Since the Imperial Guard (Astra Miliwhat? You're in the Guard, son) codex has just gone out for preorder and will be out soon, I thought this would be a good time to write the strategic organization of the Excertus Imperialis and the Regimental Organization of the Astra Militarum. We don't really have to do origins for them because there are already plenty of articles covering them - Arbitor Ian again, Luetin09 and Occulus Imperia to name a few - so I'll go over the organization of them instead. Plus I also briefly described their origins in my Legiones Auxilia article, so no need to repeat them all over again. Anyway, I'll begin chronologically from the Imperial Army during the 31st Millennium before moving onto the regimental organization of their successor in the 42nd Millennium, the Imperial Guard, in another article.
First, we'll begin with the primary force of the Imperialis Auxilia, the Solar Auxilia, because they'll form the bulk of this article. According to the Officio Militaris of Terra, the Solar Auxilia Cohorts are heavy void infantry formation trained and equipped for void warzones, hazardous planetary environments and transitioning from void to ground operations in combat conditions. Also, Boarding Actions, but they have no rules for that...oh, wait.
Early Solar Auxilia forces follow the standard fashion of a Principia Belicosa teneted regimental structure, composing of a nominal 5,000 soldiers-at-arms under the formal command of a Legate-Colonel and a dedicated staff and discipline cadre of around 300 officers and specialists. However, as the Great Crusade expanded, the Solar Auxilia was configured into larger, highly autonomous cohort formations that would form a nominal fighting force of 120,000 individuals, with several thousand additional support staff of various types on permanent attachment to the unit under the command of a Solar Marshal. This would be broken down into a number of sub-cohorts, each with a nominal fighting strength of 1,200 under a Legate-Commander, Commander or Sub-Commander depending on seniority and the sub-cohort's particular type.
So, uh, 100 sub-cohorts from a single cohort fromation? That's a lot.
The fundamental building block of the Solar Cohort at the tactical level is the Tercio, which is a formation of three sections of Auxilia. The most common Tercio formation is the Infantry Tercio, which is made up of three lasrifle sections, each comprising twenty void-armored, lasrifle-equipped infantrymen, commanded by a junior officer. Alongside them are elite Veletaris Tercios, each made up of three squads of ten warriors equipped with augmented short range weapons such as volkite chargers or storm axes or flamer units, and Fire Support Tercios, commanding three batteries each of three crew-served infantry support weapons platforms, of which the tracked rapier type is the most common.
There also exist armored Tercios, which typically are composed of 3 Leman Russ Strike Squadrons or 3 Leman Russ Assault Squadrons, led by tank commanders, often in super-heavy tanks, and mobile armored artillery batteries, the Auxilia artillery tanks mounting their ordnance on Mars-Solar Alpha Leman Russ patterned hulls that are also enclosed and sealed against hazardous atmospheric conditions. Solar Auxilia also employ a variety of Sentinels, from squadrons of Hermes Light Sentinels, the elite Hermes Veletaris Sentinel Squadrons that accompany Veletaris Storm Sections and Vanguards to provide a fast-moving heavy fire support, and the more heavily armored Aethon Heavy Sentinel Squadrons. These various Sentinels are often grouped into Reconnaissance Cohorts, presumably broken down into Tercios of these guys.
Each Tercio is intended to operate as a self-contained and flexible fighting force, and it is organized and supplied with additional infrastructural support based on its assigned role. For example, those Tercios on exploration duty or open warfare will operate as a mechanized force, utilizing large numbers of heavy, all-environment armored transports such as Dracosans, which is considerably armored and possesses inherent rad/alchem protection and life support systems of greater endurance.
Also, as you can see, this is the principal command and rank structure of a Solar Auxilia Cohort, but only primary tactical ranks. There are other diverse ranks that include Medicae, Strategium and other specialist sub-unit titles, and if you remember, the Legate Marshal is pretty much the Legate Colonel, so you don't have to necessarily use marshal. Different worlds will have different ranks and titles for their Solar Auxilia.
However, as you can see, the highest rank is typically the Lord Marshal, reserved for for Expeditionary commanders, though they can also be known as Militant, Lord Generals, Lord Castellan, or a variety of other names (Lord Shogun in the Ryuusei Katanas, for example). Below that is the Cohort Marshal, followed by a Legate Marshal, though again, these can be divided into Cohort Brigadier-Generals or Legate Colonels, depending on the regiment or their world. This Strategic Command would be the commanders of entire Cohorts, overseeing hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions of men.
Under the Strategic Command would be the Cohort Staff, typically consisting of a Tribune and High Commander. Pretty much your Majors, Lieutenant-Colonels, Strategic advisors and other command staff. Each Cohort is further divided into approximately 100 sub-cohorts, as mentioned earlier, and each sub-cohort will be commanded by their own commissioned officers, such as the sub-commander or Captain, his Lieutenants, Sub-Lieutenants, Ensigns and other ranks, such as Lieutenant-Commanders. Below the commissioned officers are the non-commissioned officers leading each Tercio, the Troop Master/Primus, Void Sergeant or just Sergeant.
And the Enlisted men of each Tercio would be the Veletarii, or the Corporals, and the Auxiliary and Sub-Auxiliary. Basically your Lance Corporals, Privates, Private First Class and Troopers.
Volkite weapons are also indicator of rank, the increasingly rare energy weapons becoming the preserve of the most elite of Veletaris units and serving as a thing of great distinction, as well as specialized melee weapons like the Terran Charnabal Saber.
A Solar Auxilia Cohort, while vast, is usually only one of many within a much greater expeditionary fleet or battlegroup. As can be seen, a single expeditionary fleet or dedicated battlegroup comprises of many different Excertus Imperialis regiments working in conjunction.
At the very top is the Lord Militant or Lord Solar, one of the highest authorities in the Imperium, equal to Imperial Commanders of major worlds and the highest officers of the Imperial Court. They are second only to the Emperor, his personal representatives and the Primarchs. They have diverse assets, including their own flag ships of capital class, various escort vessels, retainer cohorts, life guard elite, specialized regiments, full general staff and analytical cadres.
Below them are the Lord Marshals, Lord Castellans and Lord Admirals commanding their respective cohorts/regiments, be them Solar Cohorts or Naval Regiments. These esteemed commanders would have their own Strategic Operational Command Staff of Tribunes General and Subordinate Staff Officers, Officio Locum Strategos, Senior Representatives of the Armorium, Artillerists, Munitoria, Officio Medicae, Lectato and Discipline Corps.
They will also have their own subordinate office of the Admirality and Fleet of the Armada Imperialis, which are the naval assets such as vessels, stations and crews under the purview of the Lord Militant, as well as attached high ranking members of the Astra Telepathica and Navis Nobilite. They will also have their own Mechanicum Assigned Detachment composing of a Magos Militant, Enginseer Covenant Excertus and Emissaries Mechanicum to look after the armament, vehicles and equipment of the Excertus Imperialis. Under the Magos Militant would be attached Allied Taghmata, Ordo Reductor, Legio Cybernetica and Legio Titanicus, and though they are nominally under the command of the Lord Militant, they have their own loyalties.
Lords Militant or Lords Solar also have access to Extra-Incorporate Assigned Forces such as Agents of the Imperial Court, Assassins, Assigned Detachments of the Legiones Astartes, Households of the Knights Questoris, Rogue Traders Minorist, Chartist Captains, Orders of Iterators, Rembrancers and Savants Logos.
However, the principal fighting force are the Cohorts and Regiments under his command - the Cohorts and Regiments Primus being the most powerful forces within the Excertus, comprising elite formations such as the Solar Auxilia, Pioneer Regiments, Armored Cohorts (like my Ryuusei Katanas) and Regiments of Renown. The Cohorts and Regiments Secundus represent a second tier of ability and force, including many indentured forces from Compliant worlds, lightly equipped regular forces itnended for non-critical Compliance garrisons, as well as frontline auxiliaries such as feral worlders and abhuman regiments.
Militia Legions Minoris are forces raised in extremis from subordinate local populations, and are pretty much conscripts. Below them are the Provender and Labor Auxiliaries, and at the last rung are the Penitentiary and Punishment Cohorts and Legions Minoris. Essentially Penal Legions or Penal Corps. Basically, your Last Chancers.
The Strategic Disposition of a Solar Auxilia Cohort might vary greatly, but typically an infantry cohort will look like this:
At the top, you will have the Cohort Supreme Command, consisting of the Cohort Marshal/Marshal Solar (or Cohort General, Castellan, or whatever rank you want for your own regiment). Under him would be the Legate Marshal and/or Tribune Ordinate, and accompanying them are the Cohort Vexillarius, which is a core of veterans and retainers entrusted with the relics and standards of the Cohort, such as Standard Bearers, Signifiers, Subalterns, Bodyguards and Equerries.
Each Cohort has assigned strategic assets such as Warships of the Line, Warp-capable Troop Transport Vessels, Planetary Landers and Combat Drop Vessels, Orbital Lighters and Shuttle Craft, Gunships and Strike Fighter Wings, Void Interceptors, Super-heavy Tank Detachments, Support Artillery and Ordnance Corps, Medicae Corps and Assigned Mechanicum Enginseer Covenants.
Under the Supreme Command would be the Cohort Operations Command, consisting of Tribunes such as Dictatus, Strategos or Logos, the High Commanders and Legate Commanders. Basically your Colonels, Lieutenant-Colonels and Majors, and their accompany aides and command staff. Parallel to them would be the Officers of the Fleet, the officers and command structure of the vessels of the Armada Imperialis seconded to the permanent authority of the Cohort's Marshal or General.
Each Sub-Cohort Tactical Command would have their Sub-Commander or Captains, leading their own Lieutenants/Strategos, Sub-Lieutenants/Proclaimators (or second Lieutenants), and Ensign/Declurion/Vexillarii (Sub-Cohort).
For the Tercio structure of Cohort's rank and file, the bulk of the Cohort is divided into Tercio patterned troop formations. For the Optimate Tercios, you have Veletaris squads and other elite formations, Veteran infantry units and their Dedicated Transport Crews. The Militaris Tercio will consist of Line Infantry Sections, such as Lasrifle sections, Dedicated Transportation Crews and Pioneer Sections. The Ancillary Tercios would be the special weapons sections, such as those wielding flamers, plasma guns, meltaguns and rotor cannons, Assigned Light Field Support Weapons such as Rapiers and Tarantulas, even more Dedicated Transportation Crew for the special weapon sections, Ogryn Charonite Units and other irregular forces attached to the general structure.
This example of a Cohort has 70,000 guys in Lasrifle Sections, 3,000 dudes in Veletaris Sections, 7,000 guys carrying special weapons in the Specialist Weapon Sections, 22,000 support staff making up the Crew, Ancillary, Pioneer, Labor and Support, 1,200 members in the Staff and Command Cadre, another 10,000 people making up the Fleet Officer Cadre and Voidsmen, and 5,000 Other people. That adds up to roughly 118,200 people in the Cohort, which is close to the estimated 120,000 fighting strength of a typical Cohort.
Of course, the numbers may vary greatly depending on the types of Cohorts. Armored regiments will feature a lot more tanks and vehicles, but you don't need 120,000 guys crewing thousands of tanks. So yeah.
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