WARNING: This is an officer-level document.
If you are not of at least Lieutenant rank, please stop reading now and report to your Regimental Commissar for summary punishment.
The Art of Oratory
The art of inspirational battlefield oratory is a vital skill for an officer of the Astra Militarum, every bit as important as swordsmanship, tactical proficiency and correct command etiquette.
A rousing speech can inspire your troops to overcome the greatest of foes, while a lacklustre one will see them fail to achieve their potential, and die in vain, rather than die in glory.
Included in this document are a selection of uplifting inspirational quotes, each of them field tested and found to be effective*. These have each been assigned to an archetypal situation to help you use them correctly.
NOTE: You should not use the same quote too often, lest its effectiveness lessen. The exception, of course, is if your last command was lost in glorious battle, and your new troops have not heard it. In which case, deliver it with greater gusto than previously.
*Compared to test groups sent to battle in a controlled experiment where their officers were rendered unable to speak by a Magos-Biologis of the Adeptus Mechanicus. These groups performed poorly.
Upon launching an assault
(Note: Ensure you have a Commissar on hand ready to discipline any Guardsmen who answer in the affirmative, rather than charge forward to glorious victory.)
**Remember to substitute ‘women’, ‘abhumans’ or a combination thereof, as appropriate to your regimental makeup.
Mounting an heroic defence
(Note: Not to be used around Guardsmen with a poor or overly literal grasp of Low Gothic, who may take the quote as an order to immediately die.)
Facing an enemy of greater numbers
Facing enemies of designation omega mass, or above
***Ensure you have checked your field briefing in case this is an enemy you cannot overcome.
Facing enemy super-heavy assets
**** If lacking Shadowsword support, it is important that you say this part with conviction regardless.
Facing enemy xenos
Facing traitors
Upon victory
Upon defeat
Immediately report to your Regimental Commissar for even considering reading this section. An officer of the Astra Militarum knows nothing of defeat, but that he delivers it to his foes in the Emperor’s name.
We trust you have found this instructional.
Thought for the day
– Select your own Quote from those above. –
