| abstract | - The Legion Assault Squad was the precursor of the modern-era Assault Squads of the Adeptus Astartes still utilised in the late 41st Millennium. During the Great Crusade era, Jump Pack-equipped Legion Assault Squads were rapid attack forces whose wargear was optimised towards close-quarters fighting and hit-and-run tactics. The use of Jump Packs allowed Legion Assault Squads to move with greater speed across the battlefield and impact the enemy line with savage force, leaping past intervening terrain and open defences to engage their adversaries in bloody melee. The needs of even such limited flight systems, however, precluded the use of heavy weaponry or extensive munitions supplies. Jump Pack-equipped Assault Squads were not embraced to the same extent by all of the Legions for reasons of combat doctrine, temperament or simple resource difficulties, with the Raven Guard, Night Lords and World Eaters being among their greatest proponents. Even those Legions with whom Assault Squads did not find particular favour, such as the Death Guard and the Iron Hands, could still field a force of these squads when the tactical need arose.
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