No it wasn't. It was a combined arms force including spaceships, aircraft, anti-grav vehicles, etc. All of this was gutted after the Heresy. In fact, it was specifically stated on numerous occasions that the split between the Guard and the Navy was done with the deliberate intent of limiting the Guard's mobility.Peptuck wrote:Got it backwards. The restructuring of the Imperial Army, Navy, and the Astartes under the Codex Astartes was intended to break the power of the Marine legions, not the Army, to prevent this kind of heresy from ever happening again.Tasoth wrote:The big reason why the guard does not have bolters is the heresy. Those in power in the imperium immediately afterwards, and I think it was guilliman who decided this, felt that giving the guard back the weapons that gave them the ability to kill loyal marines easily was stupid. Hence why they also don't have landspeeders anymore. The guard were revamped to be highly effective against planetary defense forces but not the marines so that the marines can just steam roll them should it become absolutely necessary. Hence why lasguns became the standard issue weapon. Some units also still use autoguns.
P.S. The guard wear flak armor for the same reason.
The Army itself is virtually indistinguishable from the current Guard in the Heresy novels, saving they were under the command of Marine Legions and didn't have Commissars.
Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin