War in the Mabb Nebula

In the Mabb Nebula the orks suffered setbacks as 10.013M42 came to a close. In deep space the tau fleet finally encountered the mighty "bork" - a fleet of ork Rok's and a space hulk led by the same ork warlord as that now orbiting Hylas. The tau engaged the orks, though less than willingly, but the tau admiral had little choice, since the fleet now posed a significant threat to Tyndareous, which if invaded, would cause even more issues for the tau in the Mabb nebula.

The tau closed in an oblique line, attempting to maximise their firepower on the ork right flank. Although this achieved some success, with a number or roks destroyed, before long the tau vessels had been badly damaged by massed ork firepower, and withdrew for repairs. No tau vessel had been lost, but the orks still posed a threat to tau posessions in the region, causing more headaches for the tau command, facing war on two fronts already, and planning a third on Zadoc.

On Hylas Na'Porkleon's run of advances was brought to an abrupt end when the Ultramarines 6th company moved into Berkeley overnight on 2410.013M42, catching the troops stationed there by surprise. Na'Porkleon ordered a counter attack which took place in the early hours. The Ultramarines however had expected this move, and swiftly blunted the assault, taking out the ork battlewagons in the darkness. They followed this up with a rolling withdrawal, rarely allowing the orks to close while pounding them with vindicator fire. Eventually the orks were able to deal with the vindicators, but the losses in the footslog across the open ground rendered the ork charge ineffective against the marines, who counter attacked with elite terminators in land raider assault vehicles.

By 2810.013M42 the ork assault had run out of steam, and the imperium had Berkeley back again, at least for the time being.

Sector Roundup

Iron Warriors encircle Imperium on Zadoc

Following the Arch Cleric's victory at Sartignay, the much anticipated follow up by the Iron Warriors came on 2110.013M42 with an obvious but none-the-less expected thrust south from Foregia towards the city of Gyent. In this region General Brooke was only able to field Novgorod Guard regiments while he reorganised from the defeat in Ascobabria, and the Iron Warriors made short work of the massed guard formations. The city of Gyent was soon surrounded and taken by the forces of chaos, cutting the imperial defence in two.

Ultramarines retake the Praetorian Line

The imperial response to the recent tau offensives was to immediately attempt to regain the Praetorian line. Cunninghame knew his only chance would be to hold the tau along the line using Lake renbow as part of his defences. If the Praetorian line remained breached, Cunningham would have to retreat deep into East Grent, on a line just west of Ashwater to Mount Kedalwing, where the front line would be shortest. This however would surrender the vitally important Renbow refinery, which would ensure reconquest of the rest of Tyranteous would be almost impossible without a full scale re-invasion.

The Ultramarines agreed to take on the mission of retaking the Praetorian Line and liberating Renbow. The marines moved out in force on 2110.013M42 and soon a thick fog descended on the region. There followed a confused engagement, where somehow the tau under commander Dawnstride managed to leave a portion of the line completely undefended, and the Ultramarines easily retook the fort at the southern end of the line before the tau realised what was going on. The tau at Renbow, now cut off, were forced to evacuate via orca over lake Renbow. Fortune had smiled on the imperium for once, and the tau had carelessly surrendered an important strategic gain.

Parataea cleared of Necrons

Following on from the Rillietan victory on Parataea commander Shadowstrike arrived in late 10.013M42, adding more force to the alliance defences on Parataea. By now the necrons had been pushed back into a small pocket in norther Parataea, and the tau had liberated their populated settlements. On 2210.013M42 Shadowstrike's cadres delivered the coup-de-grace to the necrons, driving into the northern highlands of the world. Here they encountered the remaining necrons and launched a well co-ordinated assault. After some heavy fighting the necrons finally phased out, leaving the world of Parataea to the alliance.

Tau held on Tyranteous

Following their impressive southerly breakout the tau continued to advance as 10.013M42 progressed. The tau had identified a large salient of imperial troops trying to reform in Badvale and a swift and decisive blow here would eliminate this salient and potentially wipe out almost a third of the remaining imperial armies on Tyranteous. The imperium realised this as well and looked to the Astartes to prevent the collapse. The Salamanders and Apocalypse Riders responded to the threat while a new offensive by the Novgorod Guard from the Praetorian Wall in the east was prepared in order to lessen the pressure in the west.

While commander Windgahter paused to regroup after his lightning dash, it was commander Skyfall's armies who surged south from Lake Renbow, attempting to cut off supply to Cunningham's army in Badvale. In the south, the Salamanders prepared to prevent the encirclement, while the Apocalypse Riders knew they had to stop the tau from pushing up the main road into Grent, or else the tau would be able to get behind the imperial defences at the Praetorian Wall.

In the east the Apocalypse Riders deployed their forces in secret either side of the main highway with another force directly in the path of the tau advance. The main highway travelled through the Grent pass, a long narrow valley which was strategically vital to any army wanting to enter the eastern regions of Tyranteous. The tau meanwhile advanced confidently, backed once again by their tau allies, apparently unaware of the Astartes company in their path.

The tau-eldar alliance force was taken completely by surprise by the imperial force, and the tau were unable to perform their usual deft battlefield manouevres. The Riders closed the range at alarming speed, nullifying the tau firepower, and soon engaged in violent close combat at which they excelled. Casualties on the alliance side mounted and the battle would have turned into a rout, but for the extreme bravery of the tau commander, who held up the imperial warriors by engaging in hit and run tactics, before finally being blasted to pieces by the Master of the Hunt himself.

The decisive victory in the east for the defenders could have made an important impact to the campaign on Tyranteous, but in the west commander Skyfall was having a much better time against the Salamanders. The tau overwhelmed the marine force with superior firepower and within hours the brave stand by the company had been neutralised, with the astartes suffering heavy casualties. Despite the Apocalypse Riders' victory the salient in Badvale was cut off, though further west than had been feared. Even so, with no prospect of rescue the imperial armies in the west, mostly Librian, Tyrantean and Zadocian regiments, were forced to surrender, netting the tau empire over half a million prisoners.

The Apocalypse riders did make an attempt to break through to the west however, throwing a significant force into commander Skyfall's flank and pushing the tau away from the Renbow refinery. Their real mission however was to retrieve a vital piece of Adeptus Mechanicus hardware, something which had quite unexpectedly fallen into enemy hands and, if lost, would spell the end for the imperium on Tyranteous if not the subsector.

Thus motivated, the emperor's finest warriors charged the tau lines, their vanguard force of bikes taking horrendous casualties. However the broad frontal assault focussed the tau attentions, and a small unit of marines managed to retrieve the artefact for the imperium. Too late the tau realised what was going on and initiated a counter attack, but the timely arrival of the Riders' land speeders blunted their assault, and allowed the badly mauled astartes company to escape back to Grent.

The Apocalypse Riders had bought the imperial defenders under General Cunningham some time, but now the focus shifted to the north, where General Chuikov proudly announced the start of his "grand offensive". The lines of Novgorod Guard lined up along the Praetorian wall before moving out into no mans land, and into a hail of tau and eldar firepower.

Once again an exceptionally bloody encounter occurred as the emotionless general threw wave after wave of imperial guardsmen against the tau-eldar forces. For a while it looked like the tactic would prevail, as the enemy struggled with the sheer numbers the Novgorod forces were deploying against them. Eventually however the aliens' overwhelming firepower told and gradually, starting at the southern end of the line, the imperial advance faltered. By 1810.013M42 the guard forces, having suffered another thirty thousand casualties in three days, had begun to fall back. Now the tau counter-attacked.

With lightning speed and impressive flexibility, the tau-eldar alliance force shifted its focus to the vulnerable south of the line, breaking through the Novgorod lines and taking the southernmost fortress of the Praetorian line. By 2210.013M42 the alliance had established themselves in the southern fort and were beginning to work their way around the rear of the defensive line, at the same time capturing the incredibly valuable Renbow Refinery. Cunningham's position on Tyranteous was now dire, although the Apocalypse Riders had prevented total collapse for the time being.

Chaos take Sartignay on Zadoc

With the Iron Warriors landing on south east Foregia, the imperial forces remaining on Ascobabria now found themselves fighting a war on two fronts. Lord General Brooke was forced to redeploy his Librian units south to defend his left flank, leaving the Legio Gryphonicus in reserve and the newly arrived Novgorod Guard units in the front line facing the hordes of the Arch Cleric. On 1810.013M42 the attack came, with the Arch Cleric leading a host of daemons, cultists and traitor marines against the imperial city of Sartignay. The Novgorod guard died in droves as usual, but were unable to make their sacrifice count as the hordes of chaos broke through the imperial lines in a number of places.

Too late Brooke realised the danger. The Arch Cleric was bypassing the city and forging ahead to the coast, attempting to cut off the Zadocian and Librian forces in the Ascobian peninsular to the south west, trapping the imperial forces if they reached the coast of the Gontina Sea. The Librians, closest to Sartignay, were able to escape the trap but three Zadocian regiments, some thirty thousand men, were trapped in the salient. This could have been much worse, but the Iron Warriors and Arch Cleric had now joined up, and a concerted drive south from Warlord Stahl would see imperial resistance on Zadoc cut in two.

Meanwhile the continueing chaos success on Zadoc was alarming to the tau, who were straining to complete the rout of the imperium on Tyranteous so they could begin the "liberation" of Zadoc. Now the tau had to consider fighting the imperium and chaos on Zadoc at the same time as finishing off Tyranteous and facing the orks and tyranids in the Mabb nebula. Something the tau wondered if they could support. If they didn't the whole of Zadoc may fall to chaos Irreparably before the alliance could rush to its peoples' defence.

Battles in the deeps

The alliance's mixed fortunes in the Zadoc subsector were reflected in the Perseus Deeps with victory on Parataea but defeat on Ares. By mid to late 10.013M42 the long running war on Ares had once again turned in favour of the Imperium, and Vassilevsky in overall command was benefiting from having a united force of marines and imperial guard. On 1510.013M42 he launched a new limited guard offensive into the shattered ruins of Ares city, gaining ground and occupying a few more precious miles of rubble. Gradually the imperium was clawing back the eldar gains and costing the eldar many lives. The battle of wills continued.

On Parataea the necrons had been in retreat for some months, and now the Rillietan turned up in force to reinforce the tau forces, launching their own offensive towards the necron controlled tau settlement of T'Varsh. The necrons appeared sluggish to react, and it seemed that the Harakhty Dynasty might not be all that serious about the invasion of Parataea, or its interest had waned, and b y 1810.013M42 the settlement was back in alliance hands, its slaves free once more.

Ork fleet arrives at Hylas

The war on Hylas had seen some advances by the imperium during 10.013M42. Following Na'Porkleon's destruction of West Coast and Birego, the Adeptus Mechanicus push south was further built on by the Crimson Fists, who with only a small force achieved victory over the orks north of Berkeley. This allowed the imperium to gradually push forward, and by 2010.013M42 the ongoing gradual retreat of the orks in the north had annoyed Na'Porkleon enough to do something about it.

The erratic ork Warlord transferred several "divi-juns" to the northern front, bashing several warbands on the way to knock them into shape. One such warband gave the warlord a shock, as during the skirmish Na'Porkleon's elite troops were more than once seen to be making "taktikal with-draw-alls" in the face of such horrors as units of grots... However despite these embarrassments the ork warboss successfully transferred a large force to the northern front, intent on wiping out remaining imperial resistance on Hylas.

The Dark Eldar were also active on Hylas, appearing unexpectedly and launching mostly unsuccessful or downright disasterous raids on the Crimson Fists and orks from somewhere in the broken country around the massive mount Flynn. The motives were unknown, but data brought back to the imperial intelligence and inquisition positively identified the force as nothing to do with the Shattered Silence kabal.

In space there was far worse news for the imperium. Jellicoe's fleet led by the Iron Duke herself reached the Hylas system in 10.013M42 expecting to find a few roks. These would be cleared then supply lines re-opened to the planet. However when Jellicoe's powerful force arrived, the Iron Duke and her five cruiser battlegroup found to their horror perhaps a dozen roks and a giant space hulk.

Jellicoe had no choice but to try to break through the ork line, which formed and immediately closed with the imperial formation. During the battle several ork roks were reduced to rubble and in a close in engagement the Iron Duke duelled with the hulk, inflicting significant damage but taking crippling hits in the process. Warspite was reduced to a wreck and several other vessels were crippled. Worse still one fifth of the Iron Duke was taken over by an ork boarding party, and the battles in the lower decks would continue for weeks. Jellicoe's battlegroup, badly mauled was forced to return to Caitlen station for repairs, leaving the orks to make good their repairs in system, and adding to the difficulties faced by Van Dorn on the surface of Hylas.

Tyranids appear on Bastien

If events in the Zadoc subsector weren't troubling enough for Titus Luthor, new Lord Governor of the sector, the news from Bastien that the tyranids had reached the upper perseus deepscame as a devastating blow. Although only a vanguard force, as the hive fleet had not been detected as yet, the confirmation that tyranids were present on the so recently won world was made following several mysterious slaughters in the northern continent. PDF forces were sent in only to be similarly massacred. In 10.013M42 the Salamanders advanced on the area prepared for the worst, only to be ambushed by a force of Xenos which matched the genetic pattern of Hive Fleet Nemesis.

Since 011M42 small tyranid vessels, tendrils of the main hive fleet, had been sweeping ahead of the main force. They had avoided the Necrons on Gamordal, and now arrived at Bastien after a long trip through the darkness of the Perseus Deeps. The Salamanders deployed in force and met the tyranids head on, but found themselves soon overwhelmed by the tyranid vanguard force, and few of the marines returned. In private Luthor was becoming worried about the Salamanders. They had suffered serious losses and were now down to half the strength they originally deployed in the sector. No one could fault their bravery, but all too often they threw themselves at the enemy when a tactical withdrawal would have been more prudent.

In any case Luthor was now forced to redeploy much needed force to the Perseus Deeps. With the necrons still on Corticant, the eldar on Ares, and the chaos worlds of Kendrenec and Mordecai still unbowed, the arrival of Nemesis could spell doom for Bastien and the worlds beyond. Titus Luthor now had some hard decisions to make...

Zadoc current map

Zadoc subsector: Imperium in deep trouble

By the middle of 10.013M42 the Imperium was in serious trouble in the Zadoc subsector. On Hylas, just days after a modest offensive, Warlord Na'Porkleon's "Gen-rall Doo-Pwee" launched a massive offensive in the west. Several armies charged across the Birego Plains while several more conducted a lightning advance along Tennys Coast. It was clear the orks would soon surround Tennyson so General Van Dorn dispatched what forces he could to the beleagured settlement. A heated debate took place in the high command at Collingwood as the imperial hierarchy realised it did not have anything it could realistically throw in the ork warlord's way. Eventually the Adeptus mechanicus volunteered to defend the city.

The mechanicus troops along with a small contingent of marines defended the city for several days as Doo-Pwee's orks massed around the city. Both sides found it difficult to fire on one another amongst the factories in the outskirts of Tennyson, and the fighting devolved into bloody hand to hand skirmished in the industrial complexes. At first the difficult terrain around the city hampered the ork advance, as did the sacrifice of the marines helping to defend the city. Eventually however the imperial force was overwhelmed by the greenskins, and Van Dorn gave permission for a general withdrawl from the west of Hylas. Now imperial control of the planet was limited to the eastern third of the world.

On Zadoc the Iron Warriors made use of their Daemonforge, landing a significant force on Foregia to the south of the main imperial-chaos battle line. They made good progress and the Crimson Fist company sent to deal with the new incursion was all but wiped out.

On Tyranteous the tau, aided by the eldar, smashed the imperial line near Thraxicon, causing the entire imperial defence of Fernal in the far west to collapse. The tau took over 300,000 prisoners and at a stroke the imperium lost almost a quarter of its fighting force. The tau under commander Windgather then drove south into Badvale, once again coming into contact with General Chuikov's Novgorod forces. Once again the imperial general launched an immediate counter attack which at first stunned the tau. However the aliens then took up defensive positions, and were easily able to mow down the Novgorod conscripts as they charged over open ground. Again the imperial casualties were astounding, with ten thousand falling in a single day. Cunningham called of the Novgorod attack and moved all imperial forces east into Badvale, where a dangerous salient had now built up which the tau were threatening to encircle.

The grim news from the Zadoc subsector was received by a very subdued imperial council on Vastrid. Titus Luthor was even handed with his generals, and Brooke and Montgomery retained their jobs. It was clear however that the situation in the subsector was out of hand, and contingency plans were begun for the evacuation of New Cerberex and Caitlen Station, with a possible halt line at Libria. This would mean abandoning the rest of the subsector, something which was not a popular suggestion with the inquisition.

Tyranteous current map

Hylas current map

Alliance in total war

Increasing violence in the Mabb Nebula began to snowball and escalate as 10_013M42 continued, with the Tau-Eldar alliance, now formally brokered, facing war on a number of fronts. From now on the eldar and tau would see their fate ever more closely interlinked, as what happened to one race deeply affected the other.

- Chaos on the back foot

Against chaos the alliance made good progress. Initially an Iron Warriors force, backed by other forces, landed on Calabris, defeating a tau garrison and establishing a significant bridgehead. Realising that the possession of Calabris would effectively cut the supply of the Aleph expansion sphere from the rest of the empire, this was intolerable and the alliance responded with brutal aggression.

Commander Windgather and his eldar allies were once again called upon to be the alliance "firefighter", and one hunter cadre of troops swiftly redeployed to Calabris, leaving a hunter cadre in the Zadoc subsector and another in the Perseus Deeps. The tau relief force faced forces loyal to the Arch Cleric who had been requested to defend the drop site while the Iron Warriors pushed on to the command and control centres of the world. Windgather took advantage of this, crushing the Word Bearers and followers of the Cleric, leaving the Iron Warriors out of supply and unsupported. Furious the Iron Warriors leader abandonned his assault, blaming his allies for the failure.

The eldar meanwhile sought to prevent a future threat to Calabris by attacking the nearest chaos bases which had been implicated in the recent invasion. The eldar fell upon Odr, finding it defended by Death Guard forces. The battle raged for nearly a day as the Death Guard stoically faced the Rillietan forces, expecting the eldar to eventually quit their raid and withdraw. However this time they did not. Instead tau forces followed up the eldar assault along with more of the aliens. As the Death Guard retreated to more defensible positions it was clear a full scale invasion of the Norsefire Empire by the alliance was now underway.

Tensions mounted on Odr, and the welcome for the Arch Cleric's forces upon their return to the Norsefire empire was not warm. Accusing them of bringing the invasion upon them the Death Guard attacked the Word Bearers and their allies, leading to a bloody battle on the neighbouring world of Fyrrd. The Arch Cleric's forces were eventually decisive victors and for now at least the chaos alliance held. However Warsmith Stahl of the Iron Warriors had by now learned of the debacle with the alliance, and had resolved to personally settle the matter.

- Memnon almost overrun

In the Mabb Nebula the tau were less successful, suffering serious setbacks on Memnon. Na'Porkleon's "Gen-rall Mawr-o" launched another attack across the Straits of Smersh, facing a combined eldar and tau defence. Despite putting up a brave fight, the eldar wraithguard and accompanying crisis teams could not hold the greenskin advance, and Run'Eldi and Run'Fio fell in quick succession, before the greenskin army turned south.

The alliance would have been able to put up a stronger resistance to Mawr-o's attack, but at the same time the orks were driving north, a much more malign menace once again appeared out of the Vastooth heights. Hive fleet Nemesis, dormant on the planet for months, chose the worst - or best - possible moment to strike at the tau. Desperately the tau fought to hold their lines, as commander Sky Fall's men were called on to emulate their great forbear, commander Longstride, in defending a tau world form the menace of the tyranids.

Nemesis was given a hard lesson in tau firepower, before sheer weight of numbers told and the tau defences were breached. The fighting had been extremely bloody and Nemesis had been made to pay a heavy price for the tau settlements of Va'Tanoi and Tol'Uash. However the settlements had in the end been overrun. Now the tau had the orks to the north and tyranids to the south, as they prepared to make a last stand at Duran Demlock.

- Necrons defeated

While the situation on Memnon was dire, the truth was that while a new tau colony world, Memnon was not strategically vital to the tau. The same could not be said of Parataea, a tau colony in the Perseus Deeps without which trading with the Federacy would be seriously impared. Since early 012M42 the necrons had been present on the planet, and the tau-eldar alliance had only occasionally been able to make headway against the re-awakened enemy. However the arrival of one of the Windgather cadres allowed the tau and their eldar allies to plan a new offensive which they then conducted with clinical efficiency.

Between 0710.013M42 and 1510.013M42 the alliance forces gradually pushed the necrons into a smaller and smaller pocket around Sin'Kau'Mek, finally tightening the noose intolerably for the necrons, who abruptly vanished, phasing out and allowing the alliance to retake the city and relieve the beleagured Yosh'Ioki. This was another reversal for the Harakhty dynasty on Parataea, but with the war having already gone on for over five hundred days, there was no reason to expect a swift conclusion.

- Ares setback

Finally on Ares the war of brutal attrition continued. In the last major action the eldar had finally pushed out of Ares city and began advancing up the road towards Hellebron, taking Caeralon to the east and securing their rear before being stopped by the Corellians. Unable to attack, the imperial guard under Vasilevski had dug in, and for a few months the front had been stable. Then on 0210.013M42 the ultramarines arrived and promised to take the war to the enemy.

In a coldly efficient and highly planned set of manoeuvres, the Ultramarines dropped a force from orbit at the settlement of Caeralon, while driving directly up the Hellebron highway towards the now ruined capital. The eldar fought hard, but could not hold the imperial shock troops. By 0810.013M42 Caeralon was imperial once more and the astartes had established a foothold in the worthless ruins of Ares City. The campaign here had been reset to its position a year previously, and with greater concerns in the Zadoc subsector and elsewhere, it looked doubtful that the war on Ares would be resolved soon.

Zadoc war intensifies

During the second week of 10_013M42 the war for Zadoc intensified once more. The Iron Warriors were once again in action as a force of Space Marines and Adeptus Mechanicus troops landed on the southern shore of the now chaos controlled Vasto in order to put a stop to heretek activity. In the settlement of Gerzonne the Iron Warriors were fortifying, but in addition a new industry was taking root in the city. Putting the enslaved workforce to good use, Warsmith Stahl managed to secure the help of the Dark Mechanicus, who began work on a daemon forge, a hideous fusion of warp power and conventional industry, enabling the Iron Warriors to equip their army with all manner of daemon engines.

The Adeptus Mechanicus, horrified at this, launched an immediate punitive strike, intending to wipe out their mortal enemies and cleanse the settlement of Gerzonne. However no sooner had they established a perimeter the imperial forces came under sustained attack from the Iron Warriors and their allies. Blasphemous fusions of daemon and steel assaulted the loyalist lines, although the mechanicus were able to put an end to many of the abberations fielded by Stahl's army, the Helldrakes shot from the sky by astartes storm talons.

Unfortunately the imperial forces were unable to move forward, and gradually the Iron Warriors took the initiative, outflanking the imperial positions and rendering the imperial beach head untennable. The mechanicus were forced to withdraw leaving the daemonforge intact.

As a direct result of this raid the Wordbearers, led by the "Truthbringers" faction launched an assault on Ascobabria against the imperial centre. Here the loyalists were supported by the Legio Gryphonicus and the Salamanders chapter, but now with the Daemonforge up and running the word bearers were able to field a far larger number of forge beasts, putting the imperial defences under strain. A huge battle erupted around the city of Sangnauy which the imperium managed to defend, much of it reduced to rubble, but gradually the forces of chaos were grinding forward in greater and greater strengths. Losses in the traitor ranks were high, but there were always replacements.

The second week of 10_013M42 also saw another fleet clash in the outer reaches of the Zadoc system. This time Tragaen once again sent a significant force, this time of five cruisers, to the system to reinforce the Arch Cleric on the ground and to bring much needed supplies. Again the imperium intervened, this time with a battlegroup from the neighbouring sector, brought in by Titus Luthor and the Adeptus Mechanicus to bolster Jericho's fleet. The squadron, comprising of two lunar class vessels, a mars and a retribution class battleship and the Mechanicus Arch Magos Navos, met Tragaen's numerically superior force outside the Zadoc narrows. A brutal close in firefight developed which saw one chaos vessel hulked and two crippled, but the imperium were obliged to withdraw after the loss of two cruisers and the crippling of their battleship. This was a victory for chaos, albeit at a cost, allowing Tragaen to maintain control of the system and resupply the forces on the ground.

HYLAS: Long war continues

On Hylas as mid 10_013M42 approached, the ongoing war on Hylas continued to progress nearly four hundred days after the initial ork landings. By now a myriad of ork warlords had flocked to Uzfang's banner, and the imperium under General Van Dorn were struggling to contain the orks following recent defeats. In addition the more important wars on Tyranteous and Zadoc were draining Van Dorn of much needed supplies, and gradually the orks were gaining the upper hand.

On 1210_013M42 the Adeptus Mechanicus force available to Hylas launched its own offensive in the West Coast region. RFelatively fresh troops, the Mechanicus were able to take on the greenskins north of Berkeley, and they planned to push on towards teh strategically vital city. However resistance proved stiff, and the Mechanicus forces were unable to commit a significant strategic reserve. After securing modest gains the offensive ground to a halt, well short of the main objective, but it was an imperial victory none the less.

1310_013M42 Sector roundup

Tyranteous: Tau gains

Tau advance on Tyranteous. Eldar intervention shocks Imperium

During early 10.013M42 the imperial position on Tyranteous went downhill rapidly. After a relatively static period the tau launched a new offensive utilising a number of battlegroups. Commander Windgather struck west, while in the east Dawn Stride prepared his forces to assault the Praetorian Wall, now defended by reinforcements brought by the influence of the sector commander, Titus Luthor.

In the east the Tau suffered. The defences of the wall were manned largely by the Novgorod Guard regiments, lead by General Chuikov. Chuikov worked well with overall commander General Cunningham, although his tactics of attrition appalled the veteran Librian. While Cunningham was used to deploying highly trained and well equipped regiments backed by artillery and tank formations, Chuikov sent wave after wave of poorly trained men at an enemy with frightening firepower.

The losses from 0410 to 1110.013M42 were horrific, with thousands of guardsmen cut down every hour by Dawn Stride's forces. The Novgorod regiments however were nothing if not numerous, and Chuikov always had a reserve to throw in. After over a week of attritional warfare against the defences of the wall, the tau pulled back, their attempt to break through a failure.

Meanwhile in the west Windgather had more success. The city of Hawkshill was surrounded quickly as the Zadocian PDF resistance crumbled. With Windgather able to call on eldar allies apparently at will, even the Crimson Fists, who deployed in company strength to defend the city, were unable to stop the tau forces from breaking through. Hurridly the 450th Orbital Drop Force was redeployed to defend the city, using its Vendetta flyers to break the stranglehold the tau now had on the imperial settlement.

Despite the imperial guard forces acquitting themselves well and even taking down a terrifying eldar Wraithknight, the aerial reinforcements were brutally shot out of the sky by tau broadsides, once again demonstrating the superiority of tau weaponry. The whole western front now looked close to collapse, with Cunningham presiding over yet another defeat to the tau.

Later in the same week the eldar appeared again, this time independently and far from the tau front line. Clearly acting in support of their tau allies, the eldar, identified this time as the particularly dangerous Rillietan faction, launched a devastating raid on the supposedly secret Adeptus Mechanicus base at Thraxicon in the Granite Hills. The Adeptus Mechanicus defended themselves as best they could, calling on their space marine allies for help.

In the thick of the fighting the Chapter Master of the marines managed to get close enough to the eldar command group to launch a daring attack on the eldar farseer herself. He managed to cut the alien spiritual leader down, but his triumph was short lived, the laughing god immediately exacting his revenge on the hapless astartes warrior. This left effective command to the Adeptus Mechanicus and their commissariat representative. The commissar himself showed extreme bravery in standing upright as an example to the men, even managing to shrug of a direct hit from a Fire Prism thanks to his refractor shield. He pointed upward and declared this as a sign the emperor was with them, before being shredded by accurate and overwhelming shuriken cannon fire...

After four hours the battle was over and the eldar had disappeared. Thraxicon was in ruins, as was the principle armourer and manufacturer of vehicles for the planet. This was disastrous for Cunningham, who was once again contemplating the prospect of surrender or evacuation. For the sector commander and Inquisition the arrival of the eldar on Tyranteous signalled a deepening of the alliance relationship. Whether the eldar had decided to officially throw in their lot with the tau was still unknown, as at least some eldar had deep misgivings about wholeheartedly supporting the younger race. At present however it seemed the majority of eldar in the sector were now working for the alliance under the auspices of the Rillietan. Very bad news indeed for the imperium.

Zadoc subsector in flames

Tragaen defeats Raven Guard Fleet

Following the crushing defeat suffered by the Word Bearers' fleet in 08_013M42, chaos lord Tragaen agreed to aid the self appointed "Master of Chaos" warsmith Stahl to land a force of his own followers on Zadoc. Tragaen knew that the imperial fleet had been forced to split up to protect convoys and now sensed an opportunity to strike back at the Imperium. Stahl meanwhile was keen to land a force on Zadoc to "help" with the invasion. In reality the warsmith was keen to take his share of the spoils and honours once the planet was pacified into the service of the dark gods.

Tragaen's fleet set out from Kendrenec in early 09_013M42 and arrived almost a month later after picking up the Warsmith's forces. The fleet, led by the battleship Irredeemable Apostate and boasting six capital class vessels, did not find itself with an easy ride to the system's inner biosphere. Unknown to the fleet admiral, the Raven Guard had deployed in force to Zadoc, and their substantial fleet of warships was now on an intercept course, covering the path to the sector capital and forcing an action.

Lord Tragaen's forces did not decline the action, and a battle ensued close in to the planet of Zadoc itself. True to form Traegan was cautious, never allowing any of his ships to face the full might of the closing space marine fleet for two long, and concentrating his vessels' fire on one enemy at a time. The battle lasted hours with the chaos fleet managing to maintain tactical position over their enemies. However their shooting was poor and the Raven Guard vessels armour largely held. The imperium lost four escorts and a strike cruiser during the engagement, with another strike cruiser badly damaged. The Raven Guard battlebarge took no damage whatsoever, but the chaos fleet whethered its main attack run, the hades class "Unforgiveable" somehow managing to avoid major damage from a close range bombardment cannon broadside.

Tragaen's fleet suffered superficial damage in the main, although the devastation class carrier was put out of action. After several hours of confused and sporadic fighting the chaos fleet opened the range between the two fleets and began to turn towards the space marines once again. The space marine commander realised the odds were now stacked against him and withdrew to the outer reaches of the system, allowing the Iron Warriors to make a landing on Zadoc. The outer mining colony was to suffer the worst however, as Tragaen's fleet took great pleasure in bombarding the moon base as they passed, destroying it utterly

Mabb Nebula erupts in new violence

The Mabb nebula erupted with a new wave of violence as 10_013M42 began, with the orks launching new offensives on Hylas on Memnon, while the Tau-Eldar alliance launched their own invasion, establishing a bridgehead on the ork controlled world of Bothorion.

On Hylas the region of South Shore fell following a brave but futile defence by the Crimson Fists. Further east the Space Wolves were called in to stop a renewed offensive by Na'Porkleon towards Tennyson. The ork horde was vast and surprisingly well equipped, and the Space Wolves soon found themselves in trouble, taking heavy casualties from loota fire and struggling to contain a concerted assault on their left flank. While their elite forces did manage to halt the orks, the Space Wolf left flank eventually collapsed after an unfortunate friendly fire incident, and heavy casualties forced a general withdrawal of the imperial line. The front moved back towards Tennyson once again and much of Tennys Coast came under the greenskin yoke.

Possibly reacting to the upsurge in Na'Porkleon's Waagh! the eldar launched a series of raids against Bothorion. These were largely successful and a force of Corsair eldar captured the ork settlements of Bukrag and Dregork, cleansing them of greenskins and establishing a perimeter around their bridgehead. The tau were informed and indeed took part in the inital raids on Bothorion. It was hoped that an attack on Bothorion would draw off some of Na'Porkleon's forces and force the ork warlord to weaken his defences on Hylas. This in turn would allow the imperium to go on the offensive, preventing abandonment of the world and subsequent reinforcement of Tyranteous.

As usual it was a complex and convoluted strategy employed by the alliance, but this time it didn't pay off. Rather than take the bait, Na'Porkleon ignored the small bridgehead on Bothorion and launched a savage and unexpected attack on Memnon. The Tau remain convinced the invasion was accidental, the ork roks missing their intended system by several light years, but in fact this was all part of the wily ork's "kunnin plan" to set every world in the nebula afire with ork violence.

Taken by surprise the tau managed a hasty defence, calling on the forces of Commander Skyfall to defend the small colony. The orks landed haphazardly, on Peschek island and quickly overran Va'Ya and Klak'La. On the narrow Derevan Isthmus the tau made their stand, but the ork horde was once again fast and carrying extreme firepower.

The battle raged furiously with the ork lead elements quickly succumbing to tau weaponry, but the tau commander and elite forces were late arriving, allowing the ork vanguard to plough into the centre of the isthmus and putting the tau on the back foot. A tau Riptide did manage to keep the orks from overrunning the tau positions until the tau elite forces finally turned up.

Unfortunately the tau reserves, while powerful, were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of orks, and worse was to follow as the Riptide suddenly reported an "itching sensation" before falling on its side inert, falling prey to an unlikely shokk attack gun salvo, the snotlings materialising inside the pilot.

The rest of the tau then pulled out, making their way across the straits of smersh, abandoning Derevan to the greenskins. They did manage to kill the ork warboss however, a railgun round turning him to green mist as he charged the last remaining hammerhead to hold its ground.

The tau now had a difficult conundrum. Press their advantage on Bothorion or defend their existing colony, or both. Either way Na'Porkleon would be happy.
< Memnon

< Bothorion

< Hylas

Iron Warriors resume offensives

In early 10_013M42 Warsmith Stahl, having managed to gain access to an invasion fleet, landed the first contingent of forces on Zadoc. This vanguard force managed to secure access to the "Device", landing a large force of marines and cultists on Vasto, which then proceeded to move out towards Gerzonne. On the way the Iron Warriors found themselves ambushed by dark eldar of unknown origin.

The ambush took the chaos force by surprise, and this quickly lead to the loss of a number of their heavier units, including vindicator support tanks. Worse, the Daemon Prince leading the army was temporarily banished by the unexpected assault. The Iron Warriors soon recovered however and began to systematically take apart their enemy, leading to a rout of the dark eldar army.

The surprise attack did however buy time for an ultramarines force to make planetfall on Zadoc. This force immediately interposed itself between the chaos forces and the settlement of Gerzonne. Although fighting bravely the marines found themselves outmanouvred and out thought by the battle hardened chaos forces, and vital objectives were taken before the ultramarines could react. The imperial forces counter attacked, but were met with a hail of fire from an enemy now firmly entrenched on the ring of hills surrounding Gerzonne. There was no hope now of saving the city as Helldrakes and other chaos craft blasted the city from above. The ultramarines focussed their remaining energy on holding the chaos forces at bay for as long as possible, while the imperial authorities conducted a perilous rescue attempt over the Lagiaca Sea. Hundreds of ocean going vessels evacuated nearly 100,000 people from Gerzonne, landing on the west coast of Ascobabria and as far north as Anorigo. However losses were high and almost double this perished in the evacuation attempt.

Warsmith Stahl now had a secure base from which to launch further assaults, although for the moment at least his forces remained bottled up on the island of Vasto.

Na'Porkleon re-invades Zoggot

Four months had past since the forces of Chaos kicked the orks of the minor world of Zoggot and the Norsefire empire was given control of the new world. The Arch Cleric and his Word Bearer allies then moved in force to Zadoc, while a defensive garison was left in charge in the Enceladus subsector. However the warlord Na'Porkleon took advantage of the absence of the Word Bearer fleet to send a new invasion force back to Zoggot. The invasion "fleet" consisted of little more than a couple of kroozers, but by early 09.013M42 the force had reached the Zoggot system and was heading towards the minor world, ork Roks being constructed at an alarming speed and drifting in with the main force.

Na'Porkleon landed on 1209.013M42 and met little resistance. He was allowed to establish a bridgehead while the traitor guard units defending Zoggot hastily erected fortifications and appealed for help. Frustrated, the Arch Cleric diverted a significant force to bolster his defences in the Enceldaus subsector, while keeping the majority of his forces on Zadoc.

The small force of traitor marines arrived by strike cruiser some weeks later, easily avoiding the ork vessels and landing on the planet's night side on 2609.013M42. The force was in battle less than three days later, where it faced the vanguard of Na'Porkleon's horde.

The ork forces comprised mainly of boys, and lots of them, bedecked in their characteristic blood axe "kamo" and sporting an unfeasible amount of firepower. Despite the Arch Cleric and the Word Bearers managing to surprise their enemy, their initial bombardment was absorbed and with a deafening roar the orks rushed towards their enemy. A bloodbath followed as the ork firepower pinned the chaos forces down, while the greenskin infantry closed the distance, finally smashing into the chaos lines and ripping them apart. The orks took heavy losses as well, their warboss and his mega armoured nobz succumbing finally to the attentions of two Soul Grinders, but they had smashed the chaos heavy units. In the air the ork aircraft were bested by daemonic helldrakes, but concentrated loota fire shot down anything which came to close.

By the end of the second day the chaos force was retreating, and Na'Porkleon's forces had overrun nearly a third of the planet's inhabited bases. The war on Zoggot had been reopened and chaos dreams of an invasion of Gargash had been shattered for the time being.

The Aleph Sector Campaign

Welcome to all new members of the Wargames Society! Here is a very short explanation of how the campaign works.

The Aleph sector campaign is a narrative campaign which has been going on since 2001. Its likely the longest running and most written about campaign not run by Games Workshop!

The full history of the sector can be found on the right under "Campaign Files", along with a full description of how the campaign works. However there are nearly a million words to read, so the three posts below show an overview of what's going on in the campaign right now!

The campaign is a "turn up and play" campaign. When you win a game you earn "points" which go towards the campaign. The basic points are as follows:

Games 1500-2000pts:
Loss - 0pts
draw (same VPs) - 0pts
win (neither side gets 3VPs) - 1pt
win (someone wins and gets 3 or more VPs) - 2pts
win (scoring 3+ VPs and double your opponent) - 3pts
win (wiping your opponent off the board) - 4pts

In addition bigger games score more points and the campaign is not limited to 40K. Epic, Gothic, Kill Team and AI all feature. Generally armies are sorted into "factions" (broadly races but not always) and unless stated you're results will be lumped in with your "faction" - e.g. if you are an eldar player and you play a space marine player and win, your result will be applied to the Ares campaign (see below) unless otherwise specified.

You can play whenever you want and whoever you want and have as little or as much involvement in the narrative as you want. Generally there are five kinds of player, briefly explained below.

1 - The winning player submits his win and I (the GM) will apply the most sensible result to the campaign (easy!)
2 - The winning player will be given options by the GM and will pick one.
3 - The winning player will already have an idea of what his faction wants to do in the campaign, perhaps with some background. The GM comes up with ways the player can achieve the results.
4 - The player knows the rules fairly well and will plan campaigns by consulting the map. He will inform the GM of what the battle is about and the result will be applied afterwards. Usually these players have a faction with a fair amount of "fluff" and even contribute things to the blog.
5 - This player is someone who understands and shapes the campaign. They are similar to 4 but are usually the leaders of a certain faction and guide events and help the GM with story arcs.

Most players start between 1-3 and then some move on to 4-5. It depends how much you want to be involved in the background. And don't worry about "losing" for your side. It's a multiplayer narrative campaign not a league! You can't "win" the campaign nor can one side be "wiped out". The campaign is about building a history of events and creating story arcs, not about finding out who is "best" at 40K!

Come and see me on Saturday 5th October if you want to know more!

Sector: Current Warzones Map

Aleph Sector factions & Motivations

Imperium
Over the last decade the Imperium have lost the Aleph subsector and much of the Zadoc subsector. However Veers' crusade in the Deeps was partially successful, and saw the breaking of chaos dominion over many worlds. Now however the Imperium faces a myriad of threats to its interest, with several alien empires impinging on its territory, and hive fleet Nemesis devouring a path through the sector. It is up to the new Sector Governor to re-establish control of the situation and reassert the power of the Emperor across the region.

Chaos
The power of chaos has waned significantly from its zenith five years ago, but is now showing signs of a resurgence. Various factions have come and gone, but now the forces of chaos are becoming united once more, and aim to rid the Enceladus subsector of the ork infestation, while taking Zadoc and a host of other worlds from the Imperium. There are threats however. Nemesis is eating into the chaos empire in the Rim Worlds, and the necrons are implacably advancing in the Perseus Deeps, while the tau are in direct competition with chaos for control of the Zadoc subsector.

Necrons
For millenia the necrons slumbered. Now they have awoken amongst the ruins of their ancient empire. So far the reconquest of the Harakhty dynasty's worlds has gone well. From nothing, fully ten systems have fallen under the yoke of necron rule. However the work has only just begun, for in ages past the dynasty ruled over a hundred worlds. One by one the necron rulers plan to reconquer their lost empire, enslaving millions of alien vermin to do their bidding.

Alliance
The alliance formed in 011M42 to counter the growing power of the necrons, but it is also aligned against the forces of chaos. The alliance includes the eldar, led or guided by the harlequins of the Rillietan, the Tau empire, who's conquests over the last decade have given them the "aleph expansion sphere", and the Federacy, a secessionist movement which broke away from the imperial yoke some years ago. The tau are by far the largest force in the alliance, with the Federacy providing limited military support. The eldar commit when it is in their own interests, and tensions often arise between the eldar and the tau when the latter are not consulted over the actions of the former. Will the alliance hold? Only time will tell.

Orks
The orks of the Aleph sector have never been led by a single warlord. Nazghat, Snazteef, Krumpgutz, Thrugnik, Uzfang, Da Verminator and Na'Porkleon have all come to prominence at different times, although Nazghat secured a small empire in the Mabb Nebula for a time so may be considered to be the most successful thus far. However it is Uzfang who currently holds sway over the orks, who remain embattled on Fort Sparcos and locked in a long war on Hylas. So far the orks are contained, but for how long?

Tyranids
Hive fleet Nemesis is by far the most dangerous hive fleet to have come out of the eastern rim. Hive fleets morph, megalodon and triton were all defeated, at great cost, but Nemesis is different. Having devoured several key worlds in the Zadoc subsector the hive mind is travelling further and further in to the sector. It has communicated with its prey, and seems to possess a strategic vision which goes far beyond the expected mindless violence of the alien race. More surprising still it seems to have originated from within the galaxy, something which puzzles the inquisition greatly.

Aleph Sector Current Warzones

Zadoc Subsector
The Zadoc subsector was once the second most important subsector to the Imperium. Since 006M42 however the Imperium has lost the major world of Tarsis Major to the Tau and the agri worlds of Alphe and Betor have been destroyed by the tyranid menace. Embattled on every front only Libria remains wholly Imperial, as chaos, orks, tyranids and the tau fight for control and resources of the subsector.

Hylas
On Hylas General Van Dorn faces the might of Warlord Uzfang, "Da Big Boss" of the orks in the sector. Orks have taken much of the southern continent, but for now the war has fallen into a stalemate since the Praetorian began erecting formidable defences in the path of the ork advance.

Tyranteous
Initially the agri-world of Tyranteous was invaded by the forces of chaos and the tau, who both saw the world as the key to starving the more important world of Zadoc into submission. However the tau with their greater resources managed to eliminate the chaos threat, and the tau are building up for a new offensive to break the imperial hold on the remainder of the planet.

Grimlock
Grimlock is the last bastien of chaos power in the Zadoc subsector and serves as the capital of their empire in the Rim worlds. Much of this empire has been ravaged by Hive Fleet Nemesis, and now the hive mind has control of two thirds of the major chaos world. Should the remainder fall, the rest of the systems in the region would be doomed.

Fort Sparcos
Fort Sparcos was once imperial, before being taken over by the orks of the Mabb Nebula. Now infested with the tyranid Xenos, the battle for control of the world has fallen into a long and bloody stalemate as orks from around the sector travel to Sparcos to prove themselves and test out new weapons against the aliens.

Vastrid Subsector
The Vastrid sector remains largely imperial, and is now home to sector command and the Imperial Governor General Titus Luthor, nominally in charge of the entire sector. Despite harbouring orks and other aliens, the subsector is well defended and serves as a bastien against the predations of alien empires.

Enceladus subsector
The Enceladus sector was lost to the imperium millenia ago, and is now controlled by heretical chaos warlords and petty ork empires. It is an area the Tau will seek to expand into, as it borders their young empire, while the reclamation of the region by the imperium has long been an aspiration.

Nazog
Nazog is an ork controlled world in the Enceladus hub region. Following the successful campaign on the minor world of Zoggot, the forces of chaos are marshaling for their next assault against the orks. The chaos warlords hope to crush the orks in the Hub, joining Charybdis with the Norsefire empire, creating a new major power in the sector.

Perseus Deeps
The Perseus Deeps is an area of old dim stars. It is home to all manner of aliens, heretics and dangerous secrets. The Imperium has successfully pacified much of the upper Deeps, crushing chaos in the process. However now the Necron Harakhty dynasty has awoken, and is reconquering its former worlds at an alarming pace.

Ares
Ares is a world held by the Imperium of great value to the eldar. The war here has ground on for over 400 days with little ground being taken by either side. The eldar control one end of the important inhabited strip, and many vicious battles have flattened the capital, Ares city. General Vasilevsky hopes to continue the war of attrition to the point where the war is abandoned by the eldar.

Corticant
Corticant remains the base of operations for General Veers' crusade in the Deeps. However the Necrons have finally come to Corticant, and now control 30% of the planet. The lynch pin of the recent conquests in the Deeps, Veers must find a way to defeat the Harakhty dynasty or see Imperial domination in the Upper Deeps collapse.

Mordecai
Mordecai is one of two major systems still controlled by chaos in the Perseus Deeps. The rump of a once great empire, Mordecai has now come under attack from the expanding Harakhty dynasty, although the eldar have also intervened, hoping perhaps to embroil their two worst enemies in a long battle of attrition.

Parataea
Parataea is the front line between tau holdings in the Deeps and the resurgent necron empire. Joined by the eldar and federacy forces the "Alliance" is for now holding the necrons at bay, but for how much longer?

Battle of Zadoc Narrows: Imperial decisive victory!

With the debacle of Celliano putting imperial forces firmly on the defensive on Zadoc, Imperial command of the subsector led by General Montgomery were appalled to find that a substantial fleet of Word Bearers ships were now on their way to support the chaos invasion of the subsector capital. The wisdom of the Imperial Navy abandoning, at least for the time being, imperial forces on Tyranteous, now seemed confirmed, as by 2008.013M42 the squadron of swords in orbit around the Zadoc system was joined by Task Force Sommerville, a force of five cruisers and the venerable Oberon class Battleship Royal Sovereign.

Commodore Sommerville was therefore well placed to intercept the inbound chaos fleet, which had been sized at seven capital class vessels. This turned out to include much of the fleet previously commanded by Lorek, the leader of the Claws of Lorek, whose remaining forces had since turned to the "Arch Cleric" now that Lorek had apparently disappeared. Imperial intelligence were still without any clue as to why the lord of chaos had vanished, but now his forces seemed to be flocking to the cause of the new chaos warlord.

The seven chaos vessels moved in system from the jump point in the outer reaches. Sommerville had positioned his fleet in the gas giant belt since its arrival at Zadoc, knowing that the halo of volatile plasma which surrounded the system had few navigable gaps, and that it was in one of these relatively safe zones that he would have the best chance of nullifying his opponent's superior manouverability. On 2408.013M42 Sommerville was proved right, as the chaos fleet appeared from the warp and immediately made for the safest route through the halo, a region of space known as the Zadoc Narrows.

The battle took place in this narrow area of space, surrounded by volatile plasma fields and strewn with rocks, debris and gas clouds. The two fleets approached on parallel but opposite courses, with the Imperial fleet initially passing down the starboard wing of the chaos vessels. Sommerville took his ships past a particularly dense area of asteroids, allowing his nova cannon equipped ships to fire a few volleys at the chaos vessels and crippling one enemy cruiser almost immediately. Then the two fleets turned towards each other, and a tactical game of cat and mouse ensued around the densely packed rocks.

Commodore Sommerville was careful in only exposing his vessels to the greater part of the enemy fleet when he had to. This meant the chaos fleet were rarely able to gain effective firing solutions on their enemy, and during the battle only the Mars class Glorious took significant damage from enemy shooting, although one Sword Class escort found itself too close to the chaos line in the early stages and was destroyed. As the battle progressed, the Fortress of Hate found herself totally exposed to the entire firepower of the imperial fleet, her captain rashly deciding to turn in towards the imperial vessels with no support from her consorts. Sommerville's ships accepted the easy picking, and the chaos cruiser was soon ablaze. Eventually she detonated in a spectacular plasma explosion, crippling the Implacable in the process.

Having already put one devastation class vessel out of action early on, the loss of the Fortress of Hate put the chaos vessels at a considerable disadvantage. Nevertheless their commander turned his vessels in a hard starboard turn, and the remaining chaos vessels buffeted the Royal Sovereign at long range before the imperial battleship slipped behind the asteroid belt. However this had been deliberate "bait" set up by Sommerville. While the chaos vessels had turned their attention to the imperial flagship, the torpedo equipped Hogue and Agincourt were able to come about, navigate through the asteroid field and employ a devastating volley of torpedoes through the flank of the neatly lined up chaos vessels.

This daring attack run hulked another chaos cruiser, leaving the chaos ships with just four cruisers facing Sommerville's three, plus two escorts and the Royal Sovereign. Worse still the bulk of the imperial fleet was now to the rear of the chaos vessels, who had little space in which to turn. Sommerville made the most of this, hammering the chaos ships from behind, hulking another and crippling two more which disengaged.

Eventually the chaos fleet lost another ship, her captain unable to disengage from the fight due to the bridge having been shorn clean off. The eventual tally saw the loss of five of the seven chaos cruisers, with the remaining two crippled. The imperium hadn't lost a single capital ship and Sommerville had delivered the imperium their most decisive victory over chaos for several years. The remaining two chaos vessels slipped away from the imperial fleet but Zadoc had been secured in space at least. Commodore Sommerville was quickly promoted to Rear Admiral, and the news of the victory was broadcast across the sector as an example of imperial victory by a greatful Imperial sector governor.

Chaos Losses
Fortress of Hate - exploded
Warp Revelator - hulked
Divine Anarchy - hulked
Agonise Demise - hulked
Unholy Flame - hulked

Sword of Ajax - crippled
Divine Anarchy - crippled

Imperial Losses
One sword escort  - destroyed

Glorious - crippled
Implacable - crippled

Zadoc: The battle of Celliano (images)

+++Top: Corellian Manticore seeks shelter in a ruined building.+++


+++Librian Leman Russ tanks assemble before the main battle is joined.+++

+++Librian and Corellian units including the Stormsword "Lance of Divinity", later destroyed.+++

+++The myriad forces of chaos, supported by a large daemonic contingent, counter-attack the imperial advance.+++

+++Corellian Vendetta support moves in to support the Librian Heavy Tank advance. In the foreground the indistinct outlines of two of the three eldar Wraithknights can be seen.+++

+++Baneblade "IronJaw" rumbles over the ruins of Celliano. The tank was later overwhelmed by daemonic forces and destroyed.+++

Eastern Zadoc, 2408_013M42

Zadoc: Assault on Celliano results in chaos victory

For more than a month Imperial and chaos forces on Zadoc had been existing in an uneasy stalemate as both sides kept behind their defence lines, occasionally raiding each other, mainly at night. Despite having overwhelming air superiority the imperial navy conducted few air raids, finding few targets of value and as yet unwilling to level the great city of Celliano. As 08.013M42 approached however, Lord General Montgomery was anxious to make a fresh attempt on the removal of chaos forces from the city. This wasn't Hylas or Tyranteous, but the subsector capital itself.

By 0808.013M42 the imperial armies on Zadoc had swelled in size, with Librian and Corellian regiments flooding in from all parts of the sector. The imperial fleet, originally en route to Tyranteous, instead arrived in force over Zadoc, readying itself to play its part in the coming assault. By 1208.013M4, with over a million men and a staggering amount of munitions, General Montgomery was ready to start a fresh assault on Celliano.

On the eve of battle the Imperium received an unexpected boon, as a hooded and cloaked representative of the alien eldar race made himself known to the imperial command. He offered substantial aid, warning that the imperium had woefully underestimated the forces they faced, and that they faced annihilation in the morning. Somewhat reluctantly the imperial commanders accepted the eldar help, rather insulted by the aliens' presumption that they didn't know what they were doing, and on 1308.013M42, the second battle for Celliano began.

Initial progress by the imperial forces was swift, as the tank regiments assigned to the assault made easy progress across the fertile Zadocian plains. However upon reaching the city itself, the advance slowed, as the imperial guard began sweeps of each street supported by their heavy and super heavy vehicles. The eldar were in evidence as well, the imperium being treated to the rare sight of three wraithknights stalking the ruins of the city.

On 1508.013M42 the imperial scouts detected a large mass of chaos forces moving to counter their latest offensive, and Montgomery was able to take the chaos forces by surprise. On the advice of his eldar allies the imperial forces immediately opened up on the advancing chaos forces, although the initial bombardment by Librian artillery and other ordnance was poor and inaccurate.

The forces of chaos, led once again by the Arch Cleric and elements of the Word Bearers, were severely outnumbered initially, but in line with earlier encounters their army was soon swelled by ranks of other-worldly entities. Daemons of all the major powere suddenly spawned themselves onto the battlefield, ripping holes in space time and clawing their way out of the emperean to assault the imperial lines.

As if this wasn't enough to deal with the imperium soon realised the true horror of the situation in Celliano. Fully half the population had somehow been mutated into the service of the chaos gods, and now the same effect which had turned them began to turn their own forces against them. Without warning the eldar suddenly opened fire on their own side with their super heavy skimmers, destroying the super heavy tank "Lance of Divinity" in an awesome pyrotechnic display. Worse was to follow as the Baneblade "IronJaw" similarly turned on its comrades, its crew momentarily ovetaken by the power of the warp.

Instances such as these began to be reported along the entire front, and the imperial advance stalled just three miles into the city proper. The eldar found themselves assaulted by greater daemonic entities, and even more of these began to pour from portals across the settlement, engaging the allied forces in a deadly close combat slaughter which saw the destruction of both Librian Super Heavy vehicles.

Montgomery, realising this was a serious problem, threw in his reserves and ordered the imperial navy to bombard the city. The sky lit up with fire as Celliano was lanced from above by Jellicoe's fleet, the heavy weaponry reducing much of the city to molten slag and the rest to rubble, but the effect on the enemy's ability to fight was minimal. Still the daemons came on, supported by Word Bearers and cultists, and after three days of intense fighting Montgomery realised the assault would have to be halted.

Ordo Malleus agents then informed the imperial commander that the area around the city was becoming increasingly unstable, and as more and more daemons poured from the warp, the eldar informed Montgomery that all was lost, and that they would be leaving. This withdrawal left the remaining Librian and Corellian units int he vicinity of the city without support, and within just a few hours they were surrounded and utterly annihilated by the uncontrolled orgy of violence now ravaging the entire region.

The defeat soon became a rout, and the entire northern half of the continent Ascobabria was abandoned, the city of Chemart falling to the Arch Cleric and his followers by the end of 08.013M42. The uprising, unlike the one on Tyranteous, had now secured a solid foothold on Zadoc, and the imperium were in full retreat.

Order of Battle

Imperium & eldar allies
11th Corellian Armoured Regiment
27th Corellian Mechanised Infantry
9th Super Heavy Tank company
- Stormsword "Lance of Divinity"
- Stormsword "Divine Intervention"
23rd Librian Armoured Regiment
114th Librian Mechanised Infantry
12th Librian Super Heavy Tank Company
- Baneblade "IronJaw"
- Shadowsword
Rillietan Eldar forces

Chaos:
Arch Cleric forces
Covenant of Damnation
Word Bearers
Daemons