Dammerhal Crusade
| Conflict | Octarius War | |
| Location | Abundantia | |
| | ||
 Imperium
|
 Tyranids
|
 Orks
|
| | ||
 Castellan Beren Kiergaard
|
 Magus Shaylagh Dysther
|
Unknown |
| | ||
Dammerhal Crusade House T'orvanosh
|
Cult of the Toothed Coil
|
Unknown |
| | ||
| Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
The Dammerhal Crusade was a Black Templars-led crusade to remove Ork and Tyranid presence from the Agri-World of Abundantia. It was part of the greater Octarius War, and one of many Crusades declared by High Marshal Helbrecht upon different worlds in the Sigma-Ulstari System. The Crusade was led by Castellan Beren Kiergaard, while the Genestealer Cultists of the Cult of the Toothed Coil were commanded by Magus Shaylagh Dysther.[1]
Overview
Prelude
Upon entering the Sigma-Ulstari System, High Marshal Helbrecht ordered multiple crusades upon different planets. The majority of the fleet was deployed to Sigma-Ulstari, a Forge World and the capital planet of its namesake system. However, smaller fleets were sent to other targets, including Abundantia, an Agri-World infested with Orks and Tyranids. Additionally, Genestealer Cultist presence had been reported among the clans of herder-butchers, belonging to the Cult of the Toothed Coil.[1]
Three priority targets were assessed by Helbrecht and affixed to Kiergaard’s armour upon neo-vellum seals, chosen to disrupt Xenos activity and divide their forces.[1]
Ghulam VII-f
The first target was a group of Orks in an overgrown sector of Abundantia designated Ghulam VII-f that had destroyed a herder clan and posed a threat to nearby refugee camps. Kiergaard assembled a Strike Force of infantry-carrying Impulsors escorted by Storm Speeders and Gladiators, with two Stormhawk Interceptors in high-atmosphere reserves.[1]
Due to the tall and dense foliage, the Black Templars were able to execute a surprise attack on the Greenskins, bursting from the forest and hitting them in the flank. After a rapid strike from the Gladiators and Storm Speeders, a second wave of Space Marines disembarked from the Impulsors and joined the fray, decimating the Orks.[1]
Despite losing nearly half their strength from the Templars’ attack, the Orks destroyed multiple Storm Speeders using Kill Rigs and capsized an Impulsor. Shortly after, a Vashkadon emerged from the foliage and trampled both Space Marines and Greenskins. As some Orks mounted Squighogs and chased after the Vashkadon, the Black Templars charged into the remaining Orks, eventually killing all that remained. Kiergaard then called in the Stormhawks, which tracked down the escaping Orks following the Vashkodon, while also embarking his troops into the transports to give chase.[1]
Phegra-kappis
The second target was Phegra-kappis, a Reclamation City or ‘butcher town’ in the path of a Tyranid swarm where carcasses of megafauna were processed. The city consisted of factorum complexes extending deep below the surface, surrounded by slums. One important purpose of the city was the supply of rare chemicals to Sigma-Ulstari, making it an important factor in the Octarius War. Mysteriously, evacuation efforts of rare substances from Phegra-kappis had failed when lifter shuttles were shot down by the city’s own anti-air defence network.[1]
The securing of Phegra-kappis was delegated to Frohl Koremann, the Champion of Moros Company, who directed Techmarines to improve the city’s defences. Further firepower was provided by Battle Sisters of the Order of the Valorous Heart, and a mixed company of Astra Militarum sourced from those saved by Task Force V of Battle Group Irasmus prior to the action in the Sigma-Ulstari System.[1]
Upon receiving distress calls from the subterranean levels of the city, Koremann dispatched a squad of Sisters of Battle and two Crusader Squads to investigate.
Meanwhile, agents of the Cult of the Toothed Coil in other Reclamation Cities such as Vorgan-Pa and Yahn-Trixerix sabotaged key infrastructure, started riots resulting in the death of multiple Battle Sisters which weakened front lines for a cultist attack, and killed 32 officers at the Markius 8 Transition Depot, therefore gaining control of Guardsman squads that were then drawn away from strategic locations.[1]
Avanor-Ilum
The third and final target was the city of Avanor-Ilum, where the main forces of the Cult of the Toothed Coil were engaged in guerrilla warfare with Imperial Guardsmen. Magus Shaylagh Dysther ordered the storming of Shanty Districts 8.31 and 77.23. These were positioned next to a wide open transit hub, which was difficult for Imperial forces to defend. Additionally, Cultists hid in a maze of housing blocks, using their knowledge of the environment to their advantage.[1]
The Black Templars were deadly in the close-quarter melee of the shanty districts, and slew many cultists to the extent that Magus Dysther switched tactics to sacrificing hundreds of cultists just to slow the Astartes’ advance. Dysther then mustered tens of thousands of cultists for a massive assault on Avanor-Ilum against a combined Imperial army of defenders. As the Genestealer cultists began to gain an upper hand, the Templars emerged from the shanty districts behind them, staining the transit hub with Xenos blood. It was at the psychic urging of Dysther’s Patriarch that she abandoned her brothers and sisters, retreating with a small group of close followers including Locus Dreyvan Shakh into Shanty District 77.23.[1]
Sources
- 1: White Dwarf 471, pgs. 80-101 - The Red and The Dead Part 2
