6 997 009.M31 – Background to the Invasion
For months the Loyalists have been on the back foot in the Xyphos Sub-sector – dealing with traitor attacks on a score of worlds such as Eryndor V, Iydris and Moross.
But they have not been idle. Under command of Lord-Marshall Horatio Octavian II the Loyalists have been re-arming. Now they were ready. The 216th Expeditionary Fleet is back up to strength and will form the backbone of the drive to reclaim the lost worlds for Terra.
Asephikon was chosen as the first reclamation target, with the invasion known as Operation Ironclad. A relatively young hive world, it sat at a nexus between the core worlds of the Sub-sector and those nestled near the Freeman Passage which had already fallen to the Traitors.
While the mortal fighters of the Expeditionary Fleet were tasked with leading the war, it fell to the Astartes and Custodes to guarantee the Imperial Army troopers got planetside. Thrown into Xyphos by the chaos of the early stages of the Horus Heresy, they were determined to make the Traitors pay in blood.
Little could the Loyalists know that Warsmith Draxion had called an assembly of the traitor warlords. Tired of a fragmented approach to the war, he wanted to bring them in line and strategise next steps. Although they chided under such instruction, Draxion bore the Warmaster’s seal and so his authority was absolute, for now. The Traitor warlords would bow to his commands, but each one was looking for any sign of weakness or an opening to undermine him and take power themselves. Rumours also abound that traitor primarchs themselves had personally sworn to burn the Sub-sector.
By chance, Draxion had chosen Asephikon as the venue for this cabal. As such, rather than the expected garrison of Solar Auxilia and third line Imperial Army units, the planet in fact was host to thousands of marines and other monsters.
Operation Ironclad – The Plan
Supreme Headquarters, Loyalist Forces Xyphos (SHLFX)’s plan was simple: assault all five hive cities on Asephikon simultaneously to stretch and overwhelm the Traitor forces. Each hive city was assigned an Army Group from the 216th Expeditionary Fleet along with a detachment on Astartes to support the assault.
Executing the plan was not simple however as each hive was built in a very defensible location. This was particularly the case for Primus Aeterna – the capital hive. Wedged between a ring of mountains to the North and a vast chasm to the South, the only way to assault the hive was via two bridges. These two bridges would become key objectives in the early war.
The eventual plan was based on two constraints:
- The bridges needed to be captured swiftly to stop the Traitors destroying or damaging the bridges and making an assault on the hive virtually impossible.
- Imperial Army units were ill-suited to a direct planetary assault due to the susceptibility of the landing ships to defensive firepower.
To combat this, the plan was to take a two pronged strategy:
- Astartes units would drop in to take and hold key assets, including the North end of the bridge, the main orbital cannons and the promethium refinery to the South of Primus Aeterna.
- The First Army Group would land to the South, assemble its fighting strength and drive up the Lethean Highway to capture the Southern end of the bridge.
-24 Hours Terran Sidereal – Fuel Raids
Key intel had been gathered by Loyalist forces that were already on world. These forces would then instigate key raids to both cut off traitor fuel production and secure supplies for the loyalist advance.
Raven Guard under Centurion Klayde successfully drive the Emperor’s Children from Fuel Dump Neuphikoa, with the Mor Deythan squad taking a devastating toll on the jetbikes of the XXII Millennial.
As a result of this, forces of the 199th Sushan Cohort are forced to limit their initial armoured counter-advance to preserve fuel.
Meanwhile a combined force of the Raven Guard and the Iron Hands under Praetor Vanjoidh fight Draxion’s Grand Company for control over Refinery Kleomon.
The largest refinery south of The Great Rift-Canyon, Kleomon was protected by a substantial Iron Warriors garrison. When recon units identified Draxion at the refinery, it gave Loyalists leadership the idea of killing two birds with one stone. Capturing the refinery itself was seen as a key early objective to really cripple Traitor armour, but if the Loyalists could knock out Traitor leadership at the same time, it could turn the tide of the invasion before it even started.
The assault is rapid and brutal, with both the Raven Guard and Iron Hands looking to take a toll on the betrayers of Isstvan V as much as secure the objectives. Draxion’s command squad, the “Orphan Makers” drive a bloody wedge into the Loyalists, annihilating the Iron Hands terminators in combat.
However any hope of victory for the Traitors is short-lived as Immortal Squad Hìochuim hold off all attempts to dislodge them from the promethium tanks. The Raven Guard’s Master of Descent Karr scores a near-mortal wound on Draxion with his plasma pistol. Draxion is only able to escape due to his Iron Circle sacrificing themselves.
The refinery is captured by the loyalists, but the firefight has done significant damage to the processing machinery such that it would not be operational for several weeks.
Planetfall Zero Hours Terran Sidereal -LZ Russ
The first wave of 1AG216EF lands at LZ Russ and begins pushing north. Elements of the Long Range Recon Group scout ahead, with the armoured sub-cohorts of the 1212th Solar Auxilia Cohort behind them. Initial advance is swift, driving back minimal traitor resistance, primarily abhumans and levy of the Cult of the Screeming Silence.
+0.05 Hours Terran Sidereal – LZ Dorn
The Raven Guard under Shadow Captain Kraai execute a battalion level drop pod assault of the North side of the bridge. The garrison of Shushan Auxilia Cohorts is quickly overwhelmed and the Raven Guard create a perimeter to hold out. The Raven Guard set up a number of guiding beacons for heavier transports and suppliers to be dropped in later waves.
+0.25 Hours Terran Sidereal – LZ Lion
Custodes alongside elements of Mansuurian Dragoons strike at the intra-atmospheric cannons, attempting to silence their firing on LZ Russ and the main Loyalist forces. Operated by Iron Warriors veterans, these guns were reaping a toll on landing sites that the Loyalists could ill afford. However, despite landing securely, the drop zone is ambushed by a large World Eaters contingent and a detachment of the Shushan Auxiliaries. As such, the Loyalists fail to capture the guns during this initial phase.
+0.5 Hours Terran Sidereal – LZ Dorn
A wing of Storm Ravens and Thunderhawk gunships deploy heavier units into the zone, including several Dreadnoughts. This fleet is also tasked with dropping key ammunition dumps and other supplies to help the Raven Guard hold out while the Loyalists strike for the Southern Bridge. The intensity of the AA fire means that subsequent supply drops are unlikely.
Meanwhile the Raven Guard OPs start encountering resistance from local militia units. These are driven off rapidly, though vox traffic indicates significant Astartes in the area, including rumours of Perturabo himself planetside.
+1 Hours Terran Sidereal
Overall strong progress from the Loyalist forces, with their making key headway in a number of fronts. Across the wider war on Asephikon, reports were similar with the exception of 5AG216EF who were repelled from Apex-Vantage when a cavalcade of mechanical monstrosities burst from the hive walls, inflicting huge casualties.
