Changes

After the [[Horus Heresy]] , it was decided (in the [[Codex Astartes]] written by the [[Ultramarines]] Primarch [[Roboute Guilliman]]) that no single man should ever wield the power of a whole legion of Space Marines alone, and that each legion was to be split up into thousand men -man strong chapters. [[Rogal Dorn]] of the [[Imperial Fists]] legion long opposed this, but decided to yield rather than risk the fragile peace of the post-heresy Imperium. The Imperial Fists legion were was divided into four chapters: The marines most devoted to their Primarch were to remain Imperial Fists, the most zealous started the never-ending crusade of the [[Black Templars]] and the younger and more levelheaded marines formed the Crimson Fists.¹ It is also rumoured that the planetary assault company were formed into another Chapter but all records have been wiped from Imperial history (See [[Soul Drinkers]]).

The Crimson Fists spent their first nine millennia as a space-faring [[Crusade Chapter]], much like the [[Black Templars]]. Their first victory was against a large host of [[Exodite]] [[Eldar]] on Urolak Prime, followed by the cleansing of HR8518; the home system of an alien race known as the [[Scythians]].¹ Their most legendary campaign was the Crusade of Righteous Liberation - the retaking of planets lost after the [[Age of Apostasy]]. The largest Crimson Fist operation in more recent times was the [[Voltigern Crusade]] in late M40, where several [[Ork]] empires in the Loki sector were attacked and destabilized, later to collapse in civil war. For this , the Crimson Fists were granted fiefdom over [[Rynn's World]], a prosperous [[agri world|agri-world]].¹

[[Image:M1860556 Crimson Fists Opener.jpg|thumb|left|Crimson Fists with Pedro Kantor]]Their homeworld was invaded by Orks in mid-M41. The Crimsons Fists, led by Captain Drakken of the 3rd company had earlier tried to sabotage an Ork [[Waaagh]] building on the nearby world [[Badlading]], but failed. The Orks rallied under Warlord [[Snagrod]] - the Arch-arsonist of [[Charadon]] - and invaded in response, despite the almost suicidal nature of invading a Space Marine homeworld. The odds shifted in the Orks ' favour when the Crimson Fists [[fortress-monastery]] was destroyed by a stray missile from its own defence system. Of more than six hundred space marines stationed there, with a majority of the chapter killed in only sixteen (among them Chapter Master Pedro Kantor and Brother-Captain Cortez) escaped the blast. ⁹ The survivors last two-hundred and eighteen surviving Space Marines on Rynn's World consolidated their defences at the planet's capitol, [[New Rynn City]], and managed to repel stave off the invasion after a furious battle, 18-month siege behind the city's walls. The siege was broken by a relief force of more than 2200 ships and elements of 6 Space Marine Chapters, the Titan Legions, and the Imperial Navy. ⁹ With no more than a hundred surviving marines the Chapter came close to being disbanded due to irrecoverable battle losses, but have since managed to recover.¹ The chapter is back to half its original strength as of late M41.⁵