Dusk Raiders Breakout

At the same time, in the north, the Dusk Raiders began their attack, aided by the mercenary Dark Eldar to provide much needed numbers. The northern advance focussed its attack to the east of Wheathaven, driving a wedge quickly through the PDF forces and surprising the Librians to the west who had been guarding the obvious breakout route to the south and west.

The speed of the advance panicked the high command, and within hours Nikopolidis had redeployed the majority of his forces to face the new threat, blocking the route to Westlake in lake spotted lands of Hulme Island. Nikopolidis influence also convinced the Ultramarines to send a company, and the Inquisitorial and Astartes troops planned an operation which would cut the Chaos forces off from their supply base and destroy the entire Chaos operation in the north of Alphe.

The inquisitorial troops and some regiments of PDF took the brunt of the fighting at first, as the Traitor Marines and Dark Eldar closed with the Imperial army, but this had been the plan. These defenders were the anvil, the Ultramarines the hammer. And on 1706.009M42 the hammer struck as several units of marines used drop pod insertion, cutting off a large portion of the Chaos army from its supply base.

There was however a narrow corridor of resupply remaining, and the Dark Eldar simply used their own webway portals. While the Ultramarines fought for their lives behind enemy lives, trying desparately to cut off the last supply route, Nikopolidis' plan began to unravel spectacularly. Summoned daemons only added to the confusion, and prevented the Inquisition from linking up with the Astartes troops. Despite Grey Knight intervention once more, the corridor remained open and by 2006.009M42 the Ultramarines were forced to evacuate to the Imperial controlled zone of Alphe. While Westlake had been saved the battle had chewed up a great deal of men and materiel, and the Chaos forces were now less than one hundred kilometres from Westlake, thier next objective.