The Battle of Tyrok Fields marked the beginning of Abaddon the Despoiler's 13th Black Crusade, at the Tyrok Fields on the Imperial Fortress World of Cadia in 999.M41. The battle was an attempt by Abaddon to begin his conquest of the Cadian Gate by killing the entire high command of Cadia in one fell swoop through treachery.
His plan was foiled by Colonel Ursarkar E. Creed and the 8th Cadian Regiment of the Imperial Guard. Following the battle, Colonel Creed was raised as the new Lord Castellan of Cadia and proved to be an exceptional Imperial strategist in the terrible battles of the 13th Black Crusade that followed.
The Battle Begins
The battle began when the Volscani Cataphracts, a regiment of the Imperial Guard who had been thought to be loyal soldiers of the Imperium but had instead secretly thrown their lot in with Abaddon and the Forces of Chaos, broke ranks during a great military parade and began the wanton slaughter of several hundred nearby Imperial Guardsmen.
The true extent of their treachery was discovered when they stormed the Lord Castellan (Planetary Governor) Marus Porelska of Cadia's Leviathan, and killed him and much of the Cadian military High Command. Porelska had been on-site to receive a massed salute from all the assembled Imperial Guard soldiers before they went off to defend the Cadian Gate from Abaddon's expected attack.
Ursarkar E. Creed and the Cadian 8th
Colonel Ursarkar E. Creed, present at Tyrok with his 8th Cadian Regiment of the Imperial Guard, rallied the forces under his command and immediately counter-attacked the Traitor Guardsmen. The 8th Cadian spearheaded an advance of several Imperial Guard regiments, with the 7th Cadian Regiment at its side the entire time. Jarran Kell, Colour Sergeant and Standard Bearer for the 8th Cadian, fought ferociously and never allowed the sacred standard of his beloved regiment to touch the ground. The 7th Cadian was not so lucky.
Its Colour Sergeant was killed soon after the fighting began, with the flag passed to another soldier, who met his own end in turn not long afterwords. This trend continued throughout the day; when one standard bearer died, another man stepped forward to take the flag. The 7th Cadian's regimental history even goes so far as to say that its soldiers were so committed to their colours that the sacred ornament never touched the dirt.
The Titans
High above the battlefield, the gargantuan warmachines of the Adeptus Mechanicus assisted the Cadians with their counter-attack. The part that is most remembered today is when the Titans knocked out the Void Shields of the Volscani Leviathans, allowing the Loyalist Guardsmen to continue to charge right into the heart of the enemy's command ranks.
If the Imperial Titans' attack had been unsuccessful, the Loyalist Guardsmen would have been slaughtered wholesale by the enormous cannons sported by the building-sized Volscani command vehicles. Instead, the Imperial soldiers were able to run right past the guns and board the Leviathans, effectively rending the proverbial head from the beast.
The Aftermath
Because of Colonel Creed's decisiveness in reacting so quickly, the potential for a horrendous defeat was averted and a victory was won for the Imperium that prevented the Imperial forces from being disorganised and decapitated at the very start of Abaddon's campaign to conquer Cadia and the Cadian Gate. Because of his quick-thinking and obvious command abilities, Colonel Ursarkar E. Creed was unanimously acclaimed as the new Lord Castellan of Cadia, through he also maintained his role as the Colonel and commanding officer of the 8th Cadian Regiment.
Sources
- Codex: Imperial Guard (4th Edition)
- Codex: Imperial Guard (5th Edition)
- Thirteenth Black Crusade (Background Book)