Sunday, November 29, 2009

Ambush!

My cousin and I played an Ambush Scenario for Warhammer 40K over the weekend. I was Imperial Guard, he used his Flesh Tearers (blood angel sub-chapter) Space Marine army. Small 700pt battle, with the Imperial Guard as the "ambushers".

Ambush Scenario Overview: The "attacker" or "ambusher", splits force into two parts - "active" force, and "reserve" force. Min 30% of points in each partition. Ambusher sets up with hidden setup rules, basically markers face-down, in a horshoe-like deployment zone, concentrating on the short-edge he's defending. "Defender" must setup in a 6-inch wide column, at least 36 inches away from a short table-edge. Game lasts at least 6 turns, with Random extra turns added on a roll of 4+ at end of each turn beginning on 6th. In addition to regular Victory Points, additional VPs are added for the following objectives: Ambusher gets double victory points for any units destroyed. Defender gets victory points for any unit that makes it off the far table edge.

Background story: While out on patrol, a small force of Flesh Tearers had their Chaplain and Death Company fall into an extreme bout of Black Rage. The rest of the patrol immediately began escorting them back into the Ventnour Primarus hive. Upon hearing this, the Local Governor was not inclined to risk the Death Company rampaging through the city and ordered the Planetary Defence Force (PDF) to set up an ambush outside the City's main entrance road.

Some of the pics are a bit blurry as I was in a hurry, but I did the best I could to clean them up.

Deployment:
Overhead


Imperial Guard Defending City Entrance
(This is table-edge the Marines need to escape from)


Behind Marine Column


Turn One Imperial Guard (Ambushers)
The PDF open fire from the hidden deployment in the city's outer ruins. Ratling Snipers lay down some pinning fire. Squad Alpha launches a krak missle at the lead Predator, ripping off the twin-linked Assault Cannon from the main turret.
Turn One Space Marines (Defenders)

Under the unexpected hail of fire, the Marine column advances forward.


The Rhino overcharges its engines and moves up on the right flank, around the center tactical squad.


The Predator fires its remaining armaments and exacts some revenge on Squad Alpha, cutting down half the squad. Squad Alpha's morale is shaken, but some, er, encouraging, words from Senior Officer vonSmeek comes over the vox-set, and they hold firm.

Turn Two Imperial Guard
With a click over the orbital comm-link, Junior Officer Melnus knew that the reserves had arrived. Mounted in his Chimera, Senior Officer vonSmeek and his Command HQ came through the hills, flames bursting out of the heavy flamers mounted on the turret and hull. The command squad disembarked, adding their two flamers to the action. The center tactical squad of marines lost to brothers, scorched within their power armour. Squad Bravo fired a krak missile which homed in on the advancing Predator and hit a weak seam between armor plates.


The Predator exploded in a huge ball of fire, throwing white-hot metal in a wide circle, cutting down two of the nearby Death Company. The Ratlings fired and missed again, distracted from the explosion of the Predator. The autocannon from Officer Melnus' command squad hit the Death Company, but the rounds plinked off their black power armor. The Leman Russ arrived from reserves on the other flank, firing the mighty Battle Cannon on the move, but missing wildly.

Turn Two Space Marines
The wounds from the Predator explosion intensified the Blood Rage gripping the Death Company, and they advanced forward towards the Command HQ. The Rage also caught the Rhino crew again, forcing them to move forward to the buildings holding Squad Alpha.


The tactical squad within quickly disembarked and fired but all missed. The Death Company fired on the newly arrived Command HQ, wiping out all of the guardsmen leaving the PDF's commanding office vonSmeek alone to face the coming assault charge.


The Death Company charged in and exacted their vengeance for their two fallen brothers, killing vonSmeek.

Turn Three Imperial Guard
Squad Bravo resumed firing on the center tactical squad killing another two. The Ratlings finally notched their first victim, killing another marine in the center tactical squad, pinning them down again. The Leman Russ shot the ordnance cannon again, this time on the mark. It wiped out half of the tactical squad near the buildings, pinning them as well. The Rhino lost its pintle bolter in the blast, stunning the crew.

Turn Three Space Marine
With almost all units pinned, there wasn't much movement for the Marines in this turn.

Turn Four Imperial Guard
...to be continued!