Imperial Guard (Warhammer 40,000)

Revision as of 08:12, 31 December 2021

The Astra Militarum in Codex: Astra Militarum.

The Imperial Guard is an organization that features in Warhammer 40,000.

History

The Astra Militarum was the military of the Imperium of Man that was established by mankind.

Overview

Organization

It made up the vast bulk of the Imperial military whose ranks were recruited from the planetary defence forces of millions of worlds in the Imperium and consisted of a force of both humans and Abhumans. (White Dwarf 109 UK)

Specialisations within the Guard included:

• Imperial Guard Infantry :
• Imperial Guard Sniper :
• Ogryn :
• Rough Rider :
• Tempestus Scions :
• Enginseer :
• Primaris Psyker :

Ranks within the Astra Militarum included:

• Lord General :
• Commissars :
• Sanctioned Psykers :

The true size of the Imperial Guard was unknown though the data was said to be contained within the Codex Exercitus that was maintained on Terra by the Administratum. Its enormous size meant that it was an incredibly diverse organisation. (White Dwarf 109 UK)

A major unit of the Guard were the regiments with their precise number varying though most raised a fighting strength of 2000 to 6000 men. Each was raised on a single homeworld with the troopers regarding themselves as belonging first to the Regiment rather than to the Army. Regiments were identified by the name of their homeworld and their number though they were often given unofficial names as well by their commanders with them even having an unofficial emblem. Regiments were then divided into companies that varied widely in size and composition with them being a major tactical unit in the Imperial Guard. The heart of a company was a number of platoons of varying size that consisted of specialise units and machines to be attached to a company when they were needed in the field. The Codex Exercitus gives the standard configuration of an Imperial Guard Platoon as a command section consisting of up to 4 squads. A Command Section consisted of an officer normally of the rank of Captain or Lieutenant who headed a number of specialist troops such as a Medic, Commissar, an Orderly that can carry the platoon's standard and potentially an attached group of Sanctioned Psykers. These were in addition to the rank and file Guardsmen with a squad consisting of a Sergeant and 9 troopers that were always attached to the Command Section. Imperial Guard squads were always expected to act as part of a platoon. (White Dwarf 109 UK)

The Guard had a number of famous specialised military units that included:

• Armageddon Steel Legion :
• Cadian Shock Troopers :
• Catachan Jungle Fighters :
• Death Korps of Krieg :
• Elysian Drop Troopers :
• Mordian Iron Guard :
• Tallarn Desert Raiders :
• Valhallan Ice Warriors :
• Vostroyan Firstborn :

An unofficial but common practice amongst Imperial Guard units was the adoption of Battle Badges. These had the name of the action and date stamped on the rivetted circular metal plates which were sold to Guardsman by their officers. Troopers proudly displayed such records of their battles and fixed them on their helmets and body armor with them taking precedence over official unit insignia. (White Dwarf 109 UK)

Within the Administratum, there existed an elite sub-faction that was the Ordo Tempestus that were granted far greater autonomy compared to the rest of the Imperial Guard.

Technology

Equipment of the Imperial Guard included:

• Hot-Shot Lasgun :
• Hotshot Volley Gun :
• Ripper Guns :

Vehicles used by the Guard:

• Sentinel :
• Chimera :
• Hellhound :
• Basilisk :
• Leman Russ :
• Baneblade :
• Valkyrie :
• Vulture :

Members

• Sebastian Yarrick :
• Raeven Mortz : commander of the 8th Necromunda Regiment who were unofficially called the 'Spiders' who had a spider emblem and Mortz even going as far as having a deadly Necromundan Greenback spider as a pet and mascot. (White Dwarf 109 UK)

Notes

• The Imperial Guard was created by Games Workshop where she featured in the setting of the Warhammer 40,000 universe.
• During the 8th Edition, the faction was re-named as the Astra Militarum.

In other media

Video games

• In Warhammer 40,000: Fire Warrior, the Imperial Guard appeared as antagonists in the video game.
• In Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, the Imperial Guard appeared as a non-playable faction in the setting of the strategy video game. Colonel Carus Brom headed the Imperial Guard regiment on the planet Tartarus where they assisted the Blood Angels in maintaining Imperial rule on the planet.
• In Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War – Winter Assault, the Imperial Guard were introduced as a faction in the strategy video game expansion.
• In Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II, the Imperial Guard appeared as a non-playable faction in the setting of the strategy video game.
• In Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II – Retribution, the Imperial Guard appeared as a playable faction in the setting in the strategy video game expansion.
• In Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine, the Imperial Guard appeared in the setting of the video game. They appeared as the Cadian 203rd regiment that was trying to survive on the Forgeworld of Graia as the Ultramarines squad drops in. Guardsmen serve as NPCs throughout the game, and both the Guard and the player provide mutual support in terms of combat, navigation and air transport.

Appearances

• Warhammer 40,000:
• Codex: Imperial Guard:
• Codex: Astra Militarum:

External Links

• Lexicanum Wiki Entry
• Wikipedia Entry

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