Marine Massacre

Marine Massacre



 

On the forest world of Gevrek space marines of the corpse god landed in force and moved to investigate the destruction of one of their scouting expeditions that had been surveying ruins beneath which lay our Research station KFG887.

 

In command of the defence with a total force strength of 1198, Overlord Beretalekh divided his fourteen immortals into two equal squads each with a cryptek. Joining one unit himself he awaited the enemy approach behind the ruins having first completed the evacuation of the underground facility.

 

The second squad took cover amongst trees on the right, the Annihilation Barges NNV Typhoon and NNV Havoc Wreaker occupying the intervening ground creating a killing zone on that flank. To his left, five destroyers awaited the enemy also screened by trees, and three heavy destroyers occupied high ground on the left. In reserve in low polar orbit the Doom Scythe NNV Unflinching Obedience awaited orders.

 

The enemy approach took place just before dawn a predator tank moving forward at speed against our left whilst heavy support troops with long range weaponry took position on high ground opposite the same flank. Light troops approached through woods on both flanks whilst assault terminators and one of their holy men faced our right.

 

In the centre, the largest and main enemy group comprised some ten terminators who surrounded their warlord librarian. Opening fire at long range and in the dark was ineffectual, however our heavy destroyers advanced and scored a hit on the predator knocking out it weapon systems.

 

Our destroyers flew up on to the ruins and opened fire with no effect on the heavily armoured terminators and our right flank was equally ineffective. Beretalekh contented himself moving his squad to partially occupy the ruins behind the destroyers.

 

The enemy closed further as dawn broke but unbelievably failed to assault our destroyers owing to the difficult terrain. There was little effective action the enemy could take given the range but we lost a heavy destroyer to the long range guns of the rearmost marine unit on the left. The enemy tank attempted to ram the destroyers but they scattered out of its way with little difficulty consolidating their position whilst the tank ended up in trees.

 

The enemy had advanced their troop units across the field and our destroyers moved across to take position further left in the trees and cut down the left hand light troops that were caught in the open despite losing one destroyer to the difficult terrain and another to fire from the main HQ.

 

Our heavy destroyers opened up on the terminators causing casualties with their powerful heavy weapons that ignored terminator armour. The enemy warlord attempted a psychic power but failed miserably injuring himself in the process and crucially delaying any assault against either our centre or left.

 

The terminators on the right were not facing heavy gauss blasters but nonetheless began to suffer casualties as our two troop squads and two barges brought their weaponry to bear. Our first immortal fell on the right around this point. The cryptek in the overlord’s squad had detached himself to bring his voltaic staff to bear on the enemy tank and several hits wrecked the predator, finishing the work started by our heavies.

 

The marines countered assaulting our centre squad at last whilst the terminators on the right despite attempts never made it into assault range. The fire from our vehicles and right hand troops destroyed these terminators and their now exposed chaplain retreated to join the light troops that had been advancing behind their better armoured battle brothers.

 

As the assault developed in the centre the overlord’s mindshackle scarabs failed to take effect but the cryptek’s lightning field slew two marines. The marines however had heavy power weapons and the cryptek and four immortals fell, causing the unit to break and be destroyed as they tried to regroup.

 

Even as the enemy HQ celebrated and wheeled to take on our right flank, Beretalekh reanimated and fell back although this actually meant advancing towards the chaplain’s squad. Our destroyers now broke into the enemy deployment zone on our left and cut down the entire unit in a fusillade of fire.

 

The heavy destroyers moved back and were able to bring the main enemy unit back into their sights. On the right the immortals and overlord supported by the destroyers coming round from the enemy rear on the left destroyed the enemy right and finally the chaplain.

 

The enemy HQ still had teeth though and assaulted the Typhoon, destroying it though the explosion felled a marine and an immortal who had strayed too close. The enemy warlord and his last three brothers were horribly exposed now: They lay under the guns of the Havoc Wreaker to their left the two heavy destroyers were closing and to the right a cryptek and five immortals in cover.

 

Beyond the Havoc Wreaker our warlord remained with three destroyers coming up and around as fast as they could. At this point, the Unflinching Obedience appeared low from the south west. The warlord and a terminator fell to its death ray, another to the heavy destroyers’ long range fire, but it was a shot from the cryptek that finished off the last survivor of the attacking forces.

 

We had secured first blood, linebreaker and of course slain the warlord together with all other units for the loss of the Typhoon and one squad of immortals and their cryptek. Surviving units were short three destroyers, one of them heavy and two more immortals. Rallied strength was 780, a casualty rate of just under thirty five percent and the tactical victory was eleven two. So perish all enemies of the Necrontyr.