Based on past experience, the Red Pirates judged that the Astra Militarum was nothing more than some infantry support weapons such as laser cannons and heavy explosive bombs. Therefore, they were unprepared for the lethal weapons that the Astra Militarum suddenly brought out, and suffered a big loss.
In addition, because most of the previous battles took place in the void, the Red Pirates were mostly equipped with flying vehicles. The number of heavy vehicles used for ground attack was scarce, let alone big guys like Titans or Knights. There were none at all. For a solid fortress armed with heavy firepower, there is no other way except to take human lives or orbital bombing - but orbital bombing also has many inconveniences. On the one hand, many ground fortresses are equipped with void shield generators; on the other hand, They were worried that the empire's strike fleet would suddenly appear, preventing the Red Pirates' capital ships from easily entering planetary orbit.
Of course, Ingvar Pozo also tried to airdrop directly into the enemy fortress, just like the tactic they used when they were loyal warriors of the Empire. Of course, the result was that they were greeted by melta and plasma as soon as they landed.
However, relying on this tactic of forced airdrops has actually captured many fortresses. If you are pursuing speed, this is undoubtedly the most efficient choice. However, after transforming into the Red Pirates, they have long lost their former desperate spirit of sacrifice. Looking at After several heavy casualties, the bottom leaders of the Red Pirates were unwilling to carry out such "suicidal" missions in any case.
And what's even more troublesome for Ingvar Pozo is that the original plan was to wipe out the world in five hours and annihilate most of the garrison. But now it not only took 10 hours to capture the capital, but there were at least two million people on the planet. The Astra Militarum and more than 10 million irregular troops exist. They have withdrawn into many strong or hidden strongholds. Not only is it unrealistic to capture them in a short time, but the casualties may be even higher.
The unfavorable consequences of the attack don't stop there. According to the original plan, after capturing the Drad star, their force must quickly turn to the edge of the galaxy to ambush the White Templar's support troops - this is what this battle is all about. The focus is to prioritize the elimination of the Empire's Space Marines.
But now that the planet has not been captured, it does not matter whether the troops withdraw or not. If they withdraw like this, it will be equivalent to giving up the planet captured after the bitter battle. If the White Templar knows that the planet has not fallen, it is very likely that the planet will not fall. If they don't come, or come late, if they don't retreat, the planet will have to fight for who knows how long. If the empire's support troops suddenly arrive, it will really be in decline.
In fact, to be fair, Ingvar Pozo knew that not only these external factors, but his own improper command was also a key factor. After all, in his previous career as a Space Marine, he had only commanded plunders of a thousand people at most. It was his first time to take part in such a large-scale battle. During the process, he would inevitably be in a hurry and lose sight of the other... For example, the serious losses of various Terminator teams were because he underestimated the counterattack of the Astra Militarum armor and mistakenly jumped into gang battles as before. Experience sent out the Terminator team separately. After landing, although there were certain results, the actual losses were greater. Fortunately, most of the Red Pirates' Terminators were "spelled out", and the parts recovered after the war can be "spelled" back again. Several sets.
Of course, it is not that he has no staff and staff under his command. In fact, the Red Pirates have many thousands or even ten thousand-year veterans, and there are even some old people who have experienced the Great Expedition and the Great Rebellion. However, just like Huron does not trust them, Ingvar Pozzo doesn't trust them either. It's okay to listen to their opinions, but he will never share any command power with them, or he won't share it with anyone. After all, betrayal and deception are almost commonplace within the Red Pirates. Therefore, any warlord or leader will cling to the power in his hands.
Although the four war leaders are all directly subordinate to the Hurons, the rule of the Chaos Space Marines is always to speak louder with their fists, because they are loyal to the Hurons, but they also cherish their feathers. If they are beaten too badly, they will leave their subordinates The men and horses are all gone, and I won’t have the confidence to speak in the group in the future.
The situation at the upper level is undoubtedly the epitome of the lower level. Ingvar Pozzo wants to play the first battle, and his men naturally do the same. Therefore, they often appear timid, start to finish, or even betray their teammates when attacking tough problems. The Red Pirates have suffered great losses. Part of it stems from this.
But just when Ingvar Pozo was in a dilemma, Huron's new order arrived in time, and the blood snake demon also arrived.
Huron's instructions were also very simple. The strategy for Drade was handed over to the Blood Snake Demon. Ingvar Pozo quickly went to the edge of the system to join Mogaro Kalai on the other side and deployed a dragnet to ambush the White Templar support force. , we must completely eliminate them and give the Imperial Expeditionary Force a head-on attack!
On the Empire's side, because all edge galaxies have deployed large emergency communication stations, although the Red Pirates used various means to interfere with long-range communications, the emergency signal was still transmitted to neighboring galaxies as soon as the Kirab Galaxy was attacked. And it was transmitted to the expeditionary force's high command and various theaters through the Astrology Hall.
As soon as Arash, who was driving away the red pirate harassing troops in the Plenty Galaxy, received the news, he immediately realized that he had fallen into the enemy's plan to divert the tiger away from the mountain. The location of the Kirab Galaxy was very important. If it fell, the entire Sixth Theater would be in danger of falling apart. So he immediately prepared to rush back and ordered the troops and fleets stationed in the Tranquil Galaxy to rush to the rescue quickly.
However, Luko, who was sent by Soshyan to assist the White Templar, promptly stopped Arash from leading the war group to rescue the Kirab system. Luko was the only person in the war group who knew about the existence of Occam and had contact with him. , he had already obtained the preliminary plan of the Red Pirates from Occam, so he knew that the other party was heading towards the White Temple.
But these things could not be discussed directly with Arash, so he told him that the Red Pirates were good at naval battles, but not good at attacking fortresses. They had not really posed a threat to any fortress world in the empire for so many years. Several worlds in the Kirab system had deployed heavy troops. There are also solid fortifications. Unless the Red Pirates mobilize all their forces, it will not be easy to capture a galaxy in a short time.
Moreover, although the number of White Templars is relatively large among the war groups participating in the war, compared with the thousands or even tens of thousands of Space Marines of the Red Corsairs, they are still pitifully small. In ground operations, with the cooperation of a large number of Space Marines, The White Templar's numerical advantage can be made up for, but in a naval battle, facing the enemy's large-scale gang-hopping tactics, the Astra Militarum's numerical advantage will be infinitely flattened, and the White Templar will be very dangerous at that time.
After listening to Luko's analysis, Arash also calmed down. He also realized that the facts were indeed what the other party said. If he hurriedly led the battle group into the Kirab galaxy and was intercepted by the red pirates on the way, that would be really terrible. Oh no.
In addition, when the Sixth War Zone was divided, it only received 10 million Astra Militarum troops. Including local garrisons, it was only 15 million. Now the Kirab system alone is trapped with nearly 6 million troops. Other systems also need defense. , there are very few troops that can be mobilized.
Therefore, Luko proposed to inform Soshyan about the situation here first, and wait for the arrival of the Gogotan Wasteland and the nearby Armageddon strike fleet. There will be an Imperial Navy escort at that time, and the Red Pirates will not dare to take the precious main force easily. If the ship comes to set up an ambush, the crisis in the Kilab Galaxy will have room to resolve. After all, the White Templar is the only fast mobile force in the Sixth Theater, so there must be no mistakes.
To put it cruelly, even if a few planets have to be sacrificed, these hundreds of Space Marines must be saved.
Arash followed Luko's suggestion and did not rush to support the Kirab system. Instead, he stayed near a transfer center on the edge of the system, began to mobilize troops, and informed Soshyan of the situation in the war zone.
After receiving the emergency situation in the Sixth War Zone, Soshyan immediately convened a staff meeting.
