Imperial Guard Forces of Jan Norrun (Arma Norrunir)

[williamcain]

Arma Norrunir

Mountain Light Infantry Regiments

Planetary Overview:

Jan Norrun is an unusual world. While many planets have much of their surface covered by water, Jan Norrun's landmasses are -also- partially covered by water. Rivers, rains, waterfalls, and marshlands abound in the lowlands, whilst the elevated terrain is largely composed of rocky fjords and mountain ranges. The planet would be entirely unremarkable apart from this, save for the fact that many of the lowland swamps in the southern continent contain vast reserves of promethium, and the mountain ranges on the two northern continents, as well as the beltline continent, contain extensive veins of iron, iridium, and uranium.

The planet had a largely unremarkable history, until the planetary governor's son staged a coup and declared his planet exempt from the Imperium's dictates in late M39. The Imperium was slow to respond, simply because the tithes to date had been so significant the cessation of supplies went almost unnoticed. The Administratium overlooks nothing in the end, however, and a punitive army was raised to retake the planet. That said, the Imperium is not exactly wanting for supplies of promethium when compared to other assets, and thus the campaign was relatively small. The crusading army's size has been disputed in the records, but it is broadly agreed that a force of approximately 30 million was dispatched to retake Jan Norrun.

Due to the relative unimportance of the campaign when set against such magnificence as the Imperial Crusades, the quality of generals assigned to the operation was rather lacking. The campaign ground on for eleven faltering years before resistance collapsed. Heavy units were withdrawn from the theater, with the infantry from the invasion simply left in place to form a new generation of colonists, while the survivors were either assigned to repentance labor details, executed, or sent to Imperial prison worlds.

The world might otherwise have passed all further notice, except that the soldiers who won the campaign found it worthwhile to make the most of their newfound status as planetary liberators. Entering into a program of intense retraining and refitting, they astonished their planetary governors when a mere ten years later they offered the first new Founding of troops since the liberation. This unit became the First Jalkavaki Regiment, and what follows is an accounting of the Jalkavaki's organization and deployments.

Culture:

Jan Norrun has a nominally civilized culture, according to the Imperial classification. The beltline continent is the warmest and driest, and provides the most consistent climate, thus is largely given over to farmland and agri-behavior. The southern continent is home to the planet's manufactories, and while it cannot produce full-scale imperial war vehicles, they do produce a local light battletank, primarily for the PDF and by extension the training of armored crews for the armored portion of regimental tithes. The northern continents are the coolest and rainiest, and are home to the training grounds for the artillery and infantry regiments of the tithes.

A curious local note is the youth culture. Many youth join the "Guides," a youth scouting organization dedicated to improving and refining mountain and marshcraft common to the hillside and lowland cities. Guide membership is a prerequisite for volunteer service in a Jalkavaki regiment, while the coveted "First Guide" status (only assigned to one Guide per cadre per year) is the only way to be accepted into the elite Jaakari scout or Pioneer Mechanised formations upon induction (and is not itself a guarantee).

Branches of Service and Tithes:

There are four distinct branches of service among the Arma Norrunir.

The first is the Planetary Defence Force itself, which while held to an Imperial Guard standard of training and given Jalkavaki-experienced training in mountain terrain operations, is largely comparable to any other PDF in service.

The second is the Jalkavaki: mountain trained light infantry regiments specializing in all manner of dense and difficult terrain operations. Most at home in marshland and on hillsides, they have proven competent at operating in densely packed hive worlds, as the use of ascension gear to climb a building is not in principle different from using it on a cliff. A typical ten year Tithe will include three such regiments.

Third are the Panssarri (armored) regiments. Trained in the broader southern and beltline continents, they are in almost every way typical of Imperial Guard armored regiments save their training in lighter armour (in particular the turretless Panssari Ptv90 light tank). These units are less common, and thus are tithed every 20 years (every other founding/tithe).

Finally there are the Hauvitsi, the artillery formations. Typically such soldiers are trained in field-deployed (non vehicle) artillery pieces, as such vehicles are a bit of an extravagence in terms of space available in mountain deployments. One such regiment is included per tithe. What few mobile vehicles there are tended to be the older Griffon heavy mortar carrier, recently supplanted by the newer Wyvern platform.

There is an informal fifth formation, the Provisional Regiments. In such times as the planet's volunteers are insufficient to meet the Tithe's quota, conscription is instituted. Such regiments are denied the Jalkavaki honorific, and are assigned a regimental number based on the time they were founded (such as the 678M40 Provisional Rifles). Such cases are uncommon, averaging out to every fifth tithe or so.

[williamcain]

Jalkavaki Regiments

Jalkavaki are the volunteer mountain infantry regiments from Jan Norrun. Trained in a land of fjords, marshlands, and cliffs, they see flanking opportunities where others see obstacles. Lightly equipped, they prefer steady mobility to flashy advances.

A typical regiment consists of eight companies.

The first six are field companies (feldkompanje in the Norrunir parlance), in most ways similar to the line companies of any imperial guard regiment. They tend to be slightly overstrength to guard norms in terms of regular infantry, due to the high casualties of mountain combat and to make up the difference in firepower from lack of access to significant on-site heavy artillery.

Feldkompanje usually have organic mortar support, up to and often including the notorious Thudd Gun in larger deployments. Again, the lack of heavier guns is often a hindrance, but the portable and effective standard pattern imperial mortar can make up the gap in a pinch.

Company seven is the Special Tasks company. Each seventh company is home to the regiment's two primary specialist units, the Jaakari scouts and the Pioneer demolisher units. The seventh rarely (almost never, in practice) deploys as a combined formation, instead parceling out its units in squad and platoon strength to other companies and mission groups as the situation warrants.

Jaakari are light-footed, sure-eyed scouts. They screen the advance for contact with the enemy, pressing forward to infiltrate gaps in the enemy lines so as to cause the most havoc when the fighting starts. Their main value is in relaying information to the mortar teams under Company command. Ambushes and sneak attacks are also common tricks of the trade. Of interest is a tradition that has been maintained across Jaakari formations from the beginning; the hunter's scarf. Each Jaakar has a scarf in the 7th company's colors (dark blue and black) that they wear as improvised head protection, all-weather gear, and so forth. The remainder of the regiment is largely forbidden from wearing such scarves, save when a Jaakar gifts his to a promising member of a company he serves with. Such a gesture usually brings the soldier in question to the attention of the commander as a possible future recruit for the Jaakari.

Pioneers are the more outlandish of the two special tasks forces. The only unit of the infantry to be equipped with mechanised transport, they ride to battle in chimeras. They follow the "Armored Fist" doctrine of combat, and are frequently equipped with demolitions charges and melta explosives. They lead the remainder of the company into critical strikes, taking on tanks, fortifications, and stubborn elements of dug in infantry with elan and gusto. Despite their brash nature, they actually get on very well with the typically more reserved Jaakari, if only because the two groups frequently work together to spring ambushes and surprise attacks on enemies in their formation's way.

Company eight is the support and reserve - medicae, logistical personel, and related persons are grouped here, making up half the company's strenght. The remainder are typical line infantry platoons used to plug gaps in the six feldkompanje's numbers during the initial days of a campaign, or to provide rear-area security for the support assets of the unit.

Tactical Departures:

Given the realities of mountain combat, it is exceptionally rare for an entire Jalkavaki regiment to deploy en-masse to one area. More common is to form a "Commando." Unlike other units, where commando is a phrase for particular special forces elements, a Commando in Jaakari parlance refers to a task force based around a semi-independent company. Each operates with slightly more freedom of operation than the typical Guard formation, as necessary in the scattered deployments common to taking on a mountain range or hab spire. In compensation, every single company has a commissar attached to company command, in addition to the regimental commissar and his aides. In the case of 7th and 8th companies, this rule is relaxed, though one of the regimental junior commissars will frequently make a habit of checking up on the "roughnecks" in these units to make sure they are not taking advantage of their comparative easy circumstances.

A side note:

As the Imperial Guard almost never returns depleted regiments to their homeworld, the Jalkavaki make a habit of "Recycling" regimental numbers. As units are retired or merged into other units, the regimental colors are "reserved" for a period of one tithe. The following tithe, they are re-activated. The only regiment not to serve -in itself- offworld is the 1st Jalkavaki, which serves as the cadre training force (and advertises for experienced guard veterans to keep its skills sharp).

A typical Commando:

Major William Cain (yes, it's me in the guard, I like 40k and I wanted to be a guard commander ^^) took command of the 2nd company of the Jalkavaki 3rd regiment, during the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, being promoted from command of the 5th company of 4th regiment following a successful operation. The 2nd company had seen its entire officer element executed following an unexplained tactical withdrawl. Commissar Holden Richter insisted it was a cowardly retreat, the unit's commander disagreed. The new officers were brought in from the shattered 5th company of 4th regiment to serve as a better example of men, and are under increased scrutiny.

In their first operation, they partnered up with a Tempestus platoon, a Jaakari scout detail, and a Leman Russ from an Armageddon armored regiment to take apart an Infardi artillery position in the town of Cosnontin.

[Aeon]

Beautifully written, Cain!! Do you have models to represent these stalwart mountain men?

[williamcain]

I do not. I am not a rich man, though I am considering modelling them. The idea I had was to take cadian plastics, and trim down the armour some. Ie, on the cadian infantry, trim the topmost/pectoral armour bulges flush with the layer below that, to represent "lighter" armour. Trim down the helmets to a little less bulbous, and trim down the shoulder pads. The scouts would be the same as the rest, but with keffiyeh/shemaghs sculpted on. I'm glad you like the fluff, I was kind of nervous after the first day or so without comments!

[Captain Zapp Brannigan]

Big fan of the fluff mate. Loving the way you have made added your own unique (and very feasible touches) to the background, it slots in very well. ^Plus there is nothing wrong with embellishing yourself as a Coy COMDr haha

[williamcain]

The raid in Cosnontin was a classic application of Jalkavaki hill-fighting doctrine.

Fourteen Infardi artillery pieces with comparable firepower to Earthshaker cannons were dug in on a series of southeast-facing ridges south of the town of Cosnontin. The town straddled a large road from the east to the west, which if freed up would expedite the movement of troops and supplies through the entire great valley. The artillery created an effective dead-zone, and air attacks were of limited value given the presence of multiple captured Hydra flak batteries.

Major Cain was ordered to assemble a commando based around 2nd Company. Two Jalkavaki platoons, Jaakari squad Fochs, and the company mortar section approached the ridgeline from the southwest, whilst a single Leman Russ tank and a Tempestus Scion platoon from area commmand waited in reserve. Fochs squad moved forward and cleared the few sentries in the area, allowing the mortars to move up. They launched a surprise barrage of smoke and incendiary rounds, while the Tempestus and the tank swung forward and began tying down the infantry in the area. The scouts bypassed the attack and opened up a footpath for the main infantry to advance along, at the cost of half their numbers in casualties, though only three ultimately died of their wounds. The infantry linked up with the scouts and, moving from gun to gun, disabled them. The specific procedure was lowering them to horizontal elevation, then using krak grenades to demolish the hydraulic systems.

The Flak batteries chose this moment to engage the infantry, laying down tremendous firepower and killing a third of the advance force. Major Cain relayed the engagement's location to Area command, and ground-attack fighters moved in and savaged the distracted Hydras, while the Tempestus and their armored support moved in and demolished the survivors. The commando then provided cover as the remainder of the regiment ascended the cliff faces directly and liberated Cosnontin in two days of aggressive house to house combat.

[williamcain]

Curiosities: On the Hunter's Scarf (Jaakarhuivi) and "Scarf Chasing"

As noted previously, the Hunter's Scarf is an element of distinction in the Jalkavaki regiments. Jaakari scouts are tasked with a singularly dangerous mission - forward infiltration with minimal to no support. As a result, they are highly trained, comprised of the most motivated troops, and accordingly bring home battle honors and individual awards well out of proportion to their numbers. The Hunter's Scarf is a visual denotation of this unit's significance, but it has deeper meaning to the Jaakari than a simple addition to their uniform.

The scarf has its roots in the campaign to take the beltline continent during the re-taking of Jan Norrun. The drop of multiple landers had created an atmosphere of unpredictable weather patterns. Dust and dirt storms would strangle a formation's movements at local noon, and be replaced by severe rainfall during the cooler hours of early evening. In the effort to maintain unit momentum, light scout platoons were organized, with troopers carrying as little gear as possible. Helmets were among the most frequently discarded items, and many scouts took to modifying their field blankets into multipurpose headgear to adapt to the abominable weather conditions.

In honor of the sacrifices and accomplishments of these scouts, it was declared that this modification to baseline uniform would stand. Jaakarhuivi are now produced solely in blue and black (the 7th company colors), but come in a variety of patterns, as each is handmade by volunteer craftsmen on Jan Norrun for each founding.

Scarf Chasing

We previous discussed how a Jaakar might, in acknowledgment of singular accomplishments, gift his personal scarf to a promising soldier he has served with. The practice was first recorded when Jaakar Mos Tyler gave his scarf to Sergeant Avin Iris, who lead his Pioneer squad in a quick-reaction strike to relieve Tyler's pinned down Jaakari squad. Over time, other Jaakari began to adopt the practice as a shorthand, informal award for such debts, and unit commanders took note of such awards when considering replacements for casualties in their scout squads.

This has, inevitably, created the dubious practice of scarf chasing. In short, this is the phenomenon whereby a Feldkompanje trooper will strive to impress the Jaakari assigned to their Kompanje or Commando, in the hopes of being gifted a scarf. The practice has been met with mixed feelings from various commanders, with two main strains of reaction.

Reaction one is displeasure - mountain operations are taxing at the best of times, and require a firm understanding of mission-based tactics. Commandos already require the use of local initiative in order to adapt to uncertain resistance, so the leash is already loose in Command's hand. Individual soldiers jerking that leash further merely end up choking the entire force as the lead snaps tight, as the euphemism goes.

The second reaction is benevolent tolerance - the desire to impress unit veterans and elites drives troopers to try harder, and improves morale. Additionally, even if the gung-ho attitude of scarf chasers might make them a poor fit with the reserved and careful Jaakari, and thus unlikely to receive a scarf, such personnel might well find a good home in the Pioneers with their increased gusto and elan.


For their part, the prevalence of scarf-hunting among their units means that Jaakari are not inclined to part with their treasured garments readily. Indeed, in some units, Regimental commissars enforce mild uniform violation punishments on Jaakari who indulge the practice; standard punishments tend toward remedial drill and polish, so as not to deprive the unit of an experienced scout. After all, the purpose of the punishment is to reinforce the need for the scarf-gifting to be a rare and important practice.

As it is not an official practice, but more of an informal tradition unique to the elite Jaakari, scarf awards are handled on a unit by unit basis. Some commanders flatly forbid the practice in times past, but found the ruling regularly disregarded despite serious punishments. Attempts to create a formal structure also failed, as Jaakari are disinclined to be told when it is appropriate to pass a scarf on. It is a measure of personal regard, and as such cannot be forced. As a result, any attempt to codify the various circumstances is impossible. The phenomenon may best be summed up in an aphorism many Jaakari have expressed, in different ways.

"The one who wants it isn't doing his job. The one who deserves it is too busy doing his job to realize he earned it."

OOC/META note: the hunter's scarf/jaakarhuivi is basically a shemagh/keffiyeh, which will be sculpted onto un-helmeted models to represent Jaakari units. I like the look of these scarves, and see no reason such a practical piece of gear shouldn't show up outside of units like the Tallarn.

[williamcain]

7th Company Forward Operations

The unique nature of mountain combat requires an extensive conservation of deployed gear among troopers. It is not always possible or desirable to allocate heavy vehicles to mountain terrain, meaning each soldier has to be extremely self-sufficient in combat theaters. As a result, Jalkavaki regiments do not include a dedicated pioneer/engineer section, but rather task such duties to the Pioneers in 7th company.

When terrain demands large-scale pioneer operations, the 7th Company will divide into up to three commandos. Each will consist of Pioneer platoons, with their Chimeras loaded down with obstacle-clearing or entrenchment tools, and Jaakari platoons set as screening forces. This is the rare exception to the rule that the 7th does not perform as a solitary unit. The Jaakari scout positions, then the pioneers move in and perform the heavy work. Each element will have a Feldkompanje seconded in reserve, ready to take position at the cleared or entrenched position once the labor tasks are complete. In practice, these seconded companies frequently detach platoons to help with digging and clearing duties in order to speed up the process. This allows for wide familiarity with Pioneering and scouting work, allowing for potential replacements in the event these vital units suffer casualties in the pursuit of their duties.

[williamcain]

On Jalkavaki vehicle deployments

As stated, there are very few vehicles in widespread use in the Jalkavaki, due to the restrictions imposed by mountain operations.

The most common are, of course, Chimera chasses of various types. The core Chimera, frequently kitted with an Autocannon in place of the usual multilaser, serves as the mount of the Pioneer units, allowing for the movement of field-altering equipment and the deployment of "Armored fist" elements under combat. The older Griffon heavy mortar and the newer Wyvern multiple mortar system see deployment at the regimental level. In accordance with the Imperium's doctrine of the Division of Powers, Hauvitsi mobile mortar units are not directly assigned to any Jalkavaki formation, but rather serve at the Corps or Army level and are attached when under operation. While it might seem that the Salamander scout vehicles and command vehicles are a natural fit, the reality is that they have seen limited benefit in the type of light-infantry operations Jalkavaki prefer to perform.

The Tauros Venator does see integrated deployment with Jalkavaki companies. In addition to each Feldkompanje's specialist heavy weapons sections, the Eighth Kompanje retains a section of lascannon-equipped Venators for mobile reinforcement against light and medium armor. The units are light enough to quickly redeploy in tight quarters, and carry enough firepower to make a difference at a critical juncture, but the fact is that there are never enough to make the Jalkavaki capable of holding off a dedicated armored assault unless they have full advantage of terrain.

The final common vehicle in Jalkavaki regiments is the Baere, or "bear" wheeled carrier. Each trooper already has to carry ascension kit in addition to the standard Guard field kit, which can impose severe limits on mobility through fatigue. Resupply is also difficult when operating in rough terrain. The Baere is not a single vehicle, but rather a family of six and eight wheeled cargo carriers. Two Baeren will be assigned to each platoon, carrying additional supplies and goods for a deployment; ammunition, foodstuffs, and the like. A key advantage is the extreme light weight of the design, coupled with the front-mounted winching system. A Baere can have its goods strapped down, the winch cable run to an elevated position, and use the combination of winch and wheels to ascend virtually anywhere an infantry platoon might ascend.