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.