The Assault on Redoubt Tetra-225
Contents
Battle Details
Type: Battle
Date: 682.007.M31
Sub-Sector:Hawcinus Sub-Sector
System: Harkarialis System
Planet: Ark'alask Septimus
Victor: Loyalist
Draw:
Influence: 5
Forces:
Loyalists Involved In The ConflictArmy:Elements of the Xth Legion
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Traitors Involved In The ConflictArmy:64th Grand Battalion L-IV-2345
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Battle Summary
By the first week of the Loyalist offensive against the Warmaster's forces manning the outer fortifications of Ark'alask-Septimus the front line was a confused mess. It would be a simplification to say, as many historians have, that one flank held and other was caved in. The reality was for more complicated. In truth there were no flanks, no front lines, no stable positions. The first weeks of the war were a complete mess, a confused morass of local assaults and counter-attacks, of bitter fighting over positions already lost. It would take months before the front line stabilized. In the meantime there was only pointless slaughter as ignorant armies threw themselves at each other.
One such pointless but brutally bloody engagement was the assault on Redoubt Tetra-225. The 64th Grand Battalion of the IVth Legion, one of the major formations defending the Ferrumskrag from the armies loyal to the Throne, had identified a sector that had fallen to the Iron Xth and needed to be recaptured. Before a major offensive could be mounted, the primary redoubts guarding the approaches to Fortress Tetra-Echo needed to be silenced. A detachment was ordered to storm Redoubt Tetra-225 in anticipation of the main attack.
In the 22 days since its capture, the Iron Hands had heavily fortified their sector. Razor wire and tank traps were erected, weapons batteries were turned around and fire zones were established. Everything was done to ensure that any attack would be as draining to the enemy as possible. It was into this that the IVth Legion were ordered.
The attack was supported by elements of the 27th Volgan Imperialis Milita Regiment, who were sent on a flanking march to the left of the main assault. The main attack was led by a storm squad of Breacher Astartes in a Land Raider Battle Tank, with Tactical Legionaries advancing behind it. Supported by Tyrant-pattern Tactical Dreadnought armoured Legionaries and bonded Battle-Automata, the IVth Legion commenced their attack.
Things initially went well for the Warmaster's forces. A Xth Legion Vindicator assault gun broke a track and was immobilized, becoming little more than a pillbox. However, even in its immobile state the assault gun bared its teeth and immediately knocked out a Volgan Leman Russ Battle Tank. A massive barrage from emplaced Battle Cannons and a Whirlwind Scorpius followed but failed to slow down the Iron Warriors' advance.
The Iron Hands had kept an orbital reserve to defend against such an attack. Once in position, the Tyrant-pattern Legionaries were assaulted by a Dreadnought deployed via Drop Pod. The former warrior smashed into the building housing the Tyrants and shot at them through the floor to bypass their Void Shield, but failed to cause any casualties. Having no other choice the Terminators engaged the Dreadnought in close combat and, although losing one of their number, cut it to pieces with their power-axes.
In the centre of the line the Land Raider reached the Xth Legion redoubt and disgorged its cargo of Breachers, who made short work of the fortification with their Meltabombs. However Iron Hands reserves quickly counter-attacked, encircling and destroying the Iron Warriors' forlorn hope. The Xth Legion's artillery having decimated the forces following-up on the Breachers' assault, and the Volgan armoured support neutralized, the IVth Legion was forced to withdraw from the area.
Although the Siege of Ark'alask-Septimus had only recently begun, already the casualty lists were growing to a degree that worried both sides. The war to seize the rocky planetoid would claim many, many more lives in the months that would follow. The war of attrition that would follow would be equally bloody.
You can listen to an audio battle report of this game on The Age of Darkness Battlecast I[1]
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