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 Hive World of Krieg in the Segmentum Tempestus. Krieg was the site of a rebellion against the Imperium of Man over 1500 standard years ago in the 40th Millennium 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. The Death Korps of Krieg is a siege specialist regiment of the Imperial Guard and the regiments raised on Krieg seek to repent for their former treachery against the Imperium by displaying a disturbing disregard for their own lives in combat. Death Korps troops excel at wars of attrition and defensive combat in particular.

Regiment History
In 433.M40, the Planetary Governor of the Hive World of Krieg in the Segmentum Tempestus, known locally as the Autarch, declared himself independent from the Imperium of Man and renounced the Emperor as his divine master and political overlord. Krieg was then locked in civil war between the heretical rebels and Loyalists. Much of Krieg quickly fell to the heretics except for the hive city of Hive Ferrograd which came under the command of the now-infamous Colonel Jurten of the 83rd Krieg Imperial Guard Regiment. Under strict orders from the Segmentum Command to not let Krieg fall to the heretics but with the promise that no Imperial Navy fleet on the scale that was required to invade a planet was available, Colonel Jurten decided that Krieg would either belong to the Emperor or to no one at all. On the day of the Feast of the Emperor's Ascension, Jurten unleashed a counter-attack of atomic cleansing that was to turn into a great purging of the planet's population. For days Krieg was engulfed in a sea of nuclear fire. Krieg's ecosystem collapsed and the planet was ultimately engulfed in a nuclear winter. But the civil war dragged on, regardless. The survivors from Jurten's nuclear purge were forced to exist in underground bunkers or deep in the radioactive chem-wastes of the hive world, as their descendants do to this day. Following the fanatical self-annihilation of their homeworld, Loyalist Krieg troops slowly retook their world, inch by stubborn inch, over the next 500 standard years. From this long conflict and the unique military culture it engendered, was born the tradition of naming Imperial Guard Regiments drawn from Krieg as the Death Korps. Krieg was finally returned to full Imperial rule in 949.M40.

Regiment Recruitment and Training
Recruitment for members of the Death Korps of Krieg is similar to many other Imperial worlds throughout the Imperium and conscription depends on varying circumstances. Most who join generally do so out of a sense of duty and as a way to atone for the previous rebellion against the Emperor. Officers ranks are difficult to obtain, as with certain regiments of the Death Korps one must work his or her way up the ranks from the bottom.

To ensure that only the toughest and best make it into the regiment, training is brutal and quickly weeds out the weak and unworthy. For this reason the regiment is able to maintain its famous standard of discipline and selflessness. Gas masks are conventionally viewed as a second skin, as soldiers are trained to permanently operate with them if required. Fear of failure, and the ceaseless devotion to duty, honour and the Emperor are instilled in new recruits to make certain that they will stand their ground in combat under any situation. Mental conditioning is the key part of their training so soldiers are prepared for the horrors on the battlefield and beyond.

It should be noted that Krieg raises an unusually large number of regiments for a devastated planet. This is attributed to the use of the "Vitae Womb" birthing technique, which Krieg has been granted special dispensation to use as the result of their famous steel, determination and unswerving loyalty to the Emperor. Use of this technique is largely unknown and generally seen as dangerous.

Regiment Combat Doctrine
They are most famous for never flinching, even in the face of sudden death and they see their deaths in war as penance for the heresy of their ancestors years before. They are a dedicated trench and siege warfare force and perform best in wars of attrition. The Death Korps of Krieg regiments routinely volunteer for tours of service in the most dangerous warzones in the Imperium which means they have earned a fierce reputation across the galaxy. They excel in trench and siege warfare but have taken part in various different actions across many campaigns such as the Taros Campaign, the Third War for Armageddon, the Atria Wilderness Campaign and the Vorenz III Campaign to name but a few. They can be counted on over most other Imperial regiments to hold their ground and when advancing prefer a massive offensive over an extended front with a rolling barrage artillery support. Many Krieg regiments are adept raiders of entrenched positions should a massed offensive be impractical or require the softening up of enemy positions before any such offensive can take place. The fact that the Death Korps of Krieg are known for unconditional loyalty and ruthlessness in prosecuting their wars mainly comes from the atomic purging that the 33rd Krieg Infantry under the command of Colonel Jurten inflicted on their own planet during the civil war, a fact that the Death Korps of Krieg in general and the 33rd Krieg Infantry in particular are very proud of.

Regiment Appearance
The Death Korps are similar to the Armageddon Steel Legion in the appearance of their uniform and equipment, but they make use of darker colors, and their masks usually have a skull motif. Of all the regiments of the Guard, they are the most grim and fatalistic, both in appearance and in spirit due to the 500 years of atomic purging the inhabitants of their home world inflicted on themselves. Uniform cut and design is almost consistent throughout the entire Death Korps but colours can vary from regiment to regiment and the officer ranks tend to have slightly more ornate uniforms than the rank and file. Spiked helmets are famously worn by the Death Korps of Krieg however this is rarely the case, but many troops maintain the tradition either with improvised spikes or, less commonly, older issues of the spiked helmet that have survived and been passed down through families. As with every Imperial Guard Regiment, the Death Korps are based on a real world army from human history, and are similar in uniform and style to the Imperial German Army of World War I and the Wehrmacht of World War II.

Wargear
The standard issue Lasgun in service with regiments of Krieg is the Lucius Pattern Lasgun. Its power pack operates at a higher charge than many other more common patterns of the Lasgun used by other Imperial Guard Regiments. This gives the weapon more punch, but drains the power pack after only 25 shots. The weapon is single shot only and has a slower recharge rate than many other Lasguns, however it is judged that the additional stopping power of the gun more than makes up for this. The barrel of the weapon is fitted with distinctive heat sink rings to help dissipate the enormous additional heat this high-powered Lasweapon generates after sustained fire. The weapon's furniture (the stock and foregrip) are typically made of synthetic wood, although metal variants are known.

Death Korps units prefer to use Meltaguns and Heavy Bolters as heavy weapons, but also have access to Mortars, Heavy Stubbers, Lascannons, Autocannons and Flamers. As with most Imperial Guardsmen, the Death Korp's infantry's standard-issue individual weapon is the Lasgun and many also carry a Laspistol. The multi-purpose combat knife carried by all members of the Death Korps is a bayonet but also a field tool. The citizens of Krieg are gloomy but hard working folk, and this is reflected in the weapons and equipment used by the Death Korps which tends to be very utilitarian compared to that used by other, flashier Imperial Guard regiments, but ultimately stands up well in any fight and helps the Death Korps accomplish their mission.

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