452
edits
Changes
Forbidden arsenal
In the same vein as their father Lion El'Jonson, Dark Angels officers are expert tacticians and specialists and have been quick to capitalize on the skills of [[Primaris Space Marine]]s and the particular varieties of their squad types. New specialized formations have been developed alongside ancient patterns such as the '''Hammer of Caliban''' and '''Scout Recon Stalker Strike'''. '''Caliban's Reach''' is but one example, which combines the firepower of [[Hellblaster]]s and [[Devastator]]s with [[Centurion]]s to devastating effect. The advanced infiltration and reconnaissance skills all Primaris Space Marines learn as part of their [[Vanguard Space Marine|Vanguard]] training is of great value to a chapter seeking hidden foes. The [[Omniscrambler]]s of [[Infiltrator Squad]]s can severely disrupt enemy communications, allowing [[Ravenwing]] squadrons to strike without their quarry being warned. The Divinator-class [[Auspex]]es of the [[Incursor]]s collect data from battlefields that previously would have been almost impossible to extract. This yields new information to the [[Inner Circle]] to act upon without Vanguard Space Marine's knowledge.{{Fn|41}}
In addition, the Dark Angels are known to have access to a disproportionate amount of [[Plasma Weaponry]].{{Fn|4b}} During the time of the [[Great Crusade]] , complementing the concentration of skill and hard-won knowledge of the Dark Angels [[Hexagrammaton]]. Was one of the most deadly arsenals in the entire Imperium. Much of the technology routinely deployed by the Dark Angels were known for their strategic flexibility thanks was of an order of complexity beyond that available to the younger Legions and on par with those of the [[Adeptus Custodes|Legio Custodes]], produced in dedicated manufactoria on [[HexagrammatonTerra]] and elsewhere to the specifications of the Dark Angels learned forge masters to designs dating back millennia. Exotic plasma weaponry, munitions of archaic and unstable design as well as variants of armoured vehicles and void craft based on unique technologies, all were the sole province of the First Legion. This proved a potent force multiplier on the battlefield, amplifying the superior skills of the Dark Angels and allowing them to prevail against foes that lesser technology could not defeat. As well as those advanced weapons and designs they used openly, the Dark Angels also maintained large stocks of weapons of a darker renown. Within the sealed vaults of forbidden Caliban and Gramarye, as well as a number of secret caches scattered across the Imperium and guarded by dedicated Orders, were vast stores of weaponrylong since proscribed to the other military arms of the Imperium. [[Gene-phage|Gene-phages]] capable of annihilating all life upon a planetary body in mere hours, core-breaching [[Magna-Torpedo|magna munitions]] that could tear a planet apart from within, stockpiles of ancient [[Silica-virae]] - the dreaded scourge of the nanite pronounced the ultimate heresy by the adepts of Mars--all could be found within the armouries of the Dark Angels. Such weapons could not be unleashed lightly, for they served only a single purpose - the utter destruction of life. They were of no use to conquerors, only to destroyers, and they served as the ultimate sanction for those enemies deserving of only annihilation. {{Fn|50d}}
During the earlier years of the Great Crusade the First legion possessed a war fleet numbering several hundred warships{{Fn|66c}}. However, by the time of the Horus Heresy In order to support the widely spread web of independent Companies and Chapters the Dark Angels maintained perhaps the greatest fleet of all the Legiones Astartes, both in terms of sheer number of capital class vessels and in the impressive firepower of those craft. Just as with the many disparate Companies of the Legion, the fleet was also widely spread, most often operating either as a support flotilla attached to a Chapter or as one of the rarer deep range patrol squadrons. Support flotilla were comprised of the heaviest ships available, with the core of many being a [[Glorianna Class Battleship]] or other first-rate warship supported by one or more squadrons of cruisers. Support flotilla were intended to provide transport for the attached Chapters, allowing them to breach heavily-defended systems without support and assault a specified target without the need for extensive auxiliary forces.{{Fn|50e}} They also served to provide orbital fire support to Legiones Astartes forces engaged in battle and a base for Legion interface craft, either to serve as an orbital supply line or to launch airstrikes or interdiction missions. By contrast, the patrol fleets maintained a smaller contingent of Legion warriors, rarely more than Company strength, and fielded more deep range cruisers and sleek escort craft mounting scanning augurs and other equipment unique to the Dark Angels. These squadrons were tasked with seeking out unknown nests of xenos or isolationist and belligerent human enclaves, much in the same manner as the more specialised White Scars fleets. Those Legiones Astartes Companies accompanying the fleet were used solely to assess the threat level of the enemies discovered, mounting spoiling raids or brief hit and run campaigns before withdrawing back to their orbital fortresses. Those deemed dangerous by the veterans of the First Legion were annihilated from orbit and those marked as vulnerable left for the Great Crusade that followed in the fleet's wake.{{Fn|50e}} With assets spread across the galaxy, the First Legion placed little emphasis on maintaining a large number of holdings and fortresses. Indeed, there are only two large outposts held by the Dark Angels, the ancient fortress of [[Gramarye]] which played host to the halls of the Council of Masters and the vast industrial facilities that produced many of the Legion's more esoteric weapons and had long been concealed from the scrutiny of the Mechanicum, and the more recently acquired fortress of the Order on [[Caliban]]. These two worlds saw the largest concentration of the Legion's infrastructure, and were both heavily fortified and defended. Other holdings on Terra, where a significant portion of the Legion's recruitment was still conducted, and the scattered chantry houses of the various Orders Militant, were less well defended, but not intended as frontline combat installations. The standard pattern of operations within the Legion saw these holdings used as bases for resupply for a force that was primarily based within the mobile halls of the fleet. Only on the rarest of occasions did any of the Chapters of the Dark Angels return to their halls for any lengthy period of rest, with garrison duty left to the rawest recruits and those masters and seneschals with Deathwing lifeguard cadres that stood warden over those domains.{{Fn|50e}}
