+++ Inquisitor Nephtys' Codex +++
+++ REF: The Liberation of Volistad, M41.841 +++
+++ Ordo Xenos Archives +++
Of all the battles conducted in the Holy Emperor's name, our most prolific enemy has and likely shall always be the vile creatures known as Orks. Their number and ferocity is well known, and countless documented battles detail their capacity for cunning as well as brutality. However, the Liberation of Volistad in late M41 is a special case. Most of the victories of our the Emperor's glorious Imperial Guard and Space Marines are of course founded upon both valour, faith of our troops, and the providence of the God Emperor. However, the Volistad Campaign stands in stark contrast, in how a horrific administratum mishap started a planet-spanning war.
Orks have almost always been a nusiance on Volistad, with first encounters recorded as far back as the 33rd Millenium. Only in M41.837 however, did the Warboss Skroll appear, rallying the warring Orkish tribes into a great Waaugh against the defenses of Volistad. It's defenses overrun, the Planetary Govenor transmitted a distress message just as the planetary Astropathic Temple was overrun.
Dispatched from Ultima Segmentum Command, a warfleet was formed in late M41.840 to retake the vital world of Volistad. If the planet was not retaken, it would no doubt be a staging point to spread Warboss Skroll's waaugh throughout the sector. A leading figure in this effort was the notorious Commissar Holt, well famed for once personally executing an entire infantry company for cowardice.
The fleet departed, assuming a quick victory due to their overwhelming strength. Imperial Guard regiments from throughout the segmentum were formed to crush the assault utterly. What actually arrived at Volistad was but the Imperial Troopship 'Martyrs Eternus', and the Ultramarines Rapid Strike Vessel 'Litany of Striking Rapidly'. The rest of the fleet apparently having received orders last minute to redirect to the Armageddon Campaign. With these meager forces however, Commissar Holt took charge (apparently inventing some 'Lord Commander' figure to facilitate his command, as no such figure was ever confirmed) and demanded the invasion proceed as planned. Virtually the entire command staff was executed for charges of cowardice upon this proclamation. What follows is of course, history.
Periodically, I will be following the recovered journals, servo-skull recordings and vox logs of the soldiers who took part in the campaign to further understand the campaign, and to better know our hated enemy, the Ork.
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ADDENDUM: Cogitator Vid-Recordings, Troopship 'Martyrs Eternus'
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Commissar Holt scowled as he finished executing the last of the surviving Guard officers of Major rank or higher, reholstering his Laspistol as it's red-hot barrel cooled. He turned briskly, leaving the conference room with gritted teeth.
"How dare they say we should flee, merely because a few ships haven't arrived yet!" he grumbled, walking past the two sentries, both wide-eyed at the sound of apparent Laspistol shots within the conference room. Commissar Holt adjusted his cap down and muttered. "Clean up the mess." he ordered the nearest trooper, walking into the gothic-arched halls towards the ship's cathedral bridge.
Neither trooper needed much motivation, despite their expressions of revulsion at the sight of a half dozen bloody corpses within. They obeyed their orders, too terrified not to. Precisely how Commissar Holt liked it.
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ADDENDUM: Reconstruction of the Battle of Zhukov Landing Zone
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Commissar Holt, upon taking command requested an assault upon the province of Zhukov, the last territory that the orks had overrun. Captain Agrippa of the Ultramarines agreed to the invasion plan, and identified an ideal landing zone. His forces would depart from the Litany of Rapid Striking, and establish a beachhead.
Mustering his forces, he deployed one the following units:
1 Thunderhawk Gunship, 'Retribution of the Retributor', (Techmarine Faxmodem)
3 Predator Tanks (Brother Lethargius)
3 Whirlwind Artillery Vehicles (Brother Aggressius)
5 Space Marine Tactical Squads (Brother-Captain Agrippa)
The Objective: Take the bridge over the River Noxius, then secure the defensible location of Zhukov's Folly Chemical Works, and purge all Xenos. Let none escape the Imperium's Wrath.
Roaring down the cratered old road on the approach to the Chemical Works, Brother Lethargius's tank Column rolled up to secure the bridge. There were no signs of Xenos anywhere, as the aged Battle-Brother yawned in the cupola of his lead tank. The normally toxic fumes of the polluted green river seeming to have no effect on the Space Marine.
Techmarine Fax of Modem's Thunderhawk circled overhead of the Whirlwind battery, identifying numerous greenskin contacts in the distance. With targets spotted, the Thunderhawk swooped down to low altitude and opened up thrust, it's course set for the chemical works. Brother Aggressius finished reciting the Litany of Ordinance Airburst, praying to the machine spirits for a neat fragmentation spread as he let loose scores of rockets.
The rockets aim was true, as craters soon dotted the landscape, barrages of ten or twenty missiles exploding and shredding Ork limb from limb. They would continue to fire for the duration of the battle, with no shortage of targets caught helpless in the open.
While on approach, the Brother Faxmodem identified the disposition of several ork groups, and even one group digging frantically into the Plas-crete to avoid the rocket blasts butchering the nearby hills. It would seem that this was noticed, and a concentrated volley of Whirlwind Rockets rewarded this Ork mob for it's initiative.
Brother-Captain Agrippa observed the disposition of the Orks below as the Thunderhead made it's approach, blazing in at low altitude as crude Orkish small arms fire bounced harmlessly off it's armored hull. He identified the perfect landing spot, as he prepared his marines for combat by shouting a battle prayer at the top of his lungs. "BATTLE BROTHERS! TODAY, WE TAKE THIS RUSTED RUIN FROM THE HATED ALIEN! FOR THE EMPRAAAAH!"
The Thunderhawk lands right on top of a particularly beligierent Ork mob, and the Marines disembark, fanning out and firing their bolters in every direction. Even the Orks in the bunker are caught off guard completely surprised by the shock and awe of the attack. Agrippa drew his bolt pistol, and slew each ork with a shot to the head, as they stared out of the bunker at the sudden invaders.
And about now was when Brother Lethargius's Predator Column rolled up to the chemical works, having not fired a single shot. In fact, having not had even a single target in their sights. The entryway to the underground portion of the chemical works was secure.
Meanwhile, piles of Orks littered the plains of Zhukov, staining the grass red with the divine slaughter of these bestial xenos. Nearly all were blasted apart by endless hails of Whirlwind Fire. A pair of crude Warbikes rode off, fleeing the field as the Orks on foot moved off to regroup once the Whirlwinds paused to reload.
Having deposited his charge, Techmarine Faxmodem spots what surely was the local Ork Boss, based on its somewhat larger size and the presence of a particularly garish banner poke strapped to its back. Enacting the Holy Rite of Parley, He sends this Ork a gift from the Emperor.
Not satisfied with being so generous, Faxmodem chases down the poor Orks on foot, chewing them apart with repeated strafing runs and bombardment. Not a single Space Marine suffered so much as a scratch on their armor, although the Thunderhawk did lose two purity seals to small arms fire.
Commissar Holt wasted no time establishing a forward command post through the toxic fog of the chemical factory, executing two men that day allegedly, because 'the Imperium has no use for those who fear at the acrid scent of victory'. The Zhukov's Folly Chemical Works and Landing Zone were ours.
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