4,415
edits
Changes
From Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum
→Legion
==Organisation==
===Legion===
[[Image:BloodAngelsPreparingForWar.jpg|thumb|right|350px|Blood Angels Preparing preparing for war]]
During the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy, the Blood Angels were a [[Space Marine Legion]] numbering roughly 120,000 warriors. The structure of the Blood Angels was to change with the return of Sanguinius. The winged Primarch was to bring a sense of order to the often fractious Legion, stamping a new structure onto it in the hopes of containing its hunger. Though in essence this new order would seem to be in accord with the Principia Bellicosa, the schema by which the other Legions were organised, in actuality it also varied a great deal from the standard pattern. It retained the basic structure of companies, initially forming the Legion into 200 companies of approximately 300 warriors each, although by the last years of the Great Crusade this would have increased to 300 companies each of 500 warriors. However, past this basic structure there were many discrepancies, each chosen by the Great Angel to serve a purpose in his plans. These companies were grouped into Hosts for campaigns requiring greater force of numbers than that possessed of a single company, though each Host was a temporary creature broken and made as need required.{{Fn|44b}}
Sanguinius created three Spheres to encompass his Hosts, three chambers by which he would give order and purpose to the warriors of the Legion. Each was separate and distinct from the Three Hundred Companies and the strictures of the Principia Bellicosa, forming a distinct strata of organisation that allowed the warriors of the IXth Legion to focus their hunger and rage towards a single end and to conquer it. Yet it was not merely a blunt tool, but an elegant and artful plan designed to promote the finer qualities of the Legion while providing an outlet for the more base. It was the Great Angel's masterwork, the fulfilment of an oath and the salvation of his children.{{Fn|44b}}