The story of Urdesh is rife with wars.
Its vast volcanic areas and rich prometheum reserves convinced the first human explorers to tap into these resources and establish great munifactorums there. With years they grew and by the time of the Horus Heresy, the world was already well-known for its product and also its peculiar double nature. For Urdesh has always been more than just another forge world, it has also cultivated several urban centers, the two largest being the Ghereppan and Oureppan cities.
The city has endured many sieges of chaos forces, some that were successfully repelled, some that led to the overthrow of the Imperials and life under Chaos lords for months or even years. Who ever ruled over the world, Urdesh endured. Always trying to be so important and essential to the war effort (of any side) that they would not risk destroying the world for a little bit of moral flexibility it had shown before.
Now the forces of chaos have attacked again. The first stage of the invasion is over. The cultists and traitor guard led the way fighting against the PDF and one Urdeshi regiment stationed at the planet. Some battles were won by the Imperials, some by Chaos but none of the human soldiers fighting these initial conflict was aware that the "nightmarish hell" as they described it was nothing but a prelude to something much larger and much worse.
As the elite forces of Chaos prepare to make landfall and Imperial defenders answer the call of Urdesh for assistance, the world braces itself for another chapter in the never-ending story of war on Urdesh.
The war raged for months. The initial Chaos attack was met by Imperial reinforcements determined to stop it at all costs. The war raged in the cities, in the volcanic plateaus, underground and even in orbit.
Damage done to the infrastructure was massive and some of it, irredeemable. The grand shrine to the Beati was ravaged and ransacked by the crazed followers of Khorne, generators that had worked for generations blown up and the orbital defense platform damaged beyond recognition.
One of the innocuous islands was the site of the heaviest fighting of the conflict. The unholy monument hidden there driving the chaos followers mad as their heaviest knights were met by the super-heavy tanks of the defenders.
The fighting took a heavy toll on all involved regiments and space marine chapters and it did not take long before they had to be rotated out - the meat grinder becoming too much. Some have raised the question of a possible exterminatus, but the Imperial command was adamant - the planet is too precious and must not be destroyed. If it falls to enemy hands it just means it will take longer to reclaim it. But reclaim it the Imperium shall.
Even now, new cruisers are on their route with eager fighters willing to succeed where their predecessors failed. Unfortunately, the enemy has reinforced too and the outcome of the second phase of the war is nowhere near assured.