Imperial Fists - Legion Organisation: At the time of Horus' betrayal, much of the early Legion structure remained in the Imperial Fists. Ever a practical leader, Rogal Dorn most likely saw little reason to change what had been proven to work. So it was that the base components of the VII Legion and the system of hierarchy used were little changed from its early days.As the Great Crusade progressed, however, the Legion's particular role and developing preferences for waging war began to change this. Along with the Legion's bias for recruitment, these factors created a number of key differences at every level of the VII Legion.At the squad level, the Imperial Fists showed a noted schism in their dominant unit types as time passed. Firstly of note was the number of assault-configured units, which was very high, as were auxiliary units armed with specialised weaponry suited to the destruction of amour and fortifications.The second notable dominance was that of heavy weaponry -- whether mounted on vehicles or carried by Legionaries -- which was selected not only for raw power but also for its accuracy and adaptability in the field, with, for example, the multi-purpose Missile Launcher preferred over the arguably more indiscriminate Autocannon and the precision and range of the Lascannon over the shorter-ranged Multi-Melta.The Imperial Fists were also amongst the strongest proponents of the development of Tactical Dreadnought Armour, and fielded a large number of squads equipped in all patterns of the so-called "Terminator Armour." Notably, they also were amongst the first to field significant numbers of the Indomitus Pattern Terminator Armour produced by the forges of Deimos, the moon of Mars.At the time of the Horus Heresy, they alone fielded Terminators armed with prototypes of the Absinio and Iliastus Pattern Assault Cannon, retrofitted and re-scaled from the Kheres Pattern which had proved such a powerful addition to the Contemptor Pattern Dreadnought chassis.Above the squad was the company, in this case a formation which could vary in size from a few squads to several hundred Imperial Fists. The strength of companies often waxed and waned as they took casualties, or were bolstered by fresh recruits.No matter their size, each company was grouped into a battalion, and two battalions paired together were often referred to as a regiment, but latterly also called a "crusade" or "household".Larger formations comprised of multiple companies were formed as needed for a particular task or deployments, rather than as standing units.Within the Imperial Fists, there are many formations from squad to household where names and deeds shone bright in the days of the Great Crusade. To list the histories of them all would demand more than the text can bear, but even such an abbreviated inspection cannot pass over the Templars.Raised by Rogal Dorn during the first solar decade of his command, the Templars were the warriors charged with guarding the Temple of Oaths aboard the Phalanx. No fane of superstition or misguided religion in violation of the Imperial Truth, this secular Temple was dedicated to the ideals of the Great Crusade and the sacrifices it demanded.There, beneath the tattered and burned banners of defeated enemies and amidst the statues of dead heroes, the Imperial Fists returned to renew their perpetual oaths of loyalty to the Emperor and their Primarch.Each oath made by a son of Dorn was carved on the walls, floor and ceiling etched for all eternity in black granite. Besides Dorn and the Emperor, only the Templars were permitted to enter the Temple unbidden.Nominally the 1st Company of the Imperial Fists Legion, the Templars' strength never fell below 1,000 warriors, and their members were drawn from Veterans across the Legion.Skill at arms was not enough to earn such a responsibility, for each Templar was a warrior to whom the Crusader light had come to burn with undimming brightness, and zealous, remorseless and tempered by decades of war, they were exemplars of what it was to be an Imperial Fist of the Great Crusade.At the time of the Istvaan III Atrocity, the bulk of the Imperial Fists were returning to Terra with Rogal Dorn. Though the Emperor had called all of the Imperial Fists to Terra, in practice such a total withdrawal of forces from the Great Crusade would have been impossible.Some forces stayed on the edge of the Great Crusade to complete campaigns or unfinished duties. Other forces remained scattered across the VII Legion's fortresses and bastions and still others had yet to rendezvous with the bulk of the Legion.The strength of the Imperial Fists was never large in numbers. Though not small, their tallies of warriors during the Great Crusade never rose above 100,000 Astartes. At the time of the withdrawal to Terra, the Legion records show that the Temple held the full complement of its living warriors, although such a number cannot be taken as accurate.The vagaries of Warp travel, astropathic communication and the volume of space across which the Great Crusade was fought means that all that is certain is that this tally is nothing but plausible estimation.Aside from the number of its Space Marines no review of the strength of the Imperial Fists can be complete without testing the strength of their fleet. At the time Horus Heresy, the Imperial Fists had over 1,500 warships under their direct command and many more bonded by oath and fealty.This naval might was the greatest of any of the Legiones Astartes, and was further enhanced by the fact that many of the warships were the largest in the Imperium. Even the Sons of Horus and the Ultramarines could not rival such fleet strength alone.