Tactica Imperium
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This article is about the the Imperial Guard manual. For other uses of Tactica, see Tactica (disambiguation). |
A commander must have the courage to see his plan through, for good or ill. Wars are won and lost when the battlelines are drawn.
The Tactica Imperium is the most widespread manual employed by the Imperial Guard.[2]
Contents
History
Its origins date back to the Great Crusade. Across many different worlds, a number of large divisions were raised for the burgeoning Imperium's armed forces (most notably the Imperial Army) within a relatively short timeframe. Given the sheer variety in organisational doctrine, unit formation, combat doctrine and other qualities of these forces, it became apparent to Imperial authorities that, although they could not be fully standardised, some basic common level of operation was required in order for the various regiments, cohorts, battalions, e.t.c. to function effectively. It was decided to build upon the successes of the past, with a wide variety of existing texts being taken and distributed for instructional purposes, with more and more being added with the approval of the Departmento Munitorum and the Lord Commander Militant as time went on.[2] As a result, the Tactica is not a singular tome with one author; rather it is a vast collection of various sources of information, notes, manuals and guides that one man cannot hope to read completely in a single lifetime,[1b][2] perhaps only managing a tenth of it by some estimations. Still, the Departmento Munitorum recommends that every Guard Officer memorises at least a portion of the Tactica at some point in their career.[3] This collection is added to and updated frequently, although different sections are not always built at the same rate.[2]
The Tactica contains entries and treatises on almost every aspect of warfare, applicable to both high-ranking officers and regular Guardsmen, from the practical to the philosophical. These include such varied subjects as the construction of field fortifications, the correct evolutions of close order combat drill, new recruits' oaths of allegiance, and statutes of military law.[2]
Certain individuals hold that the word of the Tactica is tantamount to Imperial law, or even to the holy word of the Emperor Himself, and have adopted its maxims verbatim, believing that any deviation from the text is equivalent to heresy.[1b][1c] This approach is unwise, however; although the references provided by the Tactica can be invaluable, particularly to new officers, some elements of the text are best viewed metaphorically - indeed the Tactica was meant to be thought-provoking rather than a literal instruction manual, and this is not helped by the fact that many elements of the Tactica, the tactical treatises in particular, may be subject to different interpretations and some parts of the text even directly contradict others.[1b][1c][2] A good commander will understand that the core principles of the text are merely an overview and can adapt them as necessary for application in the field.[2]
The only known complete copy of the Tactica Imperium is to be found in the Library Sanctus on Terra and even this collection is continually getting bigger. The next most complete copy is thought to have been in the possession of Lord Sheyla on Omnasae Binary but was burned down by an employed scribe. He was supposed to copy a series of illuminated letters and went insane after noticing a spelling error on a word he had worked on for a decade.[3]
Contents
One of the formations detailed within the Tactica is Solon's Axe.[1a]
A collection of various passages within: Tactica Imperium passages.
See also
Sources
- 1: Baneblade (Novel):
- 2: Codex: Imperial Guard (3rd Edition, 2nd Codex), pg. 7
- 3: Imperial Munitorum Manual (Background Book), pg. 79
- 4: White Dwarf 216 (UK), pg. 12
