Breakthrough on the Iracunda Isthmus?

Iracunda 地峽上的突破

Since the offensive towards Tarokeen had stalled there had been little fighting between the Tallarn regiments and the Tau. The Tallarns had made small, local advances and continued harassing artillery fire but, short on supplies and critically short of water, they had started to dig-in to conserve what supplies they had. They set about laying minefields and razorwire in front of their positions. Whilst the Imperial Guard were not advancing the Tau did not counter-attack. With the Imperial Guard marooned in the desert the Hunter Cadres conserved their own strength for the battles still to come.?

自從對(duì)于Tarokeen的攻勢(shì)停滯之后，塔蘭團(tuán)和鈦帝國(guó)部隊(duì)之間幾乎沒(méi)有戰(zhàn)斗。塔蘭人進(jìn)行了小規(guī)模的局部前進(jìn)并且繼續(xù)進(jìn)行著襲擾炮擊，但是由于缺乏補(bǔ)給和嚴(yán)重缺乏水源，他們開(kāi)始深挖戰(zhàn)壕以節(jié)約現(xiàn)有的補(bǔ)給。他們開(kāi)始在自己的陣地前布設(shè)雷區(qū)和鐵絲網(wǎng)。帝國(guó)衛(wèi)隊(duì)沒(méi)有前進(jìn)，而鈦星人也沒(méi)有反擊。隨著帝國(guó)衛(wèi)隊(duì)被困在了沙漠中，獵核也為仍在持續(xù)的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)而節(jié)約著自己的兵力。

It was critical to the success of Operation Comet,and maybe the outcome of the war, that a relief forces reached the Drop Troops at hydro-processing plant 23-30 in three days. Before any relief force could makes Its advance a breakthrough had be made through the western end of the lracunda Isthmus. The?ground forces would have to break into the lracunda Isthmus. using the narrow strips of land between the small seas and lakes in the area. Channelled by the terrain, any attack would have to be directly into the teeth of the waiting Hunter Cadres' firepower.?

這對(duì)于彗星行動(dòng)的成功是很重要的，對(duì)于戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)的結(jié)果可能也是如此。一支增援部隊(duì)在三天時(shí)間中到達(dá)了23-30水力發(fā)電廠的空降部隊(duì)處。而在任何增援部隊(duì)能夠前進(jìn)之前，帝國(guó)部隊(duì)從lracunda地峽西部盡頭進(jìn)行了一次突破，地面部隊(duì)利用該地區(qū)小型內(nèi)海和湖泊之間的狹長(zhǎng)地段攻入了地峽，而從這種地形發(fā)動(dòng)的任何攻擊都將直接進(jìn)入等待中的獵核正面強(qiáng)大火力。

The Tallarn regiments were no longer fit for the offensive. They had lost many men and most of their tanks in the long drive north. The war was entering a critical phase, much rested on Operation Comet succeeding. De Stael turned to the best troops he still had. Firstly, the Raptors Space Marines. Captain Orelius' battle brothers had seen little ground action; it was time to commit them again. The Space Marines would be the spearhead of the thrust, supported by the Titans of Legio lgnatum. The Warhounds were the Imperium's largest war machines on Taros, it was unlikely the Tau had any answer to them. Between these two forces,they would smash through?the narrow terrain, sweeping aside any resistance and clearing the way for the mechanized 114th Cadian regiment to strike north to reach hydro 23-30. The breakthrough operation would begin on the same day as the Elysians launched Operation Comet .?

塔蘭團(tuán)已經(jīng)不再適合于這種攻勢(shì)，他們損失了很多兵員，而且大部分坦克都在向遙遠(yuǎn)的北方行駛。戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)正在進(jìn)入關(guān)鍵階段，彗星行動(dòng)的成功關(guān)系重大，德 斯代爾轉(zhuǎn)向他手中仍然擁有的最強(qiáng)部隊(duì)尋求幫助。首先是猛禽戰(zhàn)團(tuán)星際戰(zhàn)士，奧雷留斯連長(zhǎng)的戰(zhàn)斗兄弟們（最近）幾乎沒(méi)有負(fù)責(zé)負(fù)責(zé)地面行動(dòng)，現(xiàn)在是時(shí)候再次把這項(xiàng)任務(wù)交給他們了。星際戰(zhàn)士們是這次猛攻的矛頭，火蜂軍團(tuán)的泰坦會(huì)支援他們。戰(zhàn)犬泰坦是帝國(guó)在塔洛斯上最大的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)機(jī)器，鈦星人對(duì)于它們不可能有任何應(yīng)對(duì)手段。他們將會(huì)闖過(guò)雙方之間的狹長(zhǎng)地帶，掃清任何抵抗，為卡迪安第114機(jī)械化團(tuán)清出向北進(jìn)攻抵達(dá)23-30水力發(fā)電廠的道路。在艾麗西亞空降團(tuán)發(fā)動(dòng)彗星行動(dòng)的同一天，突破行動(dòng)也會(huì)開(kāi)始。

Captains Orelius and Kaedes oversaw the Space Marine?preparations for the attack. Thunderhawk transporter, started their work, transferring Land Raiders, Predators,?Whirlwinds and Rhinos from the War Talon to the surface.Techmarines armed and blessed the vehicles. The battle brothers of 2nd and 6th companies mustered for an armoured engagement. Thunderhawk transporters plunged from orbit to land at the assigned assembly area, just west of the northern end of the isthmus entrance. On board the transporters were Land Raiders, Predators, Whirlwinds and Rhinos, all carrying the squads of 3rd company. The attack would come swiftly. giving the Tau minimum time to respond and it would come in overwhelming force. It would be spearheaded by the armour of the Raptors Chapter, supported by the firepower of the Warhound Titans, with the 114th Regiment awaiting the breakthrough to begin their own mission - the relief of hydro 23-30.?

奧雷留斯連長(zhǎng)和凱達(dá)斯連長(zhǎng)監(jiān)督著星際戰(zhàn)士們的進(jìn)攻準(zhǔn)備。雷鷹運(yùn)輸機(jī)開(kāi)始從戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)利爪號(hào)上將蘭德掠奪者、捕食者坦克、旋風(fēng)坦克和犀牛運(yùn)兵車(chē)輸送到了地表，技術(shù)軍士們武裝并祝福了這些載具。第2和第6連隊(duì)的戰(zhàn)斗兄弟為裝甲戰(zhàn)而進(jìn)行了集結(jié)，雷鷹運(yùn)輸機(jī)從軌道上降落到地面上指定的集結(jié)區(qū)——Isthmus地峽入口北側(cè)盡頭的西部。甲板上的運(yùn)輸載具是蘭德掠奪者、捕食者坦克、旋風(fēng)坦克和犀牛運(yùn)兵車(chē)，滿載著第三連隊(duì)的星際戰(zhàn)士小隊(duì)，進(jìn)攻很快就會(huì)開(kāi)始。進(jìn)攻的矛頭是猛禽戰(zhàn)團(tuán)的裝甲部隊(duì)，由戰(zhàn)犬泰坦的火力提供支援，而第114卡迪亞團(tuán)在等待著突破，以開(kāi)始自己的任務(wù)——救援23-30水力發(fā)電廠（的帝國(guó)部隊(duì)）。

While the Space Marines assembled. the Warhound Titans of Legio Ignatum were stalking north to join?them, striding through the deserts accompanied by the sprawling Chimera formations of the Cadian regiment. For the first time in the campaign the Tau would experience a true army of the Imperium, the combined weight of the Irnperium's fighting forces committed as one.?

在星際戰(zhàn)士集結(jié)的同時(shí)，火蜂軍團(tuán)的戰(zhàn)犬泰坦在卡迪亞團(tuán)派出的奇美拉編隊(duì)的陪同下闊步穿過(guò)沙漠，它正在悄悄向北方進(jìn)發(fā)以加入部隊(duì)。在這場(chǎng)戰(zhàn)役中，鈦星人將會(huì)第一次與帝國(guó)真正的部隊(duì)交戰(zhàn)，他們將面臨整合為一體的帝國(guó)作戰(zhàn)部隊(duì)。

Eight hundred kilometres to the south, the Valkynes and Vultures of the Elysian Drop Troop Regiment were just taking off as the Space Marines and Warhounds went into battle. Their target area was at the northern end of the entrance to the isthmus. Their objective was to clear all Tau forces, punching a gap for the Imperial Guard to race through.?

隨著星際戰(zhàn)士和戰(zhàn)犬泰坦加入戰(zhàn)斗，位于他們南方八百千米處的艾麗西亞空降團(tuán)女武神運(yùn)輸機(jī)和禿鷲炮艇也正在起飛。他們的目標(biāo)區(qū)域是isthmus地峽出口的北部終點(diǎn)，任務(wù)是清理所有鈦帝國(guó)部隊(duì)，為帝國(guó)衛(wèi)隊(duì)打開(kāi)快速通過(guò)的缺口。

The Tau's Pathfinder forward observers must have seen the Warhound Titans, standing fourteen metres tall above the desert, as they stalked forwards. The Tau were prepared for an attack and, as ever, their Hunter Cadres responded quickly to the call?from their forward scouts. In earlier engagements the Tau had always been able to make the most of their long-ranged weaponry to pick off Leman Russel and Chimeras .Now they faced Titans. equipped with huge weapon, and protective void shields, the advantage lay with the Imperium. This would be a different battle.?

鈦帝國(guó)尋路者的前鋒觀察員們已經(jīng)看見(jiàn)了戰(zhàn)犬泰坦們，這些在沙漠上站立起來(lái)高達(dá)十四米的闊步走向異形們。鈦星人做好了應(yīng)對(duì)進(jìn)攻的準(zhǔn)備，獵核就像往常一樣快速回應(yīng)了前鋒偵察兵的呼叫。在之前的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)中，鈦星人經(jīng)常能夠利用自己大多數(shù)遠(yuǎn)程武器來(lái)逐個(gè)射擊黎曼魯斯坦克和奇美拉裝甲車(chē)。現(xiàn)在他們面對(duì)的是裝備了巨大武器和保護(hù)性虛空盾的泰坦，帝國(guó)是擁有優(yōu)勢(shì)的一方，這會(huì)是一場(chǎng)不同以往的戰(zhàn)斗。

The Warhounds engaged the Hammerheads at maximum range, blazing away with massive turbo-lasers. The Space Marines sped forwards, Land Raiders leading the way, Whirlwinds in close support, Predators on the flanks. Hoping to halt the assault the Tau could no longer simply give ground before the attack, they had to stand and fight. This was to the Space Marines' advantage. The Raptors strike force could close the distance and start to engage with their highly accurate lascannons. Conducted with speed, accuracy and their trade mark aggression. the Space Marine tore into the Tau defenders, deploying Devastator squads from Rhinos to lend their fire support .Suddenly the Tau were suffering heavy losses. With void shields flaring against railgun hits, the Warhounds strode forwards. obliterating entire vehicles with a single hit from their weaponry. and stomping on the wreckage as they advanced .For the first time on Taros the Tau fell back having had the worst of the engagement. The desert was marked by tell tale columns of smoke rising from the burning hulks of Tau vehicles.?

戰(zhàn)犬泰坦在最遠(yuǎn)射程處與錘頭鯊交戰(zhàn)，用強(qiáng)大的渦輪激光炸開(kāi)異星人的載具。星際戰(zhàn)士們快速突進(jìn)，蘭德掠奪者領(lǐng)頭，旋風(fēng)坦克負(fù)責(zé)近處支援，捕食者坦克在側(cè)翼行駛。鈦星人希望能阻止這次進(jìn)攻，他們不會(huì)簡(jiǎn)單地撤退讓步，而是會(huì)固守和迎擊。這讓星際戰(zhàn)士們獲得了優(yōu)勢(shì)，猛禽戰(zhàn)團(tuán)的打擊部隊(duì)縮短了距離并開(kāi)始用自己高精度的激光炮射擊鈦星人。憑借著速度、準(zhǔn)確性和他們標(biāo)志性的攻擊力，星際戰(zhàn)士們撕開(kāi)鈦星人的防御，并從犀牛運(yùn)兵車(chē)上部署了破壞者小隊(duì)進(jìn)行火力支援。鈦星人在遭受著嚴(yán)重?fù)p失戰(zhàn)犬泰坦大步前進(jìn)，磁軌炮的射擊使它的虛空盾泛起光暈，它們的武器一擊就能摧毀整輛的載具，它們一邊前進(jìn)一邊踏碎殘骸。在塔洛斯世界上，鈦星人第一次開(kāi)始撤退，他們遇到了一場(chǎng)最為艱難的惡戰(zhàn)。沙漠中升起了鈦星人載具燃燒所產(chǎn)生的煙柱。

The Warhounds continually stalked forwards, obliterating?anything in their path. along with the Space Marines. now advancing about their feet, the combined force thrust a sword clean through the Tau defences and opened the way onto the lracunda Isthmus. The Tau rallied, and the arrival of a fresh Hunter Cadre saw the fighting intensity again. This time the Tau would deploy a new weapon.No Imperial commander had ever encountered this new mark of Tiger Shark before. The aircraft came in fast, skimming the desert so low it kicked up a dust cloud. before climbing over a shallow rise to open fire. Missiles rippled from the aircraft's wings, flaring bright against Warhound Advensis Primaris' void shields. The explosions overpowered the generators which cut out. The following shots from the Tiger Shark's twin?railguns struck the Warhound squarely in the hull. With devastating power two hyper-sonic shots tore through the thick armour plates in an explosion that showered the surrounding desert in molten shrapnel. Critically wounded the Warhound staggered backwards under the impacts, tottered and, to the astonishment of all. fell.?

戰(zhàn)犬泰坦們繼續(xù)前進(jìn)，和星際戰(zhàn)士們摧毀沿途的一切，后者現(xiàn)在是徒步前進(jìn)。這種混合部隊(duì)如同刺入鈦星人防線的一柄利劍，清出了一條通往lracunda地峽的道路。鈦星人進(jìn)行了集結(jié)，新到來(lái)的獵核將會(huì)見(jiàn)證戰(zhàn)斗的烈度。這次鈦星人將會(huì)部署一種新武器，沒(méi)有哪位帝國(guó)指揮官之前曾與這種型號(hào)的虎鯊炮艇交戰(zhàn)過(guò)。這種飛行器快速駛來(lái)，它在沙漠上滑行得如此低以至于帶起來(lái)一片塵云，之后它爬升到了淺層區(qū)來(lái)開(kāi)火。機(jī)翼下發(fā)射的導(dǎo)彈使戰(zhàn)犬泰坦“首席言徒”號(hào)的虛空盾發(fā)出了強(qiáng)光，爆炸過(guò)載了護(hù)盾發(fā)生器?；Ⅴ徟谕У碾p聯(lián)磁軌炮之后的開(kāi)火正好集中了戰(zhàn)犬泰坦的軀體，兩發(fā)超音速射彈的毀滅性力量在爆炸中撕開(kāi)了厚重的裝甲板，周?chē)纳衬疄M了熔融的碎片。受損嚴(yán)重的泰坦在所有的沖擊下?lián)u搖晃晃，并最終在眾人驚訝的目光中，摔倒了。

Where once Imperial Commanders had thought the Titans untouchable to all but a Manta's firepower, suddenly the Tau had a new tactical weapon capable of killing the mighty war machines. The wreckage of Advensis Primaris lay billowing oily smoke as the sand settled over her. Inside the crew lay dead at the controls, including High Princeps Jernay. killed by the agonised screams of pain that led directly into his brain from the Titan's mind-impulse controls. It?was a bitter and unexpected loss. The remaining three Titans withdrew rather than face another strafing run. Their mission was already complete, the 114th Cadians were now able to begin their strike northwards, further Titan losses would be for no further gains.?

帝國(guó)指揮官曾經(jīng)認(rèn)為泰坦在除了曼塔火力之外所有的鈦帝國(guó)進(jìn)攻面前都是堅(jiān)不可摧的，但鈦星人突然擁有了能夠摧毀這種強(qiáng)大機(jī)器的新手段。當(dāng)沙子落在她身上時(shí)，“首席言徒”號(hào)的殘骸冒出油膩的滾滾濃煙。里面的乘員們也死在了駕駛臺(tái)上，其中也包括機(jī)長(zhǎng)杰爾納伊——痛苦的疼痛尖叫從泰坦的意識(shí)脈沖控制器直接傳入他的大腦，殺死了他。這是一種苦澀而未曾預(yù)料的損失。剩余的三臺(tái)泰坦選擇撤退而非繼續(xù)面對(duì)虎鯊的低空掃射。不過(guò)他們的任務(wù)已經(jīng)完成，第114卡迪亞團(tuán)現(xiàn)在能夠開(kāi)始他們的向北進(jìn)發(fā)，沒(méi)必要進(jìn)一步損失泰坦。

The Space Marines and Warhounds had advanced the required fifty kilometres in just a day of fighting. Skirmishing continued in the area all day, with Space Marine patrols hunting down any alien stragglers or Pathfinder teams bold enough to return to the battlefield. Behind them the 114th Cadians roared their engines into life.

星際戰(zhàn)士和戰(zhàn)犬泰坦在一天的戰(zhàn)斗后就前進(jìn)了所需的15千米。在整整一天中，該區(qū)域都在持續(xù)發(fā)生小規(guī)模沖突，星際戰(zhàn)士巡邏隊(duì)獵捕著所有異星人掉隊(duì)者或足夠勇敢到返回戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)的尋路者小隊(duì)。在他們身后，第114卡迪亞團(tuán)也喚醒了坦克的引擎。

Despite the victory, the loss of Advensis Primaris was a worrying development. The Tau had learned from their previous experiences fighting the Imperium's greatest war machines. In the past Hunter Cadres had been roughly handled by Titans, now the Tau had developed a weapon capable of fighting back. The new Tiger Shark had been upgraded to carry two heavy railguns, sacrificing its standard payload and ion cannons for the kind of firepower usually only mounted on Mantas or spacecraft.?

雖然帝國(guó)獲勝，但泰坦的損失是一件令人擔(dān)憂的情況。鈦帝國(guó)已經(jīng)從他們之前與帝國(guó)最強(qiáng)大的戰(zhàn)爭(zhēng)機(jī)器的交戰(zhàn)經(jīng)驗(yàn)中進(jìn)行了學(xué)習(xí)，在過(guò)去獵核部隊(duì)會(huì)被泰坦輕松處理掉，但現(xiàn)在鈦星人已經(jīng)發(fā)展出了能反擊的武器。這種新型號(hào)的虎鯊被進(jìn)行了改造，能夠攜帶兩門(mén)重型磁軌炮，它犧牲了標(biāo)準(zhǔn)載荷與離子炮，以換取這種通常只配備于曼塔或星艦的火力。