What is the size of an Imperial Guard Regiment?

[Manius]

In the Tanith books, its implied that Tanith is quite a poor planet, mainly agricultural in nature but I believe the Tanith 1st was to be in excess of 5,000 fighting men.

However, in the Cain books we’re told that the regiments he serves with are only about 1,000 and these come from far more established and prosperous worlds.

If you think about our world being an imperial world…now…and from all the fighting men and women there had to be a “founding” can you imagine the numbers that could be provided? I would envisage that a million wouldn’t be an unattainable number and wouldn’t deplete the armed forces of the world too much.

Foundings don’t happen every year, perhaps once every ten years or when a crusade is needed so plenty of time to retrain and recruit on a planet.

So, are these variances due to inconsistency from the novelists and if they are why are the numbers, as I see them, consistently “low”?

[roguesword]

Because at a founding multiple regiemts are drawn up? ITs been a long time since I read Ghostmaker but i seem to remember multiple regiments being on the founding fields and the survivors being amalgamated into what was left of the first.

Even if I imagined that, it would make sense.

As regards different regiment sizes, a size of a regiment would deplete over time and in an organisation as large as the Imperium I cant really imagine a 'standard' draft size.

[Gor/Strauss]

Regiments vary in size across the Imperium from world to world.

[john]

In the Eisenhorn book "Xenos" the world he is on is having a founding in excess of a million men (I forget the exact number) it may have been as high as 10 mill, no information on regiment size though.
I would think that regiment size would be based entirely on local tradition so 1 regiment from hive world "poop" has 1000 men per regiment (and 50 regiments) and World "smeg" might have 10000 (and 5 regiments).

[Cadet Commissar]

In the Tanith books they frequently say that their were supposed to be 3 regiments, and if you think that they were also bolstered from Vervunhive, id say their would be about !000 men per tanith reg, but in Necropilis dont they mention that the Blue Bloods have several thousands?

Going on that I'd agree that the number varies from world to world. But Id say that it is consistantly low because, even with the "Nameless Billions of souls at the imperial guards disposal" the wrighters need to draw ideas from the past, and most units in history were sub 1K strong.

[L/Cpl Elliott]

Imperial Guard Codex pgs 10-11.

Cadian 8th rgt.

"Shown here are 12 companies (almost 4000 men) of the 8th cadian...Roughly half the regiment is present..."

Which would mean a strength of 8000 men for the regiment.

In the Cain books, the Slate of Organisation and Equipment is metioned, which apparrently allows for 2 to 6 companies, each consisting of between 2 and 6 platoons, each of 2 to 6 squads + 1 command group.

The Valhallan 597th is 5 companies, each of 5 platoons, each of 5 squads. This allows for space to fill with new recruits if the number they should recieve exceeds their casualties since their last replenishing of troops.



As far as I am concerned, 2 to 6 companies makes sense, as everything else is 2 to 6. Anything else is just a lack of continuity.


Although, isn't this all just academic? I mean are any of you going to try and make a whole guard rgt? Even in Epic scale that would be ridiculous (believe me, I have 4 platoons of infantry, and they took ages).

[Gor/Strauss]

But that's just Cadia!

Tactica Imperialis dictates that trying to pin down a specific size is futile given the nature of the Imperium. Every planet will have a slightly different notion of what makes a regiment..including composition and numbers. It's all relative

[Cadet Commissar]

May 16, 2008 20:15:52 GMT L/Cpl Elliott said:

............. I mean are any of you going to try and make a whole guard rgt? Even in Epic scale that would be ridiculous (believe me, I have 4 platoons of infantry, and they took ages).

Erm, yes basically. OK, So Im a madman.

[Manius]

I’ve done it before as well, in the good old days of Epic, I had a full Imperial Guard Regiment (as well as a full Space Marine Chapter):

Approx 5,000 infantry
Some 300 tanks of various types
Rough Riders
Bikers
Speeders
Walkers
Robots even!

This was the old days where the rules used a proper regimental structure – i.e. you needed “X” number of infantry before you could have “X” number of support squadrons of tanks.

I have to admit my painting wasn’t exacting but it worked – spray painted a dark colour as a base coat (colour was a darker version of the finishing colour) then lightly sprayed from approx 45 degrees above and front of the models in the lighter colour to provide the finishing colour but allowing the darker colour to remain as shadow/highlighting.

Command units got finished by hand with a dry brush.

Bases were then finished by hand and flocked – this wasn’t as bad as it sounds as if I used the right thickness of brush I could just rush through them.

Again, command units got more attention to the bases with not only flock but rocks, bushes (moss) etc.

...I dunno, kids today...no patience lol!

[Cadet Commissar]

Ahh, yes Chapers of marines, they were fun, complete with thunderhawk's and attendent Titans, Guard and Thunderbolts.

I dont think i even went to the effort of you though manius, spray the bases on the sprues, PVA the marines to long strips of card, and 2 coats of red spray (They were blood angles) and then assemble them all once the paint was dry.

The trouble with EPIC was that even with rush jobs, it still took ages because of the amount of care you have to take working with smalll figs.

[cybersoldier]

Un the Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer mentions that the term regiment is very subjective some worlds go to war in Cohorts, Tertios and Hoards. Also that a regiment may have a number of Battalions anywhere from 1-10.

[Manius]

May 26, 2008 19:30:28 GMT Cadet Commissar said:

Ahh, yes Chapers of marines, they were fun, complete with thunderhawk's and attendent Titans, Guard and Thunderbolts.

I dont think i even went to the effort of you though manius, spray the bases on the sprues, PVA the marines to long strips of card, and 2 coats of red spray (They were blood angles) and then assemble them all once the paint was dry.

The trouble with EPIC was that even with rush jobs, it still took ages because of the amount of care you have to take working with smalll figs.

I found the figures wouldn't fit in the bases if I sprayed them first, hard enough it I didn't!

I also never bothered fitting them to card....I don't recall the game permitting such a blanket formation/damage control thing??

Different rule sets. I played this...ohhh...gosh...erm...mid to late 80's?? The "good" rules as I see them. *wink*

[Cadet Commissar]

I only fitted them to card to do the painting, a dab of PVA on the base for the spraying, A big long strip about a foot long would hold a fair few pounds worth.

After the base was sprayed their would be slightly too tight but I just pushed the figs down with a knife or needle nosed pliers.

I was playing epic around mid 1990's. The rules were OK, but by no means perfect.

[wowposter]

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