This is one part of a series I hope to make on creating background for one’s army in 40k. I might not restrict myself to 40k, by the way, though I confess I have yet to explore Age of Sigmar that closely, nor do other games, like Infinity or the various Star Wars games, seem to lend themselves to creating individual army backgrounds. Regardless, I hope this is the first article of many.

In this article, I’m going to be looking specifically at the Imperial Guard/Astra Militarum/whatever you prefer to call them. When coming up with a backstory for your IG regiment (assuming you are making your own homegrown regiment instead of using one of GW’s existing units, like the Cadians), obviously you will need to come up with fluff for things like the planet they come from and its society, the regiment’s structure and doctrine, the major characters, etc etc. One essential aspect that binds all of these factors together, however, and can help inform you when writing them, is the name of the regiment. The name is, in many ways, the label on the tin: the first thing that gives clues to  whoever is reading your fluff what the army is about, what they do, what the character of the army is, etc, and in that regard will say a lot about your army.

One thing that I always found interesting about the Guard is their naming structure: while some armies have flashy, dramatic names for their subfactions (ie the various Space Marine chapters and Chaos legions, with names like “Salamanders” or “Night Lords” designed to inspire awe and/or fear), or names that just revolve around the name of a particular planet or family (ie T’au Septs, Eldar Craftworlds, Necron Dynasties), the Imperial Guard have a much more formalized, approach. A regiment’s name is usually the number of the regiment, followed by the name of the world they are from, and the particular name of their fighting force. Hence, you get names like the “12th Cadian Shock Troopers,” the “572nd Krieg Siege Regiment,” etc etc. When coming up with a name for your home-grown Imperial Guard army, it’s not enough to simply come up with a name for their homeworld and call it a day (although naming their planet is always a very important step): you may in fact need to come up with a formal name for the regiment itself. Hopefully, this article will help with that. And as you will hopefully see, the name of your regiment will do a lot to help you fill in the gaps of their background– what kind of world they come from, what their combat doctrine/culture is, etc.

Note: throughout this article I will be referencing actual regiments found on Lexicanum, and providing links where applicable. However, every once in a while I will throw up an example made up by me as well, which I will denote with an asterisk. (*)

One of the simplest ways to name an Imperial Guard regiment is, quite literally, to describe what they do. Quite simply, what type of regiment are they? Are they an airborne regiment, or an armoured division? Get an idea of what your army’s overall theme is– even taking a cue from your army list or collection if need be– and then apply that to your regiment’s name.

Some examples of what they could be:

-Light Infantry

-Rangers (ie light/mobile infantry)

-Paratroopers/Airborne troops
-Artillery
-Armoured Division
-Heavy Infantry/Shock Troopers

-Conscripts/Volunteers/A hastily assembled militia

 

One unique facet of the Imperial Guard is that it includes regiments dedicated to fighting in specific environments. This is because the Imperium features a lot of single-biome planets (whether this is due to it being a big galaxy with limitless environmental possibilities, or lazy writing, is a matter of debate). As such, it is not unheard of or uncommon to have entire regiments that specialise in fighting in specific terrain types

The 41st millennium is a universe drenched in anachronistic antiquity, with futuristic technology juxtaposed at every turn with gothic aesthetics and culture. The Imperium is a setting that features spaceships that look like cathedrals, and knights jousting in giant robots, and fashion, architecure and decoration that ranges from the early twentieth century to medieval times. As such, it makes sense to indulge in that antiquity by using a suitably old, or even ancient name for your regiment. As long as there has been human history, there has been a history of warfare, and that history has produced a long list of military formations and roles across dozens of cultures (as any history buff or Total War aficionado will tell you). By the same token, the Imperium is a huge place with a huge variety of cultures, many of which, conveniently enough, are similar to those of ancient Earth (hence why you end up getting things like Space Vikings and Space Mongols). The Imperium is a huge place with seemingly limitless possibilities in terms of cultural or social divergences, or historical allusions, so your imagination really is the limit.

One good source of inspiration is to simply open a history book (or appropriate Wikipedia article) and find a good name from there. The best part is, given the wide and diverse nature of the Astra Militarum, any era of history is open for you to explore, be it the Napoleonic Wars, the battles of ancient Greece and Rome, the various wars of feudal Japan– the history of the world is your oyster. Going down this route really is, not just a great opportunity to come up with a unique name for your regiment, but to get an idea of what kind of wonderfully weird, historically anachronistic planet they come from.

Some examples of historical units whose names you can steal…er, borrow…include:

–Fusiliers
-Dragoons
–Carabiniers
-Hoplites
-Cataphracts
–Arquebusiers
–Immortals
-Janissaries
-Huscarls
-Shield-Maidens (if you want to go for an all-girl, Norse-themed regiment)
-Lancers
–Voltigeurs
–Jagers
-Minutemen
–Mamelukes
-Hussars (bonus points if they are Winged Hussars)

Notable examples in lore:

–Pyran Dragoons
–Scintillan Fusiliers
-Samothrace Hoplites
–Volscani Cataphracts
-Finrecht Highlanders
-Maccabean Janissaries/Byzant Janizars
-Khulan Huscarls
-Annwyn Errants*
-Midgardia Shieldbearers*
-Theron Companions*

Some military units have culture-specific names, which you can either use in their entirety, or alter somewhat to reflect how that culture has morphed in 40,000 across the stars:

–Knovian Gharkas (which appears to be based on the actual Gurkhas)
-Rudinav Kazaks (made up by me, but based on Russian Cossacks)

 

SOCIAL STATUS/ROLE
Sometimes, Imperial Guard regiments are raised from a particular strata of a world’s society. For instance, in some cases, only the elite and the upper-class of society are inducted into the Guard, and may see such an induction as a privilege of their status. Other times, though, the Guard regiments will be inducted from the lowest of the low, with the poor being drafted up en mass and sent off to foreign battlefields either to pay off their debts, to earn freedom (if their particular world practices slavery), to earn pardons (if they are prisoners, or come from a prison world) or simply because they are deemed expendable by their rulers. In either case, the social status of the regiment would be reflected on their models, with an “aristocratic” regiment getting fancy wargear, uniforms and colours, while a “lower class” regiment would be much more drab in appearance. Either way, in those instances the name of the regiment will indicate their social status.

Notable examples in lore include:

–Jantine Patricians
–Royal Volpone Bluebloods
-Ventrillian Nobles
–Jopall Indentured Squadrons
–Zenonian Free Company
-Bar-el Penal Legions

In other cases, social role need not necessarily be dictated by social class. Sometimes, if a particular industry is dominant on a planet (such as mining, or hunting, or logging, etc), then most if not all of a regiment’s Guardsmen may be recruited from said industry– so, for instance, you could have an entire regiment of miners, or huntsmen, or loggers, or fishermen, etc etc, which might be reflected in the name.

Examples:

-Roane Deepers
-Huntsmen of Araloth*

UNIFORM OR WEAPON
In some cases, you have Guard regiments literally named after their equipment, gear or weapons. This has a historical context, as “the So-And-So Rifles” was a common regiment name used throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, and, given again the antiquarianism of the Imperium, would be an all too suitable name for a quickly-raised, easily deployed regiment of infantry. On the other hand, a regiment could have a distinctive uniform or weapons from which they borrow their name, be it the “RandomPlanet Silver Helms” or the “Nowhereland Axes”, etc. This could also be a great way to tie your regiment name to your army’s appearance, particularly if you have a distinctive paint scheme or modelling theme going on.

Examples:

-Framlingham Rifles
-Miasman Redcowls
–Brontian Longknives
-Greygarden Greatcoats*

BECAUSE IT SOUNDS COOL
In many cases, your regiment’s name doesn’t have to owe anything to its battlefield role, or to military history, or to the society that it came from. Sometimes the simplest way to name your regiment is to answer the question, “What sounds cool?” And that is perfectly acceptable– if it is an awesome sounding name, then don’t worry if no real military unit, past or present, would use it– this is, after all, a big universe, with things that will stretch belief a lot more than an outlandish army name.

Notable examples:

–Mordian Iron Guard
–Armageddon Steel Legion
–Vostroyan Firstborn
–Death Korps of Krieg
–Harakoni Warhawks
-Molech Firescions
–Savlar Chem-Dogs
–Tekarn Iron Fists
-Lattari Gundogs

REGIMENTAL NICKNAME

In some cases, a regiment will have a unique nickname. This nickname can be just about anything, and could come from a wide variety of sources: for instance, the regiment could have an animal that serves as their mascot/totem/etc (ie, “the 23rd Tallarn Desert Tigers”). In other instances, they may be named after a particularly illustrious commander (ie “Mercer’s Marauders”), or after a reputation they have, for better or for worse (ie, “the Ork-Slayers” if they have a high success rate against the Orks, or the “Leadfoots” if they use a lot of tanks…or are just very slow-moving). When in doubt, you could look to real-world examples as well, such as “the Screaming Eagles,” “the Princess Pats,” etc. For further reference, here are some links with examples of famous nicknames in the British,US and Canadian armed forces.

Examples in lore include:

–2nd Catachan “Green Vipers”
-101st Mordant “Lucky 13s”
–9th Necromundan “Spiders”
–Tanith First and Only, “Gaunt’s Ghosts”
-22nd Ketzok “Serpents”
-5th Maccabean “Drusus’ Own”