Editing Raven Guard (section)

==Combat Doctrine==
[[Image:Raven Guard Tactic.jpg|400px|left]]
{{Topquote|If men had wings and bore black feathers, few of them would be clever enough to be crows.|Henry Ward Beecher.}}

The Raven Guard are a Space Marine chapter which actually eschews the usual Space Marine tactic of [[Blood Angels|charging recklessly]] [[Angry Marines|into the enemy ranks]]. Instead, they are as analytical as the [[Reasonable Marines]], and they target weak points in enemy defenses and launch lightning strikes [[Anal circumference|deep into the enemy's rear]] and penetrate through holes in the enemy's defense after thrusting through critical locations (is it getting hot in here?). Usually they use their Scouts to move ahead and mark good drop-sites after eliminating specific threats such as anti-air weaponry before the sneaky Beakies strike hard and fast. Because of their distinctive hit-and-run combat style, they also make a fuckton of use of fast-moving units like Assault Marines, Land Speeders, and Bikes, often dropped from Thunderhawks or Drop Pods, if not booted from the back of a fast-moving [[METAL BOXES|Metal Box]] and into cover.

Don’t misunderstand. If sneaky tactics are not feasible or a direct approach is better, they’ll come in banners flying and cannons blazing like most other Chapters. They just prefer to strike with quick precision and fade away. Also, they do this with jetpacks, giant motorcycles, tanks, and drop ships...so, their strikes are usually pretty obvious to whoever is being attacked, rather than every single one of them sneaking up behind a target and backstabbing them like they're a Chapter of [[Rogue]]s. Their stealth outside or specialized units is more at the strategic level than the tactical (made up for tactically by jump packs and snipers). So, if you’re in a base they’re attacking you’ll probably see and hear them coming - but it won’t matter because their tech and tactics would prevent the people above you knowing the Raven Guard’s movements in time to save your ass.

Fighting at first mostly under Horus, they started off as a pretty brutal bunch, wiping out their enemies wholesale and using repression tactics. This didn't play too well with old [[Corvus Corax|Papa Emo]], who'd spent his whole life fighting to liberate his adopted people, and found the XIX a little too reminiscent of the regime he'd overthrown. Corvus set about moulding his legion into a more humanitarian outfit - just as well, or the Ravens would've basically been a less crazy version of the Night Lords. This resulted in a disagreement with the Warmaster, which nearly led to Corvus and Horus coming to blows. This might have pushed Horus towards the less aggressive tack he tried in the months before everything went down the shitter. Corvus' reforms even extended to telling the then Legion commander (who was a tad too set in his ways) to take a nomadic fleet and piss off to the galactic fringe along with those that wouldn't comply.

The Raven Guard agree with [[Roboute Guilliman]]'s organisation of Spess Merheens in Chapter/Companies/Squads etc. However, they ''don't'' refer to the Codex blindly for tactical advice, instead using their own expertise and fuckin' wits where appropriate. Guilliman would have no problem with that, since that's how it's supposed to be used. The chapter almost never engages as a whole, and individual companies of Raven Guard marines openly lend a hand to Imperial Commanders of all stripes, from fellow Marines to the Inquisition (though especially Imperial Guard) all across the galaxy, with <u>ostensibly</u> nary a shit given to what their Chapter Master wants. Such behavior has led [[Ultramarines|certain chapters]] to question the Raven Guard's tendency towards insubordination, but in truth, the Raven Guard simply picked up tactics that worked from studying [[Alpharius]] after his legion sent the Ultramarines packing - basically, the Raven Guard learned well that a decentralized command structure allows them to [[/tg/ gets shit done|get shit done]]. (While not wrong, certainly not accurate either. Such Decentralization was a hallmark of the rebellion during Big Bird's time in prison. A point keenly made by the Raven Guard officer in The Seventh Serpent.) The Chapter Master gives general instructions to his direct subordinates and free rein to fulfill those as they see fit. And it works pretty damn well, too! Basically, they all know what they're doing and how to do their jobs without being micro-managed, so the Chapter Master ''leads'', not ''rules''. Master of Shadows Shrike has now reinstated their elite infantry [[Mor Deythan]], two Shadow Captains, a sergeant and a [[Knights of the Raven]] captain.