As the war of attrition continues, the beleaguered forces of the Imperium have come under attack from all venues. The war in the mountains of Hoarfrost Ridge has taken a greater toll on men and resources than previously thought. The hit and run ambushes of the Night Lords and Angels of Rapture have forced the Reiksverld 27th C.A.D into a type of warfare they are not used to. Unable to simply blast the renegades with the might of their Leman Russ, Lord-General Isen has turned to the newly acquired commanders of the Valhallan Cold Bloods. The 27th has been training hard in the cold heights under their tutelage, learning survival skills, ambushing skills, camouflage, and winter combat. Great metal enclosures have been erected in the ruins of the Vigilus Colony, barracks, motor pools and supply dumps as well. Adept techs, with the help of hundreds of Servitors, have levelled the ruins and replaced them with the Hab Blocks needed to provide shelter for vanguard of the advancing 27th. The Tank Companies have been refitted with winter terrain gear, each vehicle in turn bathed in sacred oils and new blessings to protect them from the rapidly degrading elements. The mighty Laser silos on Hoarfrost Ridge have been retaken from the elements, the Tech Priests laboring night and day to repair and bless them back into the Emperor's grace. All the ceremony needed to complete the repairs is impairing the 27ths ability to use them against the Night Lords. 

Lord-General Isen being aware of the Priests rituals, still grinds his teeth in frustration at the delay on getting these weapons operational! Meantime forces were being moved into place to assault the gun emplacements of Zebra Station, still firmly in the grip of the Night Lords. All was proceeding according to the battleplan when the Orks struck. Roaring out of the morning sky, a horde of crude Fighta Bommas strafed the newly built base, detonating supply dumps while dropping bombs on the scrambling troops below! As flak guns lit up the predawn sky, the Speed Freak pilots dodged and weaved among the peaks, circling around in wild patterns, and unleashing payload after payload of bombs. The ground crews soon started taking their toll back, as the flak gunners tracked the crude aircraft, depressing triggers and cheering as one after another of the Ork planes blossomed into great orange explosions that lit the predawn, followed by ground explosions as the craft fell to earth. Less than 15 minutes after the attack had started, it was over, the remaining Ork planes heading back over the mountains to the west.

The forces of Chaos meanwhile have spent the years digging in their defenses and securing their lines. Hit and run attacks on the Imperial guard regiments were more of an excuse to relieve their troops of boredom than any real threat of doing serious damage. The warmasters had a long-lasting war of attrition in mind when they came to Megiddo Prime, knowing full well that they could not afford to fight a quick hit battle. They were here to recover something from the planet and could ill afford to lose their troops in failed attacks, their resources limited. They have been focusing their attacks and advances towards the ruins of Hive Artemis, crude energy readings giving the warmasters a measure of hope that they could complete their task and get off this forsaken planet.... Not all the Imperium forces fighting on Megiddo Prime are Imperial Guard. The Space Marines of the Ultramarine and Blood Angel chapters continue to fight alongside their counterparts, aiding in the raids against the Orks and Chaos marines. Forces of Ultramarines have succeeded in securing the Yarrick Pipeline to the south. A daring early morning surgical strike on McCready airfield caught the small force of Worldeaters based there in a deadly crossfire, elements of the 34th Tank Company "Thor's Hammer" hitting the traitors drop ships with battle cannon, ensuring they could not flee. 

Meantime assault companies under Captain Pejarium of the Ultramarine 7th took the fight to the traitors of Khorne, the Captain himself felling a mighty traitor Lord in single combat, chaos blade against thunder hammer, in a duel that lasted for over 20 minutes while the battle raged around them. By midafternoon, McCready Airfield was in the hands of the Imperium once more.

As the war enters its 4th year, the forces of the Imperium are digging in and taking back the surface one battle at a time. Fearsome snowstorms are grounding most of the aircraft on both sides, though the Orks continue to send up suicide Bommas that crash more often than doing any damage! Tech Priests are close to re-activating the laser silos on Hoarfrost Ridge. And the forces of Chaos seem to be getting closer to their true objective. And the war rages on..........