[That_Guy]

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This article is about the core of nearly every guard army, its infantry platoons.

With a starting cost of at least 160 points, these are no small investment. To some a leman russ would be a better investment, but any experianced general well tell you that "an equipped infantry platoon is worth its wieght in tanks"

Before we get into the different types of roles that they fulfill, there is an issue of size. A platoon can have the 5 man command squad, 5 infantry squads, and a remnants squad. Not including any attached characters (such as commissars) you can have up to 64 models per troops choice. Obviously, this makes guard great for having an arse load of lasgun toting infantry.

In my opinion the best loadout is at least 3 infantry squads and the attached command squad. If you're pressed for points, two squads could do (though I'd rather have a lightly equipped three) Three is the magic number, with enough bodies and enough weapons to take out most heavy foes or whittle away the opposing infantry. Multiple platoons in conjuction work wonders. The officer ratio ensures you'll have nifty little close combat unit dispersed throughout your line.

For a 2,000 point battle you're going to want at least 3 platoons as such. With a base of more than 100 men for your basic troops, you're going to have about 150 or so troops plus tanks when all is said and done. (150+ wounds is alot for the enemy to dish out in 6 turns, and with a larger size than most other armies, you'll survive nearly any war of attrition.)

Enough with the numbers, lets get on to the kit out of infantry platoons as well as tactics for them.

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Command Squad (IPCS- Infantry Platoon Command Squad)

Equipped with a piddly Junior Officer and his 4 attendants. Every platoon has one and its best to figure how one is going to kit it out.

There are a few ways to do it. Ways you can equip your squad is as follows: Shooting, Assault, Leadership. Every platoon leader should be equipped on you you intend them to be. Its often good to use the platoon command as leadership for the surrounding squads, thus Iron Discipline is always a favorite. There won't be an entry for leadership, as it assumed you kit out your squad as such along with its combat role.

IPCS Shooting:
If you're going to equip you IPCS as a long range shooting unit, the recommendation is to not load up on special weapons. I would either take one heavy weapon or two special weapons such as plasma guns or grenade launchers. The reasoning behind this is that IPCS don't have alot of bodies to absorb the casualties. Personally I would take the single heavy weapon, preferably avoiding the heavy bolter.
The other heavy weapons offer a 48" range, which offers some buffer protection for the squad while they sit in the back of the table. This is one of the few instances where I'd recommend taking the mortar, as it allows the squad to stay out of sight, while still providing its superior leadership to surrounding squads.
Officer wargear over here would be a simple storm bolter and Iron Discipline.
If you decide to take the route of the dual special weapons, take the longer ranged ones such as the plasma gun or grenade launcher. Don't mix and match, as it reduces the effectiveness of the squad. Give the officer a storm bolter, Iron Discipline, and Carapace armor to better his chances of survival.

IPCS Assault:
Just like a shooting IPCS, there are two ways to go about this. There is the line plugger and the advancing unit.
Line Plugger hang back from behind the main battle line and offer leadership and a cheap counter attack squad if you get assaulted. 0-2 special weapons with the assault profile description. Obviously these weapons will vary depending on the foe faced. For mainly infantry based enemies flamers are par for the course, though against enemies bourne unto battle in transports or power armor, you might find yourself grateful the for beefy punch a melta gun offers. Officer equipment includes carapace armor, power weapons, bolt pistols, and the ever popular Iron Discipline.
The advance unit is ideally armed with a close combat oriented JO (similar to the one listed above) and his retinue with grenade launchers. A good substitute for the JO's bolt pistol would be a storm bolter.

Infantry Platoons have 2-5 regular squads, with an optional 5-9 man remnants squads.

One of the most important questions for Infantry Platoons is, How Many Squads?

Like most things in infantry platoons, its a matter of preference. While you'll mainly be constrained by points its good to have a 3:1 ratio of infantry squads to officers. Guard lines are usually static in nature, or move in groups, which is why each officer shouldn't have trouble keeping 30 odd men in line for leadership.

How to outfit a squad?

There are several routes to take when upgrading an infantry squad, but before you decide to give them upgrades, you have to decide its role, and then consider whatever else is in the army. Many players base the rest of the army off the core of their infantry platoons.

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Which types?
There are a few types of infantry squads which will help determine what kind of combat your infantry will excel at. They are Fire Base, Short Range Fire, and Mobile Infantry. There are of course different kinds of roles for infantry squads to fill, though only a few main ones are covered.

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There are two fire base infantry squads that are used frequently. Heavy weapons are a popular choice because they offer many abalative wounds to your heavy weapons teams. Fire base squads include a heavy weapon and usually a special weapon such as the grenade launcher and plasma gun.

Fire Support Infantry Squads- Designed to give additional anti-personell fire to the enemy, they are equipped with long range anti-infantry weapons. Predominately these are the heavy bolter and autocannon. Many generals swear by each, but its a matter of personal preferance.
Foes with a volume of troops approaching your own should be taken care of with heavy bolters and the like, while enemies born in many light transports (such as rhinos and wartrukks) can be taken down faster with autocannons. Large creatues too are more readily hurt by the autocannon due to its higher strength.

Anti-Tank Infantry Squads- Predominately armed with lascannon and missile launchers, their goal is to crack open enemy vehicles and tougher troops such as Hive Tyrants and Terminators. Missile launchers should be bought here, rather than Anti-tank squads because of the price jump (which doesn't affect lascannon) While many players tend to stick these weapons in their infantry squads, they tend to waste the rest of the squad's fire power. 9 lasguns may not kill anything when you fire a lascannon at a tank, but when you compound that over the turns when you repeat that with that squad or multiple squads. Suddenly those 9 lasgun shots turn into 81 which will generally kill at least a few enemy infantry. If you fail to destroy the tank in one turn, you've potentially wasted the entire squad's fire power.

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Short Range Fire squads are generally used in matches such as city fight, or as a counter assault unit, where long range isn't a problem. Armed with a melta gun or a flamer, they bring the hurt to tanks or infantry respectively. They are most effective en masse, where a large volume of guns can be brought to bear. Often after firing, they move into assault. It usually helps to havea Veteran Sergeant in these squads as they'll be in the thick of the fighting.
A popular tactic is the suicide squad. Usually these are deep striking infantry or remnants squads armed with (usually) a melta gun designed to have a chance at killing an enemy tank or taking a pot shot at killing an enemy character.
Short Range Fire Squads can often double as Mobile Infantry Squads.

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Mobile Infantry Squads are roving infantry squads armed with a special weapon such a s a plasma gun or grenade launcher. A few of these squads could bolster your static fire bases, and can still move about and capture objectives and table quarters. With their longer ranged special weapons, they can lay down some fire while holding a key building or objective. Some players choose to equip them with an inexpensive heavy bolter.


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Squad Upgrades?
There aren't many upgrades to choose from after weapons choices. They basically go to vox's and a veteran sergeant.
As a general rule of thumb, its best to steer clear of vox's in general and its best to have more officers.
Veteran Sergeants are a matter of preference and should be taken if you find yourself short on officers, or you have squads that tend to wander outside your main lines. Deep striking squads and squads that assault tend to benefit the most from having a veteran sergeant. It always pay to at least put one extra point in for a bolter or 5 for a storm bolter.

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Pros
-Basic Guard Infantry Unit

-High numbers

-Adaptable

-Majority of the army's fire power

-Can fill most combat roles

-Massed Firepower

-Many Heavy and Special Weapons

Cons
-Required to take other specialized infantry units such as armored fist squads or conscripts

-Steep investment in points

-Cannot be effective take-all-comers squads

-Poor in assault

-Average shooting

-Slow