many people in all my life, I did. There were them tall folks from Anor londo, with their prissy bows, the dumpy onion-knights of Catarina, our own few units of cavalry... We's was nearly destroyed by those...what did you call them? Ti-rah-nyds? … but no real son of Berrenike would refuse an opportunity to avenge their home, so all the knights and soldiers demanded to be a part of the battle... Then, in the center of the lines was a dragon, an honest to goodness dragon, ridden by the angels. It must have been sleepin or somethin, but seein it there, I knew we could never lose, with such blessed beings at our sides.+The following day, the final push against the Hive Ship began. Standard procedure of orbital Lance strikes was ill-advised, as the verminous Xeno ship had begun the process of +Tyranoforming+ the forest it lay in, and several massive capillary towers stood ready to strike against ships in high orbit. The cleansing would happen on foot.(The gnarled and twisting forests of the Great Swamp. A place perhaps beyond the Emperor’s light. Taken from here.)Most soldiery of the Imperium, noble and heroic as they are, would take slight pause upon sight of the dense and gnarled woods, where no vehicles could traverse, and men could only walk three or four abreast, rendering formations impossible. The men of the Kiln, were no ordinary soldiers, however. Indeed, their zeal and faith and hatred impressed Brother Chaplain Siegward greatly, who developed a fondness to this world. To this day the Black Templar draw recruits from this world, and have teeming masses of volunteers to pick through.With something vaguely approaching restrained discipline, and mostly commendable fury and zeal, the masses of soldiery entered the forest in ten great columns. It is theorized that the Hive Ship had expended the majority of biomass readily available to it, so resistance was very limited.Such little biomass drove the ship to new tactics. Small numbers of more specialized beasts such as +Ravener Broods+ and +Lictor Broods+ were unleashed, and reaped nightmarish tolls upon the advancing hosts.Still, the morale and fervor of the soldiery did not break. Accompanying Astartes claimed most of the kills upon the Xeno beasts, though there were several noteworthy kills made by the mere soldiery.For instance, +Knight Captain Ornstien+ laid low three Raveners within a few moments, using his lethal +Lightning-Glaive+ [Which appears to be a unique Dark Age of Technology artifact, vaguely similar to a +Power Sword+].Who can truly say how many desperate grapples, how many noble victories occurred within the darkness and the muck of that accursed forest. All that can truly be said is that inevitably, two of three towers were reached and destroyed by the Black Templar and their accompanying hosts; and that there were none among the Astartes who could speak ill of their mortal allies.Only the final tower remained.As Legions of Farron soldiers and Catarinian great-swordsmen moved through the dense undergrowth, Astartes strike teams passing between them like vengeful spirits, the few remaining Xeno beasts fled before them, to make a final stand at the last tower.As the clearing where it stood came into view, the Hive Ship unleashed its final curse. All of its biomass reserves had been depleted to bring one beast to life. The Hive Tyrant.Roaring it's defiance at Brother Chaplain Siegward, the beast brandished it's boneswords while Raveners laid down a hail of darts. Hundreds of men died to the razor-sharp spines, yet hundreds and thousands more advanced, pushed forth by the frenzied chants of Priests and flagellants.As the Raveners were rushed and torn to shreds by a wave of ill-equipped levies, and well armed soldiery, the Brother Chaplain faced the great Xeno beast alone. A hundred hundred blows were exchanged, and both beast and Space Marine bled. Yet the duel continued.Finally, Siegward sent the beast to it's knees, and was a millisecond away from ending it's foul existence, when it unleashed a blasphemous Psykic attack, that sent everything in the clearing to the ground.As the Brother Chaplain fell before it, and it prepared to slay him, a lone Knightess of Catarina threw herself at the beast, striking her great-sword through it's eye. Within a moment, she was sliced in twain, yet the Brother Chaplain had the moment he needed.With one thrust, the beast was dead.The last Capillary tower was soon destroyed, and the assault forces evacuated the forest, while the Battle-Barge +Lance of Dorn+ took position above. With all forces withdrawn, the fallen Xeno ship and whatever remnants of their misbegotten kind remained, felt the touch of holy fire.Finally, the battle was won.Amidst the greatest of celebrations in the newly anointed planetary Capital, Anor Londo, the first batch of Aspirants were taken by the Black Templars, and the world was inducted into the Imperium of Man.(The bells of celebration ring across the greatest bastion of humanity left in the world. Taken from here.)Post Campaign Period:After the departure of the +Lance of Dorn+, great ships of the Adeptus Administratum and the Ecclesiarchy arrived, ready to begin calculating the planet's tithe payments, and the purity of it's dominant faith.Surprisingly, it took little effort to convince the +High Cardinal+, Sulyvahn, of the divinity of Him upon Holy Terra. Soon, an understanding was reached. The Sun was an extension of the Emperor's benevolent power, and the Emperor was always watching over his flock. Indeed, there were many suns in the galaxy, all burning with the Emperor's divinity.The +High Cardinal+ was a political and shrewd man, but the existence of other suns took him off guard and may have kindled some genuine faith. His own beliefs mattered little in the long term, however, and he soon began to preach this new, updated faith.The citizenry took to this change well, and the knowledge that every star in the sky was also a sun, and a glimpse of the Sun-Emperor's sheltering glow, drove many of them into a frenzy of supplication and zeal.The Administratum, meanwhile, found little of note upon the world, and apart from establishing limited industrial facilities operated by Mechanicus representatives, deemed that the world should produce Guardsmen regiments.Speculation on Ancient Planetary History:-Sealed upon the command of Arch-Magos Ghermund-+Clearance level Vermillion required to proceed+[+] +Enter Code: ___________+Ashen Crusader Regiments:Regimental Formations:Ashen Crusader regiments are comprised of a combination of conscripted levies, and professional soldiery, who are led by planetary nobles. Levies are equipped with +70% Pikes+ and +30% Lascarbines+, while specialist units such as the +Anor Londo Marksmen+ and +Catarinian Great-swordsmen+ use Longlas rifles and Powerswords.(The arrayed might of the ashen crusaders. Infantry on the left are Crusaders and Veteran squads, while the right infantry are Conscript squads.)In battle, Levies are divided into units of 3000, subdivided into 12 companies. Each formation has ranks of pike-men arrayed into +hollow squares+ with mobile formations of lascarbine levies providing short ranged fire. [See attached diagram 300463]Massed formation tactics involve a +Dragon's tooth+ staggered formation, with alternating blocks of ranged and melee infantry advancing slowly over open ground. When spread far enough apart, this allows effective flanking assaults, as well as enfilading fields of fire. Unwary foes may even find themselves disastrously outflanked, while merely advancing to meet the enemy. [See attached diagram 300464]Each company is commanded by a +Company Master+, as well as a +Sergeant Major+ and color bearer.Specialist units operate on the wings of the formation in the case of marksmen units, or in the center of the battle line, in the case of heavy assault units. Penal units of criminals, as well as units of flagellants are often deployed somewhat before the pike units, as a +Walking trench+ to slow charging enemy units, and to absorb enemy fire.(Catarinian Vox-Operator and Squad Leader.)It is needless to say, that Ashen Crusader formations suffer catastrophic losses from artillery, armored units, and heavy weapons emplacements. Great care is taken to unleash these units in the few locations where they can serve usefully. Surprisingly, it is in certain aspects of Hive city warfare where they prove lethal, as their unshakable morale, combined with their massed infantry formations allow them to sweep through and secure wide streets and bridges within the tangled sprawl of Hive settlements. They also prove effective at facing Tyranids, as they are unlikely to flee, and their dense formations prove unassailable to most lighter bio-organisms.Armored Units:The Ashen Crusaders are a very primitive and superstitious people. Most particulars of tank and artillery use and maintenance are beyond them. Despite this, they have grown to be a major supplier of Guard Regiments in their Segmentum, and as such, the Departmento Munitorium, as well as Segmentum High Command have deemed it necessary to grant +The Kiln+ the facilities to produce and equip limited numbers of standard pattern Leman Russ battle tanks, Chimera armored personnel carriers, and Basilisk artillery pieces.This has enabled the creation of Mechanized Crusader regiments, who fill important roles in the larger battle-plan, when working with their foot-bound brethren.The shattering firepower of tank divisions, combined with artillery support has made the Crusader forces as a whole reasonably effective at prosecuting sieges on their own, with no off-world support.The warrior-knights of Berrenike, Catarina, and Astora have taken to equipping themselves with power-swords, and their generations of study in the arts of the blade have made many of them very lethal fighters. The presence of Chimera transports in their ranks has opened new tactical options, and allowed the creation of +Solar Knight+ units. These warriors travel into battle in armored personnel carriers, and are heavily armed and armored. They are used as melee shock troops, deploying at point blank range to engage the enemy in a swirling melee.Mechanicus representatives conduct most if not all of the required vehicle maintenance to keep Crusader Regiments in the field. It is to be noted that apart from cultured nobility, the greater mass of Crusaders does not get along with the tech-priests, whom they consider to be witches and warlocks. The current amount of incidents is low, but this may be due to both parties choosing to keep such events concealed.Despite the Mechanicus presence, it is actually the Crusaders themselves who drive their tanks and vehicles into battle. Many of their number have taken to “anointing” their metal steeds with banners, and scrolls of great deeds. Berrenike warriors especially have taken to mounting spiked rams and other weapons upon the fronts of their tanks, seeking to make them more lethal “on the charge”. Mechanicus representatives have lodged complaints about these practices to Segmentum command, but the issue is currently deemed of low priority.(Catarinian-modified Leman Russ. Gilded, with scrolls and banners proclaiming the nobility, knighthood, and breeding of the tank commander, along with a record of the noble machine’s combat history.)Regimental Airforce:Ashen Crusader regiments make up the bulk of their Segmentum's local defensive forces, and as such, they closely collaborate with patrolling Imperial Navy units. Crusader units frequently train in orbital deployment procedures, while some are even permanently garrisoned with traveling fleets.On the ground, Imperial Airforce squadrons work closely with Crusader units. Both to transport strike teams to vital positions, and to provide air cover and artillery suppression for massed ground assaults.The guardsmen are in a perpetual reverent awe of the Valkyries and Marauders and Aquilla aircraft that work with them. Their primitive culture and superstitious upbringing makes them widely consider aircraft to be great metal birds or dragons, harnessed in some way by the witchery of the red-robed techno-sorcerers.Imperial Navy pilots are treated like heroes and champions by nearly all Crusaders that they encounter. This breeds a very amicable working relationship between the two military branches.Regimental Interactions with wider Imperial Entities:Black Templars: The Crusading Astartes chapter known as the Black Templars have taken a strong liking to the brash, zealous, and suicidally frenzied Ashen warriors. The Kiln is a popular world for Black Templars recruitment, and the chapter itself frequently works with Ashen Crusader units.Most often, the guardsmen are used for suicidal distraction attacks against major enemy concentrations. This usually works as intended, and the crusaders have no problems with being treated in such a manner by the Sun-Emperor's holy angels.Departmento Munitorium: The Imperial Logistics organizations have a general indifference to the Crusader Regiments. They are frequently self-sufficient, and often bring seeds and crops to sow while garrisoned on worlds, and are thus able to function with minimal supply lines. Furthermore, they rarely ask for complicated special weapons, or any non baseline vehicles. In short, the Munitorium's lives are unusually easy when dealing with the Crusaders.Imperial Ecclesiarchy: There was certainly a great deal of religious tension and friction when The Kiln was first brought into the fold. This was soon calmed, however. Now, the Ecclesiarchy shows strong approval for the frenzied fervor with which the Crusaders express their faith. The Kiln's government and nobility are very strong supporters of the Ecclesiarchy's every political move. In return, they benefit from Ecclesiarchial patronage and favor.UPDATE: 1/25/2019I got more pictures of the Army itself, now that more things have been painted and put together.(The Current army at it’s most up to date size.)(Some glorious mad lads from the Farron Legions.)(One of the most educated crusaders, trusted to carry the spirit box, a device that lets you talk to people far away… Probably not heretical, but suspect nonetheless.)(A freerider knight, clad in his own personal heraldry. Freerider battalions are auxiliary units cobbled together from volunteer warriors seeking individual glory on the battlefield. Though irregularly armed, and bringing their own weapons and armor, they are nonetheless highly skilled killers.)(A traveling priest of the Cruasder hosts.)(Holy warrior trusted to carry the Dragon’s breath gun.)(Crusader nobility fighting a C’tan shard of the Nightbringer during the fall of Cygnus XV, M40 colorized… It didn’t end well. (The C’tan is a new addition to my Neccies))