Who Are the Death Korps of Krieg?
The Death Korps of Krieg are one of the most iconic and visually distinctive regiments of the Astra Militarum (Imperial Guard) in Warhammer 40,000, renowned for their gas mask-wearing infantry, trench warfare doctrine, and culture of willing self-sacrifice. They hail from the death world of Krieg, a planet devastated by nuclear civil war, and they fight with a fatalistic determination that unnerves even their fellow Imperial soldiers. The Death Korps do not fear death — they actively seek it as atonement for their homeworld’s ancient betrayal of the Emperor.
What makes the Death Korps unique among Imperial Guard regiments is their psychological makeup. Every Krieg soldier is raised from birth to believe that their life is owed to the Emperor as penance for Krieg’s rebellion. They are not individuals in any meaningful sense — they are weapons, tools of the Imperium to be used and expended without hesitation. This culture of absolute self-sacrifice makes the Death Korps devastatingly effective in attritional warfare but deeply disturbing to those who fight alongside them.
The Death Korps’ aesthetic is one of the most beloved in Warhammer 40,000 — their World War I-inspired gas masks, greatcoats, and trench warfare equipment give them a hauntingly anachronistic appearance. They look like soldiers from humanity’s darkest past, transplanted into a future where their grim fatalism is perfectly suited to the horrors of the 41st Millennium. This aesthetic, combined with their compelling lore, has made them one of the most popular subfactions in the entire hobby.
Origins — The Nuclear Civil War on Krieg
Krieg’s tragic history began in the 34th Millennium when the planet’s ruling class, led by the Autocrat of Krieg, declared independence from the Imperium of Man. The rebellion triggered a devastating civil war between loyalist and secessionist forces that lasted for 500 years and ended only when Colonel Jurten, leader of the loyalist forces, detonated the planet’s entire nuclear arsenal. This act of atomic self-immolation destroyed Krieg’s biosphere but restored the planet to Imperial compliance.
Before the rebellion, Krieg was a prosperous hive world — an industrialized planet with billions of inhabitants and a productive economy. The Autocrat’s decision to secede from the Imperium was driven by a desire to escape the crushing burden of Imperial tithes, a motivation that many Imperial worlds have shared throughout history. What made Krieg different was the response of its loyalist population.
Colonel Jurten and the loyalist forces refused to accept the secession. Vastly outnumbered by the Autocrat’s forces, Jurten made the terrible decision to use Krieg’s nuclear arsenal against his own world. The atomic bombardment devastated the planet’s surface, rendering it a toxic wasteland of irradiated deserts, poisonous oceans, and perpetual chemical smog. Billions died in the initial bombardment, and the survivors — both loyalist and secessionist — were condemned to fight in a nightmarish landscape of nuclear winter.
The war continued for five centuries in the ruins of Krieg, with both sides fighting from trenches and bunkers in the toxic wasteland. It was this protracted conflict that forged the Death Korps’ identity — generations of soldiers born, raised, and killed in the trenches, knowing nothing but war and sacrifice. When the loyalists finally prevailed and Krieg was returned to Imperial control, the population that remained was fundamentally changed. They had become a people defined by guilt, duty, and an unshakeable conviction that their lives belonged to the Emperor as payment for their ancestors’ sin.
The Culture of Sacrifice
The Death Korps of Krieg possess one of the most extreme military cultures in the Imperium, built on the absolute conviction that every Krieg soldier’s life is owed to the Emperor as atonement for their homeworld’s ancient rebellion. This culture of sacrifice goes beyond mere bravery or discipline — it is a form of institutional death-seeking that makes the Death Korps simultaneously one of the most effective and most disturbing fighting forces in the galaxy.
Krieg soldiers are not given names in the traditional sense — they are assigned numbers. This is not mere military bureaucracy; it reflects the Death Korps’ belief that individual identity is irrelevant. A Krieg soldier is a weapon, a resource to be expended in the Emperor’s service. When a soldier dies, their number is reassigned to a replacement. There is no mourning, no memorial, no recognition of individual sacrifice. The regiment endures; the individual does not matter.
This culture extends to how the Death Korps interacts with other Imperial forces. Krieg soldiers are unsettling allies — they do not engage in the camaraderie, humor, or complaint that characterizes most Imperial Guard regiments. They speak only when necessary, show no fear in the face of certain death, and volunteer for suicide missions with an eagerness that disturbs even hardened Commissars. In fact, Commissars assigned to Death Korps regiments serve a reversed role — instead of executing cowards, they must restrain soldiers who are too eager to throw away their lives.
The Death Korps’ willingness to take extreme casualties is both their greatest strength and their most controversial characteristic. They will hold positions long after other regiments would have retreated, launch frontal assaults that more flexible units would consider suicidal, and absorb punishment that would break any other formation. This makes them extraordinarily effective in attritional warfare but raises uncomfortable questions about the value the Imperium places on human life.
Fighting Style
The Death Korps of Krieg fight using a doctrine of attritional siege warfare heavily influenced by World War I trench warfare, emphasizing artillery bombardment, infantry assault waves, and the systematic reduction of enemy positions through overwhelming force and willingness to absorb casualties. They are the Imperium’s premier siege regiment, called upon when a fortified position must be taken regardless of the cost in human life.
Death Korps operations typically begin with an extensive artillery bombardment. Krieg artillery units are among the best in the Imperial Guard, employing massive batteries of Earthshaker cannons, Medusa siege guns, and Heavy Mortars to soften enemy positions. The bombardment can last for days or weeks, systematically destroying fortifications and killing defenders. Krieg artillerists approach their craft with the same emotionless precision that characterizes everything the Death Korps does.
Once the artillery has done its work, the infantry advances. Death Korps infantry assaults are relentless, with wave after wave of soldiers advancing through no-man’s-land toward enemy positions. They do not falter when comrades fall around them, they do not seek cover when under fire, and they do not retreat when the situation seems hopeless. Each wave that falls makes the next wave’s advance slightly easier, and the Death Korps has the manpower and the willingness to sustain this kind of warfare indefinitely.
The Death Korps also makes extensive use of combat engineers and siege specialists. These units are equipped with specialized equipment for trench warfare — gas grenades, mole launchers, siege drills, and demolition charges. They dig approach trenches toward enemy positions, tunnel beneath fortifications to place explosive charges, and clear bunkers in close-quarters combat. The combat engineers are among the most dangerous assignments in the Death Korps, which means they are also among the most sought-after.
Key Campaigns — The Siege of Vraks
The Siege of Vraks is the most famous campaign associated with the Death Korps of Krieg, a 17-year siege of a traitor-held fortress world that became one of the bloodiest battles in recent Imperial history. The siege, which lasted from 813.M41 to 830.M41, saw multiple Death Korps regiments grind their way through layer after layer of fortifications, suffering catastrophic casualties in a campaign that perfectly embodied the Death Korps’ doctrine of attritional warfare.
Vraks was an Imperial armory world — a planet-sized warehouse of military equipment controlled by the Departmento Munitorum. When its cardinal, Xaphan, fell to Chaos and declared the planet independent, the Imperium could not simply destroy Vraks from orbit — the stockpiles of weapons and ammunition were too valuable. Instead, the Death Korps were assigned to retake the planet through ground assault, a mission that would prove to be one of the most grueling campaigns in Imperial Guard history.
The siege of Vraks unfolded across multiple defensive lines, each more heavily fortified than the last. The Death Korps advanced through trenches, bunkers, and killing grounds, fighting a war that bore more resemblance to the Western Front of World War I than to the mobile warfare typically seen in 40k. Artillery duels lasted for months, advances were measured in meters rather than kilometers, and casualties were measured in millions rather than thousands.
By the time Vraks fell, the Death Korps had suffered approximately 14 million casualties — a staggering figure even by the standards of the 41st Millennium. But the world was retaken, the heretics were destroyed, and Krieg considered the sacrifice well spent. The Siege of Vraks stands as the ultimate expression of the Death Korps’ philosophy: no position is too strong to take, no price is too high to pay, and no number of lives is too many to spend in the Emperor’s service.
Death Korps on the Tabletop
On the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop, the Death Korps of Krieg are fielded as a subfaction of the Astra Militarum, bringing a distinctive playstyle that emphasizes durable infantry, powerful artillery, and fearless leadership. They are an army for players who enjoy the fantasy of an unstoppable tide of determined soldiers grinding the enemy down through sheer weight of numbers and willpower.
The Death Korps’ rules have historically reflected their lore — their infantry are exceptionally difficult to break through morale, their artillery is devastating, and they have access to unique units like Death Riders (mounted cavalry), combat engineers, and siege specialist squads. The Death Korps playstyle rewards patience and attrition, slowly grinding the enemy down rather than seeking a single decisive blow.
Death Korps armies tend to be infantry-heavy, featuring large blocks of soldiers supported by artillery and armored vehicles. The aesthetic of ranks of gas-masked soldiers advancing across the battlefield is one of the most evocative in Warhammer 40,000, and it translates beautifully to the tabletop. Many Death Korps players invest heavily in the painting and basing of their armies, creating trench-themed display boards and adding mud, barbed wire, and shell craters to their bases.
Games Workshop has released plastic Death Korps of Krieg models in recent years, making the army more accessible than ever. Previously, Death Korps models were only available in resin from Forge World at premium prices. The plastic kit, first released as part of the Kill Team: Octarius box set, provides high-quality Death Korps infantry at a fraction of the cost of the old Forge World range. Additional units can be sourced from the standard Astra Militarum range with appropriate conversions.
Collecting Death Korps
Collecting a Death Korps of Krieg army is one of the most rewarding projects in the Warhammer 40,000 hobby, combining a striking visual aesthetic with compelling lore and a distinctive playstyle. The army’s World War I-inspired design makes it instantly recognizable on the tabletop, and the painting opportunities — from grimy weathering to atmospheric basing — appeal to hobbyists of all skill levels.
For players starting a Death Korps collection, the plastic Death Korps Infantry Squad kit is the best entry point. This kit provides a full squad of Death Korps soldiers in the iconic gas masks and greatcoats, and multiple kits can be assembled to form the core of your army. The kit includes options for special weapons and a watchmaster (sergeant), giving you flexibility in how you build your squads.
Death Korps armies benefit enormously from atmospheric basing and display boards. The trench warfare theme lends itself perfectly to diorama-style bases featuring mud, sandbags, barbed wire, duckboards, and shell craters. Products like Stirland Mud texture paint, tufts of dead grass, and thin wire for barbed wire can transform a simple base into a miniature battlefield. Many Death Korps collectors create full trench display boards for tournaments and gaming events.
Painting Death Korps can be approached in several ways. The most common color scheme features dark grey-blue greatcoats, dark grey or brown leather equipment, brass or bronze metal accents, and the regiment’s distinctive gas masks in a contrasting color. The key to a great Death Korps paint job is weathering — these are soldiers who have spent months or years in the trenches, and their equipment should reflect that. Heavy mud effects, chipped paint, and dust weathering all contribute to the army’s atmospheric appearance.
FAQ
Why do the Death Korps of Krieg wear gas masks?
The Death Korps wear gas masks because their homeworld of Krieg was devastated by nuclear warfare during a 500-year civil war. The planet’s atmosphere became toxic and irradiated, forcing all inhabitants to wear protective equipment at all times. Over centuries, the gas mask became integral to Krieg’s military culture, symbolizing both the planet’s devastation and the Death Korps’ willingness to fight in the most inhospitable conditions. They continue to wear gas masks even on worlds with breathable atmospheres, as it has become part of their identity.
Are the Death Korps clones?
Krieg uses a form of accelerated reproduction called vitae womb technology to sustain its massive military output. Whether this constitutes “cloning” in the strictest sense is debated in the lore, but Krieg does use artificial means to produce soldiers at a rate far exceeding natural population growth. This technology is how Krieg can sustain the enormous casualty rates its regiments suffer while still producing millions of new soldiers for the Imperium’s wars.
What was the Siege of Vraks?
The Siege of Vraks was a 17-year campaign (813-830.M41) in which multiple Death Korps regiments besieged and retook the armory world of Vraks from Chaos-corrupted forces. The siege was one of the bloodiest battles in recent Imperial history, with approximately 14 million Death Korps casualties. It is the most famous campaign associated with the Death Korps and perfectly exemplifies their doctrine of attritional siege warfare.
How do you play Death Korps on the tabletop?
Death Korps of Krieg are played as a subfaction of the Astra Militarum in Warhammer 40,000. They specialize in durable infantry that is difficult to break through morale, supported by powerful artillery. Death Korps armies tend to be infantry-heavy with significant artillery support. Plastic Death Korps infantry kits are now available from Games Workshop, making the army more accessible than ever before.
Are Death Korps models expensive?
Death Korps models used to be extremely expensive, as they were only available in Forge World resin. However, Games Workshop has released plastic Death Korps Infantry kits that are much more affordable. A Death Korps army can now be built at a cost comparable to a standard Astra Militarum army, especially if you supplement the Death Korps-specific kits with standard Astra Militarum vehicles and support units.
What makes the Death Korps different from other Imperial Guard regiments?
The Death Korps are distinguished by their culture of willing self-sacrifice, their siege warfare specialization, and their gas mask-wearing aesthetic. Unlike most Imperial Guard regiments, Death Korps soldiers actively seek death in battle as atonement for their homeworld’s ancient rebellion. They do not retreat, do not surrender, and do not value individual survival. This makes them one of the most effective — and most disturbing — fighting forces in the Imperium.