Battle of Kaluga

An Ashimar Guardsman charging an Ork Nob during the battle for Hive Kozelsk.

The **Battle of Kaluga** was an Imperial defense undertaken by the Ashimar Nova Guard and the Order of the Eternal Flame to defend the Hive World of Kaluga from an Ork incursion by WAAAGH! Steelklaw.

## History

The Hive World of Kaluga sits at the border of Segmentums Pacificus and Solar, along a major trade route between Terra and Macharia. It also serves as a vital supply hub for the Imperial Guard, and when an army group of Ashimar Nova Guard regiments was on its way home for its regiments to conduct recruitment in 982.M41 after years on campaign, it stopped at Kaluga to resupply. Warp storms along their projected route to Ashimar, as well as bureacratic delays, forced the Nova Guard to remain on Kaluga for several months. During this time the Ashimar commander, Gen. Navik Vaiden, in an effort to keep the men and women under his command busy, worked out an agreement with General Brutus Aximov of the Kalugan Sentinels, the planet's Astra Militarum regiments, to have the Ashimar Nova Guard act as military advisors to his forces.

At the same time, the Ork WAAAAGH! of Warboss Steelklaw was ravaging nearby systems, and Kaluga was a target that Steelklaw could not resist attacking, due to the large numbers of humies to fight and tons of shiny bitz that could be used to make new choppas, shootas, and other things that barely passed for technology. Four months after the arrival of the Ashimar Nova Guard on Kaluga, Ork Roks rained from the skies, destroying Hive Oktyabr and signalling the beginning of the Ork invasion. The Ashimar Nova Guard and Kalugan PDF quickly moved to respond and mount a defense of the planet. The fighting was intense, mainly concentrated in Hive Torkovo and Hive Kozelsk.

Three weeks into the battle, the Avenio Preceptory of the Order of the Eternal Flame, under the command of Canoness-Preceptor Vera Ollande, arrived, bringing much-needed reinforcements to the Imperials. Many of these Battle Sisters were deployed to the highly contested Hive Kozelsk, whose defense was spearheaded by the Ashimar 43rd "Blue Devils" Infantry Regiment. Due to communications difficulties, the regiment's commander, Colonel Danilus Voltek, and one of his junior officers, Capt. Ulric Tokar, commandeered a Chimera and used it to visit various portions of the front lines, bellowing orders to his troops as he passed by and inspiring them to fight harder against the Greenskin enemy. Eventually, the battle in Kozelsk became intense enough that Warboss Steelklaw himself took to the field there.

Steelklaw cut a swath of destruction through the Imperial lines, leaving hundreds of dead Guardsmen and Battle Sisters in his wake. His rampage was only stopped when Staff Sergeant Frideric Rhodes of the Ashimar 43rd managed to slay the Warboss with a well-timed krak grenade toss into the Ork's open mouth. Following the death of Steelklaw, the cohesion of the Ork forces was shattered and they were routed once further Imperial reinforcements arrived.

## Aftermath

In the aftermath of the battle, the reputation of the Ashimar 43rd, who played such a key role in the Imperial victory, was even more firmly established. Col. Voltek's leadership helped further reinforce his reputation, and factored into his promotion to General a few years later. Frideric Rhodes, for his actions, would receive the Star of Terra and a field commission as a Lieutenant.

The Ashimar Nova Guard and the Order of the Eternal Flame both withdrew from Kaluga within weeks of the battle's end, leaving the PDF and newly-arrived Imperial Guard forces to mop up the disorganized remnants of the Ork WAAAAGH! Within five years, all Orks on Kaluga had been exterminated.

## Imperial Order of Battle

### Ashimar Nova Guard

* Army Group Sigma - General Navik Vaiden
	+ 38th Infantry “Shadow Strikers”
	+ 39th Infantry “Executors”
	+ 40th Armored “Lancers”
	+ 41st Artillery “Pulverizers”
	+ 42nd Infantry “Golden Arrow”
	+ 43rd Infantry “Blue Devils”
	+ 44th Armored “Gatecrashers”
	+ 45th Artillery “Arsenal of the Emperor”

### Order of the Eternal Flame

* Avenio Preceptory - Canoness-Preceptor Vera Ollande
	+ 16th Commandery
	+ 17th Commandery
	+ 18th Commandery
	+ 19th Commandery
	+ 20th Commandery

### Kalugan Sentinels

* 1st Regular Army - General Brutus Aximov
	+ Kalugan 9th Armored
	+ Kalugan 51st Infantry
	+ Kalugan 77th Infantry
	+ Kalugan 79th Infantry
	+ Kalugan 98th Armored
	+ Kalugan 201st Infantry
	+ Kalugan 224th Artillery
* Kalugan Hive Militias - Commander-Militant Dimitri Sorkan
	+ Torkovo Hive Militia, *The People's Champions*
	+ Kozelsk Hive Militia, *Greenskins' Bane*
	+ Lyudin Hive Militia, *Deliverers of Justice*
	+ Balaban Hive Militia, *The Polar Guard*
	+ Kondrovo Hive Militia, *The Liberators*