Ambitine Fleet [M37]

The Ambitine Front Purges Fleet was the third arm of the joint Imperial and Merchant Navy operation of the M37 Scallop Star Purges. The Fleet was tasked with the prosecution of the war on the central front. While this was publicly hailed as a place of honour by the officer given command, Admiral d'Yrbium, he and his staff were under no illusions of the political implications of the position. 

In contrast with the powerful military support given to the Grovsenor Front Fleet and the ambitious forces marshalling behind the Hyperion Front Fleet, the Ambitine Front had little direct support or sponsorship from the sector government, and instead had to rely on private sponsorships from the great and the good. Fortunately, d'Yrbium was a masterful diplomat, and the name of his ancient family line drew support from some of the most powerful worlds in the sector – and beyond. As a result, the Ambitine Fleet was a hotch-potch coalition armada of merchant fleets built around a small Imperial Navy core of mostly second-line or reserve shipping, which proved sufficient to protect the huge numbers of regimental transports. 

The forces of the Ambitine fleet were mostly made up of local regiments dredged up from the newly-united Hesiod-Siculus subsectors, which led to a great deal of backbiting, infighting and sniping from old rivals.

Famous ships of the fleet

• d'Yrbium made the pre-Heresy-era Emperor class battleship Milk of Pain his flagship.
• Hubris, an ugly dreadnought of the indentured forces of the Iron Staff League, was a non-standard pattern craft that proved deadly in the early stages of the war.
• The Grand Cruiser Lonestar, late of Battlefleet Ultima, joined the battleline only three Solar days before the Fleet left dock.
• Bachwit's Cunning, a Mars-class Cruiser, was notable for being commanded by of the few frontline Naval Captains in the fleet. The cunning Captain Von provided invaluable contributions to dYrbium's ability to command.
• The 444th naval fighter wing, the Starfire Skybears, were instrumental in the attack on the Deff Star [Cell of Revulsion] in the fourth year of the war.

Regiments of the Ambitine Front

At the commencement of the Fourth Great Purge, The Hesiod-Siculus subsector had been extant for just over a thousand years, but Imperial memory is long and tensions still ran high between the planets of the two rival traditional subsectors after the events of the Hesiod Romantic Rebellion. This caused d'Yrbium's staff additional complication as Merchant transport ships refused to travel under the guard of rival trade families – through pride, fear of treachery and a hundred other petty reasons. Nevertheless, the Imperial Guard regiments of the Fleet were forced to work together over the Crusade, and the new subsector's forces were bound in blood by the Purges; ever after becoming more trusting of one another. 

The Ambitine Front included some of the most experienced regiments in the entire war, having contributed to the Eorta Crusade that preceded the Fourth Great Cull.

• Aldebaran 1st 'Showmen' – Colonel Starkiller [Genyx Landings (Red Fen) – M37.778]
• Aldebaran 17th Infantry – Colonel Aigue
• Aldebaran 18th Mechanised – General Howl
• Barak's Arsenal 122nd Patrol – Major Worpit
• Berwick's World 14th 'Buccaneers' – Redan-Captain Olis
• Camber's Well 'Dandies' – General de Selby
• Clinth 6th Commando Regiment – General Grind-Bones
• Cibernum Pioneer Resistance – Chief Blossom [Genyx Landings (Bearpit) – M37.778]
• Cibernum 13th/18th Pioneers – Chief Jerulas [Combined regiment drafted for Cibernum Assault – M37.778]
• Csain Bastian Borderers – Hymnal Een
• Delphi 20th Light Infantry – General Redrun
• Dolor 8th 'Heroes of Eorta' – General Dismeigh
• Dorin Antrim 2nd Abhumans – Braylord Gÿ
• Ephraim 2nd 'The Ifrits' – General Zandwell
• Frigia XII Impressed – General Motor
• Rye 17th Hivers – Field Marshal Blocks
• Halcyon 1st – Brightstar Carhoss
• Helswall 3rd Penal regiment – Chief Judge Droll
• Hesiod 22nd 'The Exemplaries' – General Hoitus-Toitus
• Iocastan 2nd Mechanised – General Biff
• Iocastan 6th Mechanised 'Vixens' – General Prackitt
• Iocastan 14th Infantry 'Riot Girls' – General Lott
• Iron Staff Throng – Eorl Gronn
• Lawyer's End 7th Armoured – Commander Highmark [Cibernum Assault – M37.778]
• Libertine Starwarriors – Cheneral Proximal
• Lydiadan 188th Indentured Footmen – Low-King Marmasos
• Lym Silan 'Farmhands' – General Cyda
• Metis Light Foot – Marshal Fenling [Genyx Landings (Bearpit) – M37.778]
• Memini 2nd Reserves 'Suspects' – Colonel Carollers [Genyx Landings (South) – M37.778]
• Makarian Guard – General Manovic
• Marrymen 41st 'Pisspoets' – Martial Tending [Genyx Landings (South) – M37.778]
• Nhorian 1st Assault – Commandant Z'tef
• Politine 11th Armoured – General Gist
• Politine 818th Infantry – Colonel Brosbad
• Port Cassian 9th Armoured – Forward In-Command Jeofust
• Port Cassian 2001st Infantry – In-Command Westt
• Siculuan 445th Infantry 'Rotters' – Marshal Myance [Genyx Landings (Red Fen) – M37.778]
• Themetis 16th Heavy Infantry – Colonel Rast
• Themetis 28th Heavy Infantry – Colonel Greenwick
• Themetis 1090th Light Reserve – Colonel Fastis
• Three Arbor Light Infantry – General-duchy d'Sylva the Second
• Rubicon 1337th Heavy Infantry – Cap-kin Lucion
• Rubicon 2888th Heavy Infantry – Cap-kin Brockel [Genyx Landings (South) – M37.778]
• Ruzenko Cossacks – Omega-Prime Onnus
• Virtue 3rd Drop Regiment – Sky-captain Priston [Genyx Landings (Bearpit) – M37.778]

Adeptus Mechanicus allies of the Ambitine Front

The Adeptus Mechanicus pledged a surprisingly large force to the alliance, for reasons largely unknown. Two full Titan Legions walked the Ambitine Front, supported by numerous Skitarii regiments. 

• Legio Nimbus
• Bellatricine 2nd Skitarii
• Bellatricine 4th Skitarii
• Bellatricine 14th Skitarii
• Legio Peragito
• Garagamine 1st Skitarii
• Gargarmine 999th Skitarii

Ministorum forces of the Ambitine Front

With a populace traditionally either hostile to Ecclesiarchical dominance or reactionarily loyal, the Ambitine Front attracted numerous Frateris Militia regiments who were press-ganged into the Imperial Guard. As a result, the Front had a deceptively low number of active Ministorum forces, as most of their strength was folded into the Guard regiments.

• Order of Solar Ascendant – Abbess Rigel
• Order of the Sanguine Pinion – Canoness Bree

Astartes Pledges of the Ambitine Front

Sandwiched between the corewards and rimwards Fronts, the Ambitine Front had little political sway over the Astartes. In concert with the fact that the old Hesiod and Siculan governments had antagonised their respective alliances with any  Astartes during the Hesiod Romantic Rebellion, any hope of a great answer to the call was likely to be disappointed. However, while the number of Chapters that did attend the Lord Commander Ultima's summons remained low, they numbered amongst the most ancient and hallowed of all groups, including three First Founding Chapters.

• Blood Angels 8th Company – Captain Venator [Genyx Landings (Red Fens) – M37.778]
• Dark Angels 1st Company (elements) – Captain White Eagle
• Lions of Sol 2nd, 7th and 9th Companies – Captain Trenchian [Genyx Landings (Bearpit) – M37.778]
• Raven Guard 5th Company – Captain Raanyr [Cibernum Assault (Lonely Steppes) – M37.778]; [Genyx Landings (Bearpit) – M37.778]
• Stellar Steeds 3rd and 5th Companies, plus support – Captain Hengist
• Ultramarines Honour Company – Captain Gloriosus