Welcome to game 41 in our long running campaign. In this battle the astartes forces must breach a well defended chaos trench line.
Previous games in this campaign can be found here:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Gordy2000%27s_Battle_Reports
The Imperial forces have now reached the last hastily erected defense line before the fallen Hive Erd.
Imperial command want a swift breakthrough, and so have enlisted the Angels of Death to break through the trenches and open the way for an assault on the hive proper.
The Salamanders and Sons of Gord, long-time allies, will be leading the attack. But as always, the servants of the ruinous powers have not been idle, and breaking open the defences will be no easy task.
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Captain Farid pulled off his glove and stared again at his hand. This time there could be no doubt – the skin around his wrist was stiffening and turning to scales. And was that webbing growing between his fingers? He quickly replaced his glove and looked around the trench line, suddenly wary of who might see.
He felt foolish at his concern. His troops had been undergoing strange changes for some months now. Bestial appearances, extra limbs, tentacles – these were now commonplace amongst the men. And as for those who lorded over them…
Farid had rejoiced at the chance to overthrow his idiot superiors and lead the revolt against that preening governor, but all this…this…. He looked at his hands again.
This was not what he had signed up for.
‘Captain – to the front!’ His orderlies’ shout snapped his attention back to the present and the defences he currently occupied with his cohort. Peering over the emplacement he saw armoured vehicles approaching. Blocky, brutal shapes emerged out of the pre-dawn gloom. Rhinos, Landraiders…
Astartes!
Giants in power armour began to appear, bounding towards his lines faster than anything that size had a right to move.
Under his gasmask, Farid licked his lips. The only thing that frightened him more than what was charging to his front, were the monsters that awaited behind him.
No, this was not what he had signed up for at all…
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The field of battle and defence line
Tanks provide heavy firepower behind the trenches
Sentinels and heavy weapons anchor the renegade right flank
Foul summoners animate the shambling dead
Braaaaiiiinnnnsss….
Heavy weapons bristle from bunkers in the centre
The cavalry arrives – Salamander on the left
And Sons of Gord on the right
‘Open fire with all weapons!’ Renegade forces engage the marine advance, with surprisingly little effect.
Salamanders move forwards and deploy, raking the trench line with fire
The SoG Landraider bullies its way through the zombie hordes
A following intercessor squad has less luck, bogging down amongst cavorting Nurglings
A Reaver squad drops in behind enemy lines
More Reavers run into stiff resistance on the renegade right flank
A terminator squad drops in to support the reavers
They quickly attract the attention of nearby plaguebearers
…and a daemon prince…
Captain Gordus Maximus deploys from the Landraider along with his retinue
They immediately come under heavy fire from the defending renegade units
The chaos centre keeps up a relentless barrage of missile fire
The intercessors remain stuck, stomping on Nurglings (they’ll be here for the rest of the battle).
Plague Toads and chimeras move to block the Salamander assault on the right flank
‘Up there you fools!’
The toads nibble on the reavers
The SoG reavers make a bold move and attack the renegade centre
Missile teams are finally silenced
The triumph is short lived – daemon princess and chaos warlords wipe out the reaver squad
The Salamander captain and his aggressors grind through the zombie horde in front of the trenches
While inceptors deal with the sentinels guarding the right flank
The execrable Captain Farid decides he doesn’t like the look of this and beats a hasty retreat.
Gordus Maximus reaches the trench line
And makes short work of the weapons teams. He spies the fleeing Farid and opens fire
Despite two solid storm bolter hits, the renegade commander escapes unharmed – truly the chaos gods are watching over him. For his troubles, Maximus is bathed in plasma fire and wounded
The terminator assault squad hits the defence line.
‘Hammertime’
A very angry Maximus takes out his frustrations on the unfortunate defenders
The captain links up again with his retinue, having cleared out the trench line on the left flank. With the right in the hands of the Salamanders, resistance collapses
Imperial Victory!
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Good battle! The literal sea of zombies (poxwalkers) slowed the marine assault to a crawl and kept the heavy units at arms-length for most of the game. The trenches provided heavy cover (house rule) and significantly reduced the effectiveness of ranged attacks. Only the shock assaults on the left and right flanks allowed the marine forces a foothold. The deep strikes behind the renegade lines were pretty quickly countered by chaos characters.
That said, once the terminators and respective captains got into the trenches, the renegades lost the key advantage of cover and were quickly put to the sword. Brutal stuff, but lots of fun for both sides.
Next game, the Deathguard decide that they have had more than enough of defensive operations – the Sons of Mortarion go on the attack!
(Only three games to go)
