History of the Imperial Guard

The Imperial Guard is a fictional military organisation in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. The Imperial Guard have been actively defending and expanding the Imperium for ten thousand years, and their predecessors, the Imperial Army, fought on many fronts during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy.

Origin
During the early years of the Great Crusade, the Emperor of Man and his Space Marine Legions were the only forces necessary for the conquest of worlds and the construction of the Imperium. Many of the Primarchs, superhuman leaders of the Space Marine Legions, tried to win the fealty of human populations isolated during the Age of Strife through non-military tactics if possible, and often incorporated soldiers that had initially been arrayed against them into the fight to liberate and unite eve more worlds.

Human military forces were initially used to assist the Space Marines in the liberation of their own homeworld from aliens, daemons, or tyrants, and would remain after the campaign as a garrison force. Later, as the scope of the war escalated beyond the sole control of the Space Marines, these forces would be brought in to mop up any remaining resistance from Space Marine assaults, and take control of the freshly conquered world, freeing up the Space Marines to move onto other campaigns. Eventually, the expansion of the Imperium of Man reached the point where to have the Space Marines fighting on every front would spread them too thinly. It was at this time the Imperial Army was truly born, deploying on the forefront of the Crusade.

The Imperial Army
The original Imperial Army boasted great variety amongst its forces; some utilising mutant troops while others had access to anti-grav vehicles. Each unit drew on the strengths and technology of its homeworld, and variations were dependant on a world's religious beliefs, level of technological advancement, social customs, and specialist industries. This led to the development of regiments recruited from a single homeworld, as men from different worlds would have trouble understanding each other's dialects, social customs, tactics or specialist equipment.

The Imperial Army was also in nominal control of many starships, and each regiment of the Army would be assigned to a single cruiser-size vessel, or spread amongst a squadron of escort-size vessels and armed transports. In this way, the deployment of a starship to a location would automatically bring with it a substantial armed force, who could be used for boarding actions, planetside campaigns or garrison duty.

Because of the sheer variety of worlds and subsequent Imperial Army regiments, a measure of standardisation was deemed necessary to allow the Army to function as a whole, althopugh the sheer size of the expanding Imperium by this time prevented any true standardisation. The treatise that came to be known as the Tactica Imperium was penned and distributed, and a carde of political officers, the Commissars, were developed to ensure proper and effective integration and co-operation between regiments. The role of the Commissars later expanded to include maintaining the quality and morale of the regiments they were assigned to.

The Horus Heresy
During the Horus Heresy, many Imperial Army regiments turned to the side of Horus and Chaos. Regiments seconded to Space Marine Legions that turned traitor followed their superhuman masters into rebellion, sometimes out of fear or blind faith. Regiments were raised on worlds controlled by both sides, and were thrown into the bloodbath of combat. The control over both fleet and army elements held by a relatively limited number of people meant that the faith or corruption of a few determined on which side a force would fight. Thousands of small empires were carved out by ambitious generals with no loyalty to either side, and many regiments did little more than stay out of the way, waiting for a clear victor in the galactic civil war before they commited to a side.

The Horus Heresy changed the galaxy forever, both during its wars, and after, when the Imperium made all efforts to remain in control of its vast territories. Regiments of the Imperial Army still loyal to the Emperor assisted the Space Marines in their efforts to maintain control and surpress secondary rebellions.

The Imperial Guard
At some point between the final stages of the Hours Heresy and the end of the 31st millennium, the Imperial Army underwent mass reformation. The Army was split into two seperate entities, the Imperial Guard and the Imperial Navy. What aspects of the Army that could be standardised were, and practical traditions from the days of the Army, such as the size of regiments designed to fit inside cruiser-size starships and the recruiting of a regiment's members from a single homeworld, were retained.

As part of the reformation, many of the units used by a regiment were cut down, and specialist regiments, such as those made up of Rough Rider cavalry or Ratling snipers, were split into detachments and divided amongst the standard regiments, to provide support in special skills and tactics. Commissars became centrally trained by the Ecclesiarchy and Schola Progenium. These measures almost completely limited the ability for Imperial Guard regiments to be led astray by a few corrupted officers, and further measueres limiting the direct power of the Ecclesiarchy that came into effect after the Age of Apostsay have shaped the Imperial Guard into what is is during the 41st millennium; a byword for loyalty and honour.

Although almost similar to the regiments of the post-Heresy years, the Imperial Guard has not remained completely stagnant. The universal lasgun was only introduced in the late 32nd millennium. Prior to this, the Imperial Guard relied on the solid ammunition autoguns, and some elite soldiers still prefer to use them in combat. Armoured vehicles are often modified for a single campaign or operation, when the situation calls for it, but the usefulness of some modifications results in their full-scale production by certain Forge Worlds.

Cadian Shock Troopers
The Cadian star system is sitting on the location of a stable area of space leading into the Eye of Terror, as such, the Cadian system is often the focal point of many Chaos attacks, including the Black Crusades.

Consequently, the planet of Cadia and the surrounding planets and systems have become some of the most militarized worlds in the Imperium. Most of the population is under arms and most Cadian youths learn to shoot before they learn to walk, and, as the saying goes: "Any Cadian who can't field-strip his own lasgun by the age of 10 was born on the wrong planet." Despite their dedication to battle, they still conscript fighters to help bolster their ranks when battles begin to get big. They are equipped with standard-issue equipment and fought at the frontlines during Abaddon's 13th Black Crusade to fend off the marauding armies of traitors and heretics.

They are led by the formidable Lord Castellan Ursarkar E. Creed. The troops make use of many elite soldiers, as well as the numerous cadet coprs corps known as the Whiteshields. They have been involved in many wars, campaigns and battles, but with the coming of Abbadon's 13th Black Crusade, they were forced to fight on their own soil. They were forced, in the early stages of the Black Crusade, to destroy the Volscani Cataphracts at the Battle of Tyrok Fields, on Cadia itself. They were eventually successful at securing the Cadia system, but took an awful toll from the crusade.

Cadian Shock Troopers source of inspiration could be an amalgamation of ideas drawn from different, present day armies, most notably the armies of nations like the United States (US Army), Russia (Russian Ground Forces) and Germany (Bundeswehr/German Army). Due to their reputation and sheer number of regiments, they are considered the "standard" look for the Imperial Guard.

Catachan Jungle Fighters
Catachan is a Death World, a planet almost completely covered in dense jungle where it seems the entire ecosystem is hostile to human life. Catachan's only export is its people, who through natural selection are naturally bred tough and strong from living in such a dangerous world.

Catachan Jungle Fighters are among some of the deadliest experts of jungle warfare in the entire galaxy and their reputation precedes them. They make use of many close combat weapons including the 'Catachan Fang', measuring up to 20 inches of gleaming steel, which is the most common weapon. It is also used for settling disputes between Catachans. Another knife is the Night Reaper, which is smaller and blackened, effective in night infiltration and assassinations. They are sometimes poisoned to improve their kill strength, the poisons coming directly from Catachan. The Devil's Claw, named after the great predator on Catachan, is the longest weapon, up to four feet long. It is closer to a sword than a knife and has achieved a measure of respect among the Orks, who call it 'Da Cutta'. The blade is hollow and half filled with mercury in order to improve swing strength and control, and the design of this weapon has been copied by Catachan regimental officers for use as a power weapon.

They also make extensive use of traps, mines and other unpleasant surprises. They use traps, spring mines, shredder mines and plasma charges, each specializing in killing certain types of troops.

Catachan Jungle Fighters, as a whole, bear similarities to the titular character of the Rambo movie series, complete with red headbands, and to a lesser extent, Arnold Schwarzenegger in the film Commando.

Notable regiments: Catachan XXIV 'Waiting Death' - use of extensive traps, using 'baiter' squads to lure the enemy onto the traps.

Catachan XVIII 'Swamprats' - attacked a Tyranid horde, masked themselves in Tyranid ichor and successfully wiped out the Tyranids. They then had to spend two years on a decontamination ship.

Catachan XVII 'Screaming Devils' - led by Captain Thorn, including famous sniper, Sniper Dell, who won the Silver Bullet seven years in a row.

Ice Warriors of Valhalla
Valhalla was originally a verdant paradise world. No records survive of its colonisation, but legends recall a world ripe for conquest. Unfortunately, Valhalla was destined for something else. It was hit by a gigantic comet. The defence lasers surrounding the planet blasted the comet, but only succeeded in breaking it up. Later, it was found that the comet was made of almost pure iron, explaining why the lasers were so ineffective. The comet impacted in the vast ocean but a mile-wide fragment impacted the northern continent, creating vast plumes of dust which proceeded to cover the planet in a blanket of dirt. Also, the planets orbit was changed, moving it a long way from its sun. This change in the amount of warmth and light altered the planets ecosystem, changing the planet to an icy wasteland.

The people struggled to make a living, fearing famine due to a lack of viable farmland. The comet was bad, but not to be the end of their suffering. A damaged Ork warfleet descended on the planet and proceeded to fight the Valhallans for the food they had stored. They held out bravely for a long time in their vast hive cities beneath the ice but were pushed right back to the food vats. Eventually they destroyed the Orks by using ice boring machines to strategically strike at the heart of the mob, burning and melting most of the Orks and scattering the rest.

Regiments of Valhallans have been assigned to planets infested with Orks due to their intimate knowledge of Ork tactics and their dogged determination in the face of defeat, where other armies might run.

Valhalla is an extremely cold, ice covered planet, similar to Hoth from the Star Wars universe. Valhallan Ice Warriors resemble the Red Army of the former Soviet Union during World War II.

Notable regiments: Valhallan 597th - Led by the supposedly heroic Commissar Ciaphas Cain, the 597th is an amalgamated regiment from remnants of the 301st and the 296th, one a regiment of men, the other women. The only female General ever to exist within the Imperium, Jenit Sulla, started as a Lieutenant within the 296th.

Tallarn Desert Raiders
Tallarn was once a verdant Paradise world, until it was attacked and Virus bombed during the Horus Heresy by the Iron Warriors. Every living thing on the surface of the planet, even bacteria, was killed off, with only those who managed to seek shelter in special bio-isolation enviro-shelters deep underground surviving. Shortly thereafter, the planet became the site of the largest tank battle in the Horus Heresy, with millions of war machines fighting over the planet's surface. The survivors learned to adapt to their world as it eventually became a desert planet. For what reason the Iron Warriors fought for the planet so hard is unknown, but it may have been to do with the Chaos gate buried deep in the planet, or perhaps it was just a demonstration of the randomness of Chaos.

The planet was now devoid of all plant and animal life and most of the water had evaporated into the atmosphere. A thousand years later, a mysterious gate was discovered, triggering a series of sudden attacks by the enigmatic Eldar, who tried to prevent the gate from being opened. They were unsuccessful, and a tide of Daemons streamed forth from the gate. The Tallarns and the Eldar were quickly forced to work together in order to halt the tide and seal the gate once more. Gradually the combined forces pushed back the Chaos horde, the Tallarn people knowing the desert, leading the Eldar to strike at the most vulnerable Chaos points. Eventually they forced the Chaos forces back into the gate and managed to shut it down. The Eldar left machinery to keep the gate shut, and the Tallarn covered it with plasteel and turned their back on it. The gate is not closed for good, but will remain sleeping until it is called again.

The Tallarn Desert Raiders are exceptional at Guerilla style warfare, having adapted to the harsh conditions of their home planet. They are also known for their weaponry accuracy, as well as having highly capable Sentinel and Tank squads.

Tallarn Desert Raiders have a slightly Arab-like appearance, but influences have also been taken from other sources, such as the African campaigns of WW2.

Forge World recently released a line of resin models for the Tallarns, including heavy weapon squads, snipers and rough riders mounted on mukaali.

Mordian Iron Guard
The Mordian day is the same as their year, and as such half of the planet is bathed in perpetual darkness and the other half burnt to a cinder by the glaring sun. This makes it quite a miserable place. The planet's lack of rotation prevents any strong winds and as such the atmosphere is thick and dark. The millions of inhabitants live in vast hive cities where all resources are controlled and distributed by the state. There is much discontent among the people, and the Mordian Iron Guard spend much of their time keeping the populace under control.

In a massive Chaos conspiracy, a group of Chaos cultists met under the busy streets of the Mordian capital. There they cast a spell, taking the blood of many, most likely innocent, Mordians. The spell brought ships full of Chaos Space Marines and summoned Daemons to Mordia. They rampaged across the planet and eventually managed to force the Iron Guard back to the capital. Here the Guard put up one last defence, gradually falling back and back until they had to take shelter in the capital building. They had used dangerous tactics that most armies would have refused to use, mainly because their men would not stand their ground. The Iron Guard, living up their name, stood against all manner of daemons and their position was hopeless. In orbit above Mordia, the planet's psykers had at last succeeded in breaking the Chaos spell, and gradually the Daemons faded from the planet. This disappearance scared the remnants of the Chaos attackers and the Iron Guard took the opportunity to rout the enemy and dispel them from the planet. Through their discipline the Iron Guard had held back the forces of Chaos long enough for Imperial psykers to break the spell, and ensure that Mordia would remain in the hands of the Imperium.

Due to the condition of their planet, the troops raised here tend to be a dour, no-nonsense lot. Mordians believe in perfect precision and constant drill to overcome their foes, and they will rarely be seen routed, rather they make fighting retreats to a better and more defensible position.

Mordians normally wear bright dress uniforms, even into combat, to present a look of amateurism, perhaps to catch their enemies off guard. They bear a slight resemblance to the Prussian army under Bismarck. Many other guard regiments refer to Mordian Guardsmen as 'Toy Soldiers' in reference to their garb.

Armageddon Steel Legion
Armageddon is a Hive World, a planet covered in vast wastelands broken up by hives, huge arcologies stretching miles into the sky. True to its name, Armageddon has been the site of three massive wars in the history of the Imperium, most recently a pair of invasions by the Ork warboss Ghazghkull Thraka. As a result, the armies of Armageddon are skilled in fighting against Orks. Armageddon produces many armoured fighting vehicles for the Imperium, such as APCs. As a result of this, combined with the uninhabitable nature of Armageddon outside of the hive cities, the Armageddon Steel Legions are primarily Mechanized Infantry.

The Armageddon Steel Legions wear heavy greatcoats with helmets and rebreather masks, and resemble the German army during World War I and German Army paratroopers and soldiers during World War II.

Death Korps of Krieg
The Planet Krieg was once the site of a rebellion against the Imperium. In retaliation, the people of Krieg subjected their world to 500 years of atomic cleansing to root out the rebellious factions.

The Death Korps are fearless warriors, never flinching even in the face of sudden death, which they see as atonement for the rebellion. They see their deaths fighting in war as penance for the heresy of their ancestors. They are a dedicated trench and siege warfare force and perform best in wars of attrition.

Appearance-wise, the Death Korps are similar to the Steel Legion, but have darker colors, and their masks usually have a skull motif. Of all the regiments of the Guard, they are the most gloomy and dark, both in appearance and in spirit. They bear a strong resemblance to the German army in World War I, in tactics (trench warfare) and appearance (their helmets bear a single spike on the top, just like the German Pickelhaube helmets did).

Savlar Chem Dogs
The Chem Dogs are typical of many Penal Legions in the Imperial Guard. Recruits are drawn from the prisons on the planet Savlar by the promise to allow them to keep anything they take from the battlefield, as well as the chance to get away from Savlar's highly toxic environment. They were created to fight in the Third War for Armageddon and excel in fighting in Hive Cities and close quarters. They get their courage mainly from the use of nitro-chem inhalers, and are just as likely to steal from among themselves and from other regiments as they are from the enemy.

Tanith First-and-Only (Gaunt's Ghosts)
The world of Tanith came under attack by Chaos forces while it was mustering soldiers for the Sabbat Crusade. Of the three regiments originally slated for the Crusade, less than four thousand men escaped the planet; the combine officer corps of the three regiments dying on planet. Ibram Gaunt, the assigned commander of the three Tanith regiments, reorrganised the survivors into a single regiment, the Tanith First (Tanith First-Last-and-Only is considered to be their full title). More colloquially, they are called Gaunt's Ghosts, a name devised by Chief Sniper "Mad" Hlaine Larkin, prior to their first combat engagement.

The Tanith are unparalleled scouts, masters of stealth tactics, and excellent light infantry, and are said to possess an unerring sense of direction, traits necessary for survival on a planet where the forests actually move to conceal the path taken.

Since the beginning of the series the Ghosts have been reinforced with recruitment on Verghast and have amalgamated with the 81st Belladon Recon to create the "Eighty-first First" during the time Colonel-Commissar Gaunt spent on the chaos held world of Gereon.

The stories of the Tanith First and Only can be found in the Gaunt's Ghosts series, written in three story arcs, by Dan Abnett.

Praetorians
The Praetorians resemble colonial-era British soldiers (as in the film Zulu), complete with brightly-coloured dress uniforms and pith helmets. Originally Mordians with different sculpted heads, GW were quick to make a range of them, seeing them as an interesting deviation from the usually dark WH40k. Like many older models, they have been removed from production, but are widely available online, and through the manufacturer's own archive service. The Praetorians were reasonably popular, largely due to the highly distinctive look of their armies and the sharp contrast between them and the dark, gothic Imperium around them. As such, many people were angered at GW's decision to drop the range.

Terrax Guard
The planet of Terrax is the site of a major Schola Progenium facility, the Schola Excubitos. This means they have a large number of Commissars and Storm Troopers. Some Storm Troopers are even part of the regiment itself. The regiment is known for its excellent and rigid discipline, as though it were composed completely of Commissars.

Harakoni Warhawks
Harakon is a low gravity planet with tall hives. The Harakoni are highly trained in use of grav-gliders making them fearless of altitudes and great at judging air currents. They use this skill to drop behind the enemy's lines in battle.

Kanak Skull Takers
Kanak, a volcano-wracked world, is home to many fierce barbarian tribes. They soon found a home in the Imperial Guard and considerable tolerance for their feral tactics is displayed. Some of the tribes consist of people closer to Ogryns than humans.

Elysian Drop Troopers
The Elysian Drop Troopers are known for the rapid deployment capabilities using Airborne Troop Carriers called Valkyries, and either rappel down ropes or use grav-chutes at high altitudes. These troops have deep strike capability, and can use mortars, rocket launchers, and heavy bolters like any other Imperial Guard regiment. Unfortunately, They must sacrifice the heavy vehicle support that most other regiments field. They can utilize Drop Sentinels and modified drop Cyclops demolitions vehicles. They also have access to specially modified Tarantula Sentry Turrets which have been fitted with grav chutes for rapid deployment. The Elysian Drop Troopers are known to have fought in the 3rd Armageddon War and the Taros Campaign.

These troops are based on multiple paratrooper inspirations, ranging from modern day parachute troops to futuristic drop troops such as the Hell Jumpers from the Halo 2 game.

Forge World recently released a line of resin models for the Elysians for their new Taros Campaign, a conflict between the Imperium and the Tau.

Notable Regiments:

23rd Elysian Regiment - The 3200 men strong regiment was totally destroyed during a three day battle behind enemy lines during the latter stages of the Taros Campaign.

Phantine Air Corps
An unusual style of regiment that is almost unique within the Imperial Guard, the Phantine Air Corps form Wings, from which specific 'Flights' are formed. Because Phantine itself is mostly covered in corrosive smog and the only habitable areas on the planet are on mountain tops, the only viable military force on Phantine is an Air Force. They are believed to be the only Imperial Guard regiment allowed to possess fightercraft, as both atmosphere- and star-fightercraft are normally limited to the Imperial Navy.

Featured in the spin-off book Double Eagle, the Phantine also appear within the Gaunt's Ghosts novel Guns of Tanith. Both are written by Dan Abnett. It is very likely the Battle of Britain inspired the Phantine Air Corps.

Notable Flights:

XXI Wing Halo Flight - Fought for the liberation of their home-world before going on to fight in other theatres such as Enothis. Halo Flight flies Marauder bombers.

XX Wing Umbra Flight - Led by Jagdea Bree, Umbra Flight also fought for Phantine and Enothis, flying in Lightnings on Phantine and Thunderbolts at Enothis.

The 13th Penal Legion (Colonel Schaeffer's Last Chancers)
The Last Chancers are an elite force of criminals, rebels and misfits who are rescued from the firing squad and given a final chance to win the Emperor's forgiveness by engaging in suicidal missions. They draw heavy inspiration from the classic film The Dirty Dozen. On the battlefield, Last Chancers are fielded in contingents of 5 to 20 men, with the possibility of arming and equipping every trooper individually, which opens excellent modelling and conversion options.