Jopall Indentured Squadrons
The Jopall Indentured Squadrons (sometimes also written as Jopal Indentured Guard[3] or Jopal Indentured Squadrons[6]) are the Imperial Guard Regiments from the Agri World of Jopall.[2]
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Overview
Jopall is a peaceful agri world in the Armageddon Subsector[5], whose citizens are born in debt to their government. Most citizens of Jopall spend the majority of their adult lives working off the debts they incur during the first part of their lives. There are ways around this punishing system, however; the citizen can either borrow money from the local Lord, or they can work off the debt to the government by joining the Jopall Indentured Squadrons. This system explains why the Jopall are never short of recruits.[2]
Battle Style
The Jopall Indentured Squadrons prefer a defensive style of warfare, committing only at the last moment - a strategy that made them very unpopular with the fanatical Death Korps of Krieg who were stationed aound the perimeters of Hive Tartarus during the Third War for Armageddon while the Jopall units were predominantly stationed in the upper reaches of the Hive, leading to much bad blood between the regiments. The Krieg soldiers were also generally disgusted by the fact that troops from Jopall fight rather to work off their debts than out of sense of duty. Another characteristic of the Jopall regiments the Death Korps found appalling and inefficient was the relaxed attitude to command structure.[2]
Given the unique nature of the regiments raised on Jopall the soldiers are - apart from their marksmanship - also renowned for their greed. During the war on Armageddon an accurate tally of every Ork killed was kept by each individual trooper to later demand recompense. Another outstanding feature is that individuality and commitment is openly encouraged in the Jopall Indentured Squadrons and even rewarded by a small financial recompense. Many more traditional officers however look upon this spontaneous and uncoordinated activity with contempt.[2]
On Armageddon the Indentured Squadrons were noted for their unscrupulous tactics and for making maximum use of local conditions and resources and for assimilating their soldiers into the militia of Hive Tartarus. This enabled them to fight the Orks in rather unconventional yet effective ways such as by poisoning the invaders' water supplies with toxic waste, harrying them incessantly from hidden sniper positions etc.[2]
One example for the infamous guile of the Indentured Squadrons can be found during the siege of Hive Tartarus when a small group of low-ranking Jopall officers were able to isolate an Blood Axes Ork tribe that operated several looted Imperial troop transports. The Jopall troopers masqueraded as liaisons from Herman von Strab's Personal Guard and - without being authorised - negotiated the transfer of three Imperial Basilisks and a considerable amount of artillery shells to a high-ranking Ork Mekboy. The Mek handsomely paid the Jopall troopers for his new artillery pieces, not realizing that the tanks had been rigged with enough plastic explosives to detonate the Basilisks' ammunition supplies when the Mekboy proudly paraded his new toys together with his other units in front of his Warlord, Warboss Morbad. The ensuing explosion and chain reaction destroyed a full sixth of the Orks' artillery while the Jopall officers had safely returned to the Hive. And while they were stripped of their ranks for the voluntary loss of the three Imperial artillery pieces they now belonged to the most popular soldiers in their entire company.[2]
Notable Regiments
- The Jopall 14th Indentured Squadron fought during the Third War for Armageddon at Hive Tartarus[6]
- The Jopall 17th Indentured Squadron are known to have fought in the 13th Black Crusade.[1]
- The Jopall 114th Rifles also fought in the 13th Black Crusade.[1]
Known campaigns
- Third War for Armageddon: primarily stationed Hive Tartarus, the toll the Jopall Indentured Squadrons exacted on the Orks was considered "exceptional".[2] In total 17 battalions took part in the war.[4]
- 13th Black Crusade: Jopall 17th Indentured Squadron[1]
- Orphean War: four regiments were deployed to the Amarah system in 0364992.M41 as part of Militaris Tempestus Battle Group Salvation[3]
See also
Sources
- 1: The 13th Black Crusade (Background Book), p. 91
- 2: Armageddon Imperial Forces - Jopall Indentured Squadrons (Saved archive page, dated Aug 2003, last accessed 7 July 2018)
- 3: Imperial Armour Volume Twelve - The Fall of Orpheus pg. 40
- 4: Codex: Armageddon (3rd Edition), p. 30
- 5: Codex: Armageddon (3rd Edition), p. 5
- 6: Hive Tartarus Sector News (Saved archive page, dated Jan 2006, last accessed 15 March 2019)
