Horus Heresy Battle Report 11: The Pursuit of Zherdan

"Even the greatest mountain is worn to dust by the wind"

- Brother Veteran Gansukh,

Brotherhood of the Wind, White Scars Legion

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 by 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.


In the first phase of the campaign, the Death Guard captured the border city of Bielyer and the only space port of any consequence in the region.


The second phase of the campaign has centered around the conflict for the Vaalbara Plateau. The White Scars struck first with a false retreat leading to an ambush of the Death Guard vanguard. The Traitors were able to rescue Praetor Wolfgang in time to lead them to victory in the pitched battle that followed. Then, after using the space port in Bielyr to bring in a super heavy battle tank, the Death Guard attacked and destroyed the Loyalist base, Bunker Tauruk. Praetor Zherdan and a small band of survivors were forced to fall back and attempt to meet up with reinforcements that had been on their way to the battle at the bunker. After a lengthy pursuit over rough terrain, a Death Guard Eradication Patrol has finally caught up to Zherdan and his band of survivors and they are calling for reinforcements of their own.

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Sergeant Albrecht rode across the frozen terrain in the command seat of the Rhino. Outside the vision slit, the world was darkness other than where the small transport’s spotlight shone. He watched the monitor displaying the vehicle’s scanner outputs intently. He had been tracking the fleeing Loyalists for three days and nights since the Death Guard victory at Bunker Tauruk. He knew he had been close on the second day, but his quarry had slipped away in a dust storm. They were on foot and some were injured. He knew it was only a matter of time until he brought them to bay.


When the scanner display started blinking, Albrecht grinned in anticipation.


“We’ve got movement, sir. Looks like about twenty pings. Moving with some organization, not randomly. Must be the enemy survivors,” the driver reported.


Albrecht looked at the scan of the surrounding terrain and immediately gave the command to engage.


“Support teams, dismount and move into position on the hill with the supply depot. Kill anything that moves,” Albrecht ordered over the com-link to the other Rhinos in his patrol.


On the screen, the blips did not appear to be fleeing. They looked to be forming up and taking positions in the rocks. Albrecht swung the searchlight around and caught a glimpse of the pale shapes moving in the blackness. He spotted a distinct outline, a man larger than the others and with personal banners that he recognized.


Sergeant Albrecht got on the com-link to report out: “This is Sergeant Albrecht of Squad Ritter. Target of significance confirmed. It is Praetor Zherdan. Moving to engage. Request support immediately.”


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Pre-Game and Mission

We decided that the scenario Hunter/Hunted from the Shadow War missions in Horus Hersey Book VI captured the feel we were after: the forces on the table at the start would represent the retreating White Scars survivors of the last battle pursued by Death Guard patrols, while the reserves would represent the Loyalist reinforcements mentioned in the build up to the last battle and on the other side, the Death Guard patrol calling for support once they identified a target of significance. In this mission, you start with half of your force on the table and half in reserve. It is a Kill Point mission with a few additional considerations: a bonus VP for wiping out a unit the turn it arrives from reserves (Mortal Blow); Slay the Warlord; and a bonus VP for wiping out a unit in a Sweeping Advance (Execution). We continued to use our house rule that Kill Points would be awarded for each 100 pts (rounded up) of the cost of a unit. The final special rule in this scenario was that the winner of a Shadow War roll would get to decide if the game started with d3 turns of Night Fighting.

We decided the Search and Destroy deployment map would be most fitting for the mission. And with each player having two board edges, it would make the Reserves rules more interesting with more choices to be made by the players and the reserve units more likely to have an immediate impact.

We decided whoever deployed first would get to select his deployment zone, in order to help balance out the disadvantage. We rolled off and Phil (Loyalists) won and elected to deploy second. Pete (Traitors) selected Zone III, which meant Phil would deploy in Zone I. Pete won the Shadow War roll and elected to start with Night Fighting, rolling up three turns of night.

The battlefield: the rocky badlands of the Vaalbara Plateau. 

ARMY SELECTION: 1150 Points

Death Guard Eradication Patrol - Pete

• Praetor Wolfgang: Terminator armor, Paragon Blade, volkite charger, digilasers
• Tactical Squad Stärke: 14 marines with close combat weapons, sergeant with power fist and artificer armor and Apothecary Wilhelm
• Tactical Squad Ritter: 10 marines with close combat weapons, sergeant with power fist and artificer armor, rhino with heavy flamer
• Tactical Support Squad März: 7 marines with volkite calivers and Apothecary
• Heavy Support Squad Tragen: 3 marines with missile launchers
• Contemptor Dreadnought Friedrich:  multi-melta, meltagun, dreadnought close combat weapon

White Scars, Brotherhood of the Wind - Phil

• Praetor Zalitai Zherdan: Master-crafted power glaive, refractor field, cyber hawk, 
• Tactical Squad Kheeg: 10 marines with close combat weapons, sergeant with power glaive and artificer armor
• Tactical Support Squad Khoer: 8 marines with plasma guns
• Sicaran Omega Tank Destroyer Kharvaak: Omega Plasma Array, heavy bolter and lascannon sponsons
• Outrider Squad Anchin: 5 Outriders with twin-linked plasma guns, including sergeant

BATTLE:

Deployment: The Death Guard Patrol takes up position on a low hill being used as a supply depot. The White Scars turn to face their pursuers and use the rocky outcrops to stay out of sight of the Death Guard's long range weapons.

The Death Guard Patrol engages their quarry in the darkness of night. Their plan is to suppress the White Scars with their superior long range firepower until the heavy infantry and dreadnought arrive to crush the remnants.

Tactical Support Squad März uses the abandoned supply dump as a makeshift barricade.

Heavy Support Squad Tragen sets their targeting systems to night vision mode.

Squad Ritter and their Rhino protect the flank and prepare to intercept any advancing enemies.

Wary of the Death Guard's superior ranged firepower, the White Scars split up and carefully use the terrain to stay hidden.

Finally cornered after a long pursuit, Praetor Zherdan and Tactical Squad Kheeg aim to strike hard at their pursuers. 

Tactical Support Squad Khoer creep forward in the darkness to get into range of the Death Guard Patrol.

Squad Ritter accelerates through the darkness to block the White Scars from advancing around the eastern edge of the battlefield to reach the main Death Guard position.

With their views blocked by the rocky outcrops, the Death Guard heavy weapons teams are forced to stand idle and wait for the enemy to show themselves. 

Both White Scars units run forward silently, trying to cover the open ground to their targets as quickly as possible. They decide to brave the inevitable heavy weapons barrage for a chance to kill their hated foes.

Praetor Zherdan elects to take his men directly through the center of the rocks on the shortest path to the enemy.

Turn 1: The Death Guard Rhino anticipates a flanking maneuver while the White Scars infantry run straight up the center.

Tactical Support Squad März takes aim at the approaching Loyalist marines.

Dirt and rock explodes into the air as Tactical Squad Kheeg suffers the combined fire of both Death Guard support squads, losing nine marines. 

Praetor Wolfgang and his men materialize out of the darkness on the western flank, along with the fearsome Contemptor Dreadnought Friedrich. They open fire as they advance, killing two marines from Tactical Support Squad Khoer. The White Scars fall back before the overwhelming foe.

Death Guard Turn 2: All of the Death Guard reserves arrive and kill a few plasma gunners from Squad Khoer, causing the rest to fall back. The heavy weapons squads pound Squad Kheeg mercilessly.

The White Scars reserves finally arrive; too late to defend Bunker Tauruk, but they hope to save their surviving brothers and take some vengeance on the Death Guard. The Sicaran Omega Tank Destroyer enters from the north and fires into the flanks of Praetor Wolfgang's unit, killing three.

The survivors of Squad Khoer rally and snap a few hurried shots at the approaching Death Guard, but the only damage inflicted is when one of the plasma guns overheats, killing its bearer. 

The last five members of Squad Khoer know they cannot stand against the superior enemy arrayed before them. They cheer when the Sicaran arrives and starts firing into the Death Guard flank.

Outflanking from the south, Outrider Squad Anchin surprises the Death Guard fire base out of the darkness.

Three marines of Tactical Support Squad März and their Apothecary are killed by white hot plasma at point blank range.

Praetor Zherdan and the last survivor of Squad Kheeg race toward the Death Guard heavy weapons teams as fast as they can. The sight of the Outriders arriving out of the night gives them fresh hope and quickens their pace.

White Scars Turn 2: The White Scars reserves enter from the Death Guard flanks and inflict some damage while Praetor Zherdan and the sergeant from Squad Kheeg continues to advance. 

The black sky begins to turn grey as dawn nears. Squad Ritter turns around and races back toward the Outriders attacking their flank.

Squad März turns around to face this new threat and brings down one of the Outriders with their Volkite Calivers, while the others are able to jink and weave to avoid the shots. Squad Tragen fires their missiles at Praetor Zherdan and Sergeant Khaljyk but cannot stop the rapidly advancing heroes.

Praetor Wolfgang and his men continue to march straight toward Squad Khoer. Wolfgang uses his Volkite Charger to vaporize one of the White Scars marines.

As the sky grows lighter, Friedrich breaks off from Wolfgang to engage the Sicaran, but his multi-melta misses the mark.

Death Guard Turn 3: Wolfgang's forces split their fire as they attempt to deal with the multitude of White Scars threats, but they are unable to inflict any serious damage.

The Sicaran Omega fires everything at Freidrich but only manages to destroy the walker's meltagun. 

As the pre-dawn sky continues to lighten, Outrider Squad Anchin turn their plasma fire on Heavy Support Squad Tragen and obliterates them at point blank range.

Praetor Zherdan and Sergeant Khaljyk finally charge up the hill into Squad März and wipe them out with a precision display of their power glaives just as the sun of Xhorik Prime crests the horizon.

In the center of the battlefield, Tactical Squad Kheeg fights to the last as dawn finally breaks. They manage to kill one more Death Guard marine from Tactical Squad Stärke before they are gunned down in return. 

Despite his damage, Friedrich advances fearlessly toward the enemy tank, firing his multi-melta, but even with the full light of morning, the dreadnought cannot damage the tank.

White Scars Turn 3 and Death Guard Turn 4: The Death Guard southern flank is crushed in a pincer attack between the Outriders and Praetor Zherdan. The White Scars center is destroyed by Wolfgang and Squad Stärke. The Sicaran and Contemptor continue to duel, with the White Scars tank faring better in the exchange.

The Sicaran Omega Tank Destroyer focuses both barrels of the Omega plasma array for a sustained burn, destroying the dreadnought.

Outrider Squad Anchin race down the hill and unleash a volley of plasma fire into Squad Ritter's rhino, wrecking the tank and forcing the Death Guard to disembark. 

Praetor Zherdan doesn't give Squad Ritter a chance to regroup as he and Sergeant Khaljyk charge past the smoldering wreck and cut down six members of the squad and scattering the rest. 

After destroying Squad Ritter, Zherdan and Khaljyk quickly duck around a large rock formation and out of sight of the Death Guard bolters.

Surrounded and isolated, Praetor Wolfgang realizes the battle is lost and orders the survivors of Squad Stärke and Apothecary Wilhelm to fall back. 

The smoke of the burning Death Guard vehicles catches the early dawn sunlight as Praetor Zherdan watches Wolgang and the last of his men break off and fall back. The sun rises on a desperately-needed White Scars victory.

RESULT:

Loyalists: 10 Victory Points
Death Toll: 9 (Tactical Support Squad März w/ Apothecary, Heavy Support Squad Tragen, Contemptor Dreadnought, Tactical Squad Ritter, Rhino)
Mortal Blow: None
Execution: 1 (Tactical Squad Ritter)
Slay the Warlord: None


Traitors: 3 Victory Points
Death Toll: 3 (Tactical Support Squad Kheeg)
Mortal Blow: None
Execution: None
Slay the Warlord: None

Loyalist Victory!

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Praetor Zherdan silently observed the dead among his forces.

Far too many, he thought. But at least this time we gave better than we got and bloodied Wolfgang's nose in return. 

He knew neither army could continue to suffer high casualties indefinitely as both sides had only limited resources on the planet. Even though the Loyalists had taken the worst of it so far, Zherdan had Kozar auxiliaries and a small contingent of Imperial Fists and he was fighting deep in his own territory. As the Death Guard continued to push farther from their bases and stretch their supply lines, they would struggle to replace losses and maintain capability where it was needed. 

Zherdan knew Wolfgang would be looking for additional allies to reinforce his strength if he wanted to be able to deliver the killing blow to the Loyalists. He knew he must find reinforcements of his own and stop Wolfgang from connecting with any other traitorous forces. But who could be trusted and who had already turned against the Emperor? Everything seemed to be chaos and what little information that was coming in was conflicting and muddled. There seemed to be traitors everywhere, even rumors of betrayal within his own side. Unfortunately, neither side had much choice other than to take the risk of seeking out additional help and trying to stop the other side from doing so first.

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POST-GAME:

Loyalist Post-Game Analysis:

Phil: I really enjoyed the story around this game, with the action continuing over from the last battle. To keep with the plot, I made up my starting force only with units that mostly survived the previous battle and used the Outriders in the reserves force since it would make the most sense for them to be the first reserves that arrived and because they were not at the battle of the bunkers. For us, playing the games as consistently with the setting and the campaign story arc as possible really adds to the fun.

From a tactical standpoint, that was a game where the White Scars were finally able to showcase their strengths and effectively utilize their mobile units. The newly-expanded five-man Outrider squad performed phenomenally, using Outflank and point-blank plasma fire to wreak havoc on the Death Guard fire base on the hill, while combining Night Fighting with Jink and Skilled Rider to get a 2+ cover save to stay alive. But the MVP may have been Praetor Zherdan who (with the help of Sergeant Khaljyk) was able to wipe out two squads in melee. The Sicaran Omega did what I needed it to do by destroying the dreadnought, but overall, I am underwhelmed by its damage output. When it arrived on Pete's flank and fired with everything it had, I expected big things, but it only managed three kills. In the three games I have used it, it has yet to "make back its points", as they say.  Its speed and anti-tank weapons give it the upper hand against Pete's dreadnought in these small games, but with the Fellblade on the table, I am afraid it won't survive long enough to have a significant impact.

The worst performers were once again the Tactical Support Squad with plasma guns. For the fourth time in this campaign, they failed a morale check and their plasma guns killed only two tactical marines (and one of their own due to "gets hot") before they were wiped out. Pretty awful for a 265-point unit! This unit has never really performed well; they have powerful guns, but they are too slow and vulnerable for the short range of their weapons. I am hoping that getting them a transport will make a big improvement.

This game had a fun dynamic, requiring a different set of tactics to manage only having small patrols initially and then bringing in reserves. I was feeling quite nervous at the end of Pete's second turn, when he killed 11 of my marines and broke one unit, leaving me with only two models that I could move (once again, those Volkite Calivers are an impressive unit). If I had not been able to totally hide my entire force from his line of sight on his first turn, I would almost certainly have been tabled before my reserves even arrived! But I think the biggest thing that swung the game to my favor was that (for the first time I can think of), Pete was indecisive and made a mistake, driving back and forth with Squad Ritter and their Rhino for three turns, keeping them out of the action and allowing me to gain the upper hand in turns 2 and 3. If they had engaged my Praetor and tactical squad on his second turn and jumped out firing, he may have wiped me out there and would at least have stopped me from reaching his support squad with my Praetor.

There was a lot of maneuvering and both armies had moments of glory, which made for a fun match. My Praetor continued to play in character by winning with reserves and also by making some very fast moves due to excellent run and charge rolls all game.  With this result bringing the score in Phase 2 of the campaign to 2-2, it will come down to a pivotal Game 5 to determine which side claims control of the Vaalbara Plateau.


Traitor Post-Game Analysis:

Pete: Well, that was a fun battle. Well-played by Phil and his White Scars. I had my chances and could have pulled out the “W” if my dreadnought hit and penetrated the Sicaran tank. Once I lost that duel and Phil’s Praetor caught up to my rhino squad, it was all over for my Death Guard. I respectfully conceded the battlefield to the Scars and saved Wolfgang for the pivotal battle 5 of this phase of the campaign. I’m looking forward to having one more go of it with these forces before we add to them for phase 3.

As for my decision to bring my reserves in from the board edge I chose, I’ve spent some time second
guessing myself, but there’s nothing wrong with going for the biggest bang for your buck where you can do the most damage to your opponent. But I think in a purely “win over all else” strategy I may have been better served to keep my forces consolidated and use the short board edge near the rest of my forces. It would be lame, and lacking any heroism, but would have prevented the bikers from
devastating my heavy weapon crews as well as saved my rhino and tactical squad inside. Phil’s Praetor would have been hopelessly outnumbered and unable to charge the hill. The Sicaran tank would have presented a real challenge, but with cover saves on the hill I believe I could have gave as good as I was receiving from his lascannons.

The Sicaran is going to present a real problem for my army whenever I’m not using my Fellblade. I
need a unit with some more long-range punch if I’m ever going to knock it out. I don’t anticipate getting close enough to it with a power fist or melta bomb anytime soon, as Phil will be far more careful going forward. Adding four more missile launcher marines to my army will give me 7 strength 8 shots against that AP 13 front armor. Not impossible, but not likely to do the job in 1 volley. The multi-melta on the dread isn’t practical since the Sicaran is a “fast” vehicle and can maneuver itself out of the deadly half range of the melta weaponry with the second D6 of AP. I need a squad of lascannons, which I’m not in the mood to purchase and paint, or a fast vehicle or squad of bikes of my own with plasma to counter this challenge.

I was disappointed in the outcome of the battle in the moment, but I do appreciate the challenge that
Phil’s plasma army poses going forward. Eight plasma tactical support marines, FIVE twin-linked plasma bikers, and a Sicaran with a super plasma array. Wow, if this was Magic the Gathering I can see the flavor and deck strategy really coming together!!! Purchasing apothecaries was my first attempt to counter the lack of saving throws I get vs. all this plasma, but 5+ saves are not enough. We’ll see. I’ll think of something! As Horus commands! Death to the false emperor!