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Is this abortion of battle strategy and information on the "xenos" considered cannon?

Don't get me wrong, I love the book, it just seems laughable in the grim darkness of 40k.

The canonicity of BL books is currently in discussion in this thread.

That said, please do consider that this is the Imperium we're talking about and that the book is written from an in-universe perspective - and as such consists of at least 50% pure propaganda (such as the xeno "weaknesses" or the stuff about "swimming back aboard" when you get sucked/blown out of a hull breach in space). Whilst I am firmly in the "BL is not canon" faction, I could actually imagine this book being entirely accurate, simply on the basis that the Imperium puts North Korea to shame as far as sugarcoating things for its people is concerned. And the Imperium's population is generally uneducated/devoted/inexperienced enough to believe it.

That's because it's meant to be laughable to us, the omniscient audience.

The IIUP is a piece of propaganda, done "in universe". Most Guardsmen when issued the Primer have had no contact with Xenos.
They don't know that Orks are, in reality, going to be towering over them and poking them with a bayonet.

It's true to what an IG guide book would be like but it's certainly not accurate in its content. Considering most IG won't see combat and that many have no choice but to stay with the IG, the IoM can tell them whatever it likes. Remember we see it from an outside view and so understand why things are the way they are, there are probably IG commanders who realy do believe the uplifting primer since tehy have never had any reason to think otherwise.

I think its brilliant and i never get bored of it
especially the list of things that guardsman can get shot for

Oh, it's very funny, I had just assumed it was a jab at the IoM, and not something they would distribute in universe.

It's actually not terribly different from the propaganda films released to both military and public venues in the years of the First and Second World Wars.

Especially the military ones. The films shown to soldiers to be stationed in Germany, even well into the 1960s, would have them believe that the German people they would be overseeing (during the years of American occupation of Germany) were all secretly hidden Nazis, waiting for a signal (from who is never stated) to alert them that the Reich had come again, at which point they would rise up and attempt to overthrow the Army. It included admonishments to not befriend the German people, don't take one as your girlfriend or wife, and so on and so forth.

its uplifting, its supposed to make a gaurdsman feel like he can step down on some moon, flash light some little orkies, slap a carnifex and go home, and as long as you dont knock off the commissars hat its all ok

I really hate this book. Could have been so, so good.

dave_salmon wrote:I really hate this book. Could have been so, so good.

Why the hate? I find it hilarious, and some sections actually contain some useful things, mostly concerning human physiology and such. At face value, it's a joke book filled to the brim with cheesy propaganda. Fun for all.

Besides that, is there any particular reason you dislike it, other than "It could have been so, so good" That leaves a lot to the imagination as to what your problem is.

The book is an awsome and hilarious.

be sure to get the Imperial Munitorum Manuel too.

Kanluwen wrote:That's because it's meant to be laughable to us, the omniscient audience.

The IIUP is a piece of propaganda, done "in universe". Most Guardsmen when issued the Primer have had no contact with Xenos.
They don't know that Orks are, in reality, going to be towering over them and poking them with a bayonet.

Actually the IIUP is accurate if you're gonna be fighting Grots

It was a bit of silly humor Dave. What's your beef with it?

I love it. Like others have said, it seems ridiculous and funny to us because we know things Guardsmen don't. The average Guardsman doesn't know anything about Orks or Eldar, and generally believes everything his superiors tell him, so they think this book is accurate, and the book is written as a propaganda piece. It's meant to make the Imperium look superior to everything else and reinforce the notion that humanity is top dog.

While I'm sure propaganda is well and good, the IIUP downplays the "bad guys" to a point where it is detrimental to a guardsman's survival. I mean "they (Orks) have great tusks which jut from their mouths, but they are not sharp, and a firm tug will pull them out by the root," There's propaganda, and then there's inspiring idiocy.

But it works,


quite often, the millions of flashlight shots drop the advancing hordes before they get too close to cause damage. and then there are the Lemun Russ companies.


Guardsmen also don't always fight Xenos. they often fight rebellious humans. these probably compromise a sizable proportion of the IG engagements accross the galaxy.

I consider that book a work a propaganda within the 40k universe

look at the name, "the imperial infantryman's UPLIFTING primer"

its supposed to guide them on how to fight and make them feel better the first they fight...lol

It's accurate in that it's a piece of pro-Imperium propaganda, yes. It's not supposed to match the god-like observer's view that we have as the reader-slash-player.

Dual Face wrote:I consider that book a work a propaganda within the 40k universe

look at the name, "the imperial infantryman's UPLIFTING primer"

its supposed to guide them on how to fight and make them feel better the first (and very probably, only) time they fight...lol

Fixed, or rather added...

This booklet is a grat piece of work. It lets you see the general atmosphere of what is to be an grunt in those times.

The best part is how they depict Orks:



Yeah, Orks are a bit bigger then that.

interchangeable if you happen to fight a squat though...

I havent read it yet but from what you guys have said so far I quess it is a guide with propaganda for IG dummies. From my experience with humans I can say that most of them do need such guides. For an example most people do not know how to clench a fist properly... so those explanations may seem stupid to you but they are very helpful to many, many weaklings.

@moon241

It's simply too silly and too cheesy for me to enjoy. I suppose it's my own fault really, I went in to it expecting it to written in a really serious manner, but I couldn't and wouldn't imagine one of the ghosts having this thing for example, simply because of the serious way they are written about (Bat-gak insane 40k universe not withstanding).

I wouldn't mind if it were funny, but it's 9 year old humour to me (Really not trying to look through my nose there) and after genuinely having a proper belly laugh at some of the humour in other books (The Ciaphas books spring to mind) it really irked me for this book to be written in a way which was so obviously a piss take.

I would have preferred the humour to be more subtle, or at the very least not so damn cheese filled.

But, this is my personal opinion, formed after building really high expectations and forming a really specific picture in my head so my disappointment is my own doing.

dave_salmon wrote:@moon241
I went in to it expecting it to written in a really serious manner.

Wouldn't be very uplifting though would it?

I don't think it's meant for veteran regiments that have real combat experience. I could see it being given to fresh recruits who aren't likely to see any real combat.

It's not intended to be a real guide book, it's a propaganda book designed to make IG feel good about themselves.

moom241 wrote:While I'm sure propaganda is well and good, the IIUP downplays the "bad guys" to a point where it is detrimental to a guardsman's survival. I mean "they (Orks) have great tusks which jut from their mouths, but they are not sharp, and a firm tug will pull them out by the root," There's propaganda, and then there's inspiring idiocy.

This is because, (at least if I was in the IG) if I was presented with a book that tells me 'The xenos you are facing are genetically designed for open warfare, are between 6-8ft tall, have the muscle mass of a rhinoceros on steroids and as a matter of course find it rude NOT to rip your head off with one hand, use the other hand to punch you repeatedly in the groin while simultaneously using your neck as a spittoon' I would probably knock the commisars hat off on purpose.

The IIUP is designed as a propaganda piece to make the regiments feel nice and safe, until the reality of war actually occurs, also, you HAVE to keep it with you, isn't it punishable by death to not be able to produce it upon request by an officer?

Harriticus wrote:The best part is how they depict Orks:

Spoiler:

Yeah, Orks are a bit bigger then that.

Well, I guess that's the imperium's fault for not taking a new picture of the orks since 2nd edition

Morale is very important in battle. If you, as a grunt, believe that you have the advantage in battle, you'll fight harder and anticipate victory. You will follow the orders of your commanding officer with confidence, and will generally have a better time of it than you would if you were gripped with abject terror at facing a foe that wholly over matches you.

The Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer is partially a masterful work of sarcastic parody, and also a personal pep-talk to every single soldier in the Imperial Guard. Let the Commanders and Commissars worry about the truth, that those Guardsmen facing off against a tide of Genestealers are doomed. As long as the soldiers believe that they can win, they'll follow orders and form up that hopeless firing line as ordered.

There ARE stories of veterans using the IIUP's pages to wipe their backside, I should note.

Vets generally aren't required to quote the book anyway, its' newbies that the book's concerned with.

The book has some silly bits as IIRC autocannon shell being lost tech.

@Harriticus
When I saw that picture, I couldn't help but laugh. My first thought was "If that's an ork, I'm the emperor,"

@Dave
Well, I'm sorry you didn't get what you were expecting, but there's nothing I can do to change that.