Hello everyone. This is just some fluff that i have been working on to for lack of other words, explain the creation of my current army list which is the 173rd Elysian Drop Troops inspired by the likes of movies such as Black Hawk Down and We Were Soldiers which showed off an Air Cav style of army very well. In my fluff I also tried to incorperate some historical backround from our own history, primarily that of the M551 Sheridan Light tank used by the 82nd Airborne during Vietnam.
I also tried to incorperate into this list the units I use when I decide to take allies or when I have to use the Imperial Guard Codex instead of Imperial Armor 3 Second Edition (aka allied Broadsides as "Heavy Drop Sentinels" and Leman Russ Tanks as "Drop Tanks" converted with the Chapterhouse Chimera Wheeled Chasis. This is my first attempt at fluff for my Elysian Drop Troops so please let me know what you guys think in regards to how the fluff looks and its accuracy in regards to the 40k universe, thanks! 
The 173rd Elysian Drop Troops: A history of the Iron Eagles
When the beast returned to Armageddon it brought death in its claws. Within weeks of arrival the entire planet of Armageddon was engulfed in the firestorm of war that followed the invasion, no where was a safe haven to be found. That in particular speaks for the proud remains of Hades Hive. In an act of terrible vengeance for its defiance in the first War between the Imperium and Ghazghkull's hordes the Hive was smashed asunder from the heavens as giant asteroids pummeled the Hive to oblivion, the population and Imperial forces stationed there all but wiped out in one fell stroke. As the skies became choked with the contrails of dueling fighters from either side what few Imperial forces available were assembled to move into the ruined hive city to deny the enemy the symbol of Imperial Victory from the last war, among them was the entire 173rd Elysian Drop Troops Regiment.
The devastated city soon became a brutal battleground as orks flooded into the Hives corpse eager for easing pickings and loot. However the remaining survivors and Imperial reinforcements resisted and throughout the shattered ruins men and ork grappled in an increasingly bloody conflict. Command of the Imperial forces jointly fell under the leadership of Major Aleron of the 173rd Elysian and Colonel Wulfe of the 87th Steel Legion, who together rebuilt the outnumbered Imperials and survivors into a hard and quite effective force. Under their leadership, using a combination of guerrilla warfare and lightning fast assaults the Imperial forces began to fight back. Like a tightening fist the Imperial Forces halted the flow of orks into the ruins and inch by bloody inch began to drive the greenskins from the inner portion of the Hive.
For weeks the surviving military personnel with the aide of hive gangers and volunteers continued to hold back the numberless tides of orks that assailed them. Speed Freak convoys of both bikes and ork infantry where lured into dead ends to be slaughtered by hidden infantry and weapons emplacements. Ork supply lines and defensive fortifications were stormed and destroyed by the 173rd, launching strikes deep behind enemy lines. What little armor remained at Drecta's disposal lurked in the shadows of ruins ambushing ork armor before vanishing into the surrounding rubble leaving burning wrecks and piles of dead Greenskins in their wake.
It was during this time some unorthodox practices and fighting equipment began to appear, in particular the creation of specialized "Drop Tanks" from the few remaining foundries and factories that had survived miraculously thusfar. Armed exclusively with either Eradicator, Exterminator, Punisher or Vanquisher cannons due to the nature of their foe these wheeled variants of leman russ battle tanks vastly improved the fighting capability of the 173rd, despite many complaints from Techpriests and the Adaptus Mechanicus production of the newly dubbed "Skyhawk" variant of the Leman Russ continued throughout and after the conflict. Also among the alterations was the developement of a "Heavy Drop Sentinel" which unlike their other sentinels, was armed excusivley with two missile systems. These Sentinels would move into position, drop recoil brakes and bombard the enemy with a literal rain of missiles, making them excellent at targetting and destroying the vast numbers of Ork buggies and bikes they were facing.
Relief eventually came in the form of Marines from the Black Dragons and Salamanders Chapters along with several Guard regiments thanks to the reinforcements pouring in across the Imperium. By the time the 173rd was relived, the regiment had suffered over 78% casualties, the largest in its entire history. However with the high numbers of ex-hive gangers and other surviving forces left over it enabled the 173rd to rebuild far faster then anticipated, as these new recruits were a perfect fit for an aggressive, fast, hard hitting and veteran force. In thanks for their valiant defense of Hades Hive, Tartarus Command equipped the 173rd with a vast number of Valkyries, Vendettas and Vultures as their own personal aircraft, as well as bestowing the rank of Colonel to Aleron.
Within days of being restored nearly to full strength the 173rd Elysian made an immediate impact in the fighitng surrounding Tartarus Hive by all but annihilating a massive ork force that included several Stompas and a Gargant in the Ash Wastes as it made its way to the already beleaguered Hive City. With Aleron leading personally he and a team of veterans landed on and infiltrated the Gargant "Morks Fist" and after planting some demo charges and fighting their way out, detonated the explosives around its already unstable reactor. The surrounding explosion wiped out a massive chunk of the ork convoy including two of the Stompas whose unstable reactors were set off by the Gargants explosion. the remains of the dazed and stunned ork horde were then brutally slaughtered as the veteran fighters of the 173rd disembarked from their hovering Valkyries and Vendettas and with help from the several Dop Tanks and Sentinel variants mopped up the survivors in a 3 day running battle across the Ash Wastes.
Throughout the Armageddon War the 173rd continued to make an impact in the fighting by aiding in several key engagements around Hive Tartarus that went a long way into making sure the Hive remained in Imperial hands. When the war finally bogged down into the stalemate that still remains to this day, the 173rd Elysian Drop Troops were called upon to leave Armageddon as their skills were needed elsewhere and to this date the "Iron Eagles" continue to serve proudly in the Emperors name.
Combat Doctrine:
-Airborne but primarily Air Assault
Favored Heavy Weapon:
-Heavy Flamer
Favored Special Weapon:
-Plasma Gun
Battle Cry:
- "Feet First!"
Other Information:
The 173rd, like other Elysian Drop Troop Regiments specialize in both Airborne and Air Assault operations, with a greater tendency towards the latter. One thing that makes the 173rd stand alone amongst other Drop Troop Regiments is the use of specialy created "Skyhawk Drop Tanks" which where produced in large quantities during the battle for Hades Hive. This variant of Leman Russ, built on a Chimera's chasis with thicker armor, could only use certain ammo as the recoil could tear the turret off its housing if it used any of the heavier rounds. Also unique to the 173rd were the "Heavy Drop Sentinels" which helped provide some much needed fire power to the Infantry on the ground when the Iron Eagles went into combat.
Another unique feature of the 173rd is the large number of Valkyries, Vendettas and Vultures at their disposal, a gift for their service at Hades Hive. Because of this and the high number of veterans making up the 173rd, nearly every squad of x10 men or "Talon" in slang terms is mounted in a Valkyrie or Vendetta. Due to the nature and preferred fighting style of this regiment the Iron Eagles recruit exclusively from depleted Elysian Regiments, taking on their veterans to keep the number of veterans high in the 173rd.
19th Krieg Siege Army 7500pts.
40k/HH Night Lords 5000pts.
Orks Waaaghmacht Spearhead 2500pts.
