Campaign Phase 4, The Battle for Berat: Game 3 - Suicide Mission

 "When presented with the opportunity to turn the tide and destroy your enemy, you must take it. Even when there is little hope of survival."

 - Khan Turan Jorma,
Brotherhood of the Wind,
White Scars Legion

Campaign To Date:

It has been about 40 years since a combined force of Sons of Horus, Death Guard, and White Scars brought the Xhorik System into compliance during the Great Crusade. The major population centers of the largest continent were quickly brought under Imperial control in the typical fashion: a series of pinpoint attacks of overwhelming force by the Legions against the enemy's strong points, followed by rapid surrender. Due to the richness of the primary planet and the strategic location of the system on a sort of crossroads of warp currents, small garrisons of the Death Guard and White Scars legions were left on the planet to oversee the tithes of men and material to the Great Crusade and to help eradicate the threat of large ork populations in the eastern wastes.

With the advent of the Horus Heresy, the Warmaster ordered that the Xhorik System be taken to act as a way station for resupply on his long march to Terra. The Death Guard and their human allies on Xhorik Prime launched an attack on the White Scars and their allies, the Stratocracy of Kozar.

In Phase 1 of the campaign, the Traitors pushed the Loyalists from the war-torn border city of Bielyr in a series of bloody street fighting.

In Phase 2, the war escalated across the badlands of the Valbaara Plateau in several pitched battles. In the end, the Brotherhood of the Wind was defeated and their leader Praetor Zherdan was killed by the Death Guard.

In Phase 3, the Death Guard marched to the major Kozar city of Berat, fighting their way through a number of Loyalist counter attacks. In the end, helped by taking control of low-planetary orbit over the city in a void battle, the Traitors smashed through the outer walls of Berat behind the might of their super heavy Fellblade battle tank.
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Phase 4 is the battle for the Kozar city of Berat. The Traitors have broken through the gates and are working their way toward the city center block by bloody block in a brutal street fight. This Phase uses a number of special rules:

Campaign Points: CP are earned by playing games and by achieving secret secondary campaign objectives (drawn randomly each game and kept secret). They can be used to gain advantages in games. The player with the most CP at the end of the phase wins.

Normal games:
Win: 5 CP
Draw: 3 CP
Loss: 1 CP

Final Game:
Win: 10 CP
Draw: 6 CP
Loss: 2 CP

• Spend 1 CP to re-roll the die to deploy first or to re-roll the die to steal the initiative. Can only be used once per game.
• Spend 1 CP to include a unit that would not be allowed due to the Grinding Attrition or Street Fighting special campaign rules below. The point cost of the unit still counts toward the army total. Can only be used once per game.
• Spend 1 CP to re-roll the die to see if the game ends. Can only be used once per game.

(Costs are doubled for the final game.)

Hunter Killers: Due to the very dense terrain providing ample hiding places, surprise attacks are extra deadly. Units who used Infiltrate, Scout or Outflank can charge the on the first game turn or the turn they come into play. If they don’t charge, they gain an extra +1 cover save for their first turn in play (stacks with any bonuses they have already).

Street Fighting: Narrow streets, debris, billowing smoke and crumbling towers limit the ability to utilize large vehicles and artillery. Other than the final battle, a max of one total unit can be selecged with any of the keywords: heavy, artillery, flyer, or over 3 HP. In the final battle, everything goes.

Grinding Attrition: Other than Troops choices, any unit that is destroyed cannot be used in the next battle. If the next battle is the final battle, it can be taken but must start in reserves. Any unit that is selected as Troops choice can be used even if it was destroyed in the previous battle.

Named Warlord: Choose your warlord trait. Must be the same for the whole phase. Can also can always re-roll LD and morale checks. Other warlords must roll for trait.

If named warlord dies in battle, roll die:
1-2: debilitating injury: can't use in the rest of the campaign phase until final battle
3-4: major injury: can't use in next game
5: close call: no effect
6: Miraculous Recovery (Chosen of the Emporer/Horus/gods of Chaos): can use as normal and has an inspiring presence for the next battle: all units within 12" can use his LD.

The Revenant: Once warlord returns after dying in a game, he has Hatred (Traitors/Loyalists) for the rest of the campaign phase.

Our standard Terrain Rules are in effect.

PRE-GAME AND MISSION:

We played the Suicide Mission scenario from Horus Heresy Book VI. The Attacker (Loylaists) would score a VP for each scoring unit in the Defenders deployment zone at the end of each game turn. The Defenders (Traitors) would score 2 VP for each Attacker unit destroyed. 

We would also each be drawing a random, secret Campaign Objective from a pile. These are objectives that are not related to the specific battle, but are part of the overall strategic plan for winning the campaign phase. These cards are kept secret until they are either achieved or the end of the game and are worth 1 or 2 Campaign Points, as stated on the card.

The Traitors drew Silence the Big Guns: Destroy all enemy Heavy Support choices (2 CP)

The Loyalists drew Hold Ground: Select a terrain piece outside of your deployment zone and hold it at the end of the game (1 CP).

ARMY SELECTION: 2000 points

Traitors - Pete

Death Guard

• Preator Wolfgang: terminator armor, volkite charger, paragon blade, digital lasers, Fearless, It will not Die
• Tactical Support Squad Folterer: 7 marines flamers, sergeant with artificer armor. Mounted in a Rhino APC with a pintle mounted heavy flamer.
• Tactical Squad Toddestraffe: 20 marines with close combat weapons, sergeant with power fist and artificer armor and Apothecary Gerhard
• Tactical Support Squad Blitz Schock: 7 marines with volkite calivers 
• Heavy Support Squad Feuer Sturm: 7 marines with missile launchers and Apothecary
• Contemptor Dreadnought Friedrich with multimelta, melta gun and close combat weapon

World Eaters

• Chaplin Zungarz: Artificer Armor, plasma pistol, refractor field, crozius arcanum
• Tactical Squad Hell Hounds: 17 marines – 16 with bolters, bolt pistols and chain axes. 1 sergeant with artificer armor, power fist and plasma pistol
• The Red Butchers: 1 Devoured with dual chain fists, 4 Butchers with dual power axes
• Land Raider Phobos Flesh Grinder: side sponson twin-linked lascannons, twin heavy bolter, armored ceramite, machine spirit 
• Contemptor Dreadnought Delrog the Diabolical with twin-linked lascannon and chainfist

Loyalists - Phil

White Scars Brotherhood of the Wind 

• Khan Turan Jorma: jetbike, paragon blade, cyber hawk
• Skyhunter Squadron Khujaa: 6 jetbikes,  2 x volkite culverin
• Outrider Squad Tsujen: 5 Outriders with plasma, sergeant
• Tactical Squad Temgar: 10 marines with close combat weapons, sergeant has power glaive, artificer armor
• Tactical Support Squad Khoer: 8 marines with plasma guns
• Recon Squad Chono: 10 marines with recon armor and camo cloaks, sergeant with power fist and artificer armor
• Ebon Keshig: 10 terminators, 8 power glaives, 2 power fists, 1 melta gun
• Sicaran Omega Tank Destroyer Flamespear: lascannon sponsons
• Primaris Lightning Strike Fighter Ariunbold: twin-linked lascannon, 6 x Kraken Heavy Penetrator Missiles, Battle Servitor Control, Ground-tracking Auguries, Ramjet Diffraction Grid

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BATTLE:

The Suicide Mission

The battlefield from the south.