Carcharodons - Chapter Combat Doctrine: Tactically, during the Badab War, the Carcharodons operated almost exclusively as a rapid-strike force, disdaining any kind of protracted engagement whenever possible, preferring to approach their targets either with extreme speed or by stealth, which allowed them to strike with the element of surprise on their side whenever possible.Those few who observe a Carcharodon assault and live would be forgiven for assuming that they are mindless berserkers, unconcerned with tactics or planning. In fact, the Carcharodons rely on a series of tactics that at their heart are both simple and reliable.Though the Carcharodons seem both competent and familiar with armoured vehicles, the core of their tactics rely on large detachments of mobile Space Marine heavy infantry. In this way, the Carcharodons make use of the bloody prowess of their combat brethren to carry the day in battle. The Carcharodons often endeavour to be the initiator of combat actions and prefer not to fight on the defensive.Tactical operations often begin with a Battle Company using its integrated Scout Marine forces and other reconnaissance units such as Land Speeder and Bike Squads to probe enemy positions and identify weak points and any target with strategic value. Once identified, the main Carcharodons forces hit these points with overwhelming attacks, eschewing preparatory bombardments or armoured spearheads in favour of complete and overwhelming surprise.They may use Drop Pods, Thunderhawks, or massed teleportation to make these attacks, and the assaulting forces are often a mix of Tactical and Assault Marines, as well as Terminator Veterans.Depending on the success of these assaults, the Carcharodons usually follow two responses. If the targeted positions prove well-defended, the Carcharodons withdraw. These withdrawals happen almost as quickly as the prior assault, and the Carcharodons fade from the battlefield like ghosts.They patiently re-evaluate the strength of the enemy positions, then launch another lightning assault at a different point they perceive to be weak.Eventually, one of these assaults succeeds, and then the Carcharodons press the attack to the hilt. Once they commit fully, they dig deep into the enemy's vitals, endeavouring to do as much damage as possible (especially to vulnerable rear areas), as quickly as possible.At this point, the full fury of the Carcharodons is all too apparent, and little survives this stage of the assault. The Carcharodons prefer fighting at close range, either attacking with point-blank weapons fire, or in melee when they have broken through the enemy line.There is one other interesting and somewhat disturbing detail about the Carcharodons' assaults: Their battles are conducted in complete silence. Any commands from the Chapters' leaders are transmitted over a locked and encrypted vox net, and the battle-brothers abstain from issuing any word or sound to friend or foe. To see such carnage enacted without a word or cry is chilling, to say the least.When undergoing boarding operations during ship-to-ship void battles, the Carcharodons are known to employ an ancient and crude, but unique weapon known as "Ursus Claws" -- large barbed lances that are the size of smaller Escort ships in their own right. Fashioned like massive harpoons, these massive lances puncture through an enemy vessel's hull, and once impaled, the immense spears become active, locking to their prey's ravaged insides with magnetic strength.With malicious slowness, the Carcharodon vessels can then recall their spears, as the lances ratchet back towards the vessel that fired them, dragging them home on massive chains. Once the doomed vessel is within reach of the Carcharodons, they then disgorge their Astartes into the bowels of the impaled enemy ship, and the blooding begins in earnest. This technique was first pioneered during the Great Crusade by the barbarous and bloody-handed World Eaters Legion.