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Catachan Jungle Fighters

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We've run into scorpions the size of battle tanks. Three men died from Eyerot last week and I've sweated enough to fill a lake. Emperor help me, I love this place -- it's just like home!
Captain Rock of the Catachan III "Green Devils," commenting on Varestus Prime[Needs Citation]


The Catachan Jungle Fighters also known as "Baby Ogryns" due to their slabs of muscle, are the fearsome Imperial Guard Regiments from Catachan, the most notorious Death World in the Imperium. Because of this, Catachans have a well-deserved reputation as the deadliest jungle-warfare experts in the galaxy. Extremely resourceful and uncompromising warriors, they are skilled up close with their specialised and brutal close combat blades or from ambush with their lasguns. In jungle terrain they are unsurpassed, with each Catachan being worth ten of any other regiment. Their ranks include some of the deadliest men in the Imperium, including the legendary "One Man Army" Sly Marbo and "Stonetooth" Harker, a man who's endurance and strength could rival a Space Marine[1f].

Uniform Basic Data Miniature
Catachan44.jpg
- Catachan Jungle Fighters -
Homeworld: Catachan
Regiment Name: Catachan Jungle Fighters
Specialities: Jungle Warfare, Close Combat
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Recruitment and Training

File:CatachanImage.jpeg
A Catachan Jungle Fighter Squad.

On Catachan, every day is a battle to survive. Even Space Marines are said to avoid this hellish planet. Every animal species on the planet is carnivorous, and every plant species is poisonous. 50% of the planet's human population does not survive infancy, and 50% of the remainder does not live past the age of ten. Every day is spent fighting on the deadliest planet in the galaxy. Those Catachans who reach adulthood are natural survivors, invariably some of the hardiest and deadliest souls in the Imperium this has insured that Catachans are naturally superior to any normal Human and trained well beyond the capabilities of any Munitorum jungle warfare school.[7b]

The Jungle Fighters are Catachan's only resource; since the planet offers no source of sustenance and only death, the planet's inhabitants are dependent on food and supplies shipped from off-planet, in return for the elite Jungle Fighters' service in the Imperial Guard - an obligation they are proud to fulfill.[7b]

Organization

Catachan regiments generally lack Commissars. Even these tough and uncompromising officers are unable to assert their authority over the Catachan soldiers; in fact, they are resented by troops, and it is not uncommon for Commissars assigned to Catachan regiments to be "fragged" by their own troops. Ogryns however - who may well have evolved on Catachan themselves - commonly fight in Catachan regiments.[Needs Citation] Due to their heavily developed physiques, normal human Catachans are sometimes referred to as "Baby Ogryns."[Needs Citation]

Catachan Devil Squads - The closest thing the jungle fighters have to Storm Troopers, Catachan regiments include squads of warriors exceptional even by the exacting standards of their birth world. In Catachan regiments these are called "Catachan Devils," in reference to their famous kill-knives and the voracious predators of their world whose fierceness they emulate in combat. These elite squads consist of one veteran Sergeant and between four and nine "Catachan Devil" Guardsmen. Some squads may even include a veteran officer.


Battle Style

Catachans are some of the mightiest warriors in the Imperium, capable of withstanding wounds that would kill any normal guardsman, despite wearing little to no armor. Close Combat is a particular specialty for Catachans, often using shotguns, poisoned blades and even their bare hands to kill enemies. The Jungle Fighters 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.[Needs Citation]

Appearance & Uniform

Catachans are known to wear red bandanas that symbolize a blood oath they take when joining a regiment. They sport tattoos and commonly dull their regimental badges with soot and soil so as to not reveal their position.[7b] Disdainful of the acquisition of medals by other regiments, tattoos are used as a way of marking battle honours such as the use of skull emblems to mark five years service, daggers to mark a decade of service [16] and the skull and crosshairs to denote a marksman [17]

A common rite of passage among Jungle Fighters is for junior soldiers to earn their "Catachan name," a sobriquet that acknowledges their battle experiences and/or some notable quality of theirs.[11] For example, Colonel Straken's nickname "Iron Hand" comes from the bionic arm which replaced the one he lost to a Miral Land Shark[7h], while Gunnery Sergeant "Stonetooth" Harker's reputation for toughness is such that he was able to kill a Tyranid Ravener by crushing its neck between his biceps, and was rumored to chew glass the way other men chew tobacco (though this latter is probably an exaggeration).[7i]

Weapons & Equipment

The standard Catachan Lasgun is the Mk.IV Lascarbine.[7f]

Catachans 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.[Needs Citation]

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.[Needs Citation]

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 status 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.[Needs Citation]

As specialists in ambush tactics, the Jungle Fighters also make notable use of demolition charges and improvised explosives, as well as possessing their own sniper cadre.[Needs Citation]

Their preferred heavy and special weapons are the Flamer and Heavy Bolter.[1e]

Notable Campaigns

Notable Catachan Jungle Fighters

Notable Regiments

Regiment Nickname Information
Catachan II The Catachan 2nd are made up of many specialized veteran squads, known as Catachan Devil Squads. They fought valiantly during the Dulma'lin Cleansing, where Colonel Straken was seriously injured, and were subsequently redeployed to assist the Ulani defence batallion. They presumably took part in the Battle of Moden's Ridge, during the Yaquit 27 Campaign, fighting the L'Huraxi. Nork Deddog is also known to have served under the esteemed Colonel Greiss within the 2nd regiment.[1c]
Catachan III Green Devils Captain Rock of the Catachan 3rd commented on the similarities between Varestus Prime and Catachan (see Quotes Imperial Guard).[1a]
Catachan IV, V, & VI The Catachan 4th, 5th, and 6th took part in the Macharian Crusade and all had varying success. The 4th was wiped out during the Invasion of Jucha while the 5th only met fierce resistance. The 6th (Cobras)[6] were notably deployed from the Battlecruiser Opus Dei.[4a]
Catachan VII Catachan Devils Even though the Catachan Devil is very commonly referred to in squad designations and everyday Catachan culture, the Catachan 7th is the only regiment known to have this moniker.[7a]
Catachan IX It is known that this Regiment and their Captain Jarn “Bullneck” Colda fought with the Orks on the Kyraxian Death-jungles.[13]
Catachan XI [Needs Citation]
Catachan XII The Catachan 12th took part in the Macharian Crusade and deployed from the Battlecruiser Defiance during the Invasion of Jucha.[4a] They fought Orks on Ryza and during the 13th Black Crusade. Also, it's been said that it is this regiment that inducted the boy that would become Guardsman Marbo.[7g]
Catachan XIV The Catachan 14th participated in the Macharian Crusade and were victorious in their missions. [4a]
Catachan XVII Screaming Devils The Catachan 17th, or the 'Screaming Devils'[4b], is led by Captain Thorn and includes the famous Sniper Dell, who won the Silver Bullet seven years in a row.[2b]
Catachan XVIII Swamprats The Catachan 18th fought Tyranids in a seven year campaign on Koralkal VIII, during which they covered themselves with the ichor of the Lictors to mask their scent. They subsequently spent two years in decontamination before they were allowed to return to active duty. A notable member is Colonel Gator[1b]. Also in this campaign regiment used Tarantula sentry guns.[3g] They also have a Thunderer Siege Tank as part of their forces.[3a]
Catachan XIX Scorpion Fangs The Catachan 19th is known to include a Mars pattern Leman Russ Exterminator, the third tank of the third squadron of the only company supporting the rest of the regiment. Equipped with a bulldozer blade to aid it in fighting in Armageddon Secundus. The company symbol include the black spades in the white circle in the black rhombus.[3b]
Catachan XXII The Catachan 22nd fought on the fifth pacification of Joogunda Prime. In this campaign had risen the Colonel Paseski, who was Lieutenant at that time but after the death of the commanding officers of 22nd and 1139th Orbital Assault Group took command of both units during the evacuation of Joogunda Prime's capital.[15]

Later the restructured regiment went on to earn a plethora of battle honours under the leadership of its daring commander. These victories include the capture of the elusive rebel high command at the Battle of Groxtown, the evacuation of Lord High General Xa’chan, the destruction of the recidivists’ orbital defence silo during the invasion of Alat, and the spearheading of Operation Scarlet Wasp.[15]

Catachan XXIII The Catachan 23rd were crucial during the conquest of Atria IV, as their elite sapper units were able to breach the Palace of Hate within a week.[1d] They also fought on an unstated jungle world against the Eldar. In 981.M41 while isolated on the Agri World of Lowamon after three years of bitter fighting, Colonel Kratzer and Inquisitor Roth rally the Catachan XXIII for one last defiant stand against Tau Commander Darktide’s Mont’ka assault.[13]
Catachan XXIV The Waiting Death The Catachan 24th are known for their extensive use of traps. They destroyed Warlord Krakskull's entire Ork horde by luring them into a booby-trapped ravine using baiter squads.
Catachan XXVI Lurking Cobras The Catachan 26th was among the regiments who fought against the Tau on the world of Cytheria.
Catachan XXVII Flaming Devils The Catachan 27th were stationed on the world Gerran prime to fight against the Necrons in 962.M41. It went very badly for them and within a year they were almost wiped out. They fought a desperate last stand in a jungle ruin, led by Commissar Von Blacke, though their company commander cowardly fled the battle in the first Valkyrie that arrived, and called off any more Valkyries, leaving his men to die. However, a maverick pilot risked his life to go to the ruins and rescue any survivors. Although his Valkyrie was badly damaged (almost destroyed, in fact), he managed to rescue Von Blacke and the remaining handful of survivors. Von Blacke promptly executed the Commander for cowardice. The remaining Flaming Devils were merged with the under strength Katon Dragoons and Von Blacke was re-assigned.
Catachan XXXI Fought in the Infestation on Drashin.
Catachan XXXVII Includes at least one Thunderer siege tank[12]
Catachan LI Black Vipers The Catachan 51st "Black Vipers" fought on the world of Cytheria after it's governor defected to the Tau empire. Snipers from the regiment eliminated a prominent Tau leader, striking a critical blow to the alien's morale.[7e]
Catachan LVI Sidewinders The Catachan 56th "Sidewinders" fought on the world of Cytheria. During this campaign, the entire regiment was issued rebreathers as the deep alien jungles of Cytheria periodically erupted in poisonous sporepod blooms.
Catachan XCVII The Catachan 97th Fought in the Cytherian Annexation
Catachan CXXIII The 123th Regiment fought in the Battle of Bengoli V
Catachan CIVVI Red Cobras The 146th Regiment is a light infantry Regiment specializing in guerilla warfare that has very few vehicles, for example - Salamander Command vehicles with Heavy Flamers for close support.[3c] It fought in the equatorial jungles of the Yarant II where used Cyclops Demolition Vehicles[3d] and Manticore (Tank)s.[3e] In that war also were used Manticore (Platform)s with incendiary warheads for jungle clearance by the deathworld veterans. It is said that the fires started burned for months.[3f]
Catachan CLXXXIII The 183th fought in the Pandorax Campaign. Their commander is a Colonel 'Death' Strike
Catachan CCCXCI Coiling Cobras [Needs Citation]
Catachan MVII Black Snakes The 1007th Regiment. Took part in the Burning of Myze
Catachan MXIV Unseen Lurkers The 1014th "Unseen Lurkers", led by Colonel 'Steel Eye' Black, battled Orks from the Death Skulls clan on the shadow world of Kato. Sentinel teams from the regiment destroyed the Ork's hidden stompa factory.[7c]
Unknown Wild Cats Known only by quote of their Commissar Zoutah.[14]

Images

A unit of Catachans

See also

Sources

Uncited