Editing Battle of Zhuko V (section)

==First blows==

Mastodontii formations landed and formed up, moving with terrible speed across Zhuko V. Armoured Cohorts and Line Companies supported by Land Raiders proceeded forth, crushing the few entrenchments arrayed to stall them. This was a mere fraction of their strength, enough men to break down the cities, secure the manufactorums and stockpiles, and then move on to the Tsiolkovsky Towers to swiftly take the collected material off-world. There was no expectation of needing any more numbers than this. They were not here to burn the world or siege it. This was a snatch and grab, but on a vast scale.

The first targets of the Legion were the cities of Izotovberg and Smetanin. Both held manufactorums, both were lightly defended compared to the other, larger cities. The assault began with a thunder of fire from orbit. No indiscriminate bombardment, this was carefully selected and targeted to knock out as may defensive systems as possible before the ground assault. The Hives held most of the fire back, but enough damage was done for the Legion’s purposes. It was then that the formations of armour moved into view. As expected, there was not enough ground defences, with one Anti-Armour emplacement for every ten tanks, making it impossible to effectively stop them.

The defenders of the walls now faced the storm of armour alone. But as the Mastodontii were about the breach down the main entrance, a deluge of firepower poured out to greet them. Battalions of Gaudins stumbled forth, bellowing out a defiant cry before being crushed by the combined might of the Mastodontii's superheavies. Behind them were Baneblades and Shadowswords joining the fray, choking the front gates of Izotovberg and Smetanin with shredded hulls and torn treads. It took the Legion hours before finally breaking through.

It was here though, that the true strength of the defenders weighed. In the twisted cityscape, the defending armour held the advantage. By using ambush and hit-and-run attacks, the defenders began to bleed the attacking armour for every corner they turned on. Tanks were not at their most effective in urban combat, the attackers had hoped to shock the foe into submission and thus avoid a costly confrontation. But now they were finding for themselves that the defenders were not about to give them their war materials without a fight.

To the eastern edge of the main continent the wealthy mines had created an erratic and twisting structure of streets, winding this way and that. It made armoured assault a nightmare for the Legionnaires, having to deal with infantry tank-hunter teams and dug in Vanquishers and Destroyers. The mastery of armoured warfare that was the hallmark of the Mastodontii counted for naught in the narrow streets of Izotovberg, and the sheer number of vehicles and bodies the defenders had swung the balance. As the frustration grew, the attackers began to indiscriminately level buildings and fire upon anything that crossed their path. This further delayed their advance, and after six hours, they were still not any closer to controlling the factories they had come for. It was thought it would only take three hours at the most to secure them to begin with.

In Smetanin, every street was a battlefield. The bodies piled high in the streets as people used their own factory tools to dismantle the treads of light vehicles moving across the street, usually suffering horrible fates as the enraged Mastodontii would dismount to butcher them. While doing so, tanks would roll out, hitting them while disembarked. Unlike Izotovberg, the Mastodontii decided to lure out the Zhukon tanks, led by an Overseer named Klara Eissner. The woman desperately tried to call her overconfident troops in, but it was too late. Outside of the city, they were easily dealt with. The blow was enough to hammer in the last nail for the city, but Klara decided to put her full might behind an assault outside the city. While doing so the people evacuated towards Vinograd to the north, but it was barely a tenth of the Hive's population. 

Among the bones of long dead xenos-beasts, the cracked and blackened hulls of well over a thousand tanks smoldered. The battle was at first thought decided, but soon it devolved into a massive struggle between the two forces. Eventually though Klara's tank was spotted, overtaken as all the nearby Mastodontii focused on the command vehicle. Reinforcements from Legio Olitau made quick work of any remaining defenders, allowing the Traitors to finally achieve the victory they had demanded.