The Tactica Imperium is the most widespread military manual employed by the officers and guardsmen of the Astra Militarum to provide guidance on logistical, personnel, tactical and strategic matters. However, despite the name, it is not a single work, and has no known author; instead it is a whole collection of unrelated documents, including established military tactical and strategic doctrines, prior manuals of military wisdom dating back millennia, and notes on combat practice approved for inclusion by the Departmento Munitorum and the office of the overall Lord Commander Militant of the Astra Militarum.
The collection of books and other treatises officially comprising the Tactica Imperium is therefore constantly being updated as the sheer size of the Imperium and its military forces precludes any true standardisation.
History[]
The origins of the Tactica Imperium lie in the Imperium of Man's earliest days during the Great Crusade. In those times, the vast forces of what was then the Imperial Army and its fleet component, the Armada Imperialis, were being raised quickly and it became evident that some standardisation was required to have any chance of properly coordinating military organisations that were often radically different in culture, orders of battle and even technological levels. Any available military texts were seized on and distributed to provide at least some guidance. Over time this initial collection expanded.
Now contained within the Tactica Imperium used in the 41st Millennium are treatises on the proper construction of field fortifications, the correct evolutions of close order combat drill, the oaths of allegiance to be made by new recruits, and the statutes of military law. Many of these are adopted verbatim by various regiments of the Astra Militarum, although some are best viewed metaphorically. The tactical treatises in particular are subject to many different interpretations. Their value lies more in provoking thought and, through it, an understanding of the core principles of military science so these can then be applied by a skilled unit commander as needed.
The dictates of the Tactica Imperium are not meant to be taken too literally. In war, circumstances change too quickly to refer every decision to the outline of a solution found in any book, no matter how comprehensive or ancient. The true virtue of the Tactica Imperium is that it provides a reference for new Imperial Guard officers and there is always a chance that some form of helpful guidance can be found for an officer facing some critical issue.
Solon's Axe[]
Among the knowledge to be found in the Tactica Imperium is a wealth of information on tactics, including armour formations such as that known as "Solon's Axe." Tanks using this formation spread out over a broad, flat front with trailing edges to cover the flanks. The front acts as a mobile fortress wall, providing protection to assets in the middle, although the potential firing arcs of some elements of the formation may be seriously restricted.
In 3.267.397.M41, this formation was utilised by the Imperial Guard forces fighting against the Orks of WAAAGH! Gratzdakka on the Kostoval Flats on the planet Kalidar IV during the Kalidar War.
Selected Quotes[]
Below are presented a selection of passages known to have been excerpted from various versions of the Tactica Imperium.
"A warrior's faith in his commander is his best armour and his strongest weapon."
- —Tactica Imperialis
"Always endeavour to fight the enemy on your terms. If you are powerful at close quarters then engage in dense terrain where your advantage will prove greatest. If you are superior at long range then fight the battle at a distance. If you have greater numbers then attack along an extended front. Use reserves to break through when the enemy's overstretched lines collapse. If outnumbered then concentrate your forces so that the enemy can fight only your best troops. No-one ever won a battle who failed to take advantage of his enemy's weakness."
- —Tactica Imperialis
"A commander must have the courage to see his plan through, for good or ill. Wars are won or lost when the battle lines are drawn."
- —Tactica Imperialis
"If the enemy comes on in a great horde, as Orks are wont to do, then try to direct them into a narrow defile or enclosed space, such that their numbers work against them. Crowded together those at the front will impede those behind, whilst the push from the rear will prevent those at the front from retreating or finding a better path."
- —Tactica Imperialis
"In any army balance is the key to success. A commander who puts his faith in heavy weaponry alone will be outmanoeuvred. A commander who relies on close combat without support will lose his force to enemy fire. Each element must work in harmony, so that the effectiveness of the army is greater than the sum of its parts."
- —Tactica Imperialis
"Do not strike until you are ready to crush the enemy utterly, and then attack without mercy, destroy every vestige of resistance, leave no-one to work against you."
- —Tactica Imperialis
"The meaning of victory is not the defeat of your enemy but his utter destruction, to eradicate him from living memory, leaving no remnant of his endeavours, crushing utterly his every achievement and removing from all record his every trace of existence. From that defeat no enemy can ever recover. That is the true meaning of victory."
- —Tactica Imperialis
"A good general does not lead an army to destruction just because he knows it will follow."
- —Tactica Imperialis
"Identify your target. Concentrate your fire on it to the exclusion of all else. When it is destroyed choose another target. That is the way to secure victory!"
- —Tactica Imperialis
"An open battlefield is nothing but a death trap -- in war any visible target is a casualty no matter how well protected it may be."
- —Tactica Imperialis
"If you are strong feign weakness. If weak, pretend strength. Whatever your position, conceal it from the enemy, and he will waste his armies fighting his own phantoms."
- —Tactica Imperialis
"Attack the enemy where he is weakest. Where he is strong draw him on until he is trapped. Where he is unsure strike quickly and scatter his forces."
- —Tactica Imperialis
"The only justifiable risk is one that can do more harm to the enemy than it can to you. All risks must be calculated in your favour. Otherwise you are fighting for the enemy!"
- —Tactica Imperialis
Sources[]
- Baneblade (Novel) by Guy Haley, Ch. 2
- Codex Army Lists (2nd Edition), pp. 4, 6
- Codex: Imperial Guard (2nd Edition), pg. 68
- Codex: Imperial Guard (3rd Edition, 2nd Codex), pp. 4, 47
- Warhammer 40,000: Rulebook (2nd Edition), pp. 9, 15, 21, 31, 35, 65, 76