INTRODUCTION

The Imperial Guard is a massive organisation, drawn from a million different worlds and brought together by the Departmento Munitorum through a rigorously enforced, but incredibly arcane, system of tithes. Most of the regiments raised for service in the Imperial Guard are infantry, which is not surprising as the one resource the Imperium has in abundance is manpower. However, while the Imperial Guard is rightly regarded as a ponderous organisation which specialises in delivering bludgeoning hammer blows to an enemy rather than the decisive rapier-thrusts of the Adeptus Astartes, it still needs a way of breaking through defensive lines and taking the battle to the enemy.

Armoured regiments are the assault arm of the Imperial Guard. Raised on industrialised worlds and equipped with unsophisticated but rugged vehicles, they have been the weapon of choice for Imperial Guard generals for as long as the Imperium has stood. An Armoured regiment consists of several companies; normally there will be at least three but some regiments boast over a dozen. Because of the sheer power of tanks in action, Armoured regiments normally split into their constituent companies in battle. A company of tanks can be allocated to an Infantry Regiment to provide close support or conversely operate on its own, supported in some cases by troops detached from Infantry regiments in the same army.

It is rare for tanks and infantry to be officially part of the same regiment but once intermixed to fight it is common for secondments to become permanent, at least for the duration of a war or crusade. But in all practical cases the Armoured company is the level of tank formation most commonly encountered, whether admixed with other elements or not.

An Armoured company will always have a commander operating either alone in his own tank or supported by an HQ squadron of one or two more tanks. The Leman Russ Vanquisher is a popular choice as command tank as its long-barrelled battle cannon is especially effective in the hands of a Veteran crew. The company will consist of three to six squadrons of tanks, each squadron having a command tank, and one to two other tanks. These will most commonly be Leman Russ tanks although Demolishers, Hellhounds and Chimeras can also be pressed into service.

SUPPORT UNITS

Whilst the formal organisation of Armoured companies contains only tanks, some cross-attaching of units is common. This is not based on any standard practice formalised in Imperial Guard manuals, but is instead either improvised by experienced commanders or undertaken as a necessity of battle.

The most common attachments are infantry from Steel Legion-style formations. (The Steel Legions are specifically an Armageddon unit, but the term is used more widely to describe infantry units entirely mounted in Chimera transports). The Chimeras enable the infantry not only to keep up with the tanks, but to add significantly to an Armoured company's firepower. The infantry are invaluable in dense terrain where the risk of assault by enemy infantry is at its highest. Despite their power, tanks are vulnerable to attack by determined infantry. Eldar haywire grenades and Ork super-stikkbomz are both capable of defeating the most powerful armour and the threat alone will drastically slow armoured operations if there are no infantry supporting them.

When it comes to reconnaissance Imperial tanks are too large and noisy to perform the job well. To fill this niche Armoured companies are commonly assigned squadrons of Sentinel walkers. The Sentinel is the workhorse of virtually every Imperial Guard formation and it is the exception to the rule that all Armoured companies include only tanks. Armoured company commanders are always enthusiastic to secure Sentinel support and when they get it will do anything to avoid letting it go. The Sentinel has such excellent all-round capabilities that a tank formation acting independently is hamstrung without them. They excel at sniffing out the enemy, and, having located them, are sufficiently well armed to support the tanks in the ensuing battle. Broadly speaking they are used in two roles: pure reconnaissance as described above and as tank hunters. While the Armoured company's tanks roar forward Sentinels can occupy concealing terrain and fire accurately with their lascannons in support. Their flimsy armour is less of a disadvantage when the enemy's attention is fixed on the near-invulnerable Leman Russ. The other advantage of Sentinels is that they can go virtually anywhere an infantryman can go and still take their heavy firepower with them. They can find routes through difficult terrain for the tanks to follow and give a commander a means of finishing off an enemy when the tanks' firepower drives them deep into a wood or town.

Finally it is possible that artillery units will be assigned to an Armoured company. This is actually very rare as artillery is at its best when set up a good distance from the enemy lines and is able to remain static and bombard continually. This method of fighting is diametrically opposed to the bludgeoning tactics of the Armoured companies. Sometimes the artillery is transferred to act as improvised tanks to swell numbers; at other times they are there because formations merge in the heat of battle without any real tactical reason. In either case, Griffons and Basilisks are not entirely at home in Armoured companies and will often find themselves doing jobs they would not normally be expected to do. In the scourging of Ynthel in M38.889 Griffons with dozer blades were used by the Narmenian Armoured companies to clear enemy earthworks while the tanks provided covering fire, and during the fighting against Waaagh! Drojock in M40.472, Basilisks with armoured crew compartments served alongside the Antroch Lancers as battle tanks while storming the Vannen River fords. On other occasions the artillery have served to spread incoming fire more thinly and reduce the chances of the fighting tanks being damaged.

An Armoured company's support vehicles, ammo carriers, fuel trucks and the like, will normally be provided for a campaign by the Departmento Munitorum. Each squadron can contain a mix of vehicles, but the newer the regiment, the more likely they are to be the same. These lightly armed but very valuable vehicles will never be risked in combat if possible. Their crews are not combat-hardened and are made up of men who can only be trusted to labour rather than fight.

When units are assigned to support the Armoured company from other formations, such as infantry or artillery, they are assigned to either a company commander or a squadron commander. This keeps the internal organisation of the Armoured company constant and avoids confusing battlefield command with additional sub-units. It is acknowledged that tank commanders do not always know what is best for their support units so a degree of autonomy is acceptable. The sergeants of Armoured Fist units, for example, quickly learn what is needed of them and do not wait for an order to intercept enemy infantry.

Next: Armoured Companies In Battle