Thick Smoke had begun to obscure the battlefield. Visibility was down to 10s of meters in
places. Burning tanks made a phenomenal
amount of choking black smoke. Aside
from the small arms, tank weapons and artillery actually being fired at real or
perceived targets, ammunition cooked off in the burning vehicles as well. Charred crewmen hung off of vehicles, either
failing to make it out in time or being shot by infantry who prowled the field
of glory shooting tank crews and picking off stricken tanks with their hand
held missile launchers, whether one shot wonders or more sophisticated
ATGWs. Occasionally rival groups of
infanteers would find and engage each other, a nasty series of separate
swirling battles were fought in between brawling tank units. Additionally, there was a group of four
baneblades who manoeuvred through the battle like a quartet of battleships,
using each other as bait, cover and killing blow as they worked together to
defeat the highly individualistic Paladin and Warden class knights sent against
them.
Having been slogging it out with the PDF for three days, the
remaining elements of 905 Division were being withdrawn. Pitifully few vehicles in the distinctive
dark colour scheme of the Mordian 7th could be seen amongst the
mid-green of the Palladian vehicles. The
men coming back off of the field were collected at impromptu nexus which formed
where commissars re-brigaded men to either send them back to the fight or to
carry the more severely wounded to established casualty clearing stations. Now, with the change of lead formation, all
of the Iron Guard, Palladian and Mordian, were being rouled back out of the
fight.
Three days earlier, the lead elements of the Mordian 6th
Independent Motor Cycle Battalion, 905 Division’s dedicated recce, had begun to
encounter the anti-personnel minefields laid by the PDF to protect their
defensive positions in front of what the Imperial Guard knew as The Chobi
Bunker, having largely passed over the antitank minefields and been allowed to
penetrate the outer layer of the PDF’s temporary positions.
Having lost a proportion of men and steeds to the mines the
Mordians were fired on by the PDF from their bunkers. The remainder scattered and the fast moving
lightweight recce troops extracted themselves from the killing zones, leaving
scattered pockets in situ, unable to move for whatever reason. Brevet Colonel Sonaff launched the 3rd
and 6th Mechanised Infantry Battalions of the 7th into a deliberate attack,
supported by the Palladian 880th SPaG Bn, part of the 55th
Aux Regt.
The PDF’s pre ranged artillery struck at likely forming up
areas[1]. The unexpected blizzard of artillery fire
caused two hours of delay and assured everyone on both sides of what was about
to happen. 905 Div HQ, which was a
Leviathan that the Mordians had brought to Devos IV, was withdrawn to the back
edge of the impact zone.
The Mordians and Palladians fought their way through the
first layer of minefields and emplacements only to run out of moving vehicles
once they had punched their hole in the first layer of defences. Infantry passing over open ground were
subjected to continual mortar bombardment and sustained small arms fire from
dug in PDF soldiers. Attempts to use dead ground or chaparral for cover
resulted in casualties from liberally sown anti-personnel mines. Losses mounted steeply as the first Imperial
Guardsmen reached the PDF positions to find them so well dug in that artillery
and direct fire support had little effect, bitter hand to hand fighting ensued
as trenches, dug outs and machine gun nests were cleared.
Other parts of the Palladian 4th Legionary Regt
passed through and took over the assault, with the 11th Legionary
Regt deploying in support. Despite
dogged resistance from the PDF[2],
the Palladians, with the dismounted Mordians holding the flanks, made steady
headway into the defensive positions.
The PDF also challenged the Imperial Navy for local air
superiority over the battlefield[3]. As Lightening’s rose to engage the Imperial
Thunderbolts in the ‘cab rank’ and hunted down any Vendettas they could find,
T-65 strike fighters made low passes, launching ‘snakehound’ HK missiles and
laser cannon strafes at Palladian armoured units.
It now appears likely that one of the field bunkers three
kloms in was a trigger for a counter attack, thirty eight LRMBT attacked the
Palladians from the North, causing large numbers of casualties amongst the
Mordians covering the northern flank.
Such was the shock and speed of the counter attack that the forward
elements of the Palladian force were in danger of being cut off. It was only the steadfast actions of 55th
Aux Regt’s two light AT battalions[4]
and fearsome defensive fire from the 11th Legionary Regt’s Artillery
that prevented the Iron Guard from being overrun.
To the South, 901 Div were ordered to begin their advance
into the battle in order to relive the pressure on 905 Div. The Cadian 127th moved on with
close to two hundred LRMBT and three superheavies. Almost immediately they ran into the
anti-tank minefields and many vehicles were immobilised. Others also became mine casualties trying to
extricate those already struck. Thirty
six LRMBT lay paralysed in front of the defences. The PDF brought down a heavy artillery
barrage on the stricken tanks and the engineers attempting recovery. In the meantime, like the Iron Guard to the
north, the Cadian Shock Troopers made slow headway against the prepared
defences.
The Cadians only began to make progress again when very
close air support was provided by a constant stream of Avenger Strike aircraft,
the Imperial Navy’s closest thing to a T-65, allowed 901 Div to intimately
support its engineer units with its superheavies. This unprecedented amount of combat power
eventually allowed a beach and the Cadians took the forward command posts of
both 1/92 Volunteer Bn and 1/93 Volunteer Bn of the 1st Civil
Defence Bde by nightfall.
The early evening of the first day saw the combined
Palladian and Mordian tank forces, with the remaining uncommitted infantry
battalions, committed to a deliberate attack to dislodge the PDF tanks now
interposed between the main body of the Division and its forward elements. With no cover available, it is certain that
the PDF commanders could see the black and solid green tanks assemble into a
characteristic arrowhead formation for an advance, making use of the LRMBTs
heavy armour and multiplying its effectiveness with closely overlapping fields
of supporting fire. Audible even above the cacophony of artillery fire now
sweeping the battlefield was the distinctive thud of the Palladian quad
launchers whose launch was accompanied by gouts of flame and huge smoke plumes
which described inky black arcs high over the battlefield before plunging onto
PDF positions. Salvo after salvo thudded
out as the PDF defences were comprehensively swept ahead of the advancing
tanks.
The PDF reply was to launch an equally massive barrage of
rockets from its pit-hidden manticores at the infantry formed up behind the
tanks. Still the Iron Guard came
on. It was now that the design of the
PDF’s defences would be properly tested.
Penned into specific zones by minefields, topography and dragons teeth,
Imperial armour fell prey to dug in overlapping laser cannon positions, ATGW
sites, AT armed tarantulas and infantry with RPGs and krak grenades who emerged
from their hiding places once the tanks had passed in order to assault them
from behind.
The following infantry were mown down by machine gun nests
and heavy bolters as well as small arms fire.
Mortars took their toll as well.
Whole units just melted away in the inferno. By dwn of day two, 905 Division’s reports to Korps HQ have
resulted in a detachment of six knights from one of the houses allied to the
Legio Astorum being sent forward in support.
From their elevated position above the battlefield, they would have a
better view of the PDF defences and be able to direct allied fire as well as
adding their own destructive power to the assault.
The PDF did not appear to have a specific plan for the
knights, defended as they were by their shields. However, laser cannon and missile hits on
legs and AT mine damage to their feet meant that four of them were experiencing
reduced mobility by dusk. 3 Div’s
evening counter attack included two Grenadier Battalions, two Volunteer
Battalions, three battalions of auto cannon armed ‘Ridgeback’ armoured cars, three more LRMBT Battalions and the Division’s
four Baneblades.
The Baneblades systematically hunted down the knights, using
their longer range and superior firepower to prevent them from linking up and
rendering them hors de combat all within three hours. The counter attack tore through the centre of
905 Division and, to quote one Palladian Officer, ‘shot the crap out of the
Leviathan.’ Its shields over whelmed,
the Divisional HQ was caught in a deluge of effective AT fire, immobilised and
finally assaulted by 1/67 SF Regt, one of the PDF Grenadier battalions.
At this point, rather than over extend, the PDF counter
attack withdrew back to its hide positions.
It had certainly taken casualties, especially when passing close to
earthshakers[5]
deployed in the direct fire role as they withdrew. But significantly, the ten formations which
conducted the counter attack all withdrew in good order according to their
rehearsed plan and would still be there to oppose 72AG the next day.
[1]
PDF 3 Div included three Fd Arty Battalions of Griffons, Wyverns and Manticores. Additionally deployed were another two Fd
Arty Battalions of remnants from other Divisions. The PDF Corps Artillery and other assets also
included five Bombardment Battalions of Basiliks. There were also six Air Defence Regiments
armed with Hyrdae, Manticore and static (wheeled) earthshakers.
[2]
The outer layers of the defensive grid were manned by the PDF 3 Div 1st
Bde Combat Team: 1/10 and 2/10 Militia Regt, 8 (res) Fd Arty, 1/11 Cbt Cadre
Regt and 1/23 Bde Support Bn were also thrown into the line. The tanks which attacked from the north were
1/77 (res) Cav Regt. Whilst it would
appear from their unit designations that these are second and third line units,
they have been at war for four years and are fighting battles which they have
rehearsed for many times in the preceding centauries.
[3]
The skies above the battlefield saw the biggest air battle of the war. Above the levels observable from the ground,
the skies churned and darkened as flights of Hell Talons appeared to engage the
Imperial Navy, giving literal top cover for the PDF air assets waging their own
fight closer to the ground. Purple rain
fell for the first time. Across all
strata, at its peak over eight days of continuous combat, there were nearly
five hundred airframes involved in the melee.
[4]
The Palladian formations within 905 Div were not symmetrical; 4th
Legionary Regt included 55th Aux Regt plus a number of SPaG, Lt AT,
AAA and other battalions. 11th
Legionary Regt included 72nd Aux Regt as well as massed Artillery
Battalions and a Penal Battalion.
[5]
Batteries from the 295th and 296th Heavy Artillery
Battalions, attached to the Palladian 11th Legionary Regiments.
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