In all of the scant reports of encounters between forces engaged in the grand wars of the Horus Heresy and the piratical warband known as the Ashen Claw, the forces of?that enigmatic group have displayed a marked preference for the deployment of orbital interface craft, almost to the exclusion of other types of?support unit. While, as with all the Legiones Astartes, the armoured post-human infantry of the Space Marines remains the core of their operations, all of the great Legions supplement these forces with a variety of support units, each intended to fulfil a specific goal upon the field of battle.

對(duì)于被稱為“灰燼之爪”的海盜戰(zhàn)幫和那些參與過(guò)荷魯斯叛亂時(shí)期大規(guī)模戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)的部隊(duì)間發(fā)生的遭遇戰(zhàn)，我們手中的報(bào)告是稀少的，但在所有這些材料中，該神秘團(tuán)體的部隊(duì)表現(xiàn)出了對(duì)于部署軌道接入飛行器的明顯偏好，而且?guī)缀跖懦似渌蓄愋偷闹г畣挝?。不過(guò)就像所有的阿斯塔特軍團(tuán)那樣，身披動(dòng)力甲的星際戰(zhàn)士超人類步兵仍是他們行動(dòng)的核心，所有龐大的（阿斯塔特）軍團(tuán)都是以各種支援單位來(lái)補(bǔ)足此類（步兵）部隊(duì)，每種支援單位都用于在戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)上完成某項(xiàng)特定目標(biāo)。

Not so the Ashen Claw; whether by necessity or tactical preference these raiders and pillagers deployed a variety of interface fighters, bombers and assault craft in support of their fast moving infantry forces, shunning the slower moving armoured columns that typified some Legions.

灰燼之爪則不然；無(wú)論是出于必要性還是戰(zhàn)術(shù)偏好，這些劫掠者們會(huì)部署各類軌道界面戰(zhàn)斗機(jī)、轟炸機(jī)和突擊艇，以此來(lái)支援其快速移動(dòng)的步兵力量，而非使用移動(dòng)緩慢的裝甲部隊(duì)——有某些軍團(tuán)是以此類部隊(duì)作為自身特征。

Perhaps this extreme military specialisation is a consequence of the supposed limited manpower and material available to such a splinter faction of the larger conflict, reinforced by need and circumstance. If this is so then it must be assumed that the Ashen Claw had already prosecuted war in this limited fashion for some time in order to explain their experience and skill in the deployment of such ad-hoc formations and tactics. Honed perhaps to a keen edge on long since forgotten alien worlds in the deep black beyond the Imperium's borders, these tactics proved a deadly surprise to those forces they encountered on their return to Imperial space.

灰爪戰(zhàn)幫是一支分裂出來(lái)的派系，他們身處大規(guī)模戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)中，所能動(dòng)用的人力物力都被認(rèn)為是有限的，或許這種極端的軍事專門化現(xiàn)象便是由此而產(chǎn)生的結(jié)果，而且被需求和（現(xiàn)實(shí)）境況加劇了。倘若確實(shí)如此的話，我們就必須假定灰爪戰(zhàn)幫已經(jīng)按這種受限的方式進(jìn)行了一段時(shí)間的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)，以便解釋他們?cè)诓渴鸫祟惇?dú)特陣型與戰(zhàn)術(shù)方面的經(jīng)驗(yàn)和技巧?；蛟S，他們是在處于帝國(guó)邊境之外漆黑空間的異星世界上將這種技藝磨礪到了嫻熟致命，對(duì)那些在其返回帝國(guó)宙域的路上與灰爪發(fā)生遭遇的部隊(duì)們而言，這些戰(zhàn)術(shù)被證明是個(gè)致命的驚喜。

As evidenced by the few recorded instances of the Ashen Claw in combat, their ground assaults are preceded by a wave of interface fighters and gunships, Storm Eagles and Primaris-lightnings tasked with the elimination of anti-aircraft defences and key strongpoints. Following these craft are massed Kharybdis and Dreadclaw drop pod squadrons, packed with the fleet-moving infantry squads favoured by the Ashen Claw. These infantry formations rarely sought to hold ground, instead seeking to suppress and circumvent the enemy's main strength and defeat him piecemeal. The aim of such attacks was almost always the seizure of munitions and weaponry rather than conquest or simple slaughter, a focus that left more conventionally minded tacticians among the Legiones Astartes wrong footed when facing them in battle.

少數(shù)被記載的灰燼之爪戰(zhàn)斗實(shí)例都證明，他們?cè)诎l(fā)起地面進(jìn)攻之前會(huì)派出一波軌道接入戰(zhàn)斗機(jī)和炮艇，并由風(fēng)暴鷹和原型閃電戰(zhàn)斗機(jī)負(fù)責(zé)消滅防空設(shè)施和關(guān)鍵據(jù)點(diǎn)。在飛行器之后出動(dòng)的是由大量海妖突襲爪和恐懼爪組成的空降艙中隊(duì)，其中裝載的是灰爪所青睞的部隊(duì)——搭乘艦隊(duì)移動(dòng)的步兵小隊(duì)。這些步兵編隊(duì)幾乎不會(huì)試圖堅(jiān)守陣地，而是會(huì)試圖壓制和避開(kāi)敵軍主力部隊(duì)，并將敵軍逐個(gè)擊敗。此類攻擊的目的幾乎總是奪取武器彈藥，而非進(jìn)行征服或簡(jiǎn)單的屠殺。當(dāng)阿斯塔特軍團(tuán)中那些思維更為傳統(tǒng)的戰(zhàn)術(shù)家在戰(zhàn)斗中面對(duì)灰爪時(shí)，后者的這一關(guān)注點(diǎn)通常會(huì)讓前者措手不及。