Crimson Guard

The Crimson Guard is one of the most diverse legions available to the Thunder Kingdom. Using combined arms tactics, the Guard's battle groups often operate independently from the Legion, including Duke Comilla's own Honor Guard. In total, the legion consists of roughly 80,000 fighting men, plus auxiliaries and attaches from other legions. Notably, emphasis is placed on heavy infantry and engineers, with little on cavalry and mounted infantry. This results in the Crimson Guard being a very slow formation and unfit for pursuit tactics. Additionally, the unusually high concentration of heavy infantry makes the formation difficult to break.

Infantry in the Crimson Guard are generally armed with a mixture of shields and improvised ranged weapons. Additionally, salvaging equipment from the battlefield is not only tolerated, but encouraged.
Heavy infantry, or as they are more commonly known as "Grenadiers," are armed with a type of low-yield dynamite in addition to their standard loadouts. Additionally, blunderbusses and other improvised firearms are common.
In addition to standard materials, Crimson Guard engineers are also armed with dynamite, however a high-yield variant. Guard Engineering teams are often also equipped with other, non-standard explosives.
Partially due to Duke Comilla's own pyromania, a large portion of war psychers in the Crimson Guard are pyromancers and may be equipped with tomes of fire.

Most soldiers in the Crimson Guard are equipped for close range combat, with blessed shields and armor to ensure they reach their target. In addition to this, dynamite is a common weapon of the Crimson Guard, along with flamethrowers. Blunderbusses and shotguns are also frequently used against unarmored opponents, though often in combination with swords, javelins, maces, or entrenching tools.

The most notable vehicle of the Crimson Guard is Tiger 351. This tank, despite being in operational condition when it was recovered, is completely controlled by a psycher in the driver's seat. It offers unmatched protection for Duke Comilla's command retinue.
Each formation of the Crimson Guard have a unit of transportation specialists who oversee the maintenance of the legion's carts and the well-being of the horses.

Duke Comilla has overall command of the legion and often commands battles directly when he can.
Below him are his Legates. Taken from the roman word "Legatus" these Legates command smaller armies consisting of 20,000 men.
Armies are broken into Chapters of about 1,000-2,000 men commanded by Chapter Masters. These chapters often cooperate with one another and have a higher degree of independence than most formations at this level.
Companies of about 100-300 soldiers are commanded by Captains. Groups of 3-4 companies may be led by a Commander. All commanders in a Chapter are commanded and coordinated by a Major. The Captain of the Honor Guard is called a Centurion.
Squadrons of 6-10 soldiers are led by a Sergeant. 3-4 squadrons are grouped into platoons led by a Lieutenant.

Despite their notoriety for brazen displays of force, the Crimson Guard's tactics are exceptionally refined. Before an attack, scouts identify hard points, enemy officers, fuel/munition stores, and other points of interest.
After this, the enemy is identified and analyzed and a tactic chosen based on previous history, troop composition, and resources available. What follows is usually a coordinated campaign of propaganda and assassination, wherein enemy officers are killed and enemy morale targeted.
Assuming the enemy has not retreated, then the battle is initiated. The Crimson Guard will often attempt to encircle the enemy before routing them. Often, an avenue of escape will be left open to prevent the enemy from digging in further.

Training for the Crimson Guard often consists of group maneuvers and individual specialization. Squadrons are taught to cover each others' weaknesses while playing to each other's strengths. Additionally, all wings of the legion are trained together in combined-arms tactics before they even leave the academy.

The Crimson Guard's logistic system is one of the most important. As they often fight directly beside Lord Kaiser, the supply lines of the Crimson Guard are, more often than not, given special attention. If the Guard's supply lines are ever compromised, the Honor Guard are often deployed to resolve this issue.

Because of Duke Comilla's heavy utilization of all resources under his command, artillery regiments have been removed from the Crimson Guard. Instead, they are deployed adjacent to the Guard in support roles in order to prevent another incident of the Praetorian running through ammunition stores.
Additionally, support regiments are often assigned to the Crimson Guard by Lord Kaiser himself for training purposes. The commanders of these units are kept separate from the Crimson Guard command retinue after a string of friendly fire incidents resulting from Duke Comilla's short temper.

The Crimson Guard's upkeep cost is high, though much lower than it could be. Many of the Guard's assets are created in the field, or imported directly from the territories formerly known as the Crimson Kingdom. In addition, several salvage units are assigned to the Guard, allowing the recuperation of some lost equipment in the field.

The Crimson Guard exclusively recruits from the former territories of the Crimson Kingdom, but also accept replacement regiments from other legions. These are most often reformed survivors of devastated formations, and are kept on the peripheral of combat until such a time as their combat efficiency can be determined.

The Crimson Guard is often deployed to the worst of the fighting at lower than legion strength. Detachments of the Crimson Guard have fought on nearly every front and in some of the worst fighting of the Great Crusade. A string of successful breakthroughs and decisive victories have solidified the Guard's reputation as Lord Kaiser's fist.

The Crimson Guard was once the Royal Army of the Crimson Kingdom. After the reformation of the Thunder Kingdom by Lord Kaiser, they became the 1st Legion: The Crimson Guard. The Honor Guard of the legion is also formed from the knights of the Crimson Crosses.