Tropinine Wild Tigers

"Let them know fear and terror! Let them know that behind every rock and tree and bush lurks a tiger! They were born on this world but these jungles belong to us!"

- Colonel Sokhem Asna The Wild Tigers is the name collectively given to Imperial Guard regiments hailing from the planet Tropinine in the Verana Sector. Light infantry specialising in jungle and mountain warfare, infiltration and counter-insurgency, the Wild Tigers are known for their resourcefulness on campaign and devastating guerilla tactics.

Drawn primarily from the hill tribes of their home world, the Tigers developed from loyalist partisans fighting during the Second Tropinine War (841-846.M40) against the Chaos invaders. This heritage has made them fervently religious with a particular zeal for fighting the Ruinous Powers and other traitors to the God-Emperor. They also retain a flexible, independent-minded approach to war and have a reputation as plunderers and black marketeers. The spread of K-Tab, a highly addictive narcotic, across the Eastern Fringe in recent centuries has been linked by the Adeptus Arbites with the deployment of Wild Tiger regiments.

The An'Guem
Knowledge of Tropinine's existence did not reach the Imperium until the late 39th millennium. At that point the planet and it's human inhabitants had been under the rule of the An'Guem Hegemony for well over a thousand years. A regional alien space empire, the An'Guem had quickly overpowered the native pre-industrial states and forced their kings to accept the vassalage of the Hegemon. Xeno rule was lax. In return for tributes of food, resources and slaves the An'Guem allowed the local rulers to carry on as before, albeit under the watchful eye of a colonial garrison.

The occupation brought peace between the Tropinese kings, stability and access to the markets of the Hegemony, bringing in new medicines and crops. However the slow collapse of the alien empire, partly due to civil wars and partly due to the Imperium saw corruption and hardship strangle Tropinine. The tithes grew as the increasingly decadent puppet kings retreated to their palaces guarded by alien soldiers. By the mid-40th millennium word had spread to the planet from Tropinese serving off-world as servants to the An'Guem of the mighty Imperium. An empire that dwarfed that of their hated masters and was composed of fellow humans.

These fragments of information soon became legend and prophesies of liberation saw the growth of numerous millenarian cults and resistance groups.

War of Holy Liberation
The death of the great Hegemon Shenko'jira in 797.M40 saw the briefly resurgent empire collapse into anarchy. Taking advantage, the Imperium launched an invasion of several frontier worlds. Tropinine with its human population and lush environment was the prime target. The Imperial task force, including a Strike Cruiser and several squads of the Marines Ardent, obliterated the poorly-maintained xeno fleet guarding the planet. The sight of An'Guem ships burning in the atmosphere triggered pandemonium on Tropinine.

Rebellion spread across the planet, her kings and others seen as servants of the xenos were torn apart by mobs. Somnang Sut, a prominent cult leader known as the White Lion quickly became the figurehead of the native resistance, declaring a Holy War of Liberation and sending waves of fanatics against the heavily-armed citadels of the An'Guem. Sut proved himself as much a politician as a prophet quickly presenting himself to the Imperial commanders as lord of Tropinine. Meeting with members of the Ecclesiarchy, Sut also converted to the Imperial Cult declaring to his followers that "new revelations" had clarified his faith, previously based on the mystical polytheistic beliefs native to the planet. Imperial forces combined with the native resistance crushed the isolated alien garrisons within six months. Though Sector Command deemed it wise to install an outsider as Governor, the White Lion's powerbase and religious zeal, however contrived, saw him raised to the title of Pontifex, leader of the Imperial Cult on Tropinine.

Chaos Invasion
For forty years, Somnang Sut was the real power on Tropinine. His zealous followers spread the Imperial Cult across the planet. However many natives held their ancient beliefs sacred and found themselves victims of pogroms and public immolation. The realities of life under the Imperium saw many of the rebels who had faught the An'Guem continue the resistance against their new human overlords led by the 'heathen' Vana Tok.

Into this situation stepped Lord Lyconus, a former Astartes and leader of the Hounds of Ydyros, a Chaos warband that had plagued Verana Sector for centuries. Communicating through covert agents, Lyconus made an alliance with Tok promising the Tropinese rebels salvation from the terrors of the Imperium. In 841.M40 the Hounds' fleet entered the planet's system. Accustomed to small raids from the warband, the Imperium was unaware of the true extent of Lyconus' forces and had made little preparation for a full blown invasion of Tropinine. The meagre Planetary Defence Forces and feudal militias proved no match for the battle-hardened Hounds and Tok's rebels newly armed with las and autoguns. Tok called for a return to the old gods and declared himself high king though the taint of Chaos soon made itself known. Lord Lyconus' motivations for the invasion, save to cause problems for the Imperium, remain something of a mystery.

Similar invasions and uprisings supported by the Hounds spread through the Sector. It was three years before Imperial forces returned to Tropinine, the last world held by Lyconus. By this point Tok's rule had degenerated into a parody of Sut's with the Black Temple, a nihilistic cult centred around the Tropinese god of death, taking on the trappings of Ecclesiarchy, buring and torturing servants of the God-Emperor. The White Lion had vanished to the despair of the faithful (Imperial authorities later identified Sut had died attempting to escape the planet in disguise, something that has remained classified ever since). However some continued to resist. The tribes of the thick jungle highlands had been some of the most fervent converts to the Imperial Cult and buoyed by those fleeing the Black Temple, a large army of loyalist partisans began to form. Guerilla attacks against the Hounds and Tok's forces increased by the day. Efforts to flush out the loyalists usually ended in disaster with impaled traitors marking the boundaries of their territory. Bombings and assassinations spread the resistance to the towns. Tok made numerous pronouncements against them, declaring them 'wild tigers', predators stalking the fringes of Tropinine society. The name was happily taken up by the loyalists.

When Imperial forces made planetfall in 844.M40, the partisans quickly made contact and the two forces slowly pushed the traitors out of the cities. Tok and the Hounds retreated to strongholds, some former An'Guem citadels, others veritable fortresses dug into the mountains of Tropinine, from where they conducted their own guerilla campaign. Due to Hound numbers and the skills needed, the majority of the fighting was soon between native Tropinese irregulars, a brutal civil war bathed in religious hatred. The dedication and effectiveness of the loyalists impressed the Imperial commanders, particularly Colonel Etson of the 233rd Catachan Jungle Fighters. The Catachans and Wild Tigers became close allies during two years of merciless battle in the forests and hills. The final confrontation came at the Battle of Mount Malaking in 846.M40. Thousands of Catachans and Wild Tigers, led by a vanguard of Assault Terminators of the Marines Ardent slowly pushed through the labyrinth of tunnels beneath the mountain. During three weeks of close-quarter fighting the traitors were slaughtered to a man.

Formation
The trials and horrors of the Second Tropinine War had if nothing else proved the fighting prowess of the native loyalists. Lord Lyconus had escaped the planet. Despite his defeat he had proven his ability to strike deep into Imperial territory and attack worlds previously thought secure. Both facts combined, Colonel Etson sent a report to Sector Command encouraging the creation of Imperial Guard regiments from the partisans to better defend the region. In truth there was little work required beyond making it official. After several years fighting alongside Guardsmen, the Wild Tigers had adopted much of the weaponry and command structure of their Catachan allies. Hungry for good soldiers, Sector Command agreed. In 855.M40 the 1st Tropinine Rifles were established, composed entirely of Wild Tiger veterans. They retained their wartime name and lineage which has continued now for over a millennium.