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Brontian Longknives

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- Brontian Longknives -
Homeworld: Bront
Regiment Name: Brontian Longknives
Specialities: Close Combat
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The Brontian Longknives are Imperial Guard Regiments from the Hive World of Bront.

Overview

The hive world of Bront, located within the Golgenna Reach sub-sector, is known to be a particularly violent place, yet possesses a level of order and discipline not found in many other hive worlds. One of the younger hive worlds in the Calixis Sector, Bront was founded almost a decade after the end of the Angevin Crusade, a reward to the 33rd Army Group, the last of the Crusade’s forces to be demobilized as the sector established itself. While not originally a hive world, Bront was swiftly industrialized, and was reclassified as a hive world within a mere thousand years of its founding.[1]

Bront’s populace was formed from the descendants of countless thousands of Imperial Guardsmen and their families from dozens of worlds, who had been brought together by the shared experience of conflict. As such, the population of Bront have strong traditions of military discipline and ancestral ties, with old regimental affiliations forming a system of clan-houses. These clans form the heart of Brontian society, maintaining ancient traditions from distant worlds and instilling a deep sense of loyalty and duty in its people. However, the military tradition that defines Brontian culture also ensures that the clans work tirelessly to be ready to defend the Imperium as their ancestors once did. Disputes between clans are resolved through ritualized mass battles, favoring an assortment of blades over pistols, rifles, and other ranged weapons.[1]

These ritual battles typically leave little more than scars, which are worn openly where possible to display a warrior’s victories and losses, and every warrior knows and can recount the history of every one of his scars. While most scars are regarded as a sign of experience and honour, a few are viewed with scorn: scars upon a warrior’s back are universally regarded as dishonourable, whether from the bite of a lash to punish a criminal, or from the edge of a blade when fleeing from battle. Ne’er-do-wells and cowards are ill-favoured in Brontian society, and seldom rise to achieve any worthy status once marked as such. When recruited into the Imperial Guard, Brontian regiments are deliberately drawn from multiple clans, with individual companies, platoons or even squads all holding different ancestral affiliations. This means that each Brontian regiment represents the world and its people as a whole, rather than any one element of it, and the bonds of bloodshed formed during ritual battle hold these disparate groups together in spite of their differences. A Brontian knows to respect those he faces in battle for the death they can deliver, and the warriors of the other clans have been faced many times. Individual Brontian Guardsmen are still known to bear their scars openly, and carry their favoured knives about their person, adding new blades to their collection with every campaign survived—a Brontian soldier’s experience can be seen in the scars on his arms, torso and face, and in the knives strapped to his armour. Brontian officers are known to carry the tradition a step further, with an array of swords worn at their belts and over their shoulders, and their scars used to help determine their worth as front-line leaders—rare is the officer who achieves a significant rank with dishonour’s mark upon his back.[1]

Brontian regiments are most commonly infantry, mechanised infantry or light infantry, with Brontian armoured regiments being extremely rare. The Brontian preference and talent for close assaults are ill-suited to armour or artillery, and are better served being placed at the front lines, leading assaults with bayonet charges or ambushing enemy patrols with blackened knives. Some notable exceptions exist, such as the famed Brontian 82nd Armoured, whose Leman Russ Demolisher squadrons were invariably found at the heart of the fighting, pounding enemies and fortifications alike at close range.[1]

Notable Regiments

Related Articles

Sources