Death Guard counter attack from the East

Kutuzov's southern advance had left his northern flank around the Abrax mines relatively understrength, but Kutuzov was expecting the Death Guard assault from that direction when it came. In response, the Dark Angels were on hand to deliver a lightning strike against the traitor HQ units. By attacking the elite forces of the enemy the Imperium hoped that the chaos advance would collapse, but the Death Guard defended stubbornly. After hours of hard fighting, the Dark Angels were forced to admit their mission had failed, and they withdrew, bitterly disappointed at how close they had come to halting the chaos assault.

The failure of the Dark Angels was soon felt by the Imperial line, which fell back before the Death Guard assault. By 1202.021M42 the traitor legion had reached the main Abrax complex which the Adeptus Mechanicus were attempting to purify and use for the imperial war effort. The Adeptus Mechanicus forces, though strong, were unable to resist the unrelenting advance of the Death Guard forces. Overwhelmed, the Mechanicum forces fell back, and Kutuzov now faced significant forces on two fronts.

Novgorod Guard push for Kuneus

With the strategic situation still improving for the Imperium the Novgorod Guard continued their advance on the strategic city of Kuneus and the Sathugar mines as 02.021 began. General Kutuzov still hadn't managed to secure the eastern section of the Abrax mines, but Kutuzov was hoping pressure on the southwestern part of the front would allow his astartes forces to strike east shortly afterwards. 

The Novgorod Guard came up against strong daemonic and nurgle forces, facing an apparition of the primarch Mortarian himself, but the imperial army were well equipped and heavy fire from demolishers banished the giant daemonic entity from the battlefield in the early part of the engagement.

The Death Guard did try a counter attack on the imperial right flank, but the slow moving traitor legionaries were cut down by withering fire from the guardsmen as they disembarked from theor rhinos. Elsewhere the chaos forces were unable to stop the imperial army from overrunning their lines and taking key objectives, and by 15.021M42 the Imperium were once again at the outskirts of the city of Kuneus.