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Howling Griffons

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Howling Griffons
Howling Griffons
 Howling Griffons Symbol.png
HowlingGriffinsPrimaris.jpg Howlinggriffonsmini.jpg
Founding Chapter: Ultramarines[17]
Founding: M33[7]
Chapter Master: Alvaro or Kenot Friche[Conflicting Sources]
Homeworld: Mancora[6a]
Fortress-Monastery: The Proud Eyrie[7]
Colours: Quartered yellow and red[18b]
Specialty: Codex Chapter[7][18a]
Battle Cry For Guilliman, son of the Emperor! For the Founding Father! For the oath and the word! For the honour that men fear! Howling Griffons, what say you to the oath sworn by your brothers long dead? Honour them! Even though it may cost your life? Though your soul be rent and your bodies broken? Shall you honour this oath, Howling Griffons, inheritors of Guilliman?[2b]
Howling Griffon[28]

The Howling Griffons are a Space Marine Chapter with a long and glorious history.[17] Their heroism has placed them amidst the most hallowed honour rolls of the Imperium.[36]

Overview

Howling Griffons Fortress-Monastery The Proud Eyrie[19]
Spoiler!
The following paragraphs contain spoilers for: Chapter War (Novel)

The Howling Griffons are staunch traditionalists and consider their primary role to be defenders of the Imperium and an instrument of the Emperor's ideals. They see the Codex Astartes as a treatise that has yet to be bettered, rather than holy scripture. As a Chapter, they do not specialize in any one form of warfare and as such maintain an even balance across all disciplines covered by the Codex. Competition within the Chapter is high, but never allowed to degenerate into discord.[7]

They take special pride in their oaths, seeing each as an eternal conflict until the deed is finished. Before battle, additional oaths are added to their already exceedingly long lists, some for the chapter and others more personal. Once an oath is taken, a battle brother goes to extreme lengths to complete it and it is never forgotten, even after decades. Completed or satisfied oaths are a badge of honor, often inscribed on parchments or directly in the armor of the Howling Griffons Space Marines.[2b]

The events of 220.M38 has set the Chapter on a dangerous road. Upon being raised to the rank of full Battle-brother, each warrior takes an oath to avenge the fallen whenever possible and as a Chapter the Howling Griffons have sworn to destroy Periclitor whatever the cost, even if this means going into the depths of hell itself.[7] The Daemon Prince Jago has also declared the Howling Griffons to be his sworn enemies. This hatred is shared by his Warband, the Raptorous Flayhost, and the Griffons' helmets are particularity collected as trophies by its Chaos Terminators.[30]

Due to their glorious battle records and a near permanent campaigning status, they have gained the right to recruit initiates from several different worlds, including Dennar IV, in order to counteract the high levels of attrition that they face. As their main point of recruitment Mancora is kept in a constant state of warfare in order to provide them with a solid base of well disciplined initiates. The high birth rate of psykers on Mancora has also led to a high number of powerful Battle-Psykers within their ranks.[7]

The Howling Griffons are known to have seconded many Battle-Brothers to the Deathwatch over the years.[17]

Howling Griffons Bike Squads are known for excelling at spearhead line-breaking assaults.[37a]

History

  • 220.M38: Arios Point Ambush — The Howling Griffons were ambushed by then Chaos Lord Periclitor on their return to Mancora. The ambush led to the death of Chapter Master Orlando Furioso as well as most of their First and Eighth Companies.[7] This has sparked a long standing feud between the Word Bearers and the Howling Griffons.[7]
  • 109.M40: The Dennar IV Suppression — The Howling Griffons 3rd Company, led by Captain Penvath Joachim, responded to a call for aid from Dennar IV. When they arrived at the agri world, they discovered a handfull of city-states full of refugees holding out against a horde of cultists, some of whom were possessed by daemons. Using their superior armour and tactics, the Howling Griffons rallied the local forces and led a long and bloody struggle to clear the planet of the uprising. After this action, the Howling Griffons have kept a lasting oath to protect the planet; in return they are able to count Dennar IV as one of their recruiting planets.[7]
  • 143.M41: The Jorun Retaliation — En route to the Gothic War an Imperial Battlegroup, the 15th Heraklion Ironclads, turned on their Commissariat attachment and went renegade. Investigations into this turn of events uncovered the foul Xenos taint of Dark Eldar, who had managed to ensnare and corrupt General Jorun and his command structure. Jorun and his fleet raided planet after planet, enslaving whole populations for their masters. The full Howling Griffons Chapter (about 8 Companies worth of Marines) was given command of the strike force, with support from the Ultramarines and Sons of Orar Chapters. Initial contact was made as the traitor forces were landing on Asturia. With no armour unloaded, it became a massacre, with over 5,000 Guard dying in an hour. The Howling Griffons' 4th Company, led by Chaplain Armand Titus, led the final strike on Jorun's forces, fighting through Jorun's Ogryn cadre as well as Dark Eldar troops. Titus delivered the killing blow to Jorun, while slowly succumbing to poisoned wounds and sealing the fate of the Heraklion Ironclads.[7]
  • 857.M41: Lazar Blockade — The Howling Griffons' fleet, along with 4 other Space Marine Chapters, overwhelmed and obliterated the main Tomb World. However, secondary bases throughout the system suddenly came to life.[10]
  • 905-906.M41: Shortly before the Badab War, the Howling Griffons' Fourth Company along with parts of their Sixth, Tenth and First Companies carried out a lengthy search and destroy campaign within the Caradryad Sector. It can be safely assumed that a large number of planetary assaults were carried out during this action as they were severely lacking in Thunderhawks and drop pods when answering the call for aid in the Badab War as they had not had the chance to return to Mancora.[7]
  • 906-909.M41: Badab War — The Howling Griffons, along with the Novamarines, responded to calls for aid. Having just finished a campaign in the Caradryad Sector, the Howling Griffons' task force was no more than 250 Space Marines and had insufficient planetary assault resources to aid in front line assaults. As a result, their initial engagements were to carry out garrison duties or convoy protection.[39] Their largest deployment was to garrison the airless moons in the Khymara system, rebuilding old listening posts as staging areas for later in the war. Unfortunately this posting put them in the path of the Executioners in 907.M41[12] who were coming to aid the Secessionists as part of their blood oath to Huron. The Howling Griffons were annihilated; after the Executioners withdrawal, the casualty rate was more than 70%, including the catastrophic loss of their strike cruiser, Augeias, and Chaplain Dreadnought Titus. Despite these losses, the remaining force continued to fight wherever they could until officially relieved in 909.M41[7] The Howling Griffons made use of Insurgency Forces (five Marines, one armed with a sniper rifle.) and at least one Callidus Assassin during the war.[35]
Marines of the Howling Griffons fighting Genestealers (Space Marines 8th Edition codex art).[26]
  • 951.M41: The Amar secession was brought to a swift end by the rapid strikes of the Howling Griffons.[6b] The Howling Griffons' tactical use of Land Speeder Storms allowed them to take the outer bastion of the Regent's palace and use his artillery against the inner palace.[6c]
  • 978.M41:[14a] War for Bhorc Prime (Scrap at da Scrap Yard) — A contingent of Howling Griffons was dispatched to prevent the Orks from building bigger and better idols. They managed to seize the high ground, and, with commanding fire positions, they could press their attack on the Warlord's Gargantt fields and slow the invasion.[14b]

Undated

The Howling Griffons battle tyranids[26]
  • Dennar IV Rebellion — The Howling Griffons 3rd Company took part in this campaign.[5a] One of the battles — Assault on Hill 103[5b]
  • Attack on Procon Secundus — Procon Secundus was under attack by Ghazghkull Thraka. The Howling Griffons launched themselves at Ghazghkull Thraka's hordes. The Howling Griffons destroyed the invading Orks in a series of battles,[31b] that ended their threat and saved what remained of the planet's population.[31c]
  • Veidt's Schism — During this the Howling Griffons' Homeworld, Mancora, was separated form the rest of the Imperium.[24]

Gene-Seed

The Howling Griffons Gene-Seed is free from defects and produces all organs like their parent chapter the Ultramarines. The Howling Griffons focus on harvesting the progenoid glands of their fallen and getting them returned to their homeworld. This is how the chapter is able to keep their force strength while having a high turnover rate.[11b]

Heraldry

As with many of the Howling Griffons stationed at the Khymara system during the Badab War, many of the battle-brothers still maintained their Codex Approved Night World Battle Livery from their prior deployment in the Caradryad Sector.[7]

The standard Howling Griffons armour colour scheme is quartered red and yellow.[18b] Sergeants sport a black helmet with a red skull, while Veteran Sergeants add an additional white stripe.[37b]

During activities on Khymara during the Badab War, the Howling Griffons wore approved Night World camo which combines black armour with a grey chest eagle. The shoulder pads are quartered red/yellow with grey rims and Sergeants wore grey helmets. Khymara camo for Terminators was pure black with the right shoulder bearing the red/yellow quartered livery. The Terminator's Power Fists were also painted red.[7]

Noted Elements of the Howling Griffons

Relics

Vessels

Vehicles

Howling Griffons Land Raider Shield of Mancora[7]

Notable Members of the Howling Griffons

Chaplain Dreadnought Armand Titus during the Badab War[7]
Main article: Known Members of the Howling Griffons
Chapter Command
  • Orlando Furioso — Late in the year 220.M38 the Howling Griffons Chapter were preparing to celebrate their 5,000th anniversary of their Founding. As Chapter Master Orlando Furioso and the First Company made their way to the Chapter's home world, Lord Periclitor of the Word Bearers, a substantial force of his Chosen and his Night Lords allies[7] fell upon the Howling Griffons' ship as it traversed the Arios beacon. The battle was a furious one, culminating with Periclitor and his elite boarding Furioso's battle barge aboard their Dreadclaws. The attack crippled the ship, and the defenders were forced to evacuate aboard their Thunderhawks and escape pods. The battle was continued upon the surface of Arios Quintus, where the survivors were surrounded and eventually cut down. The body of Orlando Furioso was mounted upon the fore of his Thunderhawk and left to drift in orbit above the planet for a month before it could be recovered.[7] And now the Howling Griffons Chapter has another date to mark in their calendar each year.[34]
Captains
  • Darion — Captain of the Ninth Company, participated in killing Periclitor and The Liberation of Vanqualis. His armour is studded with gems for notable kills.[2a]
  • Borganor — Captain of the Tenth Company, participated in killing Periclitor and The Liberation of Vanqualis. He has many bionics for all of his lost body parts.[2a]
Other Ranks
  • Armand Titus — In 143.M41 Chaplain Armand Titus, along with the Fourth Company, led the final assault against the renegade General Jorun and his forces during the Jorun Retaliation. Fighting his way through renegade guard, Ogryn and Dark Eldar he was wounded by xenos poisons; despite this he broke through to face General Jorun and delivered the Emperor's justice. Upon returning to Mancora Titus was encased in a dreadnought to continue his service to the Chapter.[7] Titus continued to serve with the 4th Company throughout M41, including the campaign in the Caradryad system and into the Badab War. He was present on Khymara when the Executioners assaulted the moon base and was one of the large number of losses.[7]

Images

Trivia

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The following information is not to be regarded as officially sanctioned and/ or is not written from an in-universe point of view. A detailed explanation of the term "Trivia" as used in the Lexicanum can be found here.

Conflicting Sources

See also

Sources

Uncited

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