Once more into the breach dear friends
Following the drawn combat at the Shield of the Emperor defence silo last turn, the battered armies elected to fight once more without the benefit of reinforcements. Under the campaign rules, if one side could win control of the location before the next turn, they would gain requisition and special bonuses.
Due to the casualties caused in the last battle, both sides were fielding depleted armies - 1002 points for the marines and a mere 855 for the Orks!
The field itself was broken vegetation and two of the silo buildings - the landing pad and comms centre. These were the objectives for the battle (Take & Hold)
A view of the imperial deployment and objective
Looking across the battlefield with the Ork lines on the right
The Orks took first turn and advanced cautiously, attempting to keep as much cover between the Battlewagon and the looming Landraider. The battlewagon's shiny new Dethrolla has plans for the Landraider...
The big blue machine was carrying a
Tac squad and Inquisitor Julius
Meanwhile the flash trukk containing a boyz mob skirted a small wood, hoping to remain in cover
On the Ork objective the Meganobz took position whilst the second trukk waited in reserve
The marine forces pushed forward on the right, with Captain Sandius in a Rhino transporting a second
Tac squad and a biker escort
After a hesitant round of desultory firing and more careful manoeuvring, the Orks prepared themselves to launch an assault in the next turn. All they had to do was avoid too much marine fire....
Cackling with glee the marine players moved the landraider forward where it could fire through a narrow gap between terrain at the Battlewagon - even worse it was a side armour shot. Two twin-linked lascannons later, the main Ork transport carrying the Warboss and Nobz was on fire....
To make matters worse, on the marine objective Captain Boydus caught sight of the lurking trukk and directed his Sternguard missiles that way...
..with sadly predictable results for the Orks....
The bottom of turn two and the Ork assault had been decisively checked.
Everybody out!
The (now) foot slogging Ork infantry headed for cover, wary of the devastating marine firepower. The Warboss unit sheltered behind a rocky outcrop, expecting to be the next targets for the landraider's guns
Meanwhile the dismounted boys headed back to the objective to reinforce the defenders.
However the marines had other plans. The landraider did a 180 and headed back towards the footslogging Orks. Moving around the small wood it found the mob hopelessly exposed in the open. To ensure maximum carnage, the
Tac squad and Inquisitor Julius deployed and readied their bolters.
The ensuing torrent of fire blasted the Ork mob off the table
Over at the Ork objective, the marine flank attack gathered momentum. Captain Sandius and his
Tac squad deployed and prepared to hose down the Meganobz.
The marine bike squad moved up and readied their ranged weapons to deliver the Emperor's judgement...
As it turned out, the Emperor was obviously elsewhere as the most hilarious round of marine shooting followed:
In space, no-one can hear you yell Doh!!!!
Electing to decide the matter up close and personal, the biker squad charged in.
Alas, luck was not with them and one of their number was lost to difficult terrain. Despite inflicting one casualty on the Meganobz (curse their 2+ saves!) the entire bike squad was wiped out by powerklaws.
In turn, the meganobz charged out, using their combi-skorchas to thin out the
Tac squad before charging in.
The lone Ork warbuggy tried to tank-shock Inquisitor Julius and his retinue, who stepped aside with contemptuous ease...
The assault phase saw the meganobz cut down by Captain Sandius and his Relic Blade before they could do any more damage. The marine force followed up into the comms centre and seized the Ork objective, routing the second Ork trukk mob (who had deployed earlier)
Meanwhile, the Sternguard missile team blasted the warbuggy, which exploded spectacularly. Unfortunately the blast felled one of Inquisitor Julius' retinue
In death the buggy does more damage to the marines than it ever did in life...
The Orks were not ready to give up just yet. During the assault on their objective, the warboss and retinue had mounted up in the trukk left by the late second boyz mob. Surviving a round of marine shooting, they managed to (just) get close enough to the marine objective to launch their attack. The Sternguard fought bravely, but the power klaws and multiple wounds of the Nobs was taking their toll. Inquisitor Julius, having remounted the landraider with his
Tac squad arrived to even up the odds (in the marines favour, of course)
The Sternguard finally fell, but not before reducing the Orks to only the warboss and one last nob. Surely the relic blade of Captain Boydius and the Power Fist of Inquisitor Julius would carry the day?
To the horror of the marine force, both heroes were felled by the rampaging warboss. Badly wounded they collapsed and were dragged clear by their comrades.
But the Ork defiance was little more than Xenos spite - the marines contested one objective and held the other - victory was theirs!
So, for the first time in the campaign the Imperial team has control of the defence silo. The remaining Orks will retreat back towards their home base.
Next up - Kill Team. With the arrival of new marine forces in Orbit, the theatre commanders decide to launch a series of special missions behind enemy lines to finally break the deadlock at Forge Precinct Omega....
Sound Mind, Sound Body 
Prandium VI 1st Artillery Regiment "Fire Rain"
(2K+)
The Righteous, Space Marines (3.5K+)
(2K+) 
2,000 points and Growing
3,000 Points and Waiting 
