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Ichar IV Campaign

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Battle of Ichar IV
UMIchar.jpg
Ultramarines battle Genestealers during the Battle of Ichar IV
Conflict Second Tyrannic War
Date 993.M41
Location Ichar IV
Outcome Pyrrhic Imperial victory
Combatants
Imperium Hive Fleet Kraken
Commanders
Lord Marneus Calgar
Inquisitor Agmar
Hive Mind
Swarmlord
Strength
Ultramarines
Scythes of the Emperor
Lamenters
PDF
Adeptus Arbites
Tyranid Splinter Fleet
Genestealer Cults
Casualties
Very Heavy
Scythes of the Emperor and Lamenters all but wiped out
Annihilated

The Ichar IV Campaign was a battle of the Second Tyrannic War.[1]

Overview

The Ichar IV Rebellion

The Imperium had several concerns about the uprisings. One of them was a planet named Ichar IV. It was vital to the operation of the eastern region as its huge factories form the centre and lynch pin of one of the few densely populated sectors in the Ultima Segmentum. The entire planet had been seized from the control of the Imperium by a religious fundamentalist group named The Brotherhood. Years before, they had captured the hearts and minds of the population of the planet by preaching the return of the Emperor and promising better times to come. This is the sort of promise that was sought by the workers of the factories after a life with no power or freedom. The Brotherhood quickly set up missions and chapels throughout the poor regions of the planet. The Ecclesiarchy monitored the Brotherhood for any signs of corruption or heresy, but none could be found. Eventually, permission was sought and granted for the construction of a Brotherhood cathedral in Lomas, the biggest city on Ichar IV. Shortly after the completion the trouble began; the Brotherhood refused to pay its tithes to the Planetary Governor and would not allow its members to be inducted into the Planetary Defence Force. Preachers whipped the population into a frenzy, saying the Emperor would return soon. Brotherhood militias began to roam the streets, punishing more "unbelievers" than actual criminals.[1]

Things reached a peak when rioting broke out during a mass demonstration outside of the great cathedral. Arbitrators of the Adeptus Arbites moved in with power mauls and suppression shields but were fired upon from the cathedral. The Arbitrators returned fire and killed several of the Brotherhood militia. This enraged the mob and they surged forwards several times, eventually forcing the Arbitrators to fall back, especially as another, larger mob had just arrived to support them. Rioting then spread throughout the planet and most of the forces of the Arbites were forced back. When the Planetary Defence Force was called for, most rebelled and joined the ranks of the Brotherhood. Eventually, news of the assassination of the Planetary Governor reached the public and vicious fighting broke out in all of the cities of the planet. Within hours, tanks decorated with revolutionary banners were seen driving down roads in cities, pushing the Arbites back. With dawn, news of the assassination of the governor and most of his ministers had spread over the entire planet, and the Brotherhood quickly seized control of several broadcasting stations, announcing their new theocratic state.[1]

The Arbites still held control of the majority of the countryside and the Arbites fortress at the centre of Lomas. Most of the cities had been captured by the Brotherhood, denying the Arbites vital resources. Inquisitor Agmar arrived twenty seven days after the rebellion, on the same day that the fortress was overrun by Brotherhood forces. Most of the Judges in the fortress escaped however, moving to take control of the four main power stations of the city. Inquisitor Agmar saw this as much more of an organised rebellion than a sporadic outburst of feeling. He called for the support of the Ultramarines to help retake the planet. While the Imperial forces waited for the arrival of the Ultramarines, they bombarded the cities and pushed back vicious assaults by militia battalions. Repeated attempts to reach the power stations failed and, six days after Agmar arrived, they detonated several Melta Bombs, completely destroying the generators.[1]

Now the war took on a long, grinding city fight with casualties spiraling upwards daily. Every doorway could have had a booby trap and there were snipers dotted around all over the cities. Entire Imperial Guard patrols disappeared without trace in the maelstrom. This was the same across the planet as the Brotherhood held the armouries of the Imperial Guard and had plenty of people to draw on to become soldiers. Inquisitor Agmar led several small forces into Lomas to uncover the nature of the Brotherhood. He was slowly piecing together the story when, in a chance raid, he slew a Neophyte of the Brotherhood and saw what manner of creature was leading the revolt. Agmar sent a message confirming his fears of another invasion, to the Inquisition and awaited the Ultramarines.[1]

Thirty nine days after the rebellion began, the Ultramarine battle barge Octavius entered orbit and deployed its drop pods. The planetary defences were largely inactive due to the damage to the generators and as such landing casualties were light. Space Marines secured the armouries and Governor's palace and fought off several poorly organised counter attacks, causing massive casualties. Outside, the Imperial Guard launched massive attacks to link with the Ultramarines, using their Leman Russ Battle Tanks as moving strongpoints and the Brotherhood lines bent back.[1]

More than twenty Space Marines in Terminator Armour teleported into the chapel and destroyed the chapel defenders after Agmar sent a message to the Octavius via spy satellite. More guards appeared from side doors and a storm of lasbeams and autoshells ripped out, massacring many of the guards, but not before several of the Terminators were dragged down. The Terminators' single heavy flamer proved to be invaluable, its flames incinerating the unprotected assaulting forces. Some of the Neophytes were striking out with inhuman speed and terrible claws.[1]

The Terminators then spread out and searched for the myriad of secret passages there must be. They soon found one under the altar, and the altar was quickly removed. As they moved down into the crypt, they heard the clattering of claws on stone. As the creatures jumped into the lights of the Ultramarines, they were identified as Genestealers. This showed the Inquisitor's belief that there was a coven at the heart of the revolution to be correct. The battle began and raged for a long time. Hundreds of Genestealers died, piling up on top of each other. Eventually, the horde's numbers were spent in their attack. Several Terminators had been killed as their armour was torn open by the inhumanly sharp claws of the Genestealers. The remainder moved further into the crypt without encountering more of the creatures. Deep beneath the city they found a huge cavern where the huge and bloated great grandfather of the brood, the Genestealer Patriarch, sat. As the Terminators approached, another horde of Genestealers intent on protecting the great father, attacked the Terminators from out of seemingly nowhere. Storm bolters rang out, resulting in carnage. The Chapter Librarian fought his way to the dais but the Patriarch used its psychic powers to attack the Librarian. A surge from the psychic hood broke the spell and the Librarian forced his body out of the real world for an instant and then he reappeared, teleported onto the dais. The creature lashed out and blood and sparks flew from the Librarian, but the Patriarch easily parried the return blow.[1]

The Librarian called on his battle-brothers and the dais was swept with bolter fire. Some shells struck the armour of the Librarian but the Patriarch was also wounded. The Librarian used this opportunity to strike with his force axe, the Librarian's own psychic power behind the blow allowing the weapon to tear through the tough hide of the Patriarch. The Patriarch was dead, suddenly leaving the brood and the entire revolution leaderless. The revolution felt the death of their leader and lost its impetus and cohesion. The remaining Terminators slew the rest of the Genestealers and the battles above stopped mostly as the revolutionaries could only retrench themselves. Small groups of Acolytes and Neophytes held their positions in bunkers and towers but were soon destroyed by the tanks and heavy fighting vehicles of the Imperial Guard.[1]

Ichar IV was back under the control of the Imperium and all remnants of the Genestealer Cult — the Genestealers, hybrids, infected humans, cult members and traitors - was ruthlessly wiped out. Inquisitor Agmar, leading the Ultramarines, methodically purged the planet, which eventually returned to normal. There were still questions that remained unanswered. One was the fate of the human leader of the Brotherhood, as his body was never found. The second was that the Astropaths had reported a shift in the warp, distant still, but the oldest of the Astropaths had sensed the call of the Patriarch and felt the change in the warp. He had sensed something vast and shadowy, a monstrous entity which had turned its attention to Ichar IV.[1]

Agmar then reported to the Inquisition, including a report on survivors fleeing from the outer regions, but it was clear to the Inquisitor, the Tyranids were back with a new Hive Fleet, Kraken. In the confusion and rebellion, planets in Kraken's path were easily consumed.[1]

The Battle of Ichar IV

As Kraken approached Ichar IV in 992.M41, devouring hundreds of planets in its path[9], thousands of Genestealers burst from underneath the surface of the planet, giving lie to the claims that the Genestealer infestation had been purged years earlier. As confusion reigned and Imperial defenses were overrun, massive amounts of Tyranids landed on the Hive World. These included not only Gaunts, Warriors, and Carnifex's but also larger creatures like the Tyrannofex and Hierophant Bio-Titans. The Tyranids were throwing everything in their disposal at Ichar IV.[2]

However all was not lost. Forewarned due to the previous infestation, the Imperium was able to count a strong defense of the system and inflicted heavy losses on the Tyranids. The Imperial defenses were significantly bolstered by Marneus Calgar, Lord of the Ultramarines and a hardened veteran of the Battle for Macragge, who led both his own and allied Space Marines against the Tyranids once more. Using tactics he had developed in the First Tyrannic War, Calgar rallied the defenders of Ichar IV and cast the Tyranids from the world after a vicious struggle. In a replay of history, Calgar again faced the Swarmlord as he had during the battle for Ultramar. This time however it would be Calgar who emerged triumphant, slaying the beast in an epic duel. Without the Swarmlord to counter Calgar's strategies, the Tyranids were cast from the world.[11] However victory was a shallow one, as Ichar IV lay in ruins. Worse still, allies of the Ultramarines, the Scythes of the Emperor and Lamenters, were all but wiped out.[2][3]

Sources