Quicksword annihilated! Tau in retreat!

Shadowstrike takes Gwendelia

Only scant weeks after having defeated Sunshield's cadres and relieving the siege of Gwendelia, Colonel Jeffries was once again called in to defend Mellberg's second city. This time the newcomer, commander Shadowstrike, led his forces into the city. Shadowstrike succeeded where Sunshield failed by using pathfinders who infiltrated into the city overnight. In the assault that followed the Tau weaponry was guided to its targets with unerring accuracy, wiping out much of the Imperial front line before it had a chance to react. Shadowstrike followed up this initial success with an all out attack led by crisi suit teams and stealth suits. The fighting in the city then became bloody and desperate with units of Librian stormtroopers forced to flee before the Tau advance. Shadowstrike lost much materiel but by the end of 2608.007M42 the city of Gwendelia had fallen after three months of holing out.

Taves breaks Tau northern front

On the northern front Colonel Taves prepared to take the city of Narmala after weeks of planning. The assault that followed, preceded by a massive Balisilk bombardment, was extremely aggressive and saw the 14th AVR charge into the ruined streets with almost reckless abandon. However the gamble paid off. Stormtroopers mounted in Chimeras threw themselves into the attac, closing and destroying Tau hardware at close range. This tactic, coined "suicide squad" attacks, though brutal, succeeded in shaking the confidence of the Tau commanders who were unfamiliar with this form of disregard for life. The Tau withdrew from Narmala but Taves wasn't through. Rather than consolidating his victory the Colonel ordered a general pursuit. The armoured vehicles of the 14th AVR broke through the retreating Tau lines and the retreat soon became a rout as the disorganised forces of Commander Quicksword collapsed or surrendered.

Taves had scored a massive strategic victory and the Tau did not stop until they reached the Genidius border. Indeed the Colonel was only stopped when his troops and vehicles could no longer keep up with the Tau flight. As Colonel Taves paused for breath on the brink of destroying the Tau altogether, he received news from Atlas Prime that Lord Commander Lenord had promoted him general.

Jeffries approaches Genundis

Following up this success Colonel Jeffries was ordered to take the initiative on Taves' left flank. Immediately the veteran Colonel organised the Librian 41st regiment and began to advance on Genundis, bearing west to protect the now vulnerable flank of General Taves. Commander Longstride was soon on hand to slow the Librians, but the ferocious counter attacks by Longstride's hunter cadres were beaten off by the recently introduced heavy weapons squads and Sentinel Squadrons. Improved artillery fire from the Imperial regiment also helped, as did more accurate fire from the 41st's main battle tanks. It seemed that Jeffries' drilling of the troops had worked well and now it was commander Longstride who had to rethink his tactics.

Overall by the end of 08.007M42 the Tau invasion of Melberg stood on the edge of the Abyss. Despite overwhelming superiority in space the Tau could not seem to realise their potential on the ground. If the Imperial advance on Genundis could not be halted, the entire campaign on Mellberg would have to be abandonned.

Necrons awaken...

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Children Of Steel advance

The Chaos forces on Cerberex did not waste any time following their victory at Rideau. Under a week later the forces known as the Children Of Steel massed against the defenders near the Great South River. Not wishing togive the ground without a fight Field Marshall Model deployed AVR units in the traitor Guards' path in order to slow their advance. The plan did not succeed.

The Children Of Steel, now experienced and less naive did not immediately attack as they had done at Gulan, throwing away the lives of their soldiers. This time the Infantry halted while their plentifulself-propelled artillery pounded the mechanised infantry regiments of the AVR, holding their rough riders back for a ferocious counter assault should the armoured units attack.

Pounded by Bailisk fire and harassed by deep striking special weapons squads the AVR and PDF units were forced to retreat before they could get stuck into the main line of Chaos infantry. After a week of murderous fighting the Children Of Steel had reached the UFP trenches and sealed the South River Gap. However their advance had been cautious and slow, allowing the faster mechanised Imperial Army to withdraw in good order. Depsitesuffering more horrendous casualties at least Model could be relieved that no units had found themselves trapped in the pocket.

Melberg Convoy ambush fails

Continuing heavy losses on Melberg forced the Tau high command to make a decision: Resupply the campaign of withdraw from the planet. Sunstrike made his case to the ethereals and they agreed with his judgement, Melberg must be reinforced and taken. It was key to the whole Zadoc expansion campaign.

With this in mind the Tau knew they would have to resupply the planet with fresh troops and supplies. Although the Kor'Or'Vesh now had superiority in the system, the Tau knew that the Warspite and a great many escorts werestill at large and patrolling Melberg space.

Admiral Coldsight decided that all transport vessels bound for Melberg would have to do so in convoy as the threat from the Imperial fleet remained an unknown. The first to arrive, a flotilla of ten vessels, was escorted by two Protector class cruisers and two Castellan escorts. Coldsight had been right, the Imperial fleet was waiting for them near the jump point.

Rear Admiral Phillpots aboard the Warspite had spread his fleet of fifteen escorts and one Dominator cruiser around the vicinity of the expected jump arrival of the Tau fleet. With this formation he hoped one group of escorts would find the Tau fleet, form up with the rest of the destroyer flotilla and attack in strength, the Warspite providing long range support with her Nova Cannon. All that mattered now was how accurate his psykers had been in determining the point in real space where the Tau would appear. Phillpotts positioned his flagship behind a gas cloud and waited.

The Tau appeared right on target. In fact, they appeared so close to the Warspite herself that the Imperial cruiser was taken by surprise. Frantically the crew of the Dominator class cruiser tried to steer her away from the approaching Tau as two Protectors bore down on her.
With her escorts to too far away to help the Warspite quickly became a victim as the two Tau cruisers poured railgun fire into her. She was a blazing wreck in minutes without inflicting a telling blow to either of her attackers. Seconds later the ship exploded, killing all but two of her crew.

The remaining escorts did what they could to disrupt the convoy of men and materiel to Melberg. However in doing so they suffered grevious losses. Every ship in the escort flotilla, eight Swords, six Firestorms and two Cobras, was either heavily damaged or destroyed. In turn the Tau lost five of their ten transports.

Despite these losses the Tau were able to reinforce Melberg with a substantial amount of troops and equipment. Of the transports destroyed only 8% of passengers and crew were rescued, but every Fire Warrior was crucial to the war effort. The Imperial fleet now had to concede that it would be unable to mount similar raids on Tau relief convoys.

Cunningham thwarts Longstride and approaches Corunium

Meanwhile in the South of Cerberex General Cunningham was aware of a large troop build up by the Tau, despite their attempts to disguise it. The commander of the Western army group quickly planned an attack through the town of Bridgewater, aiming to thwart the Tau offensive and widen the corridor tothe embattled city of Gwendelia.

The attack began with the Librian 4th and 101st attacking in strength, supported for the first time by the super-heavy tanks of the 8th Valitane Armoured regiment. These behemoths, three in total, added much needed punchto the Imperial attack but in the end proved less pivotal than expected.

The Baneblade unfortunately broke down before reaching the front while the unit's remaining two super heavies took the fight to the enemy. Both were successful in destroying enemy formations but the Stormsword took heavydamage and was eventually immobilised while trying to sweep the town of defenders.

It was the Librian 101st Grenadiers who turned the tide of the battle,rushing forward and engaging the Tau in close combat. This action serious ruffled the Xenos who often fled rather than fact the stormtroopers in combat.

In Bridgewater Longstride and Quicksword, fresh from the northern campaign, fought in person, side by side. Of their fate little is known to the Imperium but fragmentary evidence suggested that Longstride at least wastaken down in the ruins of the town.

On 2008.007M42 the final Tau pockets of resistance were mopped up and the Imperial forces began widening their corridor to the capital of Gwendel. Realising the time to withdraw had come the Tau pulled back rather than pointlessly holding on to strategically non-vital ground.

Cerberex - Feducia falls, Chaos advance on Gulan

The Hartak 9th legion prepared for their assault on Feducia with an intenseartillery bombardment followed by Air Strikes by the Tallaxian Navy AirForce (TNAF). The city itself was reduced to rubble and many of the inhabitants fled rather than face the constant air raids and destruction of their homes. Weeks after the attacks on the capital began, and having consolidated their bridgehead over the river Otter, the 9th legion began to move cautiously into the ruins. At first they met little resistance and many began to believe the Imperium had abandonned the capital to take up more defensible positions on the farside of the Sea of Aeron. They were wrong. Once the squats had penetrated deep into the urban morass of twisted rubble the Imperium attacked.

The Blood Martyrs had taken up defensive positions in the ruins, correctly predicting the most likely path of advance of the squat army. Though tough and hard to beat the squats were nothing if not predictable. An intense firefight broke out aroud the Basilica Ordenatus, an ancient structure dedicated to the veneration of the Emperor and His worship. From their positions in the carved ruins Blood Martyrs terminators poured fire onto the invading squats. The Hartak 9th legion, to their credit, did not waver in the face of the new enemy and immediately began inflicting losses on the Adeptus Astartes.

Marine vehicles were soon turned into burning wrecks as the Squats accelerated their charge into Feducia. The Blood Martyrs lost a Vindicator and Whirlwind early on and were soon facing a horde of squats disembarking from their transports, covered as ever by Land Raider lascannon and heavybolter fire.The Squats knew that their precious heavy tanks would be vulnerable in the city and kept them at arms length, preferring to rid the city of its defenders by engaging in vicious hand-to-hand combat.

It was here that the Squats lost a number of key assets, including the commander of the 9th Legion who fled the battle after his squad was all but wiped out by a counter charge by the Blood Martyrs' Chaplain and assault squad. In the end however the firepower of the UFP told and the Blood Martyrs'company commander realised that fighting on would be a waste of lives. He withdrew his remaining forces from the city, setting the settlement ablazeas the Space marines fell back across the Sea of Aeron.

By the evening of1508.008M42 the city was in UFP hands. Few noticed the cowelled figures robed ion black as they removed the representation of the world from the hands of the statue in Feducia main square...

As Model's Army Group Centre retreated across the Frank river following their loss of the Cerberex Capital, Army Group East under General Kluge faced a renewed assault from the Chaos forces towards Gulan. Moonface had become alarmed at the seemingly unstoppable advance of the UFP and became ever more frustrated at his Generals' lack of success.

Urging them ever onward the next attack came through the strategically important crossroads town of Vandergrim, a small but significant settlement some five hundred miles south of Gulan. The Chaos generals intended to wipe out Imperial resistance and sweep round to the east of the Imperial city.The Chaos marines fell upon the town with their usual speed and brutality. However the Librian 8th had implemented the changes requested by Kluge and now included far more tank killing heavy weapons.

These proved their worth almost immediately as the lead Land Raider exploded in a fireball of metal, dust and smoke. More fire poured from the defenders who had occupied the ruins of Vandergrim which had been pounded to rubble by the Chaos artillery and airforce. Marines fell to massed firepower unleashed from Hellhounds, Basilisk artillery, Demolisher tanks and armoured fist squads, but it wasn't enough. The Chaos troopers weathered the storm and closed with their enemy, cutting down Imperial Guardsman in brutal close combat attacks.

Finally Chaos bikers breached the defenders' flanks and Kulge ordered a general withdrawal from the town. The forces of Moonface had paid heavily for their gains, and the overall strategic objective to outflank Gulan had not been acheived. Even so the traitor army had closed to within one hundred miles of the planet's second city and the populous prepared for its desperate defence.

Melberg: Tau halt Imperial advance

Commander Shadowstrike, appointed to "advise" Sunstrike after his less than successful prosecution of the Melberg campaign quickly intervened in the north in order to stabilise the front which had been collapsing under repeated assaults from Taves' Northern army group. Shadowstrike wasted no time in getting his troops to the front and immediately organised an attack with his counterpart, Quicksword.

Taves was expecting the counter-attack and his troops put up a fierce defence of their hard won gains. Casualties quickly mounted and several battalions of tanks were wiped out. The Tau suffered too and bothcommanders thought about abandoning the assault.

The fighting eventually pivoted on the town of Blackwater, a small industrial centre south of Namivus. Here bloody fighting erupted with the Tau committing in strength. The firefight degenerated into a confused meleeand for the first time in the war significant hand-to-hand combat actions were fought. The result was carnage. By the end of 1708.007M42 the Imperial Guard forces were spent and Taves was obliged to withdraw.

The orderly retreat of the 14th AVR left the way open for Shadowstrike to relieve the beleagured and besieged Tau forces in Namivus. For now the Imperial Guard advance had been checked, but at such a high priceLongstride and Sunstrike wondered how long the Tau Empire would accept such high casualties.

Tau Forces investigate Triton

In 08.007M42, following several raids on Lucardium and an attempted invasion of Paratea, the Tau high command, with Sunstrike's blessing, sent a small force into the Persues Deeps, tasked with investigating the Tyranid threat. The force consisted of one contingent under Shas'O Fastblade, transported into the Deeps aboard the newly refitted Kais Ka, a warship of the Protector class. Their first task was to investigate the mysterious loss of contact with the outpost on Raconis in the Denara system, a small and insignificant planet far from Imperial control. It was added as a possession of the Tau Empire as a listening post, serving as an early warning station for Parataea, Lucardium and Cernunnos. The station had not responded to communication for over a week when Shas'O Fastblade arrived in system.

The following report by the commander of the task force was intercepted by a UFP listening post on 1408.007M42

The Kais’Ka entered orbit at time index 4455.092. I immediately attempted to regain contact with the Raconis base but was unsuccessful. Long range scans registered gaseous anomalies in the planet’s atmosphere with elevated levels of methane suggesting a Tyranid infestation. However the planet’s surface still remained lsh and green. Needing to know more I launched one Manta Borne Hunter Cadre.

The Base on Raconis was found to be completely destroyed. No trace of the operators was found. At 4455.099 Shas’El O’Rymnir reported strange readings from the countryside around the base and we prepared for an attack. Soon we were beset by Tyranid warriors and their smaller gaunt organisms. Fortunately I had studied the lessons of Lucardium and Paratea and was able to use our superior firepower to good effect.

Railgun submunitions are particularly effective at eliminating the smaller Tyranid creatures, while the Railgun main shot is ideal at taking down their larger beasts.
My Fire Warriors fought well, filled with the knowledge of the value of their work. Casualties were very light, though most of Shas’ui O’nanka’s Devilfish squad had to sacrifice itself in order to prevent a breakthrough by genestealers we were unable to destroy. O’nanka is extremely pleased and satisfied at the manner of his squad’s death.

Once again a winged hive tyrant was noted, leading the smaller creatures, but this proved no match for the plasma rifles and missiles launched by our crisis suits. Only the Zoanthropes caused us much difficulty and we almost lost one of our Hammerheads.

Once the Tyranids had been wiped out we found their genetic code compatible with that of the “Triton” hive fleet described by the Imperium and implicated in the raids on Lucardium and Parataea. However there are some deviances, which leads me to believe this may be an offshoot swarm. I now intend to move deeper into the Perseus cloud to gain further insight into the Tyranid menace, for the greater good.

Melberg: Quicksword defeated by Taves

Colonel Taves, now in command of Army Group West, fighting along side the Narmala and Terris Kingdom Alliance, continued his push towards the Sea of Marma, finally reaching it on 1108.007M42. He quickly became known for his agressive tactica, particularly in the way his AVR regiments utilised their stormtrooper squads. Often these Chimeras were seen charging across the battlefield to engage the Tau Crisis Suits and vehicles before they could withdraw.

Unsurprisingly losses among the mechanised infantry were high in 008M42, but morale remained high as the armies of the Imperium pushed the Tau back towards the ocean. Quicksword, commanding the Tau, reposnded with a series of counter attacks and an increased use of Hammerhead tanks. However the unerring accuracy of the AVR Basilik artillery and Leman Russ battle tanks inflicted monstrous losses on the aliens, particularly to their armoured fighting capability. The wrecks of Hammerheads and Devilfish littered the ground on the Eastern Plains, picking out the route of Taves' advance.

Facing such losses Quicksword withdrew south, giving ground rather than face annihilation, though this meant that by the middle of 008M42 Narmala had become beseiged. Conversations began in the Tau high command over the worth of the city and the merits of a breakout or evacuation. Longstride's invasion of Melberg was now seriously falling apart, and questions of strategy began to surface all the way back on Tau itself.

Children Of Steel close the South River Gap

The Chaos forces on Cerberex did not waste any time following their victory at Rideau. Under a week later the forces known as the Children Of Steel massed against the defenders near the Great South River. Not wishing to give the ground without a fight Field Marshall Model deployed AVR units in the traitor Guards’ path in order to slow their advance. The plan did not succeed.

The Children Of Steel, now experienced and less naïve did not immediately attack as they had done at Gulan, throwing away the lives of their soldiers. This time the Infantry halted while their plentiful self-propelled artillery pounded the mechanised infantry regiments of the AVR, holding their rough riders back for a ferocious counter assault should the armoured units attack.

Pounded by Bailisk fire and harassed by deep striking special weapons squads the AVR and PDF units were forced to retreat before they could get stuck into the main line of Chaos infantry. After a week of murderous fighting the Children Of Steel had reached the UFP trenches and sealed the South River Gap. However their advance had been cautious and slow, allowing the faster mechanised Imperial Army to withdraw in good order. Depsite suffering more horrendous casualties at least Model could be relieved that no units had found themselves trapped in the pocket.

Cerberex - Imperium in retreat

Imperium in full retreat
At the start of 008M42 the Imperium was in full retreat on all fronts. In the west the UFP were breaking out and heading for Vennetta and the glaciers of the southern pole, while in the north the hard won gains across the river Otter were being eroded by a rejuvenated Hartak 9th Legion which benefited from the UFP's air supremecy.

Things were little better for Army Group Centre on the eastern front where intelligence noted an increase in activity near Rideau. An attack here linking the two Chaos zones of control would put the Army Group under severe pressure. The mood at Imperial HQ was grim.

Lester retaken by Hartak 9th Legion
The first major setback came as the Cerberex PDF and AVR units stationed in and around the hard won city of Lester were steadily pushed back by the forces of the UFP. At the same time a flanking attack across the river Otter and towards Feducia prevented the Imperium from reinforcing the town with fresh troops. XI corps, consisting all of Von Rundstedt's mobile reserve - three divisions including the Librian 4th mechanised - was transferred to the east to face the increasing threat of a Chaos breakthrough towards Rideau.

Meanwhile the fighting around Lester was bitter and intense, and the Imperial defenders managed to inflict significant material losses on the Hartak 9th Legion, but they would not be stopped. On 2808.007M42 the town's garrison surrendered. 40,000 prisoners were taken as well as tanks and artillery pieces. Further east the armoured units of the Hartak divisions had broken through the Cerberex PDF and were heading for the capital. Their explotation left them less than 300 miles from Feducia by 0208.007M42 and forced the Imperial High Command to move their HQ to the relative safety of Grasx. Meanwhile the Blood Martyrs' 5th company deployed around the city, ready to make its first impression on the war on Ceberex in the defence of the capital.

Iron Warriors take Rideau
Worse was to follow for the Imperium as the Iron Warriors loyal to Moonface struck out against Rideau in an obvious encricling move to join up with "The Cowboy" and his forces in Calormain. The attack was preceded by a massive artillery bombardment from the Iron Warriors' artillery battalions and followed up with a lightning armoured dash across the open plains of central Cerberex.

XI corps, recently deployed, was thrown into the defence of Rideau, counter-attacking furiously around the city. Taken somewhat by surprise by the ferocity of the counter-assault the Chaos attack was momentarily caught off balance and stalled, with both sides taking heavy casualties. Soon the area around the town was littered with the wreckage of tanks and armoured personell carriers.

By the end of 0108.007M42 it became apparent to General Von Rundstedt that the majority of the losses had been inflicted on XI corps by the Iron Warriors and the counter attack had failed. The aggressive tactics used had spent his mobile reserve and very soon reports came in that Rideau had fallen and the Iron Warriors were breaking out towards the north. It was only a matter of time before the defenders on the East bank of the Caeralon Sea became encircled.

Von Rundstedt's part in the Cerberex campaign was over. He was given a choice by the Commissariat, face a court martial or "resign" with honour. A single laspistol shot resounding around Imperial HQ indicated his decision to take the latter. Field Marshall Model, a veteran campaigner, took over the command of Army Group Centre and imediatley pulled back into a defensive formation, digging in where possible and abandonning the salient towards the Great South River. Now all hope rested on Model being able to halt the advances of the UFP and Chaos forces that seemed to have independently decided to finish off the Imperium first before turning on each other.

Melberg: Siege of Gwendelia lifted!

+++Breaking news+++

+++Colonel Jeffries links up with Whettis Army+++

+++Tau invasion split in two+++

+++Tickertape parade in Gwendelia+++

Wider Sector Events

Ork Raids in the Perseus Deeps
The Tau Empire was not only fighting on Melberg during 07.007M42. In the middle of the month the Orks attacked the Tau colony of Paratea, the smallest of the Tau possessions in the Perseus deeps. Landing in the hills around the Tau base the Orks led a ferocious assault the next Tau, looting and pillaging wherever they could.
The Tau commander on Paratea, replacing Whitefire, was not stupid however. He allowed the Orks to land and to attack the compound before launching his own counter-attack. Using the mobility of his Hammerheads and Devilfish the Tau commander wuickly had the Orks in a favourable position.

Railgun fire blasted apart their heavy armour (looted Imperial vehicles) and made a mess of their attack bikes. The Orks on foot faired little better as the tau weaponry blasted them apart, concentrating on keeping the Orks at arms length.

Where the Orks did reach the Tau the effect was devastating and the Ork warboss personally destroyed a Devilfish and its ten occupants in short shrift. The warboss however could see his raid had gone horribly wrong and withdrew from Paratea back to his fleet in orbit. Once again the Tau colony had defended itself successfully.

Hive fleet Triton reaches Libria
On 2307.007M42 the reports of Tyranid activity within the Librian system were confirmed as the alien creatures launched a ferocious assault on a small settlement in the equatorial region of Libria V. For months the Imperium had expected hive fleet Triton to make its next move and a number of analysts pointed to Libria as the next likely destination for the hungry alien beasts.

Libria, with its five populated planets and high population was ideal for the Tyranids to consume and grow. Without much in the way of a space fleet to protect themselves it was inevitable that the Tyranids would be able to land reasonable numbers of their warrior creatures on the outer planets without the defenders being able to stop them. The outermost worlds, Libria V and Libria IV were put on high alert in 05.007M42.

The first attack came swiftly with a concerted attack on the town of Kelaumar, with a population of 4,000. The inhabitants managed to get a message to the Librian PDF before being cut off, and the army arrived to find the town ravaged and its citizens devoured.

Then the hive attacked Libria’s armed forces, engaging in battle and taking many lives before finally being forced to flee. The Librians killed hundreds of the creatures but had severe difficulty harming the largest, winged, beasts. One of these foul creatures managed to escape and fled into the deeply forested polar regions of the planet.

As the Librians counted the cost of the Tyranid raid, more reports of Tyranid activity in the southern forests came in. Libria V was now infested…

Tallaxians breakthrough in the west

Imperial Commanders decided to attack the UFP flank across the Albert river where fighting had thus far been going heavily in the favour of the UFP. They planned to take advantage of the fact that the Hartak 2nd Legion had been withdrawn from the western front to counter the Imperial push in the north. This left the Imperial army, led by the 57th Librian, facing the supposedly inferior forces of the Tallaxian 9th and 16th regiment, making up the Tallaxian armoured corps.

On paper the armies looked very similar across the waterway, with the Librians and the Tallaxians both possessing mechanised infantry units supported by Leman Russ and Basilisks. Where the Librians had Demolisher siege tanks the UFP had Vanquishers, but apart from that the armies were comparable.

The decision to attack was based largely on Imperial intelligence suggesting the Tallaxians would break if attacked and would be unwilling to take casualties. Rather they would withdraw, allowing the Librians and Cerberex PDF to retake the vital towns of Gatineau and Albert.

General Von Paulus gave the order to attack on 1807.007M42 and very quickly found out the Imperial intelligence could not be more wrong. Instead of falling back when attacked by the Librian armoured columns the Tallaxian Mechanised regiments charged forward, meeting the Imperial armour in a toe to toe fight. Soon a swirling tank battle erupted all along the Albert river, a battle in which the Tallaxian gunners and Vanquisher tanks proved to be far more effective than the loyalist Imperial vehicles.

Within a day much of the Librian armour was burning, and despite some limited success with their artillery the Imperial advance had stalled catastrophically. On the nest day the Tallaxian armoured and mechanised units burt through the gap created by the destroyed 8th and 9th companies’ demise and launched a swift counter offensive. Backed up by their air force and supported on the flanks by fast Hartak Mining Robot tank-hunter units, Army Group South once more found itself in deep trouble and retreated away from the Albert river to a safe distance.

By the end of 2507.007M42 the UFP had broken the latest southern defence line and were a mere 1500 miles from Venetta. There the attack stopped and Army Group South had time to pause and reflect on its latest defeat.

Much was made of the Librian’s lack of anti-tank weaponry and its reliance on artillery to take out enemy tanks. While fine against their usual foes, agains the highly mechanised UFP something had to change and one thousand Sentinel Tank Hunters, each sporting a lascannon, were ordered. In addition the Librian infantry quickly replaced their missile launcher support squads with more tank hunting las weaponry.

UFP Defeated at river otter

Army Group Centre Smashes UFP advance on Feducia

It took the UFP until 1407.007M42 to consolidate thier hold on the south of Cerberex and begin their attack north, striking for the capital, Feducia. UFP high command had sweeping plans to cross the river Otter on a narrow front, bust through the Imperial defences and encircle the city. So far they had been unstoppable, and no-one in the Hartak 9th Legion, responsible for the initial assault, thought this offensive would be any different.

The UFP had been winning battles for years by this time, and alongside the natural confidence of a victorious army there was arrogance and even over confidenec. Even so, Admiral Haskell new the problems with the UFP army, particularly with regard to the small size of the Hartak legions. These elite formations were extremely tough and had won the Hartak war of rebellion, the Aleph war of liberation, the Ravitane incident and the Myrentas II campaign, but on occasions had been caught of guard and taken heavy casualties. Haskell knew these divisions were vulnerable and could not cope with a war of attrition, but the squat military leaders ignored his concerns and pushed on regardless. So far they had been proved right. Casualties were low and in the six weeks since landing on Cerberex nearly a third of the planet had fallen to the squats, with Tallaxian and Sartosan support.

General Von Rundstedt, commander of Army Group Centre, had been tasked to hold the central and most important sector of Cerberex. An area which encompased the vast central plain of the planet and the capital itself, Feducia. Von Rundstedt was also responsible for the defence of the mighty river Otter, a river which started in the south from many glacial streams, to a channel over a mile wide snaking its way through the lowlands of the planet. It acted as a defensive barrier with the UFP on the southern bank and the Imperium on the north. To attack Feducia directly, the UFP would have to come across the river in force.

Von Rundstedt knew that the river was not a total defence. In the north where the river emptied into the Caeralon sea, the channel widened from just over a mile to more than thirty miles. At the same time its depth decreased and the wide, deep river became a mass of swampland and narrow streams carrying the water into the sea. This area, although difficult to traverse, meant that the natural barrier was fordable for the last twenty miles of its length.

It was here than Von Rundstedt husbanded his forces in secret, under covers and in the marshes, while he made a big show of defensive force along the deeper river and in the south of his sector. The General had nearly one million troops guarding the sector and more than half of these were positioned to face the UFP threat. On paper the Imperial general had a 2:1 numerical superiority, but knew that this counted for nothing against the suat forces.

The UFP's advance began, as Von Rundstedt had hoped, with a blitzkrieg across the marshland on the extreme west of the front line. Very soon the squats had forced the Cerberex PDF defenders in the marshes themselves to flee, and the UFP advance was charging forward with its usual momentum. Then, as the Hartak 9th legion cleared the marshed Von Rundstedt ordered his commander on the spot, Colonel St. Aves, to counter attack with the newly refitted 3rd Aleph Veterans. St, Aves immediately prepared to ambush the confident squat army as it entered a hilly area to the north of the river.

The first the squats knew of the concealed counter attacking units was the sudden explosion of their lead Land Raider as the Basilisk artillery opened fire. Soon a rhino was burning too as AVR tanks rolled over the hilly grond and began attacking the UFP spearhead. The action soon intesnsified with squat bikers charging forward, attempting to commit the Imperial defenders to a close assault where the squat troops excelled. Although they were partially successful the Colonel continued with his plan, keeping his distance and pouring heavy fire into the squats from his mechanised companies. The squats soon found themselves pinned down and unable to move.

Some squats tried to break the deadlock, getting out of their transports and marching on the enemy. Mining robots appeared near the Imperial front line but were soon made into scrap metal. Though some squats made it to the Imperial lines, Colon St. Aves made sure the losses were one squat for every guardsmen. Alarm bells went off in UFP high command as the Hartak 9th legion's advance faltered, then collapsed. Within days the whole 9th legion was retreating, covered by the Tallaxian air corps who harried the pursuing Imperial Guard. Colonel St. Aves would not let the squats get away this time thoug and requested reinforcements from Von Rundstedt. The General agreed and soon three more regiments were pouring into the hole left by the retreating 9th legion. By the 20th the Imperial Guard had crossed the Otter and established a beachhead. Still the 9th legio were unable to halt and consolidate thier position as Colonel St. Aves ruthlessly pursued his foe.

By the end of the 25th Lester, taken a few weeks earluer by the UFP breakout, fell without a shot to the 3rd AVR. Only then, having exceeded their supply lines' ability to keep up, did the Imperial advance come to a halt. It was the biggest advance of the war so far and the first reversal in UFP fortunes for three years.
Much was made of the victory by the Imperium who broadcast the advance to an exultant crowd. Medals were awarded and promotions given, while captured squat "mutants" were paraded before a baying mob before being executed. The UFP meanwhile underplayed the reversal, describing it as a "temporary setback". The commanders on the ground now awaited each others' next move.

Melberg Strategic Situation

+++Breaking News+++

+++Tau assault on Gwendelia stalls+++

+++Vicious and bloody streetfighting continues+++

+++Casualties very high on both sides+++

Cerberex 1207.007M42

Chaos forces strike for Rideau

Meanwhile the Chaos forces were about to strike north and west over the Great South River towards the strategically vital city of Rideau on the eastern side of the Great Villian Plains. At the same time Moonface was putting the finishing touches to his abomination in the city of Calormain. The populace of the city would now become the unwilling sacrifices to the hungry machine known to the Imperium as “The Device”. A similar one had been destroyed on Myrentas II but with a sudden shock which awoke all psykers in the system from their sleep the newly built machine came online, connecting the City, albeit intermittently, with the Chaos fortress world of Kendrenec. In one stroke the UFP blockade was rendered useless.

The strike north began on 1007.007M42. In the month since the landings the defenders had heavily fortified the marshy ground north of the Great South River and augmented the natural defence of the waterway with bunkers, pillboxes, trenches and obstacles on the far side. Mordock the Invincible, former leader of a Dread Legion grand company, was given overall responsibility for breaking the Imperial line and driving north to Rideau.

It would not be an easy task. Mordock had one remnant company of crack space marines under his command and three divisions worth of indentured slave trrops, armed with lasguns. Armour was hard to come by and the traitor leader had no obvious way of crossing the river, which was two miles wide in places.

Eventually Mordock settled on an amphibious assault using captured boats. They would offer little protection for the slave troops, not that he cared, but it would provide the defenders with something to shoot at while his crack company opened a gap for others to follow.

The plan was simple. The Chaos Marines would blitz through the Imperial line which was situated behind marshy ground north of the river while his supporting legions of traitor guard made diversionary and suicidal attacks on either flank. Then once opened the hole in the Imperial line would be widened and his traitor divisions race through. Mordock kept an armoured regiment in reserve to exploit the breakthrough. Now he just needed to break the Imperial line.

Army Group Centre, led by the able General Von Rundstedt, defended the Great South River and the approaches to Rideau. On the front line Demolisher siege tanks and Leman Russ battle tanks were concealed along with a number of heavy weapons platoons, waiting for the attack. In the month since the landings Von Rundstedt had seeded the defences with razorwire and tank traps, hoping to prevent any breakthrough. That line was about to be tested.

The Chaos attack began with a preliminary bombardment which cleared some of the razorwire and tank traps but otherwise left the defenders unmolested. Following the artillery strike the traitor guard units began crossing the river, with predictable results. The Librian 4th Regiment and the Cerberex 1st Guards regiment manning the defences were heartened as the boats were quickly sunk by a rain of Basilisk shells and heavy weaposn fire. Less than 50% of the attackers made it to the opposite side, where they were immediately pinned down in the marshes. This however was a cynical diversion…

Mordock’s assault came next at the shallowest point in the river where armoured vehicles could just about cross. Plague marines had infiltrated behind the lines overnight and now began to harass the defenders. Meanwhile Mordock led the assault personally and the battle for the Imperial line reached a climax at the centre of the Chaos assault. Traitor Marines riding in a land raider rushed forward out of the marshes, supported by two predators, attack bikes and a squad of havocs.

Against this foe the Imperial defenders had real trouble, despite heroic attempts to hold the line. As a nearby Demolisher exploded in a hail of shrapnel, followed by a neighbouring Leman Russ, Colonel Akarev realised he needed reinforcing and signalled high command. HQ immediately directed more resources to Akarev’s sector where the fighting was intensifying.
Chaos Marin bikers were rushing around destroying the tank traps and obstacles while their tank support rolled up behind them. The land raider rushed forward, releasing its deadly cargo and cutting down the Librian stormtroopers who had found their Chimera immobilised by a lucky shot. The Chimera had the last laugh however, eventually cutting down the supporting Havoc squad whi had stayed in the marshes.
Meanwile Akarev’s left flank was taking a heavy pounding from a Predator, the Land Raider and its squad of Chaos Marines. Somehow, in a blizzard of incoming fire, his Missile Launcher squad held firm, firing back and disabling the Predator. Akarev knew reinforcements were coming, but needed to buy them time.

Sensing it was time to make a difference the Colonel charged into the fray, cutting down three marines single handed before being dispatched by a mighty Power Fist. He was later honoured for his bravery.

Unfortunately Akarev’s sacrifice was not enough to halt the Chaos assault. The Land Raider survived a charge from another squad of stormtroopers who were then cut down in turn. Basilisk shells ricocheted of the traitor tank’s armour, while on the left flank the Imperial defence collapsed utterly. Soon more wrecked Librian vehicles indicated that the line had been breached and Mordock called triumphantly for his armoured regiment to exploit the gap. It was his last command as at that moment a Chimera drove over the ridge he was sheltering behind and laid down a fusillade of multilaser and heavy bolter shots. Previously wounded from the Demolisher detonation Mordock the Invincible was killed, but he had opened the gap for his followers to exploit.

The breach was steadily widened over the next day as the Imperial line found itself outflanked. Wearily von Rundstedt ordered a retreat to the next line of defence outside Rideau itself and soon the entire Army Group was in retreat as the Chaos forces secured and widened their bridgehead across the river. By the end of the week the line was deserted and the Chaos legions were struggling to keep up with the Imperial defenders. Three hundred miles south of the city Von Rundstedt turned to fight and the battle for the city began.

At the Tau high command...

“The Blood Martyrs?”

Commander Longstride’s voice was steady, but his wide eyes betrayed his anxiety.

“Yes, Shas’O, we intercepted their landing ships not five decs following the Imperial assault.” Kor’vre Shi’fa shifted uneasily as he continued. “We managed to down one of the transports, but at great cost to our airforce; many fine pilots were killed in action.”

There was a murmur of consternation from the general staff gathered in the Command Centre. The airforce was invaluable to winning the war on Melberg, yet they continued to suffer losses that were not easily replaced.

“The Blood Martyrs…” repeated Longstride, staring down blankly at the conference table. His voice was wistful, quiet. To the aides and commanders it almost seemed as if he was unconcerned at the losses of the Air Caste. In his mind, though, the memories of previous encounters with these Gue’la weighed heavily.

“They cannot hope to prevail,” declared Commander Quicksword, brimming with the confidence that only a junior commander could possess. None round the table had ever experienced the full fury of the Gue’la finest. Except Longstride. He knew all too well.

“Our forces will overwhelm them before they can secure a foothold,” continued Quicksword. “We have amassed more than enough of the Fire Caste to sweep them aside...”

“No.” Longstride’s interruption caused an awed hush. Quicksword looked to his commander, clearly frustrated, but gave a nod in deference to the will of his superior officer.

“These are unlike the Gue’la you have already faced. They fight with a resolve and fervour unlike that of any other foe.” The Commander’s words resonated across the room. An air of disquiet had taken hold of the High Command. They could see that their commander was deeply troubled. None seemed sure what to suggest.

Commander Whitefire broke the silence. “What is your decision, Shas’O? How shall we proceed?”

“We shall continue as planned.” Longstride rose to his feet, leaning over the table to activate the projector. The strategic holo-map of Melberg expanded into view until it covered the table. “Now that the Gue’la armoured forces have been halted, we shall complete the siege of this city,” he pointed to the heavily urbanised area to the south-west, “and secure our supply lines. We must not be distracted from our purpose, not even by these new arrivals.”

The High Command looked at one another and murmured with approval.

“Commander Sunshield, mobilise your urban task-cadres. I want the city taken as swiftly as possible.”

Gwendelia would pay the price for its resistance to the Greater Good.

As the general staff busied amongst themselves around the map and tactical read-outs, Longstride re-seated himself and gazed to the window, to the rolling countryside outside. To look at, it seemed so peaceful. “The Blood Martyrs…” he whispered to himself, breaking a wry smile. The battle for Melberg would prove more difficult than anyone had first thought.

Cerberex 0707.007M42

Gulan Siege Lifted

Following Bladderack's ill-fated assault on the Imperial city of Gulan and his legion's subsequent redeployment, it fell to the Children of Steel, an enormous formation of Chaos infantry supported by artillery, to take the city. In manpower the Chaos cultists outnumbered the defenders by nearly 4:1, though the Imperial forces had more tanks and transports. On 0107.007 M42 the odds were stacked against the defenders.

Artillery 2:1
Tanks 1:5
Troops 3.6:1

Even so General Graham was confident that his force of 50,000 men,comprising of Cerberex PDF units and the Librian 4th mechanised Regiment,could hould out aganst the 200,000 strong legion facing them. Led by a renegade Tech Priest the commander of Gulan's defences new they would be facing all kinds of arcane technology even if the attackers had few armoured vehicles.

The Children of Steel began their attack on 0207.007M42 and the battle raged intensely for a week. Both sides suffered losses and the city was reduced to a wasteland by massed artillery fire. The Librians lost hundreds of tanks and had many more put out of action. Meanwhile the Children of Steel attacked with wanton abandon, teleporting dedicated attack squads deep into the defender's territory.

This tactic was to cost them. Despite wreaking havoc on the defenders,particularly gun emplacements and concealed tanks, the teleporting squads were cut down without the support of their infantry. The Legion's Rough Rider cavalry shared a similar fate, decimated by a hail of multi-laser and heavy bolter fire.

Luck also played a pivotal role as the Chaos forces found it harder and harder to destroy the Armoured Vehicles of the Imperial defenders.

On the fourth day of the assault, with the Chaos forces floundering in the outskirts, Graham launched his counter-attack, throwing the Librian reserves into the fray and causing havoc. Territory was quickly retaken andthe Children of Steel were forces to retreat from the city or face encirclement.

By the end of 0707.007M42 the Librians, supported by the Cerberex Imperial Guard, had extended the front lines nearly three hundred miles from the city as the Chaos defenders fled across the plains to more defensivepositions. The Imperium had finally scored a success on Cerberex.