Liber Challenge III - 14th Mezlan Engineers

[Doctor Perils]

This topic is to present my Liber Challenge III Imperial Guard Regiment, the 14th Mezlan Engineers. I consider it complete for the moment, but I may update this post and adding content in the future. In the mean time, feel free to comment

14th Mezlan Engineers

Name of Regiment - 14th Mezlan Engineers
The Mezlan Engineers are regiments of sappers specialised in digging and consolidating tunnels for any Imperial allies to reach enemy forces on the opposite side of fortifications, or in unexpected locations. However, Mezlan Engineers are still a force to be reckoned with in combat, wielding their las-carbines and flamers at range, or their sharpened spades in close combat. Mezlan Engineers often employ special tunnelling vehicles, and the Hades Breaching Drill is a staple of their arsenals.
Because of the close confines in which Mezlan Engineers are forced to work in - sometimes for months at a time - their ranks only present soldiers of the same sex. The 14th is one of the rare female Engineer regiments, and as such are often disregarded by the more misogynistic generals and fellow soldiers of the Imperial Guard, yet this only fuels their zeal for their work, and often outstrip their male counterparts.
Emblem

Home planet - Mezla

Mezla is an Oceanic Mining World in the Ultima Segmentum. There are in fact no natural land masses on this planet. All its population is concentrated on immense Abyss-class mining platforms, and the great majority of their inhabitants ride industrial lifts down to the tunnels under the waters each morning, extract relevant minerals and ore, and take the lifts back up to the surface each evening.

Every Mezlan man and woman is required to serve in the mines between their 15th an 19th birthdays. After that, most will continue as normal miners after that until they retire, but some are promoted to team leader; others become patrollers, who ply the waves around the platforms or the tunnels under the seas, searching for possible victims falling into the water or of tunnel collapse, and who act as the PDF of Mezla.

Mezla's main tithes are in the form of the precious minerals and ores extracted from the mines and men for the guard : the planet forms a few regiments of Engineers from the miners, and of Scouts from the patrollers, though these are few in number.

Names of its Founders

Colonel Rachel Sudworth

General Edgar Verne

Notable characters

Colonel Rosaline Blackwood

Major Cassandra Perry

First de facto commander of the 14th Mezlan Engineers after the death of colonel Sudworth. Led them to glory on Ostara during their first engagement. It was under her supervision that they were able to take down an ork Stompa, thus ensuring imperial victory. She was summarily executed by a commissar of the 14th once it was determined she had disobeyed orders.

Captain-Major Ros Jameson

Forces - 1200 soldiers

Five companies (Four infantry companies, each squad being accompanied by a Hades Breaching drill; and one mechanized infantry company, mounted generally in Termites)

The first company has five platoons of six squads. It is currently commanded by Colonel Blackwood.

The second, third and fourth companies have four platoons of six squads. They are commanded by Majors.

The fifth, mechanized company, has three squadrons of three Termites, each carrying two squads. It is currently commanded by Major-captain Jameson.

Equipment

Each infantry woman is equipped (amongst others) with a uniform, heavy flakk armour with integrated luminator, a lascarbine, a sharpened spade and a bayonet as close combat weapons, a vox-bead and a 9-70 entrenching tool.

Each squad is equipped with a flamer, and either a Hades Breaching Drill or a Termite.

Since heavy weapons are generally useful for their long range, Mezlan regiments don't use such wargear. Melta and Plasma special weapons are too dangerous to be used in tunnels, whereas flamers -though dangerous - are absolutely deadly to the enemy in these confined environments.

History

The 14th Mezlan Engineers were part of the third Mezlan Guard Founding, which happened in the 39th Millenium. This Founding was prompted by the ambitious Commander Edgar Verne of the Mezlan Patrol PDF, who wished to be remembered as a Hero of the Imperium. This Founding gave him a promotion to a coveted position in the general office of the Imperial Guard.

Meanwhile, the 14th was given to Colonel Rachel Sudworth, who held the office for three months - the time for the regiment to reach the world of Ostara, be put in the front line, and be decimated by enemy fire within three hours of deployment. Once Sudworth was deceased, Major Cassandra Perry of the second company was the next in command, and led the surviving women of the 14th to victory against the Orks, destroying the sole Ork Stompa by tunnelling under its path, immobilising the walker and allowing three companies to assault the innards of the vehicle.

Since their founding, they have taken part in many battles and campaigns, but the most important war in their history was the defense against the so-called Ashen Crusade.

Significant battles joined

Ashen Crusade

A Daemonic entity known as Baêl'Ashorn, created in the name of the obscure Chaos God Hashût, launched the campaign known as the Ashen Crusade in 692.M40, leading a great chaos warband - the Sons of Hashût - composed of renegade Iron Hands and Iron Warriors, as well as traitorous Skitarii of Explorator Fleet RB-491.D, chaos cultists, and the foul Xenos called the Phryx.

In the early stages of the war, imperial defence was led nominally by the Lord General Militant İskender Avcı of Byzant Secundus, but in reality, Inquisitor Natheel Dolchschild dictated some of the more important parts of the campaign. Under his directives, several Imperial Guard regiments were drafted in to fight in the Sarment Sector, and the 14th Mezlan Engineers were part of this group.

Battle of Dagah

A Sons of Hashût division, comprising several tens of thousands of cultists and two hundred Iron Warriors, invaded the world of Dagah in 698.M40. Inside information nonetheless allowed Dolchschild and Avcı to get ten regiments of the Imperial Guard and a full Adeptus Astartes company of the Dread Lords to the planet before any fortifications could be erected, and these managed to secure the resources that were to be used by the chaotic warriors.

Nonetheless, the Sons of Hashût carried on attacking imperial lines for a gruelling year and a half, the prolonged battle turning into a war of attrition. For the Imperial Guardsmen, the only salute was the relative safety the hastily dug trenches offered them. These trenches were dug by the 14th the very same day as the Imperial landing on Dagah, and were continually extended by them over the whole battle of Dagah. During this time, the 14th were caught up in many skirmishes, their losses amounting to more than 300 women, but destroying more than 1800 enemy cultists. During one of these skirmishes, they were even able to hold off several squads of Iron Warriors, succeeding in killing five traitor marines.

Eventually, the Sons of Hashût decided that Dagah's resources were not worth the continued siege of the Imperial's, and the Iron Warriors succeeded in breaking the blockade around the planet. Any surviving chaos cultists were left to be slaughtered by the Imperial Guard.

Leto's Fief Landing

Inquisitor Dolchschild locates the Daemon Baêl'Ashorn on the feudal world of Leto's Fief. The Sons of Hashût unfortunately have heavily fortified the planet, meaning the Inquisitor can't reach the Daemon. A full scale invasion is launched, more than a hundred imperial guard regiments and six companies of the Adeptus Astartes are mobilised to retake Leto's Fief.

The Mezlan Engineers are split by Inquisitor Dolchschild : the Hades Breaching Drills of the infantry companies are used to attack the walls of the fortress housing Baêl'Ashorn, along with the rest of the Imperial Guard and the Astartes; this is in fact a diversion, for the Mechanised infantry company are actually tunnelling under the walls, embarked upon a squadron of Hellbore tunnelling devices, along with three Commanderies of the Order of the Ardent Sword, and Inquisitor Dolchschild: these supplementary forces were meant to banish the daemonic hordes of Hashût. Unfortunately, disaster looms, for a gunnery bunker had trains its cannon upon the inquisitorial troops. Captain-Major Jameson averts catastrophe by ramming the building with her vehicle, thus annihilating the threat.

Sister-Superior Darshana and Dolchschild's interrogator Silas Ketch banish the Daemon, while Dolchschild himself destroyed his nemesis, Ferromancer Talahk, Baêl'Ashorns lieutenant. The battle of Leto's Fief is an Imperial success, but the Sons of Hashût find a new commander in Warsmith Setal Berdax, an undoubtedly more experienced general, meaning that the Ashen Crusade suddenly takes a turn for the worst for the Imperium of Man. Nonetheless, with the success of his mission, Dolchschild and Avci lose their authority to keep Imperial Guard Regiments from neighbouring states, and the Lord Commander Ultima moves the 14th to a new warfront.

Battle of Ostara

First engagement of the 14th. During it, they were badly deployed by the Tacticae and were decimated by enemy fire from an ork Stompa three hours into the battle, including their commanding officer. The second in command then lead the regiment in building a set of tunnels meant to immobilise the Stompa; they then assaulted the Stompa from under its feet, and defeated its operators.

[Olis]

Hitting the ground running, I see. I did have reservations seeing your vow come so late - now that I see this thread, I think you might be just fine. :)

[Aqui]

Hitting the ground running, I see. I did have reservations seeing your vow come so late - now that I see this thread, I think you might be just fine.

Same here. You've done more on your vow than I have!

Good start!

[Doctor Perils]

Thanks for the encouragement

These were an idea I'd had trotting around in my head for a bit of time, but that I hadn't fleshed out. I did already have a couple of ideas about the Ashen Crusade, a campaign that happens in a sector than I'm creating, so I'll finally have an incentive to actually write it down.

[Aqui]

Thanks for the encouragement

These were an idea I'd had trotting around in my head for a bit of time, but that I hadn't fleshed out. I did already have a couple of ideas about the Ashen Crusade, a campaign that happens in a sector than I'm creating, so I'll finally have an incentive to actually write it down.

I've added the link to your vow to the first page

[Doctor Perils]

Thanks, I'll try to make this regiment live up to any expectations anybody may have

[Doctor Perils]

First post updated.

[Doctor Perils]

I think I can consider this completed for the moment.