Chalnath Expanse Campaign

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Chalnath Expanse Campaign
ChalnathArt.jpg
Tau forces battle in the Chalnath Expanse
Conflict Psychic Awakening, Fifth Sphere of Expansion
Date M42
Location Chalnath Expanse
Outcome
Ongoing
Combatants
Aquila1transparent.png Imperium Tau.png T'au Empire
Tyranid logo.png Tyranids[8]
Tyranids.png Genestealer Cults 		Orks.png Orks
Commanders
Deathwatchsymbol2.png Watch Master Agathon[3]
Deathwatchsymbol2.png Watch Captain Seraphus[3]
Inquisiton.png Inquisitor Jazad D'ontor[3]
GovernorSymbol.png Governor Shae Vormulen[6]
Astra Militarum Symbol.png Colonel Pia Frantz[6]
Argent Shroud.png Canoness Preceptor Magritte[9]
FleetSymbol.jpg Admiral Li Wen Bhatiar[9] 		Tau.png Commander Shadowsun[4]
Tau.png Commander Firesoul[6]
Tyranid logo.png Hive Mind Mini-frebooters.jpg Grimskar Gutzgrab[10]
Mini-frebooters.jpg Lurmok Facegouger[10]
Mini-frebooters.jpg Bogfang[10]
Rb6-Blood Axes.jpg Big Mek Narbrag
Mini-frebooters.jpg Kaptin Grolk da Bad'Un
Orks.png Beastboss Skullstikka[10]
Mini-speedfreaks.jpg Speedboss Ramfang da Speedsta[10]
Orks.png Kroolnob Toofloota[10]
Mini-frebooters.jpg Morbad[10]
Strength
See order of battle Tau.png Fifth Sphere of Expansion[6]
See order of battle See order of battle
Losses/Survivors
Unknown Unknown
Unknown Unknown


The Chalnath Expanse Campaign is a conflict being waged between the Imperium, Genestealer Cult, T'au, and later Ork forces.[1]


Overview

Initial Moves

The Chalnath Expanse became embroiled by conflict in the aftermath of the creation of the Great Rift, most notable of which were Genestealer Cult uprisings and T'au invasions. Not one system avoided conflict. The T'au Commander Shadowsun herself attacked Astorgius while Ctesiphus and Arrajian were the site of Genestealer uprisings. On Haephos, the Imperial defenders engaged in a bitter guerrilla war against the Genestealers and Tau infiltrators. The Riatov System became an inferno of battle between the T'au, Imperial Guard, and Genestealers. Vorotheion seemed immune to the violence for a time before becoming embroiled in a Tau invasion. The T'au wooed disenfranchised Human populations to the Greater Good, establishing insurrectionist cells and proxies to battle the Imperials alongside their conventional forces. The effects of the Psychic Awakening soon made themselves known on the Humans, with Imperial Priests performing "miracles" and even Gue'vesa forces going into bouts of insanity.[2]

The disturbances caused the Order of the Sacred Rose to respond, saving those who remained true to the Emperor while purging all heretics they came across. Warriors of the T'au Fire Caste put up formidable resistance, but the Sisters find the largest threat to be Ethereals whose preachings claim countless Human souls.[1]

Deathwatch Arrival

Recently, Deathwatch Watch Master Agathon has arrived from Watch Fortress Mortguard into the Warzone at the request of the Ordo Xenos Inquisitor Jazad D'ontor, who discovered the Genestealer presence and several missing Inquisition assets. Agathon has led three entire Watch Companies into the region.[3]

At the mountainous world of Cestis in the southeastern quadrant of the expanse the Tau had already gained a foothold, building a research station and using the Water Caste to bribe black marketers to keep their presence hidden. Watch Captain Seraphus interrogated a Pirate and learned of the T'au presence and attacked with all haste, using air assets and heavy ground forces supported by Land Raiders. The tanks advanced through the valley floors, converging along routes established by a preceding Spectrus Kill Team. The Deathwatch took heavy fire from Drone turrets but these were in turn countered by Deathwatch snipers. The Deathwatch next met Battlesuits, which quickly immobilized a Land Raider and blocked the route for those behind. In response, armoured groups joined sniper fire squads to set up a lethal kill zone. However what was supposed to be a quick operation dragged into a battle of attrition.[3]

On Arrajian IV after losing assets to scour the trade guilds of the system, Inquisitor D'ontor had set watchers aboard the system's perimeter, sure that a Tau fleet was about to attach. The Deathwatch however believed that a Genestealer Cult was already present in the area. Shrouded Rapid Strike Vessels from Mortguard stalked the system, monitoring vox and astropathic communications. They discovered the entire system was on war footing, with the trade guilds pouring funds into the Imperial Guard Regiments as well as private paramilitary militias. This was a laudable precaution to the Tau aggression against other systems in the expanse. With a precise teleport strike, a single Proteus Kill Team led by Lieutenant Alvor manifested in the servo-ducts under Arrajian IV with the aim to uncover the true reason for the Inquisition's missing assets. Within minutes of their arrival they came under attack from Genestealer Cult Hybrids and Aberrants. They pushed through one duct after another, seeking some source to the infection. For two days they fought higher into the guildhouse's foundation, losing more of their number. All the while their signals back to their ships was blocked by a Genestealer specialists. By the third day they had slain dozens of corrupted guilders but only Brother Tyvus had survived to reach the surface and activate his teleport homer.[3]

At the Shrine World of Saint's Halt the Deathwatch Strike Cruiser Void Sentinel arrived and found the planet under siege from both the Tau and Genestealers. The native PDF fought alongside the Battle Sisters of the Order of the Blue Robe, and forces from the Riatov System and Pennutsk System had breached the Tau blockade to reach the surface. Hive Tor Saev burned while at Hive Delina the Genestealers had hung the bloody corpses of loyalists, defending their new territory from attacking T'au. Vast fronts had opened up in and around every major city. Agathon concentrated strikes against three. At Leonis Hive, he directed Kill teams to sabotage a shield generator protecting the Tau flank from Riatov artillery. At Gedrontis, he dispatched waves of Storm Speeders to cut off xenos grav-tanks and help the Sisters of Battle there to break out. Watch Company Quintus in its entirety smashed into the Tau offensive outside the capital of Boran Prime. The Tau eventually buckled and the Deathwatch drove them back into the Genestealer Cultists of the Hivewyrm, forcing them into battle with each other. In orbit, the Deathwatch reserves awaited the ambushes Agathon knew both xenos were capable of.[3]

Ork Threat

Drawn by the three-sided anarchy, massive Ork forces have now arrived in the Chalnath Expanse. They have poured from the Ful'na Nebulae in ragtag invasion fleets. With the Thaxaril, Riatov, and Barolyr Systems barely pacified, the conflict still rages on half a dozen other fronts. Commander Shadowsun is unwilling to allow this new menace to destabilize the precarious expansion of the Nem'yar Atoll. Deploying her forces in a complex web of interlocking positions throughout the Vy'las, Mets'ah, and Aso'da Systems, she has begun a Kauyon-style campaign on an inter-system scale. In this way she plans to bleed the Orks' momentum dry and crush the threat they pose to the Fifth Sphere of Expansion.[4]

Ork Freebooterz are especially active in the region and have launched major raids at the Tau Sept of Kor'tal, Satyag Frontier, as well as Vorotheion as it was fought over between the Tau Empire, Genestealer Cults, and Imperium. They have also come into conflict with an Oathband of Squats from the Leagues of Votann.[10]

Battle for the Ennua System

Cut adrift in the Imperium Nihilus, the Imperial worlds of the Chalnath Expanse have been forced to stand alone against the various xenos threats. The Xindao Belt, Satyag Frontier, and Voronin Cluster have all fallen into rebellion and war, often due to the machinations of Genestealer Cults. As anarchy and piracy runs rampant, the Tau have managed to take control of Silvata, Kardinium, and even the Hive World of Triertium. Worse still, these worlds were not conquered but simply threw their lot in with the aliens after their Water Caste emissaries arrived. But despite this, the vast majority of Human settlements in the Chalnath region remained steadfast to the Emperor.[6]

Faced with these setbacks, the Ecclesiarchy has declared a War of Faith in the region. This led the Sisters of Battle of the Order of the Sacred Robe and Order of Our Martyred Lady to lead a resistance in the Xindao Belt to purge traitors and xenos alike. The War of Faith rallied the Imperials into a fanatical zealotry, and many miracles occurred at the head of the Sororitas army which frustrated the Tau forces.[6]

The battle came to a head in the Ennua System. While it initially held little strategic value for the Imperium, the rich industrial hub became key after the Tau seizure of much of the regions resources. Commander Shadowsun made the capture of Ennua key to her campaign, hoping to deny the Humans resources with its fall.[6]

Shadowsun struck primarily at the Hive World of Petricorum. The first elements of the Tau invasion struck at Petricorum's lackluster anti-orbital defenses with relative ease. However the atmospheric anti-ship and anti-aircraft guns proved more formidable, forcing the Tau to conduct their main landing 200 miles from Petricorum's capital of First Claim. Upon making landfall, the Tau set about securing a beachhead. The Tau Commander, Commander Firesoul, was forced to rely primarily on Pathfinder and Kroot scouts due to a lack of intelligence preparation due to the presence of Imperial reinforcements on the systems outer edge. It did not take long for these vanguard elements to encounter stiff resistance in the face of Imperial Guard light infantry in the worlds tropical jungles.[6]

The first true battle on Petricorum took place at the artificial valley of Terrin Scree. Stealthsuit teams began their assault, infiltrating enemy positions and slaughtering defenders with precise volleys of fire. Vespids followed, sweeping down on defending Humans and sabotaging gun batteries. With the defenders distracted, Kroot infantry emerged from the forest and butchered the survivors. Unprepared for the swift and aggressive auxiliary-led assault, the Imperial Guard light infantry were forced back after losing 80% of their strength in only a few hours fighting.[6]

Soon after the debacle at Terrin Scree, the Genestealer Cult of the Light Above sensed the opportunity was right to begin their strike. In the hab-slums of First Claim, fighting erupted as the Cult launched their uprising. Rioting soon escalated into full-scale rebellion and thousands died before the Imperials were able to organise an effective response to the Genestealers. Faced with these disasters, Governor Shae Vormulen issued more pleas for reinforcements via Astropaths. Despite these setbacks, the Imperials were still able to score some localized victories. Most notable of these took place when the 167th Vitruscan Pioneers under Colonel Pia Frantz launched a series of devastating raids against the Tau forward operating bases, destroying large amounts of vehicles with Sentinels and Heavy Weapons Teams. When the Tau pursued the withdrawing raiders, they fell into traps and minefields. Only the Kroot were able to withstand these tactics, tracking retreating Humans through the dense forests and inflicting heavy casualties.[6]

Two weeks after the initial Tau landings, the first Imperial reinforcements arrived in the Ennua System in the form of Battle Sisters of the Order of the Sacred Rose. The Sisters first struck at the Genestealer Cultists at First Claim, beginning a campaign of purgation that have seen thousands put to the flame.[6]

The Order of the Argent Shroud has since arrived in the warzone, and is battling the Tau Empire at the Ennua System, Word Bearers Chaos Cults at the Riatov System, and Genestealer Cults at Lagask.[9]

The Hive Fleets Descend

As battle rages across the Chalnath Expanse, dozens if not hundreds of Genestealer Cults have since arisen across the region. While the Tau make poor hosts for Genestealers, they have nonetheless become bogged downs in multiple battles against the upstart aliens. Many Cults have solved the problem by attempting to play Imperial and Tau forces against one another. Major Genestealer Cult operational zones include the Cult of the Reaping Talon at Wyldreach, the Cult of the Unshackled at Gorbrim, and the Cult of the Hivewyrm at Saint's Halt.[8]

Most sinister of all however, is that these Genestealer Cults have drawn elements from multiple Tyranid Hive Fleets including Typhon, Kronos, and Leviathan. Due to the bizarre behavior of Typhon, it has been observed assaulting and consuming bioforms of other Tyranid Hive Fleets.[8]

Order of battle

Imperial

Tyranids

Orks

See also

Sources

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