All dread the coming of the Blades of Khorne – an unholy alliance of mortals and daemons for whom war is an act of worship. These maddened warbands leave no survivors in their wake, making them instead an offering to their bloodthirsty god. In return, Khorne grants them strength and resilience so that they may reap even more skulls for his Skull Throne.
Realmgore Ritualists curse both the enemies of Khorne and the land itself. These bloody-handed mystagogues lay blasphemous hexes upon the foe to sap their strength, and carve bleeding runes into the very earth, invoking gorey miracles and auras of rage that drive their allies to commit relentless acts of sacred violence.
Howling like maddened beasts, the Blades of Khorne hurl themselves upon their prey. These savage killers seek to honour the Blood God by drowning the Mortal Realms in a tide of gore. Armies of scarred and wild-eyed mortals fight alongside daemons born of primal fury, surging forth as one vast and unstoppable red tide. Those in the path of this calamity are swiftly hacked and hewn apart, their severed heads held aloft as offerings to the Lord of Skulls.
With over 2,100 units made, the Type 97 Chi-Ha medium tank was the second most produced Japanese medium tank of World War II, after the smaller Type 95 Ha-Go. It saw extensive action in the Second Sino Japanese War, the Battles of Khalkhin Gol against the Soviet Union, and throughout World War II.
With Allied bombing and ground campaigns hampering Japanese industry the Emperor’s soldiers learnt to use whatever materials were at hand to face the enemy, as firearms and ammunition became ever more scarce. This would see Japanese soldiers sacrificing themselves with grenades, a courageous last ‘banzai’ charge with swords drawn, or using sharpened lengths of bamboo as makeshift spears.
Japanese paratroopers – Teishin Shudan (raiding group) – proved highly effective in the early years of the war. German successes with paratroops during 1940 encouraged the Japanese to develop their airborne arm as a constituent part of the Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF).
Fanatical loyalty and iron discipline were the core of the Imperial Japanese Army ethos, and although it didn’t have the same level of heavy weaponry and vehicles as their Allied opponents they were well supported by the likes of the Type 92 medium machine gun and Type 97 medium mortar.
The Type 95 Ha-Go light tank was most numerous armoured fighting vehicle fielded by the Japanese during WWII. It also saw action versus the Soviet Union at Khalkhyn Gol in 1939 and during the Sino-Japanese war of 1937-45. It saw action in both Imperial Army and Special Naval Landing Force forces.
Thought of as invincible by the Allied forces in the early stages of World War II, the Japanese soldier was a brave, disciplined, often fanatical, warrior who fought to the death sometimes against overwhelming odds. Conquering all before them and carving out a vast Empire during the opening stages of the war the Imperial Japanese Army were truly a force to be reckoned with.
Due to the deep distrust the Japanese Army and Navy had for each other, joint operations were all but out of the question and the Navy created the Special Naval Landing Forces as a result. First seeing action in 1932 during the 'Shanghai Incident’ of the Sino-Japanese War, the SNLF were highly trained, high quality troops with excellent morale. Each SNLF formation was named after the base in which it as formed.
Bloodthirsters are the mightiest of Khorne’s daemons, the fury of war given terrible form. Every one of these towering beasts is the equal of an entire mortal army.