No one within the Imperium of Man lives a life free of the burden of responsibility.
The High Lords of Terra must act in their duties with faith, strength, and resilience
and no less is expected from the lowliest scribe or penal laborer.
The fate of a hundred souls might be determined by the conviction of a single preacher.
The fate of a battle might be decided by the actions of a single regiment.
The fate of a world might rest in the determination of a single army.
The fate of a sector, and perhaps the entire Imperium, might depend on a single fleet,
one that for millennia has stood guard against all the enemies of mankind, and made famous
the name; “Battlefleet Gothic”.
Like all Imperial Battlefleets, Battlefleet Gothic is responsible for the protection of
a single operational zone, in this case, the eponymous Gothic Sector within the greater
Segmentum Obscurus.
Its ships must regularly patrol their sector, performing a variety of tasks.
These most commonly include deterring pirates and raiders from attacking local merchant
vessels, transporting Imperial Guard regiments to various warzones, providing orbital support,
and accompanying Adeptus Mechanicus Explorator fleets as they travel to the Imperial frontier.
These and a hundred other duties ensure the survival of the Imperium across the Gothic
Sector.
To achieve this, Battlefleet Gothic is composed of between 50 and 75 cruisers and battleships,
supplemented by dozens of squadrons of lighter escorts.
The exact number of vessels within the Battlefleet has varied drastically across the centuries
as the importance of the Gothic Sector has waxed and waned.
The presence of the Eye of Terror in the neighboring Cadian Sector means that Battlefleet Gothic
is rarely understrength and the entire Segmentum exists in a state of constant readiness.
Battlefleet Gothic is normally split into detachments known as battlegroups.
These consist of one or two cruisers and a single escort squadron.
Should a situation arise that a single battlegroup is ill-equipped to handle, additional battlegroups
will be called to reinforce.
Only in the most dire circumstances will the entire Battlegroup be assembled in a single
formation.
In addition to its warships, Battlefleet Gothic extends its command over thousands of transports,
couriers, and system patrol vessels.
A network of orbital platforms and space stations likewise fall under the authority of Battlefleet
Gothic, most notably Port Maw, which serves as the fleet’s designated headquarters.
An ancient, artificial world, Port Maw is one of the greatest harbors and anchorages
of the Imperial Navy.
It acts as a supply and mustering point for the entire sector, while its enormous starports
service Imperial warships and house mothballed reserve fleets.
Within the Segmentum Obscurus, it is second only to the fleet headquarters at Cypra Mundi.
It was during Abbadon the Despoiler’s 12th Black Crusade that Battlefleet Gothic earned
its legendary status.
Cut off from the rest of the Imperium by a catastrophic warp storm, the fleet was forced
to fight alone, outnumbered and without hope of reprieve or reinforcement.
For twenty-one years it led the fanatical defense of the sector, fighting hundreds of
battles against at least eight, and perhaps as many as twenty, Chaos war fleets.
Various Xeno forces too plagued the sector, with Eldar, Ork, and sometimes human pirates
attempting to take advantage of the unravelling situation.
Ancient weapons known as Blackstone Fortresses were Abbadon’s primary objective during
the war, and he unleashed their hidden potential to decimate at first planets, and then entire
star systems.
Billions of Imperial Citizens were killed and only through immense sacrifice was Abbadon
prevented from assembling the power of all 6 such Fortresses known to exist.
Finally, in the Battle of Gethsemane, Lord Admiral Cornelius Von Ravensburg engaged a
major Chaos fleet in a single decisive engagement.
Victory here marked the turning point of the war, while the weakening warp storms allowed
Imperial reinforcements to arrive and relieve the beleaguered defenders.
It would take almost 800 years for Battlefleet Gothic and the rest of the sector to recover,
the plans of Abbadon had been defeated or perhaps only delayed.
With the 13th Black Crusade unleashed across whole of the Imperium, the importance of Battlefleet
Gothic is once more paramount.
Fleets of a size not seen since the end of the last great war have been assembled at
Cypra Mundi, in preparation for a great counterattack into the Cadian Gate.
The warships of Battlefleet Gothic are among them, and together with Battlefleets Agripinaa,
Corona, Scarus and even elements of Battlefleet Solar, are poised to strike back at the Despoiler
and avenge the loss of Cadia.
If any doubt the Imperium’s resolve, they need only look to a great monolith which stands
ten times the height of a man within the Chamber of Heroes in the Imperial Palace on Holy Terra
itself.
Enshrined on its surface are the names of every crewmen, from those who served on the
lowliest merchant ship, to Lord Admiral Ravensburg himself.
800 years ago this monument was unveiled, a means to commemorate heroes of the Imperium
who fought against the greatest enemy of man the last time he dared war against the might
of Battlefleet Gothic.
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