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Iron Hands

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Iron Hands


The Iron Hands were one of the twenty original Space Marine Legions. Their Primarch is Ferrus Manus. Like the other loyalist Legions, much of the Iron Hands forces would later be re-organized into smaller Chapters, as according to the dictates of the Codex Astartes. The Iron Hands are notable for their heavy use of bionics and their reverance for all things mechanical, and thus their close ties to the Adeptus Mechanicus.


Marine Basic Data Chapter Symbol
Ironhands1.jpg
- Iron Hands -
Legion Number: X
Primarch: Ferrus Manus
Chapter Master: Kardan Stronos4b
Homeworld: Medusa
Fortress-Monastery: N/A
Known Descendants: Red Talons, Brazen Claws, Sons of Medusa, Steel Confessors
Colours: Black and Silver
Specialty: Bionics
Battle Cry: The Flesh Is Weak!
Iron Hands-logoB.jpg
Miniature
IronHandMarine.jpg


Contents

Homeworld

A Terminator Armour equipped Iron Hands Marine.9

Medusa is located near the Eye of Terror. Its landscape is harsh and generally unstable, with massive tectonic shifts occurring on a regular basis. Medusa is not united by any single government, but instead is populated by disparate clans of miners living out of great tracked vehicles travelling in caravan. There are only two notable locations on Medusa: a volcano known as Karaashi, which was the location of the arrival of Ferrus Manus, and the Land of Shadows. The Land of Shadows is populated only by ghostly relics of ages past and is said to be haunted by the spirits of Medusans long dead; those who go there only go in order to become supplicants to the Iron Hands' recruitment process.

History

The Great Crusade

Founding

The early history of Ferrus Manus is chronicled in the folklore of Medusa. The most popular of these tales is the Canticle of Travels, which details the trials of Ferrus Manus and his ordeal with the Great Silver Wyrm known as Asirnoth. The Canticle is the only tale that even attempts to explain the mystery of how Ferrus Manus came by his living metal hands. Ferrus Manus never united the people of his homeworld in the way most of the other Primarchs had, on the basis that competition grew greater strength. When the Emperor eventually came to Medusa, Ferrus Manus tested himself against him as well. In a cataclysmic battle that is said to have lain waste to entire mountains. Finally having found someone his equal, Ferrus accepted the Emperor as his master and took command of a legion of Space Marines.

The Horus Heresy

At the outset of the Heresy, Fulgrim - the Primarch of the Emperor's Children tried to turn Ferrus Manus to the side of the traitors. When Ferrus refused to side with the rebels, Fulgrim had his fleet launch a crippling attack on the Iron Hands vessels, although he could not bring himself to kill his brother. In the wake of this betrayal, Ferrus took as many of his veterans as he could onboard one of the few undamaged vessels to participate in the loyalist attack on Isstvan V. This proved to be a disaster when four of the supposedly loyal Chapters turned on their allies, resulting in horrendous casualties amongst the Raven Guard and Salamanders Legions and the death of Ferrus Manus and his entire retinue.3 Rumors persist that Ferrus Manus's corpse was taken to Mars; the Iron Hands deny any such claims. The Iron Hands bear a grudge against all the participants of the Heresy: the traitors, for being weak enough to become corrupted, and the other loyalists, for not being strong enough to protect the Emperor.10

Post-Heresy

After the events of the Heresy the remaining members of the Iron Hands Legion were split up into smaller Chapters. The known descendants of the Iron Hands at this time were the Red Talons and the Brazen Claws.11

Recent History

  • Moirae Schism (cM35) - a civil conflict which occurred during the Nova Terra Interregnum. During this Schism, which affected all branches of the Adeptus Mechanicus and those Imperial factions closely tied to it, the Iron Hands chapter stood at the brink of destroying itself in an internal chapter war. The Great Clan Council of the Iron Hands were able to settle the matter by exiling the Moirae dissidents from the chapter, with both sides swearing never to take up arms against each other. Almost a full third of the chapter split away to become a fleet based divergent branch of the Iron Hands. This branch became known as the Sons of Medusa.5
  • Thirteenth Black Crusade (999.M41) - The Iron Hands committed all ten clans against the forces of the Black Crusade. During this conflict the Iron Hands' Home World, Medusa, was invaded by Chaos forces; these forces were eventually defeated by combined forces of all the Clan Companies. 6

Beliefs and Reputation

The Iron Hands have a reputation for being relatively straightforward and incredibly harsh. In the Battle of Thranx, for example, the resources of several depleted clan-companies were pooled for a full frontal assault using five Land Raiders against a facility bristling with anti-tank defenses that had made a mockery of previous attempts with whole armored companies; in the retaking of the Contqual Subsector, one third of the population was summarily executed after a successful campaign simply to demonstrate the price of weakness. 10

Additionally, the Iron Hands are infamous for their extensive use of bionics. After the Heresy, when the Legions were reorganized into Chapters, the Iron Hands became recluses, attempting to find ways to make themselves even stronger so that they would be fit for serving under Manus again at the end of times. To this end they have made it a practice to make extensive use of bionic modifications, going so far that there are rumors of some battle brothers being wholly mechanical. The Iron Hands also eschew the traditional office of Chaplain in favor of their Iron Fathers, specially trained Techmarines who serve to protect the faith of their brethren; some outsiders view this as well as the Iron Hands' ties to the Adeptus Mechanicus as an unhealthy relationship.10

Geneseed

There are no noted physical flaws with the Iron Hand's gene-seed, but some speculate that their fanatical hatred of weakness and physical frailty may in fact result from a genetic flaw in their gene-seed. Unusually it appears that the Inquisition are relatively unconcerned about the Chapter as a whole - it would appear that if they have identified a flaw in the Chapter, they choose not to act on it as they do not regard this flaw as inherantly dangerous to the Imperium.10

Organization

The Iron Hands are organised in a similar fashion to a Codex Chapter but with several distinct differences. The Chapter consists of ten "Clan Companies" which are composed in a fashion comparable to that of a Codex Battle Company. Each Clan Company is an independant entity, responsible for its own recruitment and, as such, there are no dedicated Scout or Veteran Companies.10

Hierarchy

Sources concerning the Hierarchy of the Iron Hands give conflicting information about the upper echelons of their command structure -

  • White Dwarf 262 (UK) states that the Chapter does not possess a Chapter Master, but is instead led by the Great Clan Council, which is itself made up of revered representatives from each of the ten Clans. This is described as being a precaution against future heresy and a reflection of Ferrus Manus' teachings.10 A more current source, Imperial Armour Volume 10, also confirms the existence of the Greater Clan Council.

Whether this apparent contradiction is an oversight on the part of the writers or shows a fluidity in the command structure of the Chapter in unknown. It is possible that the Iron Hands may sometimes elect Chapter Masters from the Greater Clan Council in times of great strife or that the title of Chapter Master may be given to any or all of the Council members.

The Great Clan Council

Each Clan Company chooses a member to serve in the ruling body of the Chapter, The Great Clan Council. due to the reverance for the mechanical amongst Iron Hands, the council members are often Venerable Dreadnoughts. It is not stated whether the Clan Council is a permanent organisation or whether it only assembles when the various Clan Companies meet; similarly it is not stated whether the individual Clans' Council members are also those Companies' leaders or whether these are two seperate roles.10

Clan Companies

The bulk of the Chapter is divided into then Clan Companies. Each Clan is a roughly a self-contained unit not dissimilar to a Codex Astartes Battle Company; however, each Clan is responsible for its own recruiting and maintenance of its motorpool. Each Clan, in addition, possesses a mobile fortress monastery on Medusa which they consider their base of operations. Some materials do pass between the Clans, but even still they are often in open competition with one another.10 The Chapter's fleet disposition is unknown.
An Iron Hands Terminator battling against daemonettes.7

Known Clans

Iron Fathers

The Iron Hands eschew the traditional office of Chaplain in favor of their Iron Fathers, specially trained Techmarines who serve to protect the faith of their brethren; some outsiders view this (as well as the Iron Hands' ties to the Adeptus Mechanicus in general) as an unhealthy relationship.10

Terminators and Veteran Sergeants

After the events of the battle of Istvaan V the Iron Hands lost most of their veteran forces. Therefore, suits of Terminator armour are even more rare than is normally the case. Due to this, the deployment of full Terminator Squads is rare. However sergeants are often equipped with suits of Terminator armour as the inspirational value they provide to their squads is invaluable.10

Recruitment

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Equipment

Noted Elements of the Iron Hands

An Iron Hands Marine dual-wielding two bolters.8

Notable Members

Main article: Known Members of the Iron Hands
Heresy Era
  • Ferrus Manus - Primarch of the Iron Hands3
  • Gabriel Santar - First captain of the Iron Hands during the Crusade and the Horus Heresy. Killed on Isstvan V.3
Post Heresy
Vessels
  • Fist of Iron - Flagship at the time of the Horus Heresy.3
  • Ferrum - Carried Ferrus Mannus and his veterans to Istvaan V.3

Images

Related Articles

The Space Marine Legions of the Horus Heresy
Loyalist I - Dark Angels · V - White Scars · VI- Space Wolves · VII- Imperial Fists · IX- Blood Angels · X- Iron Hands · XIII- Ultramarines · XVIII- Salamanders · XIX- Raven Guard
 Traitor III- Emperor's Children · IV- Iron Warriors · VIII- Night Lords · XII- World Eaters · XIV- Death Guard · XV- Thousand Sons · XVI- Luna Wolves/Sons of Horus · XVII- Word Bearers · XX- Alpha Legion

Sources

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