Crimson Fists

[Brother Warchild]

Librarium Article

Crimson Fists


Foundation and Crusade
Although initially resistant to the ideals of the Codex Astartes, the Primarch, Rogal Dorn of the Imperial Fists Legion eventually relented, and allowed for his Legion to be split into three, one thousand marine strong, Chapters. The Crimson Fists were made up primarily of the Space Marines who had only recently been initiated into the Legion.

It should be noted that there was a Fourth Chapter Created from this Legion called the Soul Drinkers but they were declared Excommunicate Traitoris, and were struck from the annals of history, the chapter's name deleted from the scrolls of honour in the Halls of Heroes and wiped from the memories of the Archivum Imperialis. This is disputed by some see Soul Drinkers Contradiction
The Crimson Fists were a crusading chapter for nine thousand years, like their brother Chapter the Black Templars. Unlike the Black Templars, the Crimson Fists showed a more rigid adherence to the Codex Astartes, and tended to maintain close ties with the Loki sector. It wasn't until almost eight hundred years into the 40th millennium that the Crimson Fists were granted rights to a homeworld, Rynn's World in the Loki sector. The proximity of Rynn's World to one of the Crimson Fists primary recruiting worlds was ideal, and the Chapter constructed their fortress-monastery in the middle of an inhospitable mountain range.


The Rynn's World Incident
In the 989th year of the 41st millennium, an Ork Warlord known as Snagrod, the Arch-Arsonist of Charadon, united many of the warring Ork factions surrounding the Loki sector and began a massive Waaagh! Taking several colonies with minimal resistance, Snagrod boasted that his next conquest would be Rynn's World.

In response, the Fourth Company of the Crimson Fists was sent to stall the Waaagh! and gauge its strength. The size of Snagrod's forces had been significantly underestimated, and only a few Space Marines escaped to relay vital intelligence back to Chapter Master Pedro Kantor. Kantor ordered the immediate recall of all Crimson Fists, and set about organising the defences of Rynn's World.

When Snagrod's Waaagh! hit Rynn's World, it was with a force unseen since the Second War for Armageddon. During the initial invasion of Rynn's World, a great tragedy befell the Crimson Fists.

A single missile, launched by one of the planetary defence installations, faltered in its trajectory and struck the Crimson Fists fortress monastery. The missile managed to strike an unknown weak point in the fortress' design, detonating the Chapter's entire arsenal of weapons. The resultant explosion levelled the monastery, the mountain it rested on, and wiped out everything within a half mile's radius. Of the forces stationed around and within the monastery, there were just over a dozen survivors, Kantor among them.

The survivors, forced to move stealthily through territory captured by the Orks, were able to link up with a detachment of Crimson Fists assigned to defend Rynn's World's capital, New Rynn City. Taking command of the Imperial forces, Kantor was able to eventually repulse the Orks from Rynn's World, although the siege of New Rynn City lasted eighteen months, and the effort to cleanse the planet took many years.


The Aftermath
The Rynn's World Incident resulted in many losses by the Crimson Fists, with the Chapter almost wiped out completely. As a result, Kantor's primary focus is rebuilding the Chapter, while the Crimson Fists can only be fielded as infiltration-size squads. Snagrod's Waaagh! has induced a deep hatred of Orks within the Chapter, and it is said that Crimson Fists Marines will go to any lengths to defeat any Ork forces they encounter.


Organisation
The Crimson Fists are classified as a Codex Chapter, because they are strict followers of the holy tome with only a few minor variants. A catastrophic event in the Chapter's history, either the Rynn's World Incident or the wars fought by the Chapter during the Age of Apostasy, left only 128 survivors. Since that time the Crusade Company (First Company) has always numbered 128 Space Marines.

Since the Crimson Fists started as a crusading Chapter, they always had access to a large, well maintained fleet of starships. Although many vessels were lost over Rynn's World, the surviving fleet was more than capable of entangling the Orks space force until the Imperial Navy was able to reinforce the system.

After Rynn's World, the Crimson fists found themselves in the interesting position of having more specialists than battle-brothers. The Chapter's Apothecaries and Techmarines have been forced to take on roles not normally assigned to them, although without their skills the Chapter would have dwindled beyond repair within a few years.

The process of rebuilding the Chapter has been slow and arduous, although any rush would result in complications that would corrupt or destroy the Chapter at a later date. A number of Scout squads have been inducted into a newly formed Tenth Company, and are said to be forging the future of the Chapter with their every action.

Combat Doctrine
During the nine thousand years of their crusade, the Crimson Fists became skilled at combating many alien species, most notably the Orks. These skills have been valuable to the Ordo Xenos of the Inquisition, with many members of the Chapter serving terms with the elite Deathwatch.

After the Rynn's World Incident, the sheer amount of casualties has prevented the Chapter from fighting in the way prescribed by the Codex Astartes. Instead, Kantor has fielded his surviving Marines as infiltrators and guerrilla troops, attacking specific, high-value targets as opposed to defeating enemies in open battle.


Notable members
Pedro Cantor Current Chapter Master

Commander Reinez Led the force of Crimson Fists on Entymion IV

Captain Casaquez Captain of the Second Company

Captain Gereon Captain of the Third Company

Captain Cortez The Hero of the Battle of Steel Cross (M41 year 835), Cortez is noted for his ability to endure mortal wounds and yet still continue fighting in the name of the Emperor.

Commander Drakken Led at the famous Last Stand of Commander Drakken


Appearance
The Chapters' main colour is deep blue, with red decoration. The Chapter's symbol is a direct copy of the Imperial Fists, with the alternate colours.

When an initiate joins the ranks of the Chapter his left glove is painted Crimson, symbolic of Rogal Dorn's tradition of cutting the palms of new recruits and sharing his blood with them directly, creating a bond between them, upon reaching veteran status his right glove is also painted Crimson.


References
Rogue Trader.
Warhammer 40,000 Codex: Space Marines, 4th Edition
Warhammer 40,000 Codex: Witchhunters, 1
Index Astartes – Crimson Fists
White Dwarf: 288
Black Library Book, Crimson Tears
Wikepedia