"Sir, we're surrounded!" Cadian: "then we fight to the last man!" Catachan: "then we can't miss!" Kreig: "good."

Fun fact about the Steel Legion Death Korp comparison, the Death Korp started out as an alternative paint scheme for the old Metal Steel Legion models

I like krieg because they don't have faces, cause faces are hard to paint 😂

It's all doom and gloom as usual, until Kriegsman asks you "Are you my mummy?"

I always saw Krieg as more *willing* to die than *wanting* to die. Theyre analytical in the same way the Iron Warriors are. They can look at a battlefield scenario, calculate the number of men needed and number of men they are likely to lose, and then draft plans accordingly and execute them. So will they always charge trench lines full of machine guns and autocannons? No, not really. Will they charge a trench line full of machine guns and autocannons if it means their grenadier units can slip in to said trenches while the enemy is occupied with the charge and cause absolute havoc? Most certainly. Kriegers know what it means to *spend* lives to the utmost efficacy as soldiers. Every soldier who dies died doing their purpose towards the greater objective 100% of the time kind of deal. Hope that makes sense I am dealing with some MAJOR sleep deprivation right now xD

My guy, you forgot the badass WWI anesthetics.

Steve Lyons did a great job depicting the Death Korps in his book Dead Men Walking. I've always seen the Death Korps as fanatic but not as cartoonishly over the top as people joke about in memes. I don't believe that the average Kriegsman WANTS to die, but that they are prepared to if their death contributes to the Imperium's overall victory. Like they wouldn't be looking for the faintest excuse to throw their life away but at the same time, they wouldn't hesitate for a moment to throw themselves onto a grenade if it meant saving the rest of their unit so that they could continue the fight for the Emperor. They embody the fatalistic ideas of 40k only dialed up to 11. They come from an extreme planet, travel across an extreme galaxy and fight extreme threats but they're just regular humans, and they have come to terms with that.

The book Dead Men Walking is a great look at an outsiders view of the Krieg, the ending just makes you go wow.

Because dudes in gas masks and old looking gear are cool asf next question

3 words: gas mask horses

You completely skipped over the most important aspect of the Death Korps of Kreig: The name. Truly, no military force has ever been named more faithfully to an edgy high school death metal band from the 2000s.

my answer: they're just lilttle guys, little fellas having a blast, little silly guys doing what they love

I think the Krieg shovel meme came from actual history. I’ve seen apocryphal stories about stormtroopers and red army soldiers of both world wars using their entrenching tools as emergency melee weapons during charges and raids, and since the Death Corps is based on mid-century attrition warfare, people just made that connection.

From my point,steve Lyons Version of krieg, especially in Dead men walking, is the „correct“ version of their portrayal. They are grim and fatalistic, humans but without true „humanity“, all they have is the war. They’re not grimderp zealots that run into minefields to clear a path for tanks and who die in droves for no reason like lemmings. They act like an army that knows only war and hasn’t been changed for ages. Kinda like WW1 veterans on the front. They treat lives as currency but unlike the iron warriors, they spend them wisely and usually don’t throw them away. The quartermasters also represent this, grantig the emperors peace and all.

Having worn a gasmask blessedly few times I know I do not like them but in the most practical of senses. Happy gasmask noises, on the other hand...

I was annoyed at them until they showed up in Warriors of Ultramar, but expecting 40K fans who screech about Krieg to actually read 40K novels is too much to change the memes

Hot take: Krieg is one of the rare instances where the fan base probably did more damage to the image of the setting than GW, though probably more incidentally than deliberately. Krieg certainly fits snuggly into the overall grim dark aesthetic of 40k, sometimes almost too well. It’s that uncanny valley between parody and pastiche, where something is treated so seriously in the setting it ends up being ironically memed. Probably the reason that Steel Legion is still pretty well regarded without any excessive gags, they have that grim dark element but they have that little extra wiggle room in their persona that gives them that depth that Krieg often lacks beyond their aesthetics. Hell even Catachan, a concept seen as little more than an army of Rambo/Commando/Predator parodies, doesn’t feel nearly as lampooned as Krieg does.

I’ve always interpreted Kriegsmen not as wanting to die but simply not caring if they do, they’ve always been shown to be efficient in the stories I’ve read so it would make sense that they don’t much care if they die so long as the task was done to the best of their abilities, thus worth in the eyes of the Emperor.

Refusing to say "Catachan" correctly? A bold choice.

To me the thing that draws me into them is the idea of spitting in the face of the cosmic and warp horror of the universe. Of course many guard regiments have some of that to some extent, but I do definitely feel that the Kriegers would be the kind of people to just shoot the ascending chaos champion rather than let him go on with his monologue. Partially out of efficiency, but also because they won't give their enemies even an inch.

i think i can summarize the reason we like the death korps in one word: oldschool.

JIN RO WOLF MENTIONED!!!!!!!!

The first story in White Dwarf that included them was against daemons and had a crewman have their tank torn open by a Bloodthirster and the krieger "calmly" blew up the fuel and the tank

Every guy enjoys the thought of believing and fighting for something whole heartedly. A nameless soldier doing what he must , not for recognition but to further the cause .

I remember giving a several paragraphs' long reply to this exact question, but in summary: Beyond the cult of sacrifice, my favorite part about the Kriegers is the ultimate sacrifice that their mindset has placed on their culture: they have in many ways become the perfect weapon to bring to bear against xenos, traitor, and heretic alike, yet for all that...they're ruined in just about any other function. They are weapons in the same way as their own lasguns, and would probably view surviving to what we'd call retirement age as an unthinkable nightmare scenario not only for the reasons mentioned above, but also because nothing about them is geared toward civilian life, and for both themselves and they're world, they make no effort to improve their lot except to one day earn the emperor's forgiveness for their forebears betrayal, all while presumably not knowing or caring that may have been welcomed back or skirted by unnoticed for doing much worse than kicking up a nuclear scenario on a single world. They are the Imperium in microcosm: through their sacrifice both in terms of lives and culture, they protect the greater whole for the sake of their empire, emperor, and species, but the cost is that at this point, it's difficult to say they're truly human anymore.

When the Guard is Krieg. Idk haven't read the book :)

These guys are perfect soldiers, they do their jobs and they do them well. They may be cold and cynical heroes, but heroes none the less. They also got that oldschool WW1 aesthetic down hard. And their trench warfare, mass artillery doctrine is amazing.

Lots of people pretty cool with dying in their teens for the emperor, than working for 50 years for the CEO of Walmart.

I wish i was a kriegsman. Damnit I cant die for the emperor and atone for my sins.

They is an upcoming siege of Vraks book from point of view of the Krieg. 2nd book in the krieg series.

9:00 in germany we call that a Klappspaten (folding spade)

Hard times make strong kriegers. Strong Kriegers make hard times.

They are the manifestation of the undominable human spirit! And the look cool af.

Sometimes I think that the meme monkeys make the Krieger mindset as shovel obsessed self-ending crazy people. It's a example of Flanderising that I strongly dislike. The lore of the Death Korps are much more complex and cooler than just some lazy memes.

One thing to note about the kriegsmen. They are master siege fighters, so they will be good at preventing disease, to a certain degree , because diseases spread quickly in a siege, I am sure, this is technically headcannon, they would prevent disease. I don’t know.

i recently read the krieg book, knowing next to nothing about them as i went in, and boy are they near and dear to my heart today

Honestly, when I look at Kreig and I look at their lore, they're a people who come from planet War and all they know is it, you can't send a Kriegsman to a peaceful operation because there's an underlying threat that he'll/she'll do something in their power to Fufil the life's purpose of a Kriegsman. The thing I like about them is that they're like the Iron Warriors of the Guard. Like if the Death corps. of Kreig was around in its current state during/before the heresey, They would have been the ones on the front lines of the H'rud war. Bar none.

No fear, no special mutant powers, 100% badass, no plot armor!

Back in the 90s I used to listen to G. Gordon Liddy's talk radio program on the regular. One day, he spoke about a buddy of his that was a Korean War vet. His nickname was "E-Tool." He got it because one day of fighting several waves of North Korean and Chinese soldiers, he ran out of ammunition. He ended up having to dispatch many commies that day, to the hereafter, with his short handled shovel. Every time I see Kriegsmen, I think of E-Tool.

Agreed for when it comes down to it it’s not a matter of simply being either equal or even outmatching the krieg either in technology or even numbers, but it’s trying to outmatch and outperform them in terms of efficiency which has even left the cadians stunned in surprise when you consider that a cadian soldier has seen everything from the boobs of a Slaaneeshy demonet to an ork charging them, only to be utterly shocked to see what a single company of kriegsmen can do in under half a day where in less than half a day, they were able to build, interlocking trench networks, dugout artillery positions and supply depots as well as living and sleeping accommodations in less than half a day and again the death korps of krieg are basically the human version of the iron warriors, where again, their own wellbeing or even suffering is considered pretty low on their priority list and whilst the favorite memes of them being go happy shovel wielding fanatics who are suicidal, which is kinda true but much like the typical memes and peoples ideas of say the salamanders is that whilst they may seem like ((shovel wielding religious suicidal maniacs)), they are pragmatists to a fault, if say an enemy were to invade the frontlines of their trenches, they’d happily call in an artillery barrage about ten meters in front of the main trenches even if it means killing the odd few of their own soldiers, because if say the death of a hundred soldiers were to result in the deaths of ten thousand enemy combatants then their ((sacrifices)) would be considered ((not in vain)), and so again whilst their suicidal tendencies tend to be overshadowed or memed a lot, it’s not that they don’t dislike the idea of suicide or sacrificing oneself it’s the fear of a meaningless sacrifice which is what scares them as well as drives them to doing such acts of what would be described as sheer stupidity, but when both death and their faith is the only things they truly value in life as well as the lives they love at home, then as long as their deaths not only redeems them for their ancestors shames, but it also protects those who he loves, because to them as a character from the book krieg once said Krieg is it’s people, the people who inhabits a floating rock in space is what makes the krieg but its its people that makes krieg what it is. And again whilst we tend to conflate their acts of sacrifice as suicidal, but in reality for them, sacrifices ensures that the people at home stay safe and protected, through the sacrifices of ones time, energy, effort and even ones life can mean that many others behind them can remain both safe and loyal to the emperor and that sacrifice could mean anything, be it a workers time and energy to building more guns or tanks, to arising themselves in order for millions of others again what is the life of one soldier, one squad, one regiment, one hive city or even one world when the cost is too great, krieg and the imperium would still exist. And that’s why for me I just love the krieg, an army of faceless nobody’s, who look cool 😂

One thing I interpreted from their novel, is that the kriegsmen aren't suicidal like memes would suggest. They are efficient soldiers who have an incredibly resolute understanding of their lot in life. They will be sent into dangerous combat scenarios where they will most likely die and they are ok with that.

Mordians mentioned!

I had a large Death Korp of Krieg army (something like 4000 pts back in 2008 edition). Lots of Leman Russ battle tanks, infantry squads in chimeras and even a Stormblade. The stormblade rarely got used because of its overpowered plasma cannon which made battles less fun. I sold the army when I got bored with 40k in college and realized I was wasting thousands upon thousands on forge world resin stuff and needed to pay my bills and not get into debt. I still think they are a cool army and really liked painting and building the models.

One word: catharsis. They suffer on the behalf of the tormented parts of our psyche, so that we may see those parts and hopefully do better.

7:30 Fun fact: During a battle against the Nercrons they killed so many civilians and PDF troops for this the everyone on the planet turned against them

I just gotta say, I love your casual approach to these topics. Easily one of my favorite Warhammer KZfaqrs. Maybe just favorite KZfaqrs in general. Great job

As a krieg player myself, its 100% the ww1 aesthetic

The masks with rounded eye slits makes them look adorkable.

Really nice video. I think the romanticisation of sacrifice is a big appeal for a lot of Imperium factions. What initially sold me on the Krieg model line was that the masks (on the Forge World versions of the miniatures) don't have perfectly round eye lenses. For some reason they convey a sad expression to me, probably helped by how a lot of the models are looking downwards. I was into WW2 wargames before 40k so the WW1 aesthetic felt pretty cool, and I really resonated with the idea of troops just stuck in hopeless situations that are nevertheless determined to see them through. Not having to paint faces was also a big draw as I did and still do find that difficult. Ironically, despite their price it made them a good beginner guard army for my limited painting skills. It's not that difficult to pump out drab models mostly wearing a single colour. All I could initially afford was to make 5 infantry squads from the 50 troops that they used to sell moulded in rows, which were meant to be glued inside of a gorgon troop transport. I painstakingly separated each model from his neighbour, to end up with a set of at ease troopers. The reason for different interpretations of Krieg lore is that there are, different interpretations of Krieg lore. For example, Graham McNeill's portrayal of Krieg in Warriors of Ultramar predated the Forge World writer Warrick Kinrade's interpretation in the Siege of Vraks books. Kinrade and Alan Bligh's IA books provided details like the Cult of Sacrifice, wherein troops are given a name which corresponds to a person from the Krieg census prior to the planet's civil war. In death, the Krieg troops are redeeming those lost souls. These details simply weren't fleshed out when Warriors of Ultramar was written. The Imperial Armour books like the Vraks trilogy and Fall of Orpheus gave us the Krieg we have today, but those portrayals too have been expanded upon by the novels of Steve Lyons. Lyons took details like the numbers instead of names much further than the vraks books, with the krieg troops only being referred to by their numbers, whereas the IA books would give names to particular characters. Some of these discrepancies can be reconciled fairly easily, such as saying that the named characters in the siege of vraks all died (which is true) and so are being referred to in the book by name instead of number as by this point they have redeemed the name they were originally assigned. Other times, Lyons completely changes established lore, describing Krieg as having spiked helmets, or changing how iconic krieg vehicles like the Hades Breaching Drill work. With so many authors contributing to Krieg lore, over such a long time, I think it's little wonder that the lore isn't particularly consistent. On top of that, the Imperial Armour books have been OOP for years, only recently reappearing on the Warhammer Plus subscription. For many fans, it was really hard to actually get hold of the books, so the main way they could get their Krieg lore was from wikis or videos, leading to more potential for misinterpretations. It's how we get the memes about Krieg executing their commissars for ordering a retreat. In the actual Imperial Armour book, Krieg troops were actually panicked and routed by an enemy artillery barrage. The troops fled back to friendly lines, killing the officers and commissars that tried to stop them. Whilst the meme version of this story is a lot more fun, it's a completely different narrative and isn't at all canon.

Recognizable silhouettes, fairly interesting lore, trench warfare, artillery and ww1 has a cool aesthetic

Baldimort put it best, the saddest part of their tragedy was that if he could speak to them the emperor would forgive them and weep for their pain

I always liked Krieg as a part of the setting, they're really develop on the ideas of what 40k is for me, partially because they are not the only part in 40k. I've been thinking about human side of 40k recently, about how one thinks about all things happening, how do they feel, and what I think would add up to krieg is the fact that they are still humans beneath the mask, practical, pragmatic, but still human with a certain level of compassion, not for themselves, but to those around. Of course they are brutal and can commit a few war crimes to those around, but not just because they are evil, but because they sincerely think they are helping people and in a setting such is 40k that might actually be the case

If you want to know more about the Krieg than I would highly recommend the book "Krieg" it goes into how their world was destroyed and turned them into what they are now, filled with plenty of epic and heroic moments plus some really wholesome and sometimes tear jerking moments, great book

I literally just clicked on this video upon recommendation and immediately heard the music. I'm already hurt. Will continue video.

I enjoy the Kriegers, most of all, simply for being one relentless, professional, extremely deadly, and stoic killing machines of an apology. They want the fight, wherever it is, against whoever it is, to the highest degree, the bloodier the battle, and the more dangerous the foe, the better, and they do this duty without question, all in order to atone to the Emperor for centuries old sins. They are ready and willing to face down every ugly and horror that the galaxy can throw at them, and relish it. Awesome.

When I think of the guard I also think of the Mordions, the blue uniforms are cool.

That origin book was super hardcore too. Really enjoyed it

I just like the French German WW1 Aesthetic its pretty cool

I bet you could kit bush a Death Korp model into being a Fallout Desert Ranger

Fantasies people have can be broadly devided into power fantasies and struggle fantasies

"Ok, all of you, wear your gasmasks 24/7!" Everybody puts their mask on. "Ok something feels still off. Oh yeah, everybody put your horses gasmasks too!"

Man talks about famous Imperial Guard archetypes, fails to mention Steel Legion, dies mysteriously in a freak accident from a Chimera.

The Korps got me into 40k. Being a history buff and military buff i was scrolling through youtube one day and saw these badass dudes with a clearly WW1 aesthetic and strange looking rifles went down the rabbit hole and somehow found there name and went further down the rabbit hole finding out about the universe at large. I enjoy all that is 40k now because of the Korps and there still my favorite guard unit.

Thank for mentionint steel legion lmfao their look is the reason I started paying attention to the guard (and Kasrkin)

My intro to The Death Corp was Dead Men Walking. Still not over that one.

I want new Krieg models very badly, Killteam for them was good, but I'm tired of the generic Cadian stuff

When I first got into 40k I loved the happy gas mask krieg but after a few years now the Athonian Tunnel Rats has become my favorite now and they barely have any lore in 40k.

i'm currently making a deep dive into the history of krieg and where they came from, they have some really interesting early stuff!

Knowing about the story of the Kriegsman reminded me of this poem: Do not stand By my grave, and weep. I am not there, I do not sleep- I am the thousand winds that blow I am the diamond glints in snow I am the sunlight on ripened grain, I am the gentle, autumn rain. As you awake with morning’s hush, I am the swift, up-flinging rush Of quiet birds in circling flight, I am the day transcending night. Do not stand By my grave, and cry- I am not there, I did not die.

I think it is maybe the concept I have been pondering on what actually is virtue for men and the only thing I can really come up to is "expendability at risk" bravery events are always a soldier willing to risk themselves to lower risk for their colleges. Even the whole suffering long hours to take care of your family is signaling that I am willing to risk myself for who and what I value. Almost any kind of "excess" or negative character trait is always described in how in terms it inhibits our usefulness.

Because everyone can appreciate a good shoveling

Remember, lives are the Emperor's currency, do not waste it.

Yay! The "I'm Arther." part of the intro is no longer so sexually charged!!

dont know if you noticed that GW has flipped the lore for Krieg and Necrons. Krieg used to be "normal" and are now soulless automatons and Necrons used to be soulless automatons and are now "normal".

Imagine loyalist iron Warriors with the death core working together.

In the book krieg And this is soilers so be warned In the book a small kill team of kriegsmen were sent to uncover a vault of hidden weapons where if they were to fall into the orks hands would spell disaster for the entire imperium and the world involved and so what happens is that they find the vault in which all of them elect to stay behind and guard the vault, however it is the oldest and senior of the kriegsmen who basically tells them that he has lived the longest and as served the longest at which point the other three kriegsmen all agree but choose to give him their rations as well as a few grenades allowing the one staying behind to stay a live a little bit longer, and so unfortunately later in the book it turns out that the orks had found the vault, in which the kriegsman blew the place up and as it turns out, the hidden weapons were nukes, resulting in the destruction of the entire hive and everyone and everything living inside and outside of it, only for the rest of the krieg army to be left relatively unscathed whist the withdrawing cadians suffered from burns and smog from the nuclear fallout, whilst the krieg were basically walking through the nuclear fallout as if they were on holiday, but again, compare that situation where you know someone has to be left behind such as say a cadian squad where they might fight amongst themselves as to who stays, vs the krieg where I’m the oldest and longest serving and I’m staying THATS IT

For me it's a simple I like the aesthetic I have always been a fan of things taking inspiration from ww1 as its one of my favorite history subjects to read about.

my favorite guardsmen regiment right now is the indigan praefects

I like them 'cuz they're cool. Simple as.

“I just don’t care” Good choice putting that after the 1 minute mark. Even though I’ve paused and will not even see anything else you say, since I quit at 1:21 youtube will count it as a full viewing. Congrats

They really need to make some upgrade sprues or something for the cadians so you can make em a couple different regiments. I have your exact same preference for the Steel Legion, and really wish they got some modern upgrades

I wish GW were able to use the Maccabian Jannisaries more often than not at all. I kinda prefer them to the Death Korps

I know I’m in the minority, but I prefer Elysian drop troops as my guard army, their aesthetics are top-notch.

A helldiver would fit in well with a krieg squad

Currently reading Dead Men Walking, that book really nails the idea that the Death Korps are to civilians what certain Astartes chapters (Grey Knights, Flesh Tearers, Marines Malevolent) are to guardsmen or what the Legion of the Damned is to everyone else, certainty of demise, no hope for succour and with a quick end as the best possible outcome.

Mr. Bones: "...I do not care." Me: And that's why collin always wins the debates.

Umm ackshually... another great video, well done!

I collect Kriegs woot killteam (and get prints cause no i aint paying 100 dollars+ for 5 deathriders) and their lore has been overdone and the memes are ridiculous. the older IA lore had them more or less ww1 in space with all the grim demeanor but they had limits. they almost broke on Vraks due to incompetence. they died in droves vs bezerkers in tunnels or plague marines. What made them fun was despite the failings, their sense of duty kept them in fights much longer. They were humans, just as many of our forefathers in ww1, in the most inhumane environments somehow still pushing on. Thats what made them the big heros, not the shovel suicide charges. but that they by the Big E were going to take that line because thats what must be done. They'd even insubordinate a bit not due to wanting to die, but when commanders were being squeamish in the face of casualties to do what must be done. Then GW and the community just flanderized them into oblivion. W/E tho, the best part of 40k is you dont have to take any lore at face value. My small detachment of the 987th expeditionary force pairs with my Valorous heart in the forlorn defense of its world in the Nihlus, determined to sell their lives to preserve what imperium and people remain and presevere in the face of the odds. Faith is eternal!

I never heard of the Death Korp. Until I saw a video titled Flower or something. Seeing that video made me like the Death Korp but I never got into 40k.

eyo another Steel Legionarie, I painted my Vet Guard as Steel Legion

It's the drip , alternative weapon, and vehicle models,

I like them not just because of their aesthetic, but because of how different they are from other guard regiments. To me, it's not that they want to die- but that they want to fight. They want to win no matter the cost. It's not death, it's sacrifice. Death is only meaningful if it means that it will ensure victory, so pointless losses are just that- pointless. Like you said, they're pragmatists.They're mortal men who are incorruptible in the face of chaos. That alone feels like a showcase of humanity's resilience. Even genetically perfect, tank-armored badass superhumans can be corrupted by chaos, but Krieg, normal humans, hold the line because loyalty, dedication, and duty are everything to them. It's one, small bright spot of hope in an otherwise terrible universe, that humanity might not be perfect, powerful, or infallible, but Chaos is not an all consuming blight. Humanity can stand against the coming storm without fancy technology, as long as they believe in their cause. Also, a side note, the mass-production thing is dubiously canon. It's speculated about, but it's in that gray area of canon because one book says "No they don't" where as one book says "yes they do" and then another book goes full throttle and says "actually they don't use artificial insemination, they just fuck *a lot*." That part of the lore I've always taken with a grain of salt because the way it's written and portrayed is "no one knows, no one will ever know."

It seems like people often miss the reference: the reason that people always talk about the Kroeg fighting with shovels is because of All Quiet on the Western Front; they discuss bayonets getting stuck, so fight with sharpened shovels instead.

They're the over eager little brothers of the Grimdark!

The kriegs used to be my favorite imperial army, then i found out about the vallhalans from the Cain books and they've been my favorite ever since.

I always liked them, because 1 they look cool, 2 grim determination, stoicism, and pragmatism in the face of unknown horrors of the universe, and that is something to be admired.

if you what two death kor book to read. "krieg" by steve lyons it goes thought the civil war and the forming of the death kor. "dead men walking" it the death kor vs necrons over witch faction is more undead

More Guard content let's goooooooo

They look amazing and they are the easiest Guardsmen faction to paint. Buying a box of Cadians only to realize you'll have to paint 20 eyes will make you pine for the ease of a gas mask.

Hey! Love your videos! You happened to leave out a big reason why a fair number of people like the Krieg that I share as my primary reason for liking them. The Krieg aesthetic is based entirely off of WW1 specifically the French and the Germans. They are trench warfare experts that wear a French overcoat with German style gas masks and helmets (although it isn’t exact). Just wanted to point it out. Keep up the good work!