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The Guard forms the very backbone of the Imperium; without it, Mankind would surely perish. Whilst Guardsmen are hardly the equals of [[Space Marines]], fighting neither with the advantages of genetic enhancement or the most powerful personal weaponry, the Guard possesses the courage and the manpower to face and annihilate the enemies of the [[Emperor of Mankind|Emperor]] across the galaxy.^2.p.5

The Imperial Guard, as the standing Human armed force of the Imperium, can trace its origin back to the days of the [[Great Crusade]], several millennia ago, when it was a somewhat different organization organisation known as the [[Imperial Army]]. Following the events of the [[Horus Heresy]], however, the Imperial Army was split into two organizationsorganisations; the Imperial Guard, and the [[Imperial Navy]].³

For more detail on the precursor organization organisation to the Imperial Guard, and the galaxy-spanning civil war that caused its transformation, see the following articles:

The Imperial Guard is organized organised into largely autonomous regiments. These regiments are raised by the worlds of the Imperium that have been classified as fit for such a purpose. These regiments can be sent anywhere in the galaxy, potentially serving in designated combat-zones for years at a time¹. It is not considered likely that any Guardsman will return to their world of origin; a fading memory of home is considered one of the average Guardsman's most constant companions.⁴

The Imperial Guard is ultimately run by the Departmento Munitorum, who have three seats on the council of the [[High Lords of Terra]]. It provides all the supplies, equipment, training, and also some of the representatives sent to worlds with an Imperial Guard presence. While they do not directly control the prosecution of Imperial military strategy, they have devolved power to different sections of the Imperium, at the planetary level, [[subsector]] level and [[sector]] level. Each world compares the threat posed to them against a previously defined threat-level and if it is deemed dangerous enough, the threat is passed to the subsector level and troops from surrounding worlds may be mobilizedmobilised. If the threat increases further a full scale request to the sector level can see hundreds of worlds mobilizing mobilising and converging on one system or group of systems.³

The command structure for the Imperial Guard is relatively complex when compared to other races, but the Imperial Guard is an infinitely bigger organization organisation than most others.

For details on the various ranks of the Imperial Guard and their roles within the organizationorganisation, as well as the parent branch of Imperial governance that controls the Guard, see the following articles:

The regiment is the primary unit of the Imperial Guard. Recruited from a single planet at a single raising, it is founded as a complete entity, complete with its own officer, supply, and support cadres. It should be noted however, that like most everything else in the Guard, the precise details of even these essential elements can vary widely from world to world. Whilst the majority of the regiment, even the non-combatant personnel, will come from their founding world, the [[Commissar]] or Commissars s assigned to it are always off-worlders.³

An Imperial Guard regiment is essentially a temporary unit, unlike the Space Marine chapters[[chapter]]s. After being formed they normally receive no further reinforcements. It is rarely practical for regiments to receive new recruits from their homeworlds [[homeworld]]s to replace casualties, mainly due to the immense distances between a regiment's homeworld and its posting. The costs, risks, and time-lag difficulties involved in transporting relatively few soldiers to reinforce their brethren rarely justify themselves, especially when alternate and more efficient means of reinforcement tend to exist. If on garrison or outpost duty, an Imperial Guard regiment may be able to recruit from the local population. If on active combat duty, two or more under-strength regiments may be merged together in order to create a new regiment at full strength.⁵ This can result in regiments being bolstered by troopers from their own homeworld, such as in the case of the [[Valhallan 597th Ice Warriors]]⁶, or can result in a true mongrel unit, with the Guardsmen included coming from several different worlds (such as the [[Tanith First and Only]]).⁷

One known notable exception to this reinforcement rule is that of [[Vostroyan Firstborn]] regiments; due to the peculiar background of the Vostroyans[[Vostroya]]ns, their Guard regiments are reinforced in the field by new recruits sent out by their homeworld, despite the difficulties involved.⁸

Certain members of regiments have become famous throughout a region, or sometimes the entire Imperium. They are often the officers or commanders rather than individual guardsmen and they are remembered as saviors saviours of humanity, seen spreading the light of the Emperor far and wide, or protecting it from the ravages of [[Xenos|aliens]], mutants [[mutant]]s and heretics. Some of these figures are listed below.

The Imperial Guard's countless regiments include all manner of infantry, cavalry both mechanized mechanised and not, artillery and war engines. Each particular regiment is normally uniform in organization organisation inside itself, and often seem to specialize specialise in one particular form of war. For instance, light infantry regiments can barely demonstrate any motorized motorised transport and certainly possess no weapons that are not man-portable. In contrast, an artillery regiment can contain little else. This ensures that the Imperial Guard are at their strongest when multiple regiments are massed together, and is itself another deliberate stricture to ensure that large-scale rebellion by a military commander is difficult to organizeorganise.¹

The armory of the Imperial Guard is vast and covers many aspects of the equipment necessary for the survival of a fighting force in many different environments. It ranges from portable [[Vox-casterscaster]]s, communications units, to medals denoting promotion and excellence in battle.³