[Tyrelwynn] Gas!

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Tudor ap Rimetar
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Joined: Wed Sep 07, 2016 6:41 pm

[Tyrelwynn] Gas!

Post by Tudor ap Rimetar »

On the morning of the 14th of Oskaltequ 1642, at about 5am, four Moraquine SRBM's launched from the depths of the Eth Lune and Nemorosii forests in southern Lunaris by the C'ort Somnis of the Lunatic Legion bracketed the foxholes and defensive emplacements of the Jaysh al-Sathrati perimeter line around the strategically crucial city of Tyrelwynn.

The modified warheads carrying compartmentalised hallucinogens and Dimethyl Mercury payloads packed in cluster munitions, scattered bomblets across a 6.4 km area of the front line, with a reliance on the prevailing wind to carry the gas towards the city itself. The aerosolisation of the compounds had a horrific effect on the defending militia, with the potent neurotoxic and psychotropic agents inducing delirium, debilitating convulsions and, all too quickly, death. Unit cohesion and discipline collapsed, with the dying and deranged turning on each other in a bestial fury, clawing and biting and attempting to bludgeon their colleagues of only a moment ago into a bloody pulp. Even amongst those who had sufficient sense and warning to don their respirators had been forced to defend themselves against their own comrades who had succumbed to the terrifying effects of the Somnis weapon and become little more than lunatics themselves.

The division strength garrison in the path of the gas cloud sustained about 6,000 casualties. Mercaja scouts observing the attack were able to report that something terrible had plainly happened. Horses and men were pouring down the road towards Tyrelwynn, sometimes two or three men clinging to a horse, whilst over the fields streamed mobs of infantry, the dusky mercenaries of Alalehzamin and Eura; casting aside their rifles, equipment, even their tunics that they might run the faster. Frothing at the mouth and shrieking dismally for their mothers and the mercy of their unforgiving god, the Babkhi abandoned all semblance of their human dignity as they fled for their lives.

In to this seeming gap the Mercaja now pushed forward their expendable Octalune scouts and the Bashembazook shock troops of the Lunatic Legion's V Brigade (Tripudium) to see if the path was open for the advance of the Army of the Golden Dawn.

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Kaiser Dominus
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Re: [Tyrelwynn] Gas!

Post by Kaiser Dominus »

The rout had been total, from the small breach opened by the gas attack an ever widening gap in the front had opened up. The fleeing Jaysh al-Sathrati had managed to spread panic amongst the units guarding their flanks, until the point was reached where the entire southern front between Caer Lum'ruush and Tyrelwynn had completely collapsed.

As the Jaysh al-Sathrati unravelled, an appalling reality became apparent to the General Staffs of the MoMA and the various branches of the Imperial Forces; although great things were promised from the Red Bear factories of Mishalan, the four-legged armoured Snarks and the gravimetric, laws of physics defying, hovertanks were not yet rolling off the production lines in sufficient numbers. There were perhaps enough to equip the occasional troop perhaps, but nowhere near sufficient to fit out the vast regiments and legions. Moreover, so much had been sunk into the costs of the Snark programme, a grotesque monstrosity enthusiastically signed up to purely on account of its imposing bulk alone, that, most grotesquely of all, the Imperial Army was entirely bereft of tactical helicopters and a viable artillery arm. Locally raised militias, such as the Jaysh, had been relied upon to fill the gaps while the Imperial Army was brought up to a strength comparable to Bomber Command and the carrier groups of the Imperial Navy. Now, however, it was apparent that the time had run out, and had been spent in vain.

An unparalleled calamity was about to begin.

On the 15th of Oskaltequ 1642, the Triskelion of Elyssia was detected moving towards Tyrelwynn, exploiting the gap in the defences that had been opened up on the previous day. The Octalune raiders had broken through into the open countryside overlooking the riverside city, having encountered no resistance from the fleeing Jaysh militiamen. Faced with disaster no matter what occurred, the Collegium Magistri Militum, or general staff of the Imperial Army was obliged to commit the small boats and crews of the River Army's Classis Rubrum to retrieve the situation.
Classis Rubrum Division of V Corps of the River Army (Ripenses)
Commander: Praefectus Classis Lucanus Caecilius Popescu | 123,230 Anunia Points

002 Riverine Regiment of Legio VI | 22 "Trireme" assault craft | 88 Crew | Det. 036 Marine Regiment of Legio XI (144 Marines)
002 to 006 Riverine Regiment of Legio VI | 19 "Quadrireme" landing ship (infantry) | 5,700 Crew |Legio VII-XI (28,800 Marines)
008 Riverine Regiment of Legio VI | 11 "Quinqereme" landing ship (tank) | 1,078 Crew | 036 & 037 Marine Regiment of Legio XI (2,256 Marines) | 242 Horjin APC's
On paper it was a capable force, in theory too large for a Triskelion, which could only attack targets within the visual range of its operators, to engage without at last revealing itself and leaving itself open to retaliation from the gunboats anchored in the river. However, the psychological impact of the first recorded Triskelion attack remained such that the Imperial Forces, at just about every level, were reluctant to ever be the first to engaged.

This thankless role was left to the terrified and despairing remnants of the Jaysh al-Sathrati who were, up to that moment, still pouring into Tyrewlynn from the surrounding countryside in the forlorn hope of finding the means of escaping up river. Unfortunately for them, alongside any civilians who entertained the prudent notion of fleeing, the Trireme assault craft of 002 Riverine Regiment, being the first to arrive on the scene, were already machine-gunning any boats that had slipped berth and put out towards the mid-channel of the Red Elwynn. This mass of humanity was to be held in place, by whatever means, as the single most inviting target to attract the attention of the oversized tripod golem.

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