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At a glance
Krieg was once a prosperous hive world. Today it is a poisoned ruin of craters, ash and radioactive dust, scorched clean by a nuclear civil war that lasted for five hundred years. Its people live underground, in sealed hives and bunker complexes, and they breathe through rebreathers whenever they venture to the surface. From this dead world come the regiments of the Death Korps of Krieg, the most fatalistic, disciplined and grimly determined soldiers in the Astra Militarum.
The people of Krieg believe that their world bears a great sin. In 453.M40, the planet's ruler declared independence from the Imperium. The loyalist Colonel Jurten responded by unleashing Krieg's nuclear arsenal on the rebel hives, triggering a war that destroyed the planet's surface. The survivors came to see their suffering as a punishment for their ancestors' treason, and they resolved to atone for it through endless sacrifice in the Emperor's service.
Krieg's regiments are famous for their siege warfare, their gas masks and greatcoats, their mastery of trench fighting and their total indifference to casualties. Other Imperial soldiers find them unsettling. They rarely remove their masks, speak little and seem to welcome death. To the Death Korps, there is no greater honour than to die in battle, and no greater shame than to survive without having done one's duty.
Geography & environment
The surface of Krieg is a wasteland. Once it was covered in hive cities, industrial complexes and farmland. Now it is a landscape of craters, shattered ruins and drifts of radioactive ash. The air is toxic, and the radiation levels in many areas are still lethal. Storms of ash and dust sweep across the surface, and the sky is grey and dim.
Nothing grows on the surface of Krieg. The few animals that survived the war are mutated and dangerous. Water is contaminated, and the seas are poisoned. Visitors to the surface must wear protective suits and rebreathers, and even then, prolonged exposure is dangerous.
The ruins of the old hives still stand in places, their shattered spires rising from the wasteland like broken teeth. Trenches and fortifications from the civil war scar the landscape, and the remains of war machines rust in the ash. In some places, the ground is glassy from the heat of nuclear blasts. These relics serve as constant reminders of the war, and the people of Krieg regard them almost as shrines, places where their ancestors fought and died to keep faith with the Emperor. The surface also serves as a vast training ground, where the Death Korps practise trench warfare and siege tactics amid the ruins of the world their ancestors destroyed.
The buried hives
After the war, the people of Krieg retreated underground. They built sealed hive complexes deep beneath the surface, protected from the radiation and toxins above. These complexes are vast, with living quarters, manufactoria, training grounds and storage facilities. Life underground is austere and regimented, with everything organised around the needs of the military.
The underground hives are self-sufficient, growing food in hydroponic farms and recycling air and water. They are heavily fortified, with blast doors, defensive positions and emergency supplies. The people of Krieg live in close quarters, and privacy is rare. Their society is highly disciplined, and everyone has a role to play in the war effort.
The manufactoria of Krieg produce weapons, equipment and munitions for the Death Korps. The planet's industry is entirely geared towards war, and its products are prized by the Departmento Munitorum for their reliability. Krieg lasguns, artillery and gas masks are found throughout the Astra Militarum.
Every resource is recycled. Nothing is wasted, from food and water to the equipment of fallen soldiers. The people of Krieg have learned to live with very little, and they regard waste as a sin. This ethic carries over to the battlefield, where the Death Korps are known for their efficiency and their reluctance to abandon equipment, and where even the bodies of the dead are expected to serve one final purpose.
History
The rebellion
In 453.M40, the Autarch of Krieg declared the planet's independence from the Imperium. He renounced the Emperor, stopped paying the planet's tithes and declared Krieg a sovereign state. Many of the planet's people supported the rebellion, but some remained loyal. Among them was Colonel Jurten of the 83rd Krieg Regiment, who refused to accept the Autarch's treason.
Jurten's response was drastic. He seized control of the planet's nuclear arsenal and launched a devastating attack on the rebel hives. The cities were destroyed in an instant, and millions died. The rebels retaliated, and the war escalated into a full-scale nuclear conflict. Krieg's surface was devastated, and the war dragged on for five hundred years. The loyalists fought from the ruins, using trenches and bunkers to survive. They gradually wore down the rebels, and eventually they won. But the cost was terrible: the planet's surface was destroyed, and its population was reduced to a fraction of its former size.
The Acts of Atonement
After the war, the surviving loyalists believed that Krieg bore a great sin. They had failed to prevent the rebellion, and their world had betrayed the Emperor. They resolved to atone for this sin by offering their lives in the Emperor's service. The planet's society was reorganised around the military, and the people of Krieg began to raise regiments for the Astra Militarum.
The Death Korps of Krieg were born from this resolution. Their soldiers are raised from birth to fight and die for the Emperor, and they believe that their deaths will help to atone for their ancestors' sins. They fight with a fatalistic determination that has become legendary, and they are willing to accept casualties that would break other regiments.
The Death Korps at war
The Death Korps of Krieg have fought in countless campaigns across the galaxy. They are specialists in siege warfare, and they are often deployed to break heavily fortified positions. They are masters of trench warfare, artillery and attrition, and they are willing to grind down an enemy over years of bloody fighting.
The most famous campaign of the Death Korps was the Siege of Vraks, a seventeen-year war against the forces of the Arch-Apostate Xaphan, who had seized the armoury world of Vraks Prime. The Death Korps fought through layer after layer of fortifications, suffering millions of casualties, until the traitors were finally defeated. The siege became a symbol of the Death Korps' determination and their willingness to sacrifice.
People & culture
The people of Krieg are grim, disciplined and devout. They are raised from birth to serve the Emperor, and their lives are dedicated to the military. Children are trained in combat from an early age, and they learn the history of their world and the sins of their ancestors. They grow up believing that their purpose is to fight and die for the Emperor.
Krieg society is highly regimented, and individualism is discouraged. People wear uniforms and masks, and they rarely show their faces. They speak little, and they show little emotion. Their culture is focused on duty and sacrifice, and they regard personal comfort and happiness as unimportant.
There are persistent rumours that Krieg maintains gene-banks or vat-grown soldiers to replenish its regiments, and the speed with which Krieg replaces its losses has led some to suspect that its soldiers are not born in the ordinary way. The people of Krieg neither confirm nor deny these rumours, and outsiders are rarely permitted to see the inner workings of the underground hives.
The Death Korps of Krieg
The Death Korps of Krieg are organised into siege regiments, supported by artillery, engineers, armour and cavalry. Their infantry wear long greatcoats, gas masks and helmets, and they are armed with lasguns, bayonets and grenades. They are supported by heavy weapons teams, mortars and artillery.
The Death Korps are famous for their Grenadiers, elite soldiers who wear heavier armour and carry more powerful weapons. They are used as shock troops in assaults, and they are often deployed to break the enemy's strongest positions. The Death Korps also field Death Riders, cavalry mounted on gene-enhanced horses that charge enemy lines with lances and sabres. Their engineers, the Combat Engineers, specialise in tunnelling, demolition and trench construction.
One of the most unsettling figures in the Death Korps is the Quartermaster, a medic whose duties include assessing the wounded. Those who can be saved are treated. Those who cannot are given the Emperor's Peace, a merciful death, and their useful organs and equipment are recovered for the regiment. To the Death Korps, this is not cruelty but efficiency; nothing is wasted.
The Death Korps believe in the doctrine of attrition. They are willing to accept enormous casualties if it means wearing down the enemy. They fight with relentless determination, advancing through shellfire and gas, and they rarely retreat. Their officers are cold and calculating, and they regard their soldiers as resources to be expended in the Emperor's service.
The Siege of Vraks
Vraks Prime was an armoury world, a vast storehouse of weapons and munitions for the Astra Militarum. In 813.M41, its Cardinal, Xaphan, declared himself Arch-Apostate and seized the planet with the help of a cult of followers and renegade soldiers. He used the armoury's enormous stockpiles to arm his followers, turning Vraks into a fortress bristling with guns. The Imperium could not allow such a store of weapons to remain in traitor hands, and the Death Korps of Krieg were sent to retake it.
The siege that followed lasted for seventeen years. The Death Korps dug trenches across the plains of Vraks, advancing slowly towards the citadel under a constant rain of shells. They tunnelled beneath the traitors' defences, attacked through gas and fire and fought hand-to-hand in the ruins. Chaos Space Marines, daemons and the forces of the Dark Mechanicum joined the defenders, and the war escalated into a nightmare. The Red Scorpions, Dark Angels, Space Wolves and Grey Knights fought alongside the Death Korps at various stages, and Titans and Knights clashed on the shattered plains.
When Vraks finally fell, the planet was a wasteland not unlike Krieg itself. The casualties among the Death Korps numbered in the millions. To the people of Krieg, the siege was a great victory, a demonstration of their unbreakable will and their willingness to sacrifice for the Emperor. Other Imperial commanders were horrified by the cost, but none could deny that the Death Korps had done what no one else could.
How the Imperium sees Krieg
To most Imperial soldiers, the Death Korps are a mystery. Their silent, masked soldiers seem barely human, and their willingness to die is unnerving. Many Guardsmen from other worlds avoid them, and some believe the rumours that they are not truly human at all. Commissars, on the other hand, often find the Death Korps a pleasure to serve with, since they almost never need to enforce discipline.
The Death Korps are highly valued by Imperial high command. They are relentless, reliable and willing to undertake missions that other regiments would consider suicidal. They are often deployed in the most difficult campaigns, where their determination can make the difference between victory and defeat. Yet some commanders worry about the Death Korps' approach to war, fearing that their willingness to accept casualties can lead to wasteful tactics.
Defenders & war-machine
Krieg is defended by the Death Korps, who maintain garrisons in the underground hives. The planet's surface is heavily fortified, with trenches, bunkers and artillery positions. The Death Korps are supported by tanks, artillery and aircraft, and the planet has a small naval presence.
The Death Korps regiments field Leman Russ tanks, Chimera transports, Hades breaching drills and a wide range of artillery, including Earthshaker cannons and Medusa siege guns. They are also known for their use of chemical weapons and gas, which they use to clear enemy trenches and bunkers.
Notable battles
- The Krieg Civil War (453.M40-M41): five centuries of nuclear civil war that destroyed Krieg's surface.
- The Siege of Vraks (813.M41-830.M41): a seventeen-year siege against the Arch-Apostate Xaphan.
- Countless sieges: the Death Korps have fought in many sieges and attritional campaigns across the galaxy.
Trivia
- The Death Korps of Krieg are rarely seen without their gas masks, and their faces are almost never shown.
- Krieg's regimental motto speaks of shame in life and atonement in death.
- The Death Korps are among the most respected siege regiments in the Astra Militarum.
- The Siege of Vraks lasted for seventeen years and cost millions of lives.
- Krieg's regiments often serve for years without rest, and many soldiers spend their entire lives at the front.
- The Death Korps' greatcoats, helmets and masks have become one of the most recognisable looks in the Astra Militarum.
