M32 Battle Report 1: The Cleansing of Outpost Zeta-47

 Special Orders to A-Platoon, C-Company, 63rd Division PDF:

(1) This position will be held, and the platoon will remain here until relieved.

(2) The enemy cannot be allowed to interfere with this programme.

(3) If the section cannot remain here alive, it will remain here dead, but in any case, it will remain here.

(4) Should any man, through shell shock or other cause, attempt to surrender or retreat, he will remain here dead.

(5) Should all guns be destroyed, the platoon will use frag grenades and bayonets.

(6) Finally, the position, as stated, will be held.

-Lt. Gorman, A-Platoon, C-Company, 63rd Division PDF

Background:

After furious initial fighting with the ork invaders, the battered Planetary Defense Forces (PDF) were then set upon by a new threat: a novel type of Xenos. As the orks swept down into Chirosov Valley, the humans still held the mines and hills east of Vayya while the city itself was under siege. In the snowy hills, there were erratic and unreliable reports coming in about monsters appearing out of the snow and attacking. Then the garrison at Outpost Zeta-47 went silent. An expeditionary force was sent out to clear the threat and recover the outpost. The Tyranids were looking to sweep all resistance from the area so it could be harvested by ripper swarms. The PDF soldiers peered into the billowing snow, wondering what they would face at Outpost Zeta-47...

Major Dlonra led two heavy platoons reinforced with armor to secure the outpost.

Xhorik 87th Drop Troopers Infantry - Contrast Recipe

 After the success of using Contrast on my grenadiers to complete 36 models in 36 days, I decided to try the same recipe and technique on my Drop Troopers. I have two infantry squads that I bought off eBay after the range was discontinued by Forge World. They were obvious recasts and of worse quality than the FW models so they sat in the drawer for a few years. But I need more infantry for the army so I decided to paint them up using the speedy Contrast method. They do not look as good (to me) as the original scheme, but they are obviously a lot faster and they are close enough that they do not look way out of place deployed on the table with the original troopers. 

I just love these guys, despite their sometimes awkward poses, how fiddly they are to assemble, the lack of options, the high (dollar) cost, and the generally poor tabletop performance in most rulesets. They just have so much flavor and they feel truly unique to me. Not another person on the planet has an army with this exact combination of bits, which is one of the things I love about this hobby.

M32 Campaign: Phase 1 Summary

We just finished the most packed weekend of Warhammer we have ever played. We managed to fit in three full scale pitched battles of 1500 points per side and three special scenarios. These games represented the first phase of the Third Xhorik War. Hopefully, I will get around to battle reports eventually, but I will start with a quick recap while it is still fresh. 

Battle 1: Cleanse

Hive Fleet Tarasque vs Planetary Defense Forces

After furious initial fighting with the ork invaders, the battered Planetary Defense Forces (PDF) were then set upon by a new threat: a novel type of Xenos. As the orks swept down into Chirosov Valley, the humans still held the mines and hills east of Vayya while the city itself was under siege. In the snowy hills, there were erratic and unreliable reports coming in about monsters appearing out of the snow and attacking. Then the garrison at Outpost Zeta-47 went silent. An expeditionary force was sent out to clear the threat and recover the outpost. The Tyranids were looking to sweep all resistance from the area so it could be harvested by ripper swarms. The PDF soldiers peered into the billowing snow, wondering what they would face at Outpost Zeta-47...

A mass of Tyranids streams through Outpost Zeta-47 toward the PDF line.

Result: Tyranid Major Victory

The PDF's first encounter with the Tyranids resulted in defeat and the loss of the expeditionary force. The few survivors brought back clear intelligence on the nature of the new threat. 

Battle 2: Secure and Control

Hive Fleet Tarasque vs Dagzag's Speed Freaks 

As the Ork forces of General Woundwart and his two Warbosses, Dagzag and Ugwurr Grimzod, pushed south out of the frozen north, they were attacked in the rear by the awakening Tyranids. Although initially limited to ambushes of small Ork patrols and isolated bands, the Tyranid numbers were growing quickly. As the fighting intensified with both the humans and the Xenos, Woundwart ordered Dagzag to take his mobile forces to secure needed supplies. However, swarms of Tyranids were also patrolling the same areas. When the two sides clashed in a sector with particularly good pickings, the Orks saw it as a chance to have a good scrap and collect some loot. 

The Ork and Tyranid lines clash. To the victor go the spoils.

Result: Ork Major Victory

Dagzag and his boyz smashed the Tyranids and secured significant amounts of loot for the Ork forces, including weapons and forcefield technology.

Battle 3: Seek and Destroy

Hive Fleet Tarasque vs Blood Angels 2nd Co.

Jumping ahead, the Third Xhorik War has been raging for nearly a year. The Planetary Governor has been frantically calling for aid , ever since the loss of the major cities of Vayya and Ironton and most of Bhroivor north of Chiros Nova. The continued delays and excuses from Unimund have raised his suspicions, but he has no proof of disloyalty yet. With Imperial forces engaged on a thousand warzones across the galaxy during the dark time of the War of the Beast, there were no armies to spare. Finally, the Blood Angels strike force Belarius arrived: a single Vanguard-class Light Cruiser transporting the 2nd battle company plus reserves elements from the 7th, 8th and 9th companies.

The Space Marines quickly discovered that the novel species of Xenos was using the subterranean tunnels beneath Ironton to grow their strength out of the frigid winter weather and safe from the Ork and human armies. A small strike team was assembled to enter the tunnels and eliminate the aliens. Yet swarms of scuttling, clawed shapes soon started tracking the Blood Angels intruders and it quickly became unclear who was hunting whom. There would be no prisoners and no mercy in the darkness of the tunnels.

Marines of the Blood Angels 2nd Company clear the catacombs of Xenos threats.

Result: Space Marine Major Victory

Chaplain __ purged the tunnels of genestealers and his men were able to flame the brood nests, reducing the numbers of Tyranids emerging from under the city. The Space Marines also realized how dangerous this new foe was and that clearing every city block by block would be too costly for their small force.

Battle 4: Orbital Strike Alpha (Rain of Blood)

Blood Angels 2nd Co. vs Orks

While Chaplain _ was leading the attacks on the Tyranid nests, Captain _ of the 2nd Company was seeking an opportunity to slow down the marauding Orks using his limited resources. With part of his strike force occupied with the Tyranids, he did not feel the time was yet right for a pitched battle; the Orks were too numerous. So he decided to strike where a small action could have an outsized impact. The Orks had captured a fuel refining plant and were making use of it to keep their Speed Freaks raiding parties active across a wide expanse. Cut off the fuel and it would limit the Orks' mobility, making it easier for the Space Marines to choose an engagement on their terms, without endless Ork reserves arriving. They would launch a Planetfall assault directly from their cruiser, using drop pods for the tactical squads and dreadnought, teleportation for the terminators, and finally the assault marines making direct orbital entry using jump packs. The attack would occur under the cover of darkness, hopefully catching the Orks completely off guard. The objective was to destroy as much of the stored fuel as possible. 

A Blood Angels raid is driven off by a fierce Ork counterattack before they can complete their mission.

Result: Ork Major Victory

Due to limited intelligence and bad luck, there were more Orks present at the refinery than anticipated. One silo was quickly destroyed, but the raid soon became bogged down into close quarters fighting, with most of the marines failing to reach the fuel silos. Captain __ had no choice but to pull his remaining men out before they were completely overwhelmed. The Orks would continue to have access to ample fuel stocks for the time being. 

Battle 5: Take and Hold

Xhorik D-87th Drop Troops Veteran 3rd co. vs Hive Fleet Tarasque

After a year of nearly continuous combat with the Tyranids and Orks along their northern and eastern borders, several regiments of drop troopers had become quite adept at dealing with their new foes. Additionally, with losses of manpower running at an unsustainable rate (it takes much longer to train the elite drop trooper regiments than standard rifle companies), the Imperial High Command sanctioned a program of development and administration of experimental combat drugs. The goal was to keep the veteran units in the field longer, fighting at higher efficiency with less rest. It also had the added benefit of making them more aggressive, improving reaction speed, and dulling fear. These new regiments were identified by the inclusion of a D in their regimental number, as in the D-87.

These specialist forces were often used to strike specific strategic targets rapidly and then hold them until the armored regiments could arrive. One such target were the ridgeline outposts in the Uhtar Mountains that would prevent the aliens from invading the Kozar district. The 3rd Company of the D-87 regiment was ordered to take and hold one of these outposts against an advancing Tyranid force. 

Despite reaching the bunker, the D-87 veterans are forced to cede the field to the more numerous Tyranids as darkness falls.

Result: Tyranid Narrow Victory

The fighting around the outpost was particularly fierce, with both sides suffering heavy losses. As the fighting extended into the evening, the fall of darkness thwarted the X-87th's aim and they had to pull back, yielding most of the strategic ridgelines to the Tyranids. 

Battle 6: Fuel Tank Raid

Xhorik D-87th Drop Troops Veteran 4th co. vs Hive Fleet Tarasque

Drop troop scouts and sniper teams had observed something unexpected: the Tyranids were seeking out and consuming vehicle fuel. As a hydrocarbon, the fuel consisted of the same elements as all life (only extremely energy-dense) and could thus be used to grow the hive fleet. Raids were undertaken by veteran D-companies of drop troopers to destroy any fuel supplies that had fallen into Xenos control before it could be utilized by the hive. 

D-87 veterans attach a melta bomb to a fuel silo as another burns in the background after being struck by a Hellstrike missile from the Valkyrie. Tyranid defenders race toward the attackers.

Result: Imperium Major Victory

The drop troopers were able to launch a series of rapid grav-chute insertions to destroy the fuel stores. They were dangerous missions and losses were significant, but the Tyranids would be denied this important resource.

Traitor Militia

I was able to paint up a flavorful squad of traitor militia one weekend recently. Love their look! Should be fun to see them on the battlefield soon.

Operation Downfall Battle Report 5: Maelstrom of War

  "An alliance lasts exactly as long as it is advantageous to both parties. In war, survival is everything and I do whatever it takes."

-General Titus Ghoulv, Commander of the Iron Battalion 

Background:

Operation Downfall was the Loyalist codename for an attempt to establish a secure landing zone on Xhorik Prime using a planetary drop force from Xhorik Secundus with an attempt to rendezvous with the remnants of the White Scars garrison on the capital planet of the system. 

Battle 5 - 1: Night Drop

Battle 5 - 1: The Battle for Alteron Bridge

Battle 5 - 3: War Train Raid

Battle 5 - 4: The Last Bastion

At this point, the Loyalists have the upper hand with two wins, a loss and a draw. They also have the momentum after their most convincing win yet.

After taking heavy casualties and seeing the Traitor Legions distracted by the Loyalist marines, the Chem Dogs decide to do some pillaging to resupply.

Scenario: Maelstrom of War

Victory points are earned at the end of each player turn for meeting the criteria listed on the missions cards. Each player has three mission cards to start the battle and when one is achieved, it is turned in and replaced. At the end of each player turn, the player can voluntarily discard one card and replace it with another from the deck. VPs can be earned by holding specific objectives, destroying certain types of units in certain ways, or achieving other miscellaneous feats. 

Belligerents:

Death Guard: Pete

Rite of War:  The Reaping

Commander: Praetor Wolfgang - 

2000 points

Traitor Militia: Bill

General Titus Ghoulv’s Iron Battalion:

“The Marauders of Meddeon VII”

“The Pirates of the Northern Fringe”

“The Chem Hounds”

Provenances of War: Alchem Jackers, Industrial Stronghold, Warrior Elite

Commander: General Titus Ghoulv - Robber Baron

2300 points

Loyalist Militia: Phil

Xhorik 87th Drop Troopers, 3rd Company:

"The Firebirds"

Provenances of War: Warrior Elite, Legacy of the Great Crusade

Commander: Captain Skander Xhaer - Marcher Lord

2300 points

Battle:

Some key moments and themes from the battle:

The Contemptor was dominant, almost single-handedly destroying the Chem Dogs' right flank.

There is something wrong with the rules when this giant tank is so utterly bested by this walker.

The OGRE Mech Suits faced off against Wolfgang and the Deathshroud.

The Sentinels were one of the few effective units the militia had.

The OGREs attempted to Hold the Line, but failed morale, then failed again when charged and fled. Should have used Overwatch!.

The Chem Dogs and Xhorik 87th face off over Objective 1. The grenadiers would wreck the Leman Russ in melee with krak grenades.

The Chem Dogs "Ogryn" mercenaries attempted to engage the Death Guard Contemptor but were shot up going in and then easily defeated by the dreadnought. 

The Deathshroud are brought down by concentrated fire from most of the Xhorik forces, but Praetor Wolfgang survives.

The Praetor charges and single-handedly destroys a grenadier squad with a discipline master.

The Xhorik fliers arrive, but the Arvus is shot down before it can deliver its transported unit to the objective. 

The Chem Dogs make a push for Objective 1, finally getting some VPs in the last few turns.

The Death Guard infantry finally move in and easily wipe out the Chem Dogs grenadiers.

Captain Xhaer survives the fray. 

Final Victory Points: 

Death Guard: 7

Xhorik 87th FIrebirds: 7

Traitor Milita Chem Hounds: 4

Draw!

Post-Game:

This battle made clear just how inferior the militia rules are compared to the Legions. Even with 15% more points for the militia armies, the Death Guard easily controlled the game. The Xhork militia managed to keep up in VPs due to swarming the board with Line units and getting lucky enough to draw some objectives on their side of the board. The two militia sides also threw most of their best stuff against the Legion and only skirmished with each other by comparison. The tanks of the Traitor militia really struggled to do any damage against the Death Guard due to the massive de-buffs on the militia ordnance weapons. 

The result being a draw between the Xhorik Drop Troopers and the Traitor Death Guard mean the Loyalist results for the Operation Downfall phase of the campaign stand at 2-1-2. I think the next battle could serve as as suitable finale for the campaign, determining the result of the Loyalist attempt to establish a beachhead on the Traitor-controlled planet of Xhorik Prime. 

 

Militia Cargo-8 Hauler

 I bought this model years ago, thinking it would be a thematic piece, especially for a convoy scenario where a line of Imperial vehicles is trying to break through an enemy attack. I finally decided to paint it up, figuring it could be used as a Cargo-8 Hauler in the new Imperialis Militia list for HH 2nd edition with a more sci-fi military aesthetic to fit the Xhorik drop troopers.  

Hauling cargo

Can take the box off the trailer to haul crates, barrels or other stuff instead

The ID number decal gives the impression that this is just one of tens of thousands of trucks.

I suppose you could say the trailer holds troops as well since the vehicle's capacity is 22.

 

Because it is Warhmmer and everything needs a skull somewhere. 

Other Militia and Auxiliary of the Xhorik Campaign

In addition to the Major Factions of the Xhorik Campaign of the Horus Heresy, there were numerous other fighting forces, including dozens of regiments of militia, auxilia, mercenaries, and planetary defense forces. Here are a few of note:

Trooper of the 317th PDF Regiment; Xhorik Prime Planetary Defense Force

Trooper of the 317th PDF Regiment; Xhorik Prime Planetary Defense Force

The 317th PDF was one of the many planetary defense force regiments raised by the governor of Xhorik Prime when the traitor forces started approaching the Xhorik System. Hastily assembled with meager training, the 317th was decimated in their first two engagements with the Death Guard 14th Great Company as the Traitors approached Bielyr. The regiment suffered over 60% casualties in the first few days of intense and chaotic combat. The remnants were disbanded and quickly integrated into other PDF regiments that had also suffered heavy losses. Despite the casaulties, the PDF regiments were able to slow the Traitor advance and provide time for reinforcements to arrive to the front.

Meltagunner of the 3rd Xhorik Polar Regiment, The Snow Devils

The Xhorik Polar Regiments were tasked with defending the far northern extremes of the planet. A network of orbital shield generators that covered the northern latitudes was the primary strategic value of the region. However, the Traitor Legions were able to easily land on the planet due to treachery as the entire Federation of Unimund, the most populous region, sided with Horus. Thus, the polar regions were of limited strategic value to the Traitors as the shields only protected Kozar and the northern deserts from orbital bombardment or direct deployment from orbit, but the much larger Traitor armies were free to land in friendly territory and then advance by land against the Loyalist strongholds. Praetor Wolfgang never had sufficient Legion marines to send them to the theater, so he relied on auxilia troops to neutralize the shields. The Snow Devils were able to hold out throughout the campaign by fighting a protracted series of small battles and ambushes, relying on a series of hidden bunkers and their being better equipped for the environment than the Traitors.

Rifleman of the 4th Urgfurt Foot Guard, The Grave Diggers

Rifleman of the 4th Urgfurt Foot Guard, The Grave Diggers

Urgfurt is one of the heavily-industrialized states that make up the Federation of Unimund. During war, they could repurpose their chemical plants to manufacture a variety of specialty weapons, including toxic gases. The Urgfurt Foot Guard regiments typically advanced under a cloud of chemical munitions and wielded advanced models of las weaponry. During the Heresy, the Federation sided with the Traitors against their old rival Kozar, and formed the industrial heart of the Traitor position on the planet. The Grave Diggers saw heavy action during the battle for Bielyr, shelling the city and surrounding area for weeks with their artillery before it was finally cleared street by street by Death Guard infantry.  

Desert tribesman of the Stone River Sept

Desert tribesman of the Stone River Sept

Even after the various independent nations, federations and city states of the western region of Xhorik Prime were brought into the Imperium, vast swathes of the eastern wastes were still populated by nomadic desert tribes and roaming ork warbands. When the Great Crusade moved on, a small garrison of White Scars was left on Xhorik Prime to recruit from the Stratocracy of Kozar and to subjugate the wild east. After years of fighting with the elusive and skilled desert-dwellers, the two sides had built a mutual respect for each other and started to work together to eradicate the techno-savage ork populations of the desert. Thus, when the Heresy came to Xhorik Prime, several of the nomadic Septs sided informally with the White Scars. They never allowed themselves to be marshalled into any sort of Imperial or even Planetary army, but they fought the Traitors in their own way with ambushes and raids on any who ventured too near their desert homes, forcing the Traitors to protect their eastern flank instead of being able to throw everything at the Loyalist positions in the north.

Commando of the Xhorik 87th Drop Regiment, The Firebirds

Commando of the Xhorik 87th Drop Regiment, The Firebirds

The Xhorik 87th was formed from the Kozar 87th Drop Troopers after that nation was brought into the Imperium and integrated into the planetary governorship of Xhorik Prime. Kozar already had a long history of using airborne drop troops to defend their small mountainous territory from orks in the east and their ancient rivals in Unimund to the south, so they were able to provide some relatively elite regiments to the Imperial armies. During the Heresy, the Loyalist Kozar army made heavy use of drop troops deployed by grav chutes to strike at vulnerable enemy positions. And even after the planet was lost to the Traitors, remnants of multiple regiments regrouped on Xhorik Secundus to lend their unique talents to Operation Downfall, a desperate attempt to re-establish a Loyalist foothold on Xhorik Prime.

Gunner of the Pulsar Chyron mercenary company

Gunner of the Pulsar Chyron mercenary company 

The Pulsar Chyron mercenary company was formed during the chaos of the early years of the Horus Heresy. What had been previously been a logistics and interstellar shipping company gradually transformed into a mercenary outfit as they had to militarize to remain in business during the turbulence spawned by the civil war. As trade dried up and conflict spread, they soon found themselves being hired more for their armed guards and newly-fortified ships than for their logistical efficiencies. By the middle of the Heresy, their success and size had attracted the eye of Horus himself. His war machine had siphoned off millions of tons of Imperial war materiel prior to the start of the conflict and this fortune was used to hire numerous mercenary companies such as Pulsar Chyron. A large portion of their forces were committed to the Xhorik Campaign where they fought numerous orbital battles and ferried Traitor troops between planets and warzones. They also deployed troops to multiple land engagements, including the heavy fighting for the Valbaara Plateau and the bloody road to Berat.

Lance Corporal of the Peacekeepers civil defense force, 22nd brigade

Lance Corporal of the Peacekeepers civil defense force, 22nd brigade

The most elite level of planetary internal security, the Peacekeepers were tasked to maintain Imperial control over the Xhorik system. Although they took day-to-day direction from the planetary governor, they reported directly to the Archidux of the subsector, with a duty to assassinate the governor if he proved disloyal. Deployed primarily to crush any riots, rebellions or social unrest when local police were overwhlemed, the Peacekeepers also fought numerous engagements with pirates, smugglers, and occasionally even marauding xenos such as orks. During the Xhorik Campaign, they fought bravely against the Traitors, utilizing their Valkyries and armored transports to great effect against the lumbering armies of the Traitor auxilia. They made a name for themselves during their final stand at the Governor's Palace where they held out against an overwhelming Traitor attack for three days and nights before being butchered to the last man by World Eaters Berzerkers. After the Heresey, their duties within the Xhorik system would be taken up by the Adeptus Arbites.

Synther of the Umbra Blades mercenary company

Synther of the Umbra Blades mercenary company

The Umbra Blades organization predates the formation of the Imperium. Their origins are unknown to outsiders, but there are records of early encounters near the Xhorik System by the White Scars (then known as the Star Hunters) recon companies at the forefront of the Great Crusade. Later Imperial armies would do their best to eradicate the organization due to their rampant mutations (some even suggested that xenos genetics had somehow been crossed with humans) and the prevalence of psyker abilities within the group. However, the group was was able to evade capture for years, causing some to speculate that they were able to make use of some limited degree of Warp travel. This persecution by the Imperium caused the Umbra Blades to side with Horus during the Heresy, for a promise of a home in the Xhorik System under Horus' Dark Empire. Heavily armed by the Sons of Horus, they fought continually throughout the Xhorik Campaign, making use of skills honed by years of skirmishes with Imperial forces prior to the Heresy, as well as their unique gene-craft and cyber-augmentation.

A sample of the many fighting forces of the Xhorik Campaign during the Horus Heresy.

Xhorik Commander

 After a long hiatus, I finally painted a few models: a Xhorik 87th commander with power fist, another grenadier, and another recon marine with shotgun (I figure he can be a cheap body to add to the sniper squad and be the first one to bite the bullet). Again, painted 90% with Contrast. 

Xhorik Grenadiers

 Some close-up shots of the finished platoon:

Grenade Launchers

 Before I start painting my dreadnought, I had to finish up these Steel Legion troopers with grenade launchers that I started back in February. 

This puts me at about 25 guys done out of the 60 metal models.