Rough Rider

"I have seen war in all its forms. I have seen feral world savages braining each other with stones, and I have monitored the death of a whole planet at the hands of a virus bomb. I have seen Space Marines drop to certain death, and win. I have seen Titans crush whole platoons underfoot. But there is no more stirring sight in war than the charge of massed cavalry."

- Dravin Gratz, 14th Tharinga Regiment

Rough Riders are specialised cavalry units found among numerous Imperial Guard regiments from Feral and Frontier Worlds where riding mounts are commonplace. Many primitive cultures from such worlds retain the use of mounted infantry. The Imperial Guard often employs these cavalry units on the field of battle, where they are especially suitable for uneven terrain that is unsuitable for tracked vehicles. They also act as scouts, patrols, and fast response troops, able to operate on their own for extended periods of time deep behind enemy lines.

History
The Imperial Guard often makes use of specialised cavalry units known as Rough Riders. Even with its legions of machinery and fighting vehicles, the Imperial Guard has a place for these mounted warriors. The majority of Rough Riders are raised from worlds where it is usual for warriors to fight from horseback. On these planets, fierce nomadic clans and warrior horse-lodges have perfected the art of mounted cavalry techniques through years of bloodshed. Rough Riders retain many ferocious customs of their home worlds such as ritual scarring and tribal tattoos. Their steeds are bred tough and dangerous (and often ill-tempered0 as the warriors who ride them. Such mounts are bred for power and strength, and many are given bio-chem treatments to enhance their combat potential, such as Krieg Mounts utilised by the Death Riders of the Death Korps of Krieg Regiments. While the majority of Rough Riders are raised from feral, underdeveloped worlds, this is not exclusively the case. On some planets the honour of riding a steed to war is reserved for the elite classes, formalised horse-warrior aristocracies that have accumulated generations of cavalry experience.

A Rough Riders squad of skilled cavalry can be an effective assault and skirmishing force, able to move rapidly over the broken ground, climb steep slopes and gallop along narrow ravines. However, it is more common to divide mounted regiments and allocate Rough Rider squads to fight alongside conventional infantry regiments where they in a variety of roles. Rough Riders are used to operating out on their own beyond the normal lines of communication, often deep inside enemy territory. They are able to forage and subsist off the land, able to function for extended durations with only the minimum of basic supplies. They possess a tactical advantage by employing living mounts rather than vehicles, which require neither fuel nor maintenance to maintain, and unlike their mechanical counterparts, they cannot be easily traced with Auspex or scanner. As such they are often utilised to harass enemy troop movements by means of hit-and-run tactics.

Rough Riders are a potent force on the battlefield, utilising mobility and speed to spearhead an attack as easily as running a flanking manoeuvre. Rough Riders carry a variety of weapons, but the most deadly is their explosive-tipped hunting lances derived from the lethal spear heads used by cavalry on their home worlds to hunt down large carnivorous animals. This weapon is constructed of a hollow lightweight metal shaft tipped with a spear point, which is also connected to the impact fuse of the weapon's shaped charge. This small explosive charge is constructed to direct the blast and fragmentation forwards the target and away from the user. Once detonated the user is left with only the shaft, which is then discarded. In close quarters combat against densely packed enemy, or in close confines, the lance is very unwieldy and all Rough Riders carry at least one back-up weapon. After the initial "shock" impact of the charge has been expended, a rider will reach for a lasgun or Auto-Pistol. The thundering momentum of a cavalry charge as it crashes into the ranks of the enemy leaves only death and carnage in its wake. Those foes not impaled are trampled to death beneath the heavy hooves of the Rough Riders' powerful steeds.