Divided We Fall
Phaerons Rominoff and Terragai led a force to deny Tau and Tyrannid interlopers from seizing objectives around abandoned ruins on Brenigis VII. Rominoff aboard the Ghost Ark NNV Swift Conveyor with a warrior squad was supported by three wraiths, scarabs with two Canoptic spyders, a unit of Triarch Praetorians and two crypteks, one of whom accompanied Terragai and a phalanx of immortals, the other leading a smaller warrior squad. Flayed ones that would join the fight would bring his strength to 1499.
Sensor scans showed a similar sized Tau and Tyrannid force approaching the contested sector, but when our forces arrived and deployed, only the Tyrannid hordes were evident to the west of our position. Intelligence and analysis identified the Tau landing zone but nothing had yet appeared.
The cryptek led warrior squad held our objective code named Nevada, located on the western side of our position in the rear. The wraiths took position ahead of them in support with Terragai and his immortals forward, close to the objective code named Amber. To his right the Swift Conveyor took position with the Spyders flanking the scarabs strung out across our eastern flank. The Praetorians were ready in the centre.
Conditions were harsh throughout and the Tyrannids in particular suffered losses to meteor strikes and attacks, largely ineffectual on their psykers. The action opened with our cryptek opening up on the Tyrannid infantry to the west with his tremorstave. Several units supported by two monstrous creatures began their advance none the less, one of them vomiting forth additional troops close to our wraiths’ position.
The Praetorians moved back to counter the threat whilst our right advanced to meet the currently missing Tau. The spyders began a little spawning of their own generating additional scarabs; meanwhile the immortals seized objective Amber. The Tyrannids were well screened from us by terrain and their objective, code named Tandem although close to the centre was beyond obstructions.
The wraiths took fire from the advancing Tyrannids who if anything were more numerous than when they opened thanks to their special abilities. They were then assaulted and destroyed even as the Praetorians moved to their aid. The Praetorians avenged them and fell back only to be cut to pieces by crossfire from advancing Tyrannids, a deep striking monster tat appeared close to Amber and even the Tyrannid unit protecting their own objective and lobbing in missile fire.
A large unit of flayed ones arrived on the right, to be joined by tyrannids who’d had the same outflanking thought. Then the Tau appeared en masse with battlesuits and broadsides on the left and several transports on the right. The broadsides blew up the Swift Conveyor and we were in trouble scattered and battered. Our scarabs took losses from the Tyrannid gene stealers beginning an engagement that would struggle on for the rest of the battle. We also lost our right hand spyder.
The immortals attacked the huge monstrosity that had appeared in the centre and were destroyed after assaulting it. Tyrannid infantry was also massing against Nevada which was looking isolated. Rominoff attacked and assaulted the Tau broadsides with the survivors of the Swift Conveyor beginning another long struggle.
Our scarabs meanwhile were unexpectedly hit by a pocket of low gravity and were temporarily absent before dropping back near Amber. The Tyrannids were engaging the Tau too, being gradually pushed back from Tandem which they eventually lost and to the east engaging the Tau transports destroying one.
The Tyrannids swarmed onto Nevada destroying our warriors after a hard fight and easily took Amber which our scarabs tried to contest. A further heavy Tyrannid unit dropped to the east and engaged the Tau.
We were down to one spyder isolated in no mans land and the units in combat with the Broadsides and Gene stealers. Rominoff’s unit eventually broke and was destroyed; the flayed ones finally emerged victorious from their melee right at the end. The Tau had pushed on with their transports and attacked and destroyed the Tyrannids holding Nevada with their long range weaponry, but they were too distant to take it themselves so with the Tyrannids holding the Tau objective, the Tau holding the Tyrannids objective and no one holding our objective it ended a draw between our enemies.
Our losses were huge, only one spyder and some flayed ones escaped for us, a strength on just 76, just over 5% of forces deployed. We were useless tactically, strategically and deserved no better allowing ourselves to walk into Tau ambush mistakenly trying to deny them ground instead of reacting to the immediate Tyrannid threat. All of our units were ineffectual, only the praetorians and flayed ones destroying units though the tremorstave proved an effective weapon. Disaster.
16.6.12
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