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++ Archive 78.9091555 Beta Theta Magnus ++
“A History and Outline of the Regiments of γ-class world, “Sigma Tertius”
Authored by Adept ++ Classified - Magenta Level++
Date Authored ++982 .M41++
Page Number ++ 1098 ++

Upon my arrival upon the planet, I had precious little prior knowledge of the regiments that I would encounter during the completion of my task, of recording a brief overview of the Regiments of this sector. The glorious 3rd Regiment with its near unrivalled victory record, the stout and brave men that I met from the 67th who I stood beside on Dervius VII, and of course the near legendary elite specialists of 54th.

Indeed at the time of my arrival I had little more than the numbers of over 70 regiments that had been raised from the world since their first founding over three centuries ago. Wrongly I assumed that these men would be of the same breed that I had met over the course of my past endeavours ++ See “A History and Outline of the Regiments of γ-class world, “Larrisa V” ++ rough, brutish men with a severe lack of discipline, honour, or even true adherence to the Imperial creed. The men that I met from Sigma Tertius were cast from an entirely different mould. Stoic, proud men who upheld the values of the Imperial Guard in ever aspect of their behaviour. The best example that I can think of were of course the aforementioned 54th Regiment, “The Royals” as they are frequently referred to.

The Sigma Tertius 54th Regiment have a long and distinguished history. Whilst not as prestigious as histories of the 3rd, 18th and 20th Regiment, the 54th are nonetheless held in high regard not only on their home world but throughout the entire sector for their contributions in over a centuries worth of Imperial Campaigns.

Like the majority of the regiments raised from the planet, the men who make up the Sigma Tertius 54th are largely recruited from the elite military academies of that world. Thoroughly drilled and disciplined guardsmen trained in the combat philosophies of their home world. My first experience with these men was during the victory parades at the success of the Imperial forces on Dervius III. Over forty thousand guardsmen from numerous disparate regiments marched beneath the kilometre high Paetronian Gate and through the ruined remains of the city. I stood amongst the thronging crowds to watch as the men and women marched past, Cadians, Volturians, Vostroyans, Sigma Tertians, Volpone and Mordians. At the end of the marching column came the heroes of Dervius, the famed “Royals” of the Sigma Tertius, the glorious 54th Infantry Regiment. They wore heavy greatcoats of drab Grey/Green with rebreather kits and black bowl helmets factory pressed from some distant forge world. A horizontal gold stripe ran along the lower portion of their coat’s marking them as the elite veterans of 54th, the famed 10th Company, a company made up almost entirely of hardened veteran squads.

Upon reading through the records in the weeks past that dreadful campaign, I found that the Sigma Tertius 54th had on no less than fifteen different occasions sallied forth from the besieged city, each time breaking the vanguard forces of the enemy. When the Arch-Heretic’s forces redoubled their attack, the 54th would drawback deeper into the hives, pulling the enemy forces into gruelling city fights. This process was repeated until the enemy lines finally broke under a combined assault from the 54th, The Mordian 412th and the Cadian 78th Armoured. This decisive victory was the turning point in the war and for the first time in over the five months showed that the enemy forces could be repelled. When reading this I was quite taken aback by the reports of valour and stoicism showed by the Sigma Tertius 54th. Of particular note were the actions of the 10th Company, led by the Lord Brigadier of the Sigma Tertius 54th, Benedict Alexius at the height of the Dervius III cleansing.

Delving further into the history of the 54th revealed a number of campaigns that the regiment had participated in. The most noteworthy of these were the Sabbat World Crusades, The raid on Carrius V, and the more recent Septima Conquest. Of course no regiment is without some blemish. Whilst digging through these records I found that an entire two companies, the 8th and 9th had been scratched from the archives during the Sabbat World Crusades. ++ Content Removed – Magenta level ++

This has been my summary and Introduction to the Sigma Tertius 54th, on the following pages of this archive I will list the appropriate dates and full history of this Regiment.

++ Access Denied – Redirect in Process ++

So there it is Hope that its not too dry.
I also left it deliberately vague in parts rather than an overload of information.

So what do you think?
If received well I might make a few more entries of this including some short stories based around the 54th and of course further "Imperial archive pieces" to give a fuller account of the regiment.

Very well done, this is the sort of IG fluff that makes me drool for more! Keep the good stuf comming

Well I take that as a good reception

Cheers Trondheim! More fluff will be written soon!

Well it was intended as such, so please do

++ Archive 79.0067849 Gamma Theta Magnus ++
“A Summary of The Sigma Tertius Way of Warfare – Tactics and Stratagems employed by the glorious forces of His Imperial Guard”
Authored by Lord General Benedictium Regulus of the “2nd Sigma Tertius Infantry Regiment”
Date Authored ++999 .M41++
Article Number ++ 505 ++
++ Third amendment ++

When it comes to the fighting wars across the myriad worlds of the Imperium one must remember that adaptability is the one key to victory. Situations change in an instant and for a commander to assume that all of these situations will require the same response is a dire mistake indeed.

Take for example the battle of Badon Culsis thirty five years ago. As a member of the then Lord General Lucien Alexius’ chief staff (Emperor protect him), I was able to observe all manner of tactics being employed across many theatres of glorious battle. The main attack across the ice plains of that world was led by the elements of the 38th Cadian, the 27th Cadian Armoured and the Mordian 489th Infantry. What I was able to record was an incredible level of tactical foresight being taken by the commanders of that combined force.

As decreed by the laws and guidelines of the Departmento Munitorium, a regiment will hold very little variation in its makeup as to deny any form of tactical advantage to a force that fails in its duty to the Imperium and turns from His divine light. And rightly so, as the strength of the Imperial Guard is in the combination of regiments with different fighting specialties. What I observed at Badon was precisely this, a combination of different fighting forces which together drew strength from one another, leading to the creation of a nigh unstoppable force able to overrun even the most heavily equipped foe.

Too often does a commander of the Imperial Guard assume that overwhelming force is the only way to win a battle. Whilst one of the most valuable strengths of our magnificent Imperial Guard, is the innumerable masses of our infantry that we as the commanders have at our disposal, the tactic of literally choking the enemy on our infantry forces is not the only way for these men to be used.

Some may claim my words as near blasphemous on the matter, that every man’s life should be sacrificed willingly in the emperor’s name. However I do not claim this to be a bad tactic, just one of many that we have at our disposal. For example, throwing a horde of Infantry against a numerically inferior force will almost certainly lead to victory, however what is a commander to do when the enemy is likely to outnumber his own force? In that situation, the tactic of overwhelming force will be wasteful in the extreme. In my extensive experience one cannot be rigid when employing his tactics. One must constantly adapt to a situation, eschewing the inflexible structures that are all too often put in place.

Now I refer you to the key thesis, the central ideology taught in the military academies of my esteemed home world. The officers of the Sigma Tertius regiments are taught to use the forces at their disposal in ways the favour the strength of not only the individual units, but also of the individual troopers.

Take for example, the 54th regiment who I were able to observe during the most recent deployment amongst the hive spires of Volsurig Septimus, an ongoing conflict against the arch heretic known only as the Volsurig Butcher. Whilst on deployment, the “54th” infantry regiment will observe standard platoon organisation amongst its companies. However, when actually on the field of battle, all previous organisation will be broken down, right down to squad level. An unorthodox tactic, which while against my personal preference demonstrates my point perfectly. Only when the situation demands, will a platoon – like formation be employed. Instead (especially in the elite 10th and 11th companies) squads made up of similarly specialised troops will be deployed, either as tactically flexible armoured fist squads or support squads who form a much more rigid back bone of the force.

The main tactical ideology employed by the 54th is this adaptability to the situation. The main weaknesses of this type of formation is the lack of concentrated infantry strength. However that is a situation in which the standard platoon organisation is engaged adapting to that combat situation. This way of warfare has been used by the 54th for the better part of this past century and is now taught to many of our officers as part of their information. Not of course as a rigid structure to adhere to in all situations, but as just another way of using our imperial guard forces to their utmost effect.


Well there is the next part, a discussion from a Lord General about tactics, using the 54th as a case study.
The next part (just a heads up) will be a short story involving the "54 Royals" in one of their most profound campaigns, The Volsurig Septimus campaign.

Hope you enjoy

Very good, I liked this. When do we get to see some moddels? Or battelreps?

Well I have most of my figures, just gotta get some plasma guns and then paint like absolute crazy! So keep your eyes peeled.

Battle report wise, when i actually start using my army I'll start posting the battle reports mainly gotta get the painted and I'm thinking of doing them in stages. eg, 500 points, 750 points, 1000 points, 1250 points and 1500 points, playing games as i go up. This is because I actually haven't played a game of 40k for almost a year now and even then I've only played a handful of times.

The figures I'm using are Armageddon Steel legion mostly with some very minor conversions (more grenades) so when I get some progress done, you'll be able to see them possibly in Army Profiles?

Tomorrow morning I will continue with the background fluff stuff though.

So here it is, Part 1 of a snapshot of the 54th's first engagement.
Hope you enjoy it guys, Parts 2, 3 and any subsequent parts will come further down the track but never consecutively (my way of keeping you on your toes)
Tell us what you think!


First Blood – Part I

Civic Zone Primaris – Northern Continent, γ-class world “Tariah”
867. M41

The distant boom of artillery ceased as abruptly as it had started, leaving death and smoking ruin in its wake. It was mid-morning, the system’s sun glowing a ruddy orange through the pillars of black smoke that spiralled high into the sky. The assault was about to begin.

Lord General Varis observed his troops from the open top of his command salamander. An entire five imperial guard regiments were at his command from five different worlds. He smiled hungrily, already able to taste victory on his lips.
“Beautiful sight is it not major?” he smiled to his retainer at his side, “We are about to witness history, another glorious victory for the god emperor.”
“Indeed sire” the major concurred quietly his attention drawn too tightly to the pict charts and maps of the civic zone before them. Hab blocks stretched away into the smoky distant, entire buildings had already been demolished from the opening salvo of the earth shaker barrage. The major ran through the figures in his head, the various fighting strengths of each regiment, the presumed numerical strength of their enemy, strongholds and choke points that would work to the imperials or their enemies advantage, all of these things had to be taken into account. Varis’ voice broke through his intense overview.
“How do you think we should take the city?” the Lord General mused, only half to himself.
The major stared for a moment, weighing his words carefully. “I would probably recommend a frontal assault at these points here and here” he motioned to different points across the map, “I would also recommend a continued bombardment of sector 9 through to 10. Latest reports state that the enemies’ main strength is there.”
The lord general’s brow creased as he observed the map displays. “What of our northern flank?” he inquired pointing to another area on the sheet, “A frontal assault would place us in a position susceptible to a flank assault that could break off the vanguard and isolate our forward elements.”
The major considered for a moment. “Placing one of the… greener regiments to defend the flank could work?” he mused, “The Sigma Tertius 54th are at full strength. I would suggest positioning them to the north of the main force, even just to act as a buffer from a flank assault.”
“A sound analysis major” replied Varis with a wide grin, “If this pulls off I’ll be putting you in for a commendation. Signalman, send the order for the 54th to deploy to… Sector 4 Gamma and await my word to advance.”
He turned back to the burning city and licked his lips.
“Your move” he declared quietly to the burning city before him.

Five kilometres to the north the Sigma Tertius assembled. The order had come through for them to advance to a forward sector of the Civic zone, a mere thousand metres from the smouldering ruins. The 54th seemed uneasy. 6000 men on their first deployment, no amount of time in training could prepare them for this. Not the actual fighting. They were the best that their home world had to offer, trained in their elite academies in the best ways to win a battle. But this tension filled waiting was something else entirely.

They were dressed in full kit, rebreather masks fixed securely over their face, grey green greatcoats hanging to their knees and the polished golden Aquila emblazoned on the fronts of their black helmets. Despite the humidity most still worse scarves and woven caps beneath their fatigues and helms. This was more ceremonial than for any practical need; many of these garments gifted from family or loved ones.
They stood in formation staring across the heavily cratered battlefield before them. Any moment now many of them thought. Any moment and the order will come through.

Surely enough, in the Tertian’s command post, overlooking the massed ranks of guardsmen the bulky Vox unit cracked.
“Main assault commencing on Civic Zone Primaris, all Sigma Tertian units to advance to Civic Zone limits and commence overwatch action” the monotone voice spoke, “Confirm order received.”
“The 54th sends confirmation of order’s receipt” replied the young Vox officer. He turned away from the dials of the machine and saluted to the commander. “Command says we are to advance sir” he said in the crisp, strangely accented tones of a Sigma Tertian. Lord Brigadier Xavier nodded solemnly.
“Indeed, Vox through these orders to the company commanders, we will advance.”

Slowly the word filtered through the Vox systems. Almost six thousand guardsmen began to march steadily forward. Chimera engines revved and surged the mechanical behemoths forward. The handful of Vendetta assault carriers bequeathed to then 54th howled overhead towards the city.
It had begun.

I say this is very good, I like the figures in this story so far. Also nice to the someone who put time into making orders sound proper Imperial Guardish

++ Archive 79.209485 Gamma Omega++
“Personal Journal of Adept ++ Classified - Magenta Level++”
Authored by Adept ++ Classified - Magenta Level++
Date Authored ++998 .M41++
Journal Entry Number ++ 230485 ++

In nearly 97 years of archiving work and research for my written pieces, I have encountered many of our great Imperium’s darker secrets. I have uncovered military blunders that have been conveniently forgotten, certain individuals whose very existences have ceased to be and even entire words which when sanctioned have been wiped from Imperial Records. Only a few have I even placed in this, my private journal, some are too… horrifying to condemn to paper record. Still whilst I live I would like to place things I have found in here, even as the Imperium forgets.

Even my more mundane writings, particularly on the subject of military histories have often shown up archival discrepancies that I have been compelled to further into further. None more so than the disappearance of an entire two companies from the Sigma Tertius 54th. In my research I had seen that the 3rd and the 8th companies had been scratched from record (indicating destruction or disappearance of said companies) during the Sabbat World Crusades over two centuries ago. This is relatively normal, however where mostly there is a description as to why the companies were scratched, in this instance there was nothing! Not even a “Classified” or “Redirect” notice! Just that the 3rd and 8th had been scratched! Subsequent to this revelation, I decided to delve further, find out more as to why these men had disappeared. Well, with my level of experience and prestige, it took very little to uncover much of the relevant material, however in the end I could find only two records that indicated that within that time frame (roughly 200 years ago) that these regiments had vanished. I have copied these below in the hope that I may someday uncover the truth.


++ Audio Recording start ++

“As you have requested my lord, I managed to arrive at the base and delve into its dark secrets. It’s exactly as you thought. Van Valerius is, as he always seems to be, two steps ahead of us. What was once being housed here is now no longer. We have had the evidence we needed to catch the traitorous bastard snatched out from under our noses. My heart sank at this discovery.
What little I could salvage from both the logic engine of the base, and from interrogations of those who survived. These past through months, our fellow Inquisitor has been conducting experiments here most heretical. I could not find ascertain the exact nature of these experiments, however I speculate that they were perhaps Xenological or in fact could have been to do with meddling with Astartes Gene-Seed stocks. Either of these options seem viable at this point.
In order to protect his experimentation he managed to divert an entire company of Imperial Guard in transit to this laboritorium, I believe they were the 3rd Company of the Sigma Tertius 54th. A number of other mercenaries seem also have been housed at the facility for various purposes, as well as a number of research Adepts of various professions. However it appears that the experiment either escaped or was set loose on the base. Almost the entire company lost, decaying parts of bodies and visceral gore splayed across the walls. Upon observing these remains I have managed to determine that this event occurred only a week or so past. We were so close to catching him!
What appears to have happened next is that the experiment was brought back under control of Van Valerius who then fled with what few Adepts he had left when he discovered my incoming arrival. He covered his tracks well, all specialized equipment all gone, all archives wiped and any evidence of him being here erased. I tracked down the few survivors left but little could be gotten out of them. I subsequently ordered their “extermination” in order to keep the nature of our work a secret.
As of now, I have no leads. No trail to follow I am lost as what to do next. Just as last time, Van Valerius seems to have evaporated into thin air. I shall however continue to keep searching my lord.

Your loyal servant, Acolyte Henley.”
“766.M41, Segmentum Ultima, Subsector ++ Data Corrupted ++
++Audio Recording termination++


As you can see, this evidence points to the 3rd company not even being in the same region of space as the Sabbat World Crusades. No other evidence exists regarding the disappearance of these troopers or even of this event having happened, most strange indeed. It appears that the Inquisition has its hands buried in this mysterious disappearance. Only they could erase this much archiving without raising any suspicion.

Now the other scrap of information I could find regarding the Sigma Tertius 54th, 8th company is rather more sparse. Likewise it appears that the company has been diverted from transit with the rest of the regiment and ended up in a separate location. However in this occasion it was rather closer to the deployment of the rest of the force. The piece that I could find discussed a minor warp storm that engulfed the world of Harem’s Rest around 799. M41. It revealed that the 8th company had not evacuated with the rest of the forces presence on the world instead standing fast before the oncoming storm. I have speculated much on this matter alongside many others who have pondered the same question (upon me drawing their attention to it). Perhaps they sought to vainly protect those left on the world. Another option is perhaps they betrayed the Imperium to fight alongside the invading forces of the Word Bearers legion. Anything seems possible when so little information is present.

On an unrelated point, I had a strange visitor to my residence the other day. An Inquisitor so she seemed. Seemed very curiously interested in my writings, in particular this very journal. I do hope that these entries have not been accessed. I would hate to think what would happen if….

Now this was tense, really well done. I love how you really manage to keep me on the ende of my seat while I read your work! WIll be eagerky awating more

And what is this experiemt?

The experiments by ++ Access Denied by order the Holy Inquisition++ involved experimentation on ++ Access Denied by order the Holy Inquisition ++ and took place in the ++ Access Denied by order the Holy Inquisition ++

Hope that was of some help to you

Cheers for the support man, good to know that someone enjoys my ramblings

 Lucien-Alexis wrote:
The experiments by ++ Access Denied by order the Holy Inquisition++ involved experimentation on ++ Access Denied by order the Holy Inquisition ++ and took place in the ++ Access Denied by order the Holy Inquisition ++

Hope that was of some help to you

Cheers for the support man, good to know that someone enjoys my ramblings

and yes I do enjoy your ramblings to a immense level

To: Lord General Berrigan of the 38th Volskegge Battlegroup.
From: Adjutant Sergeant Merrin
In Regard to: Crusade Evaluation: Volsurig SeptimusTheatre of War.

My lord, upon touring our front line deployments I have come to a series of conclusions particularly upon that of Volsurig Septimus. Whilst our lines seem to be holding across the majority of fronts, our previous strongpoint at this particular system has strangely fallen silent. Our esteemed brothers in arms, forces made up of the Cadian 27th, the Sigma Tertian 54th, the Kolffern 2nd and the Valhallan 5847th, seem to have at the very least fallen back to their respective strongholds under an “unknown” assailant. Amongst the many confusing Astropathic exchanges and garbled Vox transmissions I have been able to single out a very interesting piece of information in regards to this “unknown” enemy. I believe it to be a personal entry from a certain guardsman “Sergius” of the Sigma Tertius 54th. I shall hand this over to your adepts for further examination.

Day 288.
They came out of nowhere. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of them, screaming into our lines and slaughtering us. Half my squad were cut down within the first minute of the onslaught, never have I seen anything like it before. I’m sure that they are xenos, absolutely sure of it. Nothing else could move that unbelievably fast.

Day 289.
We’ve been assaulted again and again, always when we least expect. From what we’ve been able to pick up the Cadian’s and Kolffern have likewise been attacked by these strange horrible creatures. We haven’t heard anything from the Valhallan’s but the rumour has been spreading, the entire regiment cut down to the last. I feel sick to my stomach even thinking of it. Emperor save us if they decide to attack again.

Day 299
It’s almost like they are toying with us.
11 days of near ceaseless raiding and I still don’t think we’ve seen the last of it. Almost a third of our number have been lost in that time, not all of them killed either. The most horrible things I saw was Major Gerisson getting grabbed by one them and vanishing, screaming into the sky.
We’ve lost contact with the other forces on the planet, so we’re going to fall back to Bastion Terminus, maybe there we can hold them off… or at least buy some time. I hope that command realises the trouble we’re in here.

Day 306
Finally some good news! We killed them! For the first time in over a fortnight we were ready for them and we frakking killed the xenos filth! Emperor be praised!
I can barely contain myself. Our Lascannons managed to bring down the larger of their craft and with glorious las-shots we were able to gun them down as they screamed towards us. Still, we lost many to them but I believe, as the lord commissar says that it was a worthy sacrifice. I will report back as soon as I can, with any luck reinforcements will turn up and we can leave this nightmare of a world behind us.

Day 307
Emperor save us.
Thousands of them are attacking us and they brought monstrosities with them that defy comprehension. I have seen men sliced into bloody pieces before they could scream. Others who screamed for far too long as they were dragged away. And all the while our enemy laughed… if laughing is what you could call it. I will never forget that sound for as long as I live.

We’ve withdrawn once more behind the walls of the bastion and are holding out as best we can. We still outnumber them by at least half but without support I don’t know how long we can last. I won’t go down screaming like the others, I will fight to my very last breath against these… these creatures.

I finally have a name for them… was finally told what they are called… Dark El…

As of yet I do not know the full status of the Volsurig Septimus theatre, however I would recommend an immediate reinforcement of that world, lest these Xenos spread throughout the system.

Best Regards.
Merrin