Battle of Helsreach - Rokfall: Imperial forces were distributed across the hive city, and the Astartes took up positions amongst the soldiers of the Armageddon Steel Legion regiments and militia regiments. Colonel Sarren's own 101st did not take up posts on the walls, and instead garrisoned the central command spire and spread out in platoons to guard key areas.During the first phase of the siege the defenders would stand on the city walls and be ready to repel a disorganised attack. The Reclusiarch and fifteen of his knights found themselves on the northern walls, amidst the troops of the 273rd Armageddon Steel Legion, the "Desert Vultures."As the Ork planetfall began, hulks and troop landers streaked with fire from atmospheric entry came through the morning coulds and struck into the ground near Helsreach. Those that took a course too close to the city itself and in range of its guns were quickly obliterated by the hive's fury, raining down in flames into the city below.Commander Barasath's Aeronautica Imperialis fighters took to the skies, and although their armament could do little to harm the hulks, they were more than able to engage smaller alien craft that descended from their motherships. Several bold drop-ships sought to land inside the city itself. These were engaged and obliterated by the spiretop weapon platforms and gun emplacements.A few lucky Ork vessels that had realised their mistake managed to climb to a sufficient altitude to crash in the plains outside the city. Units of the Astra Militarum positioned throughout the city and selected for this very duty moved in on the downed hulks, slaughtering any xenos survivors that they found.Across the hive city, fire containment teams laboured to extinguish fires that spread from the crashed vessels. Some of the last pict scans sent from satellites prior their destruction showed that during the planetfall, a portion of the Ork forces landed in the Deadlands, the frozen south pole of Armageddon.This puzzled Imperial tacticians, as there was virtually nothing of value there and it was impossible to reach Helsreach with bombers. It was ultimately decided that the Orks must be wishing to create settlements there, and little further thought was given to their presence there.The grounded hulks disgorged hordes of Greenskin warriors who mustered in the wastelands outside of the city. Tens of thousands of xenos were arraying before the hive, while many more were still arriving in landing craft. Such was the number of Ork vessels that they darkened the sky.Grimaldus had correctly anticipated that after long voyage the Orks would be blood-crazed and would not even wait for their Gargants to make fall, and would instead attempt to scale the walls in other ways -- using Jetpacks and ladders to ascend the fortifications, utilising artillery to blow holes in the walls, or even climbing up by themselves.As the Orks began their mad charge, the Reclusiarch requested Barasath's planes to perform bombing runs on enemy heavy guns and turned to the soldiers around him. Even though they were veterans, a mere Human could not have stood unmoved in the face of such a tide of fury advancing upon them.Grimaldus delivered a firebrand speech to rouse the soldiers, calling them to stand against the contemptible xenos scum, and to cast away the wretches away from their city -- to great effect, as the Guardsmen were invigorated and ready to face the coming onslaught.As the Greenskins came into range, the city's powerful guns unleashed their fury, each of their strikes accurate, as with the sheer numbers of xenos in the field missing would be nigh on impossible. Thousands died in the barrage, and thousands more came on, ignoring the dead and trampling the wounded.The batteries reloaded and fired again and again, inflicting terrible devastation on the advancing army. Any other army would have been shattered by such casualties and fled the field, and it is perhaps a fitting example of the Orks' resolve -- and bloodlust -- that they continued their attack entirely unabated, and soon reached the city walls.The battle was joined as the Greenskins futilely attempted to scale the battlements, only to be cast down by deadly volleys of lasfire delivered in perfect unison by the Guardsmen above. All of this continued ceaselessly as the minutes became hours, and news came that the other sections of the city walls were now subjected to similar assaults.All throughout the battle, more and more bulk landers made planetfall in the wastelands, unloading masses of troops and legions of tanks. A portion of these fresh forces joined the attack already in progress, while many more remained away from the city, preparing camps, clearing landing zones and organising for a much more coordinated assault in the future.The xenos continued their attack until night threatened to fall, at which point they finally fled. Perhaps the great mounds of their corpses made them consider the futility of this attack, or perhaps some sudden realisation came over them that there will be greater battles to be joined later. Horns blared across the wastelands, signalling a retreat that, apart from this sole signal, was completely chaotic and akin more to a rout.They were pounded by artillery even as they fell back, but soon even the stragglers escaped the mighty ordnances' range, running back to their landing sites. Ork ships now covered the entire wastelands, some of them being as tall as the hive towers.The largest of these vessels disgorged the Gargants, the Ork scrap-Titans created in the visage of the xeno gods Gork and Mork. These would be the weapons that would bring down the walls, and these were the targets that the Titans of the Legio Invigilata had to engage.The hive city was safe for the time being, however, and Grimaldus turned to pursue a different agenda. During his briefings when he arrived in Helsreach, the Reclusiarch learned of a large number of garrisoned ammunition depots and stations out in the wilderness -- these were envisioned to be used when the hive cities fell and needed to be reclaimed.During his time amongst the Desert Vultures, however, he learned of a legend concerning the world's past. The Guardsmen told him of an ancient, powerful weapon buried beneath the sands.This news gave Grimaldus hope, for the first time since he arrived on Armageddon, and he decided to consult Master of the Forge Jurisian of the Helsreach Crusade on the matter.