Zadoc: Montene assaulted by Blood Angels

Soon after the defeat to commander Fastblade, the chaos forces suffered another setback on Zadoc. In the north west, the islands of Carriode and Hannuse had now been in traitor hands for nearly three months, and following a lull in the fighting on the world, the Imperium had been given enough breathing space to regroup and contemplate offensives once more.

The Blood Angels had faired less badly than other forces in the war on Zadoc, and were the first units able to respond against chaos. Seeking to hit back against the traitors where their small numbers would not hinder them, the astartes force targeted the city of Montene, the most important settlement in the north west, which had fallen to chaos on 0106.014M42.

Since the city had fallen the Arch Cleric had removed the majority of his forces from Hannuse to face the increasing threat of the alliance, and Montene was now defended by cultist forces and a small contingent of Emperor's Children. It was the traitor marines the Blood Angels targetted, rightly reasoning that a crushing blow against the genetically engineered supermen would precipitate a crushing collapse in enemy morale.

The Angels of Death lived up to their name as they performed a terror raid on Montene. During the engagement some traitor units gave a good account of themselves, but it became apparent that the Emperor's Children themselves did not believe that Montene was defensible. Across the city units of chaos astartes withdrew rather than face the Blood Angels' wrath, and in under two days the city had been reclaimed for the emperor, with the cultists fleeing into the hills of Hannuse and the Emperor's Children retreating off the island to the chaos hinterlands further east. Now the Imperium sent in the imperial guard, who would spend the next two weeks hunting down the cultists in the wilderness to the north of the city.