The Battle for Macragge

[gorfang113]

For the first time I noticed what seems to be a big gap in the fluff for the Battle of Macragge. The Tyranid codex says that after Cold Steel Ridge the Ultramarines focused their forces in the polar fortresses, and the Tyranids attacked them there. But what about the rest of the planet? Macragge is the capital of the Ultramar system, and it has a sizeable population. Its never mentioned that the Marines brought them to the Polar fortresses, so what happened to them? Did the Ultramarines just let the Tyranids nom them all? In the old codex I remember it talking about titans fighting against the hordes on the ice fields, but there is no way they could defend population centers by themselves. So did the Tyranids just completly (or mostly) ignore the big buffet of biomass to go straight for the remaining marines, or was the population mostly absorbed and it just doesn't mention it? And what about their fortress monastey (The Fortress of Hera if I remember right)? Did they just leave it undefended, as it says that all of the First company was at the Polar fortresses, and it doesn't seem to imply that any other companies had a major prescence on the surface.

[Reivax26]

Welcome to 40k where the fluff likes to contradict itself or is largely never explained.

[JamieIsOOP]

I remember reading in an old piece of fluff that Tyranids wipe out all threats to the hivefleet on a planet before nomming. I can't remember where I read this though....

[DYoung]

I believe it says they attacked the polar fortresses due to them taking a heavy toll on the Tyranids' fleet.

[unwanted]

Also, the Polar Fortress' were the primary centres of control for the massed defensive firepower planetside, which the Hive Mind recognized as the greatest threat, and tried to destroy these defenses, before comitting to all-out consumption. They only managed to land there, and didn't get through before the Ultramarine and Navy fleets returned to drive the Hive Ships away.

[Lord Damocles]

The 4th ed. box set was set in a desert, remember?

[shadowhawk2008]

Did they just leave it undefended, as it says that all of the First company was at the Polar fortresses, and it doesn't seem to imply that any other companies had a major prescence on the surface.

Just because they don't say anything about it doesn't mean there is nothing to say. The entire chapter had been withdrawn to Macragge to hold off Behemoth.

The Tyranids don't just attack the biggest concentration of people, but the biggest concentration of defences as well. Kinda like Orks.

[Chem-Dog]

The Tyranids don't just attack the biggest concentration of people, but the biggest concentration of defences as well.

This is Macragge too, I'd bet pretty much every citizen on the world has, at least, a basic level of military training meaning that the concentration of populations is probably pretty much the same thing as a concentration of defences. I'd expect the Ultramarines to be able to effectively arm every man woman and child should it be necessary.

So the Tyranids needed to break the orbital defences to bring their numbers up to a level where they could overwhelm an incredibly determined, well equipped and prepared resistance on every front.

[ManOfRust]

Which does beg the question of why Calgar had to fight at Cold Steel Ridge in the first place rather than reinforce the Polar Fortresses. A Space Marines battle novel beckons to some poor, brave, foolish soul I think...

[El_Machinae]

My impression is that 'nids form a 'beachhead' first. It could even be a re-arranging of their biological composition. The 'landing craft' get nommed to become groundtroops.

[Veteran Sergeant]

Which does beg the question of why Calgar had to fight at Cold Steel Ridge in the first place rather than reinforce the Polar Fortresses. A Space Marines battle novel beckons to some poor, brave, foolish soul I think...

It's possible that Void Shields or other surface defenses prevented them from landing right on top of the Polar Fortress. Maybe "Cold Steel Ridge" was the closest location to a suitable LZ. Even Tyranids have to worry about combat logistics.

[ManOfRust]

It's possible that Void Shields or other surface defenses prevented them from landing right on top of the Polar Fortress. Maybe "Cold Steel Ridge" was the closest location to a suitable LZ. Even Tyranids have to worry about combat logistics.

That is a good reason for the Tyrannids to have to fight their way on the ground to the Polar fortresses rather than just swamp them from mycetic assault, but not a good reason for Calgar to have to marshall his troops on an Industrial site for a stand when there are perfectly good prepared defenses only a couple of hundred miles north that are going to need the reinforcements!

I'm biased, I was happy with earlier versions of how the battle plays out with large degrees of doubt and insight in equal measure. The Ultramarines were forewarned by Kryptman but fleet interception failed as the Hivefleet was incredibly huge compared to even the gathered forces of the Ultramarine fleet and Prandium was lost. Prandium was an Agri-world and lacked the massive orbital structures of Macragge so the Ultramarines were more confident of a victory in orbit over their homeworld.

Again, fleet actions in the stellar system could only slow the Tyrannids orbital approach and they proceeded to chew their way through the defences. Maintaining orbital position in spite of the tremendous firepower ranged against them the Hive ships began combat drops over the planet. Correctly identifying the Polar Fortresses as lynchpins, Synapse command impels the Tyrannid ground forces to gather their strengths and assault these strongpoints to disrupt the defenses. The massive defensive fire from the Poles probably accounts for the majority of surviving Tyrannids on the ground having landed elsewhere and having to walk, at the expense of nomming any locals. This being Ultramar, most of said natives are probably inside heavily defended cities and not so much of an easy meal but notably are not dicing the Nids orbital back-up so can be ignored in favor of kebabing the globally strategic targets.

The Polar Fortresses have been described as massive complexes and were heavily defended but the Tyrannids were still a relative unknown, gathered in huge numbers and eventually managed to disrupt the co-ordination of the orbital batteries to the extent that the Hive ships could close and drop overwhelming reinforcements onto the Poles. Doing so opened up the fleet and allowed the humans in turn to identify the primary controlling hiveship and destroy it. With this loss and the objective of destroying the orbital defences achieved the Tyrannid fleet fell back to re-group. With no co-ordinated orbital defences Macragge would not survive a second assault.

By Cold Steel Ridge reading, Calgar didn't stay in orbit to man his fleet, he didn't deploy to defend civilian targets, he focused his forces in ONE defensive action when the Tyrannids were assaulting the Poles from all sides AND there were actual, fortified sites that he could have used. Cold Steel Ridge just feels a little bit shoe-horned into the sequence simply to give a background justification to the cover illustration of the 4th ed Space Marine Codex.

[Spetulhu]

That is a good reason for the Tyrannids to have to fight their way on the ground to the Polar fortresses rather than just swamp them from mycetic assault, but not a good reason for Calgar to have to marshall his troops on an Industrial site for a stand when there are perfectly good prepared defenses only a couple of hundred miles north that are going to need the reinforcements!

It's not the only thing that doesn't make sense. Those Polar Fortresses should hold ammo enough to stay in the fight for months on end, yet the defenders ran out in the time it took Calgar to manage the space battle. Whoever planned and stocked up for the ground battle should be executed for gross incompetence.

[shadowhawk2008]

The defenders ran out of bodies.....

[ryng_sting]

The Tyranids didn't destroy the orbital defences on the ground. They were still intact and functional by the time the relief companies arrived at the polar fortresses.