Cirenholm
Cirenholm was a settlement on the Industrial World of Phantine, located in the planet's West Continental Reaches.[1a][1b]
Contents
Overview
As with all of the inhabited areas of Phantine, Cirenholm was located on top of a mountain, as the ground layer of Phantine is covered with kilometres-deep cloud-oceans of dense toxic pollution. By the year 771.M41, Cirenholm had a population of 203,000. Its primary export was chemicals, produced by the city's vapour mills.[1a] It was regarded as a relatively wealthy city.[1c]
Cirenholm was located roughly south of Phantine's capital, Ouranberg, and was roughly a fifth the size of that city.[1f] Most of Cirenholm is contained in three domes. The first and second domes were clustered together on the main peak of Cirenholm's mountain while the third dome, smaller than the other two, was built on a lower secondary peak of the same mount.[1a]
History
Subjugation
During the Sabbat Worlds Crusade, Phantine was subjugated by the forces of Chaos under Sagittar Slaith. As the planet's cities were not designed as fortified structures, they fell to the invading Blood Pact easily.[1a] Many of the city's inhabitants, including all of Cirenholm's priests, were killed[1e] while the surviving civilian populace were rounded up and held captive in the city's tertiary dome.[1d]
Liberation
Eventually Imperial forces came to liberate Phantine and put its chemical resources to use fuelling the Sabbat Crusade. Lord General Barthol Van Voytz despatched an Astra Militarum taskforce in an aerial insertion mission. Although capturing Cirenholm's vapour mill was one of the taskforce's objectives, Van Voytz mainly wanted to use Cirenholm as a stepping stone to taking Phantine's capital, Ouranberg.[1a]
The force was spearheaded by Colonel Zhyte of the Seventh Urdeshi Storm-troop, supported by the Tanith First and Only and the Phantine Skyborne. Backing them up were the Imperial Navy and the Phantine Fighter Corps.[1a] The Imperial liberation was successful, but the Urdeshi suffered serious casualties and Colonel Zhyte was crippled by injuries sustained in the operation. This led Van Voytz and his tacticians to reconsider their planned approach for the liberation of Ouranberg.[1d][1e]
Retaliation
While preparing for the Ouranberg invasion was underway, the Blood Pact made a number of attempts to strike back at the Imperials in Cirenholm.[1f][1g]
In the morning of 220.771.M41, a Blood Pact air raid attacked the city but they were routed after losing 33 planes to the Phantine Air Corps. Among the Phantine Guardsmen, Pilot Officer Febos Nicarde scored seven kills and so was awarded the Silver Aquila by Admiral Ornoff, while Flight Lieutenant Larice Asch scored four kills, becoming one of the few female Phantine fighter aces. However, the Phantines did not come out of the engagement unscathed - they lost six planes, with the decorated ace Erwell Costary among the deceased.[1f]
Later a Blood Pact cell attempted to infiltrate the lower areas of the city and destroy it. They managed to stockpile around three tonnes of explosives but, before they could amass enough materiel, they were discovered stealing from a supply delivery from Hessenville by a number of Tanith Guardsmen. The Imperials were able to track down and eliminate the cultists before they could cause any real damage.[1f][1g]
