The Triskelion War Game 43 – GRAND FINALE Pt One: The First Wall– Chaos vs Imperial (LOTS of photos, apocalypse battle)
Welcome to game 43 in our campaign. At last, after many years of war the forces of the God-Emperor of Mankind have fought their way to the heart of darkness on Triskelion. The fallen Hive Erd now stands before them, its curtain wall defended by heretics and madmen. But behind them stand the elite of the Archenemy – Deathguard, superheavy vehicles and the mightiest daemons of the warp.
Previous games in this campaign can be found here:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/Gordy2000%27s_Battle_Reports
The Imperial forces have brought their heaviest units for the main assault – massed armour, astartes and the god-engines of the Legio Astoria. But will it be enough to punch through the defences and the horrors that await beyond?
The followers of the Eightfold path have raised their defences, and even now behind the walls of Hive Erd are on the cusp of bringing their most terrible plan to fruition…
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The Imperial Council of War assembled at a forward staging post twenty kilometres from the walls of Hive Erd. Even at this distance, the constant boom of outgoing and incoming artillery rolled on in an unceasing rhythm.
Security in the bunker was tight, with all key theatre commanders present – captains of the Salamanders and Sons of Gord chapters, princeps of the Legio Astoria and the senior officers of the Krieg and Antipodean Ranger regiments – including the recently arrived 1st Antipodean Armoured.
The war leaders clustered around a raised hololith showing the first curtain wall and the space beyond it. A crisply presented staff officer began his briefing with the pertinent tactical details – allied and enemy order of battle, callsigns, logistics, terrain features and command hierarchy.
“As commanders will note, the main curtain wall has been reinforced by fixed emplacements and trench lines. We have also seen the installation of additional heavy weapons at the locations shown in red. Once the outer wall is breached, the second stage of the assault will be through the urban accretion in what was once no man’s land before the second and final defensive wall, which you will note is protected by void-shields, preventing orbital strikes or high-altitude insertion. Our tactical officers have estimated the best chance of success will be achieved by attacking the initial wall sections notated in green at coordinates...”
“Here.” The voice of Captain Gordus Maximus silenced the briefing officer and fixed all eyes upon him. The marine captain pointed to a section of the wall in the glowing image free from any tactical notes.
The Salamander captain, Tu’Shen, nodded once. “I concur.” he rumbled.
The briefing officer collected himself and leaned forwards to examine the location indicated by the astartes.
“My lord, we have little data on area…” He consulted the sheaf of notes under his arm “27561-alpha, also known as Penitents Gate. It seems of little consequence…”
“The Deathguard are here.” Gordus spoke again. “So here we shall be”.
The Sons of Gord commander turned his terminator armour-clad bulk to the assembled officers.
“Princeps Julius, I will require a demi-legio from Astoria in support”. The straight-backed form of the Legio Astoria commander inclined his head. “You shall have it, captain. We have received reports of xenos titan sightings, but should they appear we will deal with them as needed.” he said with a thin smile.
Gordus turned next to the commander of the 1st Antipodean Armoured. “I will require your tanks also Marshall. This will be a bloody business.”
Marshall Steele gave a crisp salute “The Iron 1st awaits your orders my lord.”
Gordus nodded his appreciation. He leaned over the hololith table and stared into the illuminated image. “The other regiments will act in support of our spearhead. Be prepared for the worst the enemy can throw at you – they will hold nothing back now their backs are against the wall.”
He straightened and addressed the room. “May the Emperor watch over you and guide your swords. Give the enemy no quarter, for they deserve none. That is all.”
With that, the Salamander and Sons of Gord captains and their retinues turned and marched from the room.
The exit of the astartes left the room looking considerably larger, and the buzz of activity lifted several notches as the tactical officers scrambled to enact the captain’s orders.
All the while the rumble of artillery rolled on, a prelude to the storm about to break.
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The field of battle, with the curtain wall and chaos defences at the top
The last word in hardened defences
The Deathguard and their allies await
The armoured fist of the Imperial Guard grinds forward
The first volleys ring out and battle is joined
The unclean horde spills forth
Tanks of the First Antipodean Armoured begin to die as the firing line of chaos vehicles open up
A cyclops heads into the ruins and detonates amongst the onrushing spawn
Unnatural horrors assail the leading units
Chaos super-heavies pick out priority targets
The earth trembles and war horns blare as the titan of Legio Astoria join the fray
‘Crush them all!’
‘Target acquired princeps – enemy super-heavy…firing now’
Tanks trade fire in the shadow of the colossi
Headless of losses, the followers of the ruinous powers come on
A Freeblade comes to the aid of the beleaguered sentinels
With a sickening tearing noise, reality splits and mighty daemon lords walk forth
Fighting rages across the front
More mighty lords of ruin manifest on the field, lead by dread daemon princes
The front of the Imperial force is suddenly very exposed
Sorcery and firepower fells the freeblade
Hello little friend….
The Great Unclean Ones and daemon lords charge into the armoured spearhead
The carnage they cause amongst the tanks is impressive
Aid unlooked for – in the moment of direst need, the elegant form of an Eldar titan appears in the Imperil line
‘Watch them, but do not engage. They fight with us…for now…’
With a screech of triumph, a daemon lord alights upon its victim, and spies a greater challenge
Amongst the mayhem, commandos disembark to remove a screamer
The greater daemons continue to chew through the tanks
An ancient Thousand Sons dreadnaught destroys another tank.
The Warhound blasts the Lord of Change back into the warp with a well placed overwatch volley
The triad of Great Unclean ones take a terrible toll on the Imperial armour
A brace of marine dreadnaughts push forward to try and stop the rampaging Nurgle daemons
In a glittering cloud of prismatic shield, a true Eldar god of war joins the Imperial assault
The turning of the tide
The Hellhound makes a suicidal charge
Another tank burns
‘I’ll take you with me heretics!’
The First Armoured still has plenty of bite, blasting huge holes in the Chaos forces
The support guns keep up their relentless barrage despite destruction all around them
A librarian dreadnaught lashes daemons with the Emperor’s light
The titan killer is knocked out by a volley from the Reaver
Combined efforts fell another Chaos horror
Titan fire sends another daemon lord howling into the warp
And another greater daemon is destroyed by a rampaging dreadnaught
“They’ve had enough men – they’re falling back!
The firepower of the titans has won the day – the Chaos forces withdraw behind the final curtain wall to prepare their next move. The Imperials carry the day and win a battlefield littered with burning tanks, corpses and the ruins of things that should not exist in the material universe.
Imperial victory!
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Gordus Maximus watched the titans of Legio Astoria tearing open the breached first wall to allow Imperial forces better access to the no mans-land beyond. The Sons of Gord commander could see glimpses through the after-battle haze of ruined habs and minor manufactorums marching away towards the shadowed mass of the inner defensive wall. The captain shifted his bulk as the ground shuddered beneath the tread of the mighty war machines.
The xenos titans had withdrawn – nobody seemed to know where. They had simply walked away, their forms distorting until no imperial scanner could register them. Gordus wondered if their involvement would prove a boon or a curse.
The crunching of powdered rockcrete announced the arrival of Inquisitor Bellerophon. His retinue of assassins and other more esoteric followers hung back, giving the two lords privacy.
“So, we are in sight of the end.” Bellerophon shielded his eyes as he stared towards the imposing bulk of the final wall.
“We are.” Responded Gordus “The traitors have dug themselves in deep, but it will not be enough to stop us. Their end is at hand.”
The Inquisitor did not respond for a time, continuing to look towards the goal that they had strived for all this time.
“I’m afraid it is not so simple captain.”
Gordus grunted. “It never is when the Inquisition is involved. Or so I have found.”
Bellerophon gave a half smile “It is not our doing this time captain, but it is our scrying that has brought the truth into the light. It is a ritual captain, one that could see this whole endeavour fail in ruin.”
“What is a ritual inquisitor? Speak plainly” rumbled the Astarte.
“All of it.” breathed Bellerophon. “The traitors have been working for years, weaving spells, making pacts with the infernal powers. Threading their heresy into the very bricks of the Hive.”
The inquisitor turned to face the space marine. Gordus noted the strain on his face. Even standing this close to the Hive was clearly taxing the psyker. “They have turned the entire outer wall into a conduit. Mass sacrifices of the trapped citizens of Hive Erd, summonings, the horrors they have performed….” Bellerophon trailed off.
He collected himself and continued on “You see captain, if we don’t break the wall, and with it the ritual symbol they have wrought, they will complete their works and their dire plan. I can already feel the walls of reality thinning. They are so close…”
Gordus was now totally focused on the inquisitor. The crash and boom of falling mega-masonry forgotten. “And then what inquisitor? What have these devils planned?”
“Chaos captain. Total and utter. The opening of a vast rift that will drown the entire system in the stuff of the warp. Triskelion and everything in it will cease to exist in the real world. Victory will belong to the Ruinous Powers and all of our sacrifices will have been in vain”
Gordus frowned, before straightening and casting his gaze once more towards the distant curtain wall.
“Then we must not fail inquisitor. Either the walls fall, or we do.”
The pair stood looking into the distance as strange lights began to fume and dance over the distant battlements.
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Next game, we come to the end. The final battle in a campaign that has lasted over a decade in real time. The Imperials must smash the last wall open, or the forces of the Ruinous Powers will flood the world in a tide of warp-spawned madness. To the winner, the glory – part two of our two-part Grand Finale.
Heroes and villains will clash, the mightiest of war-engines will do battle and titans will burn…
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