+ guestpostinload: Regimental Review: Cadian 144th +

+ Regimental Review: Cadian 144th Infantry Regiment +

[+Guestpostinload SCREEDAUTHORIDENT: The Rook +][+noosphericexloadlinkembedded+]

‘Those last bloodied few,

orphans of war

Emperor grant them glory in death

and peace thereafter’

Personal Writings, Father Oriah of the St Baston Ecclesiastica, Boreas

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+ Abstract +

The fortress-world of Cadia may be destroyed, but its orphaned people are still counted amongst the finest and best-disciplined soldiery in the Imperium. Within the Warmaster Augustine’s armies, the handful of Cadian regiments assigned there form a backbone of war-bitten veterans amongst the relatively fresh regiments of the Cetus-Scorpii sector.

+ Disposition +

The handful of Cadian regiments present in the Crusading forces were assigned primarily to the Second Army, under Lord-General Valen. These represented one of very few elements of Augustine’s forces that did not originate from within his home sector of Cetus-Scorpii. Instead these units were dispatched, under the command of Marshal-General Helkov, to form an honour guard that accompanied the Imperial Writ from Terra granting Augustus the title Warmaster and tasking him with bringing the Red Hand region to compliance.

Helkov had expected command of one of Augustus’ army groups, but was snubbed by the Warmaster who preferred to promote from within his own circles. Instead, he and his regiments of ‘outsiders’ were relegated to the Second Army in which Helkov commanded a small battle group and was deployed along the Buir’s Reach corridor to engage in a series of hard fought compliances along the periphery of the Crusade, away from the glory-winning campaigns in the Corewards Theatre.

Of these regiments, the 144th was a frontline infantry regiment of primarily ‘second generation’ Cadians (void-born after the destruction of Cadia) formed around a core of veteran officers and NCO’s, most of whom were Cadian-born. Amongst the other Cadian regiments, these ‘true-born’ Cadians were steadily reduced and the balance within them tipped as replacements were slowly introduced from other depleted regiments from other worlds, until many of them were practically ‘Cadian’ in name only. The 144th however, managed to endure, forever under strength, as an almost purely Cadian-blooded regiment, gaining them the epithet ‘The Cadian Last’ from Helkov himself. This was due to accident rather than design, as the 144th was merged with the Cadian 1077th after the breakout from Solace in M41.045 that left both regiments badly mauled.

+ C-Company, 144th Inf. Reg. +

NOTE: Winterised flak armour. It became common practise amongst the troops fighting on Boreas to paint their flak armour white for better concealment in the snow. This low-grade paint, thinned with water was particularly prone to scratching and chipping.

NOTE: Las-rifles were painted in the same way as the troopers flak-armour.

NOTE: Pict-capture shows some troopers wearing winter fatigues. The 144th were supposed to be supplied with full winter-camouflaged fatigues, but due to delays in supply, very few sets were issued before deployment onto Boreas.

+ Heavy Weapons Platoon, C-Company +

NOTE: As an infantry regiment, the 144th had a dedicated weapons platoon attached to each las-rifle platoon. These became particular invaluable on Boreas where the weather and terrain severely limited the availability of air and armoured support that the infantry were accustomed to fighting in conjunction with.

NOTE: Easily maintained and using nearly-universal ammunition, the mortar and heavy bolter were the main support weapons of the 144th.

+ Command Staff +

+ Captain Drear, CO, C-Company +

To Lord Commissar Ziejn Ro, Officio Prefectus, I44th Inf. Reg. attached, 

Lord, I am writing in response to your request for a character appraisal of Captain Drear. I am aware that suggestions have been made to you that the captain’s dedication and faith in the Emperor have faltered in recent months. I would like to state forthrightly that I do not find that these rumours have any foundation and that they constitute mere gossip from the officers’ mess. With that being said, I have compiled an honest account of Captain Drear as I have found him to be as per your request, I am ever your servant.
Captain Drear has commanded C-Company of the 144th for four years. Before that, he had commanded a company in the Cadian 1077th and had been marked for promotion to major until the battle for Solace left the majority of his regiment dead. 

The survivors of the 1077th were folded into existing regiments before deployment to Boreas. C-Company of the 144th, having recently lost its own captain at Xarro, is where Drear ended up; and he had had very little time to integrate with his new command before making planetfall on Boreas. 

Amongst the men of the regiment, it is widely rumoured that their new captain is cursed by the Emperor. News of his previous company’s fate is well known, and it is widely – although wrongly – believed that Drear was the only survivor. The captain is also famously introvert and reserved with his fellow officers, and never talks about his previous commands. This has given rise to wild speculation amongst the rank-and-file – and even some of the officers – that all of Drear’s previous commands’ have perished to a man and that he himself is the only survivor. 

Captain Drear’s own dour and reserved demeanour has not warmed him to his men and First Lieutenant Halberd is widely known to be his only confidant and friend amongst the officers of the company. 

Regardless of this, Captain Drear conducts himself with professionalism and shows a genuine concern for the well-being of his men. He is a diligent and practically-minded man who demonstrates sound strategic ability and courage in battle. 

I consider that his personal demeanour has had no adverse effect on his ability to command one of the Emperor’s companies. He is an asset to his regiment and to the Imperium. I would not recommend that any action is taken immediately but I would like to assure you that I shall maintain a diligent watch over him as I do with all of the men in this company. 

With my compliments, 

Commissar H’dane, Officio Prefectus, C-Company attached.

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+ Notable actions  +

+ Primary deployment during the Early Crusade period +

[+SPOOLING+]

+ Primary deployment during the Late-crusade period [M42.049–057] +

Ardent 

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The Battle of Boreas, also known as the Ardent System Counteroffensive, was one of the last major Red Hand offensives during the Augustine Crusade and took place from late M42.050 to M42.053. The offensive was intended to stop Imperial use of the starport at Gella Major and to open a new front against the Crusade by allowing the traitor forces to encircle and destroy a large portion of the over-extended Crusading forces and thereby force the Crusade to a halt and allow time for Apostate-Warlord Xiah Hesh to consolidate his forces. 

The traitors achieved a total surprise attack in the Ardent System due to a combination of Imperial overconfidence, preoccupation with Imperial offensive plans elsewhere and poor Naval reconnaissance due to increasingly unstable warp conditions around the Red Hand region. Imperial forces under General Helkov – who was in the process of rearming and refitting his battlegroup at Gella Major when the attack began – bore the brunt of the offensive and his hastily reconstituted Battlefleet Ardent suffered the highest death ratio during any operation of the war thus far. Most of the fighting took place on the planet Boreas where the fighting would eventually drag on for nearly four years. However, there were numerous smaller-scale battles on the various moons and orbital stations throughout the Ardent System and a large naval engagement around Gella Major towards the end of the campaign. 

The battle severely depleted the Red Hands’ naval and ground forces, and they were largely unable to replace them. Hesh’s ground forces – mostly comprised of the veteran and disciplined Hundred Hands units, the Ebon Wing drop regiments and the Gothii war-clans – and, later, void warships (in the concluding stages of the engagement) also sustained significant and irretrievable losses. 

+ Imperial commanders and leaders +

• General Ukon Helkov, theatre command on Boreas

• Admiral Felix Ezra, fleet master, 2nd Army Battlegroup

• General Brerotal Obalan, 2nd Army

• General Avanna Kursk, 2nd Army

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+ My thanks to The Rook for allowing me to host the Cadian 144th here; I encourage you all to go have a look at his own fantastic blog, which contains some real wonders. +