General Victor deBourgogne Ray XVI begin Operation Chrysos II. The arrival of the Jutland heralded the beginning of what would be the greatest battle yet fought between The Imperium and The Forces of Chaos. Within moments, dozens more ships resolved themselves into the rest of The Imperial Fleet, bringing the vast host of starships and their precious cargo of troopers into the vicinity of Cadia. Onboard the landing boats, Infantry were hurriedly mobilizing and preparing for the drop. The inexperience of the new founded Companies was telling next to veteran unit. Recruits rushed onto their landing boats in a state of barely suppressed nerves and excitement while veterans entered with practiced ease. Morale was high as the New founded Company troopers realized that in mere moments, they would be facing real combat and real enemies for the first time.
Reaction to the Fleet entering low orbit around Cadia was immediate. As Military Intelligence had predicted, Chaos planetary defenses responded with glowing arcs of plasma and missiles. While the bulk of the first wave would be made up of the 18th Army Groups Infantry Regiments aboard landing boats, drop capsules were launched to carry their elite cargo of Adepta Sororitas towards the plants surface at incredible velocity with the aim of securing initial beachheads.
The first casualties of the invasion were suffered as their forces dropped towards the surface of Cadia, before a single trooper had touched the ground. Under increasingly intensive fire from below, one Tank company was annihilated as it descended and several platoons of troopers were vaporized along with their landing boats. Tanks, Storm Troopers and Adepta Sororitas were the first to hit dirt, scything through token resistance present in the landing areas. By the time the Vikings touched down, veteran troopers were already moving passed Port Tarn the D-Day Objective.
At Port Tarn the Invasion Regiments poured out of their landing boats like a tidal wave. Regiments engage initial targets with atomics, Primary AA batteries and pushed out the perimeter almost immediately. By the end of the first day Port Tarn was in Imperial hands and Guard forces were massing too make a run towards Khol Vellan.
The battles of Khol Vellan begin when a Company of Storm Troopers ran into a force of Chaos Space Marines. Reinforcements from the Adept Sororitas were called in and a running battle that lasted all day begin. At the height of the battle General Victor deBourgogne Ray XVI himself became involved in the fighting when he lead his 122nd Cadia Regiment into the battle. As Ray pushed his forces into the center of the Chaos Marines, Canoness Brigitta and her Retinue of the Sisters of the Midnight Watch was killed by enhanced Chaos Warriors. The right of Ray’s line was about to fall when Sister Superior Juana attacked and killed all of the Chaos Warriors (she was later voted the new Canoness of the Midnight Watch). With the actions of Juana the Chaos force had to withdraw but both the 18th and the Sororitas had suffered.
The 104th Death Korps of Krieg Regiment was given the mission to take St. Jallen Battery. The Regiment launched a surprise attack against the enemy’s strong points of Fortifications and was able to eliminate the forces guarding the defense battery before the enemy reserves could move up to support the defender’s. Ray then ordered his Forces to move on Kasr Barrus it was a gamble, powerful enemy forces was massing in the city but to avoid an enemy counter-attack Ray decided to attack first.
When the 18th attacked Kasr Barrus Ray divided his force into 3 Battle Groups. 1st Brigade would attack the center, the 2nd would be on the right flank and the 3rd would be on the left flank. Artillery and engineers were used to cut a swath through the minefields that was between The 122nd Cadian Regiment and its objective. Next, the armored units supported by Grenadiers and air support attacked in an effort to punch a hole in the enemy’s line. General Victor deBourgogne Ray XVI was fond of mobile warfare and was an expert at overrunning opponents and exploiting weaknesses in the enemy’s defenses. Once the defense line was breached, Grenadiers along with armored units held in reserve made a breakthrough and moved to outflank the enemy’s position. While all this was going on, Infantry with anti-armor weapons waded into what remained of the enemy’s armored units. By the end of the first day of the attack ¼ of the city was in the Cadians hands.
After 3mo of fighting for Kasr Barrus Cadian forces attempted a counter-attack to outflank the Chaos units that had pierced deep into the city. Unfortunately, the Chaos forces were able to react to the Cadian initiative with amazing speed, shifting reserve forces to counter the attackers and even outflank them.
The Tanks and infantry units dedicated to defense were caught in a desperate battle with the Chaos units who descended on their positions. Kasr Barrus was the sight of vicious house to house fighting as the 13th Cadian Armoured Regiment and several infantry battalions tried to hold off the enemy advance until reserves could be brought to bear. The Chaos forces were slowed, but the Cadians suffered heavy losses.
By the end of the year the southern hemisphere of Regional Command IX was under Imperial Control and strong points were set up in Port Tarn, Herek Sound, and Andur Bridge. After Operation Chrysos II in Cadia, General Victor deBourgogne Ray XVI was named Regional Commander of Regional Command IX but day to day operations are handled by Lord General Jenit Sulla.