ARMOURED COMPANIES IN BATTLE
Armoured Companies of the Imperial Guard are renowned for the speed and ferocity of their assaults, smashing through enemy positions with the thunder of their armoured vehicles. Their deployment is not undertaken lightly, for it is a logistical nightmare to coordinate so many vehicles together with their associated materiel. Ammunition, fuel, food, water and all manner of sundries are consumed at a frightening rate by an Armoured company. Whole convoys of fuel trucks follow in the wake of the company too, which in turn need to be guarded and fuelled, generating even longer supply chains.
When the full might of an Armoured company is unleashed there is little that can stand against it. Dozens of tanks roar forwards, their tracks churning the ground and cannons firing with the sound of thunder. The very earth trembles as these iron leviathans attack and only the most determined or foolish enemy will dare to stand against them. In the wake of the blitz of an Armoured company's attack come the Infantry companies, but there is usually very little for them to do but mop up the scattered remnants of broken, terrorised enemy soldiers. The terror of an entire company of tanks crashing through a position should not be underestimated and many foes have had cause to rue the day they overestimated their ability to hold off the Armoured Companies of the Imperial Guard. Ironically, despite being capable of such awesome destruction, Armoured companies are unsuited for holding the ground they capture, relying on infantry to consolidate their gains. While Armoured companies are an extremely powerful shock force in battle, they rely (however much their commanders might disagree) on supporting units of artillery and infantry to operate at their most effective.
As well as spearheading assaults Armoured companies are also particularly effective as mobile reserves, breaking up enemy offensives that have burst through friendly forces. Enemy troops and armoured fighting vehicles that have battled through a first line of defence are typically disorganised and scattered – easy prey for a concerted counter-attack. An Armoured company's speed allows it to react rapidly to the changing fortunes of the battlefield and often the sudden arrival of squadrons of heavy armour has turned retreat into attack. Such dramatic operations produce a different breed of Guard officer, one more used to flamboyant displays of heroism than the drudgery of common footsloggers. Used to the protection of several tonnes of steel and armaplas, many officers are prone to wilder excesses of courage than those who know that only a few thin layers of ablative material stand between them and death.
TACTICS OF ARMOURED COMPANIES
Armoured companies do not see action as much as infantry units. Infantry can be used in virtually any terrain, can be used to police rebellious populations, perform more menial digging and entrenching and provide garrisons on backwater worlds. Whilst an Armoured company can be used in this way, the crews shouldering their lasguns and acting as improvised infantry, it is far from ideal. Their real role and best use is in major campaigns where their ability to deliver battle-winning attacks is legendary.
ARMOURED COMPANY SPEARHEADS
Because the Imperial Guard as a whole is operationally quite slow it is sometimes advantageous for their advance to be spearheaded by Armoured companies. In this role they advance ahead of the main army in tight formations, often supported by Sentinel squadrons seconded from reconnaissance units. These formations will advance at maximum speed, cutting holes in the enemy formations before pressing on without pause to isolate pockets of resistance which can then be mopped up by the more conventional Imperial Guard units advancing behind them. Massed armour is almost impossible to stop without the enemy committing their own mobile forces, thereby allowing the Imperial Guard to seize the initiative and force the enemy to fight a battle of attrition.
This approach is most effective when the line of attack is aimed at weak points in the enemy line. Overall the objective is not to destroy the enemy by direct action but to fragment them and get the Armoured companies amongst second line formations disrupting supplies and overrunning depots.
The key to success is how well the tanks are supported; lack of fuel and ammunition will often halt their advance long before the enemy are able to do so and counter-attacks launched against the sides of the line of march will drain the Armoured company's strength and may cut them off entirely.
GRAND ASSAULTS
Often the Imperial Guard will be fighting on battlefronts stretching hundreds of miles. The lethality of 41st millennium weaponry makes constant attack very expensive in lives and even the Imperial Guard cannot simply throw men away attacking strongly held positions. The tank charge will be supported by a general advance of all army elements. Light artillery, such as man-portable mortars, can continue to fire as the Armoured company moves forward as, even if they are not on target, their shells cannot harm the tanks. With the main defensive line overthrown, the Armoured companies will often revert to individual spearheads before moving on to secondary objectives.
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