Astra Militarum
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Imperial Guard redirects here. For the novels, see Imperial Guard (Novel Series). |
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The Astra Militarum, commonly known in Low Gothic as Imperial Guard, is the primary fighting force of the Imperium of Man, so numerous in size that even the Departmento Munitorum cannot place a figure on the number of Guardsmen under arms at any one time; the lists of new recruits and toll of casualties can run into the millions in a single day.[1] Every single year, trillions of new recruits are tithed into the Guard, giving their commanders a functional infinite source of manpower,[30] with it being said that, if the entirety of the Imperial Guard would form up in a column, it would reach from Terra to Armageddon.[27]
It would be unfeasible trying to put any exact number on the strength of the Guard; however, it is believed that there must be many billions of Guardsmen, divided into millions of regiments. This absolute numeracy provides the Guard with its main power; their ability to deploy in numbers that, eventually, result in victory. Attacking in seemingly endless influxes across battle-zones, charging forth under the cover of massive barrages and delivering massed lasgun volleys, in the Guard the individual Human soldier may appear a lost thing, almost forgotten. Yet the actions of these anonymous soldiers daily decide the fate of worlds. In times of crisis the Imperial Guard will call upon their deadliest of soldiers, whether they are the Imperium's famed Storm Troopers or the regimental elite Kasrkin and Death Korps Grenadiers.[1]
The Guard forms the very backbone of the Imperium; without it, Mankind would surely perish. Whilst regular Guardsmen are hardly the equals of Space Marines, fighting neither with the advantages of genetic enhancement or the most powerful personal weaponry, the Guard possesses the courage and the manpower to face and annihilate the enemies of the Emperor across the galaxy.[2a]
Origins
The Astra Militarum, as the standing Human armed force of the Imperium, can trace its origin back to the days of the Great Crusade, several millennia ago, when it was a somewhat different organisation known as the Imperial Army. Following the events of the Horus Heresy, however, the Imperial Army was split into two organisations; the Astra Militarum, and the Imperial Navy. This was done to prevent the possibility of large-scale rebellions occurring again, as the new regulations ensured that the link between fleet and army was severed.[1a][2b]
Since then, the Imperial Guard has endured the vast majority of the fighting in the Imperium's wars. Defending all fronts simultaneously, the Astra Militarum has crushed rebellions and alien empires alike.[1b]
Structure
The Astra Militarum has numerous subdivisions, most notable of which are the Militarum Vendorum, Militarum Ordinatus, Militarum Auxilla, Militarum Tempestus, Militarum Regimentos, Departmento Tacticae[21a], Militarum Strategos[22], and Astra Militarum Intelligence Service[21b]. In turn, the Astra Militarum is overseen by the Departmento Munitorum's Officio Prefectus (also known as the Commissariat).[10]
The Astra Militarum's fighting forces are organised into largely autonomous regiments. These regiments are raised by the worlds of the Imperium that have been classified as fit for such a purpose. These regiments can be sent anywhere in the galaxy, potentially serving in designated combat-zones for years at a time.[1] It is not considered likely that any Guardsman will return to their world of origin; a fading memory of home is considered one of the average Guardsman's most constant companions.[4] But while Guardsmen likely will never return home, they are often deployed as garrisons on worlds ravaged by war. Should a regiment be the only semblance of Imperial order left on a world after a particularly costly but bravely fought campaign, they may be granted custodianship of the planet as a reward. The officers of such regiments inevitably become wealthy and powerful figures locally, forming a new noble and ruling class. [3h] This Right of Settlement[33] is the closest thing a Guardsmen can ever hope for with regards to retirement.
Whilst individual regiments are commanded by their own officers, when regiments are combined together to form a battlegroup, overall command is often placed with a General Staff specifically created for the purpose by the Departmento Munitorum.[3] Such officers and tacticians are highly trained in their esoteric art of commanding from the rear, and often stand in stark contrast to regimental commanders at the front, who more often than not lead by example.[1]
Command Structure
The Astra Militarum is ultimately run by the Departmento Munitorum, who have three seats on the council of the High Lords of Terra. It provides the daunting task of managing the Astra Militarum's logistics and supplies all its supplies, equipment, training, and also some of the representatives sent to worlds with an Astra Militarum presence. While they do not directly control the prosecution of Imperial military strategy, they have devolved power to different sections of the Imperium, at the planetary level, subsector level and sector level. Each world compares the threat posed to them against a previously defined threat-level and if it is deemed dangerous enough, the threat is passed to the subsector level and troops from surrounding worlds may be mobilised. If the threat increases further a full scale request to the sector level can see hundreds of worlds mobilising and converging on one system or group of systems.[3]
However this process is notoriously slow and inefficient due to the size and scope of the Imperium and its bureaucracy. A plea for aid may not be acted on for months, years, or even decades. As a result, cries for reinforcements can go unheeded for eons and fleets often arrive to find that the planet they were sent to aid has long since been destroyed.[1a][2c]
But should a planet come attack from an enemy and the local Planetary Defence Forces prove insufficient to overcome it, and should the petitions to the Departmento Munitorum for aid go smoothly, the primary response to an attack on an Imperial world will consist of the Imperial Guard. As war descends upon neighbouring systems new regiments will be raised and army groups of many regiments drawn from the resources of nearby planets. When an army is assembled regiments are drawn from many different planets, resulting in a conglomeration of uniforms and combat skills rather than a single homogenous force. Should the initial response not prove decisive enough to defeat the enemy, reinforcements will be drawn from further away and more new regiments will be raised to replace their losses. The ponderous process repeats itself until the enemy is grounded down and destroyed in what is often a grueling war of attrition.[2h]
Regimental Structure
The regiment is the primary unit of the Astra Militarum. Recruited from a single planet at a single raising of the Imperial Tithe, it is founded as a complete entity, complete with its own officer, supply, and support cadres. It should be noted however, that like most everything else in the Guard, the precise details of even these essential elements can vary widely from world to world. Whilst the majority of the regiment, even the non-combatant personnel, will come from their founding world, the Commissars assigned to it are always off-worlders.[3] A regiment at full-strength can consist of tens of thousands[30] or even hundreds of thousands of personnel.[2h] Regiments based around a more specific niche such as Super-Heavy Tanks are usually smaller, such as the Vostroyan Armoured 24th that numbers only 1,500 tank crew and support personnel operating around a dozen Baneblades and Shadowswords.[2h]
Regiments are typically divided into several Companies according to a set of templates detailed in the Tactica Imperialis. The number of companies in a regiment depends upon the type and size of the forces at the commander's disposal, but may consist of as few as three or as many as twenty. Companies are further organized into Platoons, which are further divided into ten-man infantry squads. Support units, such as heavy weapons units, specialists, vehicles, artillery, and Abhumans may be attached to a company for a single battle or an entire campaign. However they are rarely permanent additions to a Regiment and are attached as needed by commanders. It is common practice, especially in armoured and artillery regiments, to break down several companies and attach them to infantry forces in exchange for platoons to provide close support from attentions of the enemy. If serving together for extended durations, attached units tend to adopt their foster-regiment's uniform and unit markings.[2h]
An Astra Militarum regiment is essentially a temporary unit, unlike the Space Marine chapters. After being formed they normally receive no further reinforcements. It is rarely practical for regiments to receive new recruits from their homeworlds to replace casualties, mainly due to the immense distances between a regiment's homeworld and its posting. The costs, risks, and time-lag difficulties involved in transporting relatively few soldiers to reinforce their brethren rarely justify themselves, especially when alternate and more efficient means of reinforcement tend to exist. If on garrison or outpost duty, an Astra Militarum regiment may be able to recruit from the local population. If on active combat duty, two or more under-strength regiments may be merged together in order to create a new regiment at full strength.[5] This can result in regiments being bolstered by troopers from their own homeworld, such as in the case of the Valhallan 597th Ice Warriors[6], or can result in a true mongrel unit, with the Guardsmen included coming from several different worlds (such as the Tanith First and Only).[7]
If any regiment survives for long enough, it can eventually receive reinforcement from children born to the Guardsmen who have been raised inside the regiment and can normally be expected to join it upon reaching the required age. These new recruits, officially designated as "probiters", but more commonly called Whiteshields, are formed into their own platoons where they receive their latter combat training by taking part in actual combat, until they are ready to join the regiment as Guardsmen proper.[5]
One known notable exception to this reinforcement rule is that of Vostroyan Firstborn regiments; due to the peculiar background of the Vostroyans, their Guard regiments are reinforced in the field by new recruits sent out by their homeworld, despite the difficulties involved.[8]
When reinforcement does not occur, for whatever reason, regiments may find themselves gradually depleted through casualties until they are destroyed in battle or mustered out for meritorious service. The former incidence is much more likely to occur than the latter.[5]
Recruitment
Many of the new recruits inducted into newly raised Imperial Guard regiments will already have some modicum of fighting ability. They are often taken from their homeworlds own Planetary Defence Forces, where the visiting Administratum officials there for the Imperial Tithe commonly take 10% of the local forces strength for service in the Imperial Guard.[10f] Others come from savage Hive Worlds where only gang warfare is commonplace and only the strongest survive. More may come from medieval Feudal Worlds where they have taken part in tribal conflicts while others may have learned to survive the harsh conditions of their native Death World. In any case, upon being recruited via the Imperial Tithe, Guardsmen will receive intensive training that tempers their natural and native fighting skills and forges them into worthy soldiers. This often involves heavy indoctrination with regards to the Imperial Cult and regular screenings by Commissars.[2h]
After being raised, the regiment is shipped to its posting; they receive their training on Imperial Navy vessels during the often lengthy interstellar voyage. Their posting can be directly into the heart of a warzone, or it may be to garrison or outpost duty.[2h]
Due to the myriad threats and unending wars facing the Imperium, even the gargantuan Imperial Guard finds itself frequently the victim of critical manpower shortages and a heavily overworked General Staff. As a result, mass conscription on such a scale that entire Hive cities are emptied to fuel war efforts are known to occur, especially in light of the formation of the Great Rift.[31a] Unlike the Guardsmen recruited through routine tithes, these hastily assembled conscripts often only have the barest training and equipment.[2j]
The Regiments of the Astra Militarum
There are countless thousands of regiments spread throughout the galaxy. Some are garrisoning worlds, others are part of campaigns or crusades and some have even been forgotten about by the Departmento Munitorum and Administratum. As such there has never been and never will be an absolutely complete list of regiments available for combat.[Needs Citation]
Some of the most notable regiments include:
- Armageddon Steel Legion[10b]
- Attilan Rough Riders[10b]
- Cadian Shock Troopers[10b]
- Catachan Jungle Fighters[10b]
- Death Korps of Krieg[10b]
- Elysian Drop Troops[10b]
- Mordian Iron Guard[10b]
- Tallarn Desert Raiders[10b]
- Tanith First and Only[10b]
- Valhallan Ice Warriors[10b]
- Vostroyan Firstborn[10b]
Other, lesser known, regiments are:
- 13th Penal Legion[2d]
- Athonian Tunnel Rats[13a]
- Faeburn Vanquishers[13a]
- Harakoni Warhawks[2d]
- Indigan Praefects[13a]
- Kanak Skull Takers[3a]
- Mordant Acid Dogs[13a]
- Miasman Redcowls[13a]
- Praetorian Guard[14]
- Savlar Chem Dogs[3a]
- Terrax Guard[3a]
- Truskan Snowhounds[13a]
- Ventrillian Nobles[13a]
- Vresh Grenadiers[13a]
Heroes of the Astra Militarum
Certain members of regiments have become famous throughout a region, or sometimes the entire Imperium. They are often the officers or commanders rather than individual guardsmen and they are remembered as saviours of humanity, seen spreading the light of the Emperor far and wide, or protecting it from the ravages of Xenos, mutants and heretics. Some of these figures are listed below.
- Lord Commander Solar Macharius[2f]
- Lord Commander Solar Arcadian Leontus
- Warmaster Macaroth[17]
- Warmaster Slaydo[17]
- Lord Castellan Ursarkar E. Creed[2e]
- Lord Castellan Ursula Creed
- Lord Marshal Varnan Dreir[29]
- Commissar Sebastian Yarrick[2e]
- Commissar Ciaphas Cain[18]
- Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt[17]
- Commander Kubrik Chenkov[2e]
- Commissar Severina Raine
- Colonel Schaeffer[2g]
- Colonel 'Iron Hand' Straken[2e]
- Captain Al'rahem[2e]
- Captain Mogul Kamir[2e]
- Tank Commander Pask[2e]
- Gunnery Sergeant Harker[2e]
- Colour Sergeant Jarran Kell[2e]
- Sergeant Lukas Bastonne[2e]
- Conscript Minka Lesk[20]
- Nork Deddog - Catachan Ogryn commander and legendary bodyguard[2e]
- Sly Marbo - Catachan sniper known as the One Man Army[2e]
- Stumper Muckstart - Ratling sharpshooter[12b]
- Ollanius Pius - Patron saint of the Astra Militarum[19]
Equipment
The Imperium's superstitious nature and mistrust of technological innovation has long precluded the development of new weapons. Even the slightest technological alteration in the manufacturing process in a gun or blade can invite the ire of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Some vehicle designs, such as the Leman Russ Battle Tank, are scarcely younger than the Imperium itself and have been in service for 10,000 years.[32] Thus the Astra Militarum are reliant on a suite of weapons that have served Humanity for many millennia and often appear archaic in design when compared to other armies.[31b] But while the Astra Militarum relies on relatively simple fuel-fed tracked armoured vehicles such as the Chimera and its many variants, these ancient patterns are nonetheless highly reliable, simple to manufacture, and able to be effectively used in nearly any environment.[2i]
The armoury of the Astra Militarum is vast and covers many aspects of the equipment necessary for the survival of a fighting force in many different environments. It ranges from portable Vox-casters, communications units, to medals denoting promotion and excellence in battle.[3] Astra Militarum weaponry is produced on a massive level across a wide array of worlds, from simple manufactorums to advanced Forge World facilities based upon ancient STC templates. While varied in vintage and pattern, Astra Militarum weaponry remains broadly similar in overall form and function across the Imperium. The most ubiquitous weapon of the Astra Militarum is the venerable Lasgun, which while cheap and easy to maintain is known for its reliability. However other regiments may use more primitive projectile weapons such as Autoguns.[31b]
There is no standard uniform within the Astra Militarum. Uniform is usually determined by the style of the homeworld an individual regiment was raised from. Troopers from some worlds may go into war in full battle-dress while on others they wear little more than primitive armour and tribal tattoos.[2h]
Doctrine
Despite the technological immensity that the Astra Militarum can deliver to the battlefield, the cold fact of the matter is that the most important resource of the Guard is the seemingly limitless number of bodies it can deploy to contest its objectives - each imperial world is obligated to make available for recruitment 10% of its armed forces per year, and armies may be gathered from a 10,000 light-year radius.[11a] It does not matter the number of casualties it may take to win a battle. The Imperial Guard will devote many thousands of men to overcome a small goal as the Space Marines would devote a few hundred. Obviously, a Guardsman could never possess the battle prowess of a Space Marine, but there are many millions of Guardsmen for just that one Space Marine.[Needs Citation]
The Astra Militarum's countless regiments include all manner of infantry, cavalry - mechanised and mounted alike - artillery, and war engines. Each particular regiment is normally uniform in organisation inside itself, and often seem to specialise in one particular form of war. For instance, light infantry regiments can barely demonstrate any motorised transport and certainly possess no weapons that are not man-portable. In contrast, an artillery regiment contains little else. This ensures that the Imperial Guard are at their strongest when multiple regiments are massed together, and is itself another deliberate structure to ensure that large-scale rebellion by a military commander is difficult to organise.[1]
The war philosophy of the Imperial Guard favours the concept of total war, prosecuting a conflict with the singular objective of defeating the enemy.[28a] In battle, the Imperial Guard favors grinding attritional warfare fought with masses of simple but consistently effective infantry, armoured vehicles, and artillery.[2h]
The Guard is constantly looking for new opportunities to secure victory by advancing both on the theoretical level and at the front. Individual commanders for example need to be aware of the bigger picture for an overall battlefield perspective, allowing them to better perform in their combat tasks by maximising their advantages.[28a] Concepts like fluid field orders and unit-level decision making are also favoured.[28b]
Relics of the Astra Militarum
Due to the organization of the Astra Militarum various wrolds and regiments have their own heirlooms, comparable to the heirlooms owned by each Space Marine Chapters. Nonetheless there are certain rare relics that ware worn or wielded by several different officers, commissars or other individuals of the Imperial Guard.[Needs Citation]
Famous heirlooms include:
- The Blade of Conquest[10d]
- The Dagger of Tu'Sakh[15]
- The Deathmask of Ollanius[10d]
- The Emperor's Benediction[10d]
- Kurov's Aquila[10d]
- The Laurels of Command[10d]
- The Tactical Auto-Reliquary of Tyberius[10d]
- Behemoth Primal
Regiment specific heirlooms include:
- The Armour of Graf Toschenko (Vostroya)[13b]
- Celeritas (Cadia)[16]
- Claw of the Desert Tigers (Tallarn)[13b]
- The Iron Left (Cadia)[16]
- Kabe's Herald (Cadia)[16]
- Mamorph Tuskblade (Catachan)[13b]
- Order of the Iron Star of Mordian (Mordian)[13b]
- Pietrov's MK 45 (Valhalla)[13b]
- Relic of Lost Cadia (Cadia)[Needs Citation]
- Skull Mask of Acheron (Armageddon)[13b]
- The Standard of the Lost 113th (Cadia)[16]
- Volkov's Cane (Cadia)[16]
- Wrath of Cadia (Cadia)[16]
Development History
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The Astra Militarum, originally referred to as the Imperial Army, are first mentioned in 1987's Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader as defensive garrison military force of the Imperium.[24] The first use of the term "Imperial Guard" dates back to White Dwarf #109 in 1989.[25] In 1994 they received their own Codex in the 2nd Edition, which introduced most of their present lore including colorful Regiments such as the Cadian Shock Troopers, Catachan Jungle Fighters, Mordian Iron Guard, Tallarn Desert Raiders, and Valhallan Ice Warriors.[12c] The designation of "Imperial Army" was retconned into referring to the pre-Horus Heresy predecessor of the Imperial Guard.[26]
In the 6th Edition, Games Workshop introduced the term "Astra Militarum" to refer to the Imperial Guard, though this is explained as a High Gothic title and both names continue to be referenced.[10e]
See also
Sources
- 1: Warhammer 40,000 5th Edition Rulebook, [Needs Citation]
- 2: Codex: Imperial Guard (5th Edition):
- 3: Codex: Imperial Guard (3rd Edition, 2nd Codex)[Needs Citation]
- 4: The Killing Ground (Novel), Chapter Twelve
- 5: Warhammer 40,000 Compendium, pg. 44
- 6: Ciaphas Cain (Novel Series)[Needs Citation]
- 7: Gaunt's Ghosts (Novel Series)[Needs Citation]
- 8: Rebel Winter (Novel), [Needs Citation]
- 9: The Art of Warhammer 40,000, pg. 72
- 10: Codex: Astra Militarum (6th Edition) (E-Book) - The Astra Militarum
- 11: Imperial Munitorum Manual:
- 11a: pg. 14
- 12: Codex: Imperial Guard (2nd Edition):
- 13: Codex: Astra Militarum (8th Edition):
- 14: The Thirteenth Black Crusade (Background Book), pg. 91
- 15: Regimental Focus: Armageddon (dead link)
- 16: War Zone Damocles: Mont'ka pg. 167 - Heirlooms of Cadia
- 17: First and Only (Novel) — The Founding (Omnibus), Part Five, Chapter One
- 18: For The Emperor (Novel) – Chapter 1
- 19: Realm of Chaos: The Lost and the Damned, pg. 174
- 20: Warhammer Community: Minka Lesk Charges From Page to Plastic With a Stunning Black Library Miniature (posted 8/3/2023) (last accessed 8/3/2023)
- 21: The Sabbat Worlds Crusade (Background Book)
- 22: The Swords of Calth (Novel) - Chapter 5
- 23: Codex: Astra Militarum (9th Edition) - Cover art
- 24: Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, pgs. 133-134
- 25: White Dwarf 109 (UK), pg. 37
- 26: Collected Visions, pg. 64
- 27: Tactica Imperialis (Background Book), pg. 56
- 28: Straight Silver (Novel) — The Saint (Omnibus):
- 29: Warhammer Community: World Championships Preview – The Death Korps mobilise for all-out war (Posted 22/11/2024) archived page, original link: https://www.warhammer-community.com/en-us/articles/csbikvdh/world-championships-preview-the-death-korps-mobilise-for-all-out-war/ (Posted 22/11/2024)
- 30: Index: Imperium 2 (8th Edition), pg. 6
- 31: Codex: Astra Militarum (10th Edition)
- 32: The Horus Heresy Book Seven, pg. 81
- 33: The Killing Ground (Novel) - Frontspiece
- 34: Warhammer Community: The Making of the New Codex: Tyranids – In the Warhammer Studio’s Own Words (posted 9/8/2023) saved page, original link: https://www.warhammer-community.com/en-gb/articles/rLFGY216/the-making-of-the-new-codex-tyranids-in-the-warhammer-studios-own-words/ (last accessed 22/4/2025)
