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Why the Wolves?


Azorius

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Why the Emperor made Space Wolves his personal executioners and threw them the most dire and potent threats and horrors faced by the Great Crusade? Why the Emperor did not use other Legions? The Wolves are somehow superior than other Legions to dispose such existential threats, conflicts so terrible they are recorded only as battle honours on the Great Bell of Terra, remain occluded and all data regarding them sealed or purged from human memory?

 

So why the Space Wolves? 

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The answer you are looking for is ingrained in the ferisian culture. The most important part of Prospero Burns is actually the first chapter and it includes only one Space wolf at the very end.

 

Atrocity is at the fingertips of every Fenrisian. Existential fear only increases their determination, and they will go to any ends to destroy it. They can however be called back from the brink unlike say the WE.

 

They don't wonder at their fate, and they aren't curious the world they live in is suffecient, unlike the IF who pretend that duty is enough for them. It makes for a poor leader which is why Wolf King was such an important story. But it makes for exceptionally reliable soldiers.

After reading my copy of Inferno the answer is rather clear and has nothing to do with Fenris or it's culture.

 

The 6th legion was designed, at it's inception to do the job. They where a purpose-built legion for this job, recruited from across Terra and trained for these kinds of actions. Their gene-seed made them savage and brutal, probably part of the design.

 

Three legions, what would later become the Wolves, Salamanders and Alpha Legion where seperated from the rest of the Legiones Astartes during the reunification wars, before any primarch had been discovered and where trained and outfitted for a paticular role.

 

the 6th where not executioners because of Russ or Fenris, they where executioners because that is what the Emperor designed that legion to do.

What I'm wondering is: could not the Legions such as War Hounds, Pale Night's Children, Hell Riders, Luna Wolves, Primaris Angelus Mortis and hell, even Thousand Sons do executioners' job as well as the Wolves of Terra? 

 

 

For some jobs you want a specific force. It's the same in real world militaries, take the British army for example. We have the parachute regiment as the core of our airmobile strike force and the Royal Marines as the core of our expeditionary force.

 

Could the Rifles or the Grenadier guards do the same job? Yes, they probably could. Are they as good as it? No.

 

The 6th where picked for the role of executioner, trained, perfected and molded for that role to the point where they where less suited to other methods of war as some other legions.

 

From the outset, long before Russ was found, the 6th where built from the ground up as a brutal, shock assault force designed to put down rebellions and potential traitors hard and fast.

 

That's what I get from Inferno at any rate.

 

What I'm wondering is: could not the Legions such as War Hounds, Pale Night's Children, Hell Riders, Luna Wolves, Primaris Angelus Mortis and hell, even Thousand Sons do executioners' job as well as the Wolves of Terra? 

 

 

For some jobs you want a specific force. It's the same in real world militaries, take the British army for example. We have the parachute regiment as the core of our airmobile strike force and the Royal Marines as the core of our expeditionary force.

 

Could the Rifles or the Grenadier guards do the same job? Yes, they probably could. Are they as good as it? No.

 

The 6th where picked for the role of executioner, trained, perfected and molded for that role to the point where they where less suited to other methods of war as some other legions.

 

From the outset, long before Russ was found, the 6th where built from the ground up as a brutal, shock assault force designed to put down rebellions and potential traitors hard and fast.

 

That's what I get from Inferno at any rate.

 

Great, well-thought out answer. And what do you think that primary differences as a specialized counter-insurgency, rebellion-suppression between VIth and VIIIth? 

The Wolves were 100% loyal they would do what they were asked to do by The Emperor and ask no questions. No matter what it was they were asked to do. This was how they were designed. The Emperor gave them tasks any other legion would baulk at and they did exactly what was needed.

 

 

What I'm wondering is: could not the Legions such as War Hounds, Pale Night's Children, Hell Riders, Luna Wolves, Primaris Angelus Mortis and hell, even Thousand Sons do executioners' job as well as the Wolves of Terra? 

 

 

For some jobs you want a specific force. It's the same in real world militaries, take the British army for example. We have the parachute regiment as the core of our airmobile strike force and the Royal Marines as the core of our expeditionary force.

 

Could the Rifles or the Grenadier guards do the same job? Yes, they probably could. Are they as good as it? No.

 

The 6th where picked for the role of executioner, trained, perfected and molded for that role to the point where they where less suited to other methods of war as some other legions.

 

From the outset, long before Russ was found, the 6th where built from the ground up as a brutal, shock assault force designed to put down rebellions and potential traitors hard and fast.

 

That's what I get from Inferno at any rate.

 

Great, well-thought out answer. And what do you think that primary differences as a specialized counter-insurgency, rebellion-suppression between VIth and VIIIth? 

 

 

From what I gather from the Forgeworld books, the 6th was designed not for counter-insurgency but shock assault. They where focused on hitting the target hard, fast and with maximum damage.

 

The 8th where good at long term, counter-insurgency, mostly because they enjoyed inflicting fear and terror over a prolonged period of time.

 

Inferno does not suggest the 6th enjoyed being savage and brutal, they just where. The 6th where a force of nature, a hurricane that destroyed everything in it's path. They didn't have an emotional investment in killing for killing's sake or inflicting fear.

 

This is what seperates them from Angron's or Curze's legions, the 6th are what they are, no more and no less.

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