Betor: Southern Breakout

Having been stable for weeks the front line against the tyranids in southern Betor exploded spectacularly at the end of 03.010M42. The Xenos creatures erupted from seemingly everywhere, overwhelming the limited PDF defence. Dempsey, caught off guard by Nemesis once again, with his main force hard pressed in the north, had virtually no forces he could redirect to the southern front. Inquisitor Hathek’s appeals to the Adeptus Astartes and the newly created ASMOC’s reprioritisation of Nemesis to the top of the agenda had only just come into effect, and the only force available to the Imperial General was the green 3rd Prozan Cavalry.

The Prozan’s were eager, even gung-ho in their enthusiasm to “get at” the alien menace, and went off to battle full of optimism, which more than confused the battered, terrorised remnants of the forces they passed on their way to the front line. Very quickly the Prozan’s learnt how vicious and able their enemy was, as they attempted to counter attack near the western edge of Renestein. At first the battle seemed to be going well, with the highly manoeuvrable airborne cavalry easily outflanking the tyranid forces.

After a day of heavy fighting with high casualty rates on both sides, Nemesis appeared to react to the Prozan Valkyrie and Vulture gunships, and numerous creatures designated zoanthropes appeared. These highly psychic beasts caused terrible devastation amongst the armoured skimmers of the Prozan Guard, and very quickly the Imperial counter attack collapsed. Without their ability to manoeuvre, the Prozans were badly mauled.

With the destruction of a good part of the Prozan 3rd General Dempsey ordered a retreat, and it was all the Imperial commanders could do to stop an all out route. Renestein had been lost irrevocably and by 0704.010M42 the entire western seaboard of the Mittel Plain was surrendered to the aliens. Once again the Imperial commander on Betor appealed for urgent assistance, but messaging between Betor and Imperial HQ on Vastrid had now become almost impossible. It would be weeks before ASMOC realised the depth of peril the Imperium was now in on Betor.