Whiteshield

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"Children you call them? They can pull a trigger just as well as veterans, and they have the spirit of a bull narthax. Call them children if you wish - I call them troops. Good troops."


A Cadian Whiteshield fighting under the supervision of Cadian Shock Troopers (9th edition)[5b][6]

Whiteshields are young reinforcements to an existing Imperial Guard Regiment. They fight in actual combat as part of their later training until they have proven themselves ready to join the regiment as full Guardsmen.

Overview

Officially designated as probitors, they are more commonly called whiteshields, as well as cadets, probationers or gun babies. Whiteshields are the sons and daughters fathered by Guardsmen during their posting and raised within the regiment. [1] As they are not yet considered true Guardsmen, Whiteshields do not wear unit insignia - the only markings they are allowed to wear are blank white badges as well the white helmet stripe that distinguish them.[1]
The caps of Cadian Whiteshields (10th Edition)
Cadian Whiteshields may wear caps whose skull has not yet earned the wings to their Astra Militarum insignia.[8][9] Severe disciplinary action may be given to those who decorate their uniform with badges or slogans, being seen as impudent presumption by those who have actually earned the right to be proper warriors.[1]

Imperial Guard Regiments are generally posted to combat zones far from their homeworlds, and it is rarely practical to recruit from the homeworlds to replace casualties. Typically replenishment consists of folding in other shattered regiments together to bring them up to full strength. However, regiments that are left to garrison a world they have conquered by Right of Settlement instead gain recruits by drafting the sons of the regiment's Guardsmen when they come of age. Children fathered by Guardsmen are usually brought up within the regiment, immersing them in the regiments culture and traditions. This creating sense of extended family with the entire regiment, and can infuse the children with the culture of the regiments original homeworld they might not ever have seen. Early in their lives they perform menial and support duties which would otherwise eat into the regiment's fighting strength. However, as they grow older, combat training takes up more and more of their time until they are deemed ready for their first battle.[1] This method of recruitment is deemed safer especially in the event the Imperial Guard has invaded and occupied a world with a hostile local populace.[1]

Once they are deemed ready, probitors are formed into Whiteshield Squads lead by an experienced Sergeant. The sergeant also wears the whiteshield and stripes of his squad, though only he is allowed to wear proper Imperial Guard insignia and iconography such as an Aquila of the Astra Militarum. Typically they are assigned alongside normal Infantry Platoons to learn from the example of guardsmen around them. Occasionally, however, a company may form entire platoons solely of whiteshields, trusting that their courage will compensate for lack of experience.[1]

A sergeant commanding his Whiteshield squad. Note that the sergeant in the center is permitted to wear an Imperial Aquila and regimental identity on his shoulder pads[1]

It is often observed that young Whiteshields train more harder and fight more fiercely than many experienced guardsmen. In battle they are driven by a desire to prove their courage and skills that borders on the fanatical. They fight fearlessly in the face of enemies that older and wiser guardsmen would fight with caution. Failure to earn their colours is a terrible blow to a whiteshield - cowardice is unforgivable, and death is deemed preferable than to return home in shame.[1]

Passing from Whiteshield to Guardsman is seen not simply as a promotion, but a changing point in a recruit's life. Only those who have distinguished themselves in battle are allowed to become guardsmen. Some regiments simply require that a whiteshield participate in battle without giving way to fear, while others require them to draw or collect a trophy of war from a foe, be it a banner or even a piece of a slain enemy. They are afterwards considered adults and given the right to wear the regimental symbols on their uniform, and are formally inducted into the Imperial Guard. More important are the unofficial rituals unique to each regiment and culture, which can include tattoos or further tests of courage such as receiving a ritual scar without a cry of pain.[1] Perhaps now reflecting on how lucky they were to survive, the fanatical drive to prove themselves cools and gives way to prudent experience and a more cautious will to survive now that they have earned the right to be guardsmen.[1]

The tradition of Whiteshields is over ten millennia old, going back as far as the Imperial Army and the Great Crusade.[4][1] The Primarch Leman Russ spoke favourably of them, having fielded them in support of his own Space Wolves during campaigns.[1] During the Horus Heresy, many Probitor units would be fielded as Levy Troops of the Imperialis Militia.[4]

"Only in the Space Marines of the Legiones Astartes are courage and expertise perfectly blended. In other troops they are present in varying degrees and proportions, and many scholars have debated their relative merits.
For my own part, I come down on the side of courage. For courage can sometimes make a virtue of inexperience. I myself have commanded Imperial Guard troops whose probitor units have achieved great things, because they were too inexperienced to realise that their goal was impossible."

—Leman Russ on the military use of Whiteshields, (De Natura Belli, Book XIV)[1]


Cadian Whiteshields

(Bottom Left) A Cadian Youth Army squad fighting alongside standard Cadian troops. Note the white shoulder guards. (3rd edition)[5a]

In the case of Cadian regiments, Whiteshields are instead members of their Cadia's Youth Armies.[2] They join the Youth Armies at the age of sixteen, however even prior to this all Cadians by that age are trained from childhood in the usage of weapons, hand to hand training, vehicle and chemical warfare drills.[3] It is stated that are trained for military service "as soon as they can walk."[11]

Before Cadia's destruction, a future conscript had to survive a 40 day vigil out in the barren moors of Cadia where they either learned the priorities of survival, sleep and shelter being foremost, or died in the attempt. If they survived they'd be given their white-striped helmet. The Cadian diaspora continues this ritual on various other worlds, casting their youths into the hostile wilds of their new homes to be tested.[12]

Once part of the Whiteshields, they spend much of their time training in a Castellum in the wilderness, drilling under the supervision of Cadian Shock Troopers and fighting mock battles with other youth armies. This prepares them adequately to eventually join the Shock Troops.[5b][6] By the time they are prepared to join, they are eager and rearing for their first battle. Cadian High Command does not carelessly fling these young troops into battle, nor are they offered any special consideration. Instead they fight alongside their older and more experienced comrades. It is estimated that up to half of these inductees survive to claim the rank of guardsman.[3] As so called "born soldiers", Cadian Whiteshields are exceptionally accurate shots compared to typical Imperial conscripts. They shrug off minor injuries and refuse to yield under storms of enemy fire, and stand strong even in the face of dreaded lascannon fire. They fight with even greater ferocity when in sight of the inspiring relics of the regiment, such as Bastonne's Sword.[11]

Cadian Youth Army organisation typically consists of two to five squads of around 10 probitors each, organised into a Youth Army Platoon consiting of around 20 to 50 probitors. Such a platoon often acts much more like a large singular unit than individual squads. Each platoon will typically be paired up with a platoon of regular line soldiers, the very same platoon they will be recruited to upon proving themselves. Generally probitors are armed with lasguns. In each squad, a single probitor may be entrusted with a flamer or a grenade launcher while two probitors may be permitted to form a heavy weapons team to fire a missile launcher, autocannon, or heavy bolter.[5b]

Cadians are known to field entire Battalions of the Youth Army.[3]

"Any Cadian who can't field-strip his own lasgun by age ten was born on the wrong planet"

— anonymously attributed[5b]


Notable Whiteshields

Formerly:

  • Arminka Lesk - She has the distinction of being one of the very last whiteshield born and raised from Cadia itself. She would be promoted to Sergeant in the aftermath of Cadia's destruction in the 13th Black Crusade[10]
  • Glavia Aerand - Only a young child when Cadia was destroyed, she performed her survival ritual a decade later in the savage wilderness of Bellarus Prime.[12]
  • Yarren - One of three survivors of a Whiteshield unit whose actions repulsed an Ork Spearhead. Personally promoted by his Colonel into the regiment's esteemed High Eagle warrior lodge.[13]
  • Ursarkar E. Creed - starting life as an orphan of Kasr Gallan, the young Creed was found wielding a laspistol and holding a copy of De Gloria Macharius. He was adopted by the Cadian 8th regiment, and swiftly rose through the Cadian Whiteshields until he earned a command of his own.[3]

Miniatures

Trivia

TriviaScrollTrans.png

The following information is not to be regarded as officially sanctioned and/ or is not written from an in-universe point of view. A detailed explanation of the term "Trivia" as used in the Lexicanum can be found here.

  • Although the terms Whiteshield and Conscript are often used interchangeably, and many visual depictions of conscripts portray the famous white stripe, the informal term "Whiteshield" nominally refers specifically to young Probitors or Cadets, i.e. children raised in a military lifestyle either on highly militarized worlds (such as the Fortress World of Cadia), or as direct descendants of Imperial Guard men and women whose regiment has earned the Right of Settlement[7a][1][5b]. Conscripts is a more general term for pressed troops, which can be probitors as per Cadia (both terms are used)[2] but also include non-probitors (such as gangers of underhive in the case of Armageddon), rather than soley indoctrinated youths.[7b] More varied examples of conscription include the different types of levy troops of the Imperialis Militia.[6]
  • The Juventia of Macragge may represent the Ultramar Auxilia equivalent to the Whiteshields, having a similar purpose and function.

See also

Sources

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