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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 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 [[Terra]] and elsewhere such as the Legion Fiefdoms of [[Gramarye]], and [[Caliban]]{{Fn|50c}}{{Fn|50d}} 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. {{Fn|50d}} Indeed, it is noted that the Legion holds in its armoured reserves war machines rarely fielded since the earliest days of the Unification Wars, and others which, much to the chagrin of the Mechanicum, are of entirely unknown provenance.{{Fn|68}} 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 Caliban and Gramarye, as well as a number of secret caches scattered across the Imperium and guarded by dedicated Orders, were vast stores of weaponry long 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}}
By the last years of the Great Crusade, shortly before the outbreak of the Horus Heresy, the Dark Angels claimed a strength of approximately 180,000 to 200,000{{Fn|50e}} warriors, while other accounts claimed they had raised as many as a quarter of a million from the world of Caliban alone.{{Fn|33e}} In terms of sheer size this placed them in the upper tier of the Legiones Astartes, alongside such Legions as the Ultramarines and Sons of Horus, and despite the rise of the younger Legions to rival their glory, they still remained one of the single most powerful military forces in the Imperium. Additional records from the period have noted a much lower field strength for the Dark Angels, sometimes as low as 50,000. These reports are likely due to the confusion that the Dark Angels' organisational procedures and heraldry caused for most unfamiliar observers.{{Fn|50d}} The dense nature of the ciphers they used and the secretive nature of many of its sub-formations often led to some amount of bewilderment for outsiders, especially when combined with the fluid and shifting nature of authority and command within the Legion, sometimes even to the degree that it led to military setbacks when working alongside other Imperium forces. Surprisingly, the Dark Angels have made little attempt to remedy this situation, indeed some of their commanders, especially the older veterans of the Great Crusade, seem to take a quiet pride in the confusion it occasions among the least disciplined of their allies. In particular, a common practise by some Dark Angels forces is to arrive without announcing to their allies who commands the First Legion contingent, leaving their counterparts to determine whom to greet as warlord by the heraldry they display. Those few who make the correct choice, or who are wary enough to make no judgement, are treated with respect and those who choose poorly watched carefully for further lapses in judgement. Such tests of worth are commonplace among the Dark Angels, both for their own initiates and for those that would fight alongside them, for the sons of the Lion judge the worth of no warrior on rumour and hearsay alone.{{Fn|50d}}
**{{Endn|66c}}: Chapter 9 Section I
*{{Endn|67}}: [[The Horus Heresy Book Six - Retribution]], pg. 67
*{{Endn|68}}: [[Liber Astartes]], pg. 172
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