Dig In (40k); Orc shanty buildings

Orc shanty buildings

There is an apocalypse (AKA Apoc) game in the offing. For me it is a great excuse to dust of the superheavies for a rumble and flimsy pretext to speed up the assemble line to have something new for the day. For our Apoc game the background is an imperial attack on an Orc base similar to the eldar V Orc game in the original Apoc. To reinforce the theme I have started to throw together some Orc shanty huts for the boys to live in.

I planning on doing a how to guide once they are finished at the moment they are being built Orc style with random bits being thrown together for the ram shackled look.

Orc village in progressOne of the boyz inspecting the construction

Now, this is a cover save

Nothing to do why the shanty town just part of the ill fated Orc defenders of a recent Space Marine raid.

More of the defenders unfortunately the game did not last long enough for more photos with all four trucks being toasted on turn one. Final score 14-12 to Paul Q's Bloody Angels ;)

Mission critical (FOW); battle for Vilinus

Vilnius 12th July 1944

Overview;
As the Russian juggernaut steam rollered through the eastern front the German high command authorised the withdrawal from the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius. The order arrived to late and the garrison was encircled in a pincer movement by the Russian 5th army. Undeterred the German high command then order the 6th panzer division to break through the Russian lines and enable the garrison to escape.

Terrain;
The battle field is set-up as per the map shown.

Vilinus battle map

The woods and marshes are impassable to vehicles and count as difficult terrain for other teams.

Deployment;
The German garrison deploys first in and around Vilnius. All the garrison teams count as being in prepared defences.
The Russian initial force deploys second it can deploy anywhere on the table but cannot be within 18" of a garrison team or within 12" of the German relief enter point. The Russian initial teams count as being in prepared positions.
The German relief force arrive on turn one and enters at point A on the map.
The 3rd guard’s tank corps is in delayed reserves. It enters at point B or C roll for the entire force to determine their entry point
The 3rd guard mechanised corps is in normal reserve but can only arrive after the tank corps has arrived. It enters at point B or C roll for the entire force to determine their entry point.
The Germans get the first turn.

German defenders around Vilinus

The forces
German Garrison force (counts as a grenadier company)
Company HQ (with attached Panzershreiks)
2 grenadier platoons (HQ with panzerfaust, each platoon has two sections and one attached MG)
1 Grenadier infantry gun platoon (HQ with two gun sections)
1 Grenadier anti-tank gun platoon (HQ with two 7.62mm PaK36(r)

German relief force (counts as a panzer company)
Company HQ (2 PiVs H)
1 panzer platoon (with 3 panthers)
1 panzer platoon (with 4 PiVs H)
1 armoured panzergrenadiers platoon (HQ with panzerfaust and three sections with one attached MG)
1 Panzergrenadiers platoon (HQ with panzerfaust and three sections with one attached MG)
1 Panzergrenadiers pioneer platoon ((HQ with panzerfaust and two sections in trucks)
1 Tank hunter platoon (with 2 Jagdpanzers)
2 truck platoons (each with three trucks)
1 armoured artillery battery (HQ with one gun section of three Wespe and one PIII OP tank)
1 Self propelled infantry gun platoon (HQ with two Grilles)

Panzergrenadiers move to relief Vilinus

Russian initial force (counts as an infantry company)
Battalion HQ (with Commissar and attached Anti-tank platoon)
2 Strelkovy platoons (each with commissar and attached MG)
1 Regimental gun company (with observer team and one platoon)
1 Tank company (5 M3 Stuarts)

3rd guard’s tank corps (counts as a tank company)
Battalion HQ (T34/85 with added anti-aircraft platoon)
1 Tank Company (7 T34/85)
1 Tank Company (7 T34/76)
1 light armoured car platoon (5 BA-64's)
1 tank rider company (HQ with Commissar and three platoons)
1 motorised mortar company (HQ with two mortar platoons)

3rd guard mechanised corps (counts as a mechanised company)
Battalion HQ (M4 Sherman)
1 Tank Company (8 M4 Sherman’s)
1 Armoured transporter platoon (HQ with 4 squads)
1 Tank killer company (4 SU-85)
1 Motostrelkovy company (HQ with Commissar and three platoons in trucks)
1 motorised heavy mortar company (HQ with three mortar platoons)

Panzers provide cover for a german advance.

Victory conditions;
The number of escaped garrison teams determines the victory conditions. Garrison teams can escape by leaving the table at point A. If more than two thirds of the garrison escape it counts as a win to the Germans. If less than a third of the garrison escape it counts as a win to the Russians. Any other result is a draw.
The game last until one side concedes, or the game reaches turn 20 or no garrison teams are left in play.

Russian armoured car platoon scouts the german perimeter

Wip (40K); Imperial guard aka the old breed

With releases by wargames factory and mirco art miniatures Imperial guard are back on the work bench. Before I can get any of the new shiny stuff I need to clear through some of the guards bits boxes.

First up is a vulture gunship still in assemble with some casting defects needing dremelling. The plan is to stick on a pair of punisher cannons and make Airwolf noises during the next apocalypse game.

After that some members of the Old Breed, my DIY guard regiment. 90% of them have some form of conversion the most common being the fatigue cap made from green stuff while others have cigars made from florist wire.

Nothing do with the old breed but the Avatars of War stuff is so cool.

PiP (40K); Orc trukks

Orc trukks finally get a lick of paint, but still some detailing to be done

Sitrep (40k); Vaticon

The defence of the Vaticon.

Another year rolls round an Vaticon is up again. Last year the Greenies took first place beating the opposition, this time the sisters of battle would lead the charge. The list as largely unchanged from Warpcon and Dominion day where it came 4th and 1st respectively. The only significant change as the replacement of the Witch hunter lord with a Daemon Hunter lord to get access to mystics and their anti deep strike defence.

Round One
- Vs Frank's son aka Patrick O’Donnell or Paddy (DGG)
Mission; Annihilation
Deployment; Dawn of War

Paddy played Salamanders using.
Liberian with gate and something else.
Assault Terminators riding in bolter landraider
Regular Terminators riding in inferno landraider
10 man tactical squad riding in lascannon landraider
Autocannon predator
5 man tac team in a heavy bolter razor back
Whirlwind

Paddy's marines in transit

The Sisters went first with a single sisters squad deploying forward. With the rest rolling in on turn one. In response most of the marine stuff opted to roll in on turn one with the of the 5man tac team and the whirlwind.

Turn one saw the sisters squad scoot back to their own deployment zone to meet with the arriving while the marines started to arrived night fighting limited shooting on both sides.

Turn two saw day break and the start of the game proper. The exorcists ignored the landraiders in favour of damaging but not destroying the predator. In reply the marines were reinforced by the 5 man tac team and the whirlwind. The Lascannon landraider went on over watch and destroyed sisters rhino while the other two land raiders closed on the sisters. The assault terminators debussed and engaged the immolator carrying the canoness and the dominion squad but only shake the vehicle.

Turn three started with the arrival of the assassin who deployed to engage the assault terminators. The shaken immolator opted to tank shock the Assault terminators surrounding it and was rewarded when they failed their morale test and fell back. To make matters worse the canoness and the dominions squad debussed within range of the bolter landraider and slagged it melta. The exorcists destroyed the predator and the assassin ran to keep the assault terminators company as they fell back. With the main assault unit out of actions the marines scrambled a response the razorback targeted the assassin trying to clear the assault squad but had not affect the same went for fire from the lascannon landraider. The remaining raider opted to try and get into a better assault position on the sisters.

Turn four saw the assassin move closer to the whirlwind while keeping the assault terminators close by. The canoness ran to reinforce the assassin while two exorcist moved to give fire support. The dominion squad remounted the immolator and headed towards the inferno landraider. In shooting the assassin stunned the whirlwind while the exorcist destroyed the razorback everything else ran to better positions. The marines responded with the assault terminator fleeing the table. The regular terminators debussed and tried to run for cover but failed to make. the 5 man tac team rapid fired the assassin but could not hurt her.

Turn five saw the demise of the regular terminators as everything that could opened fire and destroyed the unit. The exorcist destroyed the whirlwind while the assassin saw off the 5 man tac team. The dominion squad debussed, immobilised and destroyed a weapon of the inferno land raider. With little left the marines fired lascannons at the sisters immolator and destroyed it.

Turn six ends with concession from the marines.

result 20-0 to the sisters

Round 2
- Vs Barra (warhead)
Mission; Seize ground with five objectives
Deployment; Pitched battle

Barra played Eldar using.
Farseer with warlock jet bike council
10 Banshees in a serpent
5 fire dragon in a serpent
5 dire avengers in a serpent
5 dire avengers in a serpent
5 dire avengers in a falcon
5 dire avengers in a falcon

Barra's eldar in transit

The sisters opted to go first and picked the side with the most objectives with the plan to capture and hold three while destroying Eldar scoring units. The Eldar opted to deploy only the falcons, the fire dragons and the council. There was a bit of the discussion about if the callidus "word in your ear" can affect units in transport. The sisters wanted it and the Eldar did not, rather than dice we left has they cannot, which is wrong but not worth arguing about at the start of the game. Instead the the council moved into difficult terrain.

Turn one started badly with the Eldar stealing the initiative and charging forward with the council and fire dragons. In response the sisters killed them both.
The next couple of turns saw the eldar moving through cover and sniping at the sisters while the sisters consolidated their hold on their objectives.

Turn five saw the Eldar make their motivates clearer with serpents moving into contest the sisters objective while dire avengers claimed the two uncontested objective.

With a huge sigh the games when on for another turn. The Eldar where caught in a bad way. When the bolters and exorcists were finished all the sisters objectives were clear and they capture one of the eldar's objectives leaving the Eldar hold a single objective with 5 dire avengers huddle in a wave serpent.

Result win sisters 19-1

Round 3
- Vs Dan Aherne (Cork mob)
Mission; Capture and control
Deployment; Pitched battle

Dan was using Richard Floods Vulkan based list which I had played at Warpcon with some minor changes,
Vulkan with a thunderhammer and stormshield friends in a land raider
One tac squad in a drop pod
One combat squad in a lascannon razorback

2 squadron of two landspeeders
3 predators with auto cannons

Dan won to go first and opted to have predators deployed over looking the sisters objective with the landraider set to overrun the sisters objectives. The sisters deployed everything in reserve.

Devoid of targets the marine reacted cautiously, the tac squad drop podded on the marine objective and split into two scoring squads while the landraider moved towards the sisters objective. With nothing to reply the remaining drop pod with the dread reinforced the tactical squad with a the combat squad arrived in the razorback and hid behind terrain.

In response the callidus and a single sisters squad arrived on the battlefield. The sisters rhino optimistically popped smoke while the callidus attack the one of the scoring combat squad killing several marine with the nexus pistol before being killed off in combat.

With a single sister’s rhino the marine had at last a target the predators let rip and destroyed the rhino killing several sisters inside while the landraider moved forward onto the sisters objective.

With the marine threatening their objective the sisters started to move. A newly arrived dominion squad arrived and the destroyed the landraider. Newly arrived exorcists fired into a landspeeder squadron destroying it and the killing some nearby terminators.

Vulkan and his survivors assault the sisters guarding their objective easily killing them and recapturing the objective. In response the sisters destroyed vulkan and his squad and wiped out the marine squad guarding the marine the objective on turn five.

Unfortunately another turn was rolled by and the marine called of their assault and consolided on their objective with the sister holding theirs.

Result; draw sisters 12-8

Dan's marines secure their objective

Round 4
- Vs Paul Q (DGG)
Mission; Seize ground
Deployment; Dawn of war

Paul was using another vulkan list,
Vulkan with a thunderhammer and storm shield friends in a land raider
One librarian with gate and re-roll invulnerable save with the above
Three combat squads in razorbacks
2 squadron of two landspeeders
2 predators with auto cannons
1 vindicator

Paul's marines in transit

The sisters got to go first and deployed a single rhino squad and the edge of their deployment zone, with the rest of the force opting to roll on turn on. The Marines responded by deploying a single razorback near an objective with the scoring units and landspeeders going in reserve and the rest of the force rolling on turn one. A word in your ear saw the deployed razor being moved out of cover closer to the sister’s rhino.

Turn one saw the arrival of the main sister’s force. The rhino spotlighted the razorback which in turn was destroyed by the exorcists. The marines arrived but night fighting left them with few targets.

The sisters started to capture nearby objectives while the exorcists laid down covering fire destroying a predators and immobilising the vindicator. In response the marines destroyed a rhino and the landraider carrying vulkan and his men moved towards the main sisters force.

The Dominion squad debussed and destroyed their third landraider of the tournament. Exorcist laid into the survivors with little effect before the canoness charged in to stall their advance. The combat was drawn with the terminators being held for the moment.

In response marine land speeders started deep striking out side of the inquisitor mystic shield. One squadron scattered badly but the anti deep strike fire from a nearby exorcist was in effect. In tandem with this marine scoring units started to arrived and claim nearby objectives. Vulkcan and his depleted retinue finally killed the canoness and consolidated towards the nearest sisters objective.

With the arrival of the marine reinforcement the sisters started to attack marine held objectives. Exocsits fired destroyed the combat squads transport while one squad of sisters seized a marine objective destroying its guards in the process and second nearby marine combat squad was assaulted and destroyed a newly arrived callidus assassin.

In response Vulkan and his retinue cleared out a sisters objective but in the process vulkan and hid terminators where destroyed leaving only the librarian to contest the objective. The last marine scoring unit made a bid to capture a contested objective and reduces in guard to just the inquisitor lord
on his last wound.

On that the game ended

Result; win sisters 17-3

Inquistor lord Elvis D'uh bars the marines from an objective

Round 5
- Vs Paul Q (DGG)
Mission; Capture and control
Deployment; Spearhead


Vulkan again, I killed this guy twice already.
The sisters got to go first and deployed the storm troopers and the inquisitor to defend their objective. The exorcist’s squadron deployed central to support either the defence or attack. The rest of the sister’s ready for an assault on the marine objective. A single squad of sisters joined the assassin in reserve. The Marines responded by deploying a single razorback near their objective. A word in your year saw the razorback redeploying closer to the exorcists which promptly destroyed it. With no other targets the sisters moved towards the marine objective.

The marine were reinforced when the vindicator and predators moved into the centre of the marine line. Vulcan, the librarian and the terminators arrived opposite the sister’s objective. The marine scoring units fortified the marine objective with a squad inside the landraider surround by two other squads in razorbacks.

The sister’s initial advance went well. The exorcists destroyed predators and destroyed the main weapons on the predator and vindicator. But the marine struck back with vulkan and his retinue teleporting on to the sister objective on the second attempt while the damaged vindicator went on a rampage ramming and destroying one exorcist and ramming and destroying the weapon on a second.

Devoid of fire support the sisters went into the marine guarding their objective destroying the razorbacks and the squad but failing to get at the squad in the landraider contesting the objective.

Result; loss sisters 2-18

Pic of the tournament

Barra takes to the high ground for his last game.

Other photos from the event are here

Sitrep (40k); Vanguard space wolves Vs Servant of slaughter

Being a scenario junkie the release of the new battle missions’ book from GW is a bit like striking gold. First up to bat was the Servants of Slaughter, imperial rebels turning to khorne worship (rules found in Siege of Vraks Vol 2). Their opponents for the day Space Wolves led by Ger o’B. Ironically, the randomly generated mission rolled saw space marines attacking in a Vanguard mission. To spice it up we used three bastions, without weapons as the objectives.

The Servant of Slaughter consisted of
-Exalted space marine champion of Khorne with a pair of lightening claws
-Militia company command squad (CCS1) lead by an exalted champion
-2 anti tank lascannons fire teams (AT1 and AT2)
-5 khorne orgyns
-10 Khorne berserkers in a dread claw
-militia platoon command squad (PCS1) with 2 infantry squads one with a flamer (IS1), the other with a lascannons (IS2).
-20 Bloodgor beastmen
-2 mobs of 30 rabble
-the rabble and the bloodgors all had attached enforcers and preachers to keep them in line and motivated.
-2 off table artillery strike one bombard one manticore.

The Wolves consisted of
-Logan Grimnar
-5 man long fang pack with attach wolf guard in a pod joined by Logan
-3 8 man packs of Grey hunters
-1 squadron of 2 land speeders
-2 vindicators
-5 man wolf scout pack joined by a wolf gaurd.

Logan Grimnar and the long fangs droppod into the servants base only to be swamped by bloodgors and destroyed.

Grey hunters packs race down the centre towards the central objective.

Regenade militia overlook the space wolves right flank force.

Skulltakers arrive and attack the main grey hunter strike force.

The remains of the bloodgors assualt the attacking grey hunters.

Central objective form the space wolf point of view.

Grey Hunters press on with the attack.

Skulltakers and bloodgors press into the space wolf centre.

A damaged vindicator tank shocks the rabble out of the way.
(edit; hmm I'm not sure the guard guy is in coherence)

Bloodgors shield the skulltakers from any unwanted space wolf attention.

And are destroyed for their effort along with the central bastion.

The skulltakers attempt to claim vengance.

But are slain in the attempt.

The central objective is destroyed but it is to little to late.