The vast host assembled by Autilon Skorr for the assault on Mezoa consisted in the main of expendable militia forces and the massed heavy infantry of the Iron Warriors 114th?Grand Battalion. The unique nature of the planet of?Mezoa limited the deployment of heavy assets, and made the use of?Titans impossible; leaving Skorr with few methods of eliminating the heavy fortifications and super-heavy tanks and automata the defenders had assembled. The use of?orbital bombardment had to be limited, lest it fully collapse the crust of the volatile world and deny him a viable landing zone, or worse, destroy the factory and storage vaults of the forge-fanes themselves, and air support was limited by the heavy ash storms that commonly swept through the upper atmosphere of?Mezoa.

為了進(jìn)攻梅左阿鑄造世界，奧帝隆 斯考爾集結(jié)起了一支龐大的部隊(duì)，這些部隊(duì)主要由可消耗的民兵輔助軍力量和大量來自鋼鐵勇士第114大營重步兵組成。梅左阿星球星球獨(dú)一無二的自然環(huán)境限制了重型裝備的部署，也讓使用泰坦變得不可能；這導(dǎo)致斯考爾只有極少數(shù)手段來消滅星球上重型要塞和防御者們集結(jié)起的超重型坦克與自動(dòng)機(jī)兵。軌道轟炸的使用也受到限制，以免它徹底摧毀這個(gè)動(dòng)蕩世界的地殼，使部隊(duì)無法找到一個(gè)可行的著陸點(diǎn)，更糟的是，無限制的軌道轟炸會(huì)摧毀鍛造神殿中的工廠和倉庫；而且由于猛烈的火山灰風(fēng)暴經(jīng)常席卷梅左阿的上層大氣，空中支援也受到了限制。

To?counteract this potential deficiency in his forces, Skorr stripped the various heavy anti-armour vehicles and weapons from the separate Alpha Legion companies under his command and assembled them into specialised 'decapitation' squadrons, mostly composed of?Sicaran Venator tank destroyers, Vindicators and massed Rapier batteries. These squadrons were held as reserves, to be deployed where diversionary strikes by other, more expendable, formations had drawn out one of the defenders’?key assets and eliminate them before withdrawing once again. By means of this strategy, a number of precious Loyalist super-heavy tanks and Knights of the Hermetika met their ends for the use of?a scant handful of?Alpha Legion assets, although the losses among supporting elements of the Traitor auxiliary and Iron Warriors were far more grievous.

為了彌補(bǔ)麾下部隊(duì)中潛在的缺陷，斯考爾從自己指揮下的各個(gè)阿爾法軍團(tuán)連隊(duì)中抽調(diào)出了各種重型反裝甲載具和武器，并將之集中到專門的“斬首”中隊(duì)里，這些中隊(duì)主要由西卡然獵手型坦克殲擊車、維護(hù)者坦克和輕劍炮塔組成。這些中隊(duì)是被用作預(yù)備隊(duì)，當(dāng)那些更容易被消耗掉的編隊(duì)在某個(gè)區(qū)域發(fā)動(dòng)轉(zhuǎn)移敵方注意力的進(jìn)攻，消耗掉防御者們的某項(xiàng)關(guān)鍵資源后，他們就會(huì)被部署到此地，并在再次撤退之前消滅敵人。通過這種戰(zhàn)略，阿爾法軍團(tuán)只動(dòng)用了少量的資源就摧毀了忠誠派許多珍貴的超重型坦克與赫爾梅提卡家族的騎士，但叛變輔助軍和鋼鐵勇士的支援分隊(duì)所遭受的損失要更為嚴(yán)重得多。

Battlegroup 'Dragonslayer'

“屠龍者”戰(zhàn)斗群

Of particular note is the Decapitation squadron assembled for the destruction of the Salamanders super-heavy tank Dragon Eternal, designated as a primary objective for the Alpha Legion commanders due to both its potent firepower as well as its importance to the morale of the defenders. Battlegroup 'Dragonslayer' was composed of four Sicaran Venators, three Vindicators bearing laser destroyer arrays, twelve Rapier self-propelled gun platforms and three squadrons of?Alpha Legion outriders acting as spotters and defensive skirmishers. Three full companies of the Iron Warriors 114th Grand Battalion and the Ekficax Taghmata of M'Pandex were thrown against the defenders to draw out the target, nearly 600 lives expended in a futile attack to spare the Alpha Legion excessive losses.

為摧毀火蜥蜴軍團(tuán)部隊(duì)“永恒之龍”號超重型坦克而集結(jié)起的斬首中隊(duì)尤其值得我們注意——由于其強(qiáng)大的火力以及對守軍士氣的重要性，這輛超重型坦克被阿爾法軍團(tuán)指揮官指定為主要目標(biāo)?！巴例堈摺睉?zhàn)斗群包括四輛西卡然獵手型坦克殲擊車、三輛安裝了激光破壞者陣列的維護(hù)者坦克和十二臺自驅(qū)式輕劍炮塔，以及作為偵查兵和護(hù)衛(wèi)散兵的三支阿爾法軍團(tuán)先驅(qū)者中隊(duì)。來自鋼鐵勇士第114大營的三個(gè)完整連隊(duì)和來自M'Pandex鑄造世界的艾克非卡斯機(jī)神禁衛(wèi)軍被派去襲擊防御者，以引出目標(biāo)。這次行動(dòng)導(dǎo)致近六百人在一次徒勞的襲擊中喪生——這樣做的目的是避免阿爾法軍團(tuán)出現(xiàn)過度損失，

The Dragon Eternal made a quick appearance, anchoring the Loyalist defensive line, but Alpha Legion commanders held their ground until the attacking units were forced to withdraw, drawing the super-heavy tank out of?its optimal defensive position. There they struck in full force, a barrage of heavy weapons fire from an ambush sufficient to mortally wound even a mighty Glaive pattern tank, yet its defiant crew were still able to withdraw. The Alpha Legion commanders then issued orders for a second wave assault to cover their advance, delivering a second volley at the wounded behemoth that left it as a burning hulk.

永恒之龍?zhí)柡芸飕F(xiàn)身，牢牢守住忠誠派的防線，但阿爾法軍團(tuán)指揮官堅(jiān)守陣地，直到攻擊部隊(duì)被迫撤退，超重型坦克被從最佳的防御位置吸引出來。此刻，他們?nèi)M(jìn)攻，伏擊起來的斬首中隊(duì)發(fā)射出了一陣重武器彈幕，火力兇猛到甚至能對強(qiáng)大的飛刃型坦克造成致命傷，但不屈不撓的車組成員們?nèi)阅荞{駛坦克撤退。阿爾法軍團(tuán)指揮官之后下令發(fā)動(dòng)第二波進(jìn)攻以掩護(hù)他們的前進(jìn)，斬首中隊(duì)對這只受傷的巨獸進(jìn)行了第二輪齊射，使之變成了一堆熊熊燃燒的殘骸。