Kalidar War
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The Kalidar War was a conflict in the early-mid M41.[1a]
Contents
Overview
The war was fought by an Imperial battlegroup to liberate the Industrial World of Kalidar IV from the orks of Waaagh! Gratzdakka.[1a]
The taskforce, which consisted of Black Templars Space Marines supported by Imperial Guard Regiments from Paragon VI, Atraxia and Savlar, was successful. Gratzdakka was killed and his Waaagh! shattered.[1k]
Kostoval Rout
Early in the war, Astra Militarum forces were deployed on the Kostoval Flats in order to break the orks' siege of the Urta mining complex.[1b][1c]
However, the orks ambushed the Guard, with Tankbustas that sprang from beneath the desert sand and a group of ork heavy walkers[1c], including a Witch Engine[1d], that were hidden by a sandstorm.[1c] Although the Guard's super-heavy tanks were able to bring some of the walkers down, the Witch Engine was protected by a powerful psychic forcefield. Without Scholastica Psykana support, the Guard were forced to fall back[1d], taking heavy losses.[1f]
Later Actions
Following the battle on the Kostoval Flats, the Imperials discovered a number of ork raiding bands were based out of abandoned mineheads close the Imperial frontline base of Hive Modulus, using the planet's subterranean tunnel networks to move around.[1g][1h]
One warband in particular, composed of light, fast vehicles including a number of bikes and buggies, was harassing Imperial forces operating in the region.[1e][1g] After locating the warband's base in the Vorsanii Aridity, a small Militarum detachment was sent to eliminate the orks and destroy the minehead. An Atraxian heavy infantry platoon backed up by Paragonian tanks (including the Baneblade Mars Triumphant) launched an attack on the mine's entrance to draw out and exterminate the orks while a Savlar detachment infiltrated the tunnels and detonated an atomic device that collapsed the mine. During the action, the Paragonian Lieutenant Colaron Bannick distinguished himself by rescuing a number of Guardsmen held captive by the orks.[1g]
The success of this mission bolstered Imperial morale, and this was followed by further successful actions that pushed the orks away from Hive Modulus and the Kostoval Flats and broke the siege of the Urtis complex.[1h]
Ork Counterpush
In 328.397.M41, Captain-General Iskhandrian held a banquet for the senior Imperial officers at a position they held within Macaree's Tablelands. Speaking to his guests aboard the Command Leviathan Magnificence, he claimed that Hive Meradon would be back in Imperial hands within three weeks, after which the orks would be effectively defeated.[1h]
However, the true power behind the ork army revealed itself during the banquet - an immensely powerful ork witch, dubbed "Greeneye" by the Imperials, was able to psychically dominate one of the Imperial Sanctioned Psykers in a show of force, taunting the assembled officers before making the psyker's head explode. At the same time, a force of orks led an attack on the Imperial position in the Tablelands under the cover of a sandstorm, including a boarding assault on the Magnificence itself and a number of ork saboteurs attempting to plant explosives on the Imperials' Super Heavy Tanks, which were undergoing maintenance.[1h]
The Imperials were able to weather the surprise attack but sustained significant casualties.[1h][1i] A number of Imperial officers were killed and tanks were damaged (including the Magnificence and the Hellhammer Ostrakhan's Rebirth). It was a measurable blow to Imperial morale. In an attempt to restore his authority over the Army Group, Iskhandrian was quick to levy charges against a number of officers, whose overall dogmatic lack of adaptability he held responsible for the defenders' losses. At an emergency strategic gathering aboard the Magnificence, Iskhandrian was quick to devise a new plan to combat Greeneye. He had identified the witch's psychic power as cause for concern; boosted by the lorelei that the orks had scavenged from the planet, Greeneye's sorcery allowed the orks to be aware of the Imperials' positions and allow them to mount coordinated attacks despite the harsh desert conditions of Kalidar.[1i]
The Mission
Iskhandrian ordered for a small Imperial force led by Captain Exertraxes [1j] to strike at the heart of the orks' powerbase on Kalidar - Hive Meradon - and assassinate Greeneye before the orks could finish construction of a psychic amplifier. Greeneye's death would nullify the psychic barriers protecting the amplifier and allow for the rest of the army to destroy it.[1i][1j]
Imperial Order of Battle
Space Marines
- Black Templars — A Crusade.[1e]
- A Fighting Company under the command of Castellan Evenius.[1e]
- A Fighting Company under the command of Castellan Thieme.[1h]
Astra Militarum
- Atraxian Regiments — Under the overall command of Captain-General Iskhandrian (also primary Commander of Guard forces on Kalidar).[1h]
- Atraxian 18th — Commanded by Grand Captain Olgau.[1c][1d]
- Paragonian Regiments — Under the overall command of General Ban Lo Kism Verkerigen.[1h]
- Terra's Lambent Glory[1h]
- At least four cruisers.[1h]
- Aeronautica Imperialis assets[1i]
Trivia
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Notes
- It is possible that the Kalidar Crusade is the Black Templars' designation for this particular conflict.[2]
Sources
