Second Founding

The Second Founding is an event that features in Warhammer 40,000.

History

The Horus Heresy was a time of strife, as the Imperium nearly tore itself apart in civil war. Large forces were corrupted by the powers of Chaos, including at least nine of the original twenty Space Marine Legions. The heresy was ended after the Emperor of Mankind slew the leader of the traitors, Warmaster Horus, though he was mortally wounded by the Warmaster in the process. Many weaknesses in the structure and organisation of the Imperium were exposed by these events. It was decided by the High Lords of Terra, twelve of the most powerful men in the Imperium, that mass reorganisation had to occur in order to prevent an event like the Horus Heresy from happening again. The task of reorganising the Imperium’s military might was undertaken by Roboute Guilliman, Primarch of the Ultramarines Legion. Almost single handedly, he codified the structure of the Imperial Guard (formerly known as the Imperial Army), the Imperial Navy, and the Space Marines. The Codex Astartes refers to the reorganisation of the Space Marine Legions, tens of thousands strong, into the more manageable and far less powerful thousand strong chapters, and laid down rules relating to the speed of genetic manipulation received by recruits. This document also laid down tactical doctrine, equipment specifications, and identification markings, and is regarded as a holy text by many Space Marines. However, some Chapters do not follow the Codex Astartes. These are referred to as Non-Codex Chapters. Some of the key differences, according to the Codex Astartes, is that each Space Marine Chapter will only receive gene-seeds from their own Chapter. This ensures that there is no cross-contamination and exaggerates any genetic differences between the various Chapters. The gene-seeds of Chaos's followers were not destroyed, but isolated. The Second Founding occurred seven years after the death of Horus. The existing Space Marine Legions were broken up, and reorganised into the Chapters; smaller, more flexible formations. One chapter was allowed to retain the original markings of the Legion, while the remainder, known as Successor Chapters, had to take on new names and heraldry. Most of the legions broke into less than five chapters, although the Ultramarines' huge numbers of Space Marines following the Horus Heresy allowed the creation of 23 Successor Chapters.

Overview

Each Codex Chapter divides its forces into ten Companies of a hundred Space Marines, based on specialisation and experience.

• The First Company consists of veteran Space Marines, with access to the best equipment the Chapter had to offer, including Land Raiders and Tactical Dreadnought armour.
• Second to Fifth Companies were considered to be the ‘battle companies’. These were experienced soldiers often deployed to the front lines, generally bearing the brunt of the fighting. These companies consisted of 6 Tactical, 2 *Assault, and 2 Devastator squads. Attack bikes and Land Speeders were available for use by the Assault-trained Marines.
• Sixth to Ninth Companies were the reserve companies. Sixth and Seventh Companies consist primarily of Tactical squads, while Eight was dedicated to assault, and Ninth to heavy support (Devastator squads).

The Tenth Company is the Scout company, in which new recruits must prove their worth before being inducted as full Space Marines.

Individuals

• Roboute Guilliman :

Notes

• The Second Founding was created by Games Workshop and featured in the setting of the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

Appearances

• Warhammer 40,000:

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