HH6节译：灰烬之爪轨道接入进攻群

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.

对于被称为“灰烬之爪”的海盗战帮和那些参与过荷鲁斯叛乱时期大规模战争的部队间发生的遭遇战，我们手中的报告是稀少的，但在所有这些材料中，该神秘团体的部队表现出了对于部署轨道接入飞行器的明显偏好，而且几乎排除了其他所有类型的支援单位。不过就像所有的阿斯塔特军团那样，身披动力甲的星际战士超人类步兵仍是他们行动的核心，所有庞大的（阿斯塔特）军团都是以各种支援单位来补足此类（步兵）部队，每种支援单位都用于在战场上完成某项特定目标。

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.

灰烬之爪则不然；无论是出于必要性还是战术偏好，这些劫掠者们会部署各类轨道界面战斗机、轰炸机和突击艇，以此来支援其快速移动的步兵力量，而非使用移动缓慢的装甲部队——有某些军团是以此类部队作为自身特征。

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.

灰爪战帮是一支分裂出来的派系，他们身处大规模战争中，所能动用的人力物力都被认为是有限的，或许这种极端的军事专门化现象便是由此而产生的结果，而且被需求和（现实）境况加剧了。倘若确实如此的话，我们就必须假定灰爪战帮已经按这种受限的方式进行了一段时间的战争，以便解释他们在部署此类独特阵型与战术方面的经验和技巧。或许，他们是在处于帝国边境之外漆黑空间的异星世界上将这种技艺磨砺到了娴熟致命，对那些在其返回帝国宙域的路上与灰爪发生遭遇的部队们而言，这些战术被证明是个致命的惊喜。

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.

少数被记载的灰烬之爪战斗实例都证明，他们在发起地面进攻之前会派出一波轨道接入战斗机和炮艇，并由风暴鹰和原型闪电战斗机负责消灭防空设施和关键据点。在飞行器之后出动的是由大量海妖突袭爪和恐惧爪组成的空降舱中队，其中装载的是灰爪所青睐的部队——搭乘舰队移动的步兵小队。这些步兵编队几乎不会试图坚守阵地，而是会试图压制和避开敌军主力部队，并将敌军逐个击败。此类攻击的目的几乎总是夺取武器弹药，而非进行征服或简单的屠杀。当阿斯塔特军团中那些思维更为传统的战术家在战斗中面对灰爪时，后者的这一关注点通常会让前者措手不及。