Imperial Guard

The Imperial Guard were the first military body of the UEC(United Earth Coalition) though when they were first formed they were known as the "Red Militia". The Imperial Guard have a variety of jobs and tasks they are responsible for.

History
More Detail(Yet a few unneeded details) on: Storyline 

The History of the Imperial Guard begins on Earth after the discovery of working plasma power. After decades of rising prosperity, a German revolutionary by the name of James Hawkeye lead a worldwide rebellion against the UEC, controlled by Russians at the time. No one on Serva understands what happened there, and even the descendants of Hawkeye and his followers have long forgotten. In any case, the government attempted to stop the riots through military force, and created their first military body: The Red Militia.

The Red Militia at the time were a small few of volunteers and some draftees who were supportive of the government and believed it was doing everything right. They hated the rioters and revolutionaries, and were more than happy to dispatch them. However, as the revolution grew global, the remaining Militia were outnumbered and over-allocated. There were too few soldiers to fight, and the revolutionaries were met with victory within 2 years.

The Red Militia re-formed as the Imperial Guard, when Hawkeye took over the planet, and tried to fix the problems he saw in the previous, Russian controlled government. While the Imperial Guard's older members were infuriated, the newer ones embraced the changes. Previously the only military force, it soon fulfilled a different purpose. The Imperial Guard were given two main jobs, and a tertiary. Their first, and more important job, was the protection of the President. This task was to be done with utmost dedication and devotion. Even in cases where the soldier involved may end up dead, members of the Imperial Guard nearby the president in an emergency will gladly jump in front of him whilst a bullet be shot towards him, at the cost of their own welfare. Their secondary task, and done more often, is the enforcement of the law. The Imperial Guard form up the police of Earth all the way into the Recovery Age, and still do so in the present day.

Their least recognized job, and only recently added to their list of duties, is to act as special forces in the military. While the EAF(Earth Armed Forces) are the regular soldiers and common engineers, the Imperial Guard form up as spies, elite commandos and specialist snipers.

"Your life means nothing, you are but a tool

In the President's Arsenal

So serve him well, lest your death be in vain"

- Imperial Guard Recruit's handbook quote

The Imperial Guard have shown that they are very devoted to their President and their jobs on three occasions. The first was during the Earth and Servan War, when Servan assassins tried to elimate President Paye. They were thwarted by a single Imperial Guardsman, who noticed the Servan sniper and ran in front of the President while he was giving a speech, shouting "Sniper!" The Sniper had fired, but the guardsman had arrived just in time, and the bullet sliced into his armor and killed him. The President awarded him with a prestigous funeral and grave. The next was a later assassination, though it involved a knife. The final test of dedication was during the Cambrian War, where the President was forced on the front line. Several Guardsmen went against their former orders to escort the President to a rendevous with Garrett and his Avengers.

Weapons
The Guns of the Red Militia was typically no better then the rioters and civilians they went up against. That changed when they formed as the Imperial Guard. The trademark weapon of the Imperial Guard was the IGs-7(Imperial Guard standard 7) Pistol, a .44 Magnum auto-revolver with 19 rounds. In the Cambrian War it became very well known and widespread use among even Servus. The IGs-7 was the primary weapon of most security guards of the President and was a sidearm for the law enforcement branch.

The IGMG-1(Imperial Guard Machine Gun 1), an Earth heavy sub-machine gun, is a resilient weapon. Its built for ruggedness, power, reliability, and accuracy, over the Cambrian tradition for more lead in the air and the resulting jams and inaccuracy. The IGMG is also a tactical weapon, since it is, of course, the Imperial Guards other job to serve as special forces. It can be equipped with laser sights, flashlights, scopes, grenade launchers, suppressors, magnifiers, pulse transformers, and other tactical add ons that greatly improve the usefulness of the weapon. Like all SMG's of the Cambrian War era it is designed for close quarters combat and urban warfare. The gun was heavily inspired by the M-16.



One of the many secondary arms of the Imperial Guard include the IGAS(Imperial Guard Assault Shotgun). The shotgun is designed for many of the same purposes as an SMG, and is more lethal at closer ranges. However the Assault Shotgun has more capabilities. The user can double tap which fires two 12 gauge shells(or slugs) and is followed by a pump. It can also be fired normally and fully automatic. The IGAS is a specialized weapon, given to assault troops who are about to close in on urban centers or other cramped spaces.

Melee weapons in the Imperial Guard are those typical of Earth: knives and bayonets.

Tactics
The Imperial Guard rely on 3 rules of warfare: Surprise, Surprise, Surprise. While Guardsmen are more then well equipped enough to handle themselves in a common firefight, the Imperial Guard's greatest strength is to overwhelm the enemy, while hes not looking. They do this in mid battle, as well, by making great use of flanks and rears. Imperial Guard also sometimes uses things like retracing steps and patrolling and cycling to make their armies appear bigger then it actually is. Most tactics involve things BEFORE the fight begins, but many of theirs can be used just as well in the middle of a pitched battle.

The Imperial Guard, while elite, are not small in number eithier. There are at least 2 million Guardsmen, as of the 2832 count. However nearly 41% of the total number of serving Guardsmen fell in the Cambrian War.

But they are still, by comparison to their enemies on Cambria, or their struggling allies at the time, Serva, a small force. There were nearly a billion EAF soldiers in service before the Cambrian War, and slightly less or greater than that on the other worlds. While outnumbered, the Imperial Guard do not have to worry about numbers so much as the other forces.

While the element of Surprise is a big part of Imperial tactics, it is also only able to be used in a time of oppurtunity. And this oppurtunity best arises when on the offense. Or being aggressive. As such, the Imperial Guard rarely makes a defensive move in fortifications or in terrain, but is more often a victim of them. The Imperial Guard refuses to attack fortifications as well, though it is more content in difficult terrain such as in alpine conditions or harsh deserts.

The basic rundown of an Imperial Guard attack: if you have a force of 20 riflemen, you send a majority of them in a frontal assault. These are the assault corps, equipped with strong frontal armor and a specialized IGMG-1. The rest are equally divided up into usually 3 forces. One force attempts to go unnoticed to the defender's left flank, and another does the same with the right. The last group, usually the most brave in a squad, try to come in from the rear. If this all works, the enemy will be surrounded and may be forced to surrender at some point. Most of the time, the flanking groups succeed but the rear flankers are more often killed.

Sometimes, air drops and air strikes are used, though these are mostly EAF support units.