The Palidus Line breaks

The Storm Breaks

'He was an avalanche from an unexpected quarter. He was a thunderbolt from a clear sky.'

Commissar Yarrick on Ghazghkull Thraka

Waaagh! A Goffs warband overruns BDF forces at Styx Primary.
@helleslager

***

Waa-Ghazghkull breaks the Palidus Line

Border Defence Force (BDF) badge
DalekCheese/@m43.field.tunic

Endless columns of Ork war machines raised plumes of dust hundreds of metres high as they raced across the ash wastes. The voices of a hundred thousand Orks roared their brutal cries of victory. Reports came in from battlefield after battlefield where the blood of brave human warriors stained the multicoloured sands. It became obvious that Von Strab had seriously underestimated the cunning and strategic ability of his foe, Ghazghkull Thraka, Overboss of all the Goffs, Prophet of the Waaa!

The Battle for Armageddon

The orks boiled out of the jungle far sooner than anyone had predicted, and far from the disheartened dregs Von Strab had confidently suggested, they proved to be murderously well-equipped, frighteningly numerous and as devious and daring as any soldier might fear.

The timing, from the point of view of the Imperial defenders, was catastrophic: the orks emerged as the Season of Shadows was closing in. A result of the periodic shifts in the magnetic pole, the Season of Shadows saw violent tectonic changes, with polar north swinging between ten and thirty degrees of latitude, and the eruption of volcanoes across Armageddon. Between the hazy shroud of ash that the Season invariably brought to Armageddon Secundus and the difficulties posed to navigation, conditions made it it fearfully dangerous for Imperial forces to operate, and all but eliminated the possibility of air support.

Bad Moon and Goff warbands vie with each other for speed as they push towards towards Styx Primary.
@johnpaints

Imperial Stratego-savants suggested the enemy would take time to establish forward operational bases before attempting to advance across the wastelands west of the Palidus Mountains. Grim estimations of the orks' strategy also suggested that the greenskins would spend time picking apart the scattered townships of the region, further delaying their movements across the wasteland. Armed with this intelligence, the general staff advised General Marlen and the Border Defence Force manning the Palidus Line that they had a little less than a week to prepare.

This aerial view of Styx Tertiary shows a typical example of the meagre defences able to be built in time – little more than primitive trenchworks and gunpits. Highlighted for tactical analysis are friendly and enemy positions.
@voodoo_mojo

Such estimates were to prove woefully inaccurate.

It is the practise of the Steel Legion, where practical, to repatriate its veterans to serve in training the next generation. As a result, the Steel Legion proper included hundreds, perhaps thousands, of experienced Imperial Guard veterans who had fought beyond the planet – and yet it seemed none, even those  few embedded in the BDF itself, were consulted on the nature of greenskin warfare.

Just two days after the initial sightings, horrified reports began filtering in from advance pickets that the orks were arriving – and not for reconnaissance, but in terrific strength.

***

A Bad Moon from the 'Junkyard Dogs' warband marauds through the deserted streets of Minos Minehead, a wasteland town abandoned by its inhabitants just hours earlier.
@londonskroink

Given that Ghazghkull had already conquered Armageddon Prime in a lightning assault, it is doubly shameful that Armageddon MIlitary Command continued to underestimate him – it was a lesson that would be hard-learned as the orks overwhelmed the Palidus Line.

***

Chaeron – Palidus Line North: Bad Moon Rising

With the benefits of hindsight, General Marlen might have chosen to concentrate his forces, opting to hold the orks either north or south of Palidus, while allowing the second line armies under Kurov to interdict those streaming through the other region. This would have been in line with the Tactica Imperialis, which suggested funnelling or channelling enemies such as orks – but as it happened, Marlen instead split the forces available to him, perhaps in the belief that the orks could be stopped at the Palidus Line. 

Disposition of the Bad Moons clan under Snazdakka and the Chaeron Line defenders under General Marlen.

Anchored as it was by the impassable mountains, Chaeron Primary, in the foothills of the Palidus mountains, was judged to be the most defensible part of the Palidus Line north of the mountains. With the dangerous Ash Wastes to the east it was assumed that the orks would judge this territory less valuable. The 4th and 5th Armies – both made up of Steel Legion Regiments drawn from the Planetary Defence Force – were thus deployed in Chaeron Secondary and the coastal Chaeron Tertiary regions respectively to reinforce and bolster the BDF forces. 

Here, Marlen wagered, these professional forces would be best placed to support the inexperienced and under-resourced BDF.

Ledewulf, Border Defence 'Volunteer', KIA Chaeron Tertiary I+4.
Many amongst the BDF were issued locally-sourced autoguns, funds not extending to the superior lasrifles borne by the Steel Legion. Ledewulf's armour marks him as amongst the better-supplied BDF – many were little better than scratch militia, bearing only the arms and equipment they could personally supply.
@ork.bot

***

Ghazghkull, however, had a clearer understanding of orkish warfare. He had cannily placed his lieutenant – Mega-Admiral Snazdakka, a powerful clan-warlord in his own right – to the north, where the Bad Moon clan under his command could make best use of their varied and powerful wargear. Ghazghkull wagered that the clan's innovative meks and numerous weirdboys would prove valuable in enabling the crossing of the River Chaeron – deeper, wider and slower than the Styx – even in the face of determined resistance from the badly-shaken BDF and their Steel Legion allies.

Snazdakka and his armies proved more than equal to the task. Declaring that the blood-red skies caused by the ash and dust billowing from Mount Eschatus were a sign from Gork and Mork of their imminent victory, the Bad Moon Warlord urged his followers onwards. Benefitting not only from more transport and slaves, but also a clear path from the jungles, the clan made excellent time to the banks of the River Chaeron – and unlike the Goffs and Evil Suns to the south, were able to bring the pontoon bridges and field-projectors that had allowed them to make their way through the supposedly-impassable jungle-swamps to the west. 

***

Rivetchewa of da Junkyard Dogz – a perfect example of the chaotic creativity of the Bad Moons – observes the crossing of the Styx from a hastily-built watchtower.
@londonskroink

Boss Mek Rivetchewa took a long drag from his squigar and slowly exhaled a cloud of foul purple smoke. Ahead, glittering in Armageddon's burning sun, lay the glittering expanse of the Chaeron. Its appearance was deceptive – the glints and glimmers indicated only the heavy metals and corrosive pollutants that saturated the river's water. Flashes and rumbles marked the constant trade of fire between the Orks and the imperials on the far side of the bank, roughly five klicks away. How to cross the deep, wide river had been preoccupying his brain for the past last four days. When the Junkyard Dogz had reached the river they’d promptly hammered the buggies into makeshift boats and attempting to make full speed across. The Chaeron was having none of it – between the current, the corrosive water, and the humies on the east bank, it had been a slaughter. By the time the sun set on the first day the river was choked with Ork corpses and they were no closer to getting a single boy on the far bank.

Rivetchewa took off his steel-toed boots and worked his toes into the sand of the bank and started to have a ‘deep fink’, letting his mind drift into that strange half-waking world where Meks found inspiration. He was just getting into the vibe when there was a sudden splash, and water spattered across the Meks overalls. Rivetchewa purpled with rage and snapped an eye open to see a bored Ork boy chucking large rocks into the water. A giant paw snapped up from the Mek's belt clutching a complicated looking pistol, dripping coolant which fired a shot at the offending Ork. The custom round vaporised the Ork's upper torso in a flash of blue plasma. 

Rivetchewa’s anger dissipated. ‘Git,’ he snarled and spat into the sand.

Suddenly, the Mek's porcine eye widened. 

“I finks I’ve got it – oi!” he bellowed at a grot. “Get dat freeboota kaptin on da blowa, I knows how to cross da river!”

Rocks, he thought. He was going a chuck a rock so big the Orks could just walk across the river. Should squash the humies too, which was also a good laugh. 

The Mek sauntered off, whistling – all in all, he considered, a pretty good start to the day.

***

Snazdakka's strategy was straightforward. Attacking the Imperials at their strongest point, he aimed to break the defenders' morale. In the coastal Chaeron Tertiary, the battle was was relatively conventional; the ork attack spearheaded by hulking orks; the armies here largely elite and mounted. The 5th fought with aplomb, but when the BDF broke and ran on the third day of fighting, the Steel Legion Regiment was forced into a wasteful and costly retreat east towards the Diablo mountains.

5th Regiment survivors were harried for the duration of their retreat, and suffered constant attrition from both the attackers and environment.
@death_of_a_rubricist

In Chaeron Secondary, the Bad Moons opted to draw out the Imperials' fire onto hapless 'runts' – mostly hordes of the lesser greenskin slave caste, but chillingly, also enslaved humans from Armageddon Prime. Herded ahead of tough ork boyz and their equipment, the appearance of human shields ensured BDF morale plummeted – to terrible effect. The indecision on whether to fire proved a fatal delay, and the Bad Moons effected a largely uncontested crossing – at which point the battle swung decisively in the orks favour. Close-up and dangerous, an ork army with a high proportion of weirdboyz and the strange shock troops known as 'madboys' was deployed and ran amok amongst the Imperial lines. Shaken and dismayed, the 4th Army was very badly mauled, and the BDF here destroyed utterly.

Chaeron Primary, far from being a safe haven for the BDF, instead met the apogee of the Bad Moon clans' method of warfare – for they were the proving grounds of Baddruk's Bashin' Moonz, a Gargant Bigmob. The fortifications proved utterly useless in the face of the overwhelming strength of Gargants, their alien weapons tearing huge holes in the very bedrock – holes through which poured hordes of howling orks and gretchin, butchering the defenders wholesale. 

Border Defence Force support batteries open up – but too little, too late.
@helleslager

***

Styx – Palidus Line South

Disposition of the Palidus line northern extent: visible here are Styx Primary, closest to the Palidus mountains, and Styx Secondary, occupied by the 7th Army.

Gargants were also at the forefront of the Goff tribe's advance – a mark of Ghazghkull's strategic cunning. Marching the rival tribes' Bigmobs within visual range ensured the two vied with each other to get to the foothills of the Palidus trange as swiftly as possible – ensuring these key warbands were deployed and ready, and building on Ghazghkull's strategy of relentless advance. Secondly, the dust and smoke of the Season of Shadows was thickest around the Palidus range, choking intakes and all but eliminating the threat posed to Titan-class War Engines by their traditional nemesis: air power. 

Goff Great Gargant
@johnpaints

Styx Primary, like Chaeron Primary, fell swiftly to the black-armoured behemoths, with the BDF fleeing almost before battle had been joined. Ghazghkull himself was rumoured to have had a hand in the fighting, and shamefully for the Imperial defenders, it is said barely any orks were killed in the loss of Styx Primary.

This was confirmed later in the war, when the fortifications were eventually recovered – it became quickly apparent that the orks had taken them virtually undamaged, and been using them as a combination of staging post, barracks and munition magazine for the length of the war.

Ash Waste Militiamen (Styx Primary) debark from a local Cargo-Eight equivalent. Their light armament proved woefully inadequate in the face of the God-Engine assault they faced.
@Helleslager

The Goffs were thus all but untouched after the first few weeks of warfare – a state of affairs that demonstrated Ghazghkull's mastery of the orkish mindset and keen strategic adaptability. From his position at the front and centre, he and his tribe were poised to move either north or south of the Palidus mountains, as the opportunity dictated. A clear strategic advantage for the orks, and difficult for Marlen and Kurov to account for.

At the hinge of the massed mobilisation was Ghazghkull's own Goff tribe – poised to move either north or south of the Palidus mountains.
@Inquisitor Pariah

Gretchin runners, like this individual from the Goff formation 'Badgutz Pioneerz', formed a little-noted but vital role in keeping Ghazghkull's assault well-fed and moving.
@6pluspainting

***

Disposition of the Palidus Line southern extent. Note the massing Evil Suns tribe all along the coast. Contrary to their reputation, 

To the south, in the great plains, Ghazghkull had sent his lieutenant, Warboss Shazfrag (lit. Arrives-at-the-fight-before-its-a-fight) and his Evil Suns. Contrary to expectations – and likely by direct command of Ghazghkull, the Evil Suns had been forced to keep together; marching at the speed of their slowest warbands.

Just as the Goffs were kept fresh and eager by denying them the chance to assault first, so the Evil Suns were reined in – to be unleashed at Ghazghkull's word alone. It was perhaps partially owing to the discomfort and minor infighting amongst the frustrated Evil Suns that they found themselves engaged in the most protracted fighting of this stage of the campaign.

The defences of Styx Tertiary had also been strengthened by the deployment of the 7th Army, who had a strong corps of combat engineers, and were in fact over-manned. This allowed them leeway to seed Steel Legion overseers into the BDF platoons, giving the militia the benefit of their training and insight. BDF forces with Steel Legion advisors were seen to have greater morale and performed considerably better than their isolated comrades. The region was thus the most successful in resisting the ork advance.

7th Army forces enjoyed stronger and better-executed static defences than their comrades north and south.
@valhallanguard/@valhallan.guard

The ork assault began at dawn, with an armoured assault – huge numbers of vehicles identified as gobsmashas, lungburstas and similar light tanks swarmed over the hills, but were swiftly mired in grav mines and tanglefoot traps seeded across the seemingly clear desert. The resourceful General of the 7th had even managed to divert an Ambull outbreak to the region, causing havoc amongst the Evil Suns' seconds lines and creating uncertainty in the orks' ranks.

While the orks did eventually break through here, the BDF and 7th Army extracted a high cost – though alas, their success was to cause their doom; for the sheer mass of the Evil Suns tribe simply lapped round the region and surrounded it.

***

Da Shreddaz of Zag – an elite formation, this warband had a huge proportion of Nobz, and – unusually – was led by twin Warbosses: Ronzag and Regzag. The formation was involved in the second assault on Styx Secondary, which eventually broke the BDF and displaced the 7th.
@notmorelittlemen

The last of the terrritories to be attacked in this stage of the campaign was Styx Secondary, where the 6th Steel Legion met the Evil Suns' own Gargant Bigmob. The red-armoured monsters broke through the defences in short order; simply striding over the minefields and trenches and ploughing directly through the low walls. The fighting here was ugly, close-in, and bitter, and the 6th were horribly damaged in their attempt to stem the tide.

Evil Suns mob of the Black Krag Killaz.
@ork.bot

The BDF fared no better in the face of the Evil Suns speed and savagery, with Speedboss Shazfrag himself deftly leading a column of his forces round to encircle the defenders, causing mass panic and a disordered rout. 

This was to prove darkly fortunate for the 6th, for with the outriders of the Evil Suns slowed by the need for repair and rearmament, the 6th Army were able to avoid being harried during their retreat.

Captain Volker of the 173rd Ash Waste Militia – this resourceful character would survive the initial war, and the tattered remnants of his Militia forces would later be conscripted in the defence of Hive Tartarus. Note the embedded Steel Legion 7th Army advisor on the right of the image.
@voodoo_mojo

***

Disaster and defeat

'Abandon your posts! Retreat!'
@helleslager

Marlen's gamble – that his defences would be sufficient to break the ork hordes – had failed in spectacular fashion. Arguably the Palidus line had done little more than whet the orks' appetite for war. All across the westen front, the orks were in the ascendant. The natural barriers of the Styx and Chaeron had been overcome with orkish ingenuity and drive, the Border Defence Force regiments wiped out for little gain. 

There seemed nothing to celebrate – though the Imperials took some comfort from the fact that large numbers of the Steel Legion Regiments had made good use of their mechanised nature and managed to retreat in good order. 

Nevertheless, the odds for General Kurov and his subordinates were daunting. A Second Line had to be prepared, and this time there was no hope of hemming in the greenskins: they had to be stalled while new forces were assembled...