What do soldiers carry with them during engagements?

[Frater Cornelius]

This is a question for you folks who have experience being in the military or who generally know more about it than I do. The reason I am asking is because I have found enough backpacks of various origins to be able to supply every single Guardsman with one, on top of various pouches and grenades. Does that sound realistic? Or do soliders leave their stuff somewhere before an engagement? I am not talking about driving around in an APC, keeping insurrections down. I mean during active warfare.

Does everyone carry everything or is there a certain distribution within a squad, like one carries the food, one carries the tents?

Also, does every guy carry sets of grenades or are there a few designated grenade guys in a squad, much like there is a designated weapon specialists?

 

I like to have my guys at least look like they are decently supplied and not like they are running into combat without even a pair of fresh socks like the actual models

 

Cheers

[Inso]

Fighting troops will generally have webbing and a day sack at most. Even if they started with full packs... they'll ditch those as soon as the fighting starts.

 

If the troops are mechanised, then they will probably have little more than webbing because their kit will be with the vehicles.

 

Carried kit will (as BG mentioned) depend on the mission/environment. To add to the comments above about 'average equipment', there will be gas masks, NBC suits, waterproofs, possibly a bivvy and a change of clothing.

 

If the troops are a simple patrol (from a base) their equipment will be much less than an expeditionary force... so the carried kit will depend on their back-story, what mission they are on, the type of environment they are fighting in and also at what point the troops were attacked (didn't have time to ditch the big-packs).

 

An interesting question :) .

[Inso]

Kit distribution... a machine gunner with a GPMG will not carry very much ammunition. Extra ammunition will be distributed around his section. Depending on availability, not all troops will necessarily get lots of grenades... most will have smoke grenades and the odd grenade but few will have very many grenades. 

 

In the run up to conflict, each soldier will have a full kit-bag. In it he will have everything to make him self sufficient in a 'camp' environment (not during battle). As a result, they will have their own bivvy-bag/poncho to make a shelter, sleeping bag, roll mat, food and cooking equipment (as necessary). This sort of kit is personal issue so will not be shared around. This 'kit bag' will be left at base so SHOULDN'T see combat unless the troops are caught on the march and haven't had time to ditch their kit. Fighting with a full rucksack is a nightmare so troops try really hard, not to have to do it (your focus should be on killing the enemy, not keeping your helmet out of your eyes because your ruck-sack has pushed it forward).

 

Tents, heaters, Jerry-cans and the like, are more 'logistical' in nature and will likely be transported to the camp in a vehicle so shouldn't need to be carried by any troops.

[Frater Cornelius]

Okay, that's very good info. Thanks. I am getting a solid idea what to do. 40k is usually a planned engagement, so unless going heavily themed, most of the logistical gear can probably be left out.

 

Looking at a infantry squad, everyone would need a flask and smaller pouches for drink, food (nutrient bars or paste) and for a spare las cell or two. The communications guy has his fox. Probably two can have a good load of grenades. The weapon specialist would carry little beyond the weapon itself. Spare ammo for it would probably be with another guy. Maybe a sapper/demo expert with tools to disarm mines, wires and whatever. Sergeant... no idea, does a squad leader need any special stuff?

Thr last few guys can get an extra pouch here or there, but nothing extensive.

Finally, the heavy weapon team would be one guy carrying/operating the weapon while the other carries the rest of the gear.

 

The rest is probably in the Chimeras. It may look differently on an expeditionary or invading force with very little mech support, but I would prefer a more generalistic setup.

 

Makes sense?

[Kierdale]

I put a backpack and some kit on my veterans. More pouches and grenades than on my infantry squads, at least.

[Inso]

If you want to add a little more kit without going for a full sized rucksack, you could take a lead from the British army and use 'rocket packs':

 

http://www.firestormkit.co.uk/image/cache/data/Surplus/genuine-british-army-plce-woodland-dpm-side-pouch-set-and-yoke-1923-900x900.jpg

 

They are removable side pouches (from a rucksack) that can be zipped together, attached to a second yoke and worn with standard webbing. They are geared for use on a daily basis... containing waterproofs, gloves, food, extra water and cooking equipment (for a brew-up). You can also use just one of them attached to a yoke as well. Very handy bits of kit.

 

When it comes to water, you don't necessarily need a visible canteen. The Brits carry water bottles, with a separate cup, in a special webbing pouch that (more or less) just looks like any other pouch.

[Frater Cornelius]

This is what I went for:

 

 

From left to right we have two grenade/explosion guys up front, a sapper behind them, guy with medical supplies, weapon specialist with a holstered Lasgun up front with a guy carrying parts and ammo, communications guy with vox, sergeant with small equipment pack and spare helmet and finally, two regular troopers.

[Inso]

Looks good to me :) .

[Stofficus]

If you're looking for something amusing to add, there is always, and I mean always, one guy who's carrying too damned much. 

My record was a 5kg radio, ruck sack, an LMG, 4 boxes of ammo, a second backpack on top of the ruck and about 3L of water extra on top of the usual everyday gear. Unfortunately, the model range doesn't allow for the look of crushed soul and broken back that entails. 

A common thing you can do for heavy weapon teams, should you go that route, is most nations will use their rucksacks as improvised cover, so using those big backpacks in with the sandbags to make a firing position would fit the ticket. 

[WarriorFish]

All soldiers should have their copy of the Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer on them at all times ;)

[Frater Cornelius]

All soldiers should have their copy of the Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer on them at all times

 

Had to be used to compensate for a lack of paper towels :D

[Kierdale]

All soldiers should have their copy of the Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer on them at all times ;)

Had to be used to compensate for a lack of paper towels :D

“In my book, that’s a flogging!”

[elmo]

Fighting order: Ammo/water/weapon/first aid/secondary weapon/support weapon extra ammo

 

Marching order: Fighting order plus enough extra equipment to be comfortable in the field (spare clothing/rations/waterproofs/tent sheet etc)

 

Mechanised: Similar to above but limited by space in or on the vehicle...

 

Support troops: Whatever they want as they drive big cargo trucks ;)

[FormelyKnownAsSmashyPants]

Probably not so relavent in 2018, but during the Vietnam war they used to write on their helmets, see the film Full Metal Jacket. Also I know my uncle, who fought in Nam, had a "lucky" rabbit's foot to keep him safe, I'd imagine in the 41st millennium , despite the disapproval of the commissariat, and possibly the Eclessiarchy perhaps less so as they could be religious in nature, good luck charms would be common.

[Sete]

I was part of mechanized infantry, and we usually had our bags in our APC.

If a recon or patrol was required on foot, short ones the bags would stay, long ones, bags would be taken and like previous posters said, as soon as there is engagement the bags are dropped.

 

I always had with me a bag of cookies, my cigarettes and my big :cuss off knife (stopped smoking thankfully).

Also a small St. George medal given to me by my wife. And as we all know St. George is actually the Emperor fighting the void dragon.

[Chaplain Raeven]

We had our rucksack with tent, food and all the luxuries on the truck/APC. On foot we had a webbing with food, one set of spare clothing, poncho, water, flashlight, entrenchingtool and all the ammo we could carry. I usually had a daypack like the one Inzo mentioned for my ammo, since placing all that lead for my M249 in the webbing was a tad too frontheavy.

 

Guardsmen don't have webbings though, so I imagine they work more like the troops in WW2. The essential stuff on their belts while they place non-essential gear on a small pack on their back, with a bedroll hanging out. The gunner (Heavy stubber, GL,...) will have a larger pack. The heavy gunners will work in team with ammo spread out equally, so larger packs as well.

 

The packs (or something similar) they use on Scions should work well for regular grunts. The packs that come with the Heavy Weapons teams look more apropriate for the guys with the large guns.

[Shamansky]

As said in core rule book of 'Only War' RPG:

The universal standard kit items are as follows:
• One uniform
• One set of poor weather gear
• One laspistol (Main Weapon), and two charge packs
• One knife
• One flak vest
• One rucksack or sling bag
• One set of basic tools
• One mess kit and one water canteen
• One blanket and one sleep bag
• One rechargeable lamp pack
• One grooming kit
• One set of cognomen tags or equivalent identification
• One primer or instructional handbook
• Combat sustenance rations, two weeks’ supply

[Stofficus]

I'd hope IG rations are a fair bit more space efficient than current ones, as two weeks of rations is, like, a lot. 

Your average NATO field ration is around 1k to 2k depending on the country, and are usually about the size of, well, the land raider model, give or take. You can function on two of those a day, survive on one, but you're still looking at an awful lot of weight and space to carry that with you as "standard kit." Whenever I had to play at being light infantry (i.e., no vehicles) just cramming 72hrs of rations into my ruck was a bit of a challenge alongside clothing, water and, you know, ammunition. (sidebar, there's nothing "light" about being light infantry, I pity the poor fools who do that as their chosen profession)

 

That being said 40k comes out way ahead on the ammunition front, with lasgun charge packs being individually rated for somewhere between 144 to 300 shots depending on the power rating of the weapon, while being no larger than a modern magazine. It would stand to reason rations would be something similarly more efficient, given the focus on logistical simplicity for the Guard (no wine ration, I imagine [yes, that's a thing, if anyone military reading this hasn't done an exchange in France yet, get on it]), but I can only imagine how much worse it would make you feel than our 2018 ones. 

I've never felt so sick in my life after spending 5 days on nothing but Canadian rations, and I hear they're better than the American ones, which is a sobering thought. 

[Shamansky]

I'd hope IG rations are a fair bit more space efficient than current ones, as two weeks of rations is, like, a lot. 

 

Somehow me and one more guy who likes details while building a character for RPG came to conclusion that standart IG rations are a dried nutritious substance that weighs 0,5 kg per week. I do not really remember how we got the numbers. 

[The Titanz0r]

If I may add my own two cents in. I would suggest that what a soldier carries is best described as "as little as possible." In my unit, we had a saying, "Ounces equal pounds, pounds equal pain."

[Inso]

If I may add my own two cents in. I would suggest that what a soldier carries is best described as "as little as possible." In my unit, we had a saying, "Ounces equal pounds, pounds equal pain."

 

You don't need to carry salt, pepper or chilli sauce... but it's worth its weight in gold when you are faced with rat-pax for the umpteenth time ;) .

[The Titanz0r]

 

If I may add my own two cents in. I would suggest that what a soldier carries is best described as "as little as possible." In my unit, we had a saying, "Ounces equal pounds, pounds equal pain."

 

You don't need to carry salt, pepper or chilli sauce... but it's worth its weight in gold when you are faced with rat-pax for the umpteenth time .

 

 

Perhaps so, but to be fair, I was a Bradley driver. I never had to actually carry anything. I just stored everything in my vehicle. Prime real estate for drinks, snacks, and charging electronics if one had a power converter.

[Kassill]

Take it as you will, but some historical dramas/mini series have good examples. For instance, Band of Brothers depicts the men of Easy Company in multiple situations and the topic of what gear comes up multiple times. Just before the jump into Normandy, one trooper is seen on screen listing all the items he has to carry, in addition to some extra gear they brought out last minute. In multiple other instances when they are in the field, you'll hear a number of the NCO's call out men for a specific mission saying "weapons and ammo only". And finally, just before they deploy in and around Bastogne you see them scavenging whatever they can find from the war weary infantry pulling out of the area, taking extra ammo, jackets, etc as they were not well prepared for the coming weather and fight. 

[Slasher956]

Ok off memory uk army...2000

 

Belt kit contains ammo (6 x 30 round mags +2 30 round mags for the LSW), Water bottle, Rifle cleaning kit, mess tins, 24 hours rations change of undies, pontio

 

For longer that 24 hours you have the rocket pouches which contain another 48hrs rations, change of clothes, more ammo

 

 

Over 72 hours then you have your bergan

[micahwc]

While deployed as an artilleryman who spent the entire deployment doing light infantry work out of a HMMWV during the Iraqi invasion, we carried the following on us daily:

 

M16/M4 with about 210 rounds (7 mags at a minimum)

Flack vest with SAPPI plates, Helmet, elbow and knee pads, maybe a portable radio if you were important enough to have one, (Chemlights and flashlights at night)

Dip, cigarettes, rip its, money to buy dip or cigarettes from locals. Lighter. At least one knife, usually two; also possibly a seat belt cutter. Protective eye wear (Oakleys for the win). Pen and paper. Gloves mostly to keep you from burning yourself on exposed metal that's been sitting in 130+ degree heat.

 

 

In addition, as a 240B gunner I carried a 240B machine gun with 200 rounds loaded on a belt; with 1500 extra rounds inside the truck. The truck carried most of our equipment for the day, including bottled water and MREs, extra ammo, an AT4 rocket launcher, a shotgun with less than lethal ammo, 5 or so grenades, several different radios, gas masks, extra gas cans, a roll of razor wire, bolt cutters, tow cables and a tow bar, duct tape, piss bottles (old water bottles), Gatorade powder, pogy bait (snacks), extra maps, etc.

 

We worked off a forward operating base so all our extra equipment stayed in our racks on base where we could get to it if we needed it for anything; but on missions we only took what was needed prioritizing ammo and water over anything else. For example, cold weather gear stayed inside the rack most of the deployment, and only came out when we needed it. Likewise, my gas mask stayed inside almost the entire deployment. My web gear stayed packed the entire deployment as I wore everything directly on my flack jacket.

 

While manning our cannons we literally only had our helmets and M16/M4s.