Battle of Deucalion
The Battle of Deucalion was a battle during the Macharian Heresy.[1]
Overview
The First Army of Warmaster Solon was forced to retreat from the planet Deucalion and he had to order the evacuation of its troops. The entire army consisted of at least thirty regiments in three huge divisions. Troop ships were landing to evacuate the army. While troops embarked into the ships, the enemy managed to pass through the defenses of Solon, putting the landing field within range of its mobile artillery, so that when the last of the transport crafts landed, the bombs started to fall. Then, the first troop-laden transport craft suffered damage from enemy anti-aircraft weapons, the ship crashing to the ground, crushed an entire regiment under it.[1]
The landing field was in complete chaos. In a matter of minutes, nearly half of the ships were destroyed and the Guard was suffering catastrophic casualties. Something had to be done to save the army and it was Colonel Raevan Mortz of the Necromunda 8th that placed his regiment into history thanks to the decisions taken on that day.[1]
Seeing that Warmaster Solon and his own troops still had to be evacuated, Colonel Mortz ordered the Necromundan 8th to move against the enemy. Renouncing any hope of escape, the Spiders charged through the smoke and dust fogged fields, disappearing from view. Soon the intensity of the bombing declined and remaining transports could land in relative safety. The last transport to leave Deucalion was Solon's. Although waiting until the last moment Solon had no choice but to order the launch of the last transport and abandon the Spiders.[1]
