Mordecai Secundus: Astartes secure flanks

While the Lycannon Guard and the knights pushed west, the job of the astartes was to pin the main line defenders near to the beachhead so they were unable to respond to the main assault. To further sow confusion in the chaos lines, the space marines took on this task. This suggested that the outflanking manoeuvre by the guard was merely a diversion, as the chaos defenders would be expecting the space marines to lead the main assault.

The Hammers of the Emperor launched such an aggressive attack against the chaos defenders that they were totally fooled. In addition, the attack itself gained significant ground against their enemy, but the space marines were careful to maximise the destruction of enemy forces over the taking of territory. The Death Guard defenders were severely battered, but the Hammers also made sure that the chaos forces had no opportunity to regroup, while making sure they did not leave the range of their air and artillery cover. Overall the marines executed their task to perfection, and now the elite forces of the Emerald Serpent would face the imperial attack alone.