Horus Heresy Battle Report 6: Ambush!

"Attack is the secret of defense; defense is the planning of an attack."

Zalitai Zherdan, Praetor of the Brotherhood of the Wind, 

when asked about preparations for the Death Guard advance

Campaign To Date:
It is the middle of the Age of Darkness, as the Warmaster Horus makes his long march toward Terra, leaving shattered star systems in his wake. Lying in the path of the traitors' advance, the planet of Xhorik Prime is torn apart in civil war after only recently being united in the Great Crusade. The largest nation, The Federation of Unimund declare for the Warmaster and Mortarian as their living gods and liberators, while their ancient rivals to the north, the stratocracy of Kozar and her allies, side with their kindred spirits and sworn blood brothers, the White Scars.

The first few weeks of the conflict centered around the battle for the border city of Bielyr, which quickly degenerated into small, isolated infantry detachments engaging in desperate close quarters street fighting. In the tight confines of the ruined city, the Death Guard proved their mettle as their Eradication Teams systematically killed and drove back the over-matched loyalist forces of White Scars Astartes and Imperial Army Auxilia street by bloody street, block by ruined block. The only victory for the loyalists came in the form of a daring raid behind enemy lines south of Bielyr to destroy a fuel plant, thus delaying the Death Guard heavy armor from arriving to the battle zone and allowing the remainder of the loyalist forces to fall back from the city before the unrelenting Death Guard advance.

Praetor Wolfgang of the Death Guard left the final mopping up and garrison duty in Bielyr to his reserves as he pushed on northward after the fleeing White Scars, looking to crush his enemies before they could regroup and be reinforced.

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The bitter eastern winds brought clouds of grey dust down from the distant mountains, scouring the vast sheet of bare volcanic rock known as the Vaalbara Plateau. Somehow, scattered clusters of tough, stunted plants clung tenaciously to the rock, their  sharply spiked forms testament to the unforgiving environment. The Death Guard detachment pressed on in their northerly march, restlessly pursuing the fleeing White Scars and Kozar Army regiments. 

Through the swirling clouds of dust and sand, Praetor Wolfgang spotted the silhouette of the mining and processing outpost that, according to his scouts, the fleeing loyalist forces were using as a rallying point. Wolfgang had taken Bielyr through the single-minded application of  calculated logical maneuvers, executed by his men without any thought of individual safety or glory. Acting as a single vast machine with a multitude of parts, the Death Guard marines each knew their role and carried it out, no matter the cost; death was no excuse for failure. And now Wolfgang calculated that the logical result of the pursuit was that the loyalists would dig in at the only defensible location in the vicinity, surrounded as it was by a vast, bare plateau. He computed that the resistance would be fierce and there would be many casualties among his forces, but the inevitable result would be victory for the superior forces of the Death Guard, especially if he could hit them quickly and under the cover of the dust storm before they had a chance to fully fortify their position. 

The shrieking black wind abetted somewhat as the column entered the cluster of processing stations and administrative buildings, intending to strike the final blow through the heart of the enemy division.  Wolfgang and many of his men dismounted from their transports, ready for the dangerous door-to-door fighting through the facility that they expected. But as they advanced into the outpost without resistance, Wolfgang realized it wasn't just due to the cover of the dust storm as he initially thought; there was no one here. Instincts honed over hundreds of campaigns immediately told him to fall back. His scouts had been deceived. 

But the moment he began giving the order, an eruption of plasma and missile strikes broke out all around him and the lead elements of the column. Deafening explosions burst nearby with such force that Wolfgang felt them deep in his core rather than heard them. Through the smoke and flames, he saw the hated enemy advancing from all sides. Surrounded and heavily outnumbered, he knew he could not win this fight. He had no fear of death and knew he would take many foes with him if he stood and fought to the end. But his orders were to achieve victory and deliver Xhorik Prime to the advancing traitor army, not to die here. Lifting his ancient blade, he called out to the scattered survivors, "To me! To me! Forward, for the Death Lord! For Barbarus!" Gathering a small band of survivors, he prepared to break through the encirclement and only then, with unrelenting hatred, take his vengeance on his enemies, whether it take a day, a month or a hundred years. 

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PRE-GAME AND MISSION:

Since we had more painted loyalists and traitors, we decided to play the mission Between the Hammer and the Anvil from Horus Heresy Book Six. Pete (the traitors) would get victory points for each unit that escaped the table and Phil (loyalists) would earn victory points for each traitor unit destroyed.


BATTLE:

The Death Guard have pursued the fleeing loyalists to this mining and processing outpost on the Vaalbara Plateau. 

The outpost is an industrial and administrative center surrounded by barren rock and stunted, spiked trees. 

Praetor Wolfgang and the Death Guard vanguard find themselves cut off from the rest of the Traitor advance by a hail of missile fire. 

Praetor Zherdan and his combined force of White Scars, Imperial Fists, and Auxilia drop troops surround their quarry. 

Wolfgang is shocked at the sight of the unexpected arrival of Imperial Fists terminators deep striking from orbit!

The Death Guard concentrate their remaining forces in an attempt to break through one side of the Loyalist encirclement before the arrival of enemy reinforcements. Standing in their way are Praetor Zherdan and his men on one side and the Imperial Fist terminators on the other. 

Drop sentinels and a Tauros of the Kozar army advance alongside a White Scars tactical support squad to trap the Traitors.

The Kozar army light units use their mobility to steal the initiative and close the pincer from behind.

Striking from the rear, the Tauros is able to immobilize the Death Guard Rhino.

The sentinels advance, firing their lascannons into the rear armor of the mighty Contemptor Dreadnought Friedrich, damaging the war machine. 

Smoke billows from the damaged rhino carrying Squad Ritter.

A few marines from Tactical Squad Stärke are felled by the White Scars of Tactical Squad Kheeg.

Praetor Wolfgang and his men advance through the ruins under the supporting fire of Tactical Support Squad März on their elevated position. They need to break through the Loyalist line to escape the ambush.

The Death Guard hit back hard. The combined firepower of Tactical Squad Stärke and Tactical Support Squad März decimates Squad Kheeg, leaving only a few marines and Praetor Zherdan to hold the line against the Death Guard escape.

Tactical Squad Ritter disembark from the immobile rhino and fire into the Imperial Fists.

One of the mighty terminators is brought down by the hail of fire from the Death Guard marines. 

Crucially for the Loyalists, all of their reserves arrive exactly on time and on target. Zherdan's trap is now fully sprung. The arriving units punish  Wolfgang's bodyguard Tactical Squad Stärke.

Praetor Zherdan leads the last of his men in a charge against the Praetor Wolfgang and his Death Guard.

Zherdan and Wolfgang meet face to face for the first time as they prepare to do battle. One shall stand; one shall fall.

Praetor Zherdan and Praetor Wolfgang duel ferociously with master-crafted power glaive clashing against Paragon blade. Zherdan uses his speed and his shield for defense; Wolfgang relies on the protection of his ancient terminator armor.

Brother clashes against brother in a vicious melee.

First blood goes to Praetor Wolfgang as he inflicts a serious wound on Zherdan. The White Scars tactical marines kill one of their Death Guard counterparts. 

The Loyalist forces form a line of resistance in an attempt to capture and destroy the Death Guard vanguard. 

Tactical Squad Ritter come to the aid of their brothers, charging into the melee. The two praetors exchanged blows, with Zherdan inflicting several wounds on Wolfgang and Wolfgang wounding Zherdan again in return. Both warriors were badly bloodied, but continued to fight on, evenly matched, until Praetor Zherdan is struck down from behind by Sergeant Albrecht's power fist!

The Death Guard win the melee in the ruins, but the Loyalist reserves are blocking their escape while the flanking force closes in from behind. 

The Imperial Fists Terminators charge the contemptor dreadnought. Friedrich kills two terminators before the remaining members of the squad fell the Traitor monstrosity.

Kozar Army units consolidate around the surviving Death Guard. 

The Loyalists advance on the remaining Death Guard, firing everything they have, killing several traitors but Wolfgang resists shot after shot and continues marching his men forward, determined to fight his way through.

Praetor Wolfgang leads the last of his men in a charge against the elite Kozar Grenadiers, killing five and sending the rest fleeing.

Meanwhile, the last of the terminators are gunned down from above by the deadly Tactical Support Squad März. Although outnumbered and surrounded, the Traitors have inflicted heavy losses on the Loyalists.

The relentless Praetor Wolfgang is finally brought down by a fusillade of plasma and lasgun fire. The Loyalists have captured their prize: the commander that has been inflicting defeat after defeat on the armies loyal to the Emperor. 

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Infantryman Komél slowly approached the prone form of Praetor Wolfgang. The wind and sand battered his armor and face shield. He breathed heavily as he approached. He had just witnessed this superhuman killer survive enough firepower to kill ten men and then cut down three of the veteran Kozar grenadiers in less than a minute, sending the rest of the squad fleeing, before he was finally felled by the combined firepower of multiple units. 

Komél looked down on the battered armor and blood-splattered face of the enemy commander, his fear slowly turning to anger for the comrades he had lost. After watching for a minute to be sure the corpse was not breathing, he brought back his boot and delivered a fierce kick to the head of the Praetor. In a flash, before he could even lower his foot, the armored hand of Wolfgang suddenly shot out and grabbed Komél's leg, crushing it in an unstoppable grip, bones shattering. Komél screamed as he fell backward in agony, panic and shock. Before he could move, the hand yanked him forward and grabbed his throat. He wasn't suffocated - his neck was snapped and his head flopped over, hanging limply by his shoulder. 

Clearly, despite his many injuries, Wolfgang had life in him still. But he was now a captive of the loyalist forces, his steady advance northward finally halted. 

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POST-GAME:

Loyalist Post-Game Analysis:

Phil: That was a unique mission that made for a really interesting game. Splitting the army into three distinct groups and the way they were deployed added quite a lot of tactical depth. My approach was to start as far forward on one side as possible, encouraging Pete to go toward the other edge since he would be able to start much closer over there. I also knew I had to get my melee units on the side he was aiming for, or they would be running the whole game and likely never get into combat before Pete was off the table. Also, if I didn't have the Terminators and Praetor on the side Pete was going for, he could have easily cut through any of my other units in melee with ease. But even getting my starting forces as desired, it looked like Pete had only a short run through a thin line of mine to reach the exit zone within 6" of the table edge, and with the first turn, he could potentially be escaping before my reserves even arrived. So stealing the initiative was HUGE in this game, so much more important than even in a regular game due to how close together the armies started and how the victory conditions worked (basically it would all come down to whether his warlord escaped or was killed). I knew when I rolled that 6 that I suddenly had a great chance to win. Of course, getting all of my reserves in turn 2 also helped tremendously and from that point on, I just had too many bodies for even the intractable Death Guard to cut through.

The game was quite fun and unique, with several great moments. I loved the confrontation between our Praetors and their tactical squads. The dueling was tense and evenly-matched... until Pete's sergeant butted in and whacked my Praetor down from behind with a power fist while he was engaged in a manly and honorable duel! And nothing showed the Death Guard's tenacity to keep going no matter what as much as Pete's wounded Praetor slogging through a mass of fire as he fought his way to the exit point, at one point making three 4+ saves against plasma guns when he was on his last wound!

Overall, this was a nice, flavorful mission that really adds to the story of the campaign. First, it finally gave our Praetors the spotlight (I had only used Consuls the last few games) and added to their personalities. Mine as a strategist who cunningly stole the initiative in a sudden ambush and Wolfgang as a true Death Guard archetype who stubbornly kept on fighting through overwhelming odds and a salvo of enemy fire, never giving up or losing sight of his objective.


Traitor Post-Game Analysis:

Pete: Well that was fun. Even in a losing effort, I did enjoy that game. Obviously, Phil’s team stealing the initiative was more than significant to the outcome. I feel like I could have made the table edge if the Death Guard could have gone first and advanced 6 inches forward before Phil had a chance to blast us!

He had a good deployment that encouraged me to push my army away from his plasma gunners and
sentinels. Phil getting all his reserves right away on turn 2 was also huge for him. Seeing two praetors tangle in CC was thematically satisfying. But after that melee the wall of the Imperium had solidified in front of Phil’s deployment zone and I knew there was little chance my ragtag band of survivors could break through. I am proud of their grit and unrelenting determination as they ran forward and fell in a hail of gunfire (and hot plasma!). Even Friedrich my contemptor dreadnought was layed-low this game. Tangling with a squad of angry terminators is recipe for disaster.

There’s starting to be some real flavor to this setting and campaign. I’m excited to see this conflict
escalate and keep the story and action advancing.