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Who cares?

-"Hey you, survivors: CHAAAAAAAAARGE!!!!!!"

I think they just burn them if there is time, I also agree with Raulmichile.

coolyo294 wrote:Leave the bodies where they lay. It's more grimdark.

Except for the skulls, obviously.

obviously, skull piles are just as common in 40k universe as trees!!!

It depends on the regiment. In the first Word Bearers book an AdMech leader asks an Ellysian Lord General if iy's alright for him to collect Ellysian bodies to turn into the gruel for the AdMech forces and the commander tells him to go himself and says that his soldiers are going to recieve proper funeral rights.


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Oh and let's not forget what happens to the bodies when the Imperium loses.

vs Orks-Orks eat the bodies

vs Tyranids-Nids eat the bodies

vs Tau-Kroot eat the bodies

vs Chaos-defile the bodies and use as decoration

vs Necrons-What bodies?

vs Eldar- no clue

vs Dark Eldar-fuel for mad experiments

I remember reading a story about Space Wolves where after the battle they recover the fallen and then burn the bodies using a hand flamer.

I'm sure what is good enough for marines is good enough for guardsmen. I doubt they leave dead bodies lying around without good reason.

IF their is time i assume they collect the bodies. My reasoning is that the Imperial Munitorum Manual had some fluff where a Space Marine Captain critized the Munitorum for stockpiling millions of bodybags for a campaign becasue it lowered moral. In typical GRIMDARK fasion the fluff ended with a smug saying of how the Munitorum was right and millions of Guardsmen did die. And also in the latest Gaunt's Ghosts the Blood Pact inflitrate the planet by sneaking in on a transport ship that is carrying corpses back to be buried in mass graves. And its a regular occurrence. Also according to the lexicanum Cadians are buried in single graves until the tombstones is too worn to read then they are dug up and put in a mass grave.

Of course this assumes the Imperials had won or had time to recover the fallen.

A Leman Russ will run on ANYTHING...

I think you get my drift.

hmm, I heard cars which run on French Fry oil smell like McDonalds so....

If they're not eaten, burned, blown up, have their particles torn, mutilated beyond recognision..? I guess they leave them, as a general rule. Even though, I guess some soldiers may want to bury/cremate their friends or commanders.

ObliviousBlueCaboose wrote:IF their is time i assume they collect the bodies. My reasoning is that the Imperial Munitorum Manual had some fluff where a Space Marine Captain critized the Munitorum for stockpiling millions of bodybags for a campaign becasue it lowered moral. In typical GRIMDARK fasion the fluff ended with a smug saying of how the Munitorum was right and millions of Guardsmen did die. And also in the latest Gaunt's Ghosts the Blood Pact inflitrate the planet by sneaking in on a transport ship that is carrying corpses back to be buried in mass graves. And its a regular occurrence.

That's not entirely true. In "Blood Pact", it's people who wanted to be buried on Balhaut. Balhaut has become a kind of 'shrine' to Imperial victory within the Sabbat Worlds and as such it gets a lot of well-to do people who want to be laid to rest there.

There's also the matter of the temples dedicated to famous commanders from the Liberation, where many soldiers from these famous regiments are being brought back to Balhaut to have a place of honor.

Also according to the lexicanum Cadians are buried in single graves until the tombstones is too worn to read then they are dug up and put in a mass grave.

They don't go into whether they're "put in a mass grave" or not, but more likely the remains are cremated.

Of course this assumes the Imperials had won or had time to recover the fallen.

Yes and no. Standard procedure when fighting Chaos and Tyranids seems to be to burn the bodies during the campaign.
Tyranid weapons leave spores and all kinds of nastiness inside of corpses that need to be destroyed rather than be left and allowed to mature.

And well, Chaos is Chaos. Can't be too careful or else something might get a hold of a meat puppet and suddenly you've got some form of reanimated corpses trying to kill the command staff.

I imagine they just make mass graves and bulldoz them in...

I remember in the first Word Bearers novel, the Mechanicus want to break them down into resources.

Kanluwen wrote:

ObliviousBlueCaboose wrote:IF their is time i assume they collect the bodies. My reasoning is that the Imperial Munitorum Manual had some fluff where a Space Marine Captain critized the Munitorum for stockpiling millions of bodybags for a campaign becasue it lowered moral. In typical GRIMDARK fasion the fluff ended with a smug saying of how the Munitorum was right and millions of Guardsmen did die. And also in the latest Gaunt's Ghosts the Blood Pact inflitrate the planet by sneaking in on a transport ship that is carrying corpses back to be buried in mass graves. And its a regular occurrence.

That's not entirely true. In "Blood Pact", it's people who wanted to be buried on Balhaut. Balhaut has become a kind of 'shrine' to Imperial victory within the Sabbat Worlds and as such it gets a lot of well-to do people who want to be laid to rest there.

There's also the matter of the temples dedicated to famous commanders from the Liberation, where many soldiers from these famous regiments are being brought back to Balhaut to have a place of honor.

Still it implies that the imperium does more then leave them their or burn them. Why else would you need bodybags?

Also according to the lexicanum Cadians are buried in single graves until the tombstones is too worn to read then they are dug up and put in a mass grave.

They don't go into whether they're "put in a mass grave" or not, but more likely the remains are cremated.

Here is the test from the lexicanum, which is from Mallus by Dan Abnett. I think its one of the Eisenhorn books.

Of course this assumes the Imperials had won or had time to recover the fallen.

Yes and no. Standard procedure when fighting Chaos and Tyranids seems to be to burn the bodies during the campaign.
Tyranid weapons leave spores and all kinds of nastiness inside of corpses that need to be destroyed rather than be left and allowed to mature.

And well, Chaos is Chaos. Can't be too careful or else something might get a hold of a meat puppet and suddenly you've got some form of reanimated corpses trying to kill the command staff.

Agree with you somewhat. But then again in Ghants Ghost their fighting Chaos and the bodies are being recovered.

That part of Malleus is in reference to Cadia, specifically, not a common Imperial World practice.

FOOOOOOD!!!

woa...some regiments get to bury their dead? some even have options? what luxury....

Officers are probably buried, faceless grunts are probably tossed on a giant funeral pyre.

A PYRE of...FIRE!


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thats from "a funny thing happened on the way to the forum"

They chop of te heads and get the flesh off, so our terrain looks badass. The bodies get eaten by the survivors, as it is said to be 'pork flesh'

its obviously not the 40k universe if there arent skulls on the ground! on many planets people floor their homes with skulls! so when guests come over they say "oooh, very grimdark, how long have you had it, i can never find that shade of skull at lowes..."

(i cannot actually verify this information)

dajobe wrote:its obviously not the 40k universe if there arent skulls on the ground! on many planets people floor their homes with skulls! so when guests come over they say "oooh, very grimdark, how long have you had it, i can never find that shade of skull at lowes..."

(i cannot actually verify this information)

Clearly I mean lets face it even generals have skulls brought into battle

Snarky wrote:The coveted skull arranger is on the cover of nearly all Imperial codices.

going into battle without a skull is like going into battle without your power armour...completely foolish, and just unsafe if you ask me!

Well, that's why the Imperium makes servo skulls!

So what iv established is really, who gives a I geuss know body cares about a limitless armies individual guardsmen :/

Just remember that if the choice is between saving your comrade and an item of equipment, the equipment must take precedence! Guardsmen are plentiful, wargear is sacred

Flinty wrote:Just remember that if the choice is between saving your comrade and an item of equipment, the equipment must take precedence! Guardsmen are plentiful, wargear is sacred

Espicially if its a Lasgun magazine!

ObliviousBlueCaboose wrote:. And also in the latest Gaunt's Ghosts the Blood Pact inflitrate the planet by sneaking in on a transport ship that is carrying corpses back to be buried in mass graves. And its a regular occurrence.

cheers, i really wanted to know what happened before i read the book

FoooooooooooD!!!!!!!

my brother plays tau, so i know for a fact that my guardsman get eaten by his kroot...poor souls