Extermination of Hollenschlund

A large pocket of Rangdan were discovered. They had ravaged an imperial world, conquered the entire system, and were breeding to start another large crusade that would have rivaled that of the xenos forces during the Rangdan Xenocides. A massive number of Imperial forces undertook the campaign of extermination on the Höllenschlund system. Due to overlapping the larger Indomitus Crusade, the forces available were not expected to be equal to the task but eventually won, though with tragic casualties.
== The Campaign ==
=== Discovery ===
The Rangdan forces were discovered by Primus Byron Siegfried of the Byron’s Raiders mercenary company who had a contract to provide sector security for Höllenschlund. After a brief engagement they left to report what they had found.
=== Gathering Forces ===
Due to the unexpected discovery of the massive Rangdan hive and their imminent attack on the sector, the forces called to action were piecemail. The Indomitus Crusade was raging during this time and few forces were available to help but it could not be ignored.
The first Imperial forces to arrive were the Brotherhood of the Mammoth space marine chapter. These barbaric, yet loyal, marines whose savage attacks sent the Rangdan reeling. Planetary defense forces and small Imperial Guard units from nearby systems provided about three regiments worth of troops who were quickly organized into the three “Höllenschlund Expeditionary Regiments”. The next major force to arrive was the four companies of the Emperor’s Servants chapter whose Chapter Master took command of the Imperial Force in the system. They had the 3rd company of the Vanguards seconded to them at the time and those forced were added to their own.
The elite 9th Neo-Jerionite Regiment, known as the “Nephilim” along with the 4th, 10th and 11th Neo-Jerionite Regiments were next to arrive, as other assorted Imperial forces arrived. When the arrival of the Neo-Jerionite forces the campaign started in earnest, though they were soon reinforced by the Grey Eyes space marine chapter. Nine armiger squads of the Senza Corona Collegio were attached as auxiliaries to the Jerionite force under Maestro Da Spin. When the members of the Grey Eyes chapter arrived, Databdara of the Grey Eyes was offered command of astarte forces by Chapter Master Craster DeLuca due to his immense seniority but Databdara turned him down, citing that he was there to follow the prophecies not lead forces. Databdara is said to have indicated that Craster DeLuca was the “fated general” of the forces and that the mysterious Grey Scrolls suggest he would lead them to victory at a great personal cost.
=== Opening Salvos ===
The system of Höllenschlund had 14 planetoids 6 large asteroid fields. Three of the worlds were habitable and had once been Imperial worlds, though the Rangdan had taken most of the billions of people who lived there as hosts. Under Craster’s command the fire three worlds were taken simultaneously. The Emperor’s Servants and vanguard are said to have taken one of the moons without losing a single marine while the Höllenschlund Expeditionary Regiments suffered 2/3rds casualties on their fist mission due to both mismanagement and strong enemy resistance. The Neo-Jerionite forces, aided by the terminators of the Grey Eyes fought a bloody battle in the tunnels of the third world but eventually claimed the planet.
=== Successes and Setbacks ===
After the first three planets fell four more were abandoned as unsustainable due to Imperial pressure. However, the world nicknamed “Schlagloch” (“Pothole”) where Imperial forces had established a temporary supply depo and command structure was bombarded, leading to the deaths of several senior Imperial Guard officers and the destruction of vital resources like munitions and food. Schlagloch was abandoned and detonated to deny it to the enemy as foothold. During this time the forces of the Ilen 1st Ranger Regiment arrived and began a campaign of terror behind the enemy lines. Four more planets fell by the end of the year after bloody fighting that claimed the lives of many.
The Battle of Felder Töten, an asteroid hopping campaign in the nearer belt decimated the 2nd company of the Emperor’s Servants and they were only saved by the timely intervention of the Grey Eyes. Their arrival at the exact second where defeat was inevitable was suspicious; had they arrived a few hours earlier the 2nd company would have been fine but apparently delayed due to “prophetic” reasons. This planted the seeds of distrust that would run deep in Craster’s mind for the remainder of the campaign.
=== The Eiswelt Nightmare ===
On a tidally locked frozen planet Imperial forces, including a R&D team from the Vanguards, two armiger squads from the Senza Corona Collegio, and veteran rangers from the Ilen 1st Ranger Regiment assaulted a major military target on the nightside of the planet. They suffered heavy casualties but were able to destroy the target by the use of a super weapon. However, the people who went down to the planet’s surface soon found themselves going mad from the flashbacks they had there. Though it had been a mission with heavy losses, it was not the worst of the war and even the marines were succumbing to it.
Reports of this would attract the attention of The Puritanical, the chapter master of the Black Orthodoxy space marine chapter, and they would soon arrive. They were able to reveal psychic brain parasites that had affixed themselves to the psychic presence of each of the members in the warp. While they saved some others died in the process of removal. The Black Orthodoxy would act independently of all other Imperial Forces for the entirety of the campaign, though they focused much of their effort on planet Eiswelt. As they employed many blanks, known as “Purified” marines in their chapter, they were able to successfully cleanse the world. They would eventually encounter a being known in reports as the “Eiswelt Nightmare” who they did battle with. After suffering heavy losses the The Puritanical drove the beast back into the warp by destroying its physical form with one of their consecrated power lances.
=== The Final Push ===
After several years of fighting the Imperium had ground its way through the corpses of about a billion Rangdan but the core worlds, three planets and a large moon (almost large enough to be a binary planet) where heavily fortified. They had once been the Imperial worlds, Höllenschlund Prime having been a hiveworld. Estimates put the number of Rangdan at 1 billion, a number even to the Rangdan the Imperials had killed up to that point.
Craster meet with leaders in the campaign: General Naomi Samuels of the Jeronites, Deacon Hober Seldon, Maestro Da Spin of the duelist, Colonel Basir Jaja of the rangers, Databdara of the Grey Eyes, the Chief Novak of the Mammoths, Battle Master Dyson of the Vanguard, and he invited The Puritanical but was rejected, though they sent a simple battle brother to observe. He detailed a plan that would involve Imperial forces destroying the two less populated world while an attack of the largest inhabited world was carried out from its large and relatively unfortified moon. The issue would be the single stronghold on the moon: a legendary former Imperial base known as the Eisenwand (“Iron Wall”). It had heavy anti-ship weaponry and as such only a small contingent could be snuck in. The Grey Eyes claimed the privilege of assaulting the Eisenwand. Once the chapter had secured Eisenwand the plan was to use Imperial Guard forces to attack the planet and detonate a virus bomb to avoid a prolonged siege. Armiger squads from the Senza Corona collegio would be assigned to guard the weapon as the others retreated to a safe distance once the bomb had been set. It would be a suicide mission but the forces of the marine chapters would be needed in full force to subdue the worlds.
The simultaneous push occurred during a solar eclipse: the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd companies of the Emperor’s Servants assaulted one of the planets while the Vanguard, Brotherhood of the Mammoth, and 4th company of the  Emperor’s Servants slammed into the second simultaneously. These battles would last for days before they were done, far after the defeat of the primary world. It is here that most of the casualties suffered by the maries where endured.
The Grey Eyes assaulting the Eisenwand just after other elements hit their targets to make it look like the Imperials were not focusing on Höllenschlund Prime yet. Though  they lost 10 terminators in the assault the Grey Eyes chapter was successful and the Ilen 1st Ranger Regiment came in to reinforce them and operate the remaining weapons of the Eisenwand. Once the path to Höllenschlund Prime was secured the 4th Neo-Jerionite Regiment, a drop troop regiment, established a beachhead outside the capital city. They were soon joined by the other Neo-Jerionite regiments as well as elements of the Höllenschlund Expeditionary Regiments.
Once the virus bomb was set the Senza Corona collegio duelist took up their positions and held off intruders. As fate would have it, the donna of one of the armiger squads was none other than Donna Olimpia DeLuca, the sister of Chapter Master DeLuca of the Emperor’s Servants. She had volunteered to lead the suicide mission and, to the last breath she drew, she guarded the bomb. The resulting blast was devastating and wiped all life off the planet and rendered it uninhabitable for three years.
=== The Slaying ===
During the final push Black Orthodoxy seemed to avoid combat during this action and observe rather than contribute. They were called cowards by the Emperor’s Servants and no honor was showed upon them for their service; the final battle of the Extermination of Höllenschlund is another black mark on their already dubious record. To add insult to injury the Black Orthodoxy actually slew General Naomi Samuels and two members of her command squad. The 9th Regiment, comprised of all women, has the mysterious tendency to have soldiers who spontaneously “become” psykers. The Black Orthodoxy observed this occurring with Samuels and confronted the Inquisition with the information. They got her declared a rogue psyker and were authorized to kill her. They boarded her cruiser and killer her, along with two psykers on her command squad. This lead to a brief but bloody battle between the crew of the cruiser and a squad of Black Orthodoxy marines who had done the deed. The Emperor’s Servants took the squad into custody and issued a censured against them (though it was later revoked thanks to the Church’s influence). Craster DeLuca was furious, strongly feeling  “The Call” that impacts all members of his chapter, and was debating opening fire on Black Orthodoxy fleet. The Elder (equivalent to a sergeant in the Black Orthodoxy) of the squad offered to die for his actions. When this was confirmed by The Puritanical’s speaker as the will of their chapter, Craster DeLuca summarily executed him as punishment. To this day the Black Orthodoxy is despised by all the Imperial forces who were present Extermination of Höllenschlund and they quickly left after the incident.
=== Aftermath ===
The campaign had exacted a devastating toll on those who had partook. Estimates on Imperial losses are classified by the Inquisition but it is clear that the Emperor’s Servants lost at least a company’s worth of marines and had to draw from other companies to refill their veteran 1st company. The small Grey Eyes chapter lost 10% of its members and the number of marines killed in the Brotherhood of the Mammoth are remembered with a necklace with 66 teeth on it. Some 60,000 Frateris Militia perished along with a dozen regiment’s worth of the Höllenschlund Expeditionary Regiments. Though most were disbanded afterwards, three Höllenschlund Expeditionary Regiments still remain in the system and have been assigned to guard the system eternally and remain vigilant for any signs of the Rangdan’s return.
== Combatants ==
=== Imperial Forces ===
A collection of patchwork forces from the Imperial Guard and PDF forces from surrounding systems were placed under the command of Colonel Naomi Samuels of the 9th Neo-Jerionite regiment, She held a brevet rank of General for the duration of the campaign and would have held it if she had not died.
* Four elite regiments of Neo-Jerionite Imperial Guard forces were involved from the outset. The fielded the 4th, 9th, 10th and 11th Neo-Jerionite Regiments.
* As assorted, disorganized, cast-off PDF and Imperial guard units, often taken from nearby sectors or cast-off from the Indomnious Crusade were formed haphazardly into “Höllenschlund Expeditionary Regiments”. There were three at the outset, were reduced to 1 by losses, and the fluctuated between 5-20.
* Late in the conflict the Ilen 1st Ranger Regiment arrived in full force to provide support. They were under the command of Colonel Basir Jaja. Jaja demanded authority over all Imperial Forces but was turned down. When the dispute reached high command Naomi Samuels was given the brevet rank of General.
* Approximately 100,000 fanatics (generously called Frateris Militia) supported the campaign at the urging of the Ecclesiarchy under the nominal command (more accurately, “influence”) of Deacon Hober Seldon.
* The Senza Corona collegio of imperial duelists dispatched ~100 duelists: 90 armigers under the command of 10 don/donnas and a single maestro, Maestro Da Spin.
== Astartes Forces ==
Under the command of Chapter Master Craster DeLuca of the Emperor’s Servants, about 800 space marines were involved in the various battles during the campaign. 
* Serving as the main body of the astartes forces in the conflict the Emperor’s Servants chapter suffered the greatest losses and won the greatest glory. Chapter Master Craster DeLuca served as the commander of Astartes troops, though the Black Orthodoxy largely ignored him. The Emperor’s Servants provided four companies (~400 marines), including their veteran 1st Company, to the battle and lost a full company’s worth of marines. They were the second astartes forces to arrive, behind the Brotherhood of the Mammoth.
* The Brotherhood of the Mammoth dedicated half their chapter (~200 marines) to the cause as they were the closest marines to the conflict when it broke out. They earned special distinctions for bravery in the face of the enemy. They served as the shock troops for the majority of the battle and were peerless in hand to hand combat with the enemy.
* The Vanguards provided their 3rd Company (1st Battle Company) (~100 marines), including their Astraeus super-heavy tank known as Cirus to the task. They largely played a support role for other organizations and allocated their vehicles as reinforcements during several key points of the battle.
* Apparently following some prophecy found in The Grey Scrolls that their chapter venerates, the Grey Eyes quietly arrived just after the Emperor’s Servants, though only provided 50 marines. They provided were primarily comprised of immortal cadre companion cadre; mostly veteran terminators. They were lead by the Grand Cadre, a cadre of the three more veteran Dreadnoughts in the chapter. Their small but elite force was the saving grace in many engagements.
* The Black Orthodoxy arrived unbidden half way through the campaign. They dedicated just one circle (~50 marines) to the battle, though they were accompanied by their chapter master, the infamous pariah marine known as “The Puritanical”. Though thoroughly uncooperative with the rest of the Imperial forces, they are credited with impaling several creatures who were serving as nodes of communication.