Search the meaning of "specious" because I think you take my last paragraph too seriously. And by the way, the 1st battle of armageddon is the Napolen's invasion of Russia so the French are follower of Khorne! (again, specious reasonning).

I'd like your sources on this one. 1941 seem too early form me.

Considering how they treat the citizen, I might well wish to chage the system. And I will certainly complain about there behaviour. That could lead to open rebellion.

If my daugther was a psyker, I will oppose the black fleet taking her as a tithe. And so complain that they purge the so called heretics.

May be I should not play the Imperium after all . But well I love to be a guys in a big power armour.

Best regards,

Skanvak Drakken
de la Maison des Drakkens

Well Space Marines are your basic poster boy model for Games Workshop. Most of their balance, sales, business model and lore are completely based on them and the Imperium. Most specifically the lore and novels, there are some novels on Eldar and Tau but nothing to the scale of the Imperium. So it makes it easy to market:

1. They are the "good guys". (note there are no "good guys" in 40k but they are basically it)
2. Easiest model to put together and paint.
3.Fairly cheap army to build

I completely understand that, I think most people see them as heroes of humanity as opposed to the indoctrinated religious fanatics that they are.

Ass for Conan the Barbarian I see Orkz more along those line than marines.

I've always preferred Orkz for their honest brutality and the Imperial Guard above Marines, my main issue is that they are too popular and the "lore" keeps making them larger and more powerful with every book.

You are very correct. I like orks for other reasons, I like pure unadulterated violence in video games. I enjoy recklessly going Berzerk; which was why at first I liked Blood Angels. However, what made me love orks wasn't just that, it was their whole attitude towards life. They find enjoyment in everything they do. They just love having fun fighting, that just appeals to me. What I loved most about the Imperium and Space Marines was all the lore I used to read in issues of White Dwarf when I was a teenager.

My bad, I am guilty of oversimplification. The commissar was gradually removed until 1937, when they were reinstated. In 1940 they were abolished once again but after the first soviet defeats they were ressurrected in 1941 to serve as dual commanders in units. This proved a bad decision and they were relegated to a secondary position by 1942 and the term "commissar" was also abolished in 1942. They remained as some sort of political officers until 1991 but their authority was extremely diminished compared to their predecessors and the IG commissars. If you search for them in the Soviet Military Encyclopedia (http://www.amazon.com/The-Soviet-Military-Encyclopedia-Vol-1/dp/0813314321) you can find more than enough information about their history and role.

For me there's a lot of different factors about the Imperial Guard. I certainly like their lore, the story of ordinary humans fighting a galaxy of unimaginable horrors and (usually) winning through determination, sacrifice, and earth-shattering firepower. They do some horrible things as part of that fight, but they're doing what they must to survive.

I also like their capacity for combined arms warfare, thanks to their strong tanks, artillery, and flyers.

There's also the fact that the first 40k game I played was Dark Crusade, and of all the factions the Imperial Guard fit my play style the best. I like to dig in and bombard the enemy with long-range ordinance. If they insist on attacking through that bombardment, let them break themselves on my entrenched lines and cut them down with deployed heavy weapons. Finally, I commit my infantry only when I feel they can win and support them with tanks if possible. Once I switch to an attack footing I maintain momentum by rapidly reinforcing infantry squads and repairing the tanks on the go.

The Imperial Guard had the tools to employ that play style flawlessly.

It's less applicable on the tabletop because deployment zones being 24" apart means your forces are basically already committed, but I still like how strong their vehicles are compared to other factions, and their ability to nearly cover the map in templates.

Don't forget that, with Space Marines being the posterboys of the setting, they also tend to get the most plot armor and hence often appear to be much stronger than all other factions, especially if a certain defiler of ink is involved.

Oi. Don't mention the War(d)!

Speaking personally, I started off by liking the Space Marines (like most) because of the epic awesome badassery surrounding them, and the idea that these were a small line of elite superwarriors holding off everything the galaxy had to throw at humanity.

Then, once understanding the lore a bit more, you run into their darker cousins who threw off the Imperial yoke and continue to fight against the Imperium and each other through raiding, piracy and all-out invasions. Whether they seek personal power, or are driven by god-inspired madness or the enjoyment of the fight, they've carried on the war against the Imperium for over ten thousand years. Their equipment is old, battered, corrupted - and through the quirks of the 40k lore with technology, both better and worse than their loyalist counterparts.

Then there's the yawning treachery that defines the relationship between Imperium and Chaos in a much more personal, vendetta-driven way than occured in the Warhammer universe.

I picked up the Chaos codex and never looked back.

It's true, the instances of Space Marines being treated in a less favourable manner are few and far between - though they do exist, predominantly in the more "obscure" sources such as old issues of White Dwarf or the Citadel Journal (RIP).

Codices and novels on the other hand (especially novels) tend to sugarcoat things. This is actually a tendency present for all the races, it's just that the Astartes get these releases in a far more frequent manner, so it's more glaring.

It does help a lot to keep in mind that the majority of such accounts are either myths and legends, potentially greatly exaggerated (the Index Astartes had a funny remark about the "reliability" of Space Wolf sagas), or quite simply exceptional one-offs that are listed because they represent this army at its finest hour, rather than providing a glance at everyday performance.

The imperium on a whole is awesome because in a time were the human race is on the brink of extinction with various evil beings wanted to bend human knees, a single being lead the way through faith, glory and humanity to unite all and expand the human race amongst the stars, who selflessly fights day after day for the protection of mankind. The imperium is full of men and women who too selflessly give their lives for humanity to continue onwards, people who will willingly fight the worst horrors imaginable and die just so their families can live another minute. It is the ultimate manifestation of faith and fury, the faith in humanity. There is corruption in any human creation, but the imperium is founded on faith, purity and selflessness. I love it because of the symbolism.