17th Chapter (Night Lords)
The 17th Chapter of the Night Lords, often known within the Legion as The Bleak Cohort, was one of the few fully-mechanised detachments of the Night Haunter's Legion during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy.[1]
Overview
Its ranks included a large proportion of armoured vehicles, including several squadrons of Kratos heavy tanks whose design had fallen out of favour with many Legions. When the Legion went openly to war, once terror had done its job and weakened the enemy's resolve, the Bleak Cohort was often to be found in the vanguard.[1]
In a unique variation on the Legion's philosophy, the Bleak Cohort deployed in a manner that sought to set fear in the heart of the foe. Before the onset of battle, the full panoply of the cohort would be drawn up before the enemy, the serried ranks of its armoured vehicles an unbroken line of steel and ceramite, engines roaring loud enough to drown out all other noise. Many a foe has broken and run in the face of such an onslaught, the Bleak Cohort leading the Night Lords to many a victory.[1]
Additionally attached to the 17th Chapter were the rare examples of Artillery vehicles in the Night Lords’ service. The Night Lords showed little favour towards artillery and the more stoic tactics that required its massed deployment. Bombards with their slow speed and blunt aspect, were most often assigned rear echelon roles, typically used to eradicate enemy positions that had been isolated and bypassed by the night lords frontline.[1]
Notable History
During the Thramas Crusade, the 17th would face its most fearsome challenge in the Dark Angels' Ironwing. On Sheol IX, the gathered might of the Bleak Cohort would be pitted against those elements of the Ironwing assembled from the host of the First Legion that assaulted that world, a battle that saw several hundred armoured vehicles thrown against each other as the Bleak Cohort strove to hold the Dark Angels at bay while their brethren evacuated. Despite their pride and long-honed skill, the Bleak Cohort found themselves put to shame by the deft tactics and relic war machines of the Ironwing, forced to commit their heaviest and most treasured vehicles to desperate ambushes and holding actions to keep from being overrun. Indeed, such was the carnage they endured that of the eight super-heavy vehicles attached to the Bleak Cohort, only two would survive the battle and be successfully evacuated, and both of those had sustained such severe damage that neither would be combat ready for several months after the fighting.[1]
Notable Vehicles
- Midnight Terminus - Fellblade, Command Vehicle of the 17th Chapter, destroyed by the Dark Angels upon Sheol IX.[1]
Known Members
Sources
- 1: The Horus Heresy Book Nine - Crusade, pgs. 66-67
