Rosskan Strelky

"Imagine more dead than a planet has people. Filling up a field. Fifty of our's gone for every one of them killed. And now imagine it, and call it victory at the same time."

Vlatiskov, Strelky Sergeant after being asked about his service

Rosskan Strelky
Homeworld	Rosskar
Doctrine	Astartes Assistance Actions, Mechanized Infantry, Urban Warfare, Defensive Warfare
Signature Equipment	Vityaz-pattern Power Armor, Rosskan-pattern Lasgun
Colors	Grey, White, Dark Green
Associated Legion	Thirteenth Legion

This page details people, events, and organisations from the /tg/ Heresy, a fan re-working of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe. See the /tg/ Heresy Timeline and Galaxy pages for more information on the Alternate Universe.

The Rosskan Strelky were the Legionary Auxilia of the Silver Cataphracts, the Thirteenth Space Marine Legion. Unlike their counterparts in the Imperial Army, were supposed to be a disciplined standardized force drawn up from the Legion's conquests. Alexandri of Rosskar hand crafted the Strelky himself, treating them much in the same way he did his Legion. Starting from a few million recruits drawn up from a single world, to a sector spanning billions large force able to fight and conquer worlds in their own right.

History

Formation and Dalask

Weeks after the Emperor's fleets found Rosskar and his son was brought back into the fold, Alexandri dove into every bit of knowledge he could gather about the Great Crusade and the Imperial war machine. During the next few months new plans were drawn up with his cadre of advisers, leading to the formation of the first Strelky units. The Thirteenth Legion would need armor, weaponry, munitions far beyond what would be normally provided to reach the Regent's desires. Before the arrival of the Imperium, a massive urban expansion and revival project was in its formative stages. All of this was being pushed aside to give the resources necessary to properly build up the Silver Cataphracts. Which left the people of Rosskar with a booming population issue. Too many people were cramped together with resources growing scarce.

The Strelky proved to be an interesting proposal given to Alexandri by a genius administer named Argeski Dalask. More than enough weaponry was left over by his armies before the unification, or even by those before his arrival to the world. All of it was gathering dust away in vaults, rarely kept after except by men like him. It would take little to use men of the state to organize Rosskar's multitudes of youth into a dedicated fighting force. The intent was to give these men and women to the Imperial Army's endless forces. Alexandri decided instead that they would serve as an excellent supporting force for his Legion. All along the frozen wastes of Rosskar, millions drilled and trained to become a force comparable to Alexandri's own original armies.

It would be Dalask leading this newly constructed force, named the first Supreme Commander of Rosskar. Not for his leadership skills, but management. He was not a person capable of being an actual commander in any respect. His body was a twig, sometimes leaving being called 'The Spectral Officer' by his subordinates. His skills in keeping the Strelky operational cannot be overlooked however. As the Legion expanded, so too did the Strelky. It was his idea not to have the Auxilia simply be recruited from Rosskar, and it was he who paved the roadways to keeping a steady supply of manpower and weaponry. As it turned out, other worlds had stockpiles similar to Rosskar. And he who noted to the Primarch that there was a considerable delay between the conquering Expedition Fleet's victory over a world, and the arrival of the Corps Logisticae. Giving more than enough time to gather up volunteers and dregs from the newly conquered planets.

Dalask met his end far from Rosskar's white surface, when his ship was lost to the warp with all hands during transit to a new location. During his command, the Strelky served their purpose well. The Silver Cataphracts were supported by well taught troopers, but beyond this they did little else. With the numbers of the Strelky ever on the rise. Climbing faster and faster compared to the Legion they fought for, change would need to happen soon.

Era of Trilyen

Gevaska Trilyen was a boy from Rosskar's slums who stole from vendors in the underground levels for a living. At thirteen years old, he was caught, and sentenced to service in the Rosskan Strelky. A life sentence. At forty-five years of age, he had risen from frontline fodder to Supreme Commander of Rosskar. His ascent in the stuff of legends, but the true legend began once he had gained full control of the Strelky. His plan, after watching men die by the thousands for the Astartes was to revolutionize the Strelky to be a more offensive and well rounded force. Everything was already laid out to do this, it just required a generation.

The old ranks were full of men and women trained in the old way of doing things. A fresh start was required to bring about the kind of radical change Gevaska desired. His secret to success was the understanding of his limitations as one man. Gevaska hand picked a dozen individuals, who then hand picked another dozen, and this repeated until he was able to speak to twelve men who would cause an avalanche down the chain of command. To do this, the old leadership was nearly completely wiped out by his supporters. The move never failed to bring a smile to Alexandri's face, just as when he first heard reports of it. Next was to build up each new recruit taken from Rosskar and other worlds with the new training philosophy planned by Gevaska. Just being able to give suppressive fire and stand before Space Marines was not good enough anymore.

The evidence of the Regent's favor did not show itself with gaudy and impractical excesses or even the finest equipment, but the manner in which their training was completed. Thanks to veterans from the Silver Cataphracts, hailing to the days of Terra's conquest the Emperor, throngs of new trainers were ready to assist in transforming the Strelky. The ruthless men worked from Rosskar to all over the Segmentum Pacificus. Putting boys and girls through some of the fiercest training regimens imaginable, designed to give them iron resolve under fire and total serenity around Astartes. Gevaska could not have been able to do this alone, but thanks to the Primarch more than enough instructors were available to him.

Because of rejuvenant treatments, Gevaska was able to keep himself alive to see the rise of his vision for the Strelky come to complete fruition. Within twenty years, a complete change had accord in the ranks of the Auxilia. Their mass was fearsome, that much was certain, but the soldiers of the Rosskan Strelky had a presence greater than the sum of the bodies which served as component. The hard, efficient men of the Auxilla were like the stone of Alexandri's formidable cities now. And they were polished as such. To watch tens of thousands of men move in perfect synchronicity was to stand in awe. Man and Astartes alike had no choice but to recognize their strength then. Their cold, perfect brutality.

The Auxilia still acted alongside their Legion much the same as before, but were able to fight alone now. More and more Silver Cataphract commanders gave them free reign in certain theatres of planetary assaults, the Strelky proving time after time to be perfectly capable of handling them on their own. None of this was spectacular or revolutionizing to the Imperium at large, but it showed the new beginning ushered by Geveska's ambitious plan.

Supreme Commander of Rosskar Trilyen was assassinated on a newly conquered world, which only a single Company of Cataphracts had fought on. They were however assisted by an entire Division of Strelky, nearly one million soldiers. His vision did not die with him thankfully, as the young ward put under him named Konstantyn took up his mantle right away. Beneath this man, the Strelky would go far beyond what even Geveska thought possible.

Age of Konstantyn

Konstantyn was born in 872.M30, becoming administrator-aide to Supreme Commander Geveska Trilyen at age thirteen. When he came to the age of thirty-five, he journeyed the Imperium for twenty years meeting with multiple figures of the Great Crusade. Learning of the many Astartes Legions and Imperial Army regiments. He become a Commander of Rosskar twelve years after assuming his rank as Ensign in the Strelky. On the year 973.M30, exactly one hundred and one years after his birth, the current Supreme Commander Trilyen died. Konstantyn immediately assumed command with the full backing of more than half the Strelky and the entirety of the Silver Cataphracts Legion.

Great Crusade

The new Supreme Commander acted fast to increase his reach across the ranks of the Strelky. He reformed the training systems to be even more taxing in order to produce higher quality soldiers. The system of specialized regiments was put in place at this time as well. Unlike other Imperial Army regiments, Strelky regiments would have dedicated roles. Support, Artillery, Armour, Light Infantry, Heavy Infantry, Mechanized Infantry. His reworking of the entire battle philosophy led to an initial period of unease among the ranks as effectiveness began to decline. Within a decade however, they rose back up to eventually climb much higher than they were before. Alexandri rewarded the Strelky with even more supply as a result. The Silver Cataphracts began to rely on their Auxilia more and more in a less cynical role as shields, and more as trusted comrades.

On the world of Gelmni I, five Divisions of the Strelky were deployed to soften up the forces of the Human-Xenos Hybrid defenders. Thanks to the efforts of these forces, the Gelmnin abominations were stunned by their ferocity. The Strelky were able to secure several hives with their assault before the Silver Cataphracts even made planetfall. Reinforcements came from the Legion via deep strike, landing directly on the heads of the Gelmin. Panic ensued in the enemy ranks immediately as a result. The planet was placed under the care of several noteworthy commanders from the assaulting formations, who helped build it into a fortress world that would later supply untold amounts of battle ready troops to the Cataphracts.

The Strelky fought with extreme distinction in the Lenard Depths Campaign, suffering extreme losses as they pushed themselves to prove their worthiness alongside other Legions. While the Sons of Fire and Mastodontii both noted both their fearlessness and ferocity, to their human compatriots no love was fostered. Brawls broke out between Strelky members and soldiers of other regiments of the Imperial Army, especially the superstitious and tribal Auxilia of the Mastodontii, the Jäakäri. The Strelky were put in ill regard by the other formations for their callousness, insulting mannerisms, persisting pessimism, and perceived nihilistic behavior.

Heresy

The realm of the Segmentum Tempestus had a dangerous foe to face still. Overlooked initially, once the extent of their empire was discovered the Warmaster Hektor ordered the full might of the Silver Cataphracts be arrayed to invade the Yaotl empires. Alexandri chose to bring nearly his whole Legion on the journey, bringing some 180,000 Space Marines. The full naval might of the Kuzgeta Sector and his own many fleets came along with him. The intent was to show his undying loyalty and willingness to serve, to garner more reward. Many regiments of Strelky came along, but some remained to garrison the territories held by the Legion. Especially Rosskar, which had a bolstering of troops thanks to the departure of most of the Legion.

On the eve of the Heresy, the Silver Cataphracts made brief headways into Yaotl space. The Strelky proved ineffectual when in combat with the beasts. As word of Istvaan came to both Rosskar and its Legion, panic was quickly crushed by a ruthless response from the leadership. There would no defections in Alexandri's fleet, and Konstantyn who had been left behind as governor in his stead would oversee every world remaining loyal. To the Primarch, and whoever he chose to follow, of course.

The arrival of Taskforce Fiery Vengeance two years after Istvaan V in the Kuzgeta Sector destroyed whatever semblance of order there was. Four worlds defected immediately to the Taskforce, sick of living under the yoke of the Regent's tyranny. Most worlds remained loyal however, those in the Rosskan Principality paying a heavy toll. The Strelky naval forces were unable to compete in voidspace with the Astartes vessels, choosing to consolidate in Rosskar herself rather than fight a dozen hopeless battles. The result was the destruction of 100+ regiments of Strelky who caught out and alone, could not hope to survive. What is noticeable however is no Strelky force surrendered, the loyalty instilled in them by their training system keeping even these troops standing in the face of certain defeat.

Konstantyn prepared for the Siege of Rosskar, later to be known as the First Holocaust of Rosskar. Vast swathes of the Rosskan population were inducted as militia while training regiments on the surface was pressed into full service. As the Taskforce made its first headway into the system, the Rosskan fleet on orders from Konstantyn purposefully sacrificed half of the world to the whims of their enemy. While this gave them free reign to land and retreat back into the void, the Loyalists kept the advantage on their side with surface-to-void batteries and satellite defense systems in place.

Within two months the Strelky were pushed to their limits. Suffering over fifty-percent casualties, with a kill to death ratio of 1:2 against Imperial Army forces underneath the banner of the Traitors, but nearly 1:67 against Astartes. The tank battalions were running down to their final vehicles, greatly outmatched by the Legionary Armour come to bear against them. Initiates of the Silver Cataphracts, numbering in some two-thousand implanted Neophytes and ten-thousand accepted candidates for implantation. These forces were rolled into the first Sniper Squads of the Strelky, utilized as the first example of Astartes Scouts in relation with the tactics of the Eyes of the Emperor. These sharpshooters would also be used in the Strelky, although consisting of regular humans, throughout the scouring.

Though all of the Strelky assigned to the defense of Rosskar perished, Konstantyn Ibirien survived. His fourteen months of warfare taught him multiple valuable lessons on Astartes versus Human warfare. When Alexandri reinstated him as the Supreme Commander, giving him complete control of every human under service of the Silver Cataphracts, the growth of the Strelky was swift.

Every single Imperial Army regiment in the Expedition Fleets of both the Steel Marshals and the Silver Cataphracts was brought into the 'Fields', training barrages made from the wreckage above Rosskar. These makeshift platforms, dragged along by tethers in warp travel were deadly but effective means of transforming the soldiers of other formations into Strelky. Though the results had difficulty transforming the former troopers into proper Strelky as with fresh recruits, they still spoke a common language and were initiated into the emerging Strelky culture.

On the way to Terra, Alexandri gave the Strelky commanders free reign over the worlds they encountered. Konstantyn gave the following order that they would pick worlds clean of able bodies, be they men or women. Some worlds were totally emptied, even children being thrown into the 'Fields' to be turned into ammo carriers or future linemen. Families were torn apart, cultures were obliterated, and generations lost to the Strelky warmachine. Every battle, weapons and ammunition were stolen. If it wasn't for victories and losses, the Strelky would not be able to arm every man. Even still, some regiments had so many fresh Recruits they were forced to hand a single clip of ammunition to one, and a rifle with one clip to another.

Morale was lowest at this time, and defection began to rise. Among the worst offenders, Konstantyn would stop the advance for a day. He would bring the entirety of the forces who fought on the world to a single location. Then, the offending regiments would be taken out in front of the rest without weaponry or armor. Assigned Silver Cataphracts would then encircle them. Over the course of the next few hours they soldiers would then be butchered using knife and fist. If they did not fear their human Taskmasters, they would come to dread their post-human overlords even more.

Defection rates dropped by forty percent.

The Strelky would not reach Terra until a full two weeks after the Siege had been broken, gathering up with countless other Imperial Army formations around the time. But when they came, they arrived as a united block. The newly acquired planets with reestablished supply lines allowed the Strelky to be properly armed and armoured in short fashion. With Alexandri giving them priority over nameless regiments, the warmachine that would be immortalized in the Great Scouring was about to be born.

At Terra the Strelky numbered some twenty billion, double their Great Crusade numbers. Though almost half were green soldiers, they would not be for long.

Strategic Organisation

Before the arrival of Geveska Trilyen, the Strelky were organized in blocks of 100,000 men with a simplistic breakdown that did not lend itself well to the style of warfare he wanted. In order to match up to the Silver Cataphracts operationally, huge masses of troops would be required. The entire system as it was, was broken down. New ranks were commissioned and an entirely new system made. Squads were increased from fifteen men to twenty-five, with platoons being replaced by the Section formation, and everything else was reorganized. This allowed large groupings of Strelky to act as one. During the Heresy, the enlarged standard numbers gave the Auxilia an edge that most Imperial Army regiments had yet to adopt.

Another change made was multiple redundant ranks introduced in the lower formations. Officers were normally subordinate to Astartes, allowing clear orders to be given on the battlefield. But without them, especially during the Heresy, all officers could be wiped out giving foot soldiers no leadership. The ranks of Junior and Senior Ensign were introduced, who could command both Sections and Platoons. Lieutenants could rely on Ensigns to take command if they fell as well. This gave the frontline formations definitive fallbacks in the battlefield hierarchy to deal with massive losses commonly suffered by the Strelky.

Organizational Breakdown

• Squad, consisting of 15 men, led by a Sergeant
• Section, consisting of 50 men, led by an Ensign
• Platoon, consisting of 200 men, led by a Lieutenant
• Company, consisting of 1,000 men, led by a Captain
• Battalion, consisting of 10,000 men, led by a Major
• Regiment, consisting of 50,000 men, led by a Colonel
• Brigade, consisting of 200,000 men, led by a Brigadier
• Division, consisting of 1,000,000 men, led by a Brigadier General
• Corps, consisting of 5,000,000 men, led by a General
• Army, consisting of 20,000,000 men, led by a Marshal
• Army Group, consisting of 100,000,000 men, led by a Commander of Rosskar

Strategic Command Ranks

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Commander of Rosskar

Marshal

General

Brigadier General

Brigadier

Colonel

Frontline Command Ranks(Commissioned)

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Major

Captain(Senior or Junior)

Lieutenant(Senior or Junior)

Frontline Command Ranks(Non-Commissioned)

---

Ensign(Senior or Junior)

Sergeant

Soldiery Ranks

---

Specialist

Corporal

Veteran Recruit(Or Droog)

Recruit

Military Doctrine

Towards the end of the Great Crusade, and throughout the Hektor Heresy, the Strelky adopted the concept of specialized regimental structure. Some would be dedicated to fielding tanks crewed by the best men to offer for that role. Others would have engineers, who meditated day and night on explosives, construction, and maintenance. The idea was to create a functioning army with several unique parts that could not operate independent of one another but were stronger as a whole. Rather than having to gather up five regiments to field a multitude of guns, an artillery regiment would have the same amount if not more of batteries.

This was invaluable during the Hektor Heresy, as other Imperial Army formations could not withstand the well organized formations coming to bear against them. A result of the specialization led even equal exchanges of armour or infantry ending up on the Strelky's side. The Cataphracts benefited immensely from the modular regimental system, calling up assistance often for specific actions which required the approach offered by the practice. Light Infantry would be able to scout easily, or skirmish. Engineering companies could build defenses or tear down enemy fortifications in short order.

Field Armament

Vityaz

Rosskan-pattern Lasgun

The Strelky used a wide variety of weaponry throughout their existence, owing much to the rapid growth in the Heresy itself. After any campaign on a world, any weaponry that could be taken was. Vast swathes of the force used the Rosskan-pattern Lasgun even still, as it was the main weapon handed out to many of the forces. The severity of the shots were tweaked at a capacity of 10 shots per magazine, being highly deadly but not lasting for very long. Other versions of the weapon were known to have the same output with a bulkier magazine, that could hold up to 30 shots. It was prone to explosion at random times for seemingly no reason, leading for most soldiers to fear it unless they fought on the frontlines.

Training

Having to deal with the wastrels from compliant worlds, the prisons and slums of Hive Worlds emptied their human refuse to the Silver Cataphracts Expedition Fleets. Some worlds gave up even more volunteers, sometimes those who came of age after the tithe and could not wait for the next time their world was to give troops to the Imperial Army. Whatever the case, the training was the same. Sleeping on beds of ice, being shouted at by tall men in black armor all day and night, fed gruel from tubes and clothed in sacks of cloth. Training did not begin until the trainers themselves had both taught the recruit the Rosskan dialect to the point of fluency, and that they were sure they were entire loyal to Rosskar.

Recruits were trained in blocks of ten, sometimes with the tenth being a plant. They would go through every hardship the squad would suffer, listening in for any attempt at revolt or escape. Those who would speak up found themselves suffering under the whip the next day, or worse, having their head cleaned from their body. If one went with the training however silently, the harsh period would pass. Proper bedding would be given, the quality of food would improve dramatically, and far more fitting clothing would be received. This is the first step in the conditioning process. Disloyalty is punished without remorse, loyalty is rewarded heartily. After the weeding out of the weak, or the unwilling, came the actual education in soldiery.

Strelky Discipline Master

Tasked with both overseeing morale and loyalty, the Discipline Masters of the Strelky were drawn up from the Secret Police of Rosskar as well as those sent from Terra. Adept at mind breaking techniques and torture, the Masters used their skills to break down recruits before building them back up again as soldiers. The denial of food was a simple trick for any slight, but all punishments focused upon dehumanizing a subject. They would also be teacher, training them in firearms, accuracy, drills, and squad combat. Any sign of dissent was punished ridiculously, and when one who could not be broken was sensed, ruthlessly executed. The majority of fresh recruits did not have the iron resolve to deny the Discipline Masters, falling victim to their cruel methods like lambs to a butcher.

Culture

When the zenith of Strelky population soared at the end of the Heresy, to twenty billion. The already arising culture fully flourished in this time. As the Strelky moved into the Scouring, the Rosskan influences implanted upon them by their Taskmaster trainers combined with numerous other languages and ethnicities of the countless worlds Recruits were drawn from. The prisoners who had been taken up in droves before to supplement the Rosskan troops formed the basis of the Strelky's culture, including the use of tattoos and the philosophy towards their miserable lives in service to the Regent.

Tattos

No soldier, from the lowest Recruit to the highest officer, was allowed to wear battle honors. Alexandri despised the use of medals or ribbons, refusing to allow the Strelky to wear any livery at all. The spartan appearance of the Strelky uniform betrays the sophisticated artistry worn on the skin of every member. Since the tattoos were hidden unless their clothing was taken off, the Primarch either did not care or failed to notice the thriving system of symbols and signs in use by the Strelky to denote achievements and social status.