"By the blood of Sanguinius!" -- Battle Cry of the Blood Angels The Blood Angels are one of the first Space Marine Chapters and have fought ferociously for the Imperium in countless battles throughout the centuries. Yet, there are whispers of a taint. More than their zeal for the Emperor seems to drive them to acts of bloodshed. This bloodthirsty behavior has raised eyebrows among the Blood Angels’ Imperial allies and raised questions within the Inquisition. What those outside the Blood Angels fail to realize is that each member of this Chapter is haunted by the constant danger of falling into the Black Rage. Ten thousand years ago, when their noble Primarch Sanguinius was slain fighting the traitorous Warmaster Horus, the self-sacrificial and brutal manner of Sanguinius’s death scarred his descendants for eternity. To this day, the memories of this final moment lurk in the minds of all Blood Angels. This is their blood-curse. A mere moment of inattention will cause them to lose their minds to their lurking fury over their Primarch’s sacrifice. Like Sanguinius, the Blood Angels are masters of close combat. This mastery is due to their unending desire to tear the enemies of the Imperium to pieces, barehanded when possible. Those Blood Angels who are consumed by the Black Rage form special suicide squads that form what is known as the Death Company. These Space Marines would rather die fighting the enemies of the Imperium than degenerate into raving madmen. Regardless of the thirst for bloodshed, no one in the galaxy can dispute the Blood Angels’ battle record. This Chapter has been at least partially responsible for many of the major victories of the Imperium’s long history.

COMBAT DOCTRINE
The Companies of the Blood Angels are organized much like other forces of the Adeptus Astartes. The 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th are Battle Companies, and these four Companies form the main battle lines and generally bear the brunt of the fighting. The specialist Companies are kept in reserve and deployed only when necessary.

However, these Companies cannot be relied upon to fight in the structured, disciplined way of the Imperial Fists or the Ultramarines. The strength of their genetic curse can turn even the most taciturn Blood Angel Veteran into a berserker who wishes only to rend his enemy apart and slake his overriding thirst for battle. The Black Rage can possess any and all Blood Angels during the heat of battle, be they Devastators or Vindicator crewmen. As such, it is always uncertain as to whether a Blood Angels contingent will hold a position. It is just as likely that the Blood Angels will run screaming forward in an attempt to rip the enemy limb from limb with their bare hands.

This ferocious behavior has led to the total massacre of the Blood Angels' foes on unnumbered occasions. Possibly one of the most famous of these conflicts was the Battle at Hive Tempestora, where the Blood Angels assaulted en masse with such undaunted ferocity that their charge smashed apart the enemy line and enabled them to establish a beachhead in a situation considered hopeless by Imperial tacticians. It is said that the fanatical zeal of the Blood Angels also enabled them to achieve the impossible throughout the Armageddon campaign. This unpredictability makes them extremely unpopular with other Imperial commanders, but the Blood Angels care not. They know that their constant struggle against the Black Rage makes them stronger, not weaker.

THE DEATH COMPANY
Deeply ingrained within the Blood Angels' gene-seed is the encoded experience of Sanguinius. Many say that the most deeply imprinted of all is the memory of his final battle with Horus. Sometimes, an event or circumstance will trigger this genetic memory for current Blood Angels. This memory surge occurs rarely, often on the eve of battle, and it is likely to be a fatal experience for the warrior whose mind is suddenly wrenched into the distant past. What has become known as the Black Rage overcomes him. The memories and consciousness of Sanguinius intrude upon the Blood Angel's mind, and dire events 10,000-years old flood into his present awareness.

To others, a Space Marine overcome by the Black Rage appears half mad with fury: he is unable to distinguish past from present and does not recognize his comrades. He may believe he is Sanguinius upon the eve of his destruction, and that the bloody battles of the Horus Heresy are raging around him. As well as Sanguinius's memories, the Space Marine is touched with a small portion of the Primarch's unearthly power, boosting the warrior's already prodigious strength and vitality to even higher levels.

In order to keep the Black Rage in check, on the eve of battle, the Blood Angels bend their thoughts to prayer and to the sacrifice of their Primarch so many centuries ago. Chaplains move from man to man, blessing each in turn and noting those among the brotherhood whose eyes may appear a little glazed, or whose speech is slurred or overexcited. Some – almost all – overcome the ancient intrusion into their minds. All their warrior's training is directed at controlling it, beating it down into the depths of their being. However, for some, the imprint of Sanguinius is too strong, the memories too loud and demanding. As the Chaplains chant the Moripatris, the Mass of Doom, the chosen ones fall into the arms of their priests and are taken away. The afflicted Space Marines are formed into a special unit called the the Death Company.

Suffused with the dying memories of their Chapter's Primarch, the warriors of the Death Company seek only one thing: death in battle while fighting against the enemies of the Emperor. The Death Company paints its armor black with red saltires – crosses of blood red that symbolize the sacrifice of Sanguinius. The Company is led into battle and directed toward the foe by the Chapter's Chaplains. The warriors fight with the certainty of death and are completely fearless, ignoring wounds that should fell even a Space Marine. Should they survive the battle, the Death Company Blood Angels will probably die of their wounds afterward once the frenzied slaughter is past. It is thought that the Blood Angels welcome this death, as they fear that their madness will later lead them down the darkest path of all. Better by far to die cleanly and quickly in battle than suffer such a fate.

Blood Angels Death Company Space Marines