The Battle of Ghauson Part 3

 The Battle of Ghauson was winding down as the forces of the Emperor and those of Chaos battled over the wasteland of the city. The Marines and Guard of the Imperium were imposing their will.  Would the gods of Chaos turn the tide?

Sentinels of the Taros fight off Plague Marines of the Death Guard. 

Turn 5

The Imperial Forces had just watched as one of their three knights was beheaded by an enemy knight but they retained the initiative.  On the Imperial right Silver Templars battled Daemons of Khorne; the Taros 7th troops being eliminated from that flank.  A squad of Intercessors beat back and wiped out an attack by recently summoned Bloodletters by shooting them with pistols as the daemons tried to stab and slash.  Assault Intercessors charged the Bikers who had helped dispatch the Imperial Knight and exacted revenge by chopping them up with chainswords.  

In the center the guardsmen of the Taros 7th attempted to kill the Khorne Lord and his remaining Terminator bodyguard.  Silver Templar Suppressors navigated the orbital interference and landed to help.  The Lord lived on as attempts to kill him were unsuccessful.  

On the Imperial left the Crusaders  of the Black Templars were joined by a Chaplain and continued to slug it out with Slaaneshi Chosen.  

The Silver Templars arrive. 

The Death Guard had finally engaged fully in the Chais attack and were now on the move.  Plague Marines spilled out of a recently destroyed Rhino and volleyed into a squad of Black Templar Hellblasters  before charging a trio of Sentinels.  A Foetid Blight Drone blasted and charged a squad of Silver Templar Reivers who had been moving up and cut their number to less than half.  

On the Chaos left a squad of Marines of Khorne advanced into a building and fired ineffectually at the Assault Intercessors that had just destroyed the bikers.   The Renegade Knight who had smashed the Imperial Knight now swung into the middle of the Imperial line.  It eliminated a pesky Black Templar Razorback and stepped on a Sentinel.   

On the Chaos right Slaanesh gave blessing by granting the summoning of Daemonettes who charged into the swirling melee between the Chosen and Black Templars.  More casualties for both sides resulted.  

Turn 5 ended with Imperials having 5 victory points to Chaos’s 4. 

Daemonettes join the fray. 

Turn 6

The Imperium weight of firepower and aggression would finally pay off with one final push.   On the Imperial left the Templars continued to fight the Slaaneshi daemons to a draw with each side taking casualties.  An Imperial Knight which had been slowly advancing with fire turned to the middle of the enemy line and unleashed its battle cannon and Gatling cannon to take down a Chaos Knight-the second knight in the battle to fall. 

In the middle- the Taros 7th unleashed plasma and killed the Khorne Lord scoring a victory point for doing so.    On the Imperial right, the Silver Templars fired to full effect and wiped out the recently advancing marines of Khorne and followed up with a charge into a Rhino that sat behind the now absent marines.  

Not visible, the dead Khorne Marines. 

The loss of the Knight and Lord of Chaos deflated the hopes of the forces of Chaos and ended their attack against the forces of the Imperium.   Small skirmishes continued as another squad of Berzerkers left from the Rhino and slashed at the Assault Intercessors and a squad of Raptors dropped onto the battlefield on the Chaos right.   It wasn’t enough.   The day was the Emperor’s. The forces of Chaos had been bested. 

Final Victory Points:         Imperium 8     Chaos 4

The Battle of Ghauson-Part 2

In part two of this report, the  fight for the city of Ghauson became more fierce as the Imperial forces advanced on both flanks and the devastating attack continued.

The Black Templars advance

Turn 3

The Black Templars advanced on the left with support from an Imperial Knight. The Knight dueled with a wounded renegade knight as it advanced causing further damage. Eradicators exited a Razorback and blasted a squad of Noise Marines.  On the right the Imperial Guard of the Taros 7th unsuccessfully tried to beat back the rampaging Berzerkers with no success and were wiped out.  Silver Templars rolled up in Rhinos in attempt to aid the guardsmen but had still not arrived.  

The forces of Chaos attempted to gain momentum with little success.  On the left, the Berzerkers hacked away at another Taurox and pounced on the troops who came piling out upon the vehicle’s destruction.  A third Renegade knight advanced with support of renegade bikers against an Imperial knight.  Fighting through orbital interference a squad of Chaos Terminators teleported into a building behind the middle of the enemy line and unleashed shots against more hapless guardsmen who were holding the middle of the imperial line.  On the Chaos right flank a squad of Chosen of Slaanesh assaulted a squad of Black Templars Intercessors who were moving forward inside a building. The following melee was inconclusive.

Slaaneshi Chosen led by a greater Chosen about to roll poorly in hand to claw combat 

The Turn ended with the Imperials up 3 victory points to Chaos's 1.

Turn 4

The forces of the Imperium smashed the Chaos warbands.   On the Imperial left, the overwhelming firepower from two Knights, Black Templar Eradicators, a Razorback and a squad of Templar outriders crushed the Slaaneshi troops.   The remaining bikers, noise marines and a squad of Havocs fell to the fire. In the middle, a squad Of Imperial guard fled from the recently arrived Chaos Terminators allowing a Taurox Prime and fellow squad of Scions to kill four of the five infiltrators. On the Imperial right, the Silver Templars arrived in time to eliminate the Khorne Berzerkers to a man as a squad of Taros guardsmen slipped away.   

Not seen are the squad of Hellblasters and assault Intercessors  who joined in wiping the Berzerkers 

Things appeared bleak for the forces of Chaos.  The right flank was being blasted off the board and the Death Guard were plodding in the middle.  The one hope for momentum on the Khorne held left came to a grinding halt with the loss of the red menace.    The Chaos lord now virtually alone in the middle of the Imperial back line after the loss of most of the terminators attempted to summon help in the form of Bloodletters but Khorne laughed and the lord remained alone.   The Khornish Lord Discordant hiding in the rear of the left flank was more successful and summoned a squad of Bloodletters who successfully charged that Silver Templar Intercessors who had just shot up the Berzerkers.  

On the Chaos right, the Chosen continued to hammer away at the Black Templars in close assault and were making progress.  Nurgle’s minions were finally joining the battle and helped grab an objective in the middle of the battle.  

With the forces of Chaos on the ropes and with prospects not improving, in the middle of the battlefield a renegade Knight escorted by melta gun wielding bikers assaulted an Imperial Knight.  The Imperial Knight, already wounded from a duel with a different renegade Knight was blasted with a rapid fire battle cannon and melta guns weakening it further.   The renegade knight crashed in and with the smashing of a Thunderstrike Gauntlet-the only one carried by any of the six Knights in the battle-ripped the head off the Imperial Knight and tossed it at a nearby Eradicator.

Turn 4 ended with the Imperials holding 5 victory points to Chaos’s 4.  

Stay tuned for part 3

 

The Battle of Ghauson-Part 1

 The city of Ghauson on a remote mining world is the site of a recent battle between the forces of the Imperium and several chaos warbands.  This fight for control of this important capitol city raged on for several weeks and involved six armies. 

The Forces-  The Black Templar and Silver Templar chapters of the Adeptus Astartes joined the Imperial Guard of the 7th Taros to battle warbands of Slaanesh and Khorne; and Death Guard. Six knights joined the fight.

The Rules-8th edition 40k. Tactical Objective cards were used with the modification that when an objective was held or seized it was removed and randomly replaced on the board.  Deep striking was also limited to one guaranteed squad per side per turn due to orbital interference. 100 power levels per player that had to include a knight. 

The Table- 14’ x 6” with a cut out on one flank that lessened the width in that section. The two sides set up along the long sides of the table 

The Troop Dispositions- The Imperial forces aligned with the Silver Templars on the right flank, Black Templars on the left flank and Taros 7th intermingled across the entire line.  Across from the Black Templars on the chaos right flank Slaanesh lined up.  Khorne set up on the left and the Death Guard occupied the middle to separate the other two squabbling gods.  

Turn 1

The forces of the Imperium scored the initiative and immediately gained advantage when a knight and Black Templar razorback caught a Death Guard Predator unprotected and destroyed it. First blood!   On the right flank Sentinels of the Imperial Guard scouted forward with Taurox troop carriers advancing toward an objective 

The pre-destroyed Predator takes a peek and pays 

The forces of Chaos advanced cautiously.  Slaaneshi Rhinos escorted by bikers advanced on the left flank while a Khornish Rhino rolled to the right.  Nurgle loitered. 

The turn ended with no victory points scored.

Turn 2

The Imperial Guard Taurox raced to the far right to reach and secure an objective while the Silver Templars supported them from the middle.  On the left the Black Templars advanced towards the Slanneshi forces. A squad of  Black Templar Jump pack marines landed to the right rear of a Slaanesh Predator.  The seemingly always fleet of feet Templars successfully charged the tank and after an assault left it a smoking wreck. 

The Silver Templars and a Knight provide support 

The side of Chaos continued to be both slow and inaccurate.  Down two battle tanks and out of position, they slowly rolled forward on the right and center.  A renegade knight after taking some damage from an Imperial Knight attempted to fight back but it’s accuracy was lacking. Only on the far left did the forces of chaos come to life. A squad of rampaging Berserkers of Khorne charged the Imperial Taurox that had just claimed the objective on the Imperial right.  Smashing and slashing the Berserkers ripped open a Taurox and descended on the troopers inside.  The turn ended with the Berserkers on top of the hapless guard. 

Turn 2 ended with the Imperials with one victory point to the chaos none. 

The Berserkers open up a Taurox. 

Check back for part two!