Members of the 112th Iconian PDF Regiment use a stone wall for cover as they battle orks in the Calvados region of Iconia. Click on art for a larger illustration.

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IMPERIAL VOXCAST (6 804 746.M41)—A sizable ork attack in the agricultural region of Calvados has made minor territorial gains after a three-day battle with Imperial troops on the greenskin-infested world of Iconia.

The xeno force of approximately 10,000 advanced along the southern bank of the Parus River and was met by the 112th Iconian PDF Regiment, according to a media briefing by the Iconian High Command this morning.

“Aerial reconnaissance assets detected a sizable xeno military force advancing on the farming villages of Karluk and Nenana, and the 112th Regiment, supported by the 37th Armored Battalion, was ordered to contest the ork advance,” General Franz d’Valos explained at the briefing.

The 112th deployed south of the two small villages along a line of wood fences and stone walls. Two platoons of Lemon Russ tanks from the 37th Armored Battalion anchored the infantry’s right flank, and a squadron of Armored Sentinels—backed by a mechanized grenadier company of the 37th—anchored the left flank.

The ork assault of the 112th was a lengthy and brutal engagement involving close-range weapons fire and the occasional xeno charge met by the defenders with the bayonet.

Initial ork charge

At 13: 20 of the first day of battle, the fighting began with an aggressive assault on the 112th’s center, d’Valos said. “A dozen Battlewagons—the largest and best-armored transports of the xenos—attempted to ram through our PDF troops.”

Although the Battlewagons were struck multiple times by Lemon Russ cannon shells, none of the xeno transports were stopped, the general added. Instead, after crushing numerous soldiers as the xeno vehicles broke through the Imperial position, the transports halted and disembarked hundreds of ork warriors.

“The xenos opened fire with their primitive weapons and charged into hand-to-hand combat with our men,” d’Valos said.

To the credit of the 112th, the first defensive line held—although barely. Over the course of the afternoon, approximately 500 troopers were slain, effectively destroying the combat effectiveness of the regiment’s 1st Company .

“However, what mattered was the Imperial line held, and the initial ork attack force suffered heavily as well.”

The ork attack was uncoordinated. The mechanized center of the ork army charged toward the Imperial defenses hours before the xenos’ strong flank forces reached the battlefield. In response, the 37th Armored Battalion advanced to challenge the greenskins’ initial attack with little threat to its flanks.

Imperial counterattack

The first day ended in a tactical draw, but more orks arrived overnight, and the fighting the next day was even more intense, d’Valos said.

“It was important to seize the initiative from the xenos, and the 112th’s reserves were ordered forward—to crush the exhausted orks in the enemy’s center.”

This counterattack was highly successful, d’Valos said. The regiment’s 2nd, 3rd, and 5th companies advanced, fired withering volleys into the xenos, and used a platoon-sized force to demonstrate in front of the orks in hopes of drawing them into close combat.

“The orks took heavy casualties from our fire and, enraged, they raced toward our demonstration force,” he added. “This drew the orks where we wanted them, and the rest of the regiment swept forward with bayonets and eradicated the greenskins.”

At the same time, the Lemon Russ tanks on the right flank advanced, opening fire on the still-dangerous Battlewagons. Thankfully, although the xeno transports weathered the long-range fire, they opted to withdraw rather than fight without infantry support.

So successful was overall attack, that the 5th Company’s orders were changed, d’Valos said. “The company was ordered to advance across the open ground before them and threaten greenskin artillery and split the xeno army.”

An unexpected flank attack by ork Deffkoptas proved costly to the 37th Armored Battalion, which suffered the loss of several Lemon Russ tanks.

Orks threaten flanks

The success of the second day of fighting was partially due to the heroics of the 112th’s infantry,  But the Iconian High Command acknowledged the ork battle plan (or lack of one) helped.

“The ork vanguard fell victim to the greenskin’s lust for battle,” d’Valos said. “The ork center charged unsupported, as its flanking forces were delayed by difficult terrain.”

These forces finally made their presence felt on the third day of fighting. As Imperial troops attempted to exploit their recent victories and advance aggressively up the center, a squadron of Deffkoptas,  armed with anti-tank weapons, swung around the 112th’s right flank and attacked the rear of the 37th Armored Battalion.

“Appearing without warning behind our right flank, the Deffkoptas maneuvered to target the less-armored rear of our Imperial tanks,” d’Valos said.

Ork accuracy with ranged weapons is notorious bad, but the Deffkoptas proved  accurate—or more lucky—than anyone could have guessed, he said. “As our tanks sought to redeploy against this threat, several were struck by enemy fire and suffered catastrophic  damage.”

The ponderous but powerful surviving Imperial tanks struggled to target the speedy ork skimmers, and the greenskin pilots struggled under Imperial fire to survive and maneuver behind the tanks.

The 112th’s 6th Company was sent to support the dwindling numbers of the 37th Armored, but it proved too little, too late.

“By the end of the day, what was left of the 37th Armored on the right flank, as well as the 6th Company, were compelled to fall back in disorder,” d’Valos said. “More ork infantry were advancing on the position, and it was deemed impossible to hold.”

When an ork mob approached the village of Nenana, a task force of Chimeras and grenadier veterans raced forward and drove the greenskins back using flamers.

Stalemate on the left

On the opposite flank, the third day of fighting saw a sizable mob of orks reach the battlefield, advancing under the cover of a wooded hill. Recognizing the threat, the 7th Grenadier Company of the 37th—an elite mechanized unit—advanced in Chimera transports to hold the 112th’s left flank.

Countering this move with greenskin sneakiness, d’Valos said, the ork Batlewagons joined the advancing greenskin infantry and encouraged them to embark. Thus protected by thr armored transports, they charged the 7th Company in safety, then disembarked and charged.

What followed was a two-hour, close-combat action involving point-blank weapons fire and actual ramming attacks between vehicles, as both mechanized forces sought dominance.

Ork warriors disembarked from ramshackle transports and charged the Imperial center. The greenskins suffered heavy casualties during the day of close-combat action, and the next day, the Imperial reserves attacked and repulsed the orks. The Deffkopta ambush on the Imperial right flank saw the armored companies of the 37th Armored Battalion suffer heavy casualties.

“In the end, several Chimeras were disabled or destroyed by the larger ork vehicles, and several squads of grenadiers were forced to disembark and fight in the open,” d’Valos said. “That prompted the orks to disembark and charge.”

That actually benefited the grenadiers, he noted. “The grenadiers were heavily armed with flamers, which they put to good use. The rest of the units wielded shotguns. They opened up on the xenos and, in the confusion, countercharged successfully.”

By mid-day, casualties were heavy on both sides. But, unlike the right flank, the grenadiers held half the town, while the battered orks grimly stood their ground in the other half.

Click here to read the conclusion of this battle.

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