CODEX ADEPTUS ASTARTES: ANGELS OF VENGEANCE SUPPLEMENT - THE JAEGERS
Codex Adeptus Astartes: Angels Of Vengeance Supplement - The Jaegers details the background and rules information that describes the forces of the Jaegers, the planetary defence forces that guard the Angels of Vengeance's interstellar demesne. While all worlds of their realm enjoy the protection of the Chapter, the Jaegers function as the first line of defence against any invaders. The Jaegers have a long and storied history, one that dates back to the days of the Great Crusade and the Dark Angels Legion, where the elite regiments of the Caliban Jaegers fought and died beside the Legiones Astartes as part of the Solar Auxilia. This supplement will enable you to forge and field your Angels of Vengeance collection into one that best represents the full breadth of defenders available to the worlds of the Angels of Vengeance.
THE 442ND JAEGERS
Of all Jaeger regiments, it is the 442nd Jaegers whose story shines brightest in the annals of history. The 442nd can trace their lineage back to one of the original Caliban Jaeger regiments that accompanied Paladin-Master Ambrus Kuhn when he departed from the ruins of Caliban in self-imposed exile. Accompanying Kuhn and his warriors, the then 442nd Caliban Jaegers, waged war in some of the bloodiest and most hard-fought battles of the Scourging, racking up battle-honour after battle-honour, each victory paid with a tithe of blood and sacrifice. So ferocious was the fighting that the 442nd saw, that by the end of the Scourging, the regiment only numbered a handful of under-strength companies, a mere fraction of their forces before their departure from the ruins of Caliban.
No longer an effective fighting force, the 442nd and their fellow former Caliban Jaeger regiments were overlooked during Roboute Guilliman's reorganisation of the Imperium's fighting forces, their remaining soldiers and commanders being folded into the command hierarchy of the newly formed Angels of Vengeance's Chapter as Chapter equerries, serfs and other positions within the mortal contingent of the Chapter, their regimental standards now stored alongside other relics of the Chapter. For decades and centuries after the Chapter's formation, the descendants of these mortal champions of the Great Crusade kept the traditions and legacies of the Jaeger regiments alive, whether as voids-men and -women aboard the vessels of the Chapter's fleet or as mortal guards and custodians of the numerous Angels of Vengeance Chapter Keeps scattered throughout the Imperium. It was not until the settling of Praelium that these embers of the Jaegers' legacy would truly be reignited.
With the establishment of a Chapter homeworld and the return of the Sildan system (and the wider sub-sector) to the Imperial fold, a pressing need to establish not only robust and efficient governance but also an effective fighting force to protect and defend it, rapidly developed. The lords and masters of the Chapter soon came to the conclusion that the most expedient solution would be to set aside a considerable tithe of the Chapter's most loyal and learned serfs and servants to establish the nascent forms of these military organisations and systems of governance, and so with it, the re-establishment of the Caliban Jaegers regiments, now know simply as the Jaegers. The decision to tithe away such a significant number of serfs to assist with the development of the sub-sector's reintegration with the Imperium was twofold; of the resources available to the Chapter, they were not only the most numerous but also the most knowledgeable on governance and Imperial law, many senior members having served as equerries for the Chapter, it also reinforced the Chapter's bond and integration with their newfound holdings, creating a greater sense of pride and commonality between them. Not to mention, it stationed people of unquestionable loyalty to the Chapter in positions of power (both politically and militarily) throughout the sub-sector, something the Chapter needed if it was to cement its claim without unnecessary and unneeded bloodshed.
Within three Terran standard years, Praelium and the wider Sildan system (now both named Vengeance in honour of the Chapter) had completed the grand total of all preliminary paperwork required for the system's legal systems and governance, with the re-founding of the first three Jaeger regiments occurring the year after. The 442nd were one of these first three regiments to be re-established in this way, initially serving under the command of Marshal Anton Sorensen - whose family has held command positions within the regiment several times since its re-establishment. Alongside the 112th Jaegers, the 442nd were deployed to the eastern-most fringe of the Chapter's realm, serving with distinction against all manner of horrendous alien terrors that haunt the Eastern Fringe, protecting both newly established colonies and long-forgotten Imperial worlds with equal conviction.
Each and every member of the 442nd, as with all Jaegers, were trained with extreme discipline and dedication from its inception, reaching the standards expected from Space Marines, resulting in a force much more competent than the average planetary defence force. And while Vengeance and the surrounding systems were and are still exempt from the normal tithes of manpower expected of the worlds of the Imperium, it wasn't long before both the 442nd and other Jaeger regiments began to see deployment to locations outside of the Angels of Vengeance's demesne.
The first campaign of the 442nd that would deploy them out into the wider Imperium occurred some twenty Terran standard years after their re-founding when the Ork pirate band known as the "Da Mad Raiderz" descended on Port Defiance, home to Battlefleet Eurus. The 442nd alongside elements of the Angels of Vengeance's 4th Order, as well as multiple regiments of both Attila Rough Riders and Catachan Jungle Fighters, engaged the Orks in a protracted series of battles throughout the port's facilities, the massed armoured assaults of the 4th Order and ferocious cavalry charges of the Attilans sweeping the xenos from the port's multi-mile long docks while the Catachans engaged in fast-moving, close-quarter firefights throughout the tight, enclosed spaces of the port's accessways, foundries and hab complexes. As mechanised heavy infantry, the 442nd were deployed into some of the campaign's deadliest warzones, the heavy armour and armoured vehicles of the Jaeger's infantry allowing them to weather assaults that the Attilan and Catachan regiments could not withstand and spearhead offensives on a scale the Space Marines of the Angels of Vengeance could not sustain with their limited numbers. From the battles at Port Defiance, the 442nd would emerge bloodied, battle-hardened and victorious, the liberation of Port Defiance the first of many new battle honours added to the regimental standard.
FORCES OF THE JAEGERS
The following section details background and rules information for fielding Jaeger Detachments as part of your army. You will find Warlord Traits that exemplify the personalities of their most decorated commanders and heroes, alongside units and items of wargear representative of the Jaegers' long and storied history. This section will enable you to forge your collection of Jaeger miniatures into an army ready to fight battles in your games of Warhammer 40,000.
CHOOSING AN ARMY
When choosing an army to play a game of Warhammer 40,000, there are two main ways of organizing your collection. These are the Unbound method, which means taking whichever units you like, and the Battle-forged method, which is more rigid but has extra benefits. Both are described fully in Warhammer 40,000: The Rules.
If you are using the Unbound method, simply use the datasheets later in this section that correspond to the models in your collection. If you are using the Battle-forged method, you will instead need to organize the models in your collection into Detachments. This is a fun process in its own right - I mean, look at me! I created a whole new codex for a dead edition of the game because of it. The most common of these are the Combined Arms and Allied Detachments. Note that you can also include any of the Formations presented in this section as a part of a Battle-forged army.
The Jaeger Battle Group is a special type of Detachment that can be included in any Battle-forged army. Unlike the Detachments shown in Warhammer 40,000: The Rules, it has a Force Organization Chart whose slots are a combination of specific Formations and Army List Entries instead of Battlefield Roles. However, it still has compulsory and optional elements, as well as Restrictions and Commands Benefits, just like any other Detachment.
Although units cannot normally belong to more than one Detachment, units from a Formation that are part of a Jaeger Battle Group are an exception. They count as part of both their Formation and the Detachment, and have all associated Command Benefits and special rules. If your Warlord is part of a Formation or an Army List Entry that makes up part of a Jaeger Battle Group, that entire Jaeger Battle Group is your Primary Detachment.
JAEGER BATTLE GROUP
The Jaeger Battle Group allows you to represent the typical structure of a Jaegers army on the Warhammer 40,000 battlefield. Whether you wish to assemble a force of several hundred heavy infantry, or a mighty mechanised force comprised of battle tanks, walkers and more, the Detachment shown below offers several options with some powerful benefits.
For example, Tristan's Jaegers collection consists of a Knight Commander in The Black Knight, a Company Command Squad, a Platoon Command Squad, five Infantry Squads, a unit of Aldjaegers, three units of Ravenwing Knights, six Scout Sentinels, six Armoured Sentinels, Two Leman Russ Battle Tanks, and Three Leman Russ Executioners.
If Tristan wishes to organise his collection using the Battle-forged method - as described in Warhammer 40,000: The Rules - all of his units need to be a part of a detachment or a Formation. He achieves this by choosing a single Jaeger Battle Group Detachment.
The Jaeger Battle Group in Tristan's army consists of one Command choice, one Core choice and two Auxiliary choices. Specifically, it consists of a Battle Group Command (his Knight Commander and two Leman Russ Battle Tanks), a Lion's Sword Armoured Infantry Company (his Company Command Squad, his Platoon Command Squad, all of his Infantry Squads, his six Armoured Sentinels, and his three Leman Russ Executioners), a Leonine Special Recon Company (his unit of Aldjaegers and his six Scout Sentinels), and a Knights of Caliban (all of his Ravenwing Knights).
All of Tristan's units belong to the Jaeger Battle Group, the army is Battle-forged and all of his units have the Command Benefits listed below. Tristan chooses the Knight Commander in his Battle Group Command to be his Warlord, meaning that the entire Jaeger Battle Group is his Primary Objective.
RESTRICTIONS:
This Detachment must include at least one Command choice. For each Command choice, it may include up to three Core choices. For each Core choice, it may include up to three Auxiliary choices. Only the datasheets listed here can be included in this Detachment. No unique models apart from those listed here may be taken as part of this Detachment.
The Jaeger Battle Group is a Jaeger Detachment.
COMMAND BENEFITS:
Calibanite Blood: Grand Knights from this Detachment can issue the 'Hold Until Relieved.' order in addition to any other orders they know.
'Hold Until Relieved.'
Steeling himself, the officer commands his men to hold the line, no matter the cost, knowing full well the odds stacked against them.
The ordered unit immediately gains the Stubborn and Counter-attack special rules. In addition, until it receives another order, the ordered unit may not voluntarily move or charge, but must still complete compulsory moves such as Pile In and Fall Back moves. Should the ordered unit Fall Back, or receive another order, it immediately loses the Stubborn and Counter-attack special rules.
Disimpassioned Marksmen: Non-vehicle models from this Detachment, unless Jinking, count their Ballistic Skill as 2 when firing Overwatch. Models with the Disciplined Fire special rule instead count their Ballistic Skill as 3 when firing Overwatch.
Grand Master: A Grand Knight that is part of a Battle Group Command can issue up to three orders each turn, rather than two, and can issue them to units from this Detachment that are with 24" rather than 12".
Regimental Motor Pool: If a Jaeger Battle Group includes three Lion's Sword Armoured Infantry Companies, then together they form a Regiment. Any unit from the Regiment that has the option to take a Chimera, Rhino or Razorback as a Dedicated Transport may take one at no points cost (though they must pay for any additional upgrades and options as normal).
CORE:
LION'S SWORD ARMOURED INFANTRY COMPANY:
- 1 Company Command Squad
- 1 Infantry Platoon
- 2 Armoured Sentinel Squadrons
- 1 Leman Russ Squadron
- 0-1 Hydra Battery
AUXILIARY:
LEONINE SPECIAL RECON COMPANY:
- 1 unit of Aldjaegers
- 2 Scout Sentinel Squadrons
KNIGHTS OF CALIBAN:
- 3-5 units of Ravenwing Knights
VINDEX BREACHER DETACHMENT:
- 1 Company Command Squad
- 3 units of Vindices
- 1-3 Hellhound Squadrons
CAVALIER AIRBORNE ASSAULT DETACHMENT:
- 4 units of Cavaliers
- 4 units chosen in any combination from the following list:
- Valkyrie Squadron
- Vendetta Squadron
INFANTRY PLATOON:
COMMAND:
BATTLE GROUP COMMAND:
- 1 Company Command Squad1 or Knight Commander
- 0-1 Primaris Psyker
- 0-1 Enginseer
1A Company Command Squad may include Banneret Yickah Meir in place of its Grand Knight.