On 3005.008M42 Nazghat threw his main force against the defenders of the Danelloth spaceport. Some four and a half thousand Librian troopers faced over one hundred thousand Orks who attacked recklessly and violently.Nazghat was there in person, leading the charge.
The spaceport suffered horrendous damage with 70% of the port infrastructure destroyed in the heavy fighting. The battle was bloody, but the Librians gave ground where they could, and fought to the last man where they could not. Despite wave after wave of massed infantry attacks the Orks quickly lost much of their anti-tank equipment meaning the highly mechanised Librian forces retained enough Leman Russ battle tanks and Hellhound flame-tanks to keep the Orks from breaking through.
By nightfall the Orks’ attacks were becoming sporadic and it was clear that Nazghat's attack to take the space port had failed. Estimates put the casualties at some 15-20,000 Orks, and bodies and broken equipment littered the ruined streets of the port.
The Imperial losses were lower, but also heavy. Some 4,500 Librians had been killed or wounded in the 12th Infantry, effectively halving the regiment in one battle. They had also lost 60% of their tanks and artillery pieces but had held on. Over 80% of the Ork vehicles had been wrecked.
After the battle the Librians under Brigadier Sir Alastair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart were relieved to get some valuable rest, as their positions were taken up by the Librian 14th regiment, which had been held largely in reserve. Meanwhile the authorities on Denelloth pleaded for more troops. Despite clinging on to their landing zone, the Orks still held much of the planet.
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