Editing Imperial Guard Regiment (section)

== Organization ==

Each planet's regiments are different with a variety of names for commanders and subordinates, but we'll use the modern day system. In general, a commanding officer sits at the top, with a rank of '''colonel''' ''(or the equivalent)'', who is assisted by a command staff. The second-in-command may be titled the "executive officer" and often is a '''major'''.

The Regiment is divided into several companies, the exact number of which depends on the nature of the regiment: 
*Each company is led by a '''captain''' and a command squad and contains two to six Platoons (because a standard 40K army -- which is about the right size for a company -- has between two and six units of Troops)
**Each platoon is led by a '''lieutenant''' and a command squad and has around five, ''(but sometimes more)'' squads of infantry.
***A squad is led by a '''sergeant''' who is sometimes assisted by a '''corporal''' ''(if this is the case, the squad can then be divided into two fireteams)''. Infantry squads nominally contain ten Guardsmen each, though heavy and special weapon squads only have six, and of course numbers can fluctuate as Guardsmen are recruited and killed.

Of course, different types of regiment do things differently but are generally consistent with the levels of authority delegated to their commanders: For example, Armoured Companies still have vehicle squadrons led by sergeants, but with each individual vehicle within the squadron is commanded by a corporal, and thus Armoured Companies have a higher proportion on NCOs compared to standard Infantry Regiments. Meanwhile, Artillery Companies are less likely to have corporals at all.

The ''Uplifting Primer'' does include provisions for other ranks not usually found on the tabletop or encountered in the fluff, which might actually be consistent with their in-universe function: '''lieutenant colonel''' in real-world militaries command battalions of multiple companies which are usually homogeneous in structure, ''(A RL regiment is usually multiple battalions of various compositions, or a single battalion with added support units)'' but in 40k there is very little mention given to battalions with most illustrations of regimental structure simply listing the number and function of its companies. Even 2nd-in-Commands in Imperial Guard regiments appear to hold the rank of '''major''' rather than Lt. colonel, so the rank might only find use in specialist or headquarters units, rather than the typical regimental system.

Further, while the [[Imperial Navy]] uses the rank of '''warrant officer''', the Imperial Guard does not appear to have a standard use for it. This is most likely because a naval starship has a much larger number of men under its command than a regiments does (''tens of thousands as opposed to thousands)'' and also the fact that regiments do not often have a fixed headquarters and have a higher turnover of manpower due to casualties, therefore field commissions directly from sergeant to lieutenant would be more practical than awaiting a newly commissioned officer to arrive from an academy.

That's not to say that senior sergeants cannot be found in staff roles outside of squads, [[Colour Sergeant Jarran Kell|colour sergeants]], [[Gunnery Sergeant "Stonetooth" Harker|gunnery sergeants]] and [[Sergeant Lukas Bastonne|staff sergeants]] are known to exist in-universe but are not mentioned in the ''Primer'', but the factional division of the military into [[Mechanicus|Engineering]], [[Administratum|Adminstration]] or [[Sister Hospitaler|Medical]] branches probably makes such staff appointments less common.

Although the purpose of a RL regimental system is to ensure an unbroken chain-of-command where each trooper has one sergeant who himself has one lieutenant who in turn has one captain and so on, the 40k universe as with most things tends to be almost medieval in its execution: the ''Uplifting Primer'' as well as most fluff on the matter is quite emphatic about when you get issued an order from anyone above you, you comply without question. That attitude may be helpful if you anticipate a high turnover of unit commanders mid-battle ''(this is the Guard, so of course)'' where it becomes impractical to double-check orders with your direct ''(or even intermediate)'' superior, but it would cause nightmares for intelligence and logistics officers trying to keep track of a battlefield when officers subvert the units of their allied commanders, and would probably cause confusion and mixed messages to filter down the chain of command and contribute to even more casualties. ''(this is the Guard, so again, of course)'' The reliability and effectiveness of this system depends on the pre-campaign planning and inter unit training, regiments and their soldiers are told who are their allies, who is in command of their allies, and such stuff, of course this is not always possible, sometimes regiments are newly drawn up and then immediately thrown into a nearby war with only basic training, sometimes they're diverted from one campaign to another, and other times the Munitorum and their allies are just being assholes. Of course, experienced field commanders and strategic officers would encourage policies to make sure they don't end up killing their own allies.

=== Regiment Types ===

To inhibit the spread of [[Chaos]], regiments are usually confined to a single specialization each -- that way, even if an entire regiment falls to Chaos, it will be severely restricted in its tactical options, making it easier for loyalist regiments (who have enough different specializations to complement each other) to put it down. Planets can produce very specifically tasked units like the [[Armageddon Ork Hunters]], but these are a minority. The standard specializations are:
* '''Armoured'''. Armoured regiments supply the tanks to a war effort. They may operate as a single force if there is a single, massive target to be destroyed, or if the war is being fought on multiple fronts (e.g. urban warfare), they may be split up to support infantry units or crack vital enemy defense lines. The Minervan Tank Legions are an example of armoured regiments.
* '''Artillery'''. Artillery regiments have ALL the big guns. They are deployed whole for massive sieges or defensive actions, often with siege infantry regiments to create defenses and trenches; for a more mobile siege, they may be parceled out into batteries that accompany infantry regiments.
* '''Drop infantry'''. Drop infantry are space paratroopers -- they drop onto enemy weak points for surprise attacks. Unfortunately, this limits the heavy firepower available to them, as artillery pieces and tanks can't be carried by [[Valkyrie]]s. The [[Elysian Drop Troops]] are an example of drop infantry regiments.
* '''Light infantry'''. Light infantry regiments are frequently used for reconnaissance and stealth work, as they aren't as tied to a supply chain as more mechanized regiments, and are less noisy (again, because of the reduced mechanization and supply chain needs), though they lack the heavy firepower required to do much else. However, when played to their strengths by smart commanders light infantry can kick ''all'' the ass, as demonstrated by the [[Tanith First (And Only)|Tanith First]].
* '''Line infantry'''. Line infantry regiments supply the raw manpower that is emblematic of the Imperial Guard.
* '''Mechanized infantry'''. Mechanized infantry regiments are probably the closest thing to an all-rounder combined-arms force that the Imperium has. Mechanized regiments generally give each squad their own [[Chimera Transport|Chimera]], and often receive detachments of tanks from armored regiments working in the same theater for some extra punch -- or, if there aren't enough Chimeras available to justify keeping them all in one place, they may be split up into "Armoured Fist" squads and given to armored regiments to hold objectives, or infantry regiments who need an armored spearhead. The Steel Legions of Armageddon are an example of mechanized infantry regiment. While sources may vary elsewhere, the [[Ciaphas Cain]] books give us a number of about 3,000 men in a typical regiment.
* '''Siege infantry'''. Siege infantry regiments are similar to line infantry, in that they have lots of men, but they receive extra training in construction of fortifications, trenches, and defense lines, and are usually disciplined and trained to fight and die over the course of months or years for even a few yards of advance. The [[Death Korps of Krieg]] are an example of siege infantry regiments.

The aforementioned restrictions on regiments means that they are not very useful on their own, so there is also a super-regimental command structure used for campaigns.
*Regiments that complement each other in a useful way can be combined into a ''battlegroup'' commanded by a '''General''', 
**Several battlegroups on the same front will be overseen by a '''Lord General'''
***...who will in turn answer to the '''Lord General Militant''' of the sector or campaign in question. 
****Above these are the '''Lord Commanders''' for each of the five Segmenta of the galaxy, 
*****At the very top is the '''Lord Commander Militant''' the leader of the entire [[Imperial Guard]] and one of the [[High Lords of Terra]].
<gallery>
File:Guard Regiments 1.jpg|The variety of Imperial Guard regiments is enormous, with thirty-nine different examples on this page alone.
File:Guard Regiments 2.jpg|This one shows rough-riders and tank regiments.
</gallery>