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The Daily Insight

Do Imperial Guards Fight Space Marines?

Author

Emma Newman

Updated on March 14, 2026

SO keeping that in mind, it's extremely rare for ANYONE in the entire Imperium to ever see an astartes. In a lot of the best fluff novels, the space marines do fight “with” imperial guard, but usually as a small force and as a last hope in an otherwise hopeless battle.

In this regard, do Space Marines respect Guardsmen?

Some Space Marines regard Guardsmen(basically all normal Humans) as fodder, others highly prize normal Humans, and try their hardest to protect them.

One may also ask, can Imperial Guardsmen become Space Marines? Yes, there is at least one known case of a Guardsman being recruited by a Space Marine unit (Blood Ravens) and being augmented. There is a recorded instance of an Imperial Guardsman becoming a Space Marine of the Blood Ravens! Dawn of War Omnibus!

Keeping this in view, are Space Marines and Imperial Guard allies?

They are basically different branches of the Empire's armed forces. They use different tactics and are very different visually, so many people get confused, especially if they are new to the hobby. Many Space Marine Chapters have fought alongside the Imperial Guard and visa versa.

Do Space Marines fight each other?

Space Marines: Space Marines hold the "typical" Imperial view of other races: They are untrustworthy Heretics who should only be regarded as subjects for conquest. When circumstances dictate, Space Marines will sometimes fight alongside Eldar or Ork forces, especially in times of war against the Chaos forces.

Related Question Answers

How many orks Can a Space Marine Kill?

in the tabletop the space marines might reach 3-4 kills each, and in the books probably 10-12. Physically, Orks are close to equal to an Astartes in strength (some fluff says nearly as strong while others say stronger).

How many guardsmen does it take to kill a Space Marine?

In Gaunt's Ghost, Chaos Space Marines die very quickly and a single overcharged shot in the face (if the Marine is not wearing a helmet) can be fatal. The depiction of this varies. In most novels, a Space Marines is mentioned to worth about a squad of Guardsmen, which is about 10–30.

Can a commissar execute a Space Marine?

No. Commissar technically have no power over a Space Marine and can't do what they can with the Guard since they are completely separate command structures.

Can a Lasgun kill a Space Marine?

In some stories a Space Marine shrugs of thousands of lasguns, in others a Space Marine can be killed by a single lasgun shot.

What do Space Marines think of Imperial Guard?

Most Guardsmen in most novels seems to view the Space Marines as semi-divine "Angels of Death" and treat them accordingly. The view Space Marines hold of the Imperial Guard varies, Chapter by Chapter. Some Chapters see the Guard as frail mortals who had best stay out of their way as they prosecute the Emperor's foes.

How long do Space Marines live?

ten thousand years

Who is the leader of the Space Marines?

--The Emperor of Mankind. The Adeptus Astartes (commonly known as Space Marines, and colloquially as Angels of Death) are one of the most elite and feared fighting forces in the Imperium of Man.

Can Imperial Guardsmen retire?

It's varied a bit in the how and when from the lore, but yes, guardsmen do retire. Both individually, and as units. Sometimes a unit dwindles due to attrition, and is decided by the imperium to no longer be combat effective.

Do Space Marines get paid?

Space Marines don't get paid anything physical either, at least not on a salary level.

What do the Tau think of space marines?

Space Marines are indoctrinated, and have fanatical loyalty to the Emperor and the Imperium, which extends to rabid hatred of their foes. Tau are heretics, xenos scum, and deserving of only death.

What is the best Space Marine chapter?

Top 10 Most Powerful Space Marine Chapters | Warhammer 40k

Can Space Marines change chapters?

Technically yes, but extremely unlikely at best. Before anyone starts talking about how Marines can't leave their chapters. Sometimes Marines can be seconded to other chapters. A supposedly common example, at least according to the 7th ed Codex and one White Dwarf, would be the Patriarchs of Ulixis.

Can you mix Space Marine chapters?

So yes, now you can combine spacemarine armies. Unfortunately you are not allowed to mix-and-match with units from different Codices any which way.

How many troops are in an Imperial Guard regiment?

750,000

Is Astra Militarum good?

Astra Militarum have always been good at shooting. That they would still be good at is not real surprise. However the codex took what was already arguable the best shooting army in the game and made it better. While many units underwent little to no changes, a few got some big upgrades.

Can you mix Warhammer 40k armies?

In Open Play, you can combine anything you like. There are no force lists, and you can even ignore points (though you may wish to use Power levels). I've long considered building a Radical Inquisition army with units from every single faction, including Xenos and Chaos.

Can you mix Space Marine chapters 8th edition?

So yes, now you can combine spacemarine armies. Unfortunately you are not allowed to mix-and-match with units from different Codices any which way. The different books are tuned somewhat to have different strengths and weaknesses.

Are imperial guard good?

The Imperial Guard are very good within the 8 edition. This edition favors horde armies and cheap options to get more Commamd Points(CP) and to utilise strategems. From the Conscript to Baneblade, everything you buy is useful, that is very unique for your army.

Can adults become Space Marines?

TL;DR- You absolutely can make an adult into a Space Marine and its how many (and many 30k marines) were created, but its more risky than a child by far. KP never went through implantation, just some minor treatments to prolong his life.

How big is the Imperial Guard?

In the game universe, the Imperial Guard is a colossal military organisation consisting of 500 trillion men and women supported by at least a few hundred billion Armored vehicles each from thousands of different systems within the Imperium of Man.

Do Space Marines care about civilians?

Ultramarines, Blood Angels, White Scars, Imperial Fists and Raven Guard are all nice to civilians as well, though they will usually not go out of their way to protect them like the Wolves or Salamanders do.

How many men are in an Imperial Guard regiment?

Each Imperial Guard regiment is usually raised from a single world and numbers between 500 and 750,000 fighting soldiers, supported by a huge array of light and heavy armored vehicles.

Can Space Marines and Imperial Guard fight together?

Space marines do not come under the authority of the imperial guards. This makes them difficult to command. They may ally themselves with the imperial guards out of convenience but the fact they can bail or go rogue makes fighting with difficult to coordinate.

How many Imperial Guardsmen are there?

Each Imperial Guard regiment is usually raised from a single world and numbers between 500 and 750,000 fighting soldiers, supported by a huge array of light and heavy armored vehicles.

How big is the Imperium of Man?

The Imperium is the largest and currently most powerful political entity in the galaxy, consisting of at least 1,000,000 human-settled worlds dispersed across most of the Milky Way Galaxy.

What does Astra Militarum mean?

Astra militarum, astra means stars, militarum = warfare, the department of star wars of the empire, the imperial army. the emperor protects.

Can you mix factions in Warhammer 40k?

As long as there's a common, army-wide faction (Imperium/Chaos/Aeldari/etc) that is the same on each unit in the detachment/army, you can mix and match units that share that faction. So yes, you can use any of the various Imperium units in a single detachment/army.

What does battle forged mean 40k?

New Warhammer 40,000: Battle-forged Armies. Battle-forged armies will be familiar to Warhammer 40,000 players today – it basically means that all the models in your army are part of a Detachment or Formation. These are flexible enough that all of your current forces can be fit into them to form a Battle-forged army.