THE DANITUN GUARD

HISTORY/OVERVIEW

Shortly after the Horus Heresy, the worlds of the Danitun system were sealed off from the rest of the Imperium by several violent warp storms. These Warp storms were the plight of its close proximity to the Eye of Terror. However, of the twelve planets in the Danitun System, there were only two that were inhabitable by humans. Danitun Prime was chosen as the guardian world and Danitun Secondus was colonised to act as the feeder world for Danitun Prime. These two worlds relied upon each other, Danitun Prime provided protection whilst Danitun Secondus provided Danitun Prime with enough food stuffs to keep the vast Hive cities from starvation.

With the prolonged exposure to the Eye of Terror, and to a greater extent, the very essence of chaos, the ecosystem had changed dramatically over the course of the centuries during which the Danitun system remained cut off. The people of the Danitun system had adapted to the subtly changing climate and the changing terrain and the population had begin mutating, slightly at first. Over the course of the centuries, psykers had begun to appear in higher then average numbers, along with a large number of over-sized humans and sub-humans. These over-sized humans grew larger and stronger then the average population, causing minor social problems to those that had remained "normal". Like many other Imperial worlds, Danitun Prime itself harboured a small number of Cultist groups, but these were kept in check by the small force of Adeptus Arbites stationed there. We know this from surviving records. This in itself had marked the world as tainted by Chaos.

When the Warp storms finally lifted in M.38, the world had changed from a primal jungle world to a rocky, barren and arid world with the only sign of habitation were ten large hives within which the heretics called home. Danitun Secondus faired better as it was nearer the systems centre, thus did not bear the brunt of the Warp storms that Danitun Prime did. That world remained unchanged throughout the period of “concealment” from the rest of the Imperium. It is also noted in their few records that the last surviving Navigators that had been stationed there also died at some point after the Warp storms had lifted. The Navigators had, however, passed on their knowledge to a small number of untrained but highly skilled psykers that were a natural occurrence on Danitun Secondus, again due to the nearby Warp storms. It is great import to know that although Danitun Secondus had shown mutations, the world itself had not developed any over-sized/under-sized humans.

When Lord Arnell, servant of Khorne, arrived shortly after the period of “concealment,” he was greeted with arms, as the world of Danitun Prime knew full well what might try to come for them when the Warp storms lifted. During this time of conflict, it is noted that all the Adeptus Arbites died in the fighting between the Arnell’s forces and several of them were killed in unexplained circumstances, possibly due to the small Cultist groups. Unfortunately, such measures were not effective at combating the Khorne Berserkers as they poured from orbit in drop pods and stolen Thunderhawk gunships.

The few that knew about the Chaos also knew that their only hope of survival was to pledge loyalty to Khorne and small Khorne militias begun to arise beneath the Hives. These small Khornate garrisons, although separate from the cultist groups, often co-ordinated attacks with the Cultists to usurper the power of the planetary leader. As the Cultist groups and the militias grew in strength, they begun assassinating important Imperial officials. After a period of over 4 months, the capital Hive of Danitun Prime had fallen to Arnell. With this jewel in Arnell's hands, the rest of the Hives were soon to fall. The world as it seemed was Lord Arnell’s at that moment. The exact events afterwards are unclear from the records.

INQUISITORIAL INVOLVEMENT

A full century passed before rogue traders managed to reach the world, most of the long distance traders had been put off by the raging warp storms surrounding the Eye of Terror. What awaited them was a world of pain and bloodshed. Those that landed on Danitun Prime never left alive, and eventually, me and several other Inquisitors of our beloved Ordo Malleus heard about the chaotic world. After calling for assistance, several Adeptus Astartes vessels aided a small group of Inquisitors including me and we befell upon Danitun Prime.

We found a planet that was a shadow of it’s former self, a world that was almost deserted except for a few pockets of resistance. However, before we could arrive, word had reached Lord Arnell that the Inquisition were heading towards Danitun and he ordered the world to be vacated, taking anyone who is able to fight onboard the massive vessels that they had built and had taken from killed Rogue Traders. The plight of the Danitun Guard had just begun.

By the time we had reached Primus Hive, we had already concluded that the world was truly lost to the Imperium. We ordered that the world would be exterminated. Within hours, the world burned as hundreds of magma torpedoes struck the world, destroying those fragments of resistance that still dwelt there.

We had found a similar situation on Danitun Secondus, ghost settlements and the fields over-grown. That planet, although less tainted then Danitun Prime, had been put to the torch from orbit as the virus bombs were released into the atmosphere.

THE HIVES

Of the ten that originally stood before Arnell attacked, only seven were left before the world was within Arnells grip. Several of them had been badly damaged by the infighting as Imperial citizens hurried to make fortifications. Hive 3, also known as Mantano, was built into the side of a mountainous area near the Polar Regions. They were expert craftsmen who build the majority of the Danitun Guards weapons and spacecraft.

Arnell’s crushing attack destroyed hives 8, 4 and 2. Hive 1, or Primus Hive, was the capital. Hive Primus held the rest in check by acting as the centre of commerce for the entire world. Although Primus Hive was damaged, it still stood by the time the Inquisition arrived.

Hive 9, or Numnor, located in the Southern Hemisphere was the main arms depot but also specialised in the training and raising of the worlds riding troops, each riding upon vicious beasts simply known as Calalizards. Of this dusty world, the many leagues surround Numnor were the most fertile and although the “grass lands” were not true grasslands.

Hive 5, Danion, is located in the “Great Desert,” a massive sea of sand that stretches for miles. A naturally uninhabitable area, those that lived there learned to make use of the desert to hunt the many sand scorpions but also other desert creatures. Hive 7, a Hive without a name, was believed to be hidden beneath the surface, but there was no evidence after my fellow Inquisitors obliterated all life there.

Hive 6, or the Temple Hive was the main focal point for the world’s prayers, and also had the highest concentration of shrines. It is my belief that due to the dual star ports of the Temple Hive that were found that Danitun was a deeply religious people. Hive 10, otherwise known as Damaclus, was in my opinion, ruled by the Navigators that were stationed on Danitun. Whether they vied for power or it was a gift by the Danitun people, it remains unclear. From the few records that survived, we know that they often seized newfound psykers shortly after they became known. We do know that they begun training them to be makeshift Navigators.

STRUCTURE/FIGHTING STRENGTH

Like any other Imperial organisation, the Danitun Guard is organised into varying ranks. I've included a chart that discloses their command structure [file attachment, file ref: DG45.43716].

To my knowledge, the Danitun Guard is split into 4 primary Regiments. A Grand Marshal leads each of these regiments and the current Grand Marshals are Jean Halgar, Michael Welnor, Hank Will and Henson Jenkins. Each Regiment is then split down into four or more Companies; each led by a Marshall. In all, I can happen a guess that the Danitun Guard employs a total of 19 Marshals, and from this I guess that it is split into 19 Companies.

The Companies further break up into Divisions, each Division numbering about 385 Guardsmen and Commanding Officers. In the higher levels of Division command are the Colonels, which command 3 Divisions of Guardsmen each. Controlling each Division is a Lieutenant. Each Division then breaks down even further into 12 Platoons.

Along with each Platoon, which is made up of 5 battle squads, each numbering 10 men each, as well as a small command unit, numbering 5 men, as well as attached armour and the Regimental War-Band. Therefore, we can assume that the Danitun Guard numbers over 55440 fighting troops plus those drafted into the War-bands.

Tasked with transport of the Danitun Guard, a large fleet of about 30+ ships that are scatted throughout the sectors surrounding the Eye of Terror. Each sub-fleet numbers about 5 ships on average.

The Danitun Guard is led ultimately by the Khorne Lord Arnell, but when upon the battlefield, they are lead by several Command Officers, each with their own strengths as a leader. Most are hard-bitten warriors in their own right, often favouring combat in light of firepower. They often lead their command sections into the combat. They are always accompanied by a number of combat veterans who have proved themselves to their CO in countless battles.

Halgar's Hunters

A fearsome man, Jean Halgar, one of the Danitun Guard's Grand Marshals, leads Halgar's Hunters. As a force, they rely upon heavy artillery bombard to soften their foes before they make the final push.

During the cleansing of Pydrin, Halgar's Hunters were responsible for the slaughter of over a thousand lives. When they originally attacked, they had taken a strangle hold on the principal star port of Korsque. When they left, the world was virus bombed at Jean Halgar's command, leaving the world a shattered fragment of its former glory. A decade later, the world still bears the mark of the virus, every third born dies of birth defects because of it.

It is this reason that any Imperial Guard regiment raised from Pydrin hates Halgar and his regiment without reserve. The hatred for him has driven them to such extremes, in the past, as to ignore their orders in their quest for revenge.

Welnor's Warriors

Michael Welnor goes into battle at the head of his regiment within his personal transport Chimera. During battle, he often waits for his opponents to get close before he springs a crushing trap upon his foe. This trap always takes the form of several Armoured Fist squads that are held in reserve until the time that the enemy has reached his main lines. The Armoured Fists units then swing around behind their trapped foe.

I believe, of all the Danitun Guard regiments, Welnor's Warriors suffered only minor levels of casualties since they turned to serve Khorne.

Something.

The Wanderers

The Wanderer's are the most well known and longest established of all Danitun Guard regiments. It was during the cleansing of Danitun Secondus that they became known as heroes amongst the population of that world. When the Imperium first colonised the Danitun system, Danitun Secondus had a small Ork population. The Wanderers were fundamental in the eradication of the Ork population of the world, utilising their rapid strike tactics and ranks of Storm Troopers to devastating effect.

His relies are primarily infantry based but can call upon the many tanks at the Danitun Guards disposal, although his main area of expertise is the use and deployment of infantry and the application of Storm Troopers as elite drop parties.

Something.

The Altered

The Altered are most notably the most abhorrent of all the Danitun Guard regiments. Their Grand Marshal, Henson Jenkins, maintains a fighting regiment of mutants, cross breeds and altered monsters. These range from small halflings like creatures the humans that are oversized, to those who appear normal but harbour often unstable psychic talents.

How this came into being, I cannot say, but I have noted that Jenkins is a mutant himself, albeit a subtle one. Another note of great import is that when discussing the Danitun Guard in general, they are all mutants in some form, most show little mutation, and can and often do pass as human to the overage Guardsmen.

Something.

APPEARANCE

A Danitun Guardsmen is typically stronger then the average Imperial Guardsmen, how this came about is unknown, but some amongst my fellow Inquisitors have concluded that it is a natural side effect of their prolonged exposure to the Eye of Terror. Although they have not set uniform, the average Danitun Guard trooper makes extensive use of both red and white in their uniforms. A powerful device they use for their banners is a captured artefacts from previous battlefields ranging from weaponry, to enemy armour and decapitated heads. I have included a image of a Danitun Guardsmen below.

Note that the Danitun Guardsmen often feature one or more runic tatoos, as shown on this one's shoulder. It is not uncommon for the Guardsmen to also tatoo the words 'Khorne', 'Danitun' or 'Arnell' into their flesh. The cloth wrapped around the lasgun is often blood stained, and is there used to wipe the blood from their weapons after making a killing. Another important thing to note is the lack of stocks on their lasguns. It has been thought that they often fire their lasguns whilst on the run, and make so having a stock on their lasguns would be pointless. This Guardsmen also wields a large and heavy blade.

The squad leaders and Officers often wear spiked or plain shoulder pads depending upon the rank of the individual. And another important facet of the Danitun Guard is that their troopers are also known to take battlefield trophies. Whether this is a mark of the individual’s prowess as a warrior or some form of intimidation, it is hard to say. Their tanks make use of limited use of red set against a background of urban camouflage. Typically grey is used as the camouflage colour and red being saved for weapon casings, iconography, ammo caskets and other vehicle accessories.

ARMOUR/VEHICLES

They make extensive use of armoured vehicles ranging from Leman Russes, Basilisks and Chimeras. They also feature a number of Sentinels in their fighting forces.

Some are embellished with Khorne symbols, and are a testament to death as well as serve as moving shrines to the Khorne. They often hang captured bodies upon large spikes and chains from their tanks, and while being quite morbid in appearance, there have been some examples that appear to be less marked by the Danitun Guard then others. It is therefore my conclusion that only the ancient vehicles are adorned with such symbols of death and destruction to such a notable degree.

Those who have fought the Danitun Guard often tell stories of monstrous fighting machines, akin to baneblades, some being augment with massive amounts of ordnance, others mounting nothing more then vile and cruel crushing devices which also act as mass transports. Examples of such vehicles have never been recovered, and it is believed that they may be crewed by daemonic entities rather the conventional crewmen.

COMBAT DOCTRINE & MOTIVES

Command Sections have been noted to attack their foes in the bloody melee of combat even against foes they have little hope to win against. They are also noted to rely upon heavy firepower, often from their armoured vehicles, to weaken their foes before they reach the Danitun lines. Although the Danitun Guard has no strict combat doctrine regarding dedicated tactics, they do rely upon their field commanders to issue orders in times of need and urgency.

This undoubtedly shows that experienced individuals who are very capable field commanders lead them in battle. But one cannot help but notice that their recent raids on Imperial worlds have had hidden motives. One such example is the raid on Alterian IV. They attacked and captured the star port and although they did collect enough supplies to feed their ranks, they also absconded with over a hundred battlefield tanks ranging from Chimeras, Basilisks and other field tanks. They also attacked and raised all Imperial shrines within several leagues of where they had landed. This shows that not only are they raiding for supplies but also as an act to sow terror and confusion within the surround worlds.

KEY ALLIES

Although they are known to call Lord Arnell master, they have also a small number of other allies that are yet to be found by my fellow Inquisitors. One such sect that is currently on the run is the Oxran Cult. This Oxran Cult practises the morbid art of sacrifice in exchange for assistance, which I believe to be, from Slaanesh. Whether this is true or not, I can only speculate as they are never in a place long enough for them to be caught. They have also managed to secure a place in the government of Gulon. As I prepare this report, the government officials on Gulon that are loyal to the Danitun Guard are marked for assassination.

THE WAR-BANDS

Shortly after the Danitun Guard was reduced to a fleet-born force, they encountered a world simply known as Culous. Although a feral and backward world, it held promise. It had remained untouched by the Ecclesiarchy and could have, and was, turned to worship Chaos. I have included a brief transcript of scholar who had studied the natives of Culous and who had entered their society in discreet and was studying them in secret as he continued as one of the natives. His fate is unclear.

"When the Danitun Guard landed upon Culous, they were met with fierce warriors, each bitter about these outsiders landing upon their sacred lands. Battle ensued between the Danitun Guard, and although the natives were driven back before they could reach the ranks of the Danitun Guard, each time they attacked, they were more determined and gained more ground with each attack. As the losses to the natives of Culous begun to mount up, the most dominant of the natives called for a temporary halt to their attacks.

As the mists cleared from the fields where the Danitun Guard were holding their ground, it revealed a massed army of natives, unseen before. Before the Guardsmen could fire, the clansmen arrayed before them bowed in homage to their opponents."

These war-bands are inducted into the Danitun Guard regiments, serving as cheap and expendable warriors. When fielded, they are given standard pattern lasguns, therefore it appears that they are capable of using technology, despite how simple that technology may be.

ENEMEIES

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BATTLE CRY

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Copyright Farseer Tyross 2004