A report from Maracha

Segmentum Tempestus 999.M41
System: Fetian, Planet: Maracha

Two years.  Two damnable years we've spent trying to protect this near worthless rock.  Things were bad even from the start.  Chaos was a difficult opponent already.  Landings attempts by the Lankock XCI, CCXCIV, and DI Regiments suffered near-total casualties.  Cadian DXIX and Vatarian DLXXXIII secured the LZs, and pushed out against tremendous opposition.

We were sent down with a fellow Vatarian regiment: the CCXII.  Even to this day, I still don't understand why nine entire regiments of infantry were sent down to protect an entire planet with only a battalion of tanks, a company of artillery, and only eighty-three planes.

Somehow, we made serious progress in pushing back the enemy.  The locals, even though they were armed with bolt-action rifles, proved to be a great help in waging this war.  Despite only two of the nine regiments being mechanized, our efforts pushed the lines back over three hundred and thirteen kilometres in just a little less than a month.

Nobody expected the orks to show up to the fight.  Their transports managed to, somehow, evade the Imperial fleet in orbit and made unmolested landings behind the enemy lines.  Chaos formations swiftly fell into absolute chaos as the greenskins began their relentless assaults.  Those who could, threw themselves into our fire.  Our first engagements with them were fairly easy.  Their rushed to the villages we were holding, and we sprayed with tripod guns until they died.

Unfortunately, their leader was using those fights to learn about us.  Ork artillery batteries began their barrage on our positions.  Their ramshackle planes and vehicles started their around-the-clock attack on units caught in the open.

Major Carpenter led his Second Company in a daring raid which ended with the warboss' head as a trophy, the utter annihilation of their fuel and ammo depots, and several of the artillery guns that were causing problems.

Unfortunately, that would the last act 2nd Company did on the planet.  I had argued with Lord-General Von Sica against taking them to Arrakia, but lowly Knight-Commanders don't win arguments with Lord-Generals.  2nd Company departed with the four platoons of the newly formed composite Lankock DCI regiment and three-quarters of the fleet.

It turned out that the ork horde we faced was only a vanguard for the massive tide that crashed into us.  Despite the valiant efforts of the remaining ships, many roks made it past their blockade even before taking losses.  The battle for orbit went on for hours, but it ended with all ships lost.  True to my prediction, when the mass of bodies smashed into our defences, the hole created by the absence of 2nd Company was taken full advantage of.

Convoys of trukks loaded to bear with orks covered in armor (armed with their shootas) rushed through the gap, and only stopped long enough for their infantry to hop out, slaughter the defenders, and get back into their vehicles.  With that gap widened and secured, ork tanks made their breakthrough and swarmed the across the countryside.

We only managed to escape because we were mechanized.  Von Sica's command post was tore apart, and he had to retreat to 3rd Battalion's (of the Cadian DXIX) position.  These veteran troops were protecting a vital railway hub in the city of Shemu that connected to nearly all corners of the planet.  They were cut off from the rest of us by the vast ork air force.  The siege lasted for seven months; in the end, only thirty guardsmen and four-hundred seventy civilians made it out.  Lord-General Von Sica was killed two days before the escape attempt by a gretchin sniper.

As for us, the orks chased us all the way back our original landing zone.  There we made our stand with the Cadian's Command Company alongside their 4th, 2nd Battalion from the Vatarian CCXII, and twelve light tanks.  Even with the assistance of the aircraft launched by the vessels (before they were wrecked) and the timely arrival of the Vatarian DLXXXIII, the greenskins drove us back from our most heavily fortified garrison.

They chased us once more through the desert.  We had to use our APCs to guard the trains the others were using to evacuate their men.  Luckily we now had planes screaming overhead to protect our rout from the ork divebombers.  We couldn't halt the orks until we came under the shadow of the Maa-kheru Mountains.  There, I was able to coordinate an effective defence of the region from a position that my men and I have took to rename 'Charpelli Hill'.

A series of battles and sieges have occurred since then, but we haven't moved back much for all that time.  Of the planet, we retain control of only five towns: Kemet to the north, Kenbet just under Charpelli Hill, the fortress of Kadesh and the besieged metropolis of Kagemni to the east, and on the other side of the mountains lies Shemu.

Now, we only have twenty-five hundred guardsmen and less than two thousand support personnel left.  Out of the eighth of a million natives still alive, thirty thousand are assisting us in the fighting.  Shared between the five towns are thirty-three Devil Dog light tanks and twenty-one Leman Russ medium tanks, all without fuel and running out of ammo.  Thirteen Basilisk artillery guns cover the entire region from the cover the Maa-kheru Mountains.  Inside those mountains is the airfield that houses the last plane on Maracha.

This pilot has my recommendation for numerous awards for the service she has performed over the last year.  Nearly every day, she goes out in her lone Thunderbolt to defend everyone from the packs of ork bombers and fighters.  Her victories are helping to sustain the morale of the general populace and my men.  At the closing days of the year of our Emperor 999.M41, this pilot's count is an astounding 982 confirmed enemy kills.

If these records survive long enough for a loyalist in the Emperor's service to find them, I commend the bravery and resolve of everyone who has given their lives for the planet of Maracha.  May the Emperor watch over us all.

Signing out (hopefully, not for the last time),
Knight-Commander Zora of the Vatartian XII Regiment

Vatarian XII: Meet Warrant Officer Victor Traakas

Warrant Officer Traakas has always been a navy man. His father was a navy man, and his father's father was a navy man. He comes from a whole line of navy men. So when he was stationed as a liaison with the Vatarian XII's command squad, he was sour about it. He made every argument to his superiors but was ultimately sent planet side. On his first day he went to Knight-Commander Zaros and demanded a transfer. The Commander promptly acknowledged his request and stationed him with a frontline combat unit for a week. At the end of that week, he was given the option to remain with the frontline unit or to return to the command headquarters. To this day he refuses to leave the command centre without an armed escort. While he despises everything about his current assignment, he understands this is just one step on the road to admiralty.

History: Vatarian Plate

Someone asked me this weekend why my commanders are in space marine armour. I replied their not, it's just really fancy carapace armour. But that person asking the question sparked off a question. Why do my commander wear plate?

Long ago before gunpowder and cannon, warriors were led into battle directly by their leaders. These kings and generals needed protection from the hazards of being the spearhead in a charge, so they would be clad in full plate armour and given the weapons of their choice. Their armour was treated with as much respect as the officer that wears it, and each suit is fitted specifically to that officer.  After the Great Crusade brought Vatar into compliance, commanders and generals who proved themselves loyal to the imperium were awarded very primitive forms of power armour. Over time Vatarian armoursmiths were able to replicate and reverse engineer the armour, and soon began to produce a more modern form of Vatarian Plate Armour. This was dubbed VP.M35 and quickly spread throughout the Vatarian commanders. Once a commander has his plate, it belongs to him and he is expected to maintain it to the highest standards. It is not unheard of for the son of a high ranking officer to don his fathers armour, earning it and himself more renown with each battle fought. Currently, the VP.M41 is being tested by a select few high commanders, and is known as "Vatarian Heavy Plate"

1st Company Parade

So after defeating my friend Alex in his living room (we have scenery and whatnot) he had an idea of a sort of "Victory Parade"

It sounded like a good idea, so here are the results. Enjoy!

Rasleigh's Raiders

Wen the 1st Vatarian Royal Marine Regiment was decoyed to the Marachan conflict to assist the regular army, there were debates on which units to send first. Segmentum command reviewed the first regiment squad by squad and unit by unit to find the most qualified unit. First Lieutenant Conrad Rasleigh was selected to spearhead the Vatarian Marine forces onto the planet. He and his unit have had over a dozen successful raids on hostile ships, and have made over two dozen combat missions on various planet sides.

Conrad Rasleigh:

Conrad began his career as a student in the famous Vatarian Military Academy. He excelled in all of his classes and the Master of the Academy took note. Not long into his schooling, Conrad was sent to advanced classes for potential officers. After graduating 12 out of 60 in his class he was given the choice of his stationing. He chose the First Vatarian Royale Marine Regiment. 

He carries into battle a Hellpistol, along with a combat blade the size of a forearm. He also carries a hellgun but rarely uses it do to the nature of his missions.

The Raiders:

The Raiders are actually known as 3rd Squad of 1st Company, 1st Royal Marine Regiment.

They've earned their nickname from the lighting fast assaults that they conduct, a speed that has been compared to imperial storm troopers. This fact, combined with the excellent leadership, has led to the unit being deployed to Maracha. They will be assigned to Knight-Commander Zaros of the XII Vatarian Legion. 

Ballad of the First Platoon

Banners waving across the sky

The Men of the first are ready

Unmoving and unafraid

They keep their wits strong and their nerves steady

From somewhere in the rear a call cries out

"First platoon on your feet"

The men shamble up and begin their advance

They have another foe go forward and meet

First sergeant is leading at the front

The officer giving orders in the rear

The men of the line in between them both

Thirty five souls who march forward without fear

The advance slows to a steady stop

"First rank prepare to fire"

Ahead of them a green tide approaches

"Second rank prepare to fire"

The officer gives the order

Streaks of red split the air

The Orks scream as they are struck

They can only advance if they so dare

The order is given to fix bayonets

The horde of Orks is still to large

The men understand what is happening

First Platoon is going to charge

A loud crash as they forces meet

Orks and men scream their mighty cries

First sergeant has realised

First Platoon is going to die

He rallies his men

And holds the banner high

He raises his voice for all to hear

"To me first platoon, these foul xenos must die!"

Their spirit is lifted, their blows are strong

The Orks cry and run

Guardsmen fire collies into their retreat

All the Orks are dead and the day is won

The commander is dead and few survive

Not one man fallen back

They fearlessly held on

First platoon lived through Ork attack

Out of thirty five men

Only ten remain

Uniforms are tattered rags

They struggle to stay sane

First sergeant calls to his men

"Men we've won the day"

The fearless first were going home

First Platoon all the way

Tyranid Invasion: Part 1

In the hills and valleys of the planer Maracha, a small imperial outpost has been targeted by a massize Tyranid swarm. In response, segmentum command has deployed an entire army group. Two Space Marine chapters, the Fifth Founding and the Stalkers, along with the XII Vatarian Legion with elements of the VII Legion were all marching into battle side by side. A small force of Necrons had also awoken due to do the activity of the swarm, and were reanimating to do battle against this alien threat.

Not long after Necron reanimating, a warband of renegade space marines made planetfall soon after to do battle with the worthy Tyranid foe. This would be a battle of epic proportions.

This was a massive 3500 v 3500 point game. The foe would be a swarm that had an 'old one-eye' as an HQ unit. On the allied side, I had my Knight-Commander Zaros, The VII Vatarian had Knight-Commander Antoch, the Fifth Founding had a librarian, and the Stalkers had a Captain. The Chaos with Necron allies had a chaos lord as their HQ. Allied deployment looked something like this: 

Enemy deployment: 

Turn One -Enemy

Our opponent began his turn by burrowing the thing that can burrow. (little note here: I'm horrible with Tyranid units so I'm very sorry if I offend any Tyranid players with my lack of knowledge) he ran all of his units forward and took flight with a gargoyle (I think). This turn he focused on nothing but closing the distance between our forces.

The flying thing:

The burrowing thing:

Turn one -Allies

Our deployment plan was simple: Move up behind the armour and use it as mobile cover/fire support. My tanks and chimeras were to roll up in front of the main line with the Space Marine infantry and VII guard not far behind. The right flank was to be dominated by first and second platoon supported by bikes and land speeders from the Fifth Founding. A sniper team from the Stalkers chapter was holding the imperial bunker on our side of the field, and would use its superior line of sight to spot and eliminate targets in the valley below. The Necrons and Chaos marines were to move up on the centre and provide support to which ever flank needed it. 

Shooting Phase: Allies

To begin, the sniper team from the Stalkers fired a single Krak missle at the flying thing that was flying over the centre building. As if the emperor himself had willed it, the great beast fell and took another point of damage. With only one point remaining, I fired my demolisher's Lascannon along with the order Bring it Down at it and killed it with the second shot. The humour in it was that because it was flying, the rocket that took it down should've missed. The Tyranid player had intended to use it as a bullet sponge, and now he was forced to change his strategy. I fired my other tank's (at the time it was unnamed) Lascannon at Old one-eye and managed to score a wound. So far, the hammer of the emperor was doing its fair bit.

The flying thing being removed from play:

Allied forces advancing: 

From his position in the rocks, Zaros caught glimpse of a monstrous beast flailing toward the ground. On the Vox, he heard that a Marine scout team had scored an incredibly lucky hit against the monster, and that it was crippled on the ground. "Knight-Commander to Armour, do you have a firing solution on that grounded beast?" There was a short delay followed by an incredibly hoarse voice. "Commander this is Sergeant Zale of the Tora. We only have a solution with the hull mounted Lascannon. Orders to fire?" Zaros assessed the situation quickly. "Affirmative Zale, Bring. It. Down." A bright light filled the air followed quickly by another one. Zaros couldn't see the shooter or what it was shooting at, but he could tell by the great screeching roar that it had scored a hit. His Vox rang with an incoming message. "Zale here sir, the beast is dead."

Turn Two -Enemy

Our enemy was not very happy with the turn of events, he ran most of his units again, trying to get closer and closer. The unpleasantness started when he tried to deep strike gene stealers. However, they went off the board in a deep strike mishap. He then deep struck a doom of m-something. For people who do not know, it has a 3+ save, along with the ability to gain wounds by how many enemies it kills. So when it killed ten men from first platoon, it gained ten wounds. To make matters much much worse, he unleashed the borrowing thing right under the front of my armoured column. One of the tanks was damaged along with one of the chimeras. A third chimera was outright destroyed. The veterans inside of it escaped with only five of their ten man squad plus a priest. He tried firing a biovare thingy (the biological artillery for the bugs) at my tanks, but managed to hit his own burrowing thingy. That was very convenient for me. Although, truth be told I felt incredibly singled out because he was only firing on my men. (In hindsight, I did bring the most to the field...) 

The doom of m-thing beside the speeder:

The burrowing thing attacking me: 

Sergeant Zale was moving the Demolisher at cruising speed when everything began to shake violently. The Tora was thrown forward several feet and came to a grinding halt. "By the throne what was that?" From the rear view hatch, Zale could only see a plume of smoke and dust. The Vox crackled to life not long after. "We've taken rear damage, but otherwise okay." "Does anyone see the other chimera?" Zale peered hard through the huge cloud of debris and could only see one thing. A massive Tyranid borrower had come up right on top of the rear chimera. 

Turn Two -Allied

This point in the game things were hectic. The allied SM chapters were rushing to try and move up to the forward battle, and the chaos/Necron forces were a too far ahead to properly cover the Tyranids that had attacked from the rear. Fontaine and his men disembarked their chimera and were preparing to melta the burrowing beast. First platoon regrouped and got closer to the doom of m-thing. 

Shooting phase -Allied

I used FRFSRF on the first platoon. Fourty two Lasguns, three las pistols, two bolt pistols, a Krak missle, and two auto cannons were unleashed on the doom of M-thing. Only two hits managed to hit because of its blasted 3+ save. Fontaine and his vets fired their Lasguns and meltas at the borrower. Managed to score two hits as well. It was not going well. My allies fired their weapons in an attempt to stop the Tyranid monstrous creatures, but to no avail. My Demolisher tank fired at old one eye and managed to score a hit. My battle tank (earns the name 'stomper' after this battle) fires its main gun and kills thirteen bugs out of fourteen.

Fontaine and his squad preparing to fire:

First platoon firing on the doom of M-ting:

The unfortunate part

It was about midnight at this point, and we had to leave our local gaming store. (We got kicks out)

We rolled die to see who would win. The opponent rolled a six, we rolled a four. Even though we had more kill points, he won.

We are hopefully going to have a rematch this Thursday so be looking for a continuation of what was going on. I'm sad because it was such a short game, but with so many units each turn took a while. My lesson learned this time around was this: Work closely with your allies.