On the third day, the enemy tanks continued to roll forwards as 1st Korps had at last repositioned some forces to meet the enemy. In all, 52 tanks of the 7th Tank regiment, Leman Russes and Macharius Heavy Tanks, had been positioned, against an estimated enemy attack that still had over a hundred, although their numbers were growing all the time if reports were to be believed. Eventually the enemy armoured thrust was seriously blunted, due in no small part to days of multiple delaying actions by valiant Krieg tank commanders, and with each day the enemy captured less ground. After three more days the counter-attack had been stalled, but it had cut a swathe through 1st Korps and forced it to give up much captured ground. The 19th Regiment had been shredded in the first two days, over 80,000 men of the regiment had been captured or become casualties, including its commanding officer. Enemy losses had also been heavy, especially in armoured vehicles. All along the frontline, attacks that should have weakened the enemy only seemed to have emboldened him. Enemy defences had been organised, and now the second defence line would be much more difficult to crack.
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It had been nine years since the Siege of Vraks had begun. By now the 88th Siege Army should have been entrenched at the inner defence ring having cracked the defences of the first two rings, and it should have had the Citadel itself within the sights of their heavy artillery. But nine years of war had not gone entirely to plan. The 88th Siege Army had been forced to request more men. The success of the Dark Angels attack gave cause for new hope, and Lord Zuehkle saw the chance to redeem earlier failures with a decisive breakthrough. The addition of a new line korps with three fresh new regiments gave his commanders on the ground the extra forces they needed to mount an unstoppable offensive. Lord Zuehkle was running out of time, he had been given twelve years to complete his mission and the resources of Krieg had poured onto Vraks in vast quantities. He ordered the three new regiments, and those already in the line to plan and execute a big push, an all out offensive that applied constant and sustained pressure on the second defence lines over its full frontage. This would draw in the enemy's reserves and then destroy them under the artillery bombardment or in powerful infantry attacks. By sustaining the pressure, the enemy would eventually have to break somewhere. When they did an assault korps would be ready to pour into the gap and smash through to the inner defence line. If the breakthrough attack was fast enough they might even be able to drive into the inner defence line and establish a foothold before the enemy had a chance to dig himself in again.
The slight gains and prospective breakthroughs of the first three days could not be given up. It seemed the 88th Siege Army was intent on battering itself to destruction on the second defence lines. The whole of the 88th Siege Army was now committed, its only reserves were those reconstituted companies that had been formed from the survivors and stragglers left by day one. At the new front the battle continued unabated. As company commanders fought to capture and secure local objectives, the initial momentum of the offensive began to substantially subside. Stockpiles of ammunition, especially heavy artillery ammunition, were dwindling. Companies had been reduced to the size of platoons, platoons to the size of squads.
So it proved. The enemy was patient and only opened fire at short range with a sudden withering hail that flayed the lead infantry platoons. Leman Russ suddenly detonated from surprise flanking shots from unseen enemy tanks. Five tanks were burning in seconds, the others reversing away rather than risk the same fate. The attack stopped dead in its tracks. Mortar fire then began to land, the air singing with shrapnel above the pinned guardsmen's heads. The 3rd company's commander was killed in a blaze of heavy stubber fire. Six of his eleven platoon commanders would die in the opening fusillade. Despite the losses the attack must press on, and so it did Unable to outflank the gully the only choice was to keep bulling forwards in a headlong attack, but little headway could be made.
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