Emperor's Furor Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 All legions had a form of combat they preferred or specialised in, the White Scars liked lightning raids with mass bike formations, Death Guard liked heavy infantry attrition warfare as did the Iron Hands to an extent, the Raven Guard preferred cutting the enemy to pieces with precision strikes etc, but what were the Word Bearers tactics, the only time I've seen them in a proper detailed battle where they were the focus was in the short story, Scions of the Storm but that wasn't very conclusive as the mission was pretty specific. So I was wondering what do you think their style of war was like? Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/267449-what-were-the-world-bearers-combat-tactics/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kol Saresk Posted December 9, 2012 Share Posted December 9, 2012 If it's anything like their 40k doctrine, they probably focused on gunlines. They always moved forward and never retreated, which fits into their mindset of reaching for the future and never looking back to the past for it is when people become obsessed with the past that they die never seeing the future. EDIT: Not entirely too sure where that quote came from. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/267449-what-were-the-world-bearers-combat-tactics/#findComment-3257351 Share on other sites More sharing options...
spu00sed Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Capture the vox stations and printer press before bombarding the enemy with information on why their current god is the best. Scouts go door to door asking to be invited in to have a chat about why [insert god here] is so good. If none of that works then an orbital drop leaflet campaign. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/267449-what-were-the-world-bearers-combat-tactics/#findComment-3257477 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billuriye Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 A mix of Alpha Legion and Ultramarines i'd wager. Plant dissonance through religious indoctrination first then commit to battle like a balanced legion would. Plus daemons and exploitation of mass cultists. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/267449-what-were-the-world-bearers-combat-tactics/#findComment-3257478 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sun Reaver Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 Well I suppose they would start with a charge and then proceed to kill, maim, and burn. The process was probably repeated till the enemy was destroyed. The world eaters were a shock assault force. They hit hard, they hit fast, and they left no room for mercy. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/267449-what-were-the-world-bearers-combat-tactics/#findComment-3257479 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nehekhare Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 The world eaters Do you even bear the word? ;D Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/267449-what-were-the-world-bearers-combat-tactics/#findComment-3257515 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emperor's Furor Posted December 10, 2012 Author Share Posted December 10, 2012 Most of the stories that have involved Word Bearers pre-heresy and during the heresy seem to include a great deal of assault troops, might that be an indication? Also on a side note during the heresy did the chaplains keep their armour black or did they to change it to red? Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/267449-what-were-the-world-bearers-combat-tactics/#findComment-3257616 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urauloth Posted December 10, 2012 Share Posted December 10, 2012 All artwork of Erebus shows him with red armour mid-heresy so I assume they changed it. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/267449-what-were-the-world-bearers-combat-tactics/#findComment-3257641 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emperor's Furor Posted December 10, 2012 Author Share Posted December 10, 2012 All artwork of Erebus shows him with red armour mid-heresy so I assume they changed it. Do they have the silver trim by then as well instead of gold? Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/267449-what-were-the-world-bearers-combat-tactics/#findComment-3257668 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stumpy Heaven Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Reading between the lines in the early HH novels and later on in the First Heretic and the WB Omnibus a couple of things stood out. Principle armour used is MkIII Legion emphasised close combat melee action rather than stand off tactics so Chainswords were the preferred weapon rather than Bolters etc. Each company had a dedicated Mechanicum unit attached to it i.e. Dreadnoughts, with those units often inducted into the Company they were with as official Astartes. So Marines & Dreads worked closely together at all times. Little mention of Rhinos or other vehicles While initial tactics emphasised closing with the enemy and going hth there was also reference to the use of strong artillery/tank units as a fall back defensive line if the initial assault failed. Daemon possessed Marines were part of the Legion before the dropzone massacre on Istavaan and again focused on melee fighting and were used as shock troops Red armour with silver trim seemed to come in quite quickly, but some minor references to Black shoulder pads for Chaplains Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/267449-what-were-the-world-bearers-combat-tactics/#findComment-3259860 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emperor's Furor Posted December 13, 2012 Author Share Posted December 13, 2012 They weren't dreadnoughts as such as they Battle Robots from the legio cybernetica There's a lot of info on them in that link. They did have Vindicators, in First Heretic one bring downs two of the glass like automatons before being destroyed, it's said to be from the serrated suns armoured company, firestorm. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/267449-what-were-the-world-bearers-combat-tactics/#findComment-3260193 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emperor's Furor Posted December 13, 2012 Author Share Posted December 13, 2012 Argel Tal uses two power swords, how do you think this would be best represented on the table top, I was thinking of using the rules a pair of lightning claws, but is wysiwyg still enforced? Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/267449-what-were-the-world-bearers-combat-tactics/#findComment-3260544 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stumpy Heaven Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 They weren't dreadnoughts as such as they Battle Robots from the legio cybernetica There's a lot of info on them in that link. They did have Vindicators, in First Heretic one bring downs two of the glass like automatons before being destroyed, it's said to be from the serrated suns armoured company, firestorm. Cheers for the clarification ^_^ Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/267449-what-were-the-world-bearers-combat-tactics/#findComment-3260641 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Garrett Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 They also made at least some use of bikes, at least one of the Gal Vorbak fought as a biker in the pre Cadia battles and kept his ride through Isstvan. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/267449-what-were-the-world-bearers-combat-tactics/#findComment-3260650 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wade Garrett Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 They also made at least some use of bikes, at least one of the Gal Vorbak fought as a biker in the pre Cadia battles and kept his ride through Isstvan. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/267449-what-were-the-world-bearers-combat-tactics/#findComment-3260651 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legatus Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 "Before battle, the Word Bearers gather in ritual prayer, chanting blasphemous hymns and forbidden doctrine to affirm their faith in the power of Chaos. (...) The Word Bearers then raise their damned standards high and march into battle beneath cursed icons, bellowing catechisms and canticles of hatred at their foe as hideous drums beat out a dolorous thunder. The relentless advance of the Word Bearers is a terrifying sight, as the monotonous chant and beat of drums can break even the strongest will. The night before battle, the enemy can hear dark mutterings emanating from all around, echoed in the pounding drums, stretching the nerve and instilling every man with fear. The unshakeable belief of the Word Bearers that they alone can save the galaxy has seen them marching towards certain death, yet unwilling to take a single step backwards. Any victory won over the Word Bearers is only won at a terrible cost, as their attacks will only ever end when all are dead." (3rd Edition Index Astartes Word Bearers) That describes their combat doctrines after the heresy, but I assume it would not have been much different during the Great Crusade, even if then it would probably have been a tad less mindless and fanatic. Marching straight towards the enemy, banners raised high. What that does is it makes a point as much as it is intended to get to engage the enemy force in combat. The Word Bearers would demonstrate their utter devotion to the Emperor, to Lorgar, and to their cause, by marching fearless towards the enemy. They are the righteous, so they must show no fear or doubt. Seeing such conviction and devotion could also potentially discourage some enemies. Well, some. It is not a vrey refined approach to warfare. But at the time of the Great Crusade the Space Marine Legions were generally so superior to their opposition that this would hardly matter, and would not generally have resulted in the wholesale slaughter of the Word Bearers forces. They could be marching straight for a lot of the opposition, take the punishment thrown at them, and still totally overwhelm the enemy. And I am not saying that they simply lined up and started moving towards the enemy position on every world they fought on. They would probably also employ more conventional tactics. But there would have been several occasions where they might have resorted to exactly such a display of their conviction. To make a point. And to show that they were utterly devoted to their cause. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/267449-what-were-the-world-bearers-combat-tactics/#findComment-3260671 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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