Mordecai Tersius: Operation Sabre

By the end of 06.019M42 General Kutuzov had received a fresh set of supplies and reinforcements following the success of Operation Scorpion at Tarlius. These included Knight forces from House Eagleclaw, which were immediately thrown into battle against the chaos forces to the north of the Vaylin Mountains. Their offensive was part of operation Sabre, Kutuzov’s push to cut chaos forces in the plains of east Tersius from their supply base at Slaydon. 

Coordinating with the Grey Knights Kutuzov planned a double thrust. While the astartes wrecked the supply base and settlement of Mount Harender, House Eagleclaw would push quickly east, cutting off Cybbix’s forces from Slaydon, while the Novgorod Guard, assisted by Knights, would destroy the encircled chaos army. 

The operation began to get into trouble as soon as it started. At Mt. Harender the Grey Knights found the city defended by the elite forces of Cybixx, who first pinned down then wiped out a squad of Paladins, severely blunting the Grey Knights assault. Meanwhile in the south, House Eagleclaw had run into an army of daemon engines led by one of Stahl’s lieutenants, and found themselves assaulted by air and over land. 

The Grey Knights, now accustomed to fighting against the odds, persevered in their attack, eventually using the firepower from their Thunderhawk transported Land Raiders to whittle down the enemy force holding the city. Both sides took enormous casualties but by the evening of 2906.019M42 the chaos resistance had been broken. This left the astartes with just enough time to lay waste to the settlement, massacre it’s traitor inhabitants and utterly destroy Mt. Harender as a supply base. 

The southern component of the offensive was however a disaster. The imperial knights were torn apart by rampaging Mauler fiends, and once the war engines were knocked out the front line broke. The Iron warriors were quick to exploit the collapse of Kutuzov’s southern front, and pushed west, harrying the retreating imperial forces. By 0106.019M42 much of the Scorched Lands were in the hands of the traitors. 

Despite the defeat in the south, general Kutuzov decided to press on with his attack in the north, but redirecting its objectives. The forthcoming battle, named “operation supercharge” would no longer be aimed at trapping Cybixx’s army, but would have to be a frontal offensive aiming at capturing the territory around the now ruined Mt. Harender.