First War for Janus III

"A technological backwater. We wrestled over it with the Greenskins for a decade for next to no gain. My men fought, bled and died on that god-forsaken rock - and for what?! Another place for the Imperium to plant it's flag while boys who had barely seen the light of day had to die so some fancy lord could look good on his report card!"

- Sergeant Major Perseus Antioch, 42nd Valen Rangers

The First War for Janus III was a decade long planetary liberation campaign fought between the Imperium of Man and the forces of the greenskin Warboss Gutzskull Facespittah that involved numerous Imperial Guard regiments and a sizeable Imperial Battlegroup. A dull and disinteresting conflict by current Imperial standards that ended in a narrow and costly Imperial Victory given only by the heroic sacrifices of countless men and women of both the Imperial Guard Regimentsand the Janus III PDF garrison, along with the dauntless heroism displayed by Captain Tiberius Kannero of the 42nd Valen Rangers and his Miracle on Kelthar Ridge.

Background
In the rough year of 662.M41 - The Imperial Civilised world of Janus III had fallen under attack by a massive Ork WAAAGH! led by the greenskin Warboss Gutzskull Facespittah. A technological backwater by most imperial standards - the planet a heavily mountainous, some would say Alpine world with sheer cliff edges and nigh on impassable mountain terrain covering the vast super continent that covered the planet's surface. Usually, such a planet would not receive such a significant imperial aid that it did in the end - The planet's strategic location along a nearby stable warp current that led deep into Segmentum Pacificus had left it from being simply ignored. Such a foothold could let the greenskins target dozens of other vital imperial worlds within the Segmentum with impunity, perhaps even allowing them to create a greenskin empire - while short lived they may be - the Imperium could not let such a threat be tolerated.

While the Janus III PDF were poorly outfitted with outdated stubber and slug based weaponry and could hardly hope to defend themselves against the massive greenskin hordes that had practically thrown themselves out of the airlocks in order to get the choice fights on the planet's surface before it fell. The planet's Governor - one Ronald Curtis - had managed to co-ordinate his PDF forces and the few imperial Guard regiments in system he had at his disposal had manage to organise a - what some could say - heroic last stand of Janus III's Capital city of Stormdale, withstanding a siege of the fortified city for several years - enough to keep the greenskins bogged down in a long siege before eventually the few remaining PDF and guard forces were forced to scatter into isolated pockets to fight a constant fighting withdrawal across the planet's jagged surface until imperial reinforcements arrived.

It took 3 years before a sizeable imperial guard force - numbering 33 regiments under the command of Field Marshal Lord Vikas Tarrasan - was mustered along with a vast imperial fleet numbering dozens of cruisers and escorts - including two Oberon class Battleships. And naturally, knowing there was going to be increasing amounts of rough terrain - units such as the 42nd Rangers were called up from their homeworld after returning much battered from the Ralarus Campaign to retrieve new recruits to serve in the planet's liberation from the greenskin menace. It was expected that the liberation campaign would have taken maybe a year or two at most - a short and easy victory that would see the greenskin booted off planet. However what was supposed to be a short victory turned quickly into a decade long slugging match between the imperials and the Orks that pushed the imperial forces to the brink of total defeat.

Disaster from the Onset
To say the imperials suffered a colossal blow to their forces before their invasion of the planet would be a colossal understatement. A vast portion of the large Greenskin war fleet had remained in system rather than moving off to fight more fights elsewhere. Clashing with the Imperial armada in the void over the gas giant Janus IV. The fighting was costly - lasting several weeks and ending in a hollow Imperial Pyrrhic victory with the loss of dozens of frigates and 17 cruisers, along with crippling one of the two Oberon class Battleships that would require months of repair. Needless to say, the imperial fleet was sorely battered and had cost it several of it's Imperial guard regiments and support personnel - including an entire regiment of super heavy tanks - while also dealing a blow to several more regiment's command structures - including the unfortunate death of Field Marshal Lord Vikas Tarrasan on board one of the two Battleships - leaving the Imperial elements without a vastly experienced commander being present. The 42nd Rangers had escaped practically unscathed from the ordeal - though their almost prophetic being present during the fighting had turned many of the surviving Imperial officers to superstition and concern at the already horrendous casualties that the sizeable imperial force had mustered.

It was decided that Colonel Remus Westwood of the 42nd Valen Rangers would act as one of the seven Colonels planning and commanding the assault of Janus III - a role he quickly accepted leaving overall command of the 42nd in his Absence to Major Arrisan Marranos. Unlike many of his compatriots - Westwood held decades of experience in fighting against the greenskin menace - dealing with a few more unconventional orks than most.

The void fighting would continue with the handfuls of scattered Ork ships that had made quick haste to add more scrap to their Kill Kroozers before throwing themselves ever more eagerly to fight the much battered imperial fleet - keeping them tied down and preventing their ships from partaking in the devastating effects of Orbital Bombardment. Still, the Imperials managed to deploy their vast quantities of surviving imperial guard and also numerous fighters and bombers. In total, the Imperial force numbering over 300, 000 men, not including vehicles - at least, that was the initial estimate of the forces gathered. Estimates had put the Ork forces at several million - though the operation was planned with void superiority in mind - with hope that the Navy could bombard the Orks into submission, or to drastically decrease their numbers.

The Landing
The Imperial Guard hit the ground running, slamming their forces down onto old Airfields and airbases dotted around the mountainous Eastern province of Janus III and the Navy stationing hundreds of Fighters and bombers wherever they could planetside. If there was a spare hangar - it was a certainty that the Navy was sending a requisite aircraft for it. Results were met with initial success - scattering and destroying many small Ork encampments that had settled across the nearby area and securing a vague front line across the jagged landscape.

However - This is where the Imperium's luck and success ran dry. The Ork Warboss Gitzskull Facespittah was a mix of outraged and excited at the appearance of a new imperial force to fight - due to the boredom of fighting only tiny pockets for the years since the initial invasion and building up his kleptomania for scrap and more human slaves to work alongside the gretchens in constructing new weapons and machines to fight his competing rivals. In fact, there are some theories that if the Imperials had left the planet alone would have had the orks destroy themselves from the near constant infighting amongst themselves - all the Imperial invasion managed was to unify the separate Ork tribes under Gitzskull once again.

The first the Imperials knew of the ever eager Warboss' plans were when a vast portion of their forward bases and outposts were overrun by millions upon millions of Orks who had traversed the rugged terrain with nigh on impunity with thanks to their reinforced physiology that protected them from the harsh effects of exposure on the largely barren landscape. To say the more junior Imperial commanders panicked when they had learned that their flanks were being pressed ever inwards with unsustainable imperial casualties by a massive greenskin horde would be a colossal understatement - the whole imperial front line was practically broken in one swift stroke by the sheer indecisiveness of inexperienced commanders - morale plummeting with the attached Commissariat and eccliesiarchal elements attached to the force doing all that they could to bolster the men's faith. Yet still, it was not enough.

Several regiments deserted the field - ignoring the orders of their incompetent commanders and straight out murdering their attached Commissariat elements before disappearing into the mountains - some to never be heard from again. Such heinous acts of cowardice acted only as fuel to the fire to the increasing levels of panic in the Imperial commanders who had their initial force of Thirty-Three regiments cut down to Twenty Two in a matter of 2 months of fighting. Few regiments remained stalwart in the face of such a grim setting - the 42nd Rangers were chief among them.

Back to Square One
Deciding that someone had to take charge of the situation - Colonel Sarranid ordered all Imperial forces to retreat to Balthazar station in short order. Balthazar Station was a sizeable subterranean research complex that had been fortified by the Guard elements during the initial landing skirmishes to act as a forward base of operations and a centre for logistics - it even had it's own runway that was staffed by dozens if not several hundred imperial atmospheric fighters and bombers. To call Sarranid's ploy a gamble was enough in it's own - as it meant many regiments were forced to abandon their heavy weapons in favour of retreat - though Sarranid knew that there was little point of fighting over ground that could swiftly be encircled and cut off from the rest of the Imperial elements.

He attached Three of the remaining twenty two regiments to take up Rearguard actions along designated chokepoints along the imperial line - the 42nd Rangers, of course - being the only ones to volunteer under Major Marranos - eager to prove the 42nd as the toughest nut in the Imperial guard. His "volunteering" of a force as specialised as the Rangers to take up the role that a regular infantry regiment could have easily done was strongly criticised by the now legendary Valen Ranger's 2nd Company Captain Tiberius Kannero. While it was early days in the young Captain's career - he felt it was far more important to create a credible fighting force that could defeat the greenskins in a protracted and long range engagement - utilising the unstable ground to their advantage with uses of explosives to create artificial bottlenecks. But sadly, Kannero was ignored and strongly reprimanded for criticising his Commanding officer's decision - and could have suffered a court marshal were it not for the interjection of Major Marranos who merely stated that the Captain was wanting to act on his own initiative which he himself found unnecessary.

The Rangers wanted to initially take up defensive positions Kelthar Ridge - which was a jagged, almost Dagger like tip of a mountainous Peninsular that jutted out into the sea - the surrounding approaching terrain was home to an active volcano that spewed molten magma straight into the crashing freezing waves of he white sea - coupled with extremely rough and nigh on impassable terrain which led to it that could be easily mined and vast quantities of explosives utilised to force the greenskins down a single path - a path which was a deep valley with sharp inclines either side that even the Orks could not have climbed. Which was largely flat at the base and provided no natural cover - while forcing the Orks to charge in five abreast into both a minefield and fortified imperial positions. Unless the rangers ran out of ammo and supplies - they could hold out there indefinetly at 75% strength.

However - Major Marranos was an over eager senior officer who wanted to prove the Colonel of the superiority of the 42nd Rangers and instead practically threw them Piecemeal into the heaviest of fighting on Mount Charinos - a major chokepoint over rough terrain, though far from the easy pickings that the Rangers needed with their meagre numbers. Major Marranos was killed during the first day of fighting - and much of the wider Ranger's command structure was decimated - leaving only Captain Tiberius Kannero to take up the mantle while Colonel Sarranid was busy arguing with his many compatriots at Balthazar Station who wanted to order costly offensives that Sarranid deemed unsustainable.

Managing to hold out for only two weeks on the ground they were forced to fight upon - the Rangers had suffered colossal casualties, resorting to hit and run tactics against the orks before finally withdrawing much battered and bruised - left with roughly a thousand men who were combat capable, most of which were walking wounded - and even Captain Kannero himself was injured. The Ork advance cutting them off from retreating to Balthazar station. And so, with a heavy heart and dulled spirits - Kannero was left with no choice but to take up position on Kelthar Ridge - utilising what remained of the Ranger's once considerable armoury to fortify the position - and using it as a final bastion. It would take them two weeks to make it there in their current state - Kannero taking increasing amounts of care to tend to his own wounds and those of his fellows - his men coming to view him as a compassionate albeit quiet man in spite of the horrors they had already suffered

The Capitulation of Balthazar
The sheer mass of numbers that the greenskin menace had fielded had proven far too overbearing for the Imperial forces to repel in the early days of the fighting - now faced with a dire state of affairs - the Imperials turned to desperate tactics - usually leaving behind small squads in rearguard actions to defend their regiment - usually outfitted with vast quantities of explosives to cut off any paths leading to Balthazar station while slaying as many greenskins as possible - much depleting the Imperial's reserves. In the two weeks that the much battered host of the 42nd Valen Rangers had retreated to Kelthar ridge - Captain Kannero had been engaging in running skirmishes against Ork convoys ferrying reinforcements to what could be charitably be called a "front line". Said front line was ever steadily shrinking in size and scope as the Imperials were forced back to Balthazar station - with the ever fight hungry greenskins in hot pursuit. Captain Kannero's raids and ambushes in truth likely did very little in a grand scale - merely denying a relative handful of Orks and destroying or damaging a few Truks - hardly the miracles needed to push the greenskin threat back - or even vaguely dent the Greenskin morale.

With every passage that led to Balthazar station that was collapse, there was undoubtedly two more that the greenskins could use - and with a lack of orbital support thanks to the few greenskin ships still hammering the damaged and rather depleted Imperial Navy fleet in orbit - and not nearly enough explosives to block off every path leading to Balthazar - the Imperials were left with the grim reality - those left at Balthazar station were to man the walls and to sell themselves as dearly as he or she could - with only a limited chance of an evacuation to be taking place due to Ork air superiority. The Imperials waited for their doom to come, preparing as best they could for certain doom.

Captain Kannero and the 42nd Rangers had arrived at Kelthar ridge - and were surprised to discover a small contingent of a composite unit of Imperial guard and PDF forces. Numbering roughly around Two hundred strong with several more injured - the Rangers were even more shocked to find the Planetary Govenor - Ronald Curtis - still alive, though exhausted. His men desperately low on supplies - like ammunition and food and further depressed at the news of the current state of affairs. Tiberius had talked with the Curtis - the young Captain's stark and solemn tone having one simple message.
 * "We are still here - Curtis. The fight is not lost yet - no matter how dire. If my experience has proven anything, is that even in the darkest of times - the Emperor protects. Save your despair for when defeat is total - not before."
 * —Captain Tiberius Kannero to Governor Ronald Curtis

Kannero's words had struck a chord with some of the Governors own men - some viewing him as an unrealistic hopeful, or an overconfident fool. Others viewed him as a picture of stalwart shield of faith and a bulwark of hope. The much exhausted Rangers had began to carefully survey the landscape surrounding them prior to detonating explosives and cutting off several paths out onto the peninsula - to such an extent that it would force the greenskins down one single narrow and winding path that twisted and turned back on itself several times with several natural chokepoints with near impassable terrain.

Colonel Sarranid - to his credit - against insurmountable odds with the greenskin managed to hold out for a year. A year of a constant battle where the Imperial Guard stood their ground - while some fled from their positions - they were slowly pushed down into the labyrinthine dimensions of the research station. Colonel Sarranid in the current state of siege had also began to shuttle out supplies and what few troops that he could spare to Kelthar ridge on request from Kannero - using highly risky low altitude manoeuvres through the jagged mountainous valleys. While costly - it reinforced the Rangers and their scratch regiment with much needed supplies - most vitally - food, lasguns and lasgun power packs. Sarranid had also attached what remained of an Imperial light Artillery regiment - the 23rd Zarren Bombardiers - along with their vehicles and a vast amount of ammunition - having left them as a reserve force. Only 9 Stormshard mortars survived the journey along with their respective crews. However such journeys were short lived - Colonel Sarranid and what few imperial elements that remained at Balthazar station began to evacuate through the even more labyrinthine tunnel networks, caverns and ventilation systems - it was then that contact with Balthazar was - eventually but inevitably - lost. The fighting had cost the Imperials incredibly - but undoubtedly the greenskins losses were horrendous.

It was with a grim realisation that command of the remaining imperial forces had fallen to Kannero - holding a ridgeline with maybe fifteen hundred men at best. Hope was dimmed from Kannero himself - though he never revealed it. He forced himself to keep up the Facade of confidence and hope - for if he despaired, he knew well that any hopes that they had would be dashed if morale shattered. He saw how the men looked up to him - his stoic being akin to the only candle in a very dark night. His own self doubt of the hopes of defeating the greenskins was a major fault in Kannero's persona; truly an optimist - Kannero held high hopes of holding out but even he struggled to see how they could achieve victory without turning the planet into glass.

The Much Needed Lull
Kannero and the wider 42nd Rangers were beyond thorough while preparing the valley for the inevitable battle with the greenskin menace; throughout the year planetside that Colonel Sarranid had brought them at Balthazar station - extremely meticulous would be putting it very bluntly with the Captain's stern orders. The careful planning and planting of vast quantities of high explosives and landmines forming minefields several kilometres long, while also having many more patches of high explosive being buried underground. Only when these pre-planned defences were breached would the Stormshard mortars be utilised to pound the greenskins into oblivion - while what remained of the ground forces manned several prefabricated bunkers that guarded the mouth of the valley, or took up position on the high ground around it. Utilising whatever heavy weapons they could get their hands on; namely a dozen or so heavy bolters and roughly 60 rocket launchers - coupled with the Valen Ranger's Hellguns and Long-Las rifles. The only advantage the Imperials had was that it would be extremely difficult for the orks to bring in vehicles due to the jagged terrain - and the mountains would be impassable to any gargants that the greenskins might have.

Captain Kannero was confident in his position, the orks would be forced down a heavily fortified valley - at best five or six men abreast - though he was not confident in the numbers that he had at his disposal - nothing could be held back in this fight - but if the Imperials were to hold, he would have to retain some strategic reserves. At random - he, along with Governor Curtis chose 100 of the scratch company's number to serve as a strategic reserve - the remaining forces were to be organised into 100 man units - usually composite units - each unit would be chosen in sequence after a day of constant fighting to be rotated out. This meant that only one unit of 100 men would be in combat for 6 days at the very most, rather than the alternative that would mean that no men would receive rest - and even then, if they were needed, the strategic reserve would be used in the fighting.

Kannero felt his plan was sound - so long as the Stormshard mortars didn't run out of ammunition. While they held what was certainly significant in munitions in reserve - he had ordered a few of the more engineering minded of his and the Governor's regiments to speculate and develop makeshift munitions - and to teach the 23rd Zarren's how to make them - and what they came up with was certainly unorthodox, risky, unexpected and made only out of desperation. They took one of the Standard imperial Krak rocket launcher rounds and packed it with as much high explosives as they could along with a rudimentary arming system inside of a spent shell. Such volatile munitions were only to be used in extreme and the most dire of circumstances if they had ran out of ammunition.

Still - the relative peace of preparation could not last forever. Captain Kannero had as many of the men as possible to rest and relax for several months; huddling around the campfires and stealing as much sleep as they could between the racket of crashing waves below. Meanwhile only keeping only a skeleton crew on watch - numbering only 60 men. Kannero's warranted wish for the men and women remaining to rest was both risky yet logical - for the Rangers were suffering with potent portions of fatigue among their ranks after a practical month of sustained fighting retreat following their withdrawal from Mount Charinos.

Needless to say, the Lull provided the ragtag speck of forces a desperately required boost to morale, with the handful of surviving Eccliesiarchal priests inspiring the men through faith in the God Emperor, holding numerous sermons and prayers in the time that the men had - though there were none of the Commissariat present to bolster the men's spirits through example - or fear if it came to that. The 42nd and PDF Scratch company spent 2 months preparing the ground on which they stood for a desperate last stand - though Captain Kannero along with what few senior guardsmen and junior officers had planned to send out no more than a hundred men to scout the nearby terrain for surviving pockets of imperial resistance as to add them to their own ranks - even a single additional guardsman would be of help given the dire lack of numbers that assailed the 42nd/PDF force that was basically stuck upon Kelthar ridge.

The forces selected consisted of 3 Platoons of 3rd Company - coupled with 2 platoons of the 6th Company, and the remainder of the 11th company - led by the nigh on ancient Sergeant Major Perseus Antioch - Captain Kannero's most trusted NCO. The young Captain had been caught on more than one occasion on speaking highly of the aged Sergeant Major who had steered him onto greener pastures with both stern warnings and gentle nudges all of the same. In fact - Kannero had joked about Antioch's supposed retirement that was due within a few years - stating that a man of such stalwart faith and resolve could never find it in his heart to be confined to a desk. While the two were both firm friends while also the same rivals in deep competition with one another, the brash and boisterous Antioch a booming echo of pride and glory - while the humbler, quieter Kannero preferred small victories - not wishing for fanfair or glory, instead he wished to see his men return home safely. It is hard to imagine why two such conflicting personalities could get along - though at the very least - Kannero had profound respect for Antioch and his abilities and was coined stating - "If you gave the Dinosaur ten good men, he'll hold up an army of ten thousand".

The scratch company - coined as the Ranger Expedition was turned loose from Kelthar ridge with 123 men in tow to cover the continent in search for any and all pockets of Imperial resistance to gather and consolidate them. The Imperial forces upon Kelthar ridge also began making several Vox broadcasts on a variety of Imperial channels as to attempt to contact any imperial forces. It was a vain hope, yet it certainly offered a faster means of creating a consolidated force of the surviving imperial guard than simply searching for them. If the home base made contact with other imperial forces, they would relay that information to the Expedition forces in order to establish first hand contact. Such a tactic was at the best of times a gamble with the state of the already Paper thin forces present on Kelthar ridge, though it did buy the remaining forces hope - something that was in ever shortening supply as the days darkened towards the final confrontation.

The Storm Brews

 * "Antioch is a good man, a proud, boisterous man that holds no remorse in his withered heart - He is as likely to shout at you as to compliment your skill on the field of battle, or guffaw at any jokes you might make. I am not like him, nor do I wish to be - I see the licks of fire in your eyes, that seething burning wanton for retribution against the menace that put us here. Antioch would want you to use it, turn you loose like a rabid wolf into a herd of sheep. Such a man that loses himself in such reckless hate and abandon for his own safety is reduced to nothing but a shattered husk of what he once was. I will not leave this place with an army of broken men at my back - and nor will I. We will march when the war is won as Heroes or Martyrs - we may bend - but we will not break."
 * —Captain Tiberius Kannero

The Expeditionary force under Sergeant Major Antioch had begun to comb the surrounding mountain ranges for any surviving Imperial Guard forces with a feverish, almost excited demeanour about them - to truly be doing something rather than sitting with their backs against the wall at Kelthar Ridge. They were under strict orders to engage in guerrilla raids with any outlying greenskin forces as to bleed off a tiny portion of the Greenskins' overwhelming advantage in numbers - though furthermore they were only to do so while limiting casualties to their own forces - they were expected to maintain a 10:1 ratio of casualties in any raid - thus requiring meticulous planning and preparation for the understrength company in order to carry out such a raid successfully. Such raids likely only excited the greenskins and did little to dent the true mass of bodies the greenskins held, though each successful raid had left many greenskin dead for few Imperial losses - a testament to Antioch's and his more junior Non-Commissioned Officer's tactical aptitude.

It was through sheer unequivocal luck that Kannero's plan had managed to pay off - managing to contact many dozens of separate and scattered Imperial guard pockets via the aformentioned Vox broadcasts - each drastically varying in numbers, regiments and numbers present. Some were just as few as a handful of platoons - others were the shattered remnants of their own regiments - reduced typically to a handful of under-strength companies - or in some cases, scratch companies made up of composite units of Imperial Guard from several different regiments. Very little remained in terms of heavy ordinance and vehicles, though there were a few Basilisk's, a handful of damaged Leman Russ Battle tanks, and perhaps a few dozen Chimeras present with the Mechanised elements that had survived and escaped the slaughter at Balthazar Station - hardly the powerful force required to spearhead and break a greenskin advance - yet at this point, Captain Kannero would take any boon he was offered, dispatching the Expeditionary forces with all due haste to those cells of Imperial resistance that offered the most in terms of material and or manpower - seeking to converge all of the Imperial forces along Kelthar ridge in a desperate last stand.

And so with a feverish excitement, Antioch began his quest to "Unite the scattered chunks of offal from the once humongous bear that resembled the Imperial Guard's presence" - in his words. The Expedition began to make contact with several of the Imperial elements - gathering a few of the larger scattered pockets of Imperial resistance - relaying back that, in most cases - the Imperial forces were reduced to only the most junior of officers - fresh faced Lieutenants who were facing their first taste of combat - or grizzled old Sergeants leading the remnants of entire regiments or scratch companies.

Unfortunately for the Imperials however, Gutzskull had been following their movement across the mountainous terrain with ever sickening glee. In fact, he was struggling to keep his Nobz in check from simply swamping the human forces before they could reconvene, wishing to let them gather together for one last big fight - yet even an ork as unconventional as him could not keep the leash held for long - and as such, without any warning - the Expedition along with several of the remnant forces that had been meticulously gathered, convinced or straight up intimidated to gather at Kelthar ridge - fell silent without a trace. Several further attempts were made to contact Antioch and what forces he held to no avail. The Rangers, the PDF Scratch company and Janus III - had just lost one of the very few things that could have held them together. They lost hope - and even the idealism of Captain Kannero was left as but a mere shadow of it's former self. He secured himself, locking such a dark feeling of dread, guilt, despair and powerlessness away - praying that the God-Emperor himself would absolve him of such feelings, and of his sins, and that further prayed that He could bring the men home, alive.

It is not surprising that such a dire situation led many to the extremes. Governor Ronald Curtis - the stalwart defender of his home planet - once learning of the likely loss of the only lifeline the Imperials might've had, committed suicide. His final journal entry blaming Kannero for the complete and utter defeat of the Imperial forces. Naturally he was not alone, with several more of the Planets forces throwing themselves off the cliff edge and end their miserable existences on the sharp edged rocks below. The Rangers, lost and facing the darkest point of their existence, turned to Kannero for inspiration - and what he gave certainly didn't disappoint.
 * "We all knew the odds when we arrived here. And we all know the foe that is beset against us. Our backs pressed against the wall with the valiant death of our fellow men. Each of them was family to us, bonds forged from the strongest of Steel in the volcano that we find ourselves dropped into. They will sing songs about their sacrifice to the God Emperor - for we will live to remember them. I see that same rage that Antioch prised so well; burning anew alongside the despair that now taints our hearts with dread. How dare we dishonour their memory by shattering now! The Greenskins want a fight?! Then let's give them what they so desire! For we are the Valen Rangers - And we hold the most Dauntless Fury in our hearts for those who steal our family from us!"
 * —Captain Tiberius Kannero

Kannero's speech was imbued with a cold, calculative fury that had never before been witnessed by his men - each seeing him as a warm and open Officer with a quiet, meticulous nature about him. This more brash, and some would say bold Kannero was said to be imposed by the God-Emperors' own will - His benevolance wishing to deliver them from a fate most foul. Indeed a few eyewitness accounts have claimed Kannero's eyes blazed a gold with the God-Emperor's own righteous fury - such claims are currently disputed by many of the religious Cardinals within the Eccliesiarchy. However Kannero had indeed promised such a righteous hammerblow of fury against the greenskins - his example inspiring the men to rally behind his example. Taunting the Greenskin Warboss to fight them on Kelthar Ridge - Kannero let loose a string of insults whilst generally acting like an angered hive of wasps once disturbed. The few remaining Imperial Guard began to solemnly drill themselves in preparation for what was undoubtedly going to be a fight to the death, yet the Rangers and the few PDF forces remaining held no qualms for their fate - they felt the God Emperor himself had imbued their Captain with his own fury - and that enough was plentiful enough to convince them of their sacrifice being worthy. Those scant few Eccliesiarchal priests still present only watched in awe and wonder at the dauntless faith that the extremely stressed Kannero was practically radiating - for they could be witnessing the creation of one of the Emperor's own Saints, or another of his far less revered, yet even more sacred Martyrs.

Gutzskull however could only help but respond in the most Orkish of fashions. Laughing hysterically at the puny human's gesture of feigned strength, seeing it as a personal challenge to finally crush the humans, and the troublesome Captain once and for all - as such, Gutzskull gathered his Boyz into a massive Ork horde to finally "kick da' humies into da sea". Few held hopes of surviving the Greenskin onslaught - and those stupid or mad enough to believe such things as feasible were few and far between. On Kelthar Ridge the Humans watched, waiting for the inevitable.

The Miracle of Kelthar Ridge
The fighting began as it was likely to end, with a loud series of explosions that shook the ground and even threatened to tear it open as the Greenskins began to eagerly fire their captured imperial weaponry at Kelthar Ridge until they ran out of ammunition. Most of such rounds either were far too shallow and hit the mountainside, or far too steep and landed in the sea - very, very few rounds even came close to landing within the Rangers' encampment - yet it served to force the Rangers and what PDF remained into fortified positions and bunkers, all the while the greenskin horde began to advance down the pass. The meticulous and undoubtedly overkill amounts of Landmines and high explosive pockets that were placed along the narrow mountainside pass prior to being detonated by specialised demolitions teams undoubtedly caused horrendous casualties to the greenskin horde.

The Rangers however had yielded valuable ground in order to prepare the unstable ground to such a ludicrous extent - leaving them with virtually no avenue of retreat - and furthermore, there were far, far more orks that could afford to suffer casualties, whereas the Rangers and their PDF counterparts could barely afford to lose a single man. It took two days of the sounds of explosions - and naturally apprehensive greenskins - before the Greenskin horde managed to finally reach the Imperial line waiting for them at the mouth of the valley - standing five orks abreast at the best of times, and otherwise was simply a seething swarm of hulking green brutes. The greenskins that first laid eyes on the Imperial line barely had enough time to raise their weapons prior to the sheer and unceasing tide of Lasgun bolts, Heavy bolter shells, Stormshard mortar rounds, grenades and far, far more terms of ordinance cut the Greenskins to pieces. Captain Kannero himself was stood alongside the Vanguard forces - his presence undoubtedly inspiring the men to keep fighting even as their limbs began to fail as day after day of constant fighting bore on. The nigh on constant dull thuds of the handful of Stormshard mortars shredding hundreds, if not thousands of greenskins with each volley they fired.

The greenskins instead of distraught by the horrendous loss of life, were instead excited by this proper fight - and Gutzskull himself wanted to personally thank Kannero for such a challenge by adorning his skull on his belt, and so the Hulking greenskin Warboss began to make his way to the front, through the practical ocean of greenskins that was barely held back by a thin string of steel. If Greenskin losses were horrific, then the Rangers had undoubtedly suffered more in proportion to the size of forces present.

It took two weeks of near constant fighting where the Rangers and what scraps of the PDF scratch company were reduced to but two hundred men - almost all of which were walking wounded, and furthermore all were practically spent on ammunition. In a state of utter desperation, the Stormshard mortars having long since ran out of ammunition had the drivers packed in with as much high explosive as the Imperial forces had remaining prior to being driven into vast clumps of the Ork Horde before detonating themselves. Captain Kannero, on the last day of fighting was barely standing, and the same could be said for his men - and into this dire state of affairs walked the guffawing Gutzskull, the horde drawing back as the Warboss was shrieking in laughter at the sight of the troublesome human who had cost him incredibly dearly.

Standing in the line was Captain Kannero - the several visible bandages on his limbs stained a crimson shade, glared at the Warboss, The Rangers looked up at him in awe as a tense moment of silence reigned over the battlefield where the victor was sure - before the distant echoing booms of guns ricocheted off the stony mountainside, and heavy artillery shells torn the heart out of the greenskin horde on the Ridgeline, and the trundling of tanks pierced through the outraged cries of the orks. Taking the opportinity the confusion gave them, the exhausted, battered and bloodied elite of the Valen Rangers sallied forth from their fortifications, gunning down the greenskins - pinning the greenskins beneath a hail of fire from the relative handful of men, and the multilasers and cannons of Chimera transports and Leman Russ Battle tanks - the battlecries of the Imperial Guard sounded that day - the roar of humanity smashing into the greenskin horde with a hammerblow while Captain Kannero fought one on one with Gutzskull, trading blow for blow with the Greenskin Warboss as his Horde crumbled around him.

What remained of Captain Kannero's 2nd Company undoubtedly threw themselves at Gutzskull and the few orks not terrified enough to start running as to buy him time to defeat Gutzskull. Gutzskull himself dislocating Kannero's left arm and crushing the bones beneath his mighty hands - allowing Kannero to close in, before firing what few rounds remained in his Bolt Pistol into Gutzskull's now exposed neck - severing it and shearing the bone in two. The greenskin Warboss looked stunned, and then he looked terrified as his body stood in abject horror, before collapsing into a heap. Kannero with his one good arm, dropped his sidearm prior grasping the Warbosses gigantic head, and lifting it up before screaming the 2nd Company's own words "DAUNTLESS FURY!" . Such a sight shattered the Horde irrevocably - as they were trapped between the Imperial reinforcements and the harrying fire of what remained of Kannero's men - the Greenskins threw themselves from the cliff in sheer lack of knowing what to do, or were gunned down by the Guard to the last man - then, and only then did Kannero allow himself to pass out from the sheer and nigh on unbearable amounts of trauma that he had sustained, at the sight of Sergeant Major Perseus Antioch charging towards him.

The Aftermath
Captain Kannero, to his credit, remained comatose for only a week inside the Imperial field hospital as the doctors and medics tended to his injuries, Sergeant Major Antioch was stood over his charge with a look of disbelief and bewilderment - in truth, the 42nd Rangers and the PDF scratch company - or what remained of them - were stood outside of the tent, waiting to hear of the verdict of their illustrious leader. Kannero, with Aid from the aged Sergeant Major - walked from the tent to the sight of cheers and fanfair along with the sight of a gargantuan pile of greenskin dead. Janus III stood a blasted ruin of a planet - but with an Imperial flag embedded deep within it's soil - Captain Tiberius Kannero would forever be enshrined as one of the Planet's greatest heroes, a symbol and a role model of Imperial might and Justice. Kannero personally had no wish for such glorification of his deeds, yet he would let the people have their hero - though repeating that it was only achieved by great cost - forever issuing a stern reminder to remember the dead, and to thank them for their sacrifice.

Janus III remains plagued by savage Ork tribes however - forever attacking outlying and undefended settlements on the planet's surface, however Janus III's PDF have undoubtedly been expanded to accommodate fighting the greenskin menace.

Of the initial 300,000 man estimate of Imperial forces, only 43,000 were accounted for at the end of the First War for Janus III, with significant losses to Senior command staff and heavy ordinance. The 42nd Valen Rangers themselves were reduced in strength from 2,750 men to 182 - only 73 of which were present during the initial fighting on Kelthar Ridge - and Colonel Remus Westwood to this day remains unaccounted for.

Multitudes of battle honours were awarded for the efforts partook during the campaign - Captain Tiberius Kannero himself resulted in being awarded the Honourifica Imperialis - and further being awarded the Medallion Crimson. His left arm as a result of Gutzskull's work - was forced to be amputated and replaced with a Bionic replacement. He wears such a limb with humility - knowing full well that many boys and men alike had paid far more than an arm for what felt like a hollow victory. The Rangers and the multitudes of other Imperial forces eventually departed for their home planets, to resupply and restore their numbers. The 42nd were greeted to Valen as heroes with Captain Kannero at it's head - and they were granted a generous period of leave as to recover from their injuries prior to begin their work on rebuilding the Rangers from the ground up - the 2nd Company becoming colloquially known as "Kannero's Own" - while the Eccliesiarchal priests that had tagged along with them from Janus III - granted them the nickname of Kannero's Martyr's. A fitting, apt yet equally morbid name.