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Originally founded as the '''XIXth Legion''', the Legion was used by the [[Emperor]] as his hidden hand in its early years during the [[Unification Wars]] on [[Terra]]. The original recruits of the Legion were firstborn sons drawn from tribes of savage yet technologically adept [[Xeric warriors]] of the [[Asiatic Dustfields]], which regularly battled with the much larger [[Yndonesic Bloc]].{{Fn|30a}}
In its earliest days, the XIXth Legion was used for infiltration, reconnaissance, and target identification operations. The Legion was covertly used to quickly annihilate any faction which refused to submit to the new [[Imperium]], striking from the shadows without warning. The XIXth used terror tactics similar to the [[Night Lord]]s.{{Fn|13}} One of the earliest known campaigns by the Legion was the conquest of the central Asiatic region, which was ruled by a tyrant known as [[Kalagann of Ursh]]. They won many battle honours on Terra, and later took part in the expansion of the Imperium into the rest of the [[Sol System]], liberating [[Jupiter]]'s moon of [[Lysithea]] from [[xenos]]. The battle on Lysithea proved costly for the Legion and veterans of the battle wore Jovian runes in its commemoration for many years after.{{Fn|30a}}
In the early days of the Great Crusade, the Legion found itself in the shadow of [[Horus]] and his [[Luna Wolves]]. While Horus valued the XIXth greatly, the Legions forces were largely serving as support troops for the Wolves.{{Fn|30a}}
====Doctrine and Record====
Before the discovery of [[Corax]], the Raven Guard utilized utilised terror tactics similar to the [[Night Lord]]s. However, when their Primarch was discovered, he was disgusted with these methods and introduced changes.{{Fn|13}} Following the discovery of [[Corax]] the Raven Guard, based upon his teachings, became masters of sabotage, assassination, and other covert operations. Planets that were thought impossible to take, fell quickly as the Raven Guard applied precise military pressure to its vulnerable sectors.{{Fn|2a}} Such was the Legion's reputation that [[Warmaster]] [[Horus]] frequently requested their assistance to assure victory, though there was little admiration between the two; unconfirmed reports include the two sides nearly coming to blows on one occasion.{{Fn|2a}} In addition, Corax displayed a consistent ill-favour and mistrust towards veteran warriors of his Legion born of [[Terra]], as opposed to those native to [[Deliverance]].{{Fn|31b}}
Tensions between the two boiled after over during the [[Battle of Gate Forty-Two]], where Horus had the Raven Guard launch a bloody frontal assault on enemy defenses that decimated the Legion's numbers despite Corax's warnings that the plan was reckless beforehand. After the battle, the Raven Guard was reduced to 80,000 Astartes. Corax removed his forces from Horus' command, bitterly swearing to never serve alongside the Warmaster again.{{Fn|30a}} He also began to send his Terran-born forces into forgotten [[Crusade]]s on the galactic fringes, ensuring in his eyes that the Raven Guard remain "pure".{{Fn|31b}}
====Notable Operations====
===The Horus Heresy===
[[Image:Corax-Soulforge-clean.jpg|thumb|right|295px|[[Corax]] leads the Raven Guard against the [[Dark Mechanicus]] during the Horus Heresy]]
The Raven Guard legion was one of the smallest legions during the [[Great Crusade]], numbering 80,000 Astartes as well as an [[Imperial Army]] [[Regiment]] known as the [[Therion Cohort]] attached to the legionLegion's expeditionary force.{{Fn|30a}} As a legion they were a fierce enemy for anyone who opposed the [[Imperium of Man]], using time honoured tactics of guerrilla warfare which Corax himself had learnt during the Revolution he himself had commanded to free his people from the merciless [[slavery]] forced upon them by the Tech Guilds of [[Kiavahr]].{{Fn|2}} Extremely efficient and well trained, the Raven Guard would engage in acts of mass sabotage along with infiltration, blink-of-an-eye Strikes, strikes and expert covert operations, all of which they had perfected into what would look like ease to any other warrior.{{Fn|2}}
The Raven Guard was one of seven legions to be sent to the Istvaan system (Others present were the [[Iron Hands]], [[Salamanders]], [[Alpha Legion]], [[Iron Warriors]], [[Night Lords]] and [[Word Bearers]]) to quell a rebellion lead led by the former [[Warmaster]], [[Horus]] — [[Primarch]] of the [[Sons of Horus]] Legion (Formerly the [[Luna Wolves]]). Horus and his other three traitor primarchs ([[Fulgrim]], [[Angron]] and [[Mortarion]]) had entrenched themselves on the planet of [[Istvaan V]], and lay in wait for the Loyalist forces to land and engage. The fighting once joined was fierce and hot-blooded, brother versus brother, and no quarter was given on either side. Mid way into the fighting, Horus and his allies retreated back into their fortifications for no reason that could be grasped by the loyalist factions. The Raven Guard were in the thick of the fighting from the start, though out of their element due to the lack of tactical planning and the close-up-and-personal combat spreading like wildfire across the plains of Istvaan V. They fought both with as much honour and as much skill as any other legion would in the circumstances. When the traitors made a surprise withdrawal back to their fortifications, the Raven Guard used this cease break in the fighting to regroup and re-arm.{{Fn|2}}{{Fn|12a}}
However, when they neared the "loyalist" defences (which were tenfold reinforced by the expert siege engineers of the Iron Warriors legion under their [[Primarch]] [[Perturabo]]'s direction, they were fired upon by the very guns meant to protect them. Hundreds were gunned down in the first few minutes of the betrayal before they even realised that there were traitors in their midst. Four of the seven loyalist [[legions]] sent to Istvaan V had thrown off the colours and pretenses of the [[Imperium]], and set their betrayal into motion.The [[Iron Warriors]], [[Night Lords]], [[Alpha Legion]], and [[Word Bearers]] turned on their brethren in a bloody thunderstorm of [[bolter]]s and blades, decimating their numbers in a multitude of seemingly never ending skirmishes and drudging battles for ground that cost lives for every metre gained or lost.{{Fn|2}} [[Corax]] and his legion were reduced from their mighty 80,000 warriors to a meager 3,000 battle hardened veterans.{{Fn|12a}}