Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

So, being stuck at home, I decided to set up and play a themed 1000pt mission, using stuff I had painted at hand that I thought looked cool. Unfortunately my terrain availability is somewhat limited, the board looks sparse but that is indeed 25% coverage. The Land Raider seen is just terrain, counting as Ruins, and the Aquila strongpoint likewise is just Ruins. I made up the rules for this scenario around the forces I built and the terrain I had. Hope you enjoy!


Background:
The scenario is thus: An Imperial Guard relief force of the IX Haalvak Legion under the tank ace Major Tung is seeking to break through the defenses of the Iron Warriors 7th Grand Company under Warsmith Vitruvius, in order to lift their encirclement of the Idirian 137th Regiment.

The Iron Warriors have located the Imperial Guard strike force, and have fortified positions near an abandoned Aquila strongpoint which covers a vital route behind their lines in haste. Vitruvius has few forces at his disposal, a pair of demented Helbrutes and a trio of Daemon Engines and what few Chaos Space Marines could be pulled from the siege lines. However, they need only delay the Hammer of the Emperor for a short time, and to maintain their positions. Vitruvius knows that heavy armor is in short supply among the Imperial Guard, or they'd have sent a more heavily armored force, and that the loss of an elite armor commander will dramatically reduce the efficacy of the Imperial Guard's operations. Major Tung leads a force primarily composed of Armored Sentinels and Hellhounds, with a Basilisk in support acting as an assault gun. Knowing they must move quickly, and not caring to occupy ground, this light armored force seeks to break the back of the Iron Warrior's defense cordon and open a corridor to the trapped Idiran 137th along the narrow passage dominated by the once mighty Aquila bastion.


Objectives:

Imperial Guard:

Destroy the two bunkers. (8VP each)

Destroy all three Daemon Engines. (5 VP each)

Get as many units as possible into the enemy deployment zone by the end of the game (3 VP each for every IG unit in the CSM deployment zone at the end of the game)

Iron Warriors:

Destroy the Tank Commander (15VP)

Keep as many enemy units out of the Iron Warriors deployment zone at the end of the game as possible (5VP for each IG unit not in the CSM deployment zone at the end of the game). The Iron Warriors additionally will have two bunkers in their deployment zone which act as Imperial Bunker fortifications but without the automated weapons.

VP Difference of 5 or less = Draw. VP Difference of 6-10 = Minor Win/Loss, VP Difference 11+ = Major Win/Loss.


Army Lists

Iron Warriors




Not the greatest of lists, but fits the background. Lots of vehicles, a few troops in bunkers, no marks other than Khorne (which I just threw on everything just because).

Imperial Guard IX Haalvak Legion





The Battlefield at deployment:

CSM Deployment Zone

IG Deployment Zone

Entire Mat




The Iron Warriors have the first turn!

Vitruvius's forces advance, the Helbrutes charging into battle with a 5 and 6 for Advance moves, the Defiler charging straight up the middle with Vitruvius right behind. The Forgefiends advance to engage their foes, one activating the Daemonforge, obliterating a Lascannon sentinel with its relentless fire. The other Forgefiend unfortunately fails to land any meaningful blows.






His Majesty's Most Glorious Imperial Guard returns fire, adamantine treads and steel legs bringing the fight to the enemy. The Plasma Cannon sentinels overcharge and unleash their deadly plasma weapons, Striking First and Striking Hard for +2 to hit, savaging the Defiler for 8 total damage, as the nearby Hellhounds finish it off with a torrent of flames. On the left flank, the Sentinels and Basilisk focus fire on the insane Helbrutes, turning one into scrap and releasing its tortured occupant from its gibbering prison. Tung targets the center Forgefiend with everything at his disposal, removing 7 wounds. The final Hellhound engages Vitruvius directly, no longer able to hide behind the Defiler, inflicting two wounds between the heavy bolter and Inferno cannon.






Turn 2:

Vitruvius and the remaining Helbrute charge into the armored wall of the Imperial Guard, as the Forgefiends provide fire support. The Forgefiends withdraw behind the bunkers for cover and manage to damage one of the Hellhounds, while Vitruvius activates his Cranium Malevolus, rolling an impressive number of 6's, putting out 12 Mortal Wounds split among 2 Hellhounds and 2 Armored Sentinels. The Helbrute punches straight through the Hellhounds armor, ignoring the flames and desperate defensive fire, obliterating the tank in short order. Vitruvius himself claims another Hellhound, though not before the crew manage to swing their Inferno Cannon 'round and unleash a torrent of flame in his face, removing 4 wounds in the process.






Major Tung's forces reply in kind, the final Hellhound claiming vengeance and burning Vitruvius to the ground, as the Plasma Cannon sentinels overcharging once again, managing to hit with 5 of 6 shots and no overheats, seriously wounding the final Forgefiend for the Basilisk to finish off, as Tung's Russ and the left flank Sentinels finish off the remaining Helbrute. The right flank Sentinels fail to do anything of note.







Turn 3:

The remaining Forgefiend opens fire, once again harnessing the Daemonforge, sending another Sentinel crashing to the ground burning.




Imperial Forces advance, firing as they go. The Plasma Cannon Sentinels once again overcharge and manage to not lose anyone, inflicting 4 wounds on the Forgefield. None of the Lascannon Sentinels hit anything. The last Hellhound does 3 wounds to the Forgefiend, finally killing it. the Tank Command and Basilisk engage the Bunkers, doing a total of 5 wounds to the Central bunker.




Turn 4:

The Iron Warriors within the bunkers open fire, slaying the final Hellhound.

(no pic, no movement)

The tide of armor continues to advance, destroying one of the bunkers and damaging the other.







Turn 5:

Iron Warriors infantry turn their weapons on the lone sentinel, slagging it. The Iron Warriors in their bunker manage to destroy two of the Plasma Cannon armed Sentinels.




The first Imperial Guard forces reach the Iron Warrior's deployment zone. The final bunker is destroyed, finished by a point blank shot from the Basilisk and one Iron Warrior Chaos Space Marine is slain by heavy bolter fire from Major Tung's sponsons.





GAME CONTINUES TO TURN 6

The defending Iron Warriors slay the final Plasma Sentinel and put hit the Basilisk hard, inflicting 5 wounds.




Having finally breached the defenses, the Guard mops up. The Tank Commander obliterates one squad of Chaos Space Marines, while the sentinels and Basilisk kill 4 of the remaining CSM's, who promptly roll a "9" on leadership, and out of CP's, the last 3 CSM's on the table break and decide to go elsewhere.




Game ends:

Chaos Space Marine Victory Points:

6 Imperial Guard units not in the Iron Warrior's deployment zone x 5VP each = 30VP

Imperial Guard:

Both Bunkers (8VP each) and all three Daemon Engines destroyed (5VP each) and two units in the enemy's deployment zone (3VP each) = 37VP

Result: Minor Imperial Guard Victory


Thoughts: This didn't really play out quite like I'd intended, but was fun nonetheless. The units of CSM's didn't feel terribly useful, though they did help remove two units that could have turned it into a Major loss. The Plasma Cannon sentinels rolled out of this world, while my Lascannons did relatively little, as is tradition. It tried playing the Iron Warriors aggressively, to force the movement of the IG to bunch up at the beginning, hoping they wouldn't be able to race up the board after the first couple turns, but the staying power just wasn't there, losing that Defiler turn 1 hurt a lot. Both armies only had 4 CP so Strategems weren't too huge, though the new Strike First and Strike Hard helped on the turn 1 Plasma Sentinels. Some of the terrain I could have used better, the two gun pits in front of the bunkers I placed to slow movement, requiring an inch to go up and down, but aside from that they really didn't do anything.

Anyway, hope this was a fun read, let me know if you had any thoughts!

Great looking thematic forces and cool report

Very nice Guard force and scratch built terrain. What is that model you were using for your tank commander?

Thanks all, the Tank Commander is a Mortian Battle Tank, the guy that makes them used to work for FW, it's basically a mini-Macharius, with all the Russ weapon options

Looking good, nice to see narrative driven games. Isolation is a great time to practice alone ;D

And who doesn't love a good old bunker assault, anyway?

Interesting battle. Nice narrative. I like your Mortian tank commander. Some very nice armies, would like to see some more pics!