Chapter 3:
Counting the Dead
Surprisingly over three and half thousand diseased and filth ridden troops of the remnants of three Cadian regiments made it back. The rest either died or lay dying on the battlefield, over five thousand in total, either falling in the initial allied bombardment or the chaos slaughter that followed.
The commissariat would interrogate every one of them before they were allowed back into Imperial units. The threat of taint was ever present in those captured by the arch enemy. Imperial command couldn't risk even a single man or woman being the host to chaos ideology or worse, a chaos daemon. The relief of those who had escaped certain death was replaced with one of horror when they realised they were to be rounded up by commissariat squads.
For the troops who had fired on them, a certain amount of shame and regret. Within the week, several dozen had been executed for various reasons, no sign of possession so far, which surprised many in the upper echelons of the commissariat. For the others the long process of interrogation and the thought of returning home were for many too much to bear.
Yuri and the others had surprisingly found themselves bored with inactivity, although the reported movement of chaos troops behind the trenches spoke of a steady build up of opposing forces and the likelihood that an assault was imminent. The only cause for concern had been the constant bombardment of their position. The plascrete dugouts built into the network of trenches had kept most safe from the vicious onslaught.
On their 14th day in the trenches, what appeared to be just another simple day, the chaos reinforcements attacked all along the line. It began with a relentless barrage, hundreds, perhaps thousands of guns opening up on their targets in Sector 666 alone. The booming bloody return was equally relentless, and perhaps even bloodier in its bid to outgun the chaos forces.
Within the hour word had gone up of chemical and sorcerous attacks, For Yuri and the others they wrestled frantically with their protective chemical suits and rebreathers. The casualties were beginning to mount, in Yuri's platoon alone, three dead and sixteen wounded, that was before they had even seen any enemy troops. Yuri could only feel relief that none of the dead or wounded were from his own squad.
Enemy armour was seen advancing past the trench line, perhaps an entire regiment of Leman Russ battletanks, from the traitorous guards who had deserted the god emperor and chosen the Ruinous Powers over the beloved Throne of Terra. The armour was followed by a regiment of chaos traitor guardsmen, Yuri and the others could only wonder at the scale of the enemy assault, how were they meant to hold back such a massive attack.
The situation was repeated all along the fifteen hundred mile front, apparently the chaos forces were more than capable of mounting a coordinated attack on such a massive scale, why it came as such a surprise to Cadian High Command was surprising, considering Abaddon was the Warmaster in this particular war.
The arrival of a battalion of Baneblades and Shadowswords from the until now elusive 29th Cadian Heavy Armoured Regiment, was met with nothing short of awe, the massive heavy tanks would be necessary in turning back the armour that was fast approaching Hill 666. The men and women of 3rd battalion of the 12th Cadian Infantry Regiment and 6th battalion of the Cadian Volunteer Regiment would face two entire regiments from Abaddon's Legions. They prepared their support weapons in readiness to assist the armour, all along the line missile launchers, heavy bolters, mortars and heavy las guns were being positioned. The gun emplacements and armour of HQ 666 suddenly came to life without warning, dozens of explosions in the distance told the story of the devastation they could unleash, even against the enemies armoured regiments. Despite their initial losses the forces of chaos seemed undaunted, their troops and tanks continuing their push forward past their defensive line.
Nix was the first of 1st squad to get the kill, a tank commander with a little too much belief that his gods would keep him safe had his brains blown out by the pin point shooting of the long las firing squaddie. Sergeant Sloane witnessing the kill went one better and disabled the tracks of the Leman Russ, his heavy las punching a hole right through the battletank and bringing it to a grinding halt, a second shot must have hit a shell as it punched through the armour, as it was suddenly engulfed in flame as desperate men tried frantically but in vain to free themselves from the blazing inferno in which they had been entombed.
No more than a kilometre away now, the front lines of the enemy advance opened up on the defensive line of Hill 666. The returning fire of missile, shell and heavy las cut a murderous bloody swathe through the advancing armour. Baneblades and Shadowswords destroyed their enemies with little fear of being damaged or destroyed by return fire, the enemy lacking the heaviest units in this particular area. But still they came, more than half their number had been lost now, but infantry were massing behind the surviving tanks, their own ranks being cut apart from the savagery of the allied artillery bombardment. The enemy seemed to know no fear, they died in their thousands, but the wrath of their masters drove them ever onwards, the promise of gifts and slaughter the driving force behind their devotion to the Chaos Powers.
The defending infantry opened up as one, their deadly blanket of las fire shredding the enemy ranks as they approached, even the chaos forces had to be driven to near frenzy to cope with the loss of so many of their fellow traitor guardsmen. Yuri counted them as the shots hit, he reckoned he had killed five within the first minute, but they came on still, seeming to will the defenders to slaughter them, or perhaps daring them.
They were sprinting now, no more than three hundred metres away, there numbers perhaps less than half of what they had started with, the tank regiment almost completely decimated, but still it had allowed around four thousand troops to get within shooting and melee distance of the allied trenches, to oppose them were the eight hundred men of 3rd battalion, 12th Regiment and the fifteen hundred men of 6th battalion, 35th Volunteer Regiment. The enemy artillery died as the enemy approached, even they weren't fanatical enough to deliberately shell their own forces, not when their plan seemed to be having the desired effect.
All along the fifteen hundred mile line similar scenes were played out, in some areas the assault faltered and died, in others the hard pressed defenders were overrun and had to form a fighting retreat into the next line of defences. In some areas the defenders were completely decimated and the front lines would take on a much different nature as the enemy ran rampage through the lost areas. For the defenders of Hill 666, the battle was just beginning.
--
Yuri dropped the empty power cell into the muddy waters of the trench and reached out for another and loaded his las rifle. He looked across; big Hal lay sprawled in the muddy waters, his face still covered by the gas and chem. mask. He bled from several wounds to his shoulder, The squad medic Jay Kremin was at his side, injecting him with pain killer and treating the wound.
He looked to his other side, Jen was firing wildly but accurately, each shot taking down one of the enemy below them as they struggled to gain a foothold on the muddy hillside. If he could see her face he would have seen one of utter hatred and determination, of loathing and devotion to the god emperor, gone for now was the easy going fist fighting, beer drinking gal he had come to consider closer than his own family, for now she was an instrument of death, a lethal killer who would kill or be killed.
Despite the difficult almost impossible terrain, the chaos troopers were finding a way through the relentless fire, some had even reached the trench line where bitter and bloody hand to hand combat had broken out. Yuri drew his long blade as the troopers came over the top of the trench, thrusting forward and killing a chaos sergeant, as the blade sliced through his throat. All along the line now murderous combat had erupted, commissariat squads and the ever present commissars had joined the fray, shouting words of encouragement and devotion to the god emperor. Not a single man retreated, all were too aware of what would happen if they faltered here, and the treatment of the prisoners gave them the added incentive to never be taken alive by these filthy traitorous dogs.
Sector 666 was a bloody battleground, all along the fifty mile front the newly arrived 56th Army Corps was totally committed to the fight, their support of the defending units couldn't have come at a more appropriate time, as the defenders would surely have been overrun.
Yuri wrestled with a giant of a man, a traitor corporal who tried to push Yuri into the dirt, within seconds he lay still and bleeding on the floor, Jen had jumped on his back and drawn her blade across his throat, finishing with a downwards strike at the nape of his neck, the man twitched and bled as he died, their was no time for sentiment or regret, not that she had any to give.
--
The battle lasted exactly thirty six minutes from them leaving their defences to the last of them slaughtered by the defenders, the cost had been high, over three hundred of 3rd battalions men were wounded, another fifty eight were dead. 6th Battalion had lost forty five men and two hundred and thirty wounded, costly indeed but a success none the less. The vicious assault on the dead and dying of the chaos troopers was to be expected, leave none alive the orders had said.
The long process of getting the dead and wounded back to Field HQ began, for many it would be relief, even despite their wounds, for some it would be the last time they ever saw the front, their wounds too severe for them to return. Hal Dunegal was one of the wounded, not life threatening, but maybe enough to get him out of the firing line for a few months.
The troopers also received a visit from 6th Battalion commander, Lord Major Elias Altron. The Major was a quiet man, young for such a command and thoughtful in his preparations for war, a friend of Lord Colonel Novachek, and the one under his command who would replace him should anything happen to the colonel. He was accompanied by Captain Irena Davenchi, one of the few female officers under the colonel's command and the commander of 5th Company of 6th Battalion. Lieutenant Jall Jacobs greeted them, introducing them to favoured members of the platoon.
Yuri and the others waved goodbye to their fellow platoon members, saying a quiet prayer for the dead.