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I was just thinking a little, because I read that the Valhallan Ice Warriors was based on the Red Army of the former Soviet Union. This then made me wonder - what exactly are the foundations, so to speak, of the other various Imperial Guard regiments? I can imagine f.ex. that the Death Korps of Krieg have something to do with Germany (since "krieg" is German for "war") but it still doesn't feel really like a basing, or how I should put it... What is your opinions?

Death korps=WW1 German army
Steel legion=Africa Korps Panzer divisions but with paratrooper aesthetics
Elysians=Grab bag of western paratroopers
Cadians=NATO armies
Vostroyans=Tsarist armies
Chem dogs=Vietnam Tunnel rats
Catachan=Both sides of the vietnam war
Praetorian=British Imperial troopers
Mordian Iron Guard=Stereotypical early 20th century British army
Atillan rough riders=Grab bag of steppe cavalry hordes
Tallarn Desert Raiders=Arabic armies.

 Kain wrote:
Death korps=WW1 German army
Steel legion=Africa Korps Panzer divisions but with paratrooper aesthetics
Elysians=Grab bag of western paratroopers
Cadians=NATO armies
Vostroyans=Tsarist armies
Chem dogs=Vietnam Tunnel rats
Catachan=Both sides of the vietnam war
Praetorian=British Imperial troopers
Mordian Iron Guard=Stereotypical early 20th century British army
Atillan rough riders=Grab bag of steppe cavalry hordes
Tallarn Desert Raiders=Arabic armies.

By and large how I see them. Though this will now set off another big discussions of which army and which era inspired/resembles which regiment.
OP, would have been better to search for this, Im certain there are other threads which discuss this topic.

Ousian Riverine from Henry Zou's 'Flesh and Iron' are Lousiana Cajuns.

 Kain wrote:

Mordian Iron Guard=Stereotypical early 20th century British army.

I must say that's a first, never heard the Thin Red (well, Khaki by the 20th Century) Line referred to as stereotypically blue before.. usual Mordian suggestions are USMC Dress Uniform or 19th Century Prussian..
cf: Mordian, er, Prussian on the horse:

Well, I did search for such things, but didn't find very much (except, as I said, for the Valhallans).
That aside, I suppose what Kain said does sound very resonable overall. Hadn't seen the Praetorians before, but when I read a bit about them I noticed they were based on British soldiers from the Zulu Wars of the 1870s.

Oh, does anyone know anything about those guys like the Kaledon Hunters or Anthonian Tunnel Rats? Saw them in an 40k rule book, but haven't discovered much else background for them.

Oh, pretty obscure regiment I stumbled across on Lexicanum last night: Bar-El Penal Legions. My Glaswegian mother got a good chuckle out of that: The Bar-El is a nickname of Barlinnie prison in Glasgow.

Krieg have had several versions visually, originally they were just a variant paint scheme for Steel Legion, the subsequent IG Codex had an art pic of them being very much German, Forge World went with a more mixed take however, the greatcoat is rather non-German (German's were single breasted and didn't pin back, the double buttons + pinning is very French)

Too many to name.

Not all regiments have enough background to judge and even then not all regiments have something you can easily point at and say it is based off of that...

SerQuintus wrote:

 Kain wrote:

Mordian Iron Guard=Stereotypical early 20th century British army.

I must say that's a first, never heard the Thin Red (well, Khaki by the 20th Century) Line referred to as stereotypically blue before.. usual Mordian suggestions are USMC Dress Uniform or 19th Century Prussian..
cf: Mordian, er, Prussian on the horse:

Guess the Pickelhaube seals it then.

Oh and the Tanith are generically space Celtic. Except clothed.

The Kanak Skull-takers are "Shh we're not Khornates".

The Drookian Fen Guard are scottish tartans.

 Kain wrote:

Guess the Pickelhaube seals it then.

Pickelhaubes weren't universal, hence why only half the guys in that picture - all Prussians - are wearing them.

post deleted.

reds8n

Catachans are all Rambo. Including, and especially, Marbo.

 Kain wrote:
Death korps=WW1 German army

You can always guarantee, when you come into this sort of thread (and it happens quite often) that someone will instantly put down the Krieg as 'German' because 'greatcoats' and 'gasmasks'. The Germanic content in Krieg isn't that high - I know that sounds ironic considering their name but the majority of their uniform actually comes from the Allied forces on the Western Front, whilst the naming/terminology side is based, obviously, on Germanic words. The greatcoat they wear is of the French pattern, the helmet a mix of the stahlhelm & French Adrian helmet, the puttee's are from British troops whilst the webbing is a mix of the British 1908 pattern & the leather kit worn by Imperial German troops. The armour worn by the Death Korps Grenadiers is based on the most popular design of German trench armour whilst that worn by the Death Korps engineers is based on a design for British Sappers. Death Riders wear a generic European cuirass and represent the various lancer or uhlan units employed by the Allies & Axis. There's even a Belgian influence; on the greatcoats, on the left-side of the collar is a triangular swatch of coloured material - this was a Belgian means of identifying different friendly units quickly in the fog & confusion of battle.

SerQuintus wrote:

 Kain wrote:

Mordian Iron Guard=Stereotypical early 20th century British army.

I must say that's a first, never heard the Thin Red (well, Khaki by the 20th Century) Line referred to as stereotypically blue before.. usual Mordian suggestions are USMC Dress Uniform or 19th Century Prussian.

It's a mixture of 1870s Prussian & French uniforms/forces from the Franco-Prussian war and has absolutely nothing to do with the USMC. GW Guard regiments are primarily composites of different regiments/armies from reality, so for the Mordians you have a mixture of the French & Prussian forces of the Franco-Prussian war, as it was the last 'Imperial' war fought between European armies in Europe before the Great War. The Death Korps is a composite of all of the armies of the Western Front during the Great War. The Tallarn are a composite of T.E Lawrence's Arabians & British forces in North Africa, namely the Long-Range Desert Group and possibly L Detachment, SAS.

SerQuintus wrote:
Krieg have had several versions visually, originally they were just a variant paint scheme for Steel Legion, the subsequent IG Codex had an art pic of them being very much German

Pretty sure the Death Korps predates the Steel Legion -just-. The Death Korps appears amongst the myriad of regiments portrayed in the back of the 40k 3rd Edition Imperial Guard (1st Edition) Codex (p28) whilst the Steel Legion is not portrayed (yet all the other regiments that had figures are portrayed there barring far later additions). I think they first appear properly in Codex Cityfight when the models were released because I remember picking up the metal squad when it came out and being really excited because they looked so awesome and they had heavy weapons crews who LAID DOWN! Wow! Imagine that, not having the Heavy Bolter on a carriage but on a bipod? Madness. I could be wrong but I can see no sign of the Steel Legion in the 3rd Ed. Codex (1st Ed.) but can find portrayal of the Death Korps on foot, on horseback & of a tank commander.

 Psienesis wrote:
Catachans are all Rambo. Including, and especially, Marbo.

And every other action film hero/character of the 1970s-1990s! Don't go forgetting Dutch!

 Troike wrote:
Ousian Riverine from Henry Zou's 'Flesh and Iron' are Lousiana Cajuns.

Hmmph, I had that 13 years ago with my Baratarian 23rd. Used Catachans, painted them in blue jeans and white shrimping boots. Even converted a sentinal into an airboat.