- Unit: 508th Siege Regiment, 2nd Shock Detachment – Death Korps of Krieg
- Planet: Ferros IX
- Crusade: War Zone Charadon
- Mission: Warhammer 40K – Mission 1
- Mission Type: Combat Patrol
Pre-Mission Narrative: The War on Ferros IX
Ferros IX had long since lost its purpose. Once, it had been a thriving industrial world, its manufactorums belching smoke and fire into the sky, feeding the endless war machine of the Imperium. Now, it was a corpse of a planet, rusted and rotting under the weight of abandonment and war. The skies were thick with acidic rain, the ground a toxic mire of industrial runoff and battlefield debris. What little remained of its infrastructure had been claimed by trenches, artillery emplacements, and the unending cycle of siege warfare.
The 508th Siege Regiment of the Death Korps of Krieg had made this rusted wasteland their battlefield. For weeks, they had fought, bled, and died holding the trench lines against an enemy that would not stay dead. The Blistered, a warband of the Death Guard, had rooted themselves deep into the ruins, and with them came the infection—the slow, festering decay of Nurgle’s blight. The trenches stank of disease, of bodies left too long in the rain, of something deeper and more insidious creeping through the mud. War here was not just a battle of guns and steel. It was a war against inevitability itself.
The Call to Arms
A thin, crackling vox transmission carried through the command dugouts beneath the Krieg trenchworks. It came from 7th Squad – The Trench Wolves. Their mission had been simple: infiltrate the ruins and eliminate a Death Guard sniper who had been systematically thinning Krieg ranks. The mission was underway, and while the Trench Wolves hunted their prey in the war-ravaged outskirts, the main battle was about to begin.
The Death Guard were making their push. A horde of Poxwalkers, Plague Marines, and something worse was advancing toward the Krieg’s western line. The first waves had been spotted shuffling through No Man’s Land, mindless but relentless, stepping over corpses of the fallen like they were nothing. They had no fear. No hesitation. Only purpose.
High Command’s orders were simple:
Hold the trench. No retreat. No surrender. The Emperor expects you to die where you stand.
Colonel Horst, a veteran of a hundred battles, did not flinch at the orders. He already knew what was expected of them. This was the Krieg. This was war.
He surveyed the defenses. Infantry stood in tight ranks behind gun emplacements. Artillery crews made final adjustments. Combat Engineers prepared their explosives. Bayonets were fixed. Masks secured. There was no fear here. Only discipline. Only the cold, silent understanding that no one would leave this battlefield alive unless the war demanded it.
The first shells began to fall. The bombardment had begun.
Through the murky fog, the enemy approached. The 508th prepared to receive them.
This battle was not just another engagement. It was part of something greater. As the Trench Wolves moved through the ruined manufactorums, preparing their strike against the entrenched Death Guard sniper, the regiment worked to hold the line against the full might of Nurgle’s corruption.
The war for Ferros IX was just beginning.
Mission Report: Extraction Under Fire
Unit: 508th Siege Regiment, 2nd Shock Detachment
Location: Western Trench Line, Ferros IX
Objective: Hold the Line
Status: Victory
After-Action Report: The Defense of Trench Line Theta-9
Filed by Commander, Col. Horst
508th Siege Regiment, 2nd Shock Detachment
Engagement Overview:
At 0600 local trench-time, forward observers reported enemy movement in No Man’s Land. Enemy composition confirmed as Plague Marines, Poxwalker swarms, and a terrifying creature who has come to be known as Morbhal the Virulent. Enemy forces initiated a slow advance under cover of toxic mist.
Battle Summary:
Phase 1 – Initial Engagement & Counterfire
- Krieg artillery units opened fire on advancing enemy formations. Effectiveness: Minimal. Poxwalkers continued to advance, undeterred by indirect fire.
- Combat Engineers deployed forward, engaging initial Poxwalker units in a trenchline assault. Hand-to-hand fighting ensued, casualties were immediate and high.
- Plague Marines opened suppressive fire on Krieg infantry. No casualties.
- Colonel Horst led a Death Rider charge to stall Plague Marine advance.
Phase 2 – Close Quarters Combat & Enemy Push
- Poxwalkers and Morbhal the Virulent defended a Combat Engineers charge. Entire Kreig unit wiped out.
- Death Riders inflicted moderate damage to Plague Marines but suffered extreme losses. Only Colonel Horst remained after the engagement.
- Plague Marines breached the trench line and engaged Krieg Artillery in brutal, close-range combat.
- Morbhal and his poxwalkers struck into an infantry position offensive, disabling the combat effectiveness of it.
Phase 3 – The Krieg Counteroffensive
- Remaining Krieg infantry elements counter-attacked, forcing Plague Marines into contested trench positions.
- Colonel Horst engaged the Plague Marine leader, Phlegmos Rotflask, in a melee duel. Horst was successful in eliminating the enemy commander but mortally wounded in the process.
- Morbhal continued advancing into backline positions.
Phase 4 – Endgame & Outcome
- Morbhal secured another objective, but Krieg infantry boldly captured another enemy-held position, resulting in their pyrrhic victory.
- Final tally: Krieg strategic victory, but with severe losses.
Outcome:
- Victory achieved via objectives. Enemy advance stalled.
- Colonel Horst recovering from injuries after combat with Phlegmos Rotflask and his Marines.
- Morbhal remains active. Future engagements expected.
- Krieg casualties: Significant. Infantry reinforcement requests submitted to High Command.
The Aftermath: The Last Charge
Trooper 849 wiped the grime from his visor, though it hardly made a difference. Everything on Ferros IX was grime. If he wasn’t covered in mud, blood, or something acidic, then he wasn’t doing his job properly.
The charge had been textbook Krieg—straight into gunfire, no regard for survival, maximum efficiency. The objective had been taken, and the enemy routed, which was all that mattered.
“Casualties?” he asked, glancing at Trooper 662, who was busy trying to dig a trench with his bayonet.
“Everyone but us,” 662 replied flatly.
Trooper 849 nodded. “Acceptable losses.”
The vox crackled in their ears. Command’s orders were as expected.
“Objective secured. Dig in.”
849 sighed, slung his lasgun, and joined 662 in shoveling out another hole in the ground. “At least it’s a new trench.”
“Progress,” 662 grunted.
Through the smoke and haze, the next wave of Death Guard loomed on the horizon.
849 paused, staring at them. “I’m starting to think they don’t like us.”
“Unlikely,” 662 deadpanned. “We’re charming.”
The war was far from over.
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