The Legion Tactical Squad formed the dependable heart of every Salamanders battle-company, line legionaries whose steadiness reflected the patient temperament of their homeworld. Unlike the swift, aggressive tactical doctrines favoured by Legions such as the Sons of Horus, the XVIII fought their line battles as smiths work metal, with deliberate, measured pressure, never overextending, never abandoning a comrade or a sheltered population to gain a fleeting advantage. Each legionary maintained his own wargear to a standard that shamed other Legions' artificers, and squads often bore hand-forged refinements passed down from veteran to initiate. In defence they were nigh immovable, and in the grinding attritional battles of the Heresy this resilience proved worth more than dash or speed. Where a Salamanders tactical squad set its line, mortal survivors learned they could shelter, and traitor assaults learned they would pay for every metre in fire and blood.
Order of battle
