I have been brainstorming ideas for the next campaign and my favorite idea so far is to have the Imperial Army launch an invasion to take back Xhorik Prime from the Traitors. But let me hear what ideas you have.
Operation Downfall
In campaign for Xhorik Prime, the Traitors were victorious and have conquered most of the populated areas of the main continent. The small detachment of White Scars on Xhorik Prime have been defeated, their forces shattered and the cities lost. A few isolated bands of White Scars remain, scattered and uncoordinated. They can mount the occasional raid, but they have no ability to hold ground or face the Traitors in open battle. With all Imperial forces pulled away from hunting orks in the east to fight the Traitors in the west, the orks have regrouped and started mounting raids on the human cities again.
During the weeks of the Xhorik Prime campaign, Loyalist forces on Xhorik Secondus have been mobilizing an army to oppose the Traitors. Although they had a Planetary Defense Force (PDF), they lacked the capacity to quickly launch an expedition onto a war-torn planet. By the time, they were ready to attack, Kozar had fallen and the Traitors had taken control of most of the (human-)populated areas of the main continent. To recapture the planet before the army of Horus arrived in the system, the Imperial generals on Xhorik Secondus would have to take a dangerous gamble: to launch an invasion of a hostile planet - and with minimal space marine support.
The planned invasion was dubbed Operation Downfall and consisted of three parts. The first step would be a night drop by several dozen regiments of drop troopers around the invasion landing sites. The drop troopers were to disable enemy planetary defenses, disrupt communications, and capture key bridges that would allow the invading Imperial army to quickly breakout from the landing zones before the Traitor forces could fully respond. In the second phase, the main army would land at space ports in enemy territory and secure a beachhead to hold open the supply lines. The final phase would be a push to crush the heart of the Traitor territory in the Federation of Unimund.
Many of the generals thought the plan was suicidal. Sending an army of humans, no matter how well prepared and numerous, to launch a massive interplanetary invasion against the most elite warriors in the galaxy sounded like folly. Their only chance was to take the Traitors by surprise, and establish a firm beachhead, enabling a constant stream of reinforcements with which to grind down the outnumbered space marines in a war of attrition. If the invasion failed to establish a toehold before the Traitors responded in force, they would be mercilessly crushed.
Campaign Phase 1: Night Drop
The first phase of the campaign takes place during the night preceding the main invasion as dozens of regiments of drop troopers make a combat drop to secure the landing zones for the fleet. This phase consists of several games that take place more or less simultaneously as different companies of the Xhorik 87th Drop Troops make their drops with different objectives. Even though night drops are dangerous and full of confusion, it was deemed the best way to take the Traitors by surprise and accomplish their objectives before greater force could be applied.
All games of Phase 1 use the Night Fighting and Hidden Setup rules for the entire game, unless specified otherwise. This represents the darkness and the general confusion both sides found themselves in during the nighttime raid. All scenario rules are as per the WH40k 4th Edition Rulebook (2004 edition).
Scenarios:
Hold at All Costs: Represents the Traitors defending a key position such as a road, bridge or hill that the attackers must take to enable the invasion (Hold the Objective)
Patrol: This represents small bands of Loyalists, scattered by their night drop, trying to meet up and find their objective who then bump into a Traitor patrol searching for the invaders. Both sides must eliminate the other. (Kill Points)
Sabotage: This represents the attackers attempting to destroy a key installation, such as force field generator, missile silo, or planetary defense turret. (Destroy/Protect the Objective)
After these three missions are played, a final battle is fought. The final battle takes place at dawn just as the main invasion is about to start so the Night Fighting rules only apply to the first two turns.
If the defenders win 2 out of 3, the final battle is Meat Grinder as the attackers throw everything they have at a desperate attempt to clear the Traitors from the landing zones. The defender has the advantage and so can choose to re-roll the results to see if the game ends.
If the attackers win 2 out of 3, the final battle is Ambush as the attackers have completed their mission and setup to in hiding to destroy a Traitor column heading for the landing zones. The attacker has the advantage and so can choose to re-roll the results to see if the game ends.
For balance, I propose all WH40k non-space marine infantry have their costs reduced by 25%.
So what do you guys think? Any other ideas?
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