Loyalists' Strategium

[bluntblade]

I've been wondering about how Alex would manage the war. It's worth considering that pretty much all the Legions would have had units scattered across the Galaxy. So one thing we could do is have companies of Astartes, especially the Halcyon Wardens, evacuating personnel, materiel and civilians to designated Fortress Worlds which the Imperium can feasibly hold. Even as the loyal primarchs reassemble, they're going to remain on the back foot. Then, if I recall correctly, Icarion goes on the offensive.

[simison]

I believe there's a Chinese maxim saying that 'he who defends all, loses all'. Since Icarion is using most of his force to simply expand outwards, Alex has two initial objectives. One, he needs to put down rebellions in the Imperium proper, like the Martian Civil War. Two, he needs to start slowing down the traitor advance. To accomplish this, he splits his forces into unequal halves. He has the Warden Diplomatic Corps and the Order of the Mind, along with several Legion Cohorts (Chapters) combined with elements from the Iron Bears, the Void Eagles, the Dune Serpents and the Crimson Lions to put down the rebellions and secure the Imperium's interior.

 

Against the Insurrectionists, Alex sends the lion's share of his forces against them, including the entirety of the Scions Hospitaller. Niklaas has a brief stay on Terra to secure the Palace before he is sent to the front to start crafting defence lines. 

 

To avoid spreading themselves too thin, Alex, using divination and raw skill, chooses several choke point systems that can launch rapid retaliatory strikes against neighboring systems lost to the traitors. Outside of the critical systems, frigates and light ships will regularly patrol low-priority systems and have orders to fall back if the traitors deploy force & alert the nearby loyalist hub.

 

EDIT: Once the interior is secured, Alex will be able to deploy the rest of his forces to the front lines, minus emergency reserves and secondary defence lines. 

[bluntblade]

Excellent stuff.

 

That gives us some good opportunities to, ahem, match-make a few Legions. I've already had an idea for pitching the Bears against the Eagle Warriors in open battle sometime.

[MikhalLeNoir]

Hah!! Blunt, you just want to write a massive tank battle;)

[bluntblade]

It has a certain appeal. It wouldn't hurt to discuss what battles we want to detail across the books both to differentiate the project from the Heresy and to explore the particular skill sets of each Legion.

[AlphariusOmegon108]

A tank war, an assasin massacre, a psychic battle, siege warfares and flyer to flyer (including boarding) actions would be great to see

[MikhalLeNoir]

Pariah vs Warp or Psykers would be cool.

[Sigismund229]

A tank war, an assasin massacre, a psychic battle, siege warfares and flyer to flyer (including boarding) actions would be great to see

Agreed on assassin massacre(an attempt by the Dune Serpents to get Icarion and insead theyjust get loads of his officers and the like?) and flyer to flyer(particularly as the Arpine Auxilia contains an elite flying unit called the "Night Witches")

[Chief Captain Redd]

For the tank war we could use the battle of the forge, the IIIrd Grand Wartribe is there and while they lost two thirds of their men they didn't lose too much of their armoury and as Lord Chief Lakestrider is the Master of the Armoury, that's a lot of fething tanks.

[Kelborn]

agreed on all of that. Sounds really cool. Can already imagine the specific battles.

 

We can use canon battles like Phal as a base to work on and expand them. :)

[Sigismund229]

I apologise if this isn't what peeps were thinking but inspiration struck...

 

Last Charge of the 3rd Grand Wartribe

At the height of the battle of the Forge, as survivors of the Imperial Army fought a running battle amidst the shattered streets and manufactories of Iyacrax and the Halycon Wardens stood in defense of the remaining population of Iyacrax, the Warbringers and their Imperial Army auxilia captured the Ordinatus Iyacraxa after an assault lasting three days. Ever since the battle of the Forge's beginning, the Ordinatii had been the loyalist's greatest advantage and now that they had lost one, the Imperial commanders estimated that they would need to withdraw from all five of the surrounding districts, which had been reduced to little more than rubble. If the traitors got the Ordinatus working again, then the second Ordinatus' defences would fall mere days afterwards, the Districtas Fortificatus a week later at most and the loyalists would be forced to try and evacuate. While the possibility of re taking the Ordinatus was discussed, it was judged too dangerous an undertaking to risk by the Imperial Army as they lacked sufficient armour to accomplish it and any assault by infantry would be massacred.

 

However, when evacuation was explored as a possibility, it was found to be equally suicidal, with estimates indicating that less than 10% of the forces would make it past the traitor blockade if they even made it off of the world in the first place. In addition to this, the Imperial Army would need to disengage first, a near impossible task in the vicious street fighting, and the Halycon Wardens had declared that no matter what the Imperial Army did they would stand in defence of Iyacrax's population until the end. So it was that it was agreed. The Ordinatus had to be retaken but by who? The Imperial Army and the Halycon Wardens lacked the armour and most of the Mechanicum forces were tied down defending those Manufactories that remained in working condition. In the end, only one force was available: the Iron Bears 3rd Grand Wartribe. While they had lost almost 1/3 of their forces along with their primarch, much of their armoury remained in tact and despite a few of them remaining in orbit with their ships, most were deployed to Iyacrax itself. So the decision was made. The assault had to be made by the 3rd Grand Wartribe.

 

As they boarded their vehicles and remaining flyers, supported by 13 knights of House Bayard, the Iron Bears were under no illusions as to the probable outcome of this armoured charge. They were, likely as not, going to their deaths. Yet still they went willingly for within the hearts of each and every legionnaire of the VIth burned the need for vengeance, vengeance for their father and for the countless brothers they had lost. Too long they had waited and now, they would either succeed and have their vengeance or they would die in the attempt. Loading their bolters and readying their armour, the 3rd Grand Wartribe rode out to war for what many assumed would be the last time.

 

As their brothers of the Vth died defending Iyacrax's population, the Iron Bears charged across the rubble plains that surrounded the Ordinatus. While this was the only approach from which they could have made the assault, it was also one of the most heavily defended areas on Iyacrax, transformed by the Warbringers into a death trap. With canons to the left and right of them as well as in front of them, the 3rd Grand Wartribe charged on, losing brothers every step of the way as their remaining Storm Eagles and the remnant of the Iyacrax Air Defence Auxilia sold their lives to disable the anti tank defences, shot down in the dozens as they made repeated bombing runs. The worst was yet to come.

 

With a thunderous roar of engines, the armoured might of the Warbringers took to the field. With a sound like worlds colliding, the armour of the 3rd Grand Wartribe and that of the IXth legion clashed. As these adamantium behemoths did battle amidst the rubble of a dying forge world, the legionnaires of the two legions disembarked to do battle amidst the nuclear winds of Iyacrax, fighting with bolter, blade and hatred as their armour did so with technology and shells the size of an astartes. As the two legions clashed in a whirlwind of hatred and violence, the knights of House Bayard and those of House (insert here) duelled each other like the chivalric heroes of old even as the titans of the Mechanicus strode the field, crushing any unlucky enough to be beneath their tread as they battled their counter parts.

 

The slaughter raged for three days. When the Iron Bears finally emerged victorious, their armour was cracked, their bolters empty of ammunition, their blades broken and hundreds of their tanks were left burning alongside those of the Warbringers on the rubble plains about the Ordinatus. Nine knights of House Bayard had fallen as had the Warlord titan Dominus Ferrum yet nothing compared to the losses of the 3rd Grand Wartribe. Of the 19,000 brother who had made the charge, a force sufficient to conquer and entire star system deployed along a front no wider than a few Km, more than 12,000 had fallen, felled by flames as their tanks burned around them or by traitor's blades as they fought on foot. Yet with their deaths they had accomplished something of greater import than most men will in their entire lives: they had bought Iyacrax time. Their deaths had bought life for billions and had ensured that Iyacrax would hold one more day as the sun rose over their burned and mangled bodies.

[bluntblade]

For the tank war we could use the battle of the forge, the IIIrd Grand Wartribe is there and while they lost two thirds of their men they didn't lose too much of their armoury and as Lord Chief Lakestrider is the Master of the Armoury, that's a lot of fething tanks.

There's certainly room for vehicular action there, but the Battle of the Forge is a little war in its own right. I was thinking more of a vehicular cavalry battle, which can come later and will need a more spacious planet. Probably pitting the Bears against the Eagle Warriors- we could have some of the Bears set out to aid the Lions when Alexos and Raktra go for a jolly in Mycenae.

[simison]

Yucahu studied the holographic galaxy as the Warmaster finished explaining the current status of the battle lines. Where the Emperor's light still ruled, the hologram overlaid gold over the sectors. At the far edges of the galaxy, grey marked the undiscovered regions, regions that should have been swept away in the Great Crusade. Now, who knew when the Imperium would accomplish the Emperor's vision? Of far greater concern was the growing eye of darkness centered on the Maelstrom. This marked Icarion's new counterfeit Imperium. Three years since the Stormlord had betrayed them. For three years, the Stormlord's domain grew with smaller holes representing the personal worlds of the Traitorous Primarchs. There had been talks of targeting the Traitor Primarch homeworld still located within Imperium space, but Alexandros had assigned those missions a lower priority. Assaulting a Legion's Homeworld would require considerable war assets invested and would be a costly endeavour. For now, they were under blockade. Meanwhile, the Chemos system was the latest to surrender to the Stormlord.

 

Throughout the gold sectors, splotches of red indicated rebellions were arrogant humans had thrown off the Emperor's wisdom to seize control. Not all of them had declared sides with the Stormlord, but all would face the wrath of the Imperium for betraying their oaths. Only one segmentum was now cleaned of rebellion: Solar. The subjugation of the Nikaea system had granted the Warmaster a propaganda point to boost morale, which is why he had summoned his brothers to discuss the next phase of the war.

 

Glancing around, Yucahu admitted it was hard not to be frustrated by how few of the Emperor's sons had remained loyal. In this private war room made solely for giants to speak privately with one another, it had been built upon the Warmaster's ascension within his flagship, the Elpis. Out of the eighteen seats, only four were filled by the Warmaster, himself, Hectarion, and Niklaas were present. Pionus was absent, though the Warmaster had assured his brothers that he would return in time, though not in the same form. When pressed on the subject, Alex had refused to expound. Gwalchavad had been confirmed to have returned to his homeworld only a month ago, but had refused any summons from the Warmaster to Yucahu's great ire.

 

Of greater mystery was Azus' fate. Officially listed as missing in action, a large number of Dune Serpents had switched sides, leading to early beliefs that Azus had joined the Stormlord, aggravated by Traitor propaganda. In time, the truth had become known as loyalist Dune Serpents managed to escape the Stormlord's traps to report back to Terra. Alexandros had personally seen them to learn the truth that Azus was still a faithful son but had disappeared during the Day of Revelation. The Warmaster had attempted to scry his lost brother, but only to be blocked by, what he suspected, Pariahs. Locating Azus was one of the highest priorities of the Imperium's Intelligence Services, but still no location had been uncovered in three years. 

 

It was Daer'dd's absence, though, that was most keenly felt. While the Iron Bears fought like daemons in Daer'dd's memory, a Primarch was an irreplaceable being. 

 

"Yucahu."

 

The Lord of the Void Eagles met the Warmaster's gaze. With a press of the button, the galaxy map zoomed onto the Ryza system. "I'm deploying you here. I have reason to suspect that the Traitor's will soon launch a major assault."

 

"A vision, brother?" 

 

Alex shook his head. "The reverse. I can't see Ryza's future at all."

 

"The Grave Stalkers?" Hectarion wondered as he leaned forward.

 

"Or the Godslayers," Niklaas added.

 

"Our intel reports suggest both could be operating in the area," Alexandros explained as he crossed his arms. "The only confirmed troop movement we have are elements of the Berserkers mobilizing nearby. We do have another report that Raktra may be personally involved, but that's unconfirmed." 

 

Yucahu studied the system layout, already marking gravity wells, avenues of approach, and deciding which of the fleets would be best suited to deploy to hold the system. "I will be ready to deploy in four days." With a sigh, he turned to the Warmaster. "If Raktra is present, I suppose you'll want me to offer him a chance to renounce the Stormlord?"

 

With a stony face, Alex replied, "No."

 

Hectarion turned toward his older brother in surprise. "No?"

 

"If Raktra wants redemption, he can seek it in the next life," Alex growled. "Throughout the Great Crusade, he has slaughtered the innocent, sowing the seeds of future rebellion, and has tainted the ideals of the Imperium with his bloodlust. I tolerated him for Father's sake and for the few military advantages he did possess." With fire burning in his eyes, Alex continued. "No longer. If you locate Raktra, Yucahu, do everything in your power to execute him. Wipe this blight from the galaxy."

 

Yucahu admitted to himself a degree of satisfaction to seeing this more practical side to his brother. "As you will, Warmaster."

[Sigismund229]

Nice piece. Just got one problem with it. Hec wouldn't be surprised that Raktra wasn't going to be granted mercy. He wouldn't even ask. If Raktra was there, after the Day of Revelation, he'd want to be deployed alongside Yucahu. In his eyes, Raktra is his kill by rights and so if Alex denied him the honour of avenging his fallen sons(as well as the chance to kill K'awil as revenge for Daer'dd's death) he'd be royally pissed off

[simison]

He's more surprised that Alex is taking such a strong position on it than Raktra deserving it.

[Sigismund229]

He'd still want to be deployed with Yucahu though so that he can kill Raktra and hopefully K'awil as well. Honour has to be satisfied and he can"t let someone else do it for him

[Sigismund229]

I have some questions about how Alex will use and supply the Imperial Army durimg the Insurrection. How will they be used? Will Alex hurl them into battle to serve a distraction so that he can establish defensive lines further back or will they be deployed to bulk out task forces who have substantial legion contingents?

The second question is how will he keep up the flow of manpower to replace the(inevitably) heavy casualties? I ask because Mycenae could potentially provide a large number of recruits due to having something similair to national service but that would leave it severely weakened in terms of its ability to resist something like the Blood Crusade.

[bluntblade]

I don't like the idea of Alex simply using them as cannon fodder. Let's save that for the commissars

[Chief Captain Redd]

I don't really think Alex would though either, he's not that kind of commander. Obviously he knows most mortal troops are going to be little more than speed bumps for Astartes, but I'd imagine with the two tech oriented legions on his side he'd have the resources at least to create a challenge via lots of heavy/super heavy tanks and air superiority maybe?

[bluntblade]

We also have the Technocracy, which means human-size bolters at least for a few troops.

 

Speaking of which, I'm gonna post in the AdMech thread about how their presence might affect the Mechanicus.

[Nomus Sardauk]

Mini-marines maybe? Solar Auxilia type troopers with Bolters and other marine weapons? Possibly specialised regiment armed and equipped specifically for fighting Astartes, like that Arm-Breaker rifle someone came up with?

[simison]

I have some questions about how Alex will use and supply the Imperial Army during the Insurrection. How will they be used? Will Alex hurl them into battle to serve a distraction so that he can establish defensive lines further back or will they be deployed to bulk out task forces who have substantial legion contingents?

The second question is how will he keep up the flow of manpower to replace the(inevitably) heavy casualties? I ask because Mycenae could potentially provide a large number of recruits due to having something similair to national service but that would leave it severely weakened in terms of its ability to resist something like the Blood Crusade.

 

As much as Alex hates to admit it, after the Day of Revelation, the Imperial Army becomes the standard fighting force of the Imperium, until the Loyalist legions can replenish their strength. Now, as some people have pointed out, he's going to avoid Russian charges and focus on deploying them in strong, defensive numbers where they can combine with their numbers to even out the disadvantage against the Traitor legions. In the best scenarios, Legion support will be available to deploy among the Imperial Army units. 

 

Switching over to logistics, Alex will be throwing the bulk of his supplies and resources into replenishing the legions and finding ways to give the Imperial Army higher effectiveness against Traitor marines. The Shoulder-Breakers will be one. The Technocracy's bolters will become key as Alex will charge a few Forge Worlds to begin manufacturing them. Throw in some hot-shot lasguns and plasmas, and, hopefully, after a few years, the Traitor legions will be taking much higher casualties from a properly equipped Imperial Army.

[Chief Captain Redd]

Technology really seems to be the loyalists key advantage I mean between securing Mars and the most of the Mechanicum, the Technocracy, the forge worlds/moons of the Three Fires & the Demiurge, the Iron Bears & The Fire Keepers, etcetera that's something storywise we can use to make the loyalists' defense believable. So really I don't think our Imperial Army needs to be scrappy I think it really can be Elite, Solar Auxila on a much larger scale.

[Sigismund229]

The Imperium certainly has the tech to do it but what with the war, Alex wanting to rebuilt the legions and the fact that the IA will need to expand very quickly to keep up with the demands placed on it I don't think the Imperium will have the industrial capacity(especially seeing as the strategy Sim says Alex will go for will necessitate abandoning some worlds in order to allow the IA to deploy in sufficient numbers on any given world).

 

For veterans of years of war sure, they'll get better equipment(improvised or issued) but I think the conscripts who'll make up most of the IA will just be given flak armour and lasgun. Seeing as casualties will be monstrous, even with the anti astartes gear, I don't think it would be worth giving them much more.

[Chief Captain Redd]

But if in the early go the already decimated Bears are making a stand for a key Forgeworld I don't think Alex is going to be abandoning worlds of such value.