After the Fall of Ulyssia and an escalation of Xenos activity in the sector, the beleaguered Imperial Government requested reinforcements to aid their failing armies and retake the Pegasus Gulf.
For many years the request went unanswered, until late 003.M42 when a battlegroup carrying the 85th Mechanized arrived in orbit of Heavensreach. The fleet was immediately dispatched toward Ravenforge in an attempt to liberate it from the control of the Orks and Tyranids. Initially the invasion was met with little resistance, as fighting between the two factions had greatly weakened them. This changed with the arrival of a third faction, the Necrons.
The army groups of the 85th were quickly pushed back, taking heavy losses. In the final days before they were forced to return to Heavensreach, the Field Marshal was slain in combat. Upon return to Heavensreach, Macher, Commander of the Grenadier Korps, was promoted to Field Marshal.
Macher lead the 85th as part of a crusade to reclaim the homestead marches, a cluster of stars who declared independence in an attempt to secure their borders against the repeated xenos attacks. Through impossible odds and a series of tactical victories, Machers men cleansed the worlds of Blue Hallow and Honhath, the industrial core of the Homesteads.
Although this was a big gain for Imperial forces in the sector, the work of Macher could not rest. He was quickly recalled to Heavensreach yet again for another, arguably impossible, assignment. After spending a few months regrouping and supplying his men, the 85th turned its attention towards “The Black Reef” an artificial world infested with xenos. It was here that the full fury of the 85th was revealed as they swept across the planet. A near unstoppable force, the armoured fist of the Death Korp cleared out Xenos strongholds and saved many Imperial forces from utter destruction.
In the end, the efforts of Macher proved to be in vein, as the planet was destroyed in a final, titanic battle. Again Macher was forced to retreat to Heavensreach, where they make ready for another push against the Xenos and the traitor.
Reinforcements arrive in enormous numbers, swelling Imperial ranks and bolstering morale. A great crusade will soon be ready, and Macher expects to lead his glorious regiment at the front of it.
