Ultramarines

In the Warhammer 40,000 game, the Ultramarines are considered to be one of the greatest of all the Space Marine Chapters in the Imperium of Man. Highly disciplined and courageous warriors, the Ultramarines have remained true to the teachings of their Primarch for ten thousand years.

Roboute Guilliman
The Primarch of the Ultramarines Legion, Roboute Guilliman, appeared without explanation on the planet Macragge, a rocky, inhospitable world on the edge of the galaxy.

Guilliman’s arrival was a time of great omen for the people of Macragge. Konor, one of the two Battle Kings, received a vision of a mighty warrior fighting away the darkness. After leading an expedition to the site portrayed in the vision, Konor found a golden-haired child.

Naming the child Roboute, Konor adopted him, and was amazed at the speed at which the child learned. Roboute was put through the compulsory military training academies, where he became a master of warfare at such speed, two years later he was considered the finest warrior on Macragge. Joining the military, he led a campaign to pacify the previously-unconquered Illyrium, the northern region of the planet. Within two months, he had both pacified and befriended the savage tribesmen.

Returning from his successful campaign, he found his home city in a state of anarchy. Leading his troops to the Senate house, he organized details to bring the city back under control. Entering the building, and defeating a hundred soldiers in the pay of the rival Battle King, Gallan, he found his adoptive father assassinated.

With the assistance of the troops loyal to both him and his adoptive father, Roboute brought the city under control, captured and executed the leaders of the rebellion, and assumed the role of Battle King. As Macragge and the surrounding systems flourished, the attention of the Emperor was attracted.

It was said that Roboute instantly recognized his true father, swearing loyalty to the Imperium and receiving command of the Ultramarines Legion in return.

The Great Crusade
Roboute Guilliman quickly assimilated the knowledge required for him to lead a Space Marine Legion, and took command. His talents lay in the art of war, and he led his soldiers to victory after victory, liberating countless worlds from oppression by alien races and Chaos loyalists, fighting in a way that caused minimal collateral damage, and winning over the hearts and minds of the people.

Back on Macragge, the Ultramarines who had remained behind began construction of the Fortress of Hera, and the training and genetic modification of new recruits. They were so effective, the Ultramarines Legion quickly became the largest of the twenty Space Marine Legions fighting in the Crusade.

The Horus Heresy
When Warmaster Horus turned his back on the Imperium and ignited the ferocious civil war known as the Horus Heresy, the Ultramarines were fighting in the galactic south, a great distance from the other Legions. Roboute Guilliman did not receive word of Horus’ betrayal, only knowing after Lorgar's Legion, the Word Bearers, attacked his at Calth.

Gathering his Legion and launching with all speed towards Terra, the Ultramarines did not arrive until after the defeat of Horus, but still emerged to find the Imperium in turmoil. Roboute steadfastly refused to allow the Imperium to fall, dispatching his vast Legion to all corners of the galaxy in an attempt to stem the tide of invasion and unrest, holding the fragile Imperium together while the other Loyalist forces recovered from the ferocity of the civil war.

After a decade of intense fighting, stability was restored. To prevent such an event happening again, Roboute Guilliman laid down the document known as the Codex Astartes, dividing the Space Marine Legions into the smaller and more manageable Chapters, and preventing one man from holding the amount of power Horus once did.

After the Heresy
Roboute Guilliman continued to serve with the Ultramarines Chapter, leading them for a hundred years after the Second Founding. He was finally defeated by one of the traitor Primarchs, Fulgrim of the Emperor's Children, who had become a Daemon Prince of Slaanesh.

Fatally poisoned by his onetime brother, Roboute was transported back to Macragge in a stasis field, and has remained entombed in the field for ten thousand years. Although physically impossible in a stasis field, it is believed that his wounds are healing, and one day he will awaken again.

The Tyrannic Wars
Some of the most notable events in the ten thousand year history of the Ultramarines are classified as the Tyrannic Wars, the Chapter's efforts against the extragalactic invasion of The Great Devourer. During the latter half of the 41st mullennium, the incursions of the Tyranid Hive Fleets began to draw the attention of the Imperium.

Directly in the invasion path of the Hive Fleet codenamed Behemoth, the Chapter Master of the Ultramarines, Marneus Calgar, ordered the deployment of the entire Chapter's forces in an effort to stall Behemoth's progress. Facing defeat on all fronts, Calgar ordered the forces under his command to retreat for Macragge, to mass for one last stand.

Despite horrendous losses from the orbital and polar defence grids protecting the Ultramarines' homeworld, many Tyranid organisms were able to reach the surface of the planet. Intense fighting spread across the planet, worst in the region of the northern polar defence installations, and while Calgar and the Ultramarines fleet were able to destroy the Tyranid ship-organisms, horrific casualties were suffered on the planet's surface. The entire elite First Company were wiped out to a man while defending the defence grids, and it took over two hundred years for the Ultramarines to rebuild the Company.

Since this time, the Ultramarines have become instrumental in the wars against other Hive Fleets. In response to the threat, and counter to the Codex Astartes, many of the veterans of the battle at Macragge have been formed into elite, specially trained anti-Tyranid squads. These Tyrannic War Veterans make up half of the reformed First Company, and are often seconded to the Deathwatch because of their experience and training.

Organization
The Ultramarines Chapter follows the teachings of their Primarch and the Codex Astartes with a religious dedication. They follow the organizational format laid out during the Second Founding with strict devotion, only deviating from their Primarch's teachings when the situation leaves them no other choice.

Tyrannic War Veterans
During the first incursion of the Tyranid hive-fleets, the Ultramarines were constantly fighting the extragalactic menace. The invasion of Hive Fleet Behemoth was halted at Macragge, in a series of battles that completely wiped out the elite First Company.

Veterans of Tyranid conflicts are often grouped into elite units of Tyrannic War Veterans, also known as Tyranid Hunters. These units specially trained to effectively fight the extragalactic menace. They are deployed in the Reserve Companies, to allow maximum flexibility of use, and are only ever used against Tyranid invasion.

Appearance
The Ultramarines typically paint their power armour and vehicles a medium (Ultramarine) blue, and their symbol is an inverted white Omega. The Ultramarines also utilise black and yellow warning patterns, usually on weapons.

Notable Members

 * Marneus Calgar - Chapter Master during the 41st millennium.
 * Chief Librarian Tigurius - Believed to have survived contact with the Tyranid Hive Mind.
 * Chaplain Cassius - One of the oldest Ultramarines not contained in a Dreadnought sarcophagus.

Background and Character
The backstory of the Ultramarines Legion takes many elements from the ancient Greek (particularly Spartan) and Roman societies, namely in terms of military organisation. They are portrayed as the pre-eminent, stereotypical Space Marines army, as they do not require any additional rules supplements beyond the Codex. This portrayal has resulted in many players believing that the Ultramarines had no real 'character', an opinion recent changes have attempted to rectify.

The army is looked down upon by many members of the wargaming community, as it seems that "every newbie player seems to want to only play Ultramarines", and Ultramarines players are commonly insulted for choosing to play with Smurfs.