Index Astartes: Blood Angels – Mankind's Angels
"I am Sanguinius of Baal lord of the Ninth legion, known as the Angel King and the Angel of Blood. I broke the Raven Guard at Orleans and threw your heralds from the Lion gate you are nothing to me Horus. Once you were my brother, but you no longer are the Primarch I met so long ago you are a pawn of Chaos and betrayal. Remember this there is only one Emperor of Mankind and he sits on Terra you are a pawn of beasts from the depths of the warp, and to the daemons that lurks inside you if you truly came from the world that man once called hell tell them this when you come crawling back it was Sanguinius and mankind that threw you back." Sanguinius to Horus at the height of the Terran campaign.
Origins
"As the angel came to Baal the mutants trembled in fear as they realised that their death was near." The glory of the Angel a Blood Angel poem about Sanguinius and his unification of Baal.
"Kill the Angel! Kill him and his pathetic puppets! Kill-mercy please mer" Last words of King Höfle or as he was better known as Spartacus of the last mutant hordes before his execution in battle by Sanguinius.
The world that the Ninth Primarch landed on was an irradiated death world called Baal covered in massive windswept deserts populated by mutated descendants of the original settlers constantly hunting down the few remaining vaults populated by non-mutated humans. The pod would land in the heart of the greatest desert reasonably close to a major vault that was home of a group that called themselves the Blood. The vault elders would authorise a scout mission to work out what had landed in the heart of the desert. As the scouts searched through the wastes, they would come under attack by a group of mutants and then a young boy with the wings swept from the wastes and tore the greatest of the mutants in two in a single blow routing the mutants. The child would be taken back to the Blood where he was named Sanguinius.
Sanguinius would grow quickly with the few people who believed that he was a mutant being convinced by his rising charisma and reliability. As he grew, he was indoctrinated in the ideology of hating the mutant an ideology he would keep and if anything, hone once the Imperium came. When he was three a raid on the vault managed to fight through the defences and at one point it looked like the mutants would break through and wipe out the Blood and then Sanguinius lead a counterattack where he would tear the most powerful mutant in half with his bare hands and then he unleashed the begging of the Red Thirst when he drained the blood from the most human mutant routing the remainder as they saw the sheer savagery that the Blood had available. This attack would codify Sanguinis's hatred of the mutants of Baal and the butchery of the mutants that he would lead to unite the humans across Baal.
The first strike was Sanguinius leaving upon a trek across all of Baal to find the few remaining human vaults left so he could establish ties with them for his eventual conquest. The first vault he found was home of a group of people who called themselves the Heirs of Bonaparte they had few resources to their name save for a few pieces of artillery but Sanguinius managed to set up trading links between them and the Blood. As Sanguinius roamed Baal discovering new tribes and wiping out small mutant hordes he discovered many ruined vaults where the mutants had broken through and wiped out the tribes that lived there. When Sanguinius returned to the Blood he had developed a philosophy of hatred towards the mutants that he had seen ravaging the humans of Baal and he declared that he would unite Baal under the banner of the Blood and that he would wipe out the mutants that despoiled the soil of Baal.
The beginning of the war of Baalite unification began with Sanguinius hunting down the lair of the largest horde in the area and gathering his forces. The battle began with the Heirs of Bonaparte unleashing the wrath of their artillery upon the defences as the armoured forms of the Blood struck deep into the camp. As the defender's cohesion shattered Sanguinius struck from the skies decapitating their remaining leadership and dooming the horde. As the mutants were wiped out the Blood and Heirs of Bonaparte declared their allegiance to Sanguinius and his goal of unifying Baal. The force grew quickly with many other vaults pledging allegiance to the gleaming angel that promised unification of Baal and the slaughter of the mutants. As Sanguinius purged the mutants of Baal with fire and fury a mutant warlord began to rise in the wastelands a mutant who called himself Spartacus. As Sanguinius wiped out mutant hordes those that survived or had not yet been targeted flocked to Spartacus's banner until there was only the forces of Sanguinius and the Mutant hordes led by Spartacus. Spartacus would gather all of his forces at the place that Sanguinis's pod had landed a crater known as Angel's Rest and prepared for the final battle.
The battle of Angel's Rest was the one of the bloodiest battles fought on Baal with no mercy asked for or given by either side for the fate of Baal was at stake and it would be decided at Angel's Rest. The battle began with the ever-growing artillery corps unleashed their full force upon the forces of the mutants the bombardment would last for ten days concentrated over an area of ten kilometres. Then the Blood which had evolved into the shock troops of the Baalite army charged into the heart of the mutant horde. As the battle dragged on with each side attacking and counterattacking the dead began to pile up with in some cases the dead formed walls for either side. As the battle dragged on both sides began to dig trenches and Sanguinius realised that if the battle didn't end now his men would begin to slip away and his coalition crumbled. Sanguinius would call a leadership meeting and devised a plan the stormtroopers of the Blood would strike forward while Sanguinius would take out the leadership. When the forces of the Blood attacked the mutants Sanguinius struck from the heavens wiping out Spartacus's bodyguard alongside both the leadership and a core part of the mutants reserves yet Spartacus was not there forcing Sanguinius to scout out for Spartacus. He found him commanding one of the largest mutant forces and the wrath of the Angel was unleashed Spartacus was rallying his men to fight and, in a few blows, the mutant force was wiped out. As the news of the death of Spartacus's death spread throughout the mutant army it routed as entire hordes were wiped out in charges until the last mutant was executed personally by Sanguinius. As the human hosts gathered around the broken corpse of Spartacus, they unanimously declared Sanguinius the Angel King of Baal, the Lord of the Blood, Grand Duke of Angels Rest, Heir of Bonaparte etc.
Four years after the unification of Baal the skies were split by the arrival of the Emperor and Sanguinius knelt without fuss and took command of the Ninth legion naming them the Blood Angels. As the Blood Angels began to recruit from Baal Sanguinius joined the Great Crusade for the Imperium and Mankind.
The Great Crusade
"Strike hard my sons, strike with fury and above all strike with honour. We are the Blood Angels let us live up to that name." Sanguinius to his legion before the battle of Nova Capet.
"The Eldar are a bitter dying race that deserve no respect their Craftworlds are ruins of former grandeur, the Drukhari are despicable perverts and the Harlequins are madmen who worship a forgotten god of a dead empire." Azkaellon on the Eldar following a conflict with Biel-tan over the world of Augustus.
During the Great Crusade the Blood Angels were one of the most popular legions with the remembrancers fitting in without a seam allowing for a majority of their conquests to be recorded and spread across the Imperium allowing for their already angelic image to soar to new heights. Two of the more important battles that the Blood Angels fought in were the defeat of Waaaagh Madun and the Battle of Curtin against the Drukhari.
Waaaagh Madun was a relatively minor Waaaagh compared to the Ullanor campaign or the War of the beast that would rage in M32 yet still it held threat and had to be dealt with swiftly. It arose in the area of space around Baal leading to Sanguinius moving to deal with the threat swiftly as the Blood Angels did not have enough facilities off Baal to survive if Baal fell. The fleet of the Ninth Legion was gathered and set off to deal with this threat led by the Glorina class battleship Red Tear. They would meet the Ork fleet over the world of Derry. The battle began with a series of broadsides from the Imperial fleet. The ramshackle mess that was the Ork's flagship was shattered when the Red Tear unleashed a weak cyclonic torpedo destroying most of the Space Hulk and allowing Sanguinius to land with the core of his force. The Warboss lead a counterattack that nearly threw the Blood Angels form the Space Hulk with even Sanguinius was unable to defeat him quickly and thus the Imperial Forces were ordered to withdraw to the ships while Sanguinius drew the core of the Ork force to the breach in the ship. When the entire force save for Sanguinius had evacuated he ordered the Imperial fleet to open fire on his position. Just before the full force of the Imperial Navy was unleashed on him activated his return teleport and he escaped as the Warboss was atomised. The Waaaagh fell apart quickly and the threat to Baal was ended.
The system of Curtin was a minor fourth-rate system that if not for the Blood Angels wiping out a core part of the Drukhari military there would be a minor footnote in the great halls of the Adeptus Administratum. The system had a single habitable world Chifley the remaining planets not being of too much use to the Imperium or any sentient race. Why the heads of the Great dynasties of Commorragh chose to meet there is unknown and uncared for by the Imperium. The Blood Angels legion had been ordered to check on the system as they had sent out an Astropathic distress message at the highest possible setting and the Blood Angels were nearby at the time. The battle began with the legion discovering that the world had fallen under occupation from the Drukhari via use of a forgotten Webway gate and they sent through a small fleet to defend the planet. Thus, the battle began with a naval duel with the elegant thin shapes of the Drukhari assaulting the boxy and hardened forms of the Imperium over a desert world. The naval blockade of the world was broken quickly allowing for the legion to deploy onto Chifley and eliminate the leaders of the Dark Cities armies. The Webway gate fell quickly to the Astartes with their depraved opponents being torn apart with their corpses in some case being used as defences by either side. While the cream of the Drukhari forces attempted to take back the Webway gate the leadership was targeted by Sanguinius and the Sanguinary Guard. The forces defending the leaders of the Dynasties that controlled Commorragh were some of the greatest in the Dark City yet against a Primarch they were little more than training targets. Sanguinius ravaged his way through the enemy bodyguard until the leaders were surrounded and isolated with no weapons. They died quickly and the Drukhari army collapsed into infighting as the Eldar each tried to grab power the fleet in orbit broke contact and fled allowing the Imperial fleet to unleash their wrath onto the enemy through a series of orbital bombardments. As the Blood Angels rested from their hard-fought victory, they had no idea the effects that this had had on the politics of the Drukhari.
The Horusian Heresy
"A final charge to face the fire." Azkaellon leading the counterattack to take back the corpse of Sanguinius
"Aye brother Angels have wings yet there is more than just wings to be an Angel, a true Angel is kind and protects mankind you are a deluded madman dressed in the symbol of false gods. You are no Dark Angel you are a Dark Daemon." Sanguinius replying to a witticism from Lion El'jonson at Terra.
During the Horusian Heresy the Blood Angels were at the forefront of the Imperial lines until the Emperor himself ordered them to return to Terra in order for the homeworld to hold out. The Blood Angels would fight across the galaxy fighting against every traitor legion save for the Night Lords. Some of the more important ones were the battle of Orleans, the last stand of Hohenzollern and the Terran Campaign. The Blood Angels had one of the worst experiences of the Heresy as they were one of the two loyalist legions that lost their Primarchs. As they fought across the galaxy defending the hopes of mankind from the ravages of chaos their angelic image across the Imperium was enforced and spread.
The Raven Guard had a dramatic and brutal fall compared to some of the others as they ravaged their way across the territory of the Adeptus Mechanicus in a depraved mindless attempt to 'free' the people of the forge-worlds from their cruel overlords. As the Raven Guard rampaged, they separated into two major forces one under the command of Corvus Corax while the other was commanded by Branne Nev the loyalist high command ordered the Salamanders and the Blood Angels to deal with the Raven Guard. The Blood Angels dealt with Corvus Corax while Vulkan unleashed his wrath on Branne Nev. The Blood Angels would come across the Raven Guard on the Agri-world of Orleans the nineteenth legion had translated into the system and unleashed their depravity upon the system. The Blood Angels tore into the enemy with the fury of three years of war. The fleet was driven from orbit allowing for the legion to deploy against their wayward brothers. The assault began with the already divided Raven Guard being isolated into small groups of in some cases little more than squads and eliminated this would not last long with Corvus Corax realizing what was going one when he came across a Blood Angels force attacking a Moritat squad, he would order the legion to stop their depraved pillaging and to hunt down the Blood Angels. This would lead to a battle not of mighty formations clashing over plains but small groups hunting each other down, a battle at which the Raven Guard excelled and at many points it seemed that they might size victory. Then Sanguinius found his brother, Corvus had taken over a ruined town hall and converted it to the legions command centre and it was the only major stationary Raven Guard position on the planet. Sanguinius gathered all the forces he could and launched the attack with all the fury of mankind. The assault was quick decisive and brutal with the Raven Guard forces being slaughtered and Corvus Corax being wounded. As the Raven Guard reeled their already fragile command structure and cohesion shattered and the retreat was ordered as Corvus Corax fled from Orleans and officially declared that the Raven Guard where no more and they where now the Night Hunters.
Hohenzollern was a feudal world on the edge of Segmentum Solar it held no vital technology, no strategic position, no major forces besides a small Blood Angels detachment all in all nothing, so why the World Eaters were unleashed on the world is a mystery to all but Horus and Angron. The Blood Angels were forty wounded Astartes whose ship had malfunctioned, and they had been forced to evacuate to the planet. They would use the people of the planet with the governor's authority to begin to dig in and establish fortifications in case they were attacked, their prudence was justified. The World eaters sent a scout cruiser and four hundred berserkers to the system in the name of unrestricted slaughter in the name of Khorne. The landing began on the far side of the planet from the Blood Angels when the World Eaters landed in the heart of one of the largest city on the planet and unleashed the full force of their bloodthirst upon the citizens of the planet. The World Eaters rampage continued and spread across to every continent on the planet until only the Blood Angels redoubt had not been attacked as they welcomed all of the fleeing citizens into their ramshackle defences and prepared to fight for their planet and Imperium. The assault would last for three days with the World Eaters charging at the defences with blood and blood alone on their mind. Every Blood Angel took at least two with him yet that was more then enough berserkers to soak up the losses. Until there was only three gravely wounded Blood Angels left preparing to sell their life dearly and they did. At the end the last Blood Angel detonated the most powerful weapon he had available and the long dead planetary governor's only nuclear weapon detonated wiping out the World Eaters.
The Terran campaign would be the most brutal conflict fought by the Blood Angels with thousands dying each day on both sides, the priorly made forts each fell one by one in brutal lasts stands with no mercy asked for or given the Blood Angels would often fight to the last bolt shell and then give into the Red Thirst and drain the enemy of blood if they had to. One of the most brutal last stands would be the slaughter of Pari in the heart of Franc where ten Blood Angels held off fourteen Dark Angels Dreadnoughts for three weeks. Despite all of these attacks against the invaders they still slowly ground towards the Imperial Place.
The Scouring
"I have failed my father and I have failed my legion farewell my brothers I must leave you now." Azkaellon upon leaving Baal.
"Vengeance for Sanguinius. Vengeance yes vengeance and blood. BLOOD! BLOOD! WHY LION WHY? BLOOD!" A member of the First Death Company falling to the Black Rage in the height of the Scouring the name of the legionary was lost
During the scouring the Blood Angels legion focused mostly on the scourge of the Black Rage that had broken out within the legion following the death of their Primarch. However, they still threw themselves at the enemy with vengeance on their mind. The most important battle that the Ninth Legion fought in was the Battle of La Rothiere when they came across a the evacuation fleet of the World Eaters. As the scouring threw back the traitors into their lairs the Blood Angels continued their mourning for their fallen father.
The system of La Rothiere was a minor one on the way to the Eye if Terror home to a Hive-world and a few naval repair stations that were with time able to fix the crippled ramshackle fleet that the World Eaters had used to flee Terra. The Blood Angels would come across the World Eaters in the height or repairs with about half of the fleet having been reinforced enough to make it to the Eye of Terror and only then if Khârn's orders were followed to the letter which was unlikely. The Blood Angels opened fire and the Battle of La Rothiere began with bloody dance of naval combat beginning. The World Eaters fleet was made up of merchant ships and military transport with a few warships alongside them against the full fleet of a legion they stood no chance. As the World Eaters fleet was shattered Khârn ordered that all ships that could to immediately translate out of the system. As they fled their ships already weakened began to collapse and it is only thanks to the blessing of Khorne that they survived and crashed on the world of Chulak.
The Forty-First Millennium
"We are the sons of the Great Angel and we shall strike from the skies with the wrath of the Imperium and Mankind." Mephiston lord of Death to new recruits of the legion.
"Only in death does duty end and I'm not dead yet." Dante Lord of Blood leading the counterattack at the battle of Baal.
The Blood Angels are one of the most active legions in the millennium of Darkness but even they cannot hold of the mighty hosts of those who attack the Imperium, yet still they stand against the rising darkness and carve their names into its heart. While the Thirteenth Black Crusade seems to be coming from the Black Legions dominions within the Eye of Terror, The Ultramarines are gathering for a great plague war and the Zaherialn Crusade is gathering in the Kingdom of New Caliban despite this the Blood Angels are gathering together preparing to fight for the Imperium, Baal and Sanguinius.
Organization
"As the Lord of the Blood has deemed the hour dark enough it has been decided to unleash the Death Company upon our foes. For the Emperor and Sanguinius!" The proclamation that allows for the Death Company to be unleashed in battle
"Slaughter the traitors hail Emperor Guilliman. Kill them all." Uriel Ventris notable foe of the Blood Angels and Iron Warriors legion at the battle of Pern.
The Blood Angels legion is divided into ten chapters that are then divided further into ten companies an anomaly is the three Death Companies each consisting of roughly five-thousand Astartes who have given into the Black Rage. The Blood Angels tactics focus on heavy strikes from above lead by strong melee attacks alongside strong firepower, if they choose to unleash the Death Companies they direct the berserkers towards the enemy and strike when the lines are broken by the Astartes afflicted by the Black Rage often killing the entire leadership in a single blow securing the victory for the Blood Angels. The Blood Angels use the Mark XVII 'Seraphim' armour designed for deep strikes it is able to deal a lot of damage and the helmet is easily detachable allowing for the Red Thirst to be quenched easily.
Primarch
"Sanguinius was the greatest of them all kind and knowledgeable with the ability to make all of us agree on something yet he still had flaws if he had given in to his madness inherent in the Redd Thirst, he could of fallen to chaos." The opening line of the Chapter on Sanguinius in the Historical work The Primarchs: Heirs of the Emperor by Magnus the Red.
"Sanguinius should have been Warmaster instead of me he can work with all of us I don't deserve this." Horus prior to his fall.
Sanguinius was one of the kindest Primarchs popular with all of his brothers and the people of the Imperium with his angelic form being often used the symbol of the Imperial truth alongside the Aquila. Following his death his corpse was interred in the heart of the Blood Angels Fortress-Monastery with a constant guard of a hundred of the greatest warriors in the Ninth legion and their successors. His tomb is a work of art carved out of solid Gold and ruby with his Death Mask being forged from the ruins of the Emperors Armor.
Homeworld
"From the screaming deserts of Angels Fall to the Canyon of ten-thousand skulls Baal is a harsh planet and a beautiful one." Goge Vandire on Baal.
"Harsh deserts and the radiations a bit high for my liking still nice planet and nice people." Ragnar Blackmane on Baal.
Baal is a harsh homeworld covered with deserts and coated in radiation with a thin atmosphere and few sources of fresh water and vegetation with the people of Baal divided between those of the vaults and nomads that wandered the deserts of the planet.
Gene-Seed
"So, they have two major flaws one the Red Thirst a bloodthirst that effects all of them and the Black Rage only appeared after the Heresy and they become little more than Khornate berserkers as they remember the death of their Primarch." Azheck Ahriman on the Blood Angels Gene-Seed.
"BLOOD! BLOOD! FOR THE EMPEROR!" The first Death Companies battle cry.
The Blood Angels Gene-seed is one of the most mutated for a loyalist legion with two major gene-seed flaws in the form of the Red Thirst and the Black Rage. Despite their mutations the legion has formed three successors the Blood Dragons, Flesh Tearers and the Crimson Legion.