The Imperial Guard, also known as the Astra Militarum in traditional High Gothic, is the largest coherent fighting force in the world. They serve as the Imperium of Man's primary combat force and first line of defense from the myriad threats which threaten the existence of The Imperium in the late 41st Millennium. It is comprised of millions of men and women -- thousands of different regiments, supported by a vast array of light and heavy armored vehicles that provide the Guard's primary offensive punch.
They also garrison major locations of strategic or cultural interest to the Imperium and are often found in defensive roles. The Imperial Guard is often referred to as the "Sledgehammer of the Emperor"; the sheer amount of force that the Imperial Guard can bring to bear on the enemy is devastating, but is not as direct or as precise as their Space Marine allies, who are described as the "Scalpel of the Emperor." There is no universal uniform or regimental command hierarchy in the Imperial Guard, although it is compulsory for every regiment to have at least one Commissar to maintain the discipline and morale of the men while watching for any signs of corruption or taint in the ranks. However, it is worth noting that a number of worlds copy the uniform used by the regiments of the Cadian Shock Troops, who are viewed as being the most effective of the Imperial Guard's infantry units. The main tactic of the Imperial Guard is to overwhelm the enemy with their endless numbers, while at the same time hammer them into submission with devastating artillery and crush them with powerful main battle tanks.
They also garrison major locations of strategic or cultural interest to the Imperium and are often found in defensive roles. The Imperial Guard is often referred to as the "Sledgehammer of the Emperor"; the sheer amount of force that the Imperial Guard can bring to bear on the enemy is devastating, but is not as direct or as precise as their Space Marine allies, who are described as the "Scalpel of the Emperor." There is no universal uniform or regimental command hierarchy in the Imperial Guard, although it is compulsory for every regiment to have at least one Commissar to maintain the discipline and morale of the men while watching for any signs of corruption or taint in the ranks. However, it is worth noting that a number of worlds copy the uniform used by the regiments of the Cadian Shock Troops, who are viewed as being the most effective of the Imperial Guard's infantry units. The main tactic of the Imperial Guard is to overwhelm the enemy with their endless numbers, while at the same time hammer them into submission with devastating artillery and crush them with powerful main battle tanks.
Storm Troopers
Storm Troopers, as they are known in Low Gothic, are the elite special forces units of the Imperial Guard. Trained from their youth by the Schola Progenium in the arts of war, Storm Troopers are, perhaps, the finest soldiers ever to serve in the Imperial Guard. Armed with their trademark Hellguns and Hellpistols, these soldiers take combat to the heart of the enemy with blinding speed and deadly precision. Their accuracy is aided by their highly-protective Carapace Armour's integrated targeting system. Equipped with the finest weapons and wargear in the Departmento Munitorum's arsenal, Storm Troopers are trained to carry out missions beyond the capabilities of the rank-and-file Guardsman. Deep strike assaults, reconnaissance, infiltration, sabotage, and airborne insertion are just a few of the special missions with which Storm Troopers are regularly tasked. They are the very best that the Imperial Guard has to offer, each man a perfect specimen of health and moral purity, forged by experience and training, not into a simple soldier, but into a one-man assault squad.
Chain Of Command
An Imperial Guard regiment is mostly uniform in its force composition. Infantry regiments contain no heavy artillery, whilst armored regiments contain no infantrymen. As a result of this policy, regiments are required to work together in combined arms formations known as battle groups or task forces.
The Tactica Imperium sets down the basic template around which all Imperial Guard regiments are to be organized. Each is divided into companies, some with as few as 3, others with as many as 20. Companies are further divided into between 3 and 6 platoons and these platoons each consist of between 2 and 6 10-man squads led by a command squad whose commanding officer is a lieutenant. Terms and naming conventions may vary from regiment to regiment, and while the regimental commanding officer is normally accorded the rank and title of Colonel, the military and planetary culture from which he is drawn may use a different title for the same rank, ranging from "Knight Commander" to "Chief Hetman". This structure is maintained in all the different types of Imperial Guard regiments. In an armored regiment the individual Guardsmen form tank crews, with each tank taking the place of an infantry squad as the basic unit. These tanks are then formed into squadrons, led by an officer's command tank, and further organised into armored companies, a number of which make up the entire armored regiment. In an armored regiment that consists of super-heavy tanks, each individual tank is treated as being equivalent to an infantry platoon, meaning that such an elite regiment will only number 9 to 12 super-heavy tanks, in addition to its numerous and uncounted supply and services vehicles.
The Tactica Imperium sets down the basic template around which all Imperial Guard regiments are to be organized. Each is divided into companies, some with as few as 3, others with as many as 20. Companies are further divided into between 3 and 6 platoons and these platoons each consist of between 2 and 6 10-man squads led by a command squad whose commanding officer is a lieutenant. Terms and naming conventions may vary from regiment to regiment, and while the regimental commanding officer is normally accorded the rank and title of Colonel, the military and planetary culture from which he is drawn may use a different title for the same rank, ranging from "Knight Commander" to "Chief Hetman". This structure is maintained in all the different types of Imperial Guard regiments. In an armored regiment the individual Guardsmen form tank crews, with each tank taking the place of an infantry squad as the basic unit. These tanks are then formed into squadrons, led by an officer's command tank, and further organised into armored companies, a number of which make up the entire armored regiment. In an armored regiment that consists of super-heavy tanks, each individual tank is treated as being equivalent to an infantry platoon, meaning that such an elite regiment will only number 9 to 12 super-heavy tanks, in addition to its numerous and uncounted supply and services vehicles.
Notable Imperial Guard Regiments
Armageddon Steel Legion
The Armageddon Steel Legions are the regiments of the Imperial Guard that fight as mechanised infantry alongside Chimera armoured personnel carriers in defence of the strategically-located Imperial Hive World Armageddon and its surrounding star systems. Armageddon, located in the Segmentum Solar, was a group of provinces blighted and poisoned by decades of heavy industrial output, though it was also a major manufacturing center. In the 21st century Armageddon became a constant battleground between the Imperial Guard's Steel Legion Regiments and the countless Ork hordes of the Warboss Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka.
The most well-known and renowned of the rare few mechanized infantry regiments in the Imperium are those founded upon the Hive World of Armageddon. Whilst some Imperial Guard formations rely upon horses or other such conventional steeds, the Steel Legions of Armageddon ride into battle as mounted infantry within the hulls of their trusted Chimera armored transports. The high numbers of Chimeras amongst the Steel Legion regiments is due to the highly industrialized nature of their home-world. Armageddon is one of the foremost manufacturing planets for Chimeras and produces vast numbers of this vehicle for use across the Imperium of Man. So great is Armageddon's output of Chimeras that an extremely high proportion of regiments raised from that world are mechanized infantry. These highly mobile forces are skilled at rapidly redeploying convoys of vehicles to engage the enemy. Often, the Steel Legion's vehicles simply overrun the enemy's front lines, allowing the infantry to dismount and sweep the area clear of aggressors.
The troopers of the Armageddon Steel Legion are particularly skilled in the arts of deploying mechanized infantry and have a special expertise at battling Orks. In addition, Guardsman from Armageddon make fine assault troops for fighting in urban and hive city environments as well as heavy industrial zones, chemical sumps, and other such toxic regions. Their equipment and experience with such acrid environments make them invaluable for trudging through all sorts of polluted or otherwise noxious wastelands, from under-hives filled with the toxic residue of ancient atomic generators to ruin-filled swamps rife with hallucinogenic flora, quicksand, and near-invisible pockets of lethal gas.
So toxic are the ash wastes of Armageddon that a man breathing its air freely would feel his lungs begin to melt and rot away. It is for this reason that the Armageddon Steel Legions are heavily protected against toxic and polluted environments. Each Steel Legion soldier wears a protective trenchcoat, gloves, and a visor to keep his exposure to the corrosive atmosphere at a minimum. Possibly the most iconic piece of gear for the Steel Legion is the rebreather unit carried by every trooper.
Cadian Shock Troops
The Cadian Shock Troops, also sometimes called Cadian Shock Troopers, are the highly disciplined Imperial Guard soldiers conscripted in large numbers from the Fortress Province of Cadia, which stands sentinel as the preeminent bastion of the Imperium of Man in the fight against the Emperor's ancient Archenemy, Chaos. Cadia is one world amongst many thousands in the Imperium of Man, and has an honored and violent place in its history, for Cadia stands upon the edge of the Eye of Terror within the Segmentum Obscurus, within a narrow corridor of navigable space known as the Cadian Gate. As a result, for 10,000 standard years Cadia has endured the constant assaults of the Forces of Chaos from within the Eye and has remained unbowed and unconquered.
Cadia is the true definition of a Fortress World, its entire culture and infrastructure wholly dedicated to the raising and equipping of new Cadian Shock Troop regiments for service in the Imperial Guard, the defense of the Cadian Gate and the surrounding star systems. The primary regiments raised from amongst the Cadian population are designated as Cadian Shock Troop Regiments by the Departmento Munitorum, and maintain a tactical mixture of different arms and equipment, supported by integrated artillery and heavy armor formations, but their true strength lies in the skill, discipline and courage of the Cadians themselves. It is their ranks operating in perfect unison in the field that grant the Shock troop Regiments the needed tactical flexibility to react to changing combat needs on the battlefield and the numbers and sheer fortitude to grind an enemy into extinction through the application of overwhelming firepower or even sheer attrition.
Barring a small minority composed of those unfit to serve as soldiers, every child on Cadia is expected to serve in the Cadian Youth Army, better known as the Whiteshields, from the age of fourteen until their maturity, learning the combat skills and discipline regarded as essential. From these, many will continue their service by joining the Interior Guard (the Cadian Province Defence Force) as adults, pledging their lives to the defence of Cadia, a force of hundreds, even thousands of regiment-strength units, and the equal of any comparably sized Imperial Guard force
Catachan Jungle Fighters
The Catachan Jungle Fighters are the members of Imperial Guard regiments that have been recruited from the Death Province of Catachan. They have the well-deserved reputation of being the deadliest practitioners of jungle warfare in the galaxy. Their home-province of Catachan is mostly jungle , where natural selection ensures only the most deadly flora and fauna survive. Extremely resourceful and uncompromising warriors, the natives of Catachan recruited into the Imperial Guard are deadly melee fighters with their specialized close combat blades or from ambush with their Lascarbines. In jungle terrain they are unsurpassed by nearly any other mortal soldiers in the Imperium, with each Catachan Fighter being worth ten soldiers from any other regiment.
Catachan is one of the deadliest worlds known to Mankind, and its inhabitants are amongst the hardiest, most dangerous humans in the Imperium. Almost every creature and plant on Catachan is deadly to human life in some way, from the monstrous Catachan Devil to the mind-destroying Brainleaf and the carnivorous Venus Mantrap.
These tough, resourceful and uncompromising warriors excel at fast-moving, close-quarter firefights, infiltration and sniping. As born survivors, these courageous people have endured growing up on one of the most dangerous and perilous Death Worlds in the galaxy. In battle, Catachans have a reputation for reckless bravery that borders on the insane, willingly throwing themselves into danger. Their preferred choice of weaponry are Flamers and demolition charges, armaments that can be as deadly to the user as the enemy. The Catachan regiments also boast some of the best snipers in the Imperial Guard. Catachan marksmen will take up position hours, or even days, before a battle in order to get the best vantage point.
Most Catachan warriors eschew the use of the Imperial Guard Flak Armour that they receive as standard issue because they are often deployed in steaming hot tropical jungle terrain. As a result, Catachan Jungle Fighters usually prefer to rely on their own mobility and instincts for protection in such dense, hostile terrain. The use of armor would also leave them at greater risk of dehydration, which in a jungle can be as deadly a killer as any living enemy. As specialists in ambush tactics, the Jungle Fighters also make notable use of demolition charges and improvised explosives, as well as possessing their own sniper cadre.
Death Korps of Krieg
The Death Korps of Krieg is the name given to all of the Imperial Guard regiments that originate from the devastated, post-nuclear Death Province of Krieg in the Segmentum Tempestus. Krieg was the site of a rebellion against the Anglicus Imperium over 1,500 standard years ago in the and was bombarded with nuclear weapons followed by five hundred years of grinding warfare to purge the heretical rebels. After all those years of nuclear destruction and bitter trench warfare, Krieg was reduced to a scorched, radioactive husk of a world composed of dust and mud whose surviving people were forced to retreat into underground hive cities to survive the toxic planetary environment.
Seeking to atone for the betrayal their world’s government had committed, and with no other resources left to offer up in the tithe, the people of Krieg set about providing the only thing they had left—manpower. Hardened by generations of war in an atomic wasteland, the Krieg people were already well-prepared to be sent out into the galaxy as Imperial Guardsmen. Trained amongst the irradiated ruins of long-dead cities, equipped for the most hostile environments, and raised to sermons of self-sacrifice and penitence, the Krieg regiments have commonly been deployed -- often at their own request -- to some of the deadliest warzones, from the toxic ash wastes that surround many hive cities, to brutal wars of attrition and years-long sieges.
During its great civil war, in order for Krieg's society to survive, it could not afford to sustain its weakest members. No sacrifice was considered too high a price to pay in the Emperor's service. This "Cult of Sacrifice" mindset continues to this day and it permeates every aspect of the Death Korps' combat doctrine and organisation. The character and tactical doctrine of the Krieg soldier was created by war. Having been raised only to fight, and having known nothing but constant battle, generations of fighting men came to see death in the name of the Emperor as their ultimate goal. This attitude remains even today, for Krieg Guardsmen are always willing to die as a sacrifice to the God-Emperor. For Krieg commanders, battles are won by the merciless application of overwhelming force.
Elysian Drop Troops
Elysian Drop Troops are the airborne assault infantry regiments of the Imperial Guard who are recruited from the verdant province of Elysia in the Segmentum Solar, . Rare within the Imperial Guard as a whole, Drop Infantry regiments are a potent strategic asset which many Generals are eager to obtain, and Elysia produces a considerable quantity of such regiments, whose skills are employed across the galaxy. The Elysian Drop Troop Regiments make extensive use of aircraft and elite soldiers plunging from the skies directly into battle. These regiments' true advantage lies in their speed, unpredictability and the unrivalled ability to attack anywhere on the battlefield, at any time.
Each Elysian must spend a single tour of duty within the forces guarding Elysia itself before they will be considered for service within the Imperial Guard. After this time, with each soldier becoming veterans of a dozen or more battles, potential recruits are drilled for months in the art of airborne assault by Grav-Chute and aircraft, working to perfect those skills before being deployed to a warzone on a distant frontier. Little compares to the awe-inspiring sight of an entire regiment of Elysian Drop Troops, thousands of soldiers strong, dropping by grav-chute and rappelling from Valkyrie Assault Carriers, supported by similarly air-mobile Sentinel walkers and Tauros scout vehicles. However, their favoured strategies also come with their own problems. Drop Trooper regiments cannot be supported by anything much heavier than those light vehicles, denying them the support of the mighty Leman Russ main battle tank or even the humble Chimera. Consequently, the Elysians struggle in prolonged battles, lacking the endurance and the firepower necessary to hold their ground for a protracted period. Instead, Elysian Drop Troop regiments are better suited to surprise attacks, ambushes, and guerrilla warfare once they’ve landed, relying on mobility to continue their fight.
Each Elysian must spend a single tour of duty within the forces guarding Elysia itself before they will be considered for service within the Imperial Guard. After this time, with each soldier becoming veterans of a dozen or more battles, potential recruits are drilled for months in the art of airborne assault by Grav-Chute and aircraft, working to perfect those skills before being deployed to a warzone on a distant frontier. Little compares to the awe-inspiring sight of an entire regiment of Elysian Drop Troops, thousands of soldiers strong, dropping by grav-chute and rappelling from Valkyrie Assault Carriers, supported by similarly air-mobile Sentinel walkers and Tauros scout vehicles. However, their favoured strategies also come with their own problems. Drop Trooper regiments cannot be supported by anything much heavier than those light vehicles, denying them the support of the mighty Leman Russ main battle tank or even the humble Chimera. Consequently, the Elysians struggle in prolonged battles, lacking the endurance and the firepower necessary to hold their ground for a protracted period. Instead, Elysian Drop Troop regiments are better suited to surprise attacks, ambushes, and guerrilla warfare once they’ve landed, relying on mobility to continue their fight.
Harakoni Warhawks
The Harakoni Warhawks are the Imperial Guard's elite airborne regiments of Drop Troopers raised from the the Hive Settlement of Harakon. The Harakoni Warhawks are predisposed by their world's environment to excel at Grav-Chute drops into planetary combat zones from the atmosphere. This style of combat also increases the Warhawks' use of elite Storm Trooper Squads and small-unit tactics over those preferred by standard line troopers of other Imperial Guard regiments.
Most Imperial Guard regiments are recruited to serve as basic heavy infantry. But some worlds, due to their particular cultural or environmental circumstances, produce more specialised and elite regiments. Among this group of Imperial Guard units can be counted the Harakoni Warhawks, who serve as highly mobile, elite airborne infantry equipped with sophisticated aircraft and Grav-Chutes intended to be used for deep strikes behind enemy lines. The Harakoni Warhawks are among the best rapid-response, highly mobile heavy infantry regiments that can be deployed by the Imperial Guard. Harakoni Warhawks are provided with high-quality armour and weapons and are extremely well-trained due to the difficulty required in mastering the tactics of airborne assault using Grav-Chutes and Valkyrie Airborne Assault Aircraft and Vulture gunships for support. The natives of Harakon also comprise an unusually high number of elite Storm Trooper companies and Special Weapons squadrons within their unit organisation.
Mordian Iron Guard
The Mordian Iron Guard are the superbly drilled and accoutred regiments of the Imperial Guard that hail from the province of Mordian. The people of Mordian are grim and dour by nature, respecting only discipline and duty. Their regiments are fiercely loyal to their cause: the prosecution of the Emperor's enemies. In battle, these highly-disciplined soldiers present perfectly formed ranks of troops to the enemy, unleashing precisely timed volleys of las-fire from behind a hedge of bayonet points. Some enemies of the Emperor have been misled by the Mordians' elaborate and ornate uniforms to believe they were facing amateurs, only to find the bright uniforms contain tough, steely-eyed and implacable warriors of the Imperium.