From the Rout to the Pack

[Adarul Greystalker]

From the Rout to the Pack

Evolution of a combat doctrine

 

Prospero Burns presents the Sixth Legion of old as a very different kind of fighting force than the Space Wolves chapter that we are used to. There are very major similarities, of course. The physiology of the Space Wolf is the same. The culture of Fenris is the same. Our wargear hasn’t changed a great deal in ten thousand years. However, our mission has changed, as has the way in which we fight.

 

In the 41st millennium, the Space Wolves are defenders of humanity. They are a fighting force consisting of no more than a few thousand warriors who nevertheless are prepared to act with or without allied support to repel hostile invasions, quash insurrections, and root out corrupting and undermining influences in defense of those who pledge their loyalty to the Emperor of Mankind. They are renowned for their tendency to make their own ethical judgments instead of respecting the mandates of other Imperial organizations as well as the obvious fact that they care more about the well-being of the people of the Imperium than the political security of its power structures. They are noble warriors who fight and die on the behalf of ordinary people in a hostile world full mostly of those who wish only to exploit or destroy.

 

In the 31st, the Sixth Legion were crusaders who destroyed any who stood in the way of the Emperor’s vision. They were one of the most powerful military forces in the galaxy and they were deployed only on battlefields where total war had been mandated and collateral damage was no concern. They used extreme measures to succeed definitively where others had failed. They annihilated anything and anyone that defied imperial rule and they were feared and even reviled by their own allies for their savage brutality. They were the Emperor’s Executioners, annihilating entire civilizations and leaving a path of destruction across the stars.

 

The Space Wolves in the Age of Ending are organized into packs during their first rites as battle-brothers, and most of them stay with these packs for the rest of their lives. Packs fight together as squads and live together almost as family units. They are as cohesive a fighting unit as exists amongst the armies of humanity. In battle, packs are assigned to the command of a leader of their great company, be he a wolf priest, rune priest, battle leader, or even one of the great wolf lords. These retinues remain in constant contact with their commanders so that they may support one another and their orders may be updated through the course of a battle.

 

On the other hand, the Sixth Legion during the Great Crusade fought in a much less organized and disciplined manner. They deployed in packs, but once battle was joined, they split off into much smaller groups or even roamed the battlefield as single combatants. They remained within shouting distance of one another and used signals and other forms of battlefield communications to warn each other of danger and to mass their strength in order to take on particularly dangerous foes, but usually they did not attempt to coordinate, relying more on individual skill than unit cohesion. This style of warfare meant that they were individually more easily isolated than soldiers adhering to a traditional squad structure, but the Fenrisians were (and still are) notoriously tenacious when cornered, and the Rout’s very small units would have been very difficult to keep track of or pin down, allowing them to seem to be everywhere and nowhere at once, and throwing the enemy’s discipline and battle plans into disarray.

 

The reason for the change in mission for the Space Wolves from the Great Crusade through the Age of Imperium and to the present day is organic and obvious. The commission of the Emperor’s great task of forging a galaxy-wide Imperium was halted when Horus Lupercal betrayed his father and the human race. The Heresy ended the organized and ordained expansion of the domain of mankind, and attention instead was turned to preventing what had been forged during the Great Crusade from being unforged during the Age of Strife and beyond. This must’ve also lead to a change in combat doctrine. Since the Space Wolves would no longer be required only to fight in wars of total annihilation, and instead had to quell revolts and root out traitors while keeping a world’s infrastructure intact and its populace relatively safe, their old style of simply overwhelming and dominating a battlefield with terribly deadly warriors, rampaging and killing as they saw fit, would no longer be sufficient. They had always analyzed intelligence and determined the proper strategy for attacking and destroying their foes, but the tactics had always been left up to the individual. The more subtle missions that were required after the end of the Great Crusade probably mandated a more disciplined and organized approach, allowing tactical plans to be more flexible and objectives to be changed on the fly.

 

What does the Fang think of this view of our changing doctrine? Is my analysis correct and what are the other advantages and disadvantages of these two styles of warfare? Which do you prefer? And is it possible to refine either of them into a more perfect doctrine combining the advantages of both?

[hendrik]

damn pup! you've made this grey beard so interested i even read the topic in my mailbox instead of here! i must say you've written a great article here! not having read prospero burns however (yet) i must say i kind of like your analysis and it does sounds logical so thumbs up and have an ale on my! :)

[Logan230]

From the Rout to the Pack

Evolution of a combat doctrine

 

The Space Wolves in the Age of Ending are organized into packs during their first rites as battle-brothers, and most of them stay with these packs for the rest of their lives. Packs fight together as squads and live together almost as family units. They are as cohesive a fighting unit as exists amongst the armies of humanity. In battle, packs are assigned to the command of a leader of their great company, be he a wolf priest, rune priest, battle leader, or even one of the great wolf lords. These retinues remain in constant contact with their commanders so that they may support one another and their orders may be updated through the course of a battle.

 

On the other hand, the Sixth Legion during the Great Crusade fought in a much less organized and disciplined manner. They deployed in packs, but once battle was joined, they split off into much smaller groups or even roamed the battlefield as single combatants. They remained within shouting distance of one another and used signals and other forms of battlefield communications to warn each other of danger and to mass their strength in order to take on particularly dangerous foes, but usually they did not attempt to coordinate, relying more on individual skill than unit cohesion. This style of warfare meant that they were individually more easily isolated than soldiers adhering to a traditional squad structure, but the Fenrisians were (and still are) notoriously tenacious when cornered, and the Rout’s very small units would have been very difficult to keep track of or pin down, allowing them to seem to be everywhere and nowhere at once, and throwing the enemy’s discipline and battle plans into disarray.

 

The reason for the change in mission for the Space Wolves from the Great Crusade through the Age of Imperium and to the present day is organic and obvious. The commission of the Emperor’s great task of forging a galaxy-wide Imperium was halted when Horus Lupercal betrayed his father and the human race. The Heresy ended the organized and ordained expansion of the domain of mankind, and attention instead was turned to preventing what had been forged during the Great Crusade from being unforged during the Age of Strife and beyond. This must’ve also lead to a change in combat doctrine. Since the Space Wolves would no longer be required only to fight in wars of total annihilation, and instead had to quell revolts and root out traitors while keeping a world’s infrastructure intact and its populace relatively safe, their old style of simply overwhelming and dominating a battlefield with terribly deadly warriors, rampaging and killing as they saw fit, would no longer be sufficient. They had always analyzed intelligence and determined the proper strategy for attacking and destroying their foes, but the tactics had always been left up to the individual. The more subtle missions that were required after the end of the Great Crusade probably mandated a more disciplined and organized approach, allowing tactical plans to be more flexible and objectives to be changed on the fly.

 

What does the Fang think of this view of our changing doctrine? Is my analysis correct and what are the other advantages and disadvantages of these two styles of warfare? Which do you prefer? And is it possible to refine either of them into a more perfect doctrine combining the advantages of both?

 

I tentatively agree, the only issue i have is where you say that they did not operate as a pack during the Crusade. I would argue that they did still operate in packs, the form of the pack was just a little different considering that there were more wolves on any given mission, thus allowing for a more flexible deployment. It would seem reasonable to me that they would be able allow a little bit of solo combatants running around if there were sufficent groups running around as well. In the 41st, a Great Company is around 200 men (yes, i know, shut up). Where if you went to the 31st a Great company is far larger (by my understanding), this would allow for more boots on the ground, thus any given duelist would probably have a small squad of buddies near by in case he got into trouble.

[Jonas Stromclaw]

An interesting and well thought out analysis. However, I do not think the wolves have so completely abandoned the more... permanent methods of the Great Crusade. You are correct in saying that the wolves have changed tactics because they must now preserve the worlds they fight upon, and this has indeed become their default setting. But these Rules of Engagement are merely another tool to be employed, another weapon to in the armory. Should collateral damage cease to be a concern, old Grimnar would have no problem repeating the burning of Prospero or the destruction of the Quietude.

[Adarul Greystalker]

Many thanks for the kind praise and also for the criticism. I think you bring up some interesting points.

 

Firstly, I completely agree that part of the reason the Rout fought as they did instead of keeping close squad coherency was because they had a lot more men than we do in the 41st. With the numbers that they had available, a massive assault with little worry as to flank security was possible, whereas in the current timeline, space marine chapters (even the larger ones) have so few warriors available that it's extremely important that they make fast assaults and redeploy quickly, else they would easily be surrounded by their more numerous foes. In such an environment where redeployment may be imperative at any time and it's very possible that some of your forces may be surrounded during a mission, it's important to keep your forces in large enough units to have some level of self-sufficiency and also to ensure that casualties can be evacuated and transports will not be left loitering in a hostile zone for a long time.

 

I also agree that the Space Wolves still sometimes fight in total war conditions where they have no need to worry about collateral damage. However, my point is more towards how the need to not fight this way all the time (as well as other factors perhaps?) has changed the chapter's organization. Could the present-day Space Wolves break down into smaller units and fight like a disorganized warband instead of a modern military? Perhaps. In fact, I think that it's not much of a stretch to expect that blood claws might fight this way sometimes, more accustomed to the traditional Fenrisian methods of warfare than the chapter's pack-centered fighting mentality. Wolf scouts and even wolf guard too might break down into smaller units sometimes, untethered as they are to the pack structure, but the main fighting units of the chapter, the grey hunters, as well as the veteran long fangs, have trained and fought and lived as packs for decades or even centuries. Given the opportunity to split up and fight as a rout, I doubt they would take it. They would stick together and fight as a pack unless it was necessary to do otherwise.

 

So in total war conditions, would the chapter choose to fight as a rout? Partially perhaps, but I seriously doubt that the pack structure would totally break down. And did the Sixth Legion use squad tactics? Sometimes yes, they did. As I said, they deployed in packs and stayed together until it was time to unleash the murder-make upon the enemy. In addition, there were times when they had to group up behind a leader to bring down particularly dangerous enemies, and it seems likely that they may have also done this to meet tactical concerns, such as guarding a particularly troublesome flank. They didn't completely abandon group tactics, but they chose not to use them if they didn't have to, and they formulated their strategies masterfully to ensure that their disorganized style of warfare would sow the maximum amount of discord and destruction amongst the enemy.

[Grimtooth]

Adarul,

 

I have specific examples that show that the Rout and current battle doctrine are very similar despite the current environment of the 41st millennium. I am working on them right now, but do not have my codex on hand with me to complete it. I will post it up tomorrow.

 

One thing to ponder that will lead into my response tomorrow;

 

A wolf pack taking down a buffalo is a violent, bloody, and vicious event. Captured in that moment, the opinion of the wolves would be polar opposite to the opinion formed if you could understand the planning, observation, selection, and execution of how said wolf pack took down that buffalo.

 

This is exemplified when Hawser is confronted by the Imperial Guard members regarding his association with the Wolves.

 

I will post up the other stuff tomorrow.