one, assuming he can get access to a single nuke

>>44313857

One, if you go buy 40k fluff.

Several thousand, if you go buy actual physics.

>>44313901
I would like to buy one whole physic. I will write a check in dimmadollars.

>>44313880
One nuke would not kill all of humanity, even with maximum fallout

>>44313880
You know what happens when you assume, anon.
>>44313857
Somewhere from umpteen to ~1000

>>44313921
The idea was more about using it for a false-flag operation to provoke other nukes at presumed aggressor who would be able to retaliate with weapons of their own - essentially starting WW3.

>>44313921

The right nuke would make all the nuclear powers launch. He didn't say kill all humanity either, just the military. And in a post-apocalyptic nuclear holocaust world, there is no government military.

Not even the guy who suggested the nuke. A marine could do it with just his bare hands and power armor.

>>44313944
Okay, allow me to rephrase - One, if it's Night Lord.

>>44313921
Depends on the size of the nuke.

Depends on whether they make an enemy out of the entire planet immediately or not.
A battle company could probably pull it off.

>>44314003
There's not enough nuclear ordnance to decapitate every military on earth, let alone render them combat incapable.

Technically one Legionnaire of the damned, but that's boring/bullshit. Really? Maybe an entire chapter, assuming that no one nukes them, or any other insta-win weapon is used.

>>44314003
What a single marine has to contend with is lack of support. This means he cannot repair small damage to the armor, he cannot resupply his ammunition or promethium. While his suit will not run out of power, he is still prone to some wear and tear. Sufficient bullets can damage a suit of power armor eventually.
I think a single marine, though powerful, is likely to be thwarted eventually. A nuclear launch will be isolated from the system and aborted, political machination would be put off by internal power struggles as ever, the plan has too little a likelihood to succeed. The marine, depending on temperament is as likely to go undercover, or find a powerful enough 'ally' to quietly influence than to declare war on the entire earth.
A battle company would probably be enough if they played their hand right.

>>44314095

There are 15,000 nukes, that's plenty. Unless you're still being a retard and considering faggots in the jungles or African plains or rebel bases in mountains "military".

A SPACE MARINE WOULDN'T EVEN NEED ANY WEAPONS TO CONQUER A LOW TECH PLANET

Depends on the chapter. But I'd say at least a fully supported and supplied company.

>>44314151

And according to the fluff, marines conquer entire worlds single handedly more than once. It doesn't take more than a squad to pacify a world. Entire companies mobilize only for the largest of wars.

While a Leman Russ is weaker than an M1 Abrams, that doesn't change the fact that the fluff INTENDS for us to be unable to harm the marine to begin with. And his armor is not only impervious, it's nuclear powered, and he himself lives for thousands of years.

>>44314043
Well, there was that one idea of the Soviet scientists to develop large enough bomb (or a cluster of bombs) to be used as a last resort "doomsday device", but Khrushchev vetoed the development.
I'm pretty certain Stalin would have given it a go.

>>44314165
You're vastly overestimating the power of nuclear weapons by orders of magnitude.

Assuming they want to keep the planet intact and have support, probably a chapter.

Assuming they want to keep the planet intact and do not have support, anywhere from a dozen to a hundred thousand (or a few hundred thousand). An individual space marine is not very threatening to a modern earth military.

>>44314151
>Sufficient bullets can damage a suit of power armor eventually.
>bullets

Haha, no. We can crack power armor but not with small arms.

>>44314189
Mainly feudal and savage worlds though, pretty sure a liberal application of fission will stop a marine.

>>44314165
>A SPACE MARINE WOULDN'T EVEN NEED ANY WEAPONS TO CONQUER A LOW TECH PLANET
Arguable, he might be incapacitated by a direct hit of primitive siege weaponry.

One, if they're a librarian of sufficient power. Open a warp storm and fuck everything. Goodbye planet.
Without psykers, it would probably take at least 5000 to spread out and cover enough area to root out foes. Most of the militaries will retreat from the invincible tank men who shoot machine gun rocket launchers.
Too few, and they can run forever. If they don't spread out, they can be nuked. 5000 superpowered individuals can form a pretty wide search and destroy pattern that would slowly weave around continents until nothing qualifying as a military remains. (There will likely be many survivors just because earth is very large, but once they've fragmented into survivalist cells, they're not really a "military" anymore.)
This is of course assuming the marines don't run out of ammo since they have no form of other support.

Even so, russia may end up carpet-nuking them or something. There's no precedent for how some nations will behave.

>>44314190
Though if we're being honest when we use nukes as an answer the question might as well be how many street orphans are needed to destroy the world.

>>44314165

Space Marines are powerful but not immortal. One could only conquer a low tech planet if he established himself as some sort of great warlord and gathered a bunch of warriors to fight for him, and then used his strategy and tactics to secure victory for his army. Trying to just punch his way through shield walls won't get him anywhere except impaled on two dozen spears (and then dismembered once they figure out his body can recover from two dozen spears)

>>44314201
not that anon but 15 20 megaton devices put on the correct faultlines around the world could jumpstart an ecological collapse that not only end all life on earth but would probably restart many dormant volcanoes, Fuck just one nuke could set off Mt Yellowstone and the last time that happened WAS an extinction level event.

>>44314263
And let's be honest, our current technology is pretty close to the Imperial Guards (mainly artillery wise). Pretty sure they've killed both traitor and loyalists marines with those.

>>44314348
[citation needed]

>>44313857
I'd wager a chapter's worth of Marines would be sufficient

>>44314354
>our current technology is pretty close to the Imperial Guards
Depending on what. Lasguns are far in the future but their tanks have thinner armor and slower speeds than ours.

>>44313857
after finding out how tough the mariens are and how much damage they can do the earths governments surrender before the annihilation is complete

>>44314348
>just one nuke could set off Mt Yellowstone
Supervolcanos do not work the way you think they work.
Yellowstone is not capable of a supereruption at the moment. It's unlikely to ever be. Supervolcanos rarely have more than one supereruption.
The current geological theories surrounding Yellowstone is that when it does erupt, if ever, it will simply be a lava flow. Larger than a normal volcano, and devastating to the Wyoming area, yes, but no apocalypse. Lava flows do not have considerable ejecta so it won't even have as much impact as the Tambora eruption.

>>44314439
Talking artillery wise, we are well behind in Infantry technology, that said we do try and maintain fire support a lot more then they do in 40k.

And like you said, for conventional tanks ours are better.

>>44313857
There are already fluff answers, so I'll go another route: WH40K game rules.
A normal space marine (no terminator armor, librarian or whatever) is worth three times as many points as a normal imperial guardsmen, which can be said to roughly be on the same level as a well trained and equipped soldier of a modern army.
While not all soldiers on earth are like that, we could count one space marine for each three to five soldiers in the armies of every NATO country plus Russia, Australia, Israel and some others, as well as one space marine for each ten soldiers in the Chinese and Brazilian armies, and one for each fifteen or so of soldiers in crap country armies (including IS and similar).
We'd probably have to add in some effect from air support (the space marines would probably make sure to have air superiority, which would be easy in an invasion from space). But it would still mean several hundred thousand or millions of space marines to take out every single military on earth. By the rules, that is.

>>44314363
http://www.techtimes.com/articles/48746/20150425/experts-discover-yellowstones-colossal-magma-deposit-what-will-happen-if-this-supervolcano-erupts.htm

An eruption that could fuck up the entire united states Aided by the concussive force of a nuclear device, more than that Imagine various nuclear detonations on the bottom of the Ocean the Tsunami's would fuck up the coast for years, While Earthquakes would run rampant. As a species we have never Detonated a nuclear device that was actually ON the ground they are always thousands of feet in the air.

>>44314224

.50 BMG might have a chance.

>>44314646
Especially with a tungsten core.

>>44314640
>Tsunamis from nuclear weapons
Holy shit you're retarded

>Thinking a nuke could 'set off' Yellowstone
100% retarded

>>44314599
Table Top is not representative of any of the fluff. By that logic it would take hundreds of Bloodthirsters to conquer the earth when based on any lore having one of any greater daemon around would drive most folks near it to Chaos and start ripping holes in reality.

Well we know that the Bolter fires a 0.75 caliber round, explosive tipped and rocket boosted. We also know that marines can be killed by Bolters. We know in real life that the largest caliber rifle ever deployed is.905. Which would (using explosive rounds, or AP) have the same effect as a bolter round.

>>44314664

Though that means to fight them effectively in a ground war they'd have to start mass producing fifty cal rifles to issue out to every soldier.

>>44314796
And? It's not like the military to stiff on equipment when facing potential eradication.

>>44314796
There is an ungodly amount of 50's in the US alone, not even to consider across NATO and the fact the browning has been a mainstay of militaries for over a century. Let alone that nearly every vehicle has at least a .50 on them, often in supplement to something larger.

Depends on if he's wearing a helmet or not.

If no, the Space Marines lose. If yes, they lose more slowly, because 40k is silly.

>>44313857
One Chapter. So roughly one thousand or so.

One of the Horus Heresy books has part of the Dark Angels Legion attack a strawman Earth planet with "modern" tech (21st century). They wipe us the hell out and only lose a couple guys in the process.

>>44314510
It's not hard to have superior tanks to 40k, considering space elf tank have been defeated by small children throwing rocks. Literal glass cannons. Dawn of War by C.S. Goto

>>44314189
Wut.

Leman Russes are way stronger than modern Abrams Tanks. They can survive shots from Meltaguns and Multi-Meltas, which have gigajoule yields (like vaporizing entire bunkers kind of gigajoules). Their cannons are also fucking massive, with their bore probably being more like 200mm compared to an Abrams 120mm.

>>44314750
Of course. But OP didn't specify fluff or rules, he just asked how many. As I said, there were a lot of fluff answers, so I decided to post a rules answer.

>>44314969
That's more a case of the writer sucking. But still, pretty sure a tank can kill a marine.

They'd never win since the second I saw a Space Marine I'd pray to Slaanesh for deliverance and multi-dick flamers. Sorry, Terra, we daemon world nao

Don't tell me there are no daemons but there are 20 foot tall genetically modified mary sues, because fuck you that's not how it works

>>44314969

>C.S. Goto

Isn't that the faggot who made Lillith Hesperax (sp?) a daemon prince or some dumb shit like that

>>44314640
We set off more nukes underground than above ground, moron.

>>44314510
FFS, our tanks are not superior to 40K Imperium Tanks unless they're been produced by a world that makes Leman Russes out of wood.

>“Re-laying the gun took a vital second. In that time, the second tank fired again and hit the Wrath squarely. The impact was enough to lurch all sixty-two tonnes of armoured machine several metres sideways. But it didn’t penetrate the twenty centimetre-thick armour skin. Inside, the crew were dazed and they’d lost most of the forward scopes.” / Honor Guard, p.174 - **

Armor tanking hundreds of megajoules of energy.

>“Another white-hot blast of Melta fire flashed and the Demolisher’s turret was engulfed in the inferno of the impact. Steam and smoke obscured the tank for brief seconds, but unbelievably, it continued onwards through the boiling cloud.” / Storm of Iron, p.32 - **

Tanking a direct multi-melta strike, which is hundreds of megajoules to gigajoules of energy.

>“When it fired, the breech of the main gun hurtled back into the turret space with one hundred and ninety tonnes of recoil force.” / Honor Guard, p.182 - **

The Leman Russ Conquerer has a cannon that fires a 500kg projectile with almost two million newtons of force and four gigajoules of kinetic energy.

>>44315061
Yep, him and Matt Ward are the main problems with current 40k law.

>>44315040
Astartes have survived shots from absurd Leman Russ cannons before. Injured, but alive. There's also the problem of shooting a large human-ish target able to run at speeds of around fifty miles per hour, dodge bullets, and may have power armor that is completely invisible on IR.

>>44315077
The variants sure, the vanilla Lemen Russ tank is more or less similar to a M1 Abrams, (Bore, hull strength etc.) reported speed and horse power a little lower. But as for the surviving the melta and plasma that has more to do with the writers then with the quality of armor, non of the made up materials having particularly realistic qualities (varying depending on what the writer want's to happen).

>>44315077
Yeah, you see the problem with that is you have "this gun is totally shooting hundreds of megajoules of energy, really" and then you have a description of something that is very obviously not hundreds of megajoules of energy. The only possible conclusion one can have is that in deep space future of 40k, they've changed the meaning of megajoule so that their weapons sound much more impressive to the gullible troops. Much like in "Marching Morons" by Cyril Kornbluth where far in the future units of measurement are continually changed so people think technology is still advancing.

>Implying all of earth's soldiers would fight instead of immediately dropping to their knees and praising the emperor.

>>44315120
Also, the problem with combating Marines is that we can't hit them. A Chapter Fleet includes orbital assets that will knock out all our missiles, including SAMs and cruise missiles. Anything they can't find from space will be discovered by infiltration teams kidnapping military officials to eat their brains for information, or Librarians mind raping prisoners for prisoners.

Once they've finished mopping that up (which could take anywhere from minutes to days), the deepstrikes will happen, with Terminators and Sternguard popping by to say hello to all the world leaders by massacring them with us unable to retaliate. If we scramble aircraft, they're hit by more orbital strikes, taken out by deepstrikes, or shot down by their own aircraft.

Space Marines conquer worlds because of their mobility more than anything else. While a Space Marine will survive the initial assault of Abrams tanks, he's fucked if he's out in the open with no cover to retreat to and no special weapon or ammo to penetrate Abrams armor. The lethality of the Space Marines is that they're almost never in that scenario because they destroyed all your tanks while they were still being fueled up and mobilized. They strike like lightning and leave nothing alive. They won't be trying to occupy anything, they'll be launching simultaneous strikes or hopping across continents nonstop (because they don't need sleep for a week) while we struggle to marshal any response. Soldiers will rout, nations will surrender, and populations will riot as shit like water or electricity goes offline.

>>44315120
They only survived because of plot armor, they'd be in the realm of realistic physics when they arrive. The only place worse for a Astartes then the Warp.

>>44315285
What? It's the other way around dude. Rarely due the authors actually mention megajoules in the writing- the megajoules come from calculating what they DESCRIBED. Such as massive concrete walls getting completely vaporized, entire bunkers being reduced to a liquid, etc. We're lucky if writers ever even mention the yields of the weapons- most of the time their power has to be inferred from what is (or rather the lack of) what's left behind.

>>44315303
Well, let's be realistic here. every person killed by the astartes would have to be an ancestor of their age (so they'd all poof out of existence and leave a time paradox whenever they kill some one).

>>44315347
Ok, so to you those quotes are examples "hundreds of megajoules"?

>>44315314
That isn't how a versus works. If X has superpowers, said superpowers still work as normal if they're tossed into another reality, or else you wouldn't actually have a real matchup of Y vs X, it's Y vs Something that Looks like X but isn't. Also the Astartes in question didn't walk out injured, the Leman Russ (which was able to reduce giant ferrocrete walls to dust with single shots), damaged a squad of Dark Angels hiding in a building from the AOE of the blast. None of them died, but some sustained nasty injuries (to a mortal at least) and fucked up their armor.

>>44315311
>A Chapter Fleet includes orbital assets that will knock out all our missiles, including SAMs and cruise missiles.
>able to hit moving targets moving at mach speeds from thousands of kilometers away
>still has combat using metal sticks
k.

>>44315372
Yes. Here's one quote for thirty gigajoules from caves of ice, page 81.

>“His voice was drowned out by the abrupt hiss of the melta as Jurgen fired into the wall, instantly flashing a dozen cubic meters of ice into steam…” – Caves of Ice, Page 81

And here's the meltagun that was also fired at the Leman Russ from the same Iron Warriors book, vaporizing an entire bunker which had previously tanked shots from a fucking lascannon.


>"Before the echoes had died, the Iron Warrior with the multi-melta rose from his concealment and charged forwards to fire. The gun’s discharge built to a deafening screech before erupting from the barrels in a searing hiss. The warrior’s aim was true and the air within the bunker ignited with atomic fury, spurts of vaporized flesh and super-heated oxygen blasting from the weapon slits.

He leapt over the Marauder’s fuselage and sprinted towards the molten hell of the wrecked bunker, its walls now flowing like wax across the ground.

Honsou leapt onto the remains of the bunker, his iron-shod boots sinking into the molten rock. The heat scorched his leg armour, but it held firm as he pushed off and dropped into the heart of the defense.

Scorched and blackened limbs lay strewn about, all that remained of those stationed too close to the bunker, the backwash of the melta had burned flesh and bone to cinders in an instant." - Storm of Iron, Page 31

>>44315389
*Uninjured I mean.

>>44315459
Rule of cool. Same reason why any Sci Fi with starships still even cares about infantry.

>>44315474
>>“His voice was drowned out by the abrupt hiss of the melta as Jurgen fired into the wall, instantly flashing a dozen cubic meters of ice into steam…” – Caves of Ice, Page 81
That is quite literally, and I mean that literally, not even hundreds of kilojoules of energy. Do you even know what a joule of energy is?

>>44315389
Yeah but see that just makes zero sense, they're now in a different world, and yet they all defy the laws of reality unless it suits them. Might as well pack up at that point.

>>44315527
Take it up with Factpile, not me. I can check Spacebattles to verify the calc though.

>>44315648
No different than capeshit.

>>44315311
so...a lot. it would take a lot of marines....and their navy.

>>44315730
Yeah as literature (or cinematography) they're fine. But when trying to debate who'd it's really as stupid as saying that the earth's militaries knew of the SM invasion and where to nuke in order to win immediately. Again a rule of casualty is defied for no reason.

>>44315757
Technically only the navy is required, at least one ship able to perform orbital bombardment.

>>44315824
*who'd win

>>44315830
Destroying holy Terra, ending humanity and creating a time paradox. I love it!

>>44313857
Doomguy.

>>44315850
>humanity dies
>losing the main source of their power greatly weakens Chaos
>galaxy is a more peaceful place

Good end.

>>44315871
For the Xeno.

I think a full battle strength chapter could do it

>>44315892
Probably, still depends on the chapter as I'd reckon Space Wolves and Salamanders couldn't pull it off (Salamanders wouldn't try to anyway however).

>>44315850
We're not Terra anon. Our position in the galaxy isn't where holy Terra is. In 40k we'd be one of a dozen planets that thought they were the REAL Terra before Space Marine Legions genocided them.

>>44315986
There was one planet, and also means Tzenntch is a dick planting all the evidence for human development on this planet.

>>44315924
>Probably, still depends on the chapter as I'd reckon Space Wolves and Salamanders couldn't pull it off (Salamanders wouldn't try to anyway however).

couldn't or wouldn't pull it off

>>44315986
you do know that the galaxy revolves right?

>>44316469
I mean it's in the wrong area of the galaxy. The galaxy rotates, but the planet's don't move in their position of the galactic arm.

>>44314003

Uh, no it won't. One nuke being blown up would be seen as a error from the getgo. Nukes launch when all the other nukes launch, if DC is destroyed by one it would be seen as a terrorist attack, no matter the 'false flag' rhetoric.

>>44313857
So, are we assuming then like most posts here are that the space marine would go full Goto and try to fight every single military member 1vs1 me faggot?

Or that they would build up a powerbase and perform decapitation strikes against various world leaders to destabilize existing power structures and slowly take over because you either do what the SM says or he finds your nation a new leader?

As for actually fighting the military, IDFK man. Do they need supply lines and shit in the field? Because quite frankly there are a lot of people and we could probably replace soldiers faster than a large number of SM could kill them.

Do they have any CAS or space ships? Because then it's fucking laughable.

Keep in mind that even in the fluff SM are shock and awe troops, doing decapitation strikes and tearing apart the logistics of enemy forces rendering them impotent.

Well, except the World Eaters, and post-Heresy Word Bearers.

>>44315924
Space Wolves are the largest "chapter", why wouldn't they pull it off?

>>44315311

This. Marines are not the hammer, they are the scalpel. If you see Marines the gist is that they're winning already.

>>44315498

Why have troops when we have nukes?

Thats how you sound like right now. A space navy can't hold ground, protect installations, or be careful enough to oust insurgents and rebels. You will always need infantry, especially if you want to keep shit you drive off other space navies from, because the bluff that 'act up or we bomb you' barely ever works, especially if you're making the bluff to begin with tells people you don't want to do it.

>>44316722
>they're winning already

think you have the backwards m8. most of the time marines are responding to distress calls or are there to bolster the guard unless you are the Black Templars or Minotaurs (IIRC) who always travel the galaxy in one huge group refusing to split their forces

>>44314961

Byzantis was the world.

>>44316768
No you don't. In 40k you don't even really need planets anymore besides harvesting them for resources, otherwise you can throw everybody onto a Star Fort and not even bother with planets. Or even build artificial planets (which the Imperium can still do).

Plus ships are armed with these things called lance batteries, which are dial a yield and thus can do anything from fry a city block to carving up a continent like a Christmas Goose. They can protect installations by just sniping everybody from orbit, but they never do, as else there would be no point to infantry.


Especially in 40k, when people doesn't care about wiping out billions of people, and do so by accident at times.

>>44316703
>Space Wolves are the largest "chapter", why wouldn't they pull it off?
It would be extremely painful.

>>44317444
They're a big chapter

>>44315474
>>44315527

12 m^3 = 1.2e7 cm^3
12 m^3 of ice has a mass of approximately 12,000kg
energy required to raise 1.2e7 cm^3 from 0C to 100C = 1.2e7cm^3 * 4.2J/cm^3 = 5.04e4 kJ
latent heat of fusion of 12 m^3 of ice = 12,000kg * 334kJ/kg = 4.01e3 kJ
laten heat of vaporization of 12000 kg of water = 12,000kg * 2264.76kJ/kg = 2.72e4 kJ

So in order to fully vaporize 12 cubic meters of ice you're looking at about 81.6 MJ. More than Hundreds of kilojoules but still orders of magnitude less than 30GJ.

>>44317028

> They can protect installations by just sniping everybody from orbit, but they never do, as else there would be no point to infantry.

I think you VASTLY over-estimate the amount of precision and the control of collateral damage that happens with a lance battery barrage.

Cato Sicarius would manage.

>>44314329
actually, looking at it this way, one might be all that's needed.
>Be a space marine on modern earth
>Go to middle east and africa, cutting a swath of conquest through the lesser developed countries, gradually building up to start seizing more and more developed nations

Wait, that's not actually eliminating a military, that's just taking it over. Nevermind.

>>44314996
Yeah, but an Abrams can literally drive circles around the goddamn things. Given the right terrain, I think my Prius could do the same. 40K tanks are really shitty for some raisin.

>>44313985
Alpha Legion pls go

Two, maybe three

>>44313985
Yeah, that would work..in 1961.
We've sort of cooled our jets in regards to global nuclear war since then.

>>44319916
Cant help that they were originally made for harvesting crops.

Chapters of space marines regularly conquer planets of slightly higher than earth tech level.

It's literally what they were bred and born to do.

I think a single company could lay earth low if it's one of the good chapters that actually has a non-retardedly-specific battle doctrine. They would need full aerial support and a competent strategist in command who will exploit conquered nations' resources efficiently.

>>44315868
One of the missing Primarchs if you ask me. Purges daemons and ain't afraid of anything.

Space Marines would mess our world up easily.

>>44320406
>>44319916
LR tanks are heavy tanks. This means that their job isn't running circles around things, their job is to move forward slowly and unstoppable because of the incredibly durable front armor. Then support units sweep behind them and mess up anything trying to flank the tanks and hit them in the exposed sides and rear. Also hydras to keep them from getting bombed on.

Predators are more like modern tanks, but those are used completely differently.

50, or a demi-company.

1 full squad for each of S. America/Yurop/Africa/Oceania.
Captain+2 squads for Russia and China while the rest captures/disarms the nukes.
Captain +3/4 squads for US.

Voilá.

>>44313857
> space marines
> .50 cal can wreck him
5-20 million

>>44322067
.50 cal is AP 4 at best. Bolters and Heavy Bolters are far more destructive.

Not saying we don't have infantry portable ammunition that can reliably get through Power Armour, just that the .50 isn't it.

>>44322154
No need for HMGs. Just airdrop [GPS-guided smart airdrops are a thing] crates of AT4s, RPGs, HEDP 40mm grenades...

>>44322365
sure, but you won't need 20 million Space Marines to deal with the worlds supply of weaponry and production that poses a threat to them.

>>44322551
> you won't need 20 million Space Marines to deal with the worlds supply of weaponry
You realize that they're going against the entire world right? And the threat they will generate will prompt every nation with a military to go against them. And that is more than 10 million troops + if thing get ugly (they will) = hundreds of millions of conscripts. With modern weaponry tehy get rekt.
Even if they had tanks it wouldn't make any difference since the baneblade has max 300-500mm armor (modern tanks have 900+)

>>44325576
*they

>>44315314
>worse then the Warp.

THis explains it. In warp real world laws applies. For thsi reason everytime they enter it they feel alienated.

>>44325576
Of course tanks will make a difference. Means they won't have to rely on just flakk missiles to take out aircraft. Hunter killer missiles are nice as well. A Tech Marine can take care of damaged vehicles. They can repair almost anything short of being blown to smithereens. And since so many vehicles use the Rhino chassis they can be readily stripped for parts as required. Though spare parts wouldn't be as easily found as part for a Leman Russ, which can be repaired on even low tech worlds running on the wrong fuel.

40K tanks are quite durable, able to keep moving even after taking several direct hits from anti armour weapons. Having weapons and tracks destroyed does not mean the tank has reach the end of it's usefulness. The Baneblade even more so, having it's hull melting off is just something that happens when the enemy brings anti-super heavy weapons, but not a guaranteed one hit kill.

If every squad had a Rhino, which they should, then they become much more mobile. With weapons that are specialized to defeat any foe. They can even fire heavy weapons from the top hatch.

The Space Marines themselves are quite durable. A helicopter gunship is dangerous to them, sure, but Space Marines are very capable to surviving getting caught in the blasts and blowing such a thing out of the sky in a hail of Bolter rounds.

On the infantry side, it may seem simple to fight Space Marines with anti tank weaponry, after all, the RPG isn't especially uncommon. But the problem is that the Space Marines are better trained and can lay down fire with rapid fire explosive rounds. I mean, if you were armed with your man portable weapon of choice and a Space Marine was out to get you, do you feel you'll take aim fire, hit and the Marine will die? Totally possible, but I feel it's far more likely anyone who would try to attack them will get picked up on their helmets or detected by their enhanced perception and be blown apart with a shot to their centre of mass.

continued-

>>44327247
People fighting them would be terrified. Their weapons rip through personal armour like nothing, though geurilla fighters fight without armour most of the time anyway (as far as I know). The Space Marines can easily overun a defensive position. Artillery bombing strongpoints, footmen putting on pressure with shots and andvances, scout marines ruining everything with sniper rifles and melta charges. Land Speeders providing low altitude support with more manuvarability than any aircraft we have today, flying around a corner like a crazy driver and opening up with heavy bolter rounds from a above.

Modern warfare does not use numbers like in the past, it's more skirmishes and bombings. And every skirmish will result in a marine victory. The Special Forces from many countries can take down poorly trained enemies while outnumbered and suffer no casualties. Space Marines are an order of magnitude above them. The Space Marines will search for and destroy any base that could be used to fight against them and no defender can resist them. Conventional warfare, modern or not, does not work the same on unconventional enemies.

The stealthier Chapters can even assassinate world leaders, knock out the power grids of cities. Most major America cities can't even support themselves, relying on food imported from farming towns run by big businesses. 10 marines in a city with good targets can cripple the city, it's government, supplies, power and whatever else they target. Bombing New York to destroy a single squad of marines from 20 Million will always be a phyrric victory, if it could be called a victory at all.

20 Millions Space Marines is, by far, more than enough. Too many, even. They only way they could be defeated is if you make up a scenario where they're all completely vulnerable and clustered, ready to take all your shots like a bunch of prisoners waiting for excecution. But they're not Orks, they won't let that happen.