Catachan Devil (Warhammer 40,000)

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Ogryn Squads - Some Ogryns are native to Death Worlds, but where they are not, certain Death World regiments will "acquire" squads of them, often without informing their previous commanders. Catachan Veterans find Ogryns have the same values of personal loyalty, physical toughness and determination as they themselves, so Catachans and Ogryns get on famously well. In Catachan regiments, these elite soldiers are called "Catachan Devils," in reference to their famous Catachan Knives and the voracious predators of their homeworld whose fierceness they emulate in combat. The Spitting Cactus, is a deadly form of jungle cacti, it is able to fire toxin-coated spines directly at nearby prey. [19]

The regimental Colonels and company Captains of the Catachan regiments are usually elected by the rank-and-file. These commanders are often renowned hunters or warriors, the headman of the settlement from which the regiment or company was recruited or perhaps the patriarch of an extended family which has sent many of its men-folk (and sometimes women-folk) to join the ranks. Catachan IV Regiment - The Catachan IV took part in the Macharian Crusade with varying success. The IV Catachan was wiped out during the invasion of Jucha. The Spore Tree, the branches of this plant hold dangling flowers which launch a cloud of spores when they detect something moving close by, to carry their seeds to other fertile areas. The spore cloud is so dense, the creature which disturbed the tree often chokes and dies. This is also useful for the spore tree as its victim's decaying body will enrich the ground around its roots. [19] Second Tyrannic War (990-993.M41) - Catachan Jungle Fighter regiments were deployed across the galaxy during the Second Tyrannic War to stop the advance of Hive Fleet Kraken. Third Tyrannic War (997.M41-Present) - Catachan Jungle Fighter regiments were deployed across the galaxy during the Third Tyrannic War to stop the advance of Hive Fleet Leviathan.

Lieutenant - Lieutenants are the junior officers of the Catachan Jungle Fighters regiments who are given command over each company's platoons and who report to their company's captain. Because of these creatures and innumerable others, life on Catachan is unimaginably harsh; fifty percent of the planet's Human population does not survive infancy, and fifty percent of the remainder does not live past the age of ten solar years. Those who do reach adulthood are invariably among the toughest, most uncompromising and resourceful warriors in the Imperium, masters of surviving in one of the most inhospitable environments in the galaxy. With little to offer the Imperium but their lives, many Catachans are recruited into the Imperial Guard, their skills such that each one of them is worth a dozen other guardsmen when fighting in dense jungle. The following are the most common Catachan Knives found throughout the Catachan Jungle Fighters regiments. Catachan Fang - Measuring up to 20 inches of gleaming steel, the Catachan Fang is the most common type of Catachan Knife used by the Catachan regiments. Equally useful for cutting your way through jungle or a deviant Aeldari, the Catachan Fang is renowned throughout thousands of star systems. This knife is also used for settling disputes between Catachans. Usually, one knife is placed in the centre of a fighting pit and the combatants must each strive to get hold of the knife. The duel ends when one fighter draws blood, though this can often mean death as well.

Many new recruits mistakenly believe that the object of mines and traps is to kill or maim the enemy. This, of course, is only their secondary function, as their primary value is in disrupting and slowing an enemy's advance into certain areas. After several encounters with booby traps, most enemies are liable to become demoralised, overly cautious and spread out, leaving them vulnerable to a well-placed ambush. Rough Riders - Catachans have been known to field unique Rough Rider units. These Jungle Fighters ride into war mounted atop one of the mighty giant reptiles native to the Catachan jungle.Catachan military leaders typically eschew the privileges of authority, instead suffering through every hardship alongside their troops, a great point of pride among the regiments. Many Catachan commanders can claim to have personally saved the lives of half their company. Rather than treat their men as servile underlings, Catachan officers command with crude banter that conceals an underlying mutual respect. Though inarguably effective within Catachan ranks, this style of leadership makes the job of outsiders such as Commissars doubly difficult and often extremely dangerous when they are attached to Catachan regiments.

Fire Support Heavy Weapons Squads - Compared to a standard Imperial Guard force, Catachan Heavy Weapons Squads are rare. The weapons' bulk and the weight of their ammunition makes them difficult to transport across a wilderness as unforgiving as the jungle environments where the Catachan Regiments see most of their combat. Nonetheless, the firepower of Heavy Bolters and Autocannons can be decisive in close battles. These squads are composed of one and three Heavy Weapons Teams, each consisting of two Catachan Veteran Guardsmen. Guardsman Marbo is one of the fearsome "Catachan Devils," the closest thing the Jungle Fighters have to the elite Storm Troopers used by other regiments. A natural born survivor and a veritable one-man army, he's the ultimate soldier and possesses skills that surpass any of the Imperium's highly-trained operatives. Despite his unparalleled abilities his commanders inwardly feel there is "something deeply wrong with the boy." Defence of Jorn V (997.M41) - The 12th Army Group, comprised mainly of Catachan and Jornian Imperial Guard forces, continue to hold out against a tendril of Hive Fleet Leviathan. Reinforcements continue to be raised to help combat this dire threat. Buildings must constantly be rebuilt, for it seems that wherever the people of Catachan build structures, the jungle redoubles its efforts to destroy them.There are comparatively few Catachan regiments within the Calixis Sector's Spinward Front. However, for reasons that remain entangled within the bureaucracy of the Departmento Munitorum, a small number of regiments from Catachan found their way into the region, likely due to a planned deployment that never came to fruition, perhaps because the campaign had already concluded by the time the Catachans had arrived. Catachan V Regiment - The Catachan V took part in the Macharian Crusade with varying success. The 5th met fierce resistance during the Invasion of Jucha. Codex: Astra Militarum (6th Edition) (Digital Edition), "Regiments of Distinction - Catachan Jungle Fighters"