Aleph Sector Strategic Situation 023M42

Fig 1: Faction dispositions, Aleph Sector 2402.023M32

+++Date: 2402.023M42+++

+++Access point: Farport Station Astropathic Relay+++

+++Security Clearance: Gamma Epsilon+++

+++Ref: ALEPH-SECTOR-BRIEFING 02_023M42+++

+++Originator: Throne Agent <redacted>+++

+++Recipient: Cardinal Valentina Schumadz

+++Thought for the day: A coward always seeks compromise.+++

+++SUBJECT FOLLOWS+++

My Lord Cardinal,

As you have instructed the reorganisation of Imperial Command in the Aleph Sector is now complete. General Baran Price (Vastrid) has taken over command of all Astra Militarum forces and has made the following changes. General Alexander remains in command of Valitane Subsector. General Foche takes command of Vastrid subsector forces. Zadoc and Perseus commands have been consolidated into Army Group Perseus under the command of General Veers. General Kutuzov remains in charge of 3rd Army to prosecute the vital Mordecai campaign. General Mikel Denham takes command of newly formed Army Group Hadron, with General Maximus in command of 8th (crusade) Army in the Rifts of Hecate.

The general situation is much unchanged from that of 019M42. In the Hadron Expanse the Imperium seeks to reconnect with lost worlds and extend its influence and control of resources into the Eastern rim while denying those resources to the enemy. However, supply lines are long and insecure, and without a pathway across the Cicatrix Maledictum under the control of the Imperium, missions in the Imperium Nihilis remain challenging and fraught with danger.

To this end the imperial forces remain invested in the capture of the critical supply system of Mordecai, with its mining and industrial resources. Control over this system will ensure the success of the missions now underway in the Hadron Expanse, and make possible the retaking of worlds in the Zadoc subsector lost to us. In addition, a future assault into the Federacy can only be made possible by success in the Perseus Deeps and what was the Zadoc subsector.

The enemy pursue their own heretical agendas, though specific mention should be made of the renewed Tau activity in the "Hadron Expansion Sphere", as well as a renewed xenos threat particularly from the greenskins known as the "Blood Fangs". The forces of chaos, led in the most part by the Emerald Serpent continue to oppose us at every turn, but with faith and perseverance we shall overcome in the name of the Emperor.

Your faithful servant.

+++End Message+++

Fig 2: Imperial dispositions, Aleph Sector 2402.023M42

Orks gain more ground on Haven

On Haven, the orks were still the largest and most dangerous faction vying for control of the world. Unlike the other factions with the exception perhaps of the Tau, the orks had not attempted to occupy both Haven and Ergura's Fall. Whether this was a strategic decision, guidance from the ork gods or simple chance was known only to the greenskins, and they weren't telling. However in late 02.023M42 the orks had noticed the threat, or interesting shiny things to kill and loot, in the shape of the chaos forces, and the Blood Fang tribe set out to investigate the chaos sector.

Led by Waagh Boss Grimskul Bloodfang and Hope Killer MkIII, a new or perhaps reassembled ork Stompa, the orks soon came into contact with the chaos forces. Surprised, the chaos cultists summoned a host of daemons including a Lord of Change and a Keeper of Secrets. Despite a group of Storm Boyz suffering an unpleasant fate, first being caught in a warp storm then brutally shredded by screamers of Tzeentch, the orks charged fearlessly into combat with the daemonic horde. The Mega Nobz suffered at the hands of Tzeentch Horrors, but Hope Killer lived up to its name, crashing into the main chaos line, eliminating the greater part of the daemon threat and casting two greater daemons back into the warp.

By the end of the battle the orks had spread their influence further over the surface of haven, looting the chaos encampments and strengthening their forces still further. The greenskin presence was beginning to alarm general Maximus, the forces of chaos and other factions alike, and now all began plans to bring down the Blood Fangs including the monstrous Hope Killer once and for all.

Mordecai: Chaos Eastern Front Offensive

While the imperial forces on Mordecai were pushing west towards fort Parganath, the forces of chaos had massed significant assets on the Eastern Front. Having been pushed out of the Abrax mines in previous months, the chaos army enlisted help from the World Eaters space marines and a lance of chaos knights, intending to smash through the imperial front lines then drive deep into the strategically important mines area.

the Imperium hadn't managed to erect significant defences in the east since retaking the Abrax mines, so the initial assault by the traitor marines easily overran the imperial lines. In response, the recently rested Hammers of the Emperor chapter of loyalist marines launched a counter attack. the battle was violent as the two astartes forces clashed. The World Eaters emerged victorious, taking the mines close to fort Abruphus, and ensured the astartes would be unable to assist in the battles further south.

Near the shores of the Kuneus Traps, the chaos knights advanced. Again the chaos forces easily overran the initial defences, but were soon opposed by a loyalist knight force. the two sides engaged in a titanic clash of war engines, but the aggression of the chaos forces overcame imperial resistance. Within hours every imperial knight had been reduced to scrap, and the chaos forces drove deep into imperial lines, taking a significant portion of the Abrax mines before they had to pause to allow their infantry to catch up and hold on to the recently won ground. By the end of 02.023M42 however, chaos forces had once again taken three quarters of the Abrax mines complex from the Imperium, slowly degrading the logistical advantage Kutuzov had so painstakingly built up. Now the chaos fleets would need to do their part in turning the war on Mordecai in the favour of the Dark Gods.

Ergura's Fall operations

In 02.023M42 the Imperium were in a reasonable position on both Haven and Ergura's Fall, though not the dominant faction on either world. On Ergura's Fall the local commander subordinate to General Maximus had been concentrating his efforts against the Tau, but recent reports of fighting between the necrons and forces of chaos presented the Imperium with a problem. Their positions on the world were overlooked by a large plateau to the south east, which if either the chaos forces or necrons gained control over, would threaten the Imperial sector on two fronts, potentially making control of the planet untenable.

To investigate this threat the Imperial commander sent an Imperial Guard patrol into the area of necron activity, hoping to find the xenos merely a dormant and reactive garrison force, but when the patrol advanced on some ancient ruins including the tell tale xenos monoliths, they were ambushed. Skorpekh destroyers advanced into a hastily prepared killing zone and were cut down, but the implacable advance of a phalanx of immortals escorting a cryptek proved impossible to stop. The imperial guard patrol was wiped out to a man.

The guard patrol did manage to get off a series of increasingly panicked communications before their demise however, and hearing the screams over the vox network, a task force of Adeptus Custodes homed in on the signal. By now the necron force had increased, and a lengthy engagement around a line of monoliths ensued. Neither side were able to overcome the other, but the Custodes were operating beyond their logistic supply limits and were forced to withdraw. the necrons too retreated to regroup.

Realising the necrons posed a significant force in the east, general Maximus demanded more troops be sent to deal with the threat. However, the crusade general was informed no astartes forces were available as they were committed to missions already, and that all the experienced Novgorod regiments were similarly tied down on the two theatres of operations. With reinforcements dribbling in over a very long supply line through the Hadron Expanse, Maximus only had a green force of Imperial Guard to commit to Ergura's Fall, the Librian 18th Mechanised division.

This was not a force Maximus wanted to use, as the Librians were still both of questionable loyalty to the Imperium following the world's loss to the Federacy, and the regiments in question were inexperienced even if they had the newest equipment available. Nevertheless it was all the general had, and Maximus just had to hope the necrons were a spent force.

They weren't. As the mechanised force rolled into necron territory they were confronted by a mass of xenos infantry. Rather optimistically the division commander ordered the Librians to engage, overwhelm the necrons and take their rear supply lines. These orders were not credible given the strength of the force that opposed them, although the Leman Russ battle tanks in particular proved effective against the necron force. The mechanised infantry faired far worse however, as the necrons piled into the imperial force engaging them at close range with combat weapons.

Gradually, despite taking moderate casualties, the imperial guard were themselves overwhelmed, and the Librians retreated in disorder. The nerons advanced onto the high plateau, putting the imperial garrison and main supply base on Ergura's Fall in serious danger.

Meanwhile in the northern hemisphere the forces of chaos had turned to deal with the tau on their western flank. Once again a small force of cultists were deployed to bait out an enemy reaction, and when the tau army arrived a horde of daemons was summoned in front of them. Bloody combat ensued and the tau Hunter Cadre and the xenos force was overwhelmed. The tau retreated and the chaos forces established a new perimeter, now controlling nearly a third of the sparsely populated territory on Ergura's Fall.

Mordecai Offensives

On Mordecai as 02.022M42 progressed, general Kutuzov had now regained the momentum, but his imperial guard forces were largely spent following hard fighting. In order to keep the offensive going, the imperial high command proposed a direct assault on Nazugral, where chaos forces seemed to be small in number although of high quality. Requesting astartes aid Kutuzov found that the space marines were also in the process of rebuilding their forces, and the main astartes chapter in the sector, the Hammers of the Emperor, would not be able to mount offensive operations for some weeks.

Fortunately a small force od Adeptus Custodes remained attached to the imperial forces in the Mordecai system and offered to carry out the direct assault. Kutuzov then placed his best mechanised regiments behind this force in the hope of a breakthrough towards Fort Parganath if the Custodes found the defences at Nazugral weak.

The Custodes force smashed their way through the thin defences around the city but then found themselves face to face with a daemonhost of Slaanesh and Tzeenth. It was then the Imperium realised the forces of chaos had feigned weakness in order to trap the imperial army in a disastrous battle within the city. They had not however reckoned with the Adeptus Custodes, and the Emperor's finest troops smashed the daemon horde although this came at the expense of the death of their commander. Within days the daemons had been eliminated and the city had been claimed for the Imperium, but hopes of a breakthrough had been dashed for the time being.

More fighting on Ergura's Fall

Events on Ergura's Fall between the Tau and Imperium, as well as the second Imperial landing on Haven caused the forces of chaos to rethink their strategy. Instead of focussing on Haven, the worshippers of the dark Gods realised that the conflict on Ergura's Fall now presented an opportunity, and a small force of cultists was shipped to the world in order to carry out a new offensive for the chaos domination of the Hecate Gap.

While their forces on Haven consolidated their positions, waiting for an opportunity to advance, the cultists on Haven performed a dark ceremony, summoning a daemonhost and smashing into the necron lines to their south. The battle caught the necrons by surprise, and the ancient xenos were forced back, placing the chaos forces in a commanding position to take the high ground in the southern hemisphere.

Meanwhile the Dark Eldar, with no particular interest in the strategic situation of the Hadron Expanse, opportunistically raided the Tau forces. The engagement was brief, but the Tau were defeated, forcing them to withdraw forces from the front line with the Imperium. 

Heavy fighting on Ergura's Fall

As 02.023M42 began and Maximus ordered a new landing on Haven, he bolstered his forces on Ergura's Fall by deploying a lance of House Taranis knights. The imperial forces had established that on Ergura's Fall, though there were some necron forces, and a significant number of chaos, the main adversary was the Tau Empire. the Tau had also realised that the Rifts of Hecate would only be exploitable if they controlled the Gap. Worse, failing to control the Gap or at the very least contest it, would put the Hadron Expansion sphere under threat, and risk the halting of the expansion of the Tau Empire in this direction.

The Tau high command understood it would be impossible given their logistics situation, to immediately occupy both systems, and decided to focus on Ergura's Fall. Seeing new imperial forces arrive on the world, the Tau attacked before they had a chance to deploy on the shifting and sparse front line between the Tau and imperial sectors. The Tau attack utilised their most experienced troops, and heavy fighting erupted in the no mans land between the main bases of the two factions. The fighting was brutal, and after an extended engagement the Tau wiped out an entire Guard formation. It was somewhat of a pyrrhic victory however, as the Tau had taken heavy losses in both men and equipment, and now were exposed to a strong counter attack.

The counter attack was not long in coming, as House Taranis launched a reconnaissance in force against the flanks of the Tau army. Encountering a Hunter Cadre, a fluid battle erupted with both sides having to react quickly to events. The flexibility and firepower of the knights overcame the technological superiority of the xenos however, and the Tau force was wiped out. This defeat made the Tau forward positions untenable, and they withdrew to their defensive positions further north, while the Imperium extended their territorial control westwards. Ergura's Fall was quickly becoming a battle between the Imperium and the Tau for control of this vital system.

Imperial Guard make second landing on Haven

In the Rifts of Hecate the imperial strategy was not subtle. Inquisitor Esquerra had issued an order that no more exploitation of the Rifts of Hecate was to take place, and that the Hecate Gap was to be secured. The inquisitor had concluded that the safest option for the Imperium would be to hold the Hecate Gap long enough for the Gap itself to be sealed off, utilising necron technology (or rather destroying it), to prevent tyranid, ork and necron forces from sweeping into the Hadron Expanse and potentially into the sector more widely.

Since this order however, the inquisitor had travelled away from the region on urgent business, leaving inquisitor Huron to modify the edict. Seeing that the forces of the orks, tyranids and necrons were not perhaps as strong as Esquerra had judged, Huron visited the commander of all forces in the Hecate Region, general Justinian Flavius Maximus, who still hadn't moved his HQ from Helos Majoris in the Rifts of Hecate. Using his inquisition power, he reorganised the region, placing Maximus in charge of all forces in the Hadron Expanse, placing General Percival and his forces in the wider expanse under the command of the Crusade General. He then informed Cardinal Shumadz, and overall commander of sector forces, General Price at Vastrid, of the changes to the command structure. Huron did not inform his fellow inquisitor.

With Maximus now in command, he decided both Haven and Ergura's Fall should be taken and occupied by imperial forces, allowing the Imperium exclusive access to the exploitation of the Rifts of Hecate, rather than sealing the Rifts off. With this as the new objective Maximus stripped Percival of his Novgorod units and made a second landing on Haven. Once landed, the Novgorod Cavalry found themselves ambushed by a genestealer cult coming from the northern region of the main continent. The well equipped cavalry were able to defeat this attack, despite swarms of genestealers rushing the commander and his retinue of cavalry. The Novogord commander survived this assault though was later killed by a cultist sniper. The cultist however were unable to meaningfully threaten the Novgorod heavy armour, and they were killed in droves as they tried to rush the tanks, before being finished off by he cavalry's frag tipped lances. The landing on Haven had been secured.

Later on, the newly arrived cavalry advanced west towards the greenskin controlled area, expecting their heavy armour to once again tip any engagement in their favour. However the orks were ready, and managed to get the jump on the imperial force utilising jet pack kommando units. These fell upon the imperial artillery, neutralising the imperial heavy firepower, leaving the rest of the army unable to halt the onrushing greenskins. The battle resulted in a significant defeat for the imperial forces and they were driven back to more defensive lines. Overcoming all resistance on Haven now appeared more difficult than Maximus had at first judged.

Novgorod Guard retake Abrax Mines

Following the chaos offensive in the east the forces of the Emerald Serpent were now over extended. Daemonic forces could not be manifested indefinitely and the Iron Warriors were brought up to defend the flanks of the salient into the Abrax mines. The position was still difficult however, and general Kutuzov acted quickly to redeploy regiments of Novgorod Guard, equipped with fresh tanks, to deliver a blow into this area, in order to reach the Kunues Traps and cut off the forces now entrenched in the captured Abrax mines. This was made possible by the continuing supply situation on Mordecai Secundus. Although the daemon world of Astralis still made it impossible to cut the chaos supply routes, the imperial navy were by now able to conduct logistics missions to Mordecai Secundus without too much harassment from the chaos fleets, which remained bottled up at Mordecai docks, unwilling to challenge Admiral Jellicoe's naval superiority.

The Novgord tanks advanced in early 02.023M42, chewing up the chaos front lines. The Iron Warriors responded by sending in their elite infantry, holding their terminators back until their enemy had committed their mounted cavalry. This the Novgorod guard did, sending in their mounted troops on the right flank and in the centre of the imperial advance. The terminators were now deployed on the left flank, attempting to exploit imperial weakness here, but the imperial tanks had survived the initial engagement and now had a clear field of fire to pound the elite traitor astartes units. Taking heavy casualties the Iron Warriors fell back to the east, allowing the imperial forces to reach the shores of the Kuneus Traps. This cut off the remaining traitor units in the Abrax mines and over the following days these were mopped up by second line forces. In less than a month Kutuzov had re-stabilised the eastern front and restored the original front lines.

Chaos make gains on Haven

In early 023M42 the fighting for the two strategic systems in the Hecate Gap continued, with the forces of chaos concentrating on the world of Haven, as Ergura's Fall saw a crescendo of fighting between the Imperium and the Tau. Reasoning that to take both world would be impractical, establishing control over Haven became the consolidated objective for chaos forces in the Rifts of Hecate. To expedite this the forces of chaos knew their biggest threat came from the greenskins, who had also put all their energy (whether by design or by accident), into controlling Haven, and now were by far the strongest force on the world. In order to prevent complete ork overrun of Haven the chaos forces conducted an offensive towards the greenskins in 01.023M42.

The battle involved small actual chaos forces, but pacts with the dark gods enabled their recon units to summon not only lesser daemons but their larger brethren, including a manifestation of Belakor himself. The powerful greater daemons smashed into the orks, and though the giant apparitions were wounded by the greenskins the orks were unable to deal with the sheer violent power of the warp. The chaos forces smashed their enemy before withdrawing, having dealt a blow to the greenskins' aspirations to dominate the world of Haven.

Mordecai: Chaos offensive in the east but Imperium retake Sathugar mines

By early 023.M42 Imperial high command on Mordecai Secundus became aware of a large build up of forces on the Eastern Front just to the north of the Kuneus traps. At this time general Kutuzov was focussed on the recapture of the Sathugar mines and was unwilling to entertain the idea that the Emerald Serpent would be contemplating an offensive from this direction. For months the action had been focussed on the central and southern fronts where the bulk of the strategic resources were located, but eventually Kutuzov was pursuaded that an attack towards Kuneus would jeopardise the Abrax mines, vital to the success of the campaign on Mordecai. Reluctantly the imperial general granted permission for the build up of defensive forces in the area, allocating a lance of knights, several mechanised imperial guard regiments and support from one Warhound titan. This was just in time, as on 1601.023M42 the forces of chaos attacked exactly where imperial intelligence had predicted.

This attack did not stop Kutuzov from planning and carrying out his own offensive against the Sathugar mines still held by the enemy, as he believed the forces in the east were now sufficient to stop the chaos advance. Over reliance on mechanised forces and heavy armour however soon came to haunt the imperial defenders. The chaos forces moved in stubborn infantry formations including several units of daemonic plaguebearers, which quickly overran key objectives. The imperial guard counter attacked with stormtroopers and tank units, but were taken apart by chaos supporting fire and were unable to shift the chaos infantry from their positions. After several assaults resulting in heavy imperial casualties, the imperial force fell back, yielding much of the Abrax mines to the enemy.

Meanwhile further south a semi mechanised Novgorod cavalry regiment conducted its own offensive against the forces of chaos in the Sathugar mines. The chaos forces responded by sending in their chaos knights, expecting their war engines to be too much for the imperial guard. However determined cavalry charges by units equipped with melta tipped lances, as well as accurate fire from their supporting vanquisher tanks took down the chaos knights one by one, wiping out the counter attack and taking the rest of the Sathugar mines. By the end of 01.023M42 the Sathugar mines were in imperial hands, but at the cost of losing control of the Abrax mines.

Ergura's Fall strategic situation 1812022M42

 

Orks make progress on Haven

On Haven the orks were gaining the upper hand against the Imperium in the south of the main continent as 022M42 came to an end. In late 12,022M42 The Waagh boss himself, Grimskul Bloodfang, and his body guard of goff beast snagags were hunting a lone knight Lancer when the Shadow keepers attempted to come to its rescue. Finding this new army standing between him and his prize, the Waghboss brought up reinforcements in the form of speed freaks and the stompa "Hope killer".

The initial ork assault resulted in many dead speed freaks as well as squig cavalry, including the cybork big boss Bouser (who had lead the initial invasions onto the planet against the grey knights), to the fist of the telamon dreadknight. In return the orks had only managed to wound a few Custodes. However what this assault did gain, was a lot of ground for the orks who now proceeded to loot and destroy vital imperial supplies. The ork second wave then arrived including the mass of greenskin heavy infantry, which almost destroyed the Knight Lancer Grimskul had been chasing. With nowhere to go however, the wounded knight charged into the Stompa, hoping to take the beast with it. Unfortunately an ignominious end followed, as the Lancer was summarily crushed under Hope Killa's mega chopper.

The arrival off the Aalarus terminators stopped the onslaught and finished off 'Hope killer', reducing the war engine to scrap once again, but nothing that couldn't be reassembled by the ork mechs. Seeing this the ork leadership ordered a "takticul retreet", but still claiming a strategic victory, as the imperial defence had failed to hold back the ork army on their flanks and many imperial supplies and munitions had been looted by the greenskins. Grimskul Bloodfang left the field with a wide grin on his monstrous face.

Mordecai: Chaos offensive in the Central Sector

On Mordecai the seemingly never ending war of attrition continued as 022M42 drew to a close. By now the Imperium's strategic advantage from winning a key space battle had eroded such that the forces of chaos had almost recovered parity in terms of logistics, supplies and reinforcement, largely thanks to the presence of the daemon world of Astralis. The Emerald Serpent had received new allies in the form of the Night Lords, and despite some difficulties getting the traitor legion to respect a chain of command, by mid 12.022M42 the forces of chaos were strong enough to begin preparing for a new offensive.

The Thousand Sons led the new attack on the Central Front, once again targeting the Sathugar mines. This ground had been fought over time and time again precisely because control of the mining areas meant resources, and whichever side control most of the mines would eventually prevail in the war. The attack was not a sweeping offensive of manoeuvre but a brital head on assault into the westernmost portion of the mining complex. The Imperial Guard made a valiant stand but were outmatched by the firepower and chaos psychic powers of the followers of tzeentch. A regiment of Kutuzov's finest was eliminated, and the Imperium scrambled to retreat to more defensive positions. As the fighting died down the Thousand Sons had achieved their main objective, denying the Imperium complete control of the Sathugar mines. Now they considered their next move.

Erguras Fall: Necrons awaken in force

In late 12.022M42 the necrons who, had until now been attacking piecemeal from their tomb worlds, finally awoke in force on Ergura's Fall, intent on protecting their ancient tombs and ridding the world of the interlopers. The attacks by the ancient xenos came as a surprise, as neither the Tau nor the Imperium had given much thought to the necron threat, as until now it had been disjointed and largely reactive. In the meantime the Tau and Imperium had been skirmishing along their own front lines. Given the size of the world and the small forces involved, many of these had been small affairs where vicious engagements would erupt where two small patrols met. One such engagement saw the elite Adeptus Custodes engage the xenos race, narrowly defeating them and securing what the Imperial commander believed would now be a defensible perimeter from which to launch a major offensive against the Tau in 023M42.

The necrons attacked the Tau and Imperium almost simultaneously, demonstrating their strength to be able to fight on two fronts. The imperial garrison reacted by calling for assistance from the Dark Angels, who quickly launched an offensive against the wave of mechanical bodies now flooding towards the imperial HQ. The astartes mowed the necrons down in droves, but it seemed this was never enough, as they would repair themselves, stand up and once more begin moving forward. After hours of this and despite eliminating the necron commander, the Dark Angels realised their position had become compromised, and yielded the ground east of the main plateau to the necrons. The Imperium and necron territory was now separated by a ridge of terrain which would slow the xenos advance, but hopes of eliminating the necrons from the world had now been dashed.

Further north the Tau had been patrolling in force in territory thought to be controlled by chaos forces. These however had been dormant, uninterested in engaging the Tau in open battle on the plains, busy as they were excavating the tomb complexes they themselves had overrun. In addition, the forces of chaos could see very well what was heading straight for the oblivious Tau, and were minded to wait and see the outcome.

The necron army set upon the Tau hunter cadre at much the same time as the battle against the Dark Angels further south. Despite advanced firepower the Tau found themselves blocked from moving further south, and began to take heavy casualties. Once again the necrons seemed uncaring about their own losses, and by the end of the engagement the entire necron force had been wiped out. However the damage to the tau force was such that they were forced to retreat, before the forces of the dark gods took advantage of their weakened state. By the end of 022M42 the necrons had established themselves as a force on Ergura's Fall.

Ergura's Fall strategic situation 12022M42

 

Erguras Fall escalates

Following the setbacks to the Tau and Necron objectives on Ergura's Fall, the next forces of chaos and the Imperium continued to pour more resources onto the world. The forces of chaos in particular committed more traitor astartes to the campaign, including elements from the Iron Warriors and Night Lords. The Iron Warriors had not arrived in force, but their scouting units encountered lead elements of the Imperium in the shape of Adeptus Mechanicus patrols in early 12.022M42 on the central plains of the planet.

The initial patrols clashed in no mans land, leading to an escalation by the Mechanicum following their defeat. Seeing a second patrol now coming their way, the Iron Warriors withdrew. This however was a trap, as the imperial force now ran straight into a small host of summoned daemons. The Adeptus Mechanicus agents had managed to take important objectives however, and despite taking heavy casualties in the second skirmish, defeated the daemons and prevented the forces of chaos gaining any further intelligence on the base now being constructed in the southern region of the continent.

Further north, the Night Lords moved in force against what they thought was a Tau formation, only to find yet another necron army trying to prevent the other races from despoiling yet more necron tombs. Their presence however actively engaged the Night Lords' curiosity, and the chaos force moved to attack the aliens in their path. The Night Lords attack was succesful, killing the necron overlord and only narrowly failing to to capture the necron cryptek Szeras, who was now apparently highly invested in protecting these necron tombs. Once again the necrons were unable to achieve their main goal and yet another tomb complex was ransacked by an enemy.

The reason the forces of chaos did not run into the Tau was because their main force was already engaged further south. The vast plains of Ergura's Fall turned the engagements into something more akin to naval battles, as armies roved across the surface trying to find one another to bring them to battle. Apart from tomb complexes and the occasional ruined settlement, Ergura's Fall had nothing in the way of cities or population, and the war on the world was defined by these shifting mobile battles.

The Tau were engaged further south because they had been attempting to bring the Imperium to battle. Having suffered a defeat in the preceding week, the Tau now sought to "deprecate" Imperial assets, which in actuality meant destroy the imperial armies wherever they were found. Eventually the two sides met on the equatorial plains and a large engagement took place involving Commander Stormwatch and Aun'Tso. Opposing their huntre cadre were the Novgorod Hussars, once again supported by heavy tanks and cavalry, ideal troops for the flat featureless terrain of the planet.

The battle took place over several hours as the two sides clashed. The result was indecisive, with neither force able to cripple the others. By the time evening came both sides withdrew closer to their fixed defences, although the Imperium did lose one super heavy tank.

Hecate Gap strategic situation

 

Progress this week for the Imperium who move into second place on Haven and strip the orks of their overall majority. Tau setbacks on Erguras Fall but the Imperium are not yet in second place on this world. Ork and Tyranids on Haven would play Imperium (possibly with allies). On Erguras Fall it remains Tau vs. Chaos.

Mordecai: Ur'Ghar falls to the Imperium

On Mordecai the focus of the imperial campaign shifted south towards the city of Ur'Ghar on the shores of the Kuneus lava traps. The twin cities of Burroneus and Ur'Ghar were the gateway to the Sathugar mines and it was critical for general Kutuzov to take both and hold them. Burroneus had changed hands a number of times but was now firmly in imperial control, but Ur'Ghar still held out.

To take the city the imperial guard would make a strong flanking manoeuvre to cut the city off from supply, and the elite Adeptus Custodes would then conduct a frontal assault on the city. By late 11.022M42 it was determined that the forces in Ur'Ghar were weak, but that the forces of chaos would almost certainly summon daemons to do the fighting for them.

The operation to take Ur'Ghar played out as expected by the Imperium. As the Novgorod Hussars pushed north to encircle the city, a host of daemons was summoned in their path. Expecting this, the Hussars were well equipped, and although the army was not the largest imperial force to be sent on an offensive, the majority of the chaos army was being kept in the city itself as a frontal assault was expected. The Novgorod regiment performed its duty however, and reached the shores of the Kuneus traps on schedule.

With the city of Ur'Ghar now surrounded, the Adeptus Custodes launched their attack, knowing that direct reinforcement would not be available to the armies of chaos. Brutal fighting erupted in the streets of the city, and a great host of daemons was summoned to oppose the elite imperial attackers. These deamons included a greater daemon of Khorne and what appeared to be a manifestation of Belakor himself, but the Custodes force, supported by a legendary Telemon heavy dreadnought proved more than a match for the denizens of the warp. One by one the monstrous abominations were cast back into the warp, and the chaos positions in Ur'Ghar became untenable. With nowhere to run the battle became a slaughter, as the loyalists massacred anyone and anything flying chaos colours. No prisoners were taken, and the city was all but razed to the ground. Only a few that had stayed loyal to the emperor were spared the fire.

The chaos forces were not done however. Unable to retake the city, the Thousand Sons nevertheless took the opportunity of the concentration of imperial forces in the south to launch a series of raids against imperial defences further north in the central sector. Here they managed to draw the attention of the Dark Angels, who they defeated in open battle, killing a senior astartes commander. This did not result in territory gain for the chaos forces, but it reminded Kutuzov that his enemy still possessed strong and well equipped units, and the war although tipping in the Imperium's favour, was far from over.

Novgorod Guard advance on Haven

In late 11.022M42 the Imperium had begun to conduct their campaign in the Hecate Gap in a more organised way. Initial scouting missions by astartes forces had now been reinforced by Guard forces, and the imperial fleet under admiral Somerville. The Imperial strategy remained to establish strong bases on both Haven and Ergura's Fall, intending to gain footholds to survive long enough to bring the full weight of the imperial army against their enemies in 023M42.

With this in mind the Novgorod Hussars were deployed to Haven, and immediately encountered a strong necron force that had materialised to defend their ancient tombs. The sudden arrival of the "lesser races" had taken the necrons by surprise, as they had not forseen the strategic struggle developing in the Hecate Gap, and were now scrambling to provide a coherent response to the escalating conflict.

Supported by cavalry and super heavy tanks, the Hussars rolled over the necrons in short order, widening the imperial perimeter on Haven and forcing the ancient race to once again phase out or face annihilation. While the Imperium made gains, now being the second most powerful force on Haven, the necrons were left struggling for direction in the Rifts of Hecate campaign.