Death Korps of Krieg - Death Korps of Krieg: The Death Korps of Krieg is the name given to all of the Astra Militarum regiments that originate from the devastated, post-atomic Death World of Krieg in the Segmentum Tempestus. They are most commonly deployed in the war zones of the Segmentum Tempestus and Segmentum Solar and are particularly skilled at attritional trench warfare, sieges of and assaults upon heavily fortified static positions and warfare in extreme environments known for their biological, chemical and radioactive hazards.Krieg was the site of a rebellion against the Imperium of Man over 1,500 standard years ago in the 40th Millennium and was bombarded with nuclear weapons followed by five hundred Terran years of grinding warfare between Loyalists and Traitors to purge the heretical rebels.After all those years of nuclear destruction and bitter trench warfare, Krieg was reduced to a scorched, radioactive husk of a world composed of dust and mud whose surviving people were forced to retreat into underground hive cities to survive the toxic planetary environment.The Death Korps of Krieg is a siege specialist Militarum Regimento of the Astra Militarum and the regiments raised on Krieg seek to repent for their people's former treachery against the Emperor by displaying a disturbing disregard for their own lives in combat. Death Korps troops excel at wars of attrition and defensive combat in particular.Grim, fatalistic and dour, selflessly wading into some of the most gruellinh and abhorrent war zones satuarated with radiation or other toxins -- or solar-decades-long sieges with sky-high casualty rates -- the men and women of Krieg are a breed apart. Almost all Imperial Guardsmen from Krieg, save vehicle crews, wear distinctive and highly advanced respirator units that filter out toxic and radioactive particulates. These are a relic of their world's poisoned legacy and a reminder of Krieg's eternal service to the needs of the Imperium.In 433.M40, the once-loyal Imperial world of Krieg declared independence and renounced the glory of the God-Emperor. At that moment, the world was changed forever. Colonel Jurten, commander of the 83rd Krieg Regiment of the Astra Militarum, gathered to him all those still loyal to the Imperium, and struck back against the rebellion, choosing to unleash the horror of atomic bombardment upon those who had forsaken the Emperor.After five hundred standard years of atomic fire, continent-spanning trench warfare, and thunderous artillery barrages, the attempted secession of Krieg was halted, but at great cost: Krieg had become a blasted, irradiated wasteland, barely inhabitable by Humans. The remaining population was forced to exist in the subterranean bunkers and tunnels that had spread across the planet during the war, and found that they could not walk upon the surface without protective equipment.Seeking to atone for the betrayal their world's government had committed, and with no other resources left to offer up in the Imperial Tithe, the people of Krieg set about providing the only thing they had left -- manpower. Hardened by generations of war in an atomic wasteland, the Krieg people were already well-prepared to be sent out into the galaxy as Imperial Guardsmen.Trained amongst the irradiated ruins of long-dead cities, equipped for the most hostile environments, and raised on sermons of self-sacrifice and penitence, the Krieg regiments have commonly been deployed -- often at their own request -- to some of the deadliest war zones, from the toxic ash wastes that surround many hive cities, to brutal wars of attrition and years-long sieges.The Krieg have gained a reputation for their grim attitude and uncompromising nature. Disdainful of retreat or surrender, and fighting without fear of death, the soldiers of Krieg seem to have no regard for their own lives. Indeed, the prevailing attitude amongst the Krieg is that they are little more than living weapons for the Emperor's will, faceless and infinitely replaceable behind their anonymous rebreather masks, and they hold self-sacrifice as the highest of ideals.In the wake of Krieg's history, its troops are consumed with a fervent cultural need to find atonement, and their cult of sacrifice has been shaped by an even greater disregard for the lives of individual soldiers than that espoused by most other Militarum Regimentos. Bred in underground facilities geared only for war, the regiments of Krieg take harsh training to extremes and their unfeeling attitude makes them ideal for siege and trench warfare. In battle, the sheer resilience and indefatigability of the Death Korps' inexhaustible soldiery grinds down their enemies, while their commanders merely send in the next wave, already firing.Few other regiments feel entirely comfortable alongside the Krieg, with morale issues often arising as a result. Commissars assigned to Krieg regiments are not required to maintain order and zeal, as is normally the case, but rather, to ease interaction between Krieg and non-Krieg regiments and actually work to curb the self-sacrificial tendencies of their charges.Given the depleted population of Krieg, it is a wonder that so many guardsmen can be produced, even with the entire world's remaining efforts devoted to that sole end. Vicious rumours continue to circle around the world's regiments, of unnatural methods used to bolster birth and recruitment rates, producing children artificially to ensure that there are always soldiers to give their lives for the Emperor's wars.To date, no investigations by the Adeptus Mechanicus have presented any evidence of this, but speculation continues nonetheless. It is also believed that the average age of a Krieg infantryman is believed to be considerably lower than on other worlds; some officials even insinuate that the bulk of these troops hide their juvenile traits behind their rebreather masks and that their soldiers haven't even reached physical maturity.