Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

 AtoMaki wrote:

More like Afghanistan vs USA. Yeah, that worked out just fine, didn't it ?

Aye. Every conqueror has eventually decided that Afghanistan isn't worth the trouble keeping. You can take it just fine if you have the technology and troops, but there's nothing to fight over and no reason to really be there. Once you finally decide to cut your losses and go home the tribal warlord system is back in effect. It's a country where entire families have a guaranteed career watching this or that mountain pass for the local warlord, whoever that might be - pay them and they'll watch the pass for you too. They don't care who pays.

Earth would probably be the same kind of place for any 40K enemy who doesn't fall down dead due to biology (Tyranids). We'll take their pay, learn their stuff and then steal everything they brought. And on their ships (or webway, or whatever) their doom would come to them. Poor bastards.

We have, of course, overlooked the only true answer to the OP's question.

Which 40k army would the modern military most want to fight?

Squats. Without question, the Squats.

Given the question "most WANT to fight";

Modern armies would probably want to fight against the Cult Mechanicus most. They're numbers are small, and the potential reward from even the smallest victory would be massive. More than any other opponent listed, the Cult Mechanicus' weapons would be the easiest to reverse-engineer, would could make the battle start lopsided against us, but would end with us gaining much closer battlefield-parity. Tyranids would be the worst to fight, since even just a few escaping bioforms from even a small engagement would devastate the planetary ecosystem and we'd probably still die. Orks are similarly disastrous, and we would gain very little technological edge as most of their weapons are held together by sheer Orky will.

However, from an "our world vs them" angle, the Tau would be the best to encounter, since we can try to use diplomacy, and thieves and criminals might succeed in stealing tech, getting us to a closer-to-even match. Those that survive the eventual Tau victory would at least survive with at least a modicum of a good life. All others would result in not only our loss, but our extinction or complete loss of humanity (as in the case of Chaos Space Marines).

 Yarium wrote:
Given the question "most WANT to fight";

Modern armies would probably want to fight against the Cult Mechanicus most. They're numbers are small, and the potential reward from even the smallest victory would be massive. More than any other opponent listed, the Cult Mechanicus' weapons would be the easiest to reverse-engineer, would could make the battle start lopsided against us, but would end with us gaining much closer battlefield-parity. Tyranids would be the worst to fight, since even just a few escaping bioforms from even a small engagement would devastate the planetary ecosystem and we'd probably still die. Orks are similarly disastrous, and we would gain very little technological edge as most of their weapons are held together by sheer Orky will.

However, from an "our world vs them" angle, the Tau would be the best to encounter, since we can try to use diplomacy, and thieves and criminals might succeed in stealing tech, getting us to a closer-to-even match. Those that survive the eventual Tau victory would at least survive with at least a modicum of a good life. All others would result in not only our loss, but our extinction or complete loss of humanity (as in the case of Chaos Space Marines).

Of course, they might be carrying the space-flu that wipes out the planetary population in a week, just like our own bacteria, germs and virii do to them.

 Psienesis wrote:

 Yarium wrote:
Given the question "most WANT to fight";

Modern armies would probably want to fight against the Cult Mechanicus most. They're numbers are small, and the potential reward from even the smallest victory would be massive. More than any other opponent listed, the Cult Mechanicus' weapons would be the easiest to reverse-engineer, would could make the battle start lopsided against us, but would end with us gaining much closer battlefield-parity. Tyranids would be the worst to fight, since even just a few escaping bioforms from even a small engagement would devastate the planetary ecosystem and we'd probably still die. Orks are similarly disastrous, and we would gain very little technological edge as most of their weapons are held together by sheer Orky will.

However, from an "our world vs them" angle, the Tau would be the best to encounter, since we can try to use diplomacy, and thieves and criminals might succeed in stealing tech, getting us to a closer-to-even match. Those that survive the eventual Tau victory would at least survive with at least a modicum of a good life. All others would result in not only our loss, but our extinction or complete loss of humanity (as in the case of Chaos Space Marines).

Of course, they might be carrying the space-flu that wipes out the planetary population in a week, just like our own bacteria, germs and virii do to them.

Pathogenic viruses are species specific.

 Kain wrote:

 Psienesis wrote:

 Yarium wrote:
Given the question "most WANT to fight";

Modern armies would probably want to fight against the Cult Mechanicus most. They're numbers are small, and the potential reward from even the smallest victory would be massive. More than any other opponent listed, the Cult Mechanicus' weapons would be the easiest to reverse-engineer, would could make the battle start lopsided against us, but would end with us gaining much closer battlefield-parity. Tyranids would be the worst to fight, since even just a few escaping bioforms from even a small engagement would devastate the planetary ecosystem and we'd probably still die. Orks are similarly disastrous, and we would gain very little technological edge as most of their weapons are held together by sheer Orky will.

However, from an "our world vs them" angle, the Tau would be the best to encounter, since we can try to use diplomacy, and thieves and criminals might succeed in stealing tech, getting us to a closer-to-even match. Those that survive the eventual Tau victory would at least survive with at least a modicum of a good life. All others would result in not only our loss, but our extinction or complete loss of humanity (as in the case of Chaos Space Marines).

Of course, they might be carrying the space-flu that wipes out the planetary population in a week, just like our own bacteria, germs and virii do to them.

Pathogenic viruses are species specific.

Are you calling War of the Worlds a lie?

 Psienesis wrote:

 Kain wrote:

 Psienesis wrote:

 Yarium wrote:
Given the question "most WANT to fight";

Modern armies would probably want to fight against the Cult Mechanicus most. They're numbers are small, and the potential reward from even the smallest victory would be massive. More than any other opponent listed, the Cult Mechanicus' weapons would be the easiest to reverse-engineer, would could make the battle start lopsided against us, but would end with us gaining much closer battlefield-parity. Tyranids would be the worst to fight, since even just a few escaping bioforms from even a small engagement would devastate the planetary ecosystem and we'd probably still die. Orks are similarly disastrous, and we would gain very little technological edge as most of their weapons are held together by sheer Orky will.

However, from an "our world vs them" angle, the Tau would be the best to encounter, since we can try to use diplomacy, and thieves and criminals might succeed in stealing tech, getting us to a closer-to-even match. Those that survive the eventual Tau victory would at least survive with at least a modicum of a good life. All others would result in not only our loss, but our extinction or complete loss of humanity (as in the case of Chaos Space Marines).

Of course, they might be carrying the space-flu that wipes out the planetary population in a week, just like our own bacteria, germs and virii do to them.

Pathogenic viruses are species specific.

Are you calling War of the Worlds a lie?

The original book had the diseases killing the martians be bacteria.

It was the 2005 remake that changed it into viruses.

Talking about AdMech, I've seen somewhere they have a perfect knowledge of AI and digital stuff we currently love so much but oviously, they hide it deep inside their Martian crypts as they have forbidden this in the Imperium. For this reason, they would be able to IEM the feth out of computers and softwares and neutralize it in a minute. Such weapons would certainly make our military not want to fight them...

I've even stated this in my previous posts because I was sure of my info but can someone confirm/detail it further?

 RazgrizOne wrote:
Talking about AdMech, I've seen somewhere they have a perfect knowledge of AI and digital stuff we currently love so much but oviously, they hide it deep inside their Martian crypts as they have forbidden this in the Imperium. For this reason, they would be able to IEM the feth out of computers and softwares and neutralize it in a minute. Such weapons would certainly make our military not want to fight them...

I've even stated this in my previous posts because I was sure of my info but can someone confirm/detail it further?

Even if, there's a number of reasons why we wouldn't worry:

#1 - A lot of conventional weapons that don't need a computer chip.
#2 - They keep that information secret, which means they would only use it sparingly in the most dire circumstances - we wouldn't be worth the effort.
#3 - Again, without ready access to that knowledge, it may even be possible to reverse-use it on them!

 KingmanHighborn wrote:
Religion is EXACTLY why the Imperium would have to kill almost every last soul on Earth. There is no way in hell any nation rolls over, even in the Marines iced every world leader it would not force a surrender. If anything it'd have the direct opposite result, forging the planet into a united front against the threat.

Humans?
United front?
...
...

Don't be so naive. We humans much prefer tearing each other apart rather than external threats. If anything, some of the world's nations will ally itself with the Imperial to defeat their rivals.

 KingmanHighborn wrote:
Not to mention people are assuming Marines COULD drop into a city like New York AND get out. Those pods drop and stay there. And those Thunderhawks, Stormravens, Valks, Vendettas, etc. that COULD evac would be getting blown apart by the handfuls by YF-22s, Su-47s, etc. (As I said before the aircraft from the 70s are better then the Imperium's offerings.) that the Imperium's amazingly backwards sensors wouldn't even be able to lock onto or SEE. It'd be a massacre for the Space Marines. And even the IG can't win an air battle, and our ground vehicles are generally faster and more maneuverable.

A Chimera is a slug compared to even a Bradley or Striker. And a Bradley has comparable firepower to the Chimera.

The only advantage is the orbital bombardments which if we are assuming they are here to take offer would not be used.

The Space Marines could drop into New York quite easily. It is not as if we are constantly tracking the skies for any possiblity that something from outer space drops right into the city. Even if they used Thunderhawks they could land and get out before quick reaction jets could be scrambled. And even if we could scramble them in time, we wouldn't fire. The military doesn't just fire on unidentified aircraft, especially not if they are UFO's from outer space. By the time we would have realised they are hostile, they would have already taken out our aircraft.
Imperial aircraft successfully take on threats far greater than a Su-47, F-16 or whatever modern jet on a daily basis all across the galaxy. What makes you think our aircraft could defeat them if even the hyper-advanced stealthy Eldar aircraft can't do that?

Also, a Bradley has nothing even close to the firepower of a Chimera. Multilasers and lascannons would tear through any of our vehicles like a hot knife through butter.

 KingmanHighborn wrote:
But anything that just shows up on our doorstep and tries to go full invasion is going to get hurt badly.

Nyet. Apart from maybe Orks, but they actually think it is fun. Against Space Marines and CSM our only effective weapons would be expansive and heavy anti-vehicle weaponry not designed for taking out nimble infantry, or heavy explosives that would cause huge collateral damage (something we can't tolerate, but the Imperium can). Even against Eldar or IG our small arms would be ineffective.

 KingmanHighborn wrote:
Problem is against Space Marines, 250 dead targets, with marines, dreads, vehicles etc. Wipes out chapters of equipment and man power. Guard a bit less so, But I just used the best example. A world invasion everything up an F-4 Phantom or Intruder is going to wreck the every loving hell out of the Imperium. And it's not just the USAF, Russia's Migs and SU-47, and the Euro craft like the Dasaults will be in the air, and British Harrier jump jets. Space Marines might take out one or two air bases or a carrier, but they'd have to do it via teleporter at best, cause they won't make it to the ground with drop pods or aircraft.

If it doesn't have void shields it burns.

Plus you are assuming the ship drops out of warp right over Earth. It CAN but the likely hood, with no astropath available, could dump a ship anywhere in the solar system and they'd have to advance with thrusters only, giving earth a lot of prep time.

Firstly, we would not know an invasion is coming because for obvious reasons we have no way to detect hostile spaceships. Even if they came at sublight speed it would be a total surprise until they enter orbit.

Secondly, all those aircraft amounts to only a few hundred aircraft at most. All of which have to return to base after a single attack run (which equals being destroyed thanks to Imperial bombardment and strike capabilities). Even if we assume every available modern military aircraft on earth will take down one Imperial fighter, they will not even put a dent in the Imperial fighting machine, a tiny scratch in the paint at most. Also, modern aircraft would not be able to intercept something travelling at the speed of a drop pod.

Thirdly, you have not read into 40k background enough. Imperial aircraft are not made of any material that is known to us today. It is quite a big thing to assume our weapons will even be effective against it. Imperial aircraft fight and are effective against threats far greater than 21st century jets. Why would we even be a threat? Due to the sparse and conflicting background on the subject, we also know next to nothing about the quality of Imperial sensors. Some background has Imperial vehicles with sensors capable of monitoring entire planets or continents, and locking onto Eldar aircraft without problem, while in other stories their sensors are on a WW2 level.

Now questions like this are always kinda useless because it involves a fictional universe operating under vastly different rules than our world, while we only have conflicting and incomplete information. Nonetheless, realistically after ten thousand years of technological advancement, Imperial technology should be to 21st Century technology like our technology is to that of the Stone Age.

Cult Mechanicus would be the easiest to fight? Uhm, ever heard of the Life-Eater virus? Or Cyclonic Torpedoes... Yeaaaaah, good bye Earth, while they go back to Mars.

The Cult Mechanicus implies Titan Legions and Skitarrii, against which we have no real defense.

@Yarium

Thanks for reply but any fluff material to back up this ?

 Psienesis wrote:

Spoiler:

Are you calling War of the Worlds a lie?

Spoiler alert, man! Please edit.

 Hybrid Son Of Oxayotl wrote:

 Psienesis wrote:

Spoiler:

Are you calling War of the Worlds a lie?

Spoiler alert, man! Please edit.

By the way, Jesus comes back to life after being crucified, Bowser kidnaps Princess Peach, and Darth Vader is Luke's father.

 Kain wrote:

 Hybrid Son Of Oxayotl wrote:

 Psienesis wrote:

Spoiler:

Are you calling War of the Worlds a lie?

Spoiler alert, man! Please edit.

By the way, Jesus comes back to life after being crucified, Bowser kidnaps Princess Peach, and Darth Vader is Luke's father.

How dare you...



If i had to choose, probably Eldar

Since they will probably lose since they are eldar.

But really because they will probably be the most accepting of an actual diplomatic resolution. maybe tau for the same reason.

 Desubot wrote:

 Kain wrote:

 Hybrid Son Of Oxayotl wrote:

 Psienesis wrote:

Spoiler:

Are you calling War of the Worlds a lie?

Spoiler alert, man! Please edit.

By the way, Jesus comes back to life after being crucified, Bowser kidnaps Princess Peach, and Darth Vader is Luke's father.

How dare you...



If i had to choose, probably Eldar

Since they will probably lose since they are eldar.

But really because they will probably be the most accepting of an actual diplomatic resolution. maybe tau for the same reason.

Oh I can keep on going.

Zeus can't keep it in his pants and Hera gets jealous, the protagonist goes crazy at the end of Call of Cthulhu, and the Trix Rabbit doesn't get the Yoghurt.

It was littering and...

Elysian Drop Troops. Simply because every piece of fluff about them has them coming in, achieving their objective, and getting wipeout before anything happens because their reinforcements don't arrive.



Seems like the perfect scenario. Sure, we take loses, but the rest of the Imperium never shows up, and we spend the rest of eternity wondering what the happened over that week.

I voted Tau, because Tau would be willing to negotiate.

All other factions can either overwhelm up with sheer numbers or are too technologically advanced for us to put up much of a fight.

A little sad to see orks being downplayed for the most part. Yes, other races can be much scarier, but a full blown WAAAAGH can devastate systems. Yes, an ork army can be subject to bombardments, but a in a head on fight, orks can take on fortifications made by the Iron Warriors (aka siege experts). The common soldier will have little hope of taking on an ork, which is very resilient and if a soldier manages to down an ork it will only draw more orks to him as they know their is good sport to be had there. Orks can also mass reproduce, and humanity probably won't figure out how to stop the spores until it's too late.

Not to mention the roks the orks will use to get onto the planet, which are devastating by themselves, especially if it lands on a capitol. Although the orks may also crash into the Pacific and that wouldn't be too good for them, to be fair. One more factor is the WAAAAGH energy itself, it might incapitate humans. Space marines can struggle against its pure energy. Once again, to be fair, if humanity can get the orks to degrade to infighting, things will be simple, but orks like to unite against a common enemy, do they not? Sorry for the rant, I just was a little disappointed by the lack of orky support.

For the sake of the OP, I will say humanity would probably prefer to fight the tau, as diplomacy is pretty good and would be a nice upgrade to have an interplanetary government take care of debt, hunger, disease, etc with advanced tech, if the countries are willing to give up their freedoms to be led of course, but I have a feeling many countries will take the deal, especially if any country is willing to say no and be made an example of.

One thing I've always wondered about the Tau...

... how the feth do they learn to speak some new variant of Low Gothic with every new Imperial world they encounter? Low Gothic is hardly a universal tongue, the residents of one planet cannot necessarily speak with the residents of a planet two systems over, what permits the non-psychic Tau to do so?

Low Gothic is hardly a universal tongue, the residents of one planet cannot necessarily speak with the residents of a planet two systems over, what permits the non-psychic Tau to do so?

Perhaps they speak High Gothic to the Administratum representatives/Planetary governors. These guys must know high gothic to communicate with the wider Imperium don't they?

IG are the equivalent of Navy Seals crossbread with Army Rangers.
Yeah, in 40k they are horde troops, but that is because that is the only way to stop a horde of deamons sometimes.

 Farseer Anath'lan wrote:
Elysian Drop Troops. Simply because every piece of fluff about them has them coming in, achieving their objective, and getting wipeout before anything happens because their reinforcements don't arrive.



Seems like the perfect scenario. Sure, we take loses, but the rest of the Imperium never shows up, and we spend the rest of eternity wondering what the happened over that week.

As an Elysian player, I agree.

 2BlackJack1 wrote:
Although the orks may also crash into the Pacific and that wouldn't be too good for them, to be fair.

A rok (or a few) crashing in the Pacific Ocean is NOT good news for mankind.

Most of the scenarios presented are "flawed", in that they assume a gross imbalance in the forces fielded against each other. Of course we can't defeat a whole biofleet or the whole Imperial Guard.

When talking about roughly equivalent forces in a vacuum (so ignoring possible infestations or contagion), I'd say we have a good chance of taking on most melee-centric armies, be they eldar, orks or space marines.

 Chute82 wrote:
haircut, and a clean shave. Let him go so he can report to his commanders what those darn Americans will do to them if they get captured.

A fate worse than death DDDDDDDDD: !

Vetril wrote:

 2BlackJack1 wrote:
Although the orks may also crash into the Pacific and that wouldn't be too good for them, to be fair.

A rok (or a few) crashing in the Pacific Ocean is NOT good news for mankind.

I was just pointing out that a rok crashing into the Pacific would not be good for the orks as they can't just blind rush into a nearby enemy. The crash itself would be devastating, much like other large asteroids, but the orks would prefer a big boom and being able to get into melee right away, which they cannot do in the middle of the Pacific. (Unless they miraculously land close enough to a ship to board and loot, which they could use to get right up close to a port and have some fun).

Well just to give the Orks a further nudge. The Orks in Waaaaaagh! Ghazghkull have submersibles thanks to Orkimedes and they seemed pretty accurate with their Roks. He chose where the Roks were to land ahead of time including even the intentional annihalation of Hive City Hades by having a Rok land on it instead of getting into a long portracted fight with it like they did in their first invasion of Armageddon. But yeah the humans were curious as to why Roks were landing off the continants until suddenly one of the coastal hive cites got hit by submersibles that also brought in boyz.

Eldar and C:SM havent a single vote each.
Do we feel it would be that much of a Curbstomp? Surely Crons would be a more fearsome force to face than C:SM based purely on their tech levels, transport/regen capabilities and gauss weaponry?