Adyghan Guard

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"No one heard of them nor sang their laments. Their names were suppressed by battle cries and gunfires. They were forgotten. Lost in history. They became the erased digits of approximate numbers. Zeros. But neither did they complain nor care, for they have done their part and proved themselves fit among their ancestors; to ride, to dance, to sing and to feast among them for the rest of the eternity."

—Adygh honour code of Khabze.

Adyghan Guard is an all-men Imperial Guard regiment which hails from the Maiden World of Adyghan Prime in Adyghan solar system.

The Adyghan Guard troops are highly disciplined, highly agile and manoeuvrable, stern, and steady soldiers - just as any Imperial Guard regiment. However, they are motivated by their honour code of Khabze, almost as much as the Imperial Creed. They are by no means fearless; however, they acknowledge that they need to embrace their fears in order to show courage in the face of threat. In the meanwhile, due to the culture that they are raised in, they are more afeared of being branded as cowards than most things that they might have to face. Therefore, they have a relatively low summary execution by commissar per platoon ratio compared to most Imperial Guard regiments. Also, names of those who desert are made sure to be informed to their houses and declared publicly to the society that they are a part of, tarnishing their good name and bringing shame upon their clan - a method very effective to deter about any Adygh guardsmen from abandoning their posts.

Due to their long disconnection from the rest of humanity and the environment they lived in, they are long-lived and have a much higher oxygen-carrying capacity than normal humans.

While they are easy to lead and quite zealous while following orders, they are observed to be noticeably distasteful being led by foreign officers who have not yet earned their respect. They are almost as effective in close combat as they are effective in ranged, carrying sabres specially forged by the Forge of Tlepsh called Sashkho which they don't hesitate to get into close combat to utilise shall the need arises.

While about any Adygh is an exceptionally skilled horseman, the Adyghan Riders - a division of the Adyghan Guard - take the prowess of Adygh on horseback to wholly new level. They are arguably among the best light cavalries throughout the Imperium - riding into battle mounted on their horses that they have been specially breeding for dozens of millennia - the thoroughbred Shaghdiy - a breed that can even outclass most bio-engineered breeds in the companionship of an Adygh rider.

Regiment History[]

Founded in M23, upon the colonisation of Adyghan Prime, though it went through several reforms throughout its existence. Its military tradition is very old, dating back to M2.

Post-colonisation, they were the first guardians of their new homeworld, which were mainly made up of Adyghan Riders. Later on, as the colony expanded and industrial improvements were achieved, armoured regiments were formed in the ranks.

After the first Orkish invasion in the late M24, funding on the military increased drastically, and the Orks that survived and fled to the forests after the invasion became the main targets of the Adyghan Guard military training. Thusly, the use of traditional Adygh melee weapons restarted in the military, advanced versions of such weapons has been made to combat tougher opponents.

During the Great Crusade of the Imperium, in M30, Adyghan Guard had to go through a major reform, during its assimilation into the Imperium. Most of the barely-developed equipment was discarded and Mechanicum-made military technology was adopted when the Forge of Tlepsh was founded on one of the two moons of Adyghan Prime, which was superior to theirs in some of its aspects.

When Horus Heresy began, they stayed loyal to the Imperium. They had to fight against Traitor Legions such as Word Bearers and World Eaters with the assistance of Ultramarines and Blood Angels. Thus, once again Adyghan Guard had to reform the equipment of its soldiers. Melee weapons have been improved in such a way that Adyghan Guardsmen would have a remarkable edge over the Khornite auxiliaries. Adyghan Guard barely defended their homeworld against the invasion of Word Bearers on their own, which led to the eradication of most of the recorded Adygh literature and folklore before they were assisted by the Loyalist Space Marine Legions and the following invasion of World Eaters ensued and fought off.

Regiment Recruitment and Training[]

Adyghan Prime Planetary Defence Force has compulsory military service for all males on the planet who age 20, which lasts for three years. Depending on their prowess, they are taken into the conscriptability list of Adyghan Guard as soon as they complete a degree of required consistency, physical prowess and discipline. After their indoctrination to the Adyghan Guard is completed, each conscript is assigned into a sub-regiment and either get shipped off-world or stationed on Adyghan Prime to be shipped off-world shall the need arises.

Who serve the Adyghan Guard on a grander scale are the graduates of Adyghan Guard Military Academy, the people who have deliberately chosen military service as their career - mostly those who have a family tradition of such services, such as people from knightly of princely houses of Adyghan Prime.

In some certain occasions such as times of crisis, all men and women who can stand up to fight can be enlisted. They serve remarkably well compared to most other civilians throughout the Imperial worlds, due to high weaponization rate, semi-industrial age feudal lifestyle of the average rural Adygh and Feral World-level dangers of the Adyghan Prime's wilderness.

Combat Doctrine[]

Adyghan guardsman 04 — Corporal Astemyr Nekhu "the Barber" of the Adyghan Guard 54th Strike Regiment, operating a Tlepsh Pattern Assault Lasgun.

"Hit hard. Vanish. Regroup. Repeat. This is how our ancestors endured hundreds of invading armies countless times greater than their numbers. And that is exactly how we will proceed until we come close to evening out the odds."

—Anonymous Adyghan Guard Commander

Tactics of Adyghan Guard highly depends on the phrase above, it is based upon crippling and tiring the enemy's forces until it faces the main army, highly demoralising the enemy and greatly reducing the friendly casualties. While normally guerilla warfare requires well-organised supply lines and intelligence support, Adyghan Guardsmen have trained to be able to keep on the fight without relying on anything but themselves. They are expert wilderness survivalists, they can operate for months without the support of the Adepta Munitorum. When they are cut off from their main command staff, they establish a new command among the units that they are still in touch with and utilise more primitive means of communication. Their night assault tactics are notably formidable especially in such cases where they are unable to utilise the wonders of Adeptus Mechanicus in the dead of night, such as using their blades as reflectors of the moonlight or artificial light from a las weapon concealed and projected onto the blade from a different position in order to convey intelligence.

It might seem like Adyghan Guard lacks enough heavy firepower due to their specialisation in guerilla warfare and utilisation of primitive technologies but this is but a mere speculation. They possess formidable mechanised and armoured forces; however, due to the uncertain dependability and availability of such units, they are highly trained in scattered, guerilla warfare, in addition to disciplined forms. Infantry is mostly assisted with high-altitude stealth aircraft, monitoring the battlefield and channelling the information to the allies below - and occasionally, long-range artillery support while they operate on the field with hard terrain, inaccessible by mechanised and armoured forces.

Regiment Appearance[]

To express their devotion to the ancient traditions, Adyghan Guard has designed the standard uniform after the usual attire of their ancestors from late M2 - which is both ornamental and utilitarian. On their right shoulder pad, their assignment numbers are written, on the left one, their house symbol is proudly displayed. The rank of the troop is recognised by the colouration and form of the stripes on the chest holsters.

Regimental Organisation[]

Adyghan Guard Tley -
Adyghan Guard Engineer -
Adyghan Guardsman -
Adyghan Rider -
Adyghan Guard Headsman - The troops especially tasked with retrieving the heads of the fallen comrades should the tide of war turns against their favour. The Adygh consider leaving the dead behind a great dishonour. Due to the difficulty of transporting the entirety of body over great distances, they take only the head instead, which they believe it to be containing the individual's soul within.
Adyghan Guard Abrec - Outcasts and dishonoured who took the vow of Abrec and officially signed their names to the Adyghan Guard in order to be assigned to suicide missions, to be utilised

Wargear[]

The citizens of Adyghan Prime are subtle and hard-working folk, and this is reflected in the weapons and equipment used by the Adyghan Guard, which tends to be both very utilitarian and ornamental compared to other Imperial Guard regiments. Ultimately, however, the Adyghan Guards' wargear stands up well in any fight and helps the troops of these regiments accomplish their mission.

Mazet'u Pattern Assault Lasgun
9 Lasgun Charge Packs
Flak Armour
Sashkho - The Sashkho, is a traditional, 90-centimeter, extremely sharp, single-edged, slightly curved Adyghan sword, used by almost all Adyghan Guard troops. Its flexibility and speed of use are superior to many Imperial Guard swords. Its lack of sword guard may seem like it gets the hand into danger but provides relatively high mobility. Its hilt resembles the shape of a joint for the human palm, allowing the wielder to use the sword as it an extension of the body.
Qama - The Qama, a 45-centimetre, one-handed melee implement, is the ubiquitous backup weapon for warriors of Adyghan solar system. It is shaped very similarly to Roman gladius, but is shorter and has a rectangular handle, to make the grip more precise.
Adyghan Guard Uniform - Based on traditional Adygh clothing, this uniform suits both cold and hot climates, depending on the quick modification sets done by the troop.
Rebreather
4 Empty Sandbags
M39 Entrenching Tool
4 Frag Grenades
2 Photon Flash Grenades
2 Smoke Grenades
Vox-caster
Micro-bead
Chest equipment - These pieces equipment vary on the choice of the troop, can be either medicine, supplement, food, morphine, or additional cartridges - stored inside cylindric pockets.
Poor Weather Gear
Rucksack
Basic Toolkit
Mess Kit & Water Canteen
2 weeks' Rations
Survival Suit
Blanket & Sleeping Bag
Rechargeable Lamp Pack
Grooming Kit
Dog Tags