Battle for Valencia III - A Battle Report
First off I apologise for any mistakes, errors or breaking of rules which follow. I have tried to do everything correctly, however I could not find an
FAQ or rules section for posting battle reports.
My brother and I are both new to the game of Warhammer, so we decided to create a battle report. A series of battle reports, in fact. Following the engagements of two armies on the planet of Valencia III. We are looking for community feedback to help us learn the rules of the game, correct our mistakes and offer us tactical advice. We may even consider community involvement at a later date as part of making this a larger campaign.
Here we go, sit back, grab a drink and enjoy...
Valencia III was supposed to be a simple colony world for the Imperium. A small planet inhabited by Ratling farmers. Its surface was a collaged of savannah, grassland and the occasional dense forest. Wild life existed in only primitive herbivorous forms. The mission for the Imperial Guard was simply to bring the planet under the Empire’s sphere of influence. For such a simple task only four battalions of Imperial Guard were assigned. The First Valencian “Armoured Guard”, the Second Valencian, the Third Valencian “Redemption Legion” and the Fourth Valencian “Red Cuffs.” Each of these armies specialised in a different area and was tasked with a different assignment.
To the Armoured Guard the mission of deforestation and logistics was assigned. Sentinels armed with heavy duty chainsaws cleared and established a base of planetary operations in a dense forest along Valencia III’s 52nd Parallel.
To the Second Valencian the task of culling or conscripting the locals was assigned. Over the course of six months some 20’000 Ratlings were conscripted into the Guard forces as snipers and scouts. Some 23’000 were executed for rebellion. The rebellion saw the near destruction of the Second Valencian. Today they stand at 47% of their strength when they arrived. For this reason they have been split up and assigned various bureaucratic and logistical tasks.
Alongside the three legions of honest soldiers travelled a vast bulwark of corruption. Prison ship 449282 joined the Imperial forces on their conquest of Valencia III. A prison was to be built on this planet. However, due to an anomaly in the warp storm the prison ship arrived before main fleet did. The resulting blunder of fate has seen the prisoners constructing their own prison on Valencia. At times of rebellion and unrest prisoners have even been outfitted with weaponry to aid faltering Imperial forces.
The Fourth Valencian Red Cuffs were to act as a supportive force. However, following the near destruction of the Second Valencian they have now assumed the role of the planet’s main military force, led by General Harold Deniken.
Following the Ratling Rebellion the Imperium’s forces were greatly weakened. Planetary Governor Damien Stone refused offers of aid twice. The system was relatively safe, the most alien creature they had come upon were the Ratlings. Following deals with local farmers a steady supply of food had also been accomplished.
Then the warp storm arrived. The midnight black night sky turned to a mix of tumultuous red and sickly green intermingled. Despite the best efforts of the Imperium’s communication officers and technical specialists they were unable to send or receive any messages from High Command. Just when Governor Stone believed things could not get any worse he discovered a far greater threat to his planet.
Three months after the warp storm arrived reports came of Guardsmen disappearing in the Northern forests. Whilst the Southern Hemisphere was colonised effectively, the Northern half remained largely in the hands of local farmers and vegetation. Following these reports Governor Stone sent General Deniken to investigate the area. In the two week operation twenty seven bodies were recovered, all with burnt wounds to chest. The flimsy flak armour had not saved them from whatever was in the forests.
Next week saw the first engagement with the unknown hostile. Deniken’s squad came under fire from a small farming village. Upon successfully taking it they came across the bodies of several Fire Warriors. It had now become clear that the Northern Hemisphere was in control of the Tau. With the Imperium Forces weakened by rebellion, lacking any tanks and with only limited supplies they could not simply crush the Tau forces as they had the Ratling’s rebellion.
Following several days of intense discussions it soon became clear that the only solution was compromise with the Tau. Buy enough time until the storm passed and reinforcements came to Valencia III. And so it came to pass that the planet was divided in two along the 18th Parallel. A demilitarised zone was set up with one mile width. In the middle an embassy and coalition centre was established to promote relationships, trade and peace between both factions.
After the passage of three months the storm showed no sign of clearing up; at least until the day an order from Imperial High Command arrived…
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Sky view of the 18th Parallel.
I'll give you a brief description of the various buildings and landmarks here.
1.) At the top of the map you will see two buildings just right of the center. These are the Imperial Guard's Communication Base.
2.) The building in the very middle of the map is the Embassy/Coalition Center.
3.) Either side of it are two white pieces of irregularly cut paper. These are forests! Use your imagination! (We'll get some proper looking forests for the next battle report)
4.) The bottom left of the map has a building facing North East. This is the Tau Communication Base.
5.) The bottom right has a brown/orange building. This is a mining facility.
This battle has been carried out according to several house rules.
1. At the start of the game both factions are at peace until one side throws the first stone.
2. The 18th Paralell runs diagonally across the map from the top left to the bottom right. This means that the grassy plain to the left of the Imperial Communications Base, the Embassy and the Mining Facility are all neutral territory. Entering within 12 inches of these is an act of war.
3. On turn 1 you may do whatever you wish, however there are no victory conditions, so neither side can win.
4. On turn 2 each side receives a mission. (We wrote out 12 or so various missions, folded them up and put them in a hat. Both players then drew a mission so the other player would not know their opponents mission)
5. The players then try to accomplish their mission whilst trying not to ignite the war. (Only a couple of missions actually required direct combat. They ranged from capturing the Mining Facility for 2 turns, to assassinating the opposition's Commander.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Photo of Imperial Guard and Tau deployments.
The Guard Force consists of:
HQ: Company Command Squad w/medic, flag, plasmagun, vox caster
TRP: Platoon Command Squad w/flag, meltagun
Infantry w/meltagun, vox caster
Infantry w/plasmagun, vox caster
Veterans w/Flamer, grenade launcher, meltagun, grenadiers doctrine, demolitions doctrine, vox caster
Heavy Weapons Team /1 mortar, 1 autocannon, 1 missile launcher.
Dedicated Transport: Chimera w/Heavy Stubber and Extra Armour.
This added up to 682 points, same as the Tau which are below:
HQ: Shas'o Commander
TRP: Kroot
Fire Warriors
Elites: Stealth Team
Fast Attack: Gun Drone Squad
Dedicated Transport: Devilfish
EDIT: I need to filter a few of the 70 odd pictures. I'll finish this off in a couple of hours once I try to improve the image quality, sorry about the bluriness!
