3/564/942.M41 – Imperial Reinforcements

Invasion +6 months: Clearing Storms

'I have seen all the evil that the galaxy harbours, and I have slain all whose presence defiles the Emperor. Fear not and be proud, for we are the protectors of Mankind. Aye, we are indeed the Angels of Death.'

– Commander Luis Dante

Captain Sinon leads the Stormbringers – the Ultramarines 9th company – to relieve the Mechanicus Assault Force at the Hemlock wastes. They are accompanied by Victorious Endeavour, a Hun-class Reaver Titan of the Iron Skulls.
@edpaintsminis

3/564/942.M41 [+6 months – Game turn 3]

Ork forces consolidate their positions round Infernus and Helsreach, and start moving south. An offensive is launched towards Acheron hive, but is turned back by the timely arrival of the Space Marines. Hades is surrounded, but continues to hold out, supplied by specially adapted shuttles. This resistance proves to be vital, as more and more Orks are drawn into the siege, allowing Imperial forces elsewhere a vital breathing space.

The over-stretched Imperial Guard defenders receive reinforcements – but the orks of Waa-Ghazghkull are undaunted. Now is the time for heroes to rise!

***

Warpstorms

Turbulence in the warp had isolated the defenders of Armageddon from the wider Imperium for more than a year. While the Immaterium allows for no true sense of cause and effect, the arrival of Wurldkilla (the space hulk known to the defenders Alveus Alpha Alpha Sextus) and the ragged xenos fleet in the system likely contributed significantly to the warp storms.

Despite the evident danger, the inhabitants of Armageddon had been barred from sending distress messages by order of Overlord Von Strab himself. It was only as Armageddon Prime was overrun and the planetary Government was relocating to Tartarus hive, that Commissar Yarrick led a defiant few to the Astropathic choir and sent a short astropathic cry for aid.

Even this was little more than a message in a bottle, cast into the aether. None knew whether it had been heard, for nothing returned through the warp-morass.

For long months, the Steel Legion fought alone, in a war characterised by long delays and sudden breakthroughs.

Members of the 2nd Army Group are driven out of a settlement on the eastern banks of the Stygies by Evil Suns kommandos of Durkan's Grinnas.
@225thsteellegion et @mathieu91robert

As the invasion reached the five months mark, the martial government of Armageddon Secundus was given a rare piece of good news – their plight had been heard, and reinforcements were en route.  Nearby elements of Battlefleet Armageddon were mustering at the Agri-World of Ruis, while those more far-flung from the sector capital were gathering at the warp-routes from the nearby Golgotha Subsector. 

Though the scanty squadrons and occasional battleship stood little chance against the might of Wurldkilla, which had almost single-handedly defeated the bulk of Imperial Naval power, the news that the ork blockade was incomplete was heartening. The Steel Legion – and the denizens of the world they protected – looked for any spark of hope in these benighted days.

***

Ghazghkull in his pomp

For the orks, this period marked another high point in an already crashingly successful campaign. Morale was high, enemies plentiful, and the hard-baked plains of Armageddon were proving a home away from home to the hard-bitten orks of Urk. Nevertheless, Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka, Overlord of Urk and Warlord second-to-none, was too intelligent to celebrate early.

One of Magrot's Man-skragaz. The Warboss of this warband, Magrot, idolised Ghazghkull to an extent greater even than his peers – he even copied the Grand Warlord's clothing and mannerisms. He was to be slain late in the war, liquified by the multi-melta of Ancient Furioso, Blood Angels 3rd Company.
@ork.bot

Though the bulk of the ork population of Urk had flocked to his banner prior to embarking on Wurldkilla, and a small number of warbands had joined him since, he was all too aware that he could expect few, if any, reinforcements. His weirdboys made it clear (well, as clear as they were able to) that the warpstorms which isolated Armageddon also prevented word of his successes from reaching the ears of nearby orks.

Besides those few held in reserve, his entire army was committed. Two tribes – the Blood Axes under Genrul Straturgum and the Snakebites under Old Grudbolg – were occupied in the ongoing subjugation of Armageddon Prime, while the three tribes he led were gradually becoming embroiled. 

Goffs on the move across the central plains of Armageddon – a vast but not infinite resource for the Grand Warlord.
@johnpaints

Ghazghkull was proving himself an ork of peculiar farsightedness and strategic insight. He knew that speed was of the essence – his forces had to seize the defenders by the throat, disrupt the defenders and achieve victory before the industrial might of Armageddon Secundus could rally and churn out sufficient arms to stop him.

Already, reports from his forward observers – both ork infiltrators and human fifth columnists hoping for sanctuary or to gain advantage from the green storm – brought word to Ghazghkull that the Imperial military machine was beginning to bear fruit. New armies were just days from marching to join their embattled comrades on the front.

For the orks in Ghazghkull's immediate coterie, the news of the new Army Groups coming to meet them was far from dismaying – human resistance was stiffening, and the more enemies, the more glory! Ghazghkull himself was more circumspect, but with overwhelming force still in his favour, he remained confident.

Well armed, dead 'ard and over 'ere.
@helleslager

***

Home-grown heroes

General Kurov had barely needed to make his official call for recruitment. Each hive was essentially a culture of its own, well-used to hardship and ruled as its own semi-independent fiefdom. The near-feudal life of hive-dwellers on Armageddon was frequently arduous and constrained, with little opportunity for advancement or adventure. 

Many from the relatively well-off areas of the mid-hives were therefore swift to volunteer when news of invasion arrived, spurred by patriotism, the urges of their priests, or through simple curiosity. The thought of fighting orks was in many cases thought of only in abstract, a lifetime of servitude and indoctrination suppressing the qualms of most.

Assigned to the 8th Army Group, 82nd Regiment, and adopted by the Command HQ, this Chimera was dubbed 'Stopwatch'. The nickname stemmed from it being the very first to roll out of Acheron's manufactories after the invasion – within weeks, a new battle-ready Chimera rolled off the lines every seven minutes.
@mfp.co.uk

The 'Acheron 8th' emerge from their home hive. Surviving veterans of the 3rd and 4th Army Groups are seeded through the new Regiments to help distribute their experience amongst the new intake. This Army Group was to prove vital in the defence of Hades.

The resulting Regiments were formed into Army Groups that became known amongst the existing Steel Legion forces – slightly perjoratively – as 'Reservists'. 

These forces were swiftly pressed into action: Imperial Guard High Command felt the strength of the Steel Legion lay in their mobility, and the fall of Hive Infernus had keenly focused their minds. As a result, they were keen to engage the orks at arm's length in the wastelands, rather than in the close confines of the hives and mega-manufactories. 

Nowhere was this more critical than at Acheron. Hades was besieged, and the areas formerly assumed safe from the invasion were suddenly acutely at risk.

Evil Suns ranging forces rampage through the Hemlock Coast Gigafactorum, while the 9th Army Group ready themselves in Tartarus. Time was to prove of the essence, for the both the Hem–skel Manufactory complex and the not-yet-active Ordinatus Armageddon were acutely vulnerable. The 9th were not to stay long west of the Skeletus, for they were almost immediately posted north to guard the impossibly long frontier around Acheron as the 8th moved to Hades.

***

Angels of Death

'At last. Sumfing wurf fightin.'

– Goranhuwl Whitetusk

It was at this critical point in the conflict that the Space Marines appeared. The fleets of three Chapters – all three from the storied and ancient First Founding – appeared in the skies above Armageddon. These legendary warriors had answered Armageddon's call for aid with substantial forces.

The Winter Blade – Pellas Mir'san, Master of the Salamanders 2nd Company
@chillminis

Such is the aloof and secretive nature of these closed brotherhoods that their contributions to the war are less well documented than the comparatively easy to access records of the Steel Legion – and so beyond the broad strokes of myth, we are left to draw out the details second-hand. 

It is rare that the strength of more than one Chapter could be diverted in full to a single conflict, which speaks volumes of the critical nature of the war-world Armageddon. All three deployed in strength, and the Chapter Masters of each were heralded and welcomed on their arrival at Tartarus. Equally, however, none of the three appeared at their full complements. 

***

Salamanders

The Salamanders had endured three bruising major campaigns in swift succession: firstly a major conflict with the Necrons; then the Badab War, which had ended just three decades earlier in 913.M41; and finally a colossal conflict with the Red Corsairs, a piratical group made up of the former Astral Claws and their renegade allies. The Salamanders were recovering from grievous losses, including their Chapter Master, who had died at the hands of Huron Blackheart himself.

Second Company Salamanders 
@death_of_a_rubricist

The new Regent of Prometheus, Tu'Shan, had thus served in the post for just three years when he arrived on Armageddon. He had enacted a vigorous recruitment programme while his fleet remained in duty patrolling the border region between Segmentum Solar and Ultima Segmentum – this was a fortunate happenstance, as it meant the dutiful Commander was present to receive Armageddon's call for aid. 

Despite Nocturne being astrographically closer to Armageddon than Baal or Macragge, a significant number of the Chapter had never set foot on their homeworld, having been inducted and trained during the ongoing fleet picket duties.

***

Ultramarines

Marneus Calgar of the Ultramarines likewise arrived leading a force still replenishing from deleterious losses. While the First Tyrannic War had occurred more than a century earlier, so grievous had been the casualties incurred during the defence of Macragge that the Ultramarines were a shadow of their former selves, with few truly experienced Veterans, a depleted fleet and serious lacunae in their armoury. 

The Chapter arrived at Armageddon with a Scout Company swollen to near double-strength, and the Reserve Companies filled with newly-inducted Astartes – all experienced Marines had long since  been reassigned to fill the gaps in the Battle Companies.

Captain Antilochus of the 10th Company gives a pair of his Scouts the benefit of his experience.
Idomeneus

Worst affected of all had been the First Company. Utterly destroyed in the defence of the Polar Fortresses of Macragge, the new veterans of Ultramar were deployed by the survival-minded Calgar to lead the new Scouts and provide tactical leadership and oversight to the Battle Brethren of the other Companies as squad leaders. While Ultramarines Terminators were deployed, they were a rare sight.

As a result, the First Company was effectively absent during the war for Armageddon, as the Chapter Master would not allow them to be gathered. While none would openly suggest Calgar's certainty of purpose, or the wisdom in this strategic decision was anything other than sound, nagging questions arose in secret about the Ultramarines' willingness to accept losses during this war.

Whether the losses inflicted on Macragge had finally rocked Calgar's iron-hard self-belief was unclear, but it is notable that he ceded command to Commander Dante of the Blood Angels, despite being the first to arrive on-planet, and his peerless reputation as a logistician.

Nevertheless, the Ultramarines had arrived to fight with their customary courage and honour. It was notable that their particular combat doctrines, along with the deep reserves held in abeyance for even such straitened circumstances, allowed even this unusual Chapter composition to serve highly effectively.

***

Blood Angels

As for the Blood Angels, much of their strength had been deployed in the Mel'yanneth Skywar and Battle for Antax, both of which had caused significant damage to their prized Thunderhawk Gunships and air transport pool. While a number of new Thunderhawks had been promised by the grateful Magi of Forgeworld Antax, they were yet to be supplied to the Chapter.

As a result, while nearer to full strength than their cousin Chapters, the Blood Angels were forced to rely largely on ground transports once deployed. The resourceful Chapter was well-able to cope with such setbacks, however – particularly under the legendary Commander Dante.

While arriving too late to preserve Helsreach, those few Blood Angels able to answer the call stiffened the resolve of the defenders – and reopened the valves on the vital resource: hope.
@bolterjugend

Dante himself arrived at Tartarus at the head of his Fourth Company, leading a column of Rhinos in his personal Land Speeder. He received a hero's welcome from the masses, but being all too aware of the impending peril, he immediately moved to attend a council of war by the planet's government; one also attended by Tu'Shan and Marneus Calgar.

The Blood Angels 4th Company parade through the main artery-road of Tartarus, to the jubilation of the gathered crowds of inhabitants and war-displaced refugees.
@johnpaints

It was during this War-Council that Dante was heralded as first-amongst-equals by his fellow Chapter Masters, and pledged to lead the Astartes in a counterstrike to relive the imperilled hives. Leading by example, the Blood Angels moved immediately to the Cocytus Waste Desert east of the Stygies, poised to relieve Hades by preventing an encirclement and choking off reinforcements from the south.

The Astartes were thrown headlong into the fight; the Ultramarines a bulwark in the south and the Salamanders occupying the factory-complex south of the Plutus-Hemlock confluence.

Ghazghkull, of course, saw nothing more than a fresh challenge to his authority – and nothing less than the greatest opportunity his forces had thus far seen...

I'm da hand of Gork and Mork, dey sent me to rouse up da boyz to crush and kill 'cos da boyz forgot what dere 'ere for. I woz one of da boyz till da godz smashed me in da 'ead an' I 'membered dat Orks is meant to conquer and make slaves of everyfing they don't kill.

– Ghazghkull Thraka 

***