Danelloth: Dark Angels breakout

With the landing fields safe and the Ork push halted Captain Angelus seized the initiative and ordered Operation Cerberus, with the aim of blitzing a hole through the Ork defences. Landing at the primary air fields in their thunderhawk gunships the sight of immaculate, green armoured warriors marching with rigid martial perfection down the boarding ramps inspired awe and resentment amongst the watching Imperial Guardsmen in equal measure. When it became apparent that just 30 marines would take part in the mechanised assault the theatre commander reportedly exploded, throwing a comms device at one of his aids in a fit of fury. Nevertheless, a company of mechanised infantry were ordered ready to exploit any break through.

With perfect timing the Strike Cruiser Dark Dominion opened fire from low orbit, annihilating areas of the Orks extensive defence network and blasting greenskins out of their fox holes. Before they could recover elements of the Dark Angels 1st Company, the infamous Deathwing, teleported into the midst of the Ork lines with one aim in mind: the assassination of the Ork Warboss! In a blizzard of high explosive bolter rounds and fierce close quarter fighting they cut down the warbosses body guard and near fatally wounded the Warboss before the last heroic terminator was incapacitated.But the distraction had worked- with minimal casualties the primary mechanised assault had smashed through the defence lines, killing all the defenders with accurate bolter fire and rains of promethium warheads. The crippled warboss hardly had time to raise his weapons before he was cut down by the assault marines dropping into his position.

But the canny Nazghull had not been idle. The arrival of extensive Ork reinforcements equipped with heavy weaponry blunted the Dark Angels attack.With little long ranged support with which to reply and much open ground tocover the assault began to take significant casualties. Recognising that no further gains could be made, Captain Angelus ordered his force to consolidate their position within the mining settlement and await relief by the Librian mechanised units. The first defensive line had been broken but the assault was only a limited success. A further attack would be needed to break the Orks!