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The most recent incarnation of the Imperial Guard got this very very special "name upgrade".

But thats not all.

The Organization of the Imperial Guard; now Astra Militarum, shown at page 6 :

Adeptus Administratum
> Astra Militarum - Officio Praefectus

Astra Militarum
> Militarum Vendorum - Militarum Ordinatus - Militarum Auxilia - Militarum Tempestus - Militarum Regimentos

Seems the IG is split up into 5 "Militarum" Groups.

Administratum / Munitorum is a well established part of the background. Officio Praefectus the new commissariat. Militarum Tempestus the former Storm troopers.

What the codex fails to deliver is: what is the Vendorum, Ordinatus , Auxilia and Regimentos part of their new fancy group of "militarum" xyz.

Vendorum
Ordinatus
Auxilia ( abhumans maybe ? )
Regimentos
I

Ordinatus is probably the part of the Guard that deals with Artillery. (Ordinance)

Vendorum I guess is logistics (Vendor= sell = supply)

Regimentos...infantry, maybe?

Auxilia would most likely be the abhumans, yes.

Ah, Games Workshop and their pretentious faux-latin.

Translated into plain speak...

Imperial Guard:
Ordnance Corps/Auxiliary Corps/Storm Trooper corps/Infantry Corps. I have no idea what Militarium Vendorum is. Maybe the brass?

Basically, it seems that Games Workshop has now established that there is a dedicated command structure for each particular aspect of the Guard. Before, Guard regiments were separated on the basis of what aspect of war they did but were pretty much under one command structure. This is interesting if a little stupid.

The real Problem is, there are 104 pages and the Names aren't seen again in this codex, except tempestus and astra militarum itself obviously.

IF:

Ordinatus = Ordinatus used by the Mechanicum = Artillery;
Auxilia = Auxilia/Abhumans;
Tempestus = tempest = storm = Old Strom troopers multiplied into several Regiments;
Regimentos = basic infantry;

Vendorum would have to be the mobile part, the armored vehicles etc.
Doesn't sound right...

Logistics iscompletly done by the munitorum, munitorum is part of the Administratum, thus Vendorum doesn't fit as logistics...
Maybe Regimentos are the Regiments?



IF:

Ordinatus = ? ( order = officer corps ? )
Auxilia = abhumans ( separate, because "impure" genes..? )
Tempestus = old stormies, elite corps ( was separate before , no big news )
Regimentos = basic Regiments, collected as tithe
Vendorum = ? ( sell? Propaganda unit to sell the war efforts to the masses? )

Its really weird.

Perhaps the munitorum supplies the Guard with equipment, but the Vendorum distributes it?
Someone has to make sure those soldiers get the correct amount of rations and ammo.

It's just strange to have all these separate departments to run these things. It seems like a lot of extra paperwork for no real benefit. Unless these titles are just fancy names for the different sections of the DM.

The Vendorum is clearly the department for Vending Machine Repair men, commanded by Captain Arnoldus J. Rimmerus and Davus Listerus. Where would the Militarium be with chicken soup clogging it's vending machine nozzles?

On a more serious note, it think it is probably the supply management areas of the IG, the logistics department ect. Ordinatus is probably artillery, Auxillia is abhumans and Regimentos is probably both infantry and tank regiments.

 CthuluIsSpy wrote:
Perhaps the munitorum supplies the Guard with equipment, but the Vendorum distributes it?
Someone has to make sure those soldiers get the correct amount of rations and ammo.

No thats still munitorum. They got the whole supply chain. You fill those forms, they consider it. The IG relies on them and the IN to transport things.

 TheCustomLime wrote:
It's just strange to have all these separate departments to run these things. It seems like a lot of extra paperwork for no real benefit. Unless these titles are just fancy names for the different sections of the DM.

It's probably a bureaucratic thing. There's an old adage about how if you want something more complicated for no real benefit, get a bureaucrat.
I forgot the exact wording.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 1hadhq wrote:

 CthuluIsSpy wrote:
Perhaps the munitorum supplies the Guard with equipment, but the Vendorum distributes it?
Someone has to make sure those soldiers get the correct amount of rations and ammo.

No thats still munitorum. They got the whole supply chain. You fill those forms, they consider it. The IG relies on them and the IN to transport things.

Yes, but who makes sure that squad B32 gets the correct number of lasguns and charge packs? I don't think the munitorum would waste their time with that; they have whole armies to supply. So they would delegate that task to an underling. Like the vendorum.

It's one thing to drop off a shipment. Making sure that it goes to where it's needed is another matter.

Putting vendorum into google translate yields 'paid or provided'?
So they must have something to do with logistics. Maybe they are the logistical staff of a regiment?

Distribution of goods is a nice idea I would subscribe to if that is what is hidden behind the name Vendorum.

The possibilities of added six or eight wheeled trucks , ammo , fuel, food etc instead of some silly changes of this dex.... at least now i've got something to imagine after the dissapointing read this codex was for me.

Is there a real life reason they changed the name from Imperial Guard to Astra Militarum?

 KamikazeCanuck wrote:
Is there a real life reason they changed the name from Imperial Guard to Astra Militarum?

They didn't.

Astra Militarum is the High Gothic name. Throughout the codex they use the term "Imperial Guard"

In fact, in the intro, it says something like "The Astra Militarum, also known as the Imperial Guard"

Even the basic soldiers are still called Guardsmen.

As to why they chose to do it...I dunno. The popular belief is because they wanted an enforceable trademark.

 CthuluIsSpy wrote:
Yes, but who makes sure that squad B32 gets the correct number of lasguns and charge packs?

Sometimes noone does. At the start of The Guns of Tanith the Ghosts are severely short of ammo because some clerk sent the wrong model of charge packs. Given how far some of this kit has to travel, and taking into account the vagaries of the warp and the arcane bureaucracy of the IoM it's only suprising it doesn't happen more often.

A huge, unwieldy and sometimes flat out incompetent administration has been a part of the Imperium since the RT days, with entire worlds forgotten about for decades or centuries because some filing clerk on Terra put the revenue form in the wrong docket. The structure listed in the AM codex is likely much simplified from what would be the 'reality' of the IG's heirarchy.

CthuluIsSpy wrote:

 KamikazeCanuck wrote:
Is there a real life reason they changed the name from Imperial Guard to Astra Militarum?

They didn't.

Astra Militarum is the High Gothic name. Throughout the codex they use the term "Imperial Guard"

In fact, in the intro, it says something like "The Astra Militarum, also known as the Imperial Guard"

Even the basic soldiers are still called Guardsmen.

As to why they chose to do it...I dunno. The popular belief is because they wanted an enforceable trademark.

But but.. the Astra Militarum Leman Russ Battle Tank for example, you know, they love the use of this new "gothic" name...

Plus, GW deemed it a good idea to give those continental europeans like me something to "Improve" our codices. English names everywhere, in translated product.... inconsistent as they are, all weapons kept the translated names, except the deathstrike. So no "todesschlag-raketensystem" anymore

ashcroft wrote:

 CthuluIsSpy wrote:
Yes, but who makes sure that squad B32 gets the correct number of lasguns and charge packs?

Sometimes noone does. At the start of The Guns of Tanith the Ghosts are severely short of ammo because some clerk sent the wrong model of charge packs. Given how far some of this kit has to travel, and taking into account the vagaries of the warp and the arcane bureaucracy of the IoM it's only suprising it doesn't happen more often.

A huge, unwieldy and sometimes flat out incompetent administration has been a part of the Imperium since the RT days, with entire worlds forgotten about for decades or centuries because some filing clerk on Terra put the revenue form in the wrong docket. The structure listed in the AM codex is likely much simplified from what would be the 'reality' of the IG's heirarchy.

The machinations of the munitorum are in this dex. Anger the clerks and you may see why the pen is mightier than the sword..sometimes..

Well, the codex and the sets use Astra Militarum. In lore, Imperial Guard is still valid.

Yeah, the fact that all the unit names are in English is a bit of a pain. What's even worse is that the translation leaves out some key things, like the vets taking 3 special weapons.

Seriously, all the faux Latin going on here, is this the impirum or impirail Rome?

The Imperium is already a faux latin name.
Faux latin has been part of the lore for a while. It's only recently that you see it coming up to the surface.

I'd accept all these faux latin if there was an explanation. But new names without anything ?

Well, yeah. It's the High Gothic name. Like for Adeptus Astartes and Adepta Sororitas.

The Guard have been begging for a faux latin name for at least a decade. They were literally the only part of the Imperium without one until now - even the navy werethe Adeptus Navis.

Yeah, it kind of sucks, but that's because unlike when 40k was first being fluffed out, Latin isn't part of the national curriculum any more.

 Furyou Miko wrote:
The Guard have been begging for a faux latin name for at least a decade. They were literally the only part of the Imperium without one until now - even the navy werethe Adeptus Navis.

Yeah, it kind of sucks, but that's because unlike when 40k was first being fluffed out, Latin isn't part of the national curriculum any more.

It's a crappy name regardless.
Imperial Guard was good if not iconic.

 1hadhq wrote:
I'd accept all these faux latin if there was an explanation. But new names without anything ?

Previously, they were an aspect of the Departmento Munitorum.

 purplefood wrote:

It's a crappy name regardless.
Imperial Guard was good if not iconic.

"Imperial Guard" doesn't fit with Adeptus Astartes, Arbites, Navis Nobilite, etc etc. It was kinda clear from the start that Imperial Guard HAD to be the "low-gothic" name. Astra Militarum does sound rather goofy but it at least fits in with the rest of the High Gothic names, unlike "Imperial Guard", which fits in more with the rest of the low-gothic names like "Space Marine, Sisters of Battle, Imperial Navy", etc.

TiamatRoar wrote:

 purplefood wrote:

It's a crappy name regardless.
Imperial Guard was good if not iconic.

"Imperial Guard" doesn't fit with Adeptus Astartes, Arbites, Navis Nobilite, etc etc. It was kinda clear from the start that Imperial Guard HAD to be the "low-gothic" name. Astra Militarum does sound rather goofy but it at least fits in with the rest of the High Gothic names, unlike "Imperial Guard", which fits in more with the rest of the low-gothic names like "Space Marine, Sisters of Battle, Imperial Navy", etc.

Except as Psienesis said, they were a branch of the Departmento Munitorum.
They could have also thought up a better name...
They also didn't have to call the codex Astra Militarum...
There isn't a Adeptus Astartes codex is there? The Sisters' are the only other ones their high gothic name on the codex.
If anything this name change has increased the differences between the Imperial codecii which were always apparent given the fact there are 6 SM codecii despite the fact the IG outnumber them to the point you could kill all SM in the universe by literally burying them under guardsmen corpses...

 purplefood wrote:

TiamatRoar wrote:

 purplefood wrote:

It's a crappy name regardless.
Imperial Guard was good if not iconic.

"Imperial Guard" doesn't fit with Adeptus Astartes, Arbites, Navis Nobilite, etc etc. It was kinda clear from the start that Imperial Guard HAD to be the "low-gothic" name. Astra Militarum does sound rather goofy but it at least fits in with the rest of the High Gothic names, unlike "Imperial Guard", which fits in more with the rest of the low-gothic names like "Space Marine, Sisters of Battle, Imperial Navy", etc.

Except as Psienesis said, they were a branch of the Departmento Munitorum.
They could have also thought up a better name...
They also didn't have to call the codex Astra Militarum...
There isn't a Adeptus Astartes codex is there? The Sisters' are the only other ones their high gothic name on the codex.
If anything this name change has increased the differences between the Imperial codecii which were always apparent given the fact there are 6 SM codecii despite the fact the IG outnumber them to the point you could kill all SM in the universe by literally burying them under guardsmen corpses...

Every branch of the Departmento Munitorum has a high gothic name now apparently.

As for the Space Marine codex, ask the trademark lawyers!

TiamatRoar wrote:

 purplefood wrote:

TiamatRoar wrote:

 purplefood wrote:

It's a crappy name regardless.
Imperial Guard was good if not iconic.

"Imperial Guard" doesn't fit with Adeptus Astartes, Arbites, Navis Nobilite, etc etc. It was kinda clear from the start that Imperial Guard HAD to be the "low-gothic" name. Astra Militarum does sound rather goofy but it at least fits in with the rest of the High Gothic names, unlike "Imperial Guard", which fits in more with the rest of the low-gothic names like "Space Marine, Sisters of Battle, Imperial Navy", etc.

Except as Psienesis said, they were a branch of the Departmento Munitorum.
They could have also thought up a better name...
They also didn't have to call the codex Astra Militarum...
There isn't a Adeptus Astartes codex is there? The Sisters' are the only other ones their high gothic name on the codex.
If anything this name change has increased the differences between the Imperial codecii which were always apparent given the fact there are 6 SM codecii despite the fact the IG outnumber them to the point you could kill all SM in the universe by literally burying them under guardsmen corpses...

Every branch of the Departmento Munitorum has a high gothic name now apparently.

As for the Space Marine codex, ask the trademark lawyers!

Yeah well at the end of the day it's still dumb.

 purplefood wrote:
.
There isn't a Adeptus Astartes codex is there? The Sisters' are the only other ones their high gothic name on the codex.

Space Marine was written before they decided to use High Gothic names for the major codices.

 CthuluIsSpy wrote:

 purplefood wrote:
.
There isn't a Adeptus Astartes codex is there? The Sisters' are the only other ones their high gothic name on the codex.

Space Marine was written before they decided to use High Gothic names for the major codices.

Yet it was only the month after they decided to start naming them after their high gothic names?
That's either poor foresight or a total lack of communication between the teams responsible for the books.
More importantly can they name all of the SM chapter books after high gothic names?
AFAIK no chapter has a high gothic version of it's name...

They probably just wanted to test the waters with the AM name change, before they started to mess around with Space Marines. They are the biggest seller after all.