Taros Campaign - Syckava’s Plan: The task was of massive importance to the continuation of the war, and was entrusted to General Syckava’s men. The long-idle drop troops were impatient for action. De Stael had already turned down three separate requests from Syckava for drops to aid the advance, but the deteriorating situation at the front now demanded the Lord Marshall commit his carefully husbanded reserves. The Elysian Drop Troops were an elite, highly-trained and well-equipped regiment, and General Syckava was keen to see them get involved. Operation Comet would be his chance. He was given a three-day deadline to plan and prepare the attack, which would see his entire regiment dropped to capture the hydro-processing plant. The 23rd regiment would then hold the facility whilst a new offensive would push through onto the Iracunda Isthmus to link-up with the Elysians.This new ground offensive breakthrough onto the Isthmus would force De Stael to turn to the last fresh forces he had. Firstly, there were the Raptors Space Marines. From orbit they could directly aid the Elysians, but, being independent and separate from the 4621st Army's supply problems they would be better deployed on the ground, as an armoured breakthrough force to lead the attack. Neither the 3rd or 12th Tallarn Armoured regiments currently in the field were judged to still have the required combat power for the breakthrough. In support of the Space Marines would be the Warhound Titans of Legio Ignatum. They had arrived late and as yet not been committed, but now these great war machines would lend their considerable weight to the attack. Their firepower and speed would drive them through the defenders and allow a fast-moving relief column to reach Hydro-plant 23- 30 quickly. It was unlikely the Tau had anything capable of stopping the Warhounds.The obvious choice for the relief column itself was the 114th Cadian regiment, an entirely mechanised unit. As yet, the Cadians had seen no combat on Taros, but the Chimera-borne infantry would be well suited to a rapid advance. Colonel Stranski, the regiment’s commanding officer, was given his orders. The Cadians were the last of De Stael’s reserves from XI Corp, but if he did not commit his remaining forces to battle now, then he would surely lose the war. For the operation, De Stael ordered that the 114th be given top priority for fuel supplies, and Tallarn regiments should turn over remaining stockpiles as well, leaving them with only emergency fuel. This order effectively ended the five Tallarn regiments’ capabilities to conduct offensive operations; the Desert Raiders were now a static defensive force.For the 23rd Elysian Drop Troops and General Syckava, three days was a very tight deadline to plan an operation, but his regiment had planned and executed many such attacks before and relied on that experience to get Operation Comet off the ground quickly. The objective was to seize Hydro-Processing Plant 23-30 by a lightning assault with pinpoint precision, largely intact with collateral damage restricted to a minimum. After all, the plant would be of no use to the war effort if, in capturing it, it was reduced to scrap metal. After the attack, the regiment had to hold the facility until relieving ground forces reached them to take over. To carry his forces to the objective, Syckava’s staff quickly developed an air-plan with three distinct operations: transportation, protection and re-supply. This process started by assessing the available aircraft. The regiment had approximately enough Valkyrie airborne assault carriers to commit half the regiment in a single lift, but now all the carriers could be dedicated to the transport mission. Some would be needed for the resupply mission, whilst the regiment's own Vultures and the support of an Imperial Navy Fighter wing would provide the protection. The attack would have to split into separate lifts. Essential heavy equipment, such as heavy weapons and Sentinels, would be included only on a strict priority basis. A loading schedule was quickly compiled, including everything from the initial assault platoons and their supporting heavy equipment to extra ammunition, fuel and enough food and water for the men for an estimated three days of combat.General Syckava was anxious that the second lift should take place as quickly behind the first as it could. He knew that with less than half his regiment deployed and lacking much of their heavier equipment, his men would be vulnerable to a swift Tau counter-attack. Once the operation commenced it was assumed that the Tau would quickly move to eliminate the new threat. The General was well aware that the Tau could move their Manta-borne Hunter Cadres very quickly, but it was not possible for his second wave to be loaded and launched on the same day. The distance from the Elysian airbase to the target was 1500kms and the round trip would take three to four hours. All the Valkyrie transports would require external fuel tanks to get them to the target and back again. Once back, the aircraft would need to undergo maintenance, battle damage repairs would have to be carried out, refuelling and a new loading schedule executed. Inevitably, the loading schedule would be confused by the loss of aircraft and crews during the first liftTwo lifts in one day would not be possible - instead the second lift would have to follow on day two.General Syckava's next decision was whether this should be a daytime or night-time attack. Night would help preserve surprise but would create extra problems for his men and pilots. Only a few aircraft were fitted with night vision equipment, and given the accuracy needed he could not allow his aircrews to attack the hydro-plant without night vision targeters; their bombs and rockets would cause too much damage to the facility. Also, dropping into the area at night on Grav-Chutes would endanger the Assault platoons. The plant was a large industrial complex, not an easy place to land even in daylight. With restricted vision at night, he would lose men as they hit obstacles on landing. By attacking in daylight his forces could do so with more accuracy. Night or day, losses in men and equipment were inevitable, but the advantages of daylight outweighed the advantages of a surprise night-time attack.Amongst three days of hectic planning every task was urgent for the staff of the Drop Troop Regiment, but one important preparation for the attack was target reconnaissance. General Syckava's men needed to know what they would be facing when they hit the ground. Given the surprise nature of the operation, the General could not afford to compromise the attack by dropping Reconnaissance squads close to the target. Should the squads be spotted or captured, he might lose his advantage of surprise. There was no time to infiltrate squads on the ground. The only option was orbital surveillance and high-altitude aerial reconnaissance by a specially equipped Marauder bomber of 2424th Bomber wing. Neither of these risked alerting the defenders to the imminent attack. They could provide images of the target area, which could then be turned into maps, but they could not give details of any garrison force. Enemy strength would remain a mystery until the battle started. General Syckava believed that his entire regiment and their support would be enough to overwhelm any garrison.Detailed planning for the attack was also hurried through and the officers to lead the assault were briefed. The priority targets of the first lift would be the central control complex, the lifting station, pumping stations 1, 2 and 3 and the holding tanks, which should already contain huge quantities of pure water. If the site was destroyed in the fighting, the holding tanks would still be a valuable consolation prize. Secondary targets would be the chlorination works, both the main and reserve pumping stations, and the generator house. All were to be captured by the first attack wave. The second wave would reinforce the first wave and throw a defensive perimeter around the entire complex to meet the expected Tau counter-attack. Upon landing with the second wave, regimental Headquarters would be established in the administration block.The deadline for launching Operation Comet had arrived. It was a daring plan, and fraught with dangers. Within the High Command many considered it was being conducted with too much haste and running too many risks. Was it hamstrung by a lack of aircraft? Did the two-lift plan compromise the attack? Worse still, did it leave the first lift too vulnerable to a Tau counter-attack? Comet also lacked good reconnaissance or intelligence information. There was also the risk of the relief forces' breakthrough to the lracunda Isthmus being delayed or seriously repelled. Even bad weather could affect the Drop Troops' ability to resupply• The 23rd Elysian regiment could easily be heading for a disaster, and, given the stakes, a botched operation would cost the Imperium's forces the war and the planet.Despite the strong objections, General Syckava felt his mission was accomplishable with the forces at his disposal. He was confident he could grab Hydro-Processing Plant 23-30 and hold it for three days against whatever the Tau threw at him. It was running no more risks than any drop operation ever faced. With a water supply firmly in their hands, the 4021st Army's main supply headache would be solved. The advance to Tarokeen could then continue. Operation Comet was to be the turning point of the campaign.