Individual chapters of the legions could have that many, yes.
According to the new novel...
Cameron Howard
Lincoln Edwards
That is an analogy that only makes sense if marines fought like conventional forces like today's military, which they emphatically don't.
A SM campaign involves blowing up shit from orbit, sending down elite strike teams to disable shields so that they can blow shit up from orbit, then sending down simultaneous rapid insertion forces to every major leadership stronghold via drop pod, uparmored smash and kill gunships and teleporters, killing all the heads of state, and fucking off.
They do not stay to pacify the populace, they destroy their ability to fight and cow the planet into surrendering, which also happens to be a victory state, and the fleet buggers off to the next world, maybe leaving a single strike cruiser to watch for embers to be crushed before heading off.
Hunter Anderson
But marines weren't the only combatants during that conflict, were they?
Brayden Watson
The US army counts clerks and cooks as soldiers. Space Marines are almost all fighters.
Think before you post user.
Lucas Morris
whenever they say "a company conquered a planet in two hours" someone else than marines did most of the work
Alexander Watson
Even if only 10% of soldiers were actual fighters, it would still be over half of the marines. And again, one country. I think ge has a point.
Blake Wright
>Started new army of Iron Knights SM
>Red shirt recommends Primaris Marines
>Explain that lore-wise they're on a penitent crusade
>Watch him bend over backwards trying to sell me these new models without infringing upon lore again
Brandon Gray
Of all the bullshit that has happened in 40k lore, THIS is what twists your arm?
Nolan Powell
Actual combat personnel is like 10% of that if not less. The guard should have at least the same ratio, if not more in favour of the support if we count the navy too. Marines are 1000+ only for the combat guys, and each of them will require more than 10 servitors and serfs
Jonathan Watson
More like "A full company crashed through Evil McBadguys roof, slaughtered everyone inside and disabled the shielings. Then the Guard cleaned up the rest. BUT HOLY EMPERORS ASSHAIR, HAVE YOU HEARD? SPACE MARINES! MOTHERFUCKING SPACE MARINES ACTUALLY EXIST! THE EMPERORS ANGELS OF DEATH ARE ACTUALLY REAL!"
To most of the Imperium the arrival of Space Marines would be like the second coming of Jesus, only this time he's a 7 foot tall, walking tank that is mightily pissed. Nobody cares about the Guard after a spectacle like that.