Nobledark Imperium Chaos Guard

Chaos Guard

Chaos Guard is a generic term for humans at war on side of Chaos. Their exact nature is mostly defined by origin. Renegade Guards regiments would fall under either Crone Eldar or Fallen Marine overlords, most of these battlegroups act like jack-of-all-traits to compensate for the fact they will be outnumbered by loyalist forces. They have to adapt to each different battle then use their small force to defeat a larger force, Chaos Guards battlegroups that failed to master this are quickly crushed by overwhelming Imperial troops. The nature of the fighting for the Chaos Guard makes some battlegroups more elite and the Warp kills all the weaklings who failed to become tougher. What the Chaos Guard lacks in troops or weapons are more than made up for by Warpcraft and smart officers. How the Chaos Guard is often in a position of rebellion or under an overlord's service that lives inside the Warp, have them use cheaper weapons and armor. The industry and looting that supply the Chaos Guard is simply not enough to keep up with Imperial manufactorums, leading to the rise of Autoguns being used by Chaos Guardsmen instead of Las weapons along with cultist militias forming.

At worst if all of the different Chaos Guard battlegroups somehow managed to unify, they become a Segmentum level threat. Of course, this never happens as the closest thing to that is 1 or 2 sectors being threatened near the Eye of Terror and the Maelstrom by battlegroups during a Black Crusade. Given this low priority, the Imperium never totally snuff out the Chaos Guard instead fighting Orks or preventing Dark Eldar raids.

Battlegroups raised from primitive or ruined Chaos controlled human worlds are the stereotypical cultists, mutants, and madmen. Whenever Crone Eldar or Fallen need an expendable soldiers or workforce they visit such worlds and herd the fodder into transporters. Chaos controlled worlds that have actual infrastructure raise more or less like PDF battlegroups. Equipt with stubbers or some las, and iron armor. There is minor sorcery, gifts from the Gods on officers and elite subdivisions. These battlegroups are often brought along by greater forces but might do their own raiding or piracy in frontiers.

Traitor Guard that were turned fight as they did before, but with less supply and more sorcery, sometimes demons. Materials tend to deteriorate with time. Skills too if they recruit replacements from cultists. If they have a specific Chaos patron, they may move over to its doctrine in time such as Khornate charging, Nurglich chemical or bio weapons and so on. Usually, they follow the orders of whoever turn them, traitor. Otherwise, will either join larger Chaos forces or establish territory somewhere the Imperium is unlikely to pursue them short term. Regiments that prevent deterioration in at least skills act like oversize mercenary outfits that take payment in arms and armor. These battlegroups use either Imperial Guard or recycled equipment along with rarely weapons better than the average Guard regiment. They try to have some internal manufacturing capability if possible and recruit from cultists or slaves but retain the same standards and training before defection. Raiding for supply or assist other Chaos forces for pay is also common.

Tactics and Doctrines

Unrestricted by Imperial doctrines, the Chaos Guard battlegroups can mix and match tactics to adapt to the ever-changing battlefields. Smaller Traitor Guard battlegroups avoid direct confrontation and use ambushes, raids, and hit and run as much as possible. Those with enough cultist can even operate as a guerrilla force blending in with the civilian population. Battlegroups with enough civilians under them will be throwing out swords and stubbers to every civilian in sight to make cannon fodder cultist. If there are enough men or at an advantage, Traitor Guard battlegroups do act like an organized conventional military force. Battlegroups don't follow any set doctrine but already adapt with changing tactics before the battle starts.

Notable Battlegroups

There are infamous battlegroups that wonder all over the Imperium to raid whilst the Imperials failed to respond. Others offer their force as renegade mercenaries but most serve Chaos one way or another. Few are known to be elite compared to IG regiments while some are worst than PDFs. Most are simply the same quality as Cadian Foot Troops although once in melee, the Foot Troops will lose to battlegroups.

Silver Levy

In some 100 years after the Apostasy Era, several worlds near the Maelstrom rebelled simultaneously. The Space Marine presence to guard the Maelstrom were too busy holding off a Crone Eldar incursion that rampage down moving to the galactic south and away from the Maelstrom. Terra organizes two Corps of the Imperial Guard along with one battlefleet to sweep up around from the south to north. Regiments from Segmentum Solar and Tempestus were recruited to fill in the corps. Several Eldar warhost from Segmentum Solar were also sent to be attached to regiments.

Some of the Cadian Foot Troops from Segmentum Tempestus had been infiltrated by a Slanneshi cult amongst the high ranks. Providing some gifts of heightening skills in combat, this made an impression of the usefulness of Chaos to some officers. Wanting to be perfect and go down in history as tactical geniuses, the Cadian officers in this little secret club of obsessive tacticians try to be granted blessings.

Once arriving to crush the rebellions, the Imperial Army set to work blockading then sending down regiments to kill rebels. Most of the loyalist Guardsmen on these rebel worlds were already dead by the start of the whole affair. Leaving mostly PDF or militias defending the rebellious worlds. The Corps made easy work of killing the rebels but a rather unsettling trend started to appear within the regiments.

Officers had ordered public executions for rebel POWs. That in it of itself is normal for the Imperium yet the difference was the slow and painful ways the rebels died. Reports of dismemberment then being left in the streets, mass impelling to cover fields with blood, and Guardsmen eating the organs of rebels trickled back to high command. Both Corp Commander Gepid and Artulius agreed to form a task force of Eldar to hunt down then transfer guilty officers away from the front. If things came to the worst, the Eldar task force has the authority to kill those who have the taint of Chaos.

The Eldar task force set to work killing officers at an alarming rate. Rightly worrying about their own survival, the Slanneshi cult plan to join the rebels around the Maelstrom to escape the Eldar task force. Gathering hallucinogens to poison several regiments from Segmentum Tempestus, the cult made sure to be able to distort the vision of the Guardsmen.

Landing on the hive world of Malagus IV, Cadians and Eldar troops cleared the outskirts of a hive city. Then the Merianburg Cadian 174th and 175th along with Occiton Cadian 209th were the second wave to descend to the planet. Right before the assault, the cultist had made the regiments participating to rebel wear red armbands to identify each other in battle. With a lot of Warpcraft then a little speechcraft, the officers organizing the rebellion were able to convince the Guardsmen to shoot anybody not wearing a red armband.

When the rebel Guardsmen landed near the hive city, the toxin in their blood or magic made everybody they saw without a red armband as enemy PDF. Thousands were slaughtered as even the Eldar Farseers couldn't predict this betrayal when they interpret the prophecy wrong. Two or three loyalist regiments along with one warhost were killed within two days.

Reinforcements landed on the third day to kill the rebel Guardsmen and by this time the toxin or magic wore off. Most rebel Guardsmen were seeing only that the Imperium was killing them for no reason. Unable to effectively drive off the rebel regiments away from the landing zones, the Corp chose to send troops to an abandoned castle near a hive city. There the loyalist established a base of operations and supply depot to send attacks from.

Revealing the Slanneshi cult to all of the rebel Guardsmen, the cultists told how their only hope of surviving is by Slannesh's will. Displaying Warpcraft and blessings to the rest of the regiment to show the power of Chaos. One officer showed a blessing that allowed him to defeat any in a duel, which he proved by killing every challenger.

Eventually, the rebel regiments accept the use of Chaos on the battlefield. Stuck in this desperate situation, they reluctantly let people worship Slannesh. Another thing that was allowed was the cultist could spread Chaos to the local population.

The rebel regiments first looted any weapon they could find along with confiscating the PDF weapons that were of the world. Then they set to work stirring the civilians into a religious frenzy about how the "rebels Guardsmen joined the righteous liberation of this world". It was all propaganda but it worked to have the rebels form cultist militias from the hive cities. Crowds of crazy civilians were given swords and pistols then told to charge at the loyalist castle.

The rebel Guardsmen had effectively unified into one large Chaos Guard battlegroup by now. Eldar troops easily ambushed marching columns of cultist approaching the castle. Using artillery to blow both cultist and Eldar to bits, the battlgroup was able to clear the way as they advance to the castle. This loyalist stronghold was, in fact, the only major point the Imperial Army held in this world. If the Chaos Guard could drive them off that fortress, it buys the battlegroup time to get off-world.

First, it was the endless waves of cultist charging at the castle which cleared the minefield by stepping on it. The corpses provided cover for the Chaos Guardsmen as they attack while loyalist Guardsmen had to clean out the bodies clogging up the firing slits. Using explosives and even more cultist, the Chaos Guard was able to take the fortress. They sent the cultists first to clear a room while Chaos Guardsmen follow closely. The loyalist fire into the meat shield but that allowed the Traitor Guardsmen to get close enough to hack the loyalist to slices.

From after the Battle of Malagus IV, the infamous "Silver Levy" battlegroup formed. They would go on to escape Imperial justice by fleeing into the Maelstrom then terrorizing the sectors near it for centuries to come. It is also known the Silver Levy serviced in all Black Crusades after their defection.