Whiteshield
"Children you call them? They can pull a trigger just as well as veterans, and they have the spirit of a bull narthax. Call them children if you wish - I call them troops. Good troops."
- Colonel Marus Cullen of the Pannonia 5th Infantry Regiment[1]
Whiteshields are young reinforcements to an existing Imperial Guard Regiment. They fight in actual combat as part of their later training until they have proven themselves ready to join the regiment as full Guardsmen.
Overview
Officially designated as probitors, they are more commonly called whiteshields, as well as cadets, probationers or gun babies. Whiteshields are the sons fathered by Guardsmen during their posting and raised within the regiment.[1] As they are not yet considered true Guardsmen, Whiteshields do not wear unit insignia - the only markings they are allowed to wear are blank white badges as well the white helmet stripe that distinguish them. Severe disciplinary action may be given to those who decorate their uniform with badges or slogans, being seen as impudent presumption by those who have actually earned the right to be proper warriors.
Imperial Guard Regiments are generally posted to combat zones far from their homeworlds, and it is rarely practical to recruit from the homeworlds to replace casualties. Typically replenishment consists of folding in other shattered regiments together to bring them up to full strength. However, regiments that are left to garrison a world they have conquered by Right of Settlement instead gain recruits by drafting the sons of the regiment's Guardsmen when they come of age. Children fathered by Guardsmen are usually brought up within the regiment, immersing them in its culture and traditions. Early in their lives they perform menial and support duties which would otherwise eat into the regiment's fighting strength. However, as they grow older, combat training takes up more and more of their time until they are deemed ready for their first battle.[1]
Once they are deemed ready, probitors are formed into Whiteshield Squads lead by an experienced Sergeant. The sergeant also wears the whiteshield and stripes of his squad, though only he is allowed to wear proper Imperial Guard insignia and iconography such as an Aquila of the Astra Militarum. Typically they are assigned alongside normal Infantry Platoons to learn from the example of guardsmen around them. Occasionally, however, a company may form entire platoons soley of whiteshields, trusting that their courage will compensate for lack of experience.[1]
It is often observed that young Whiteshields train more harder and fight more fiercely than many experienced guardsmen. In battle they are driven by a desire to prove their courage and skills that borders on the fanatical. They fight fearlessly in the face of enemies that older and wiser guardsmen would fight with caution. Failure to earn their colors is a terrible blow to a whiteshield - cowardice is unforgivable, and death is deemed preferable than to return home in shame.[1]
Passing from Whiteshield to Guardsman is seen not simply as a promotion, but a changing point in a recruit's life. Only those who have distinguished themselves in battle are allowed to become guardsmen. Some regiments simply require that a whiteshield participate in battle without giving way to fear, while others require them to draw or collect a trophy of war from a foe, be it a banner or even a piece of a slain enemy. They are afterwards considered adults and given the right to wear the regimental symbols on their uniform, and are formally inducted into the Imperial Guard. More important are the unofficial rituals unique to each regiment and culture, which can include tattoos or further tests of courage such as receiving a ritual scar without a cry of pain.[1] Perhaps now reflecting on how lucky they were to survive, the fanatical drive to prove themselves cools and gives way to prudent experience and a more cautious will to survive now that they have earned the right to be guardsmen.[1]
The tradition of Whiteshields is over ten millenia old, going back as far as the Imperial Army of the Great Crusade. The Primarch Leman Russ spoke favorably of them, having fielded them in support of his own Space Wolves during campaigns.
"Only in the Space Marines of the Legiones Astartes are courage and expertise perfectly blended. In other troops they are present in varying degrees and proportions, and many scholars have debated their relative merits. For my own part, I come down on the side of courage. For courage can sometimes make a virtue of inexperience. I myself have commanded Imperial Guard troops whose probitor units have achieved great things, because they were too inexperienced to realise that their goal was impossible." Leman Russ on the military use of Whiteshields, De Natura Belli, Book XIV)[1]
Cadian Whiteshields
In the case of Cadian regiments, Whiteshields are instead members of their Cadia's Youth Armies.[2] They join the Youth Armies at the age of sixteen, however even prior to this all cadians by that age are trained from childhood in the usage of weapons, hand to hand training, vehicle and chemical warfare drills. By the time they are prepared to join, they are eager and rearing for their first battle. Cadian High Command does not carelessly fling these young troops into battle, nor are they offered any special consideration. Instead they fight alongside their older and more experienced comrades. It is estimated that up to half of these inductees survive to claim the rank of guardsman.[3]
Notable Whiteshields
- Sergeant Arminka Lesk
- Yarren - One of three survivors of a Whiteshield unit whose actions repulse an Ork Spearhead. Personally promoted by his Colonel into the regiments esteemed High Eagle warrior lodge.
- Ursarkar E. Creed (formerly) - starting life as an orphan of Kasr Gallan, the young Creed was found wielding a laspistol and holding a copy of De Gloria Macharius. He was adopted by the Cadian 8th regiment, and swiftly rose through the Cadian Whiteshields until he earned a command of his own.[3]
Trivia
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The Juventia of Macragge may represent the Ultramar Auxilia equivalent to the Whiteshields, having a similar purpose and function.
See also
Sources
- 1: Warhammer 40,000 Compendium, pgs. 41 & 44 — Rough Riders and Whiteshields
- 2: Codex: Imperial Guard (3rd Edition, 2nd Codex), pg. 32
- 3: Codex: Astra Militarum (6th Edition) - (Digital EPUB) Raising the Tithe
