Outpost #17 was only partially constructed when it was attacked by mutants.

“This is a distress signal from Outpost Number Seventeen. We are under attack. Repeat, we are under attack. We are outnumbered. Our eastern perimeter is breached, and enemy troops are within the outpost. Reinforcements requested at once. Repeat: Reinforcements requested at once.”

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Imperial Voxcast (6 354 744.M41)—One of the dozens of Planetary Defense Force (PDF) outposts encircling the rebel-held ruins of Ungolath has been attacked and partly overrun by an undetermined number of mutant rebels.

Outpost #17, established north of the abandoned hive city of Pyros, was attacked at dawn by a rebel force believed to number approximately 200 mutants, military authorities announced. The Imperial garrison suffered heavy casualties but managed to hold back the mutants until reinforcements arrived.

“Fifteen soldiers were killed, and another 34 wounded, by the perfidious mutants that launched the attack,” said General Marwan Sayar, the PDF’s most senior commander, during a news conference this morning.

“Despite the severity of the attack, the majority of the outpost garrison managed to deploy in defensive trenches,” he added. “Although the mutants overran half the outpost, volley fire from the trenches convinced the mutants that their attack ultimately would fail. They withdrew before Imperial reinforcements arrived.”

The mutant force attacked the outpost as far away as possible from completed sections of trench line, and PDF troops suffered severe casualties fighting from behind ad hoc piles of stone.

Surprise Attack

The mutants nearly caught the outpost by surprise. According to authorities, a number of mutant units were hiding just outside the perimeter of the outpost, having buried themselves in the sand during the night.

The mutants lost the element of surprise, however, when a PDF sentry noticed movement amongst some 10-meter-tall mesas about 200 meters from the outpost.

“The sentry wisely informed the commander of the watch, who ordered an alert that put troops on the perimeter walls just in time,” Sayar said.

That movement turned out to be three combat walkers—built out of the wreckage abandoned in Ungolath when the hive city fell, authorities say. These slapped-together constructions were armed with a variety of weapons apparently built using old civilian machinery.

As the machines opened fire, several score of mutants pulled themselves out of the sand and fired on the garrison. Several PDF soldiers fell in the initial fighting.

Another group of mutants, notable for serous mutations including a third arm, attempted to charge a portion of the defenses, Sayar said. Fortunately, the garrison’s fire drove back the charge.

Military strategists are concerned that the mutants targeted the Imperial outpost closest to the hive city of Pyros, long abandoned by Imperial officials but reportedly rife with rebel sympathizers.

Casualties Mount

One problem for the outpost’s garrison was limited cover, authorities admitted. The isolation of the outpost, along with a shortage of construction equipment, had caused work on the outpost’s defenses to be only partially complete. One side of the perimeter boasted a fully functional trench system, but the rest of the perimeter was limited to such obstacles as tanglewire and short walls of rock built by PDF troops to provide cover.

Not surprisingly, the mutants chose to attack the outpost perimeter as far away from the finished trenches as they could. As a result, many PDF troops facing the mutants had minimal cover, and one squad of PDF lost all but one soldier.

“What is truly frightening about this report is that survivors of the attack have commented on the poor accuracy of the mutants’ ranged fire,” Sayar said. “It was only the sheer number of rebels attacking that led to PDF casualties. The outpost’s defenses should have been completed long ago.”

When a second force of rebels appeared, it added its fire to the battle, and the order was given to withdraw from that portion of the perimeter. “It was decided to fall back to the trenches on the far side of the outpost, a position the commanding officer thought offered the best chance of repelling the rebels.”

Click here to read Part 2 of this battle.

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The Corvus Cluster is a Warhammer 40K blog documenting our gaming adventures in the fantastical sci-fi universe of Games Workshop.