Cadian Shock Troops - Regimental History: Cadia is the true definition of a Fortress World, its entire culture and infrastructure wholly dedicated to the raising and equipping of new Cadian Shock Troop regiments for service in the Astra Militarum, the defence of the Cadian Gate and the surrounding star systems.For thousands of standard years, the people of Cadia have known nought but war. Fighting always to hold back the infernal hosts of Chaos that pour from the Eye of Terror, they have evolved into a robust warrior culture. All Cadians -- no matter their age, gender or station -- must know how to fight, and be capable of facing with unwavering courage all the horrors that proliferate in the 41st Millennium.The birth and recruitment rates on Cadia were ever synonymous, with each generation undergoing total military indoctrination. By the age of five standard years most Cadians learned to strip and reassemble a Lasgun. By six, most were deadly shots, and before their seventh birthdays they received a no-nonsense introduction to the perils of psyker-taint and mutation.This approach leaves Cadian youths mentally and spiritually fortified, with a grim acceptance of things that would send lesser humans screaming in terror. By the age of sixteen all Cadians are adept in endurance training, weapons handling, hand-to-hand combat, and vehicular and chemical warfare drills, and are raring to prove themselves in the Cadian youth army. These so-called "Whiteshields" were comparable to the standard conscripts of many worlds, recognisable by the thick white stripe that runs front-to-back on their helms.The primary infantry regiments raised from amongst the Cadian population are designated as Cadian Shock Troop regiments by the Departmento Munitorum, and maintain a tactical mixture of different arms and equipment, supported by integrated artillery and heavy armour formations, but their true strength lies in the skill, discipline and courage of the Cadians themselves. The Cadian Shock Troops are believed by many to be without equal in the entirety of the Imperial Guard. Displaying enviable levels of discipline, excellent marksmanship, and a cynical gallows humour, Cadian foot soldiers hold true to the tenet that to do your best and give your life for the Emperor is the highest form of honour.The same unflinching loyalty and martial prowess are found amongst Cadia's armoured and artillery regiments. The endless load-fire-reload drills the gunners and tank crews of Cadia are taught to master make them nigh unstoppable on the battlefield, their guns capable of pounding even the most monstrous enemies to dust. Whether fielded independently or as mixed-arms battle groups, the regiments of Cadia are famed for their effectiveness and discipline, overlapping fields of precision fire obliterating any foe caught helplessly in their path.It is their ranks operating in perfect unison in the field that grant the Shock Troop regiments the needed tactical flexibility to react to changing combat needs on the battlefield and the numbers and sheer fortitude to grind an enemy into extinction through the application of overwhelming firepower or even sheer attrition. In addition to the rank-and-file Cadian regiments, numerous specialised formations and different troop types are integrated into their organisational structure, ranging from dedicated sapper units and combat engineers to the youthful, unblooded armies of Whiteshields and the elite "Kasrkin."In particular the Kasrkin, named after the Kasr fortress-cities of Cadia, are rated as amongst the most superior forces in the Astra Militarum and considered equal both in combat capability and quality of wargear with the Tempestus Scions raised from the orphans of the Schola Progenium who serve the Astra Militarum and the Inquisition alike.In addition to the Shock Trooper infantry regiments, Cadia also produces dedicated mechanised, artillery, reconnaissance and armoured regiments, many of which have had long and distinguished histories and, like the Cadian Shock Trooper regiments, have served across the entire breadth of the Imperium in innumerable warzones and Imperial Crusades.The success and glorious record of the Cadian regiments in the defence of the Imperium have been such that they have long been held up by the Adeptus Terra as the very epitome of the Imperial Guard. As a result, they have provided the template for others to imitate and there are regiments of the Astra Militarum raised on worlds as far apart as the Hive World of Brimlock and the holdfasts of the Coronus Nebula that seek to emulate the martial traditions and overall regimental structures of heroic and doomed Cadia.The regiments of Cadia are also very well-equipped and represent the highest standards of wargear and supply of any standing Imperial Guard Militarum Regimento formations. Their wargear issued to the rank and file complies unwaveringly with the edicts of the Departmento Munitorum concerning frontline combat operations and this procurement was carried out by manufactoria on Cadia itself as well as a large number of Forge Worlds and industrial facilities in the adjacent sectors that dedicated their output wholly to the service of the defence of the Cadian Gate.This wide network of production facilities also means that a considerable variety of weapon systems, patterns of vehicles and other heavy equipment can be found at the disposal of Cadian regiments in the field, and includes such standard designs as the Mars Pattern Leman Russ main battle tank to such rarities as the Destroyer Tank Hunter in certain more specialised Cadian units.