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Red Waaagh!

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Red Waaagh!
Red-waagh.png
The Red Waaagh! unfolds on Alaric Prime
Date 443998.M41
Location Sanctus Reach
Outcome Imperial victory
Combatants
Orks Imperium
Commanders
Warboss Grukk
Big Mek Mogrok
Tank Boss Baddfrag
Raddak Bluefinga
Skyboss Wingnutz
Bogrot Bones
Gashrakk Da Flash
Weirdboy Big Redd
Goff Boss Drogg
Lord Vargan
Chapter Master Midnias(KIA)
Lord Neru
Lord Gaulemort Kestren
Castellan Jakren Stein
Silas Ovik
Salem Whitlock
Great Wolf Logan Grimnar
Strength
See Order of Battle, billions[3] See Order of Battle
Casualties
Heavy Heavy

The Red Waaagh! refers to an especially powerful Ork Waaagh! encountered by the Imperium in 443998.M41.[5]

The course of the Red Waaagh!

Overview

Prelude

Once an Ork Boy Goff of Krugg the Tyrant on the world of Eyrok, Grukk fought for Krugg's Bad Moons for many years. The situation changed when Big Mek Mogrok arrived on Eyrok, having been marooned by Freebooterz. Mogrok convinced Grukk that rather than fighting a few Orks on some backwards planet, he should be conquering Systems. With the spirit of ambition in Grukk, the two oversaw the fall of Krugg. During the fight for dominance, Grukk sawed through the Tyrant's face with a saw-klaw, and thereafter became known as Grukk Face-Rippa. Within a week, Grukk managed to unite the Orks of Eyrok and began constructing ships with the help of Mogrok.[2]

Soon enough Grukk and his forces began their rampage, targeting the Sanctus Reach. Sector Lord Vargan was taken completely by surprise as the Orks ravaged the jungle moons of Laos, overran the penal colony of Night's End, and ambushed and destroyed Vargan's fleet in an asteroid field. With every raid and battle more Orks flocked to Grukk’s banner, and his legend took root in the minds of greenskins across the breadth of the Sanctus Sub-sector. In the space of a few short years, a sector of space considered desolate was teeming with Orks, all bawling the name Grukk into the dark.[2]

The Siege of Obstiria

By the time Grukk reached the Sanctus Reach he had billions of Orks following in his wake. His biggest obstacle was the world of Obstiria, home to the Obsidian Glaives Space Marine Chapter led by Chapter Master Midnias. Using Freebooterz and Evil Sunz under Kaptain Dakbad Flamegut to launch an initial shock assault on the world, the Fortress-Monastery of the Obsidian Glaives, Penumbral Spike, soon came under siege. Despite leading a vicious defense for eight days and nights, Grukk arrived and managed to turn the tide after defeating a Space Marine counter-attack at the Battle of Black Gulch and slaying Chapter Master Midnias in the process. With their commander dead, the Obsidian Glaives managed to hold out for three more days before being overrun. With Obstiria crushed and the Sanctus Reach aflame, only the Knight World of Alaric Prime now remained defiant.[2]

The Battle for Alaric Prime

As the Red Waaagh! approached Alaric Prime, the Lord of House Kestren, Gaulemort Kestren and Lord Neru of House Degallio readied the defenses and sent out distress calls via Astropaths. They were subsequently reinforced by Cadian Imperial Guard forces.[3]

After many nights of anxiety and hurried preparation, the Waaagh eventually descended. The Imperial orbital defenses and orbiting warships and desperately sought to prevent an Ork foothold on the planet. The Ork attack was focused on the thousand-mile ring of fortifications around the Sacred Mountain of Alaric Prime. Despite the orbital defenses soon enough the defensive line was under attack by Deff Dreads and Battlewagons. No matter the amount of carnage meted out by the Imperial gun lines, the Orks still came on.[3]

The Battle for the Bridges

It was then that the Knights of House Kestren, House Degallio, House Velemestrin, and House Brahmica launched their attack. While they managed to hold the line, Grukk himself eventually appeared, at the helm of a Gargant. In the ensuing charge, House Kestren was annihilated and the Cadians attempted to hold the line, though Grukk's Gargant was ruined. Under Cadian Castellan Jakren Stein, the Imperial Guard made their stand at the banks of the Boiling River and used massed artillery and tank fire as well as Ogryns to try and hold the bridges of Zeta Sec and Zeta Tert. The Cadians inflicted massive casualties on the Orks but were ultimately facing defeat until the Knights of House Degallio arrived. Soon Bridge Zeta Tert was destroyed and the concentrated firepower of House Degallio's fortress, the Isle Degallio, decimated greenskins. The battle of the bridge was soon over, and the momentum of the Orks blunted.[3]

Stein made it clear that while they had one this battle the Ork threat was far from finished, and insisted that the only way to stop the Waaagh! was to kill the Greenskin leader. Meanwhile the Orks launched a renewed attack on the Sacred Mountain defensive line, manned by Cadians and Knights of House Velemestrin and Brahmica as well as the Freeblade Gerantius. When Grukk himself once more entered the fray on a Battlewagon, Stein deployed Heavy Weapons Squads to try and assassinate him. When this failed, Gerantius himself took action and managed to destroy both the Battlewagon and Grukk. With their leader dead the Orks began to falter, and the Cadians launched a massive charge from their positions that turned the withdraw into a rout. Following the defeat, Grukk's Waaagh! broke down into infighting and chaos as Grukk's lieutenants struggled for dominance.[3]

Waaagh! Mogrok

Unbeknownst to all involved, it was Big Mek Mogrok (who many Orks suspected as having engineered Grukk's death) who was already well ahead of the game. While his rivals were fighting among themselves, Mogrok and his Mek horde struck at human forces with well-planned traps. Mogrok understood that the key to obtaining power for himself was to start large and impressive battles that would draw the attention of all the Orks in the region to his forces. Mogrok executed his plan with an attack on the Auspice Savannah, far east of the Sacred Mountain. Sacrificing his first wave of vehicles to Imperial fire, this created a metal wall on the plains that allowed the Orks a secure position on the battlefield. While the Imperial Guard defenders initially held their ground, an advance of Morkanauts air-dropped onto the Cadian lines led by the Gargant Gungutz combined with an Ork aerial assault broke them. Satisfied, Mogrok activated his tellyporta and sought to move on the coastland islands that was the key to Imperial reinforcement of the Savannah.[3]

The battle for the Isles began, as Mogrok led a siege of these enclaves. First blocking their causeways, Mogrok deployed 200 heavy tanks to move on Isle Kamata. Dropping in Kommandos to infiltrate the island by hiding themselves underneath the vehicles of a supply convoy, Kamata's island oasis fell by morning to the Ork infiltration troops. The Orks captured a great deal of equipment, leading to a massive increased in Looted weapons, vehicles, and even Knights in greenskin hands. Mogrok himself was working on a weapon that could destroy an entire island in one blow.[3]

Soon enough Mogrok revealed his doomsday weapon: an oversized Traktor Kannon that would latch onto the orbiting frozen comet and send it plummeting onto the Sacred Isle. The only hope for the Imperial defenders fell on Salem Whitlock and his Tempestus Scions, who would attempt a raid behind Ork lines to disable the device. In the vicious battle at the Ork base that housed the Tractor Cannon, the Scions were successful in destroying the weapon.[3]

Despite the setback, the Orks made one final attack on the Sacred Mountain anyway as the frozen comet still plummeted towards Alaric Prime (though it was now thrown off course). The final battle, this time focused at Fortress Alaric, soon was underway as Stein again led the defense alongside Knights, Baneblades, and Stormswords. In a vicious, desperate final battle the Imperial forces were barely holding out but following an Ork explosive chain reaction in space with the Frozen comet, the celestial object was again on a collision course with the Sacred Mountain. The comet struck the mountain, wiping out the Imperial defenders and many Orks with them.[3]

Despite the apparent doom of the defenders, hope was reignited when the survivors noticed Space Wolves Drop Pods on the horizon.[3] And despite the gains made by Mogrok, the myriad greenskin forces on Alaric Prime are still often fighting amongst themselves and overall the Waaagh is a shadow of what it once was.[Needs Citation]

Order of Battle[3]

Imperial

Waaagh! Grukk

Sources