Born soldiers, the Shock Troops of Cadia are trained for military service from the moment they can hold a rifle. Long years of rigorous firing drills have forged them into expert sharpshooters, skilled in both dogged defence and storming assault. Cadian Shock Troops are held by many as the ideal Imperial soldiers – with countless regiments mustered in their image.
Arcadian Leontus is the Lord Commander Solar of the Astra Militarum, wielding vast armies against apocalyptic invasions, sector-wide insurgencies, and even distant campaigns beyond the Segmentum Solar. A master tactician and peerless scholar of military history, he is guided in his strategic decisions by an entourage of seers, advisors, and priests. On the battlefield, the Lord Solar strikes a figure akin to the heroes of old atop his cybernetic stallion, Konstantin. Levelling his blade at the foe, Leontus bellows orders that see the dutiful soldiers of the Imperial Guard achieve victory after victory.
The empyrically attuned minds of Primaris Psykers are steeled against the manifold dangers risked by unsanctioned wielders of the warp's power. These battle-trained psykers support the Astra Militarum's soldiers with eerie prognostication, wards against enemy witchcraft, and tempests of their own psychic might. Though rarely trusted by their peers, few generals would go to battle without a psyker's aid.
Ordnance Teams crew some of the largest human-portable weapons fielded by the Astra Militarum. From bombast field guns that lob heavy shells over buildings and intervening squads, to the barrage of warheads fired from malleus rocket launchers, or the searing energy lances unleashed by heavy lascannons, these Field Ordnance Batteries are powerful assets to any general.
Considering the country’s location and involvement in major European conflicts for centuries, Polish officers came from a society that valued a proud military tradition. After the end of World War I, having freshly wrested its independence from neighboring powers, Poland was in a state of almost constant conflict. Most of the officers in Poland’s military were experienced and capable leaders.
Despite facing the double invasion of their homeland in 1939 by both Germany and the Soviet Union, the vastly outnumbered Polish military fought with bravery and tenacity. The Polish army in 1939 was large, well-officered and relatively well-equipped. It fought hard, but was entirely outmanoeuvred by fast-moving German armoured thrusts supported by all arms in a new dynamic style of war that a largely foot-slogging Polish army could not match. When the Soviets joined the fight and also invaded Poland, bisecting the country, it was too much for an already over-extended army short of armour and air support to hold out against – the end was inevitable.
Led by the irrepressible Colonel-Commissar Ibram Gaunt, the Tanith First and Only are a reconnaissance regiment without peer in the Astra Militarum. So named for being the only survivors of their ill-fated homeworld, the soldiers who became known as Gaunt's Ghosts are expert woodsmen marked by their distinctive camouflage cloaks, which allow them to perform feats of incredible stealth worthy of their moniker.
The Valkyrie Assault Carrier is a twin-engine attack craft used for aerial insertions and drop missions. Screaming across a battlefield, a Valkyrie aircraft deploys its cargo into the fray, providing a deadly torrent of covering fire as the troopers within disembark.
The Hydra Flak Tank is equipped to blow aerial foes out of the sky. Armed with twin-lined Hydra autocannons and a predictive logic-spirit, few airborne foes could survive the howling onslaught of the Hydra’s firepower.
The abhumans known as Bullgryns are a formidable sight to behold. Clad in custom-made carapace armour made from the discarded tracks of a Leman Russ, they carry crude assault weaponry that capitalises on their stature and resilience.
The Chimera is the Imperial Guard's most commonly used armoured troop carrier. These ubiquitous vehicles are extremely durable and practical, capable of mounting an array of support weapons and protecting embarked Infantry Squads from all but the most destructive of onslaughts.
Though much of an infantry regiment is made up of rank-and-file Guardsmen, those soldiers with an affinity for bulky and more complicated weaponry are often gathered together within a dedicated heavy weapons company.