Wearing only a chest-plate, these men go to combat without a shield, but bravely engages their enemies in a tight formation, using the powerful swipes of their blade to compensate for their lack of armor with bone-crushing force. Such troops are suited for both defense and offense, capable of holding ground in a narrow passage against numerically or physically superior opponents, as well as being the spearhead of a massive Imperial assault. As such, these men are a very common sight on any Imperial battlefield.[1a]