The Athanos Crusade, Boot Camp Campaign thread

++++++++++ Origin: Col. Jaesen Marschke, 228th Cadian Rifles, Commander BG-93
+++++++ Destination: Lord General Drevin, Athanos System Sector Command
++++++++ Received: Athanos System Orbital Relay
+++++++++++ Date: 1042.M51
+++ Telepathic Duct: Astropath-terminus Lysander,
++++++++++++ Ref: THX - 1267
Thought for the Day: "Courage is never to let your actions be influenced by your fears."

+++++++++ Status Report: Advancing Quickly

+++ Message begins:

My Lord General,

Elements from the recent Orc Waagh (as I have heard it uncouthly said) have retreated to some nearby mountains, and have set up positions there. I am requesting that the Saint of Heaven, in orbit currently, begin orbital bombardment immediately.

There have been reports of a skirmish with a insectoid Xenos with animalistic behavior. The carapace armor that was brought back matches descriptions of a recent Hive Fleet that had moved through this sector. Perhaps there were small pockets that had been missed; Interdiction squads are being organized to root out any remaining.

Peace in the City, Peace in the Empire!

~ Col. Marschke, 228th Cadians

+++ Message Ends <

I played a quick 750 point battle against Tyranids, and defeated them very easily, losing only 3 men of a 1 10-man squad.

I took 2 Hydras, 1 Leman Russ, 1 Hell Hound, 2 Infantry squads with Auto-cannons, 1 PCS with 4 Snipers, and 1 Command Squad in a Chimera with 2 Grenade Launchers. (I realized now that I had an illegal army, since I was missing 1 compulsory troop choice. Oops!)

He had a Carnifex, 3 Zoanthropes, and a Brood Lord with a squad of Genestealers, deployed in a line behind cover, with the Genestealers on his left flank, and the Carnifex and Zoanthropes on the right flank.

I positioned the Hellhound to take care of the Genestealers, which it did, killing all but the Brood Lord. He was however, on the extreme right flank, and therefore out of the way and no where close to my other troops. Everybody else concentrated in the Carnifex, which eventually dropped turn 3. The Zoanthropes were killed by turn 4, after they did minimal casualties.

A convincing win for the Guard!

I'd like to point out that the dark blur that ran off with the astropath was a second Dracon. The first, after having anialated your command squad with her over-kill retinue of Incubi, was killed when your titan showed up and unloaded EVERYTHING at her.
The second dracon dived behind a destroyed tank out of sight with the astropath when the game ended. Would it have continued she'd have got away with him forcing a draw and a moral victory for me.
And yes, only Dark Eldar have damned 2++

To: Athanos System Sector Command
From: Colonel Makoto, 5th Craithian Line Regiment
Subject: Status report.

Status: Advancing fast

Thought for the day: Thought begets heresy, heresy begets Retribution.

Lord Commander, it is with great pleasure I can report regimental forces have pinpointed the location of a central Tau staging ground for the quadrant. Men of the 11th company have fell upon the xenos with righteous wrath, achieving a complete surprise despite numerous minefields, technosorcerous devices and traps placed by the enemies. With the Emperor's grace initiall assault has managed to vanquish their XV8 and XV88 suits before the wretched aliens had an opportunity to retaliate, thus making the work for subsequent waves much easier. The enemy attempted a counterattack using the so-called Kroot-strain beasts of various size, yet similar, mindless savagery, but His warriors were too much for even that kind of barbarical foe.
Despite the enemy commander self-destructing his emplacement we have managed to apprehend a number of prisoners and equipment, and detachments of Ordo Xenos and Adeptus Mechanicus are securing them even now. It is my hope their reports will be of most use in fighting the godless xenos.
With Tau xenos scattered and retreating towards what pick-up points they can, I have took the liberty of regrouping the regimental forces as, based on the scouting reports (copies included in attachement) I have a reason to suspect their evacuation may be screened by traitors from the Star Gazers chapter. It is my hope we will manage to break this screen and acquire some leads as to the location of the traitorous Marines outposts.
The Emperor protects
++++Transmission ends++++

A game of Stranglehold, 3 000 pts, 8 bastions and some trenchworks (Space Hulk corridors put into creative use, in other words ). With deepstriking infantry and demolishers all too easy for the Guard, bastions having no chance from the start, so with victory conditions fulfilled on second turn we could play just for fun. 3 maxed out Kroot squads (with hounds, Krootox riders and all the bells on) was a nasty surprise that had costed me nearly two platoons, but it did spiced up the game with a last-ditch living-wave assault, and it has greatly reduced the threat from Hammerheads, since they were afraid the submunitions would scatter into Tau or Kroot units - we all know what happens when somebody tries to fight off infantry squads with the railgun antitank shot
All in all, a neat game ^^

3k Planetstrike?! Wow. Sounds awesome.

To: Athanos System Sector Command
From: Colonel Makoto, 5th Craithian Line Regiment
Subject: Status report.

Status: Advancing fast

Thought for the day: A small mind is a tidy mind

My Lord, after carefull preparations and days of fierce struggle we've finally managed to engage a major landing zone used by both Star Gazer traitor Marines and, after our assault three weeks ago, the Tau xenos.
The blasphemers have attempted using numerous traps and new forms of technosorcery, including the so-called X9 "Hazard" antipersonell armours. Once again though, the righteous wrath of Imperial subjects triumphed over xeno gimmicks and mutated parodies of true humanity, and I am proud to report that the Imperial aquilla flies where the heretic and alien HQ has been. With opposition scattered and cut off from reinforcements and supplies we are commencing a mop-up operation in the quadrant, and expect to have it celared off by the end of the month.
The Emperor protects
++++Transmission ends++++

Forlorn Hope, 2.750 game against mixed Tau/SM force. Tbh another "not for the Guard" mission with objectives way too easy to achieve, as deepstriking 50-strong squad w/5 plasmaguns, FNP and Fearless was just too much for anyone to handle (yup, it was too tempting not to merge 5 squads for the effect). Basically the teleport barrage cleared the tallest building, then the 50-men banner squad landed on it and it was game over on turn 1, rest was just shootout to pass the time. The only thing of note were the Tau X9 suits (new Forgeworld toy) - at S5, T5 and w/2 twin-linked burst cannons a squad of those packs 18 shots a volley, and can easily assault to finish up what they've started. And they're a FA choice too, so no cutdown on the amount of X8 suits. On the plus side they die to plasma fire just as easily, cost an arm and a leg each, have more expensive upgrades and, most importantly, they're a 0-1 choice. One I think I'll be facing (and probably using too - judging by the picts model is just awesome) quite often. Doubt I'll find anyone up for a planetstrike against the Guard though.

To: Athanos System Sector Command
From: Chief Librarian Sedaris Onasi
Subject: Status report.

Status: Advancing quickly

Thought for the day: An open mind is like a fortress, with it's gates unbarred and unguarded.

Lord Commander,

Speaking on behalf of Chapter Master Uros and Lieutenant Colonel Harrick, I am pleased to report that a Space Hulk that had previously arrived in system has been swept and cleansed of xeno taint. Members of the Disciples 1st Company, alongside Tylansian veterans boarded the Hulk and discovered the presence of the aliens known as "Genestealers". The Terminators spearheaded the assault while the Mechanicus scoured the ship for any valuable relics to return to the Emperor's service. The Hulk was unsalvagable; any technological artifacts that may have been aboard were lost to the Warp. My fellow Battle Brothers and I, alongside the Tylansian Marines, were able to insert a biological nerve agent into the ship's life support systems, which has since purged the vessel of all alien life. The battle was hard fought, and there were times when I felt that we would lose it all within the depths of that accursed vessel. The Emperor's grace led us through that malestrom and to victory.

Members of the Adeptus Mechanicus are scouring the ship, searching with careful eyes for any relics our initial sweep may have passed over.

Chapter Master Uros is currently planetside, helping to launch a counter-offensive against a local Chaos cult, alongside the Lieutenant Colonel. I will be teleporting shortly to assist my Chapter Master in holy combat, so I must bid you farewell, Lord Commander.

---

Played a few games of Space Hulk with a few friends over the last week or so, using both Termies and custom rules for Guard (see the Space Hulk section in the General Discussion area). I won and lost about half of these matches, but I won the scenario with the chemical delivery, so we considered that an Imperium win. (though the Broodlord ate quite a few Guardsmen in subsequent encounters).

Space Hulk feels a lot more like Aliens with Guardsmen...

Origin: Col. Mandrake Migeul, 203rd Cadian Tanks, Commander AG7
Destination: Lord General Drevin, Athanos System Sector Command
Received: Athanos System Orbital Relay
Thought for the Day: " The Alien fails because it cannont embrace the Emperor "

Status Report: Advancing slowly

Message begins:

My Lord General,

My apologies a more than overdue-battle report.
First, what little infantry we did have all crash-landed, and over 75% are still missing.
Our base and my fellow Commanders seemed to be dropped 97.6% acurate to our exact spot, and the twenty squads of normal Russes was dropped 95.1% acurately, while our five Demolisher squads were drooped 87.8% correctley.

To make things worse, our communications have been ghastly. You would not be able to use a vox-caster to communicate to someone in the same building as you. Our tech boys have fixed much of this problem, allowing me to give you the report you read today.

We had heard rumours of Chaos among the local populace of a nearby town, so we sent fifteen Russ squads, backed up with two Demolisher squads. The tanks were ordered to circle the town, while what litle infantry we have tried to look for Chaos. The rumours had been true, but the Chaos was not in the town itself, it was in the outskirts. The Chaos Land Raiders and Predators destroyed five Russ squads, and the Chaos Marines killed the five squads out of ten we had left.
The force was ordered to regroup outside the town, while the only Medusa squad we had fired long-range shells on them, but to no avail.
Currently, we are are in a stalemate.
Yesterday we captured 1/2 of a kilometere of the 39,000 kilometeres town.
We are hoping for a breakthrough any-day now.

For the Emperor!

Col. Mandrake Migeul, 203rd Cadian Tanks

Message Ended

----------------------------------
Sorry, I originally signed up, but I had to catch up on a lot of stuff, will post now!

This post has been edited by Imperial Empire on Oct 17 2009, 12:04 PM

+++REPORT BEGIN+++

To: Athanos Sector Command
From: Wolf Commander Firenze
Status: Advancing Quickly

Sir,
We have encountered a renegade force of the Ruinous Powers. We have engaged succesfully at twighlight, giving us an advantage in surprise. We had airsupport from the Varonian 4th Fighter Wing with a Stormhawk ground attack fighter. We sustained heavy losses due to shelling by enemy Basilisk tanks but prevailed thanks to sufficient firepower.

Yours,

Firenze

+++REPORT END+++

1500 pts Night Fight Ahniallation vs Splinter's Inquisition Guard. Using a Vulture counts as, I tore apart his lines with a diversion from the Vulture. Yet he tore apart my lines in retaliation from the sodding Basilisk. I happily won though. Just.

[Report]

From: Field Marshall Brutus Stern
To: Athanos Crusade High Command
Status: Advancing Slowly in Athanos IV Sector 1

After 2 months of heavy artillery bombardment and use of chemical warefare the assualt has begun again. Led by the 19th and the 23rd the Russika men easily broke through the enemy frontline with only moderate casualties.Our tanks were used as valuable cover as they advanced over no-man's land. The enemy were routed, abandoning their doomed postions.

However like the 1st Battle of the Minos Line we were counterattacked by an unknown traitor Astartes. This time they were not able to push us back from our new positions. However the attack has stalled our advance and has given the enemy time to regroup and create a new line of defence. Our men have dug in and are planning a new offensive to break through and bring our artillery within range of the capital.

On other notes our vox links were played this message from an unknown source:

'Let the fighting continue, let more die in Athanos. Let the thunder of war shatter the land and let the flames of war burn our bodies. The smiling sun is growing and the dead will dance to its merry song'.

This is the second time that this has happened. Reports say that the planet temperature has increased slightly. It has simply increased our determination to smite these heretics.

The Emporer Protects!!

[End of Report]


1500 point battle versus Space Marines. Ended with lots of dead and 1 objective each and objective 1 contested. Very enjoyable game.

Origin: Col. Mandrake Migeul, 203rd Cadian Tanks, Commander AG7
Destination: Lord General Drevin, Athanos System Sector Command
Received: Athanos System Orbital Relay
Thought for the Day: "We are bound by the blood of Matyrs"

Status Report: Advancing quickly

Message begins:

My Lord General,

Excellent News! We have broken through the Chaos line, and have destroyed them!
We found a Chaos Lord and, of course, interrogated him then executed him. He gave us the names of several other Chaos Lords, suggesting he was a weak Lord.
We are now in pursuit of these other setlements.


For the Emperor!

Col. Mandrake Migeul, 203rd Cadian Tanks

Message Ended

We have movement!!

???

[Transmission Incoming]

From: Field Marshall Brutus Stern
Subject: Athanos IV Sector 1
Status: Advancing Quickly

The Athanos Rebels have formed a new defnesive around three heavily defended fortressess. Named Krogstag, Torvald and Rank these fortressess have maintianed at full strenght and even improved since the rebellion. These fortresses are linked by recently erected trenche lines as well as a network of underground tunnels and storage facilities. The rebel ordanance along with vast stocks of war materials are stored underneath the fortresses in vast storage holds. The majority of the shells are stored underneath Krogstag fortress.

The 13th Russika Karn Engineers has led an underground assualt upon the Krogstag tunnel networks and supply holds in order to drastically weaken rebel artillery as well as weaken the enemies new defensive line.

The 13th Engineer's assualt was met with initial success. The first squads to blow through the underground walls with tons of demolition charges mananged to sever the majority of enemy communication systems by destroying key communication centres. However they were soon met by some failure as second wave squads were ambushed and slaughtered in isolated pockets. However our men continued to push forward and destroyed ammunition holds as well as place demolition charges on key supports of the fortress.

Casualties were high but the Battle of Krogstad was won. The charges were denoted and a large amount of the Krogstag fortress collapsed on itself. Only a few men returned, those considered missing have been counted as dead.

The Emporer Protects!

[End of Transmission]

I played the first 5 space hulk missions using my own guardmens against my friend's mutants/mad looking guardsmen. I won 4 out of 5 of the missions, but very few of my models made it through the game.

Firenze, I only have 7 points not 8. I have had 3 wins, 1 loss and one draw.