Light cavalry?

[Marshal Rohr]

For my Imperial Fists Hussar idea, a company was two Infantry platoons mounted in Rhinos (2x10 Tac Leg, 1x10 Tac Spt Leg) and a single platoon of Predator Tanks (3x Infernus/Executioner, 2x3 Destructors) Anti-Gravity Detachments taken as needed. 

[Phoebus]

I think temneb nailed it in regards to the definitions and terms changing over time.

 

Beyond that, think of what the Legiones Astartes are meant to be doing, and then consider if a historical, potentially anachronistic, concept really suits their capabilities and their mission set.

 

For example, we know that a Chapter-equivalent force of Space Marines is capable to conquering a planetary civilization in short order.  Though each of their warriors is superhuman and worth tens (if not hundreds) of normal soldiers, it's not because of individual prowess that they are able to win as they do.  Nor is it just because of their superior weaponry (bolters, etc.).  Nor is it necessarily because of their vehicles.  That Chapter of Space Marines arrives in battle together with a (comparatively) small fleet of warships capable of ruining cities in seconds, nations in minutes, and entire continents in hours.  Given orbital superiority, they enjoy unparalleled mobility (Thunderhawks, drop pods, teleportation, etc.) and are able to strike pretty much anywhere on a planet's surface at will.

 

Space Marines are, first and foremost, an elite shock force.  Army equivalents are probably never going to be perfect, since they are, after all, Space Marines.  The real-world equivalent of that force, arriving in force from landing craft, helicopters, etc., and enjoying the support of naval gunfire, attack aircraft, gunships, etc., is probably as good a comparison as you might get.  :)

[Marshal Rohr]

I think the biggest difference between the Legions and Chapters is the support a legion has in comparison to a chapter. A chapter has, at most liberal estimates, less than 5 midrange capital vessels. The Ultramarines have 3 for example, and a enough cruiser class ships to carry the chapter. The additional support is minimal, they lack true air superiority capabilities as well. A chapter is explicitly designed to be ineffective for the mission of conquest on a galactic scale.

 

 

A legion on the other hand can call upon a hundred capital class vessels, many of which are of the heaviest tonnage available to the Imperium, they have dedicated fighters, bombers, and the void equivalents. They have many, many more ships of varying classes to support full scale void operations. On the ground they can draw from their vast stockpiles of vehicles, and many possess reserves of heavy armor later specifically kept by the Imperial Guard. 

 

Yes, they are space marines, and yes they do train for all manners of warfare, but the anachronistic organization style Phoebus speaks of is right on the money. You will have units of space marines dedicated to piloting tanks and fighter craft. You will have legionaries whose sole mission is reconnaissance. Other legionaries will spend their entire time with the legion in a mechanized unit, others in infantry units. 

 

The Word Bearers had void specialists and heavy infantry for example. You don't think of chapters as having heavy infantry formations. In all, a legion by its design is meant to be an advanced military unit, and not a hamstrung grouping of a thousand guys organized identically to every other group out there. That way isn't conducive to conquering the galaxy, and obviously it is largely ineffective given the Imperium going to :cuss after the legions were broken up. 

[Phoebus]

I respectfully disagree with some of your points.

I think the biggest difference between the Legions and Chapters is the support a legion has in comparison to a chapter. A chapter has, at most liberal estimates, less than 5 midrange capital vessels. The Ultramarines have 3 for example, and a enough cruiser class ships to carry the chapter.

Firstly, where modern Chapters are concerned, each is said to have two or three battle barges, which are hardly "mid-range" capital vessels - being direct equivalents to the best of the Imperial battleships in terms of overall capability. It also has a number of strike cruisers at least sufficient to not only carry the rest of the Chapter, but to also give it strategic range. Finally, it has (from what we've seen) a couple doze or more rapid strike vessels.

What can we surmise about the conquest potential of such a force? Well, Betrayal tells us that "Together in disciplined order the power of the individual Space Marine is amplified to incredible levels and a force of hundreds can quell a city in hours. Thousands together can conquer worlds in days." The same theme is repeated in Know No Fear: “To take a town, send a legionary; to take a city, send a squad; to take a world, send a company; to take a culture, send a Chapter.”

The "Company" in question, of course, is equivalent to a proper Chapter.

The additional support is minimal, they lack true air superiority capabilities as well.

With all due respect, that's neither here nor there.

Aerial forces, much like ground-based artillery and armored forces, are relevant only if the force invading a planet does not achieve orbital superiority. Much like modern tanks are completely at the mercy of an enemy who has aerial superiority (meaning, their aircraft can operate in uncontested airspace, without a reasonable risk of being shot down), aircraft themselves are an afterthought to an enemy who possesses orbital superiority. Once orbital defenses have been removed, an orbiting fleet can level the sort of firepower that can level cities and fortresses alike, and raze entire continents in time. Air fields, much like land forces, cannot hope to hold out forever.

Mind you, I'm sure there are examples of "plot armour" that point to the contrary (Horus' fortress in Fulgrim, for instance), but these are the exception to the rule.

A chapter is explicitly designed to be ineffective for the mission of conquest on a galactic scale.

In terms of scale, sure. That's about it, though. At its most fundamental level, the Great Crusade was about conquering planets. That a Chapter is able to conquer only one planet at a time is irrelevant. The point is that it can do so. While modern Chapters are not meant to be able to challenge the Imperial Navy, they are absolutely meant to be able to "conquer" planets in the sense of re-capturing worlds taken by Chaos, Heretics, or Xenos.

Again, let's not get stuck with the exception to the rule. Obviously no one Chapter (well, save for perhaps the Dark Angels or the Imperial Fists, who possess vessels with power said to equal entire fleets) can take on worlds like Armageddon or Cypra Mundi. The average advanced Imperial planet, though? That's what they're there for.

A legion on the other hand can call upon a hundred capital class vessels, many of which are of the heaviest tonnage available to the Imperium, ... They have many, many more ships of varying classes to support full scale void operations.

No doubt. Interestingly enough, though, the total number of ships they could call upon was smaller in proportion to the sum of their Space Marine manpower than those of a modern Chapter. For instance, Betrayal tells us that the Sons of Horus, estimated at numbering between 130,000 and 170,000 Space Marines, possessed a hundred capital vessels and three times that number in cruisers and escorts. The World Eaters had sixty capital ships. The Death Guard had seventy capital vessels. Thus, Betrayal actually proves the opposite of what you were proposing. When the Legions did not wage war as a whole or using large-scale formations (such as the Millennials of the Emperor's Children and the Orders of the Dark Angels), they operated with proportionately fewer vessels than a modern Chapter. Nonetheless, Chapter-equivalent forces were apparently able to achieve the same results as modern Chapters.

The various other types of vessels you refer to are really neither here nor there, since they're meant for operations other than planetary conquest.

On the ground they can draw from their vast stockpiles of vehicles, and many possess reserves of heavy armor later specifically kept by the Imperial Guard.

Yes, they are space marines, and yes they do train for all manners of warfare, but the anachronistic organization style Phoebus speaks of is right on the money. You will have units of space marines dedicated to piloting tanks and fighter craft. You will have legionaries whose sole mission is reconnaissance. Other legionaries will spend their entire time with the legion in a mechanized unit, others in infantry units.

Yes, there is room for tanks and artillery in the Space Marine mission. Logically speaking, though, their role has to be secondary unless the mission does not allow for the target in question to be engaged by orbital firepower. Like every other part of a Chapter's forces, though, they are meant to hit hard and fast against strategic objectives. And, ultimately, they are able to do so precisely because their orbital superiority prevents other enemies from using numerically superior armor, artillery, etc.

Know No Fear and "The Mark of Calth" brutally depict exactly how at the mercy of orbital firepower even the most powerful ground forces are.

In all, a legion by its design is meant to be an advanced military unit, and not a hamstrung grouping of a thousand guys organized identically to every other group out there. That way isn't conducive to conquering the galaxy, and obviously it is largely ineffective given the Imperium going to after the legions were broken up.

Where Legion design is concerned, the organizational structure offered by Betrayal points at exactly the opposite. Precisely because a Legion would not always be able to take to the field as a cohesive unit, the capabilities that it possessed had to be present in the various forces (Chapters, etc.) that it fielded in independent campaigns.

Finally, is the current state of the Imperium evidence of the modern Chapter being ineffective? Of course not. The Imperium is screwed up because it is dependent on an inflexible bureaucracy of unimaginable proportions; because its chief purveyors of technology treat it like ritual magic; because its chief means of transportation involves sailing through hell; because its greatest weapon against unimaginable evil is unimaginable oppression that in turn exacerbates the very conditions that turn its citizens to said evil. The Adeptus Astartes aren't at fault for all this. They are merely fire brigades, responsible for putting out hundreds of fires for each one of their Chapters.

Simply reforming the Legions wouldn't solve the Imperium's problems. Sure, the Legions would be able to level unimaginably more power, but they would do so on only a slim percentile of the problems that Chapters could address. In order to be effective, the Legions would have to field Chapter-size forces - just as they did in the Great Crusade.

[Marshal Rohr]

A battle barge is of similar tonnage to a grand cruiser though, which is like 3-5 km. a Gloriana is 20ish km long right?

 

Honestly though I have no interest in the capability of chapters these days. The only chapter that matters to me is the VII legion equivalent :D

[Demus Ragnok]

Light Cav may be the wrong term for what I'm thinking. I am going to use the Stryker BCT as a guide. That will give me a diverse army with lots of capability.

[Wade Garrett]

Those doggone ineffective Chapters, with their keeping the Imperium going for ten thousand years!

 

If only Guilliman hadn't broken up the Legions, I bet the Imperium would have lasted a HUNDRED thousand years by now.

[Demus Ragnok]

Light Cav may be the wrong term for what I'm thinking. I am going to use the Stryker BCT as a guide. That will give me a diverse army with lots of capability.

On second thought i may go with a Heavy BCT and run more tanks!

[Hyaenidae]

I'm not going to argue the strengths and weaknesses of Legion vs Chapter, becuase....Heresy. :P Plus, the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy is all about vast, grinding forces hammering each other into dust in grand ways; it's a part of the charm, and needs no reasoning beyond 'He he....cool'. But, I do need to bring up one point:

 

 

The additional support is minimal, they lack true air superiority capabilities as well.

 

With all due respect, that's neither here nor there.

 

Aerial forces, much like ground-based artillery and armored forces, are relevant only if the force invading a planet does not achieve orbital superiority.  Much like modern tanks are completely at the mercy of an enemy who has aerial superiority (meaning, their aircraft can operate in uncontested airspace, without a reasonable risk of being shot down), aircraft themselves are an afterthought to an enemy who possesses orbital superiority.  Once orbital defenses have been removed, an orbiting fleet can level the sort of firepower that can level cities and fortresses alike, and raze entire continents in time.  Air fields, much like land forces, cannot hope to hold out forever.

 

Mind you, I'm sure there are examples of "plot armour" that point to the contrary (Horus' fortress in Fulgrim, for instance), but these are the exception to the rule.

 

Orbital 'superiority' becomes swiftly irrelevant when it comes to conquering a planet that you want to keep, though. If every planet that refused compliance was just burned from orbit, then all you would rule would be a kingdom of ash. To that end, using orbital bombardment on anything that resembles a threat would be impractical, due to damage to that's planet's ecosystem. Even Horus during the Heresy was cautious about planets he wanted for himself, as seen in Little Horus. Beyond even that, showing what the Imperium is capable of on the field is a common theme in 30k. You can't expect a powerful independent civilization to stay under the yoke of Terra, unless they fully understand what happens if they do something stupid, like rebel. Having your armies rolled up by 9 foot tall Transhumans seal that deal far better than an orbital strike could ever do, and with minimal collateral damage.

 

Surgical targeting of airfields is all well and good, if they're huge and sitting out in the open. Problem is, this is the far future, where takeoff points can vary from runways, to VTOL pads, to even something exotic like underground launch slings and teleportation systems. Worse, many of these can be, and commonly are, embedded in amongst non-combatants (Hive cities come to mind). If those fighters/bombers can get in the air, then they are a severe threat to infantry and armor. You can't use Orbit-to-Surface cannons to target individual flights due to the speed of the target and general inaccuracy of orbital weapons, plus collateral damage, and until their launch points can be found, those fighters need to be suppressed, or you'll be forced to absorb an inordinate amount of losses on the ground.

 

So, we're back to Air Superiority, at least until their launch points can be terminated.

[Kol Saresk]

Don't forget helicarriers and floating cities. I believe one of the Gaunt's Ghosts novels has Gaunt reminiscing about how they took down a helicarrier just before he was assigned to the Tanith.

[Russ Brother 92]

@Kol - it does indeed (I believe in the first or second book), later on it also has the Tanith First having to take down a land-fortress akin to those used by the Medusan Clans as mobile cities, something that despite the firepower and even aerial superiority presented by the Imperial Guard & Navy they had to go in, on foot and take it by arms not from orbit or air.

 

The whole thing is very situational and perhaps they would've been better of blasting the thing with 105s or even a Spectre (read Marauder) but then the story wouldn't be about Gaunt, Rawn and Colm Corbec...

[Phoebus]

Orbital 'superiority' becomes swiftly irrelevant when it comes to conquering a planet that you want to keep, though. If every planet that refused compliance was just burned from orbit, then all you would rule would be a kingdom of ash. To that end, using orbital bombardment on anything that resembles a threat would be impractical, due to damage to that's planet's ecosystem.

Two things stand in opposition to this argument.

The first is that, their effects aside, the fact remains that bombardment cannons are the Legiones Astartes' - and, subsequently, the Adeptus Astartes' - primary means for defeating planetary void shields, anti-orbital defenses, and command centers. This hasn't changed in over ten thousand years. As the purpose of the Adeptus Astartes is not to annihilate planets, one must assume that the use of such weapons is not incompatible with the strategic aims of the Imperium. If they were incompatible, the Adeptus Astartes would be virtually without bite. As this is not the case, we have no reason to assume that the Legiones Astartes did not carry such weaponry for the purpose of planetary annihilation, either.

The second is that irreparable damage to a planet's ecosystem and the total destruction of infrastructure is not an inevitability. At the risk of touching on sensitive topics, consider Hiroshima and Nagasaki: terrible devastation was inflicted on two cities, and hundreds of thousands of individuals were killed or injured. Japan as a whole, however, remained a viable nation and within a comparatively short time was one of the leading manufacturing and economic powers of our world.

Beyond even that, showing what the Imperium is capable of on the field is a common theme in 30k. You can't expect a powerful independent civilization to stay under the yoke of Terra, unless they fully understand what happens if they do something stupid, like rebel. Having your armies rolled up by 9 foot tall Transhumans seal that deal far better than an orbital strike could ever do, and with minimal collateral damage.

We're not talking about mutually incompatible concepts, though. That's the whole point of orbital superiority: to be able to deploy your Space Marines without meaningful opposition, against what the Germans called a schwerpunkt: a "center of gravity or point of maximum effort, where a decisive effort can be achieved.

Orbital superiority means you deny the enemy any meaningful sub-orbital means of maneuver. You take out void shields, leaving planetary assets exposed. You take out anti-orbit defenses, leaving the planet unable to defend itself against your might. You take out aerial bases, denying the enemy any meaningful power projection (transporting troops and vehicles by air, etc.). At that point, any ground- or sea-based armies and vessels are mere targets moving at a snail's pace. Any centers such as cities or fortresses are at your mercy.

The logical extension of this is that armored vehicles and artillery assume a supporting role for that shock assault of Space Marines (who can deploy anywhere, within minutes, via drop pod, Thunderhawk, or teleportation). At best, they can expect to assume a primary role only when that aforementioned exception pops up: when the needs of the author, or what have you, require a battle that can't be addressed by the logical end-state of 31st millennium warfare.

Surgical targeting of airfields is all well and good, if they're huge and sitting out in the open. Problem is, this is the far future, where takeoff points can vary from runways, to VTOL pads, to even something exotic like underground launch slings and teleportation systems.

None of which address the preponderance of armies as depicted thus far. Maneuver armies will still need to maneuver across terrain. Beyond that, fortifications in the 31st and 41st millennia always fall under one of two categories. The first - the majority - are, regardless of scale, scope or type, well within the ability of a bombardment cannon to ruin in minutes. The second are, by the author's will, somehow exempt to the rule for one reason or another.

Worse, many of these can be, and commonly are, embedded in amongst non-combatants (Hive cities come to mind). If those fighters/bombers can get in the air, then they are a severe threat to infantry and armor.

No doubt! It's important to remember the scale of 40k, though. Even modern air bases take up several square kilometers. Even if adjacent to a hive, for instance, I think it's far from a foregone conclusion that rendering said base ineffective will automatically translate to the wholesale destruction of the hive itself.

And, at any rate, I think we again have to remember the intent behind the Adeptus Astartes. Much like the point, earlier, about bombardment cannons, if an absence of aerial assets (beyond a handful of Thunderhawks and Caestus assault rams per starship) meant that the Space Marines were incapable of fulfilling their base mission against planets with essentially standard defense forces, then they would have said assets.

You can't use Orbit-to-Surface cannons to target individual flights due to the speed of the target and general inaccuracy of orbital weapons, plus collateral damage, and until their launch points can be found, those fighters need to be suppressed, or you'll be forced to absorb an inordinate amount of losses on the ground.

I sincerely doubt this is a serious issue. Even our own technology, such as it is, makes it virtually impossible to conceal major energy sources, hidden airfields (even those concealed within mountains), concealed artillery points and surface-to-air missile silos, etc.

A battle barge is of similar tonnage to a grand cruiser though, which is like 3-5 km. a Gloriana is 20ish km long right?

Honestly though I have no interest in the capability of chapters these days. The only chapter that matters to me is the VII legion equivalent

Battle barges in Black Library fiction are not expanded on so much in regards to their type and size. In Ravenwing, the strike cruiser Implacable Justice is 2.5 kilometers long. In Salvation's Reach, the frigate used by Gaunt's Ghosts as transport is 1.5km long. I'll try to dig up a reference for battle-barges and battleships.

In Battlefleet Gothic, the "standard" battle barge is a battleship-equivalent in statistics and point value. Battlefleet Gothic does mention that any battleship, battlecruiser, grand cruiser, or heavy cruiser can be converted into a battle barge (and Forgeworld's "Badab War" books feature one such vessel), but the "standard" is a battleship-equivalent.

The Gloriana-class was a flagship, and each Legion appears to have possessed only one. The size of each is up for debate; the Invincible Reason is referred to as a battle barge before it is ever called a Gloriana-class. The Gloriana-class itself is referred to as a battlecruiser in Dembski-Bowden's stories (he was, as far as I can tell, the one who coined the Gloriana), which would (probably unintentionally) make it smaller than a battleship. Ships of the size you're referring to - the Word Bearers' super-ships, Macragge's Honour (which was 26km long), etc., are never referred to as Gloriana-class flagships.

At any rate, the reason why we're discussing the capability of Chapters in the 41st millennium is because the topic turned to the ability of Space Marines to effect planetary conquests. I argued that assets like tanks and artillery are secondary to orbital superiority, and you argued - citing the strength of modern Chapters - that this was not the case. I'm just pointing out that this is not necessarily the case. :)

[Demus Ragnok]

Hey, this is about little plastic space men. And how I may or may not choose to build those that I build.

 

If you clowns want to debate fictional military operations in a dystopian future rent a table at a coffee house somewhere.

[Kol Saresk]

Hey, this is about little plastic space men. And how I may or may not choose to build those that I build.

If you clowns want to debate fictional military operations in a dystopian future rent a table at a coffee house somewhere.

Or take it to the Amicus.

[Hyaenidae]

So, your point is, suck all the fun out of the fluff by nuking it all from orbit. Yay. Can't wait to play my next game of "Find the single spotter in the city before he calls in a thousand Orbital bombardments on us."

 

EDIT: Just saw yer post, Demus. My bad. Easy on the 'clown' stuff though, a simple "get back on topic" works just fine, man.

[Hyaenidae]

Hey, this is about little plastic space men. And how I may or may not choose to build those that I build.

 

If you clowns want to debate fictional military operations in a dystopian future rent a table at a coffee house somewhere.

 

Back on topic, if I think Light Cav in a Legion formation, I Imagine a bunch of rhinos with HB Sponsons loaded up with veteran tacticals, screened by Javelin speeders with twin las and Pred Squadrons acting as saturation killers.

[Demus Ragnok]

So, your point is, suck all the fun out of the fluff by nuking it all from orbit. Yay. Can't wait to play my next game of "Find the single spotter in the city before he calls in a thousand Orbital bombardments on us."

 

EDIT: Just saw yer post, Demus. My bad. Easy on the 'clown' stuff though, a simple "get back on topic" works just fine, man.

Yeah I know.

[Hyaenidae]

Kisses.

[Demus Ragnok]

Kisses.

No, not really.

 

And seriously thanks for the input I was hoping you have something to say on the topic.

[Hyaenidae]

 

Kisses.

No, not really.

 

:lol:

 

And seriously thanks for the input I was hoping you have something to say on the topic.

 

Glad to help. Feel free to PM me anytime, I'm full of insane ideas that I can't use myself.

[Kol Saresk]

Kisses.

No, not really.

And seriously thanks for the input I was hoping you have something to say on the topic.

Glad to help. Feel free to PM me anytime, I'm full of insane awesome ideas that I can't use myself.

[Phoebus]

So, your point is, suck all the fun out of the fluff by nuking it all from orbit. Yay. Can't wait to play my next game of "Find the single spotter in the city before he calls in a thousand Orbital bombardments on us."

 

EDIT: Just saw yer post, Demus. My bad. Easy on the 'clown' stuff though, a simple "get back on topic" works just fine, man.

 

I don't want to drag this on any more, but no, that's not my point at all.  Sorry if that's what you got out of it.  :(

[Durfast Spiritwolf]

With the decline of feudalism and knighthood in Europe, light cavalry became more prominent in the armies of the continent. Many were equipped with firearms, as their predecessors had been with bows. European examples of light cavalry included stradiots, hobelars, hussars, chasseurs à cheval, cossacks, chevau-légers and some dragoons.[1]

 

Nah, milites cum knights were too smart not to have cover the light horse base as well. Initially they could perform the role themselves, but as improvements in horse breeding and metallurgy allowed them to be better protected, they bought in expertise. Some called them Turcopoles (even when fighting in the Baltic coast!), but Hobilars, Scurrers, Pricklers etc. can all be found in High and Late Medieval English armies, as an example. Hobbes, for example, are now extinct, but they dated back to before 13th century Ireland and Hobelars (light cavalry/mounted infantry on hobbies) were around long before the end of knighthood.

 

Interestingly, they form the linguistic basis of the toy hobby horse, and 'hobby' came to mean any plaything or pastime.

 

Anyway, enough entomology. Suffice to say the GW hobby isn't a small pony grazing outside WHW ;)

 

Back on topic, fOr me Light Cavalry would need to be a fully mechanized unit with aviation used for scouting, covering flanks etc. so, generally lightly equipped, jetbikes, javelins, infantry, support and heavy support in rhinos, but with limited number of heavier equipment, such as Spartans, to allow them to hold their own whilst the Heavies turned up.

 

Having recently finished Brotherhood of the Storm, I love the idea of jetbike mounted support squads that dismount to provide offensive support from defilade positions :)

[depthcharge12]

 

With the decline of feudalism and knighthood in Europe, light cavalry became more prominent in the armies of the continent. Many were equipped with firearms, as their predecessors had been with bows. European examples of light cavalry included stradiots, hobelars, hussars, chasseurs à cheval, cossacks, chevau-légers and some dragoons.[1]

Nah, milites cum knights were too smart not to have cover the light horse base as well. Initially they could perform the role themselves, but as improvements in horse breeding and metallurgy allowed them to be better protected, they bought in expertise. Some called them Turcopoles (even when fighting in the Baltic coast!), but Hobilars, Scurrers, Pricklers etc. can all be found in High and Late Medieval English armies, as an example. Hobbes, for example, are now extinct, but they dated back to before 13th century Ireland and Hobelars (light cavalry/mounted infantry on hobbies) were around long before the end of knighthood.

 

Interestingly, they form the linguistic basis of the toy hobby horse, and 'hobby' came to mean any plaything or pastime.

 

Anyway, enough entomology. Suffice to say the GW hobby isn't a small pony grazing outside WHW ;)

 

Back on topic, fOr me Light Cavalry would need to be a fully mechanized unit with aviation used for scouting, covering flanks etc. so, generally lightly equipped, jetbikes, javelins, infantry, support and heavy support in rhinos, but with limited number of heavier equipment, such as Spartans, to allow them to hold their own whilst the Heavies turned up.

 

Having recently finished Brotherhood of the Storm, I love the idea of jetbike mounted support squads that dismount to provide offensive support from defilade positions :)

 

I was just copy pasting so some actual knowledge in that field is always welcome :)

 

 

The second part is kind of where I'm going with my XVth Cataphracts, Ravenwing Order, Dark Angels Legion. They are heavy and support dismounted cavalry.

 

Only the command squad and veteran support troops have access to Jetbikes and are trained in its use of heavier firepower and tactical maneuvering. The schleps in my volkite calivers squad dismount from either a rhino apc or more commonly, a land raider as it has far more protection to move them into good high grounds or areas of importance to provide defilade for the charging teams.

 

 

It's fire maneuver warfare ;)