Pyran Dragoons
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The Pyran Dragoons Imperial Guard Regiments were founded in M34 as the Tyler Grenadiers as a counter to Chaos incursions following the Sinto Uprising in the Justicar sub-sector. The regiment was finally deposited on Pyran as the war swept into the Armageddon Sector. The regiment broke the main Chaos army and were able to claim Right of Conquest on Pyran. This is the only recorded incidence of Right of Conquest in the Armageddon Sector, a source of great pride for the people of Pyran.[1]
Contents
Overview
Service in the Dragoons is highly determinative of a person's social standing on Pyran, and likewise the regimental hierarchies tend to mirror that of the planet. Officers are drawn almost exclusively from the nobility, although commissions are routinely purchased.[1]
Competition between regimental officers for honours and prestige is fierce; duels are officially prohibited, but are nonetheless a common recourse for settling disputes between officers. Likewise, assassination frequently occurs, to redress real or imagined slights, or simply to remove a rival.[1]
In extremely rare cases a common guardsman with a powerful noble patron may be raised from the ranks to Lieutenant. Whilst this is a great boost to the man and the standing of his house, an officer raised in this manner is subject to snubs and cruelty from his new "peers." Likewise, Pyran Guardsmen prefer their officers to be "gentlemen" and may treat their newly-elevated superiors very poorly. It is not entirely unknown for these newly-promoted officers to meet with "accidents" when they lead their men into combat for the first time.[1]
Pyran officers are often extremely intolerant of other cultures, who have not had the Pyran's schooling in the intricacies of the Pyran honour code. The Pyran regiments as a whole have gained a reputation as arrogant, uncooperative prima donnas.[2]
The rank and file of the Pyran Dragoons are drawn exclusively from the proletarian houses of Pyran. Discipline is harsh and erratic, dispensed largely at the whim of their officers. However the guardsmen of the Pyran Dragoons are also deeply ingrained with the traditions of the regiment, and maintain a strong sense of the regiments' inherent superiority to all other Guard regiments.[1]
Regimental History & Battle Honours
During the Third War for Armageddon, Regiments of the Pyran Dragoons were stationed at Cerbera Base for training where they soon came into conflict with the savage and uncouth Armageddon Ork Hunters. The situation erupted when Ork Hunter Colonel Pertinax, commanding officer of Hell Town, ordered the Dragoons to maintain perimeter positions that the Pyrans viewed as suicidally weak. The subsequent argument between Pertinax and Dragoon Colonel Tannley-Drake could be clearly heard over the whole fortified camp until, finally, the Pyran challenged his counterpart to a duel. The outcome of the duel is unknown and accounts differ as to the winner, but the Dragoons have always maintained that Tannley-Drake drew first blood, allowing his regiment to withdraw with honour to their base around Hive Infernus.[1]
This abandonment lead to a massive Ork assault on Cerbera Base which has become widely known as the Battle of Hell Town. In the aftermath of the battle the Ork Hunters accused the Dragoons of desertion and the two regiments have remained bitter rivals ever since.[1]
The 6th Pyran Dragoons fought alongside the Moebian 55th, a Moebian Regiment, against Aeldari during a war in Megiddio Septima.[3a]
During the Haareus Campaign, seven regiments - including the Moebian Steepleguard and the Pyran Dragoons - defeated a Tau enclave amidst the fire-blasted dunes of Haareus Delta.[3b]
Known Members
Trivia
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- The Pyran Dragoons' appearance is clearly inspired by British Royal Life Guards, the Household Cavalry for the Royal Family.
See also
Sources
- 1: Third War For Armageddon - Imperial Forces: Pyran Dragoons (archived page, last accessed via Wayback Machine 18th February 2023)
- 2: White Dwarf 264 (UK), pgs. 62-65
- 3: Warhammer 40,000: Darktide - In Game Item Description
