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The Space Marines, also known as the Adeptus Astartes are the super soldiers of the Imperium of Man and are employed in the same manner as a scalpel, compared to the sledgehammer of the Imperial Guard.

They are elite soldiers, specially chosen for natural ability, and have their innate superiority enhanced further by a combination of extensive training, mental conditioning and genetic alteration. Their dedication and steadfastness is a product of this superiority and indoctrination. Their structure and cultures are monk-like.

As befits such an elite force they are given equipment to match their abilities. They wear power armour to give them all-over protection and to survive in hostile environments, and are equipped with superior weaponry as well.

Structure

The Adeptus Astartes is made up of thousands of Chapters each with a nominal fighting strength of 1,000 Space Marines. Individual Chapters have their own identity, heritage, fighting style and practice of beliefs. Most of the Chapters follow the tome known as the Codex Astartes, a treatise on the operations and procedures that should be followed by Space Marines, compiled during the Second Founding by the Ultramarines Primarch, Roboute Guilliman.

A few of the Chapters have been described in detail, especially those that differ significantly from the norm ("non-Codex"). The majority of the rest have been left undescribed and this allows a player to make up their own history and colour scheme for their army.

Each Chapter is made up of ten numbered Companies, each of the first nine containing one hundred Space Marines, led by a Captain. The First Company is made up of the most experienced Marines, with the second through ninth Companies being regular warriors. The tenth company is usually comprised of Scouts, new recruits into the chapter who lack the experience of the rest of the Chapter and are yet to be fully inducted. The Company size is flexible. This is not always the case, as some Chapters have more than 1000 Marines because they do not directly adhere to the codex. The Black Templars, for example, have many crusades and are rumored to have 6000 Marines.

Space Marines are a unique section in the Imperium in that they are independent of Imperial law. Like the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Adeptus Astartes are independent but they also have their own space transport and each chapter occupies its own home world or star fortress (and other equivalents). By comparison the Imperial Guard has to rely upon the Navy for transport; a deliberate move to curtail their power. Even Inquisitors, whose power and authority is considered unlimited, use discretion when dealing with Space Marines and generally ask for assistance instead of demanding. Because of this they are viewed as dangerous, although valuable allies.

History

The First Space Marines were produced using genetic material of the God-Emperor's twenty Primarchs. These were exceptional individuals, with great and varied powers. There were twenty Legions each under the command of a Primarch. The Legions were incredible fighting forces, composed of Mankind's greatest warriors and armed with its most advanced weaponry and equipment. Each legion contained thousands of Marines.

During the Horus Heresy, in the 31st millennium, half of the Legions were corrupted by the forces of Chaos, and rebelled against the Imperium. The traitors were eventually defeated but it was decided to divide the loyal Legions into smaller groups, Chapters, so that so much power was never held in the hands of one individual. Each Chapter has some history back to one of the original loyal Legions.

All the Traitor Legions' home worlds were later destroyed or otherwise rendered uninhabitable (the Night Lords themselves destroyed their home world of Nostromo before the Horus Heresy). Each of the Chaos Legions, except the Alpha Legion, has since claimed a world within the Eye of Terror as a new home world. It is assumed that all of these new home worlds have long since been transformed into Daemon Worlds, as all of the surviving Chaos Primarchs became Daemon Princes long ago.

In addition there are two other unnamed and undescribed First Founding Legions. Official lists of the First Founding Legions simply say that all records have been lost or destroyed by an unknown agent. Games Workshop has officially stated that they have been intentionally left unknown by the developers to allow players to make up their own background on the missing Legions. A common misconception among fans of the game is that the Grey Knights and the Legion of the Damned are the two missing First Founding Legions. The Grey Knights originated from the Second Founding, and the Legion of the Damned are presumed to be the survivors of the Fire Hawks Chapter. [citation needed I think the citation you need is probably in Chapter Approved 2004 -IMR] In older background, the Valedictors were a First Founding Legion but this was later changed.[3][4]. Also, in the story "Hell in a Bottle", by Simon Jowett, which was included in the Black Library anthology, "Enter the Maelstrom", a Space Marine force named the Iron Hearts was briefly mentioned, along with the supposed name of their Primarch, Rubineck. Later events in the story may explain how all records of the Legion came to be lost.

Later Foundings

In subsequent millennia, the Imperium has also created new Chapters of Space Marines, using gene-seed sampled from existing ones. Many of these successor Chapters follow the beliefs and doctrines of the Chapter their genetic material originated from, while maintaining their own methods of operation and battle. According to Codex: Space Marines, the vast majority of new chapters are founded using the Ultramarines gene-seed, as they have the most stable gene-seed and still have all 19 functional implants.

There are approximately a thousand Space Marine Chapters in existence, most of which follow the teachings of the Codex Astartes, but the exact number is not known.