Crisis at Silverbrook

As 10.009M42 began, Cunningham received some welcome reinforcements in the shape of the Venerators space marines. Immediately the Adeptus Astartes and Imperial forces began planning an attack to retake Silverbrook and encircle a great swathe of Tau troops. The plan was simple. The Imperial Guard would advance south on the Tau positions from the desert on the eastern slopes of the Barrier mountains, into territory known to be held by the forces of Ol Cha.

Meanwhile the Venerators, using Thunderhawks and drop pods from their orbiting Strike cruiser, would land to the west of the city, linking up with the Imperial advance, led by the highly experienced Librian 57th regiment. The operation began on 0710.009M42 with a text book landing by the Venerators. The space marines had taken the Tau by surprise and soon had Silverbrook surrounded. Meanwhile the Librian 57th, leading several divisions of Tarsis PDF began their assault south, some four hours later than scheduled thanks to delays in the rear.

While the Venerators made good gains, Ol Cha's forces fought well against the Librians, using the terrain to shield their forces from the worst of Imperial firepower. However, the experienced guard outfit soon began making inroads, choosing to seek out Tau formations and destroy them rather than following orthodox territory taking tactics which had failed so badly in previous months.

Leman Russ battle tanks and chimera borne veteran squads took their toll on Ol Cha's highly mechanised forces, forcing the Tau to retreat. As expected the Tau fell back towards Silverbrook, only to find the Marines waiting for them. By 1610.009M42 the Tau found themselves isolated and surrounded in a pocket to the south of Aeron river, relying on supplies brought in by Manta and Orca. The next phase of the Imperial operation, to destroy the pocket and advance south would soon begin.