History of the Imperial Guard Regiments
CADIA – On The Edge Of The Eye
Cadia is just one world amongst many thousands in the Imperium of Mankind, but it has a special and honoured place in the history of Mankind. Cadia stands upon the edge of the Eye of Terror within a narrow corridor of stable space known as the Cadian Gate. This forms the one and only truly predictable passage between the Chaos-infested daemon worlds of the Eye of Terror and Earth. There are other routes, but these are less stable, inherently unpredictable paths that will scatter fleets through time and space. No battlefleet of any size can rely upon these unstable passages, but must pass through the Cadian Gate. Cadia is therefore one of the most strategically important planets of the galaxy, and its defence is vital to the survival of the Imperium of Mankind.
CHAOS RAIDERS
On several occasions the forces of Chaos have moved against the world of Cadia, and raging battles have been fought in the rings of Rouran and even on Cadia itself. A large part of the Imperial fleet is stationed at Cadia or nearby. Such huge battles are rare, but the constant intrusion of Chaos raiding craft is commonplace. Chaos Space Marines make frequent forays onto the surface of Cadia, and must be hunted down and destroyed before they can entrench themselves.
As recently as five years ago, a large force of Chaos Space Marines penetrated the defences of Cadia undetected, and went into hiding in the uplands of the Dorac Alps. Unknown to the Cadians, these troops dug themselves in and established a formidable fortress. Soon they were joined by reinforcements and their forces increased until a large army was ready to attack.
Fortunately, the Chaos Space Marines were detected when a ship carrying more raiders was intercepted in orbit. The Cadians’ own defence troops were able to contain the invaders and eventually defeat them. Such incidents are not rare by any means, and the Cadians have developed a powerful army which is expert at rooting out and destroying the invaders.
THE CADIAN SHOCK TROOPS
The most powerful fighting formations of the Cadian forces are called shock troops. They are chosen from the fastest moving and hardest-fighting of the Cadians. As all Cadians must train in the defence forces, all the best fighters are quickly identified and inducted for further training. When Chaos raiders are discovered the shock troops are sent to hunt them down, and only if the force is particularly large or well equipped will the Cadians send for help. Even the Space Marines that have come to destroy especially large Chaos forces have found the Cadians impressive and powerful allies.
The Cadians manufacture excellent weaponry and other military equipment. The world itself is heavily industrialised and has many large cities with highly skilled populations. This is reflected in the Cadians’ armament and wargear, which is made in uniform patterns and camouflaged in a manner most suited to the mixed terrain of the Cadian wilderness.
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