Blood Angels Punch Through
The 999th Strategic Decurion engaged Blood Angels on Memjen Major in the Vlek Cluster. Overlord Xa led a unit of immortals, two of warriors, one of tomb blades supported by a Canoptek harvest Judicator battalion. Total force strength 1491.
The Overlord took station in the centre with warriors on both flanks. Also centrally the Triarch stalker flanked by five praetorians on each side, half with rods of covenant, half with particle casters and void blades. On the left the eight tomb blades with shield vanes and nebuloscopes, on the right five scarabs, the tomb spyder equipped with a particle beamer and gloom prism and four wraiths with transdimensional beamers.
The enemy arrived in a compact group facing our left and seized the initiative. They advanced, two units of assault marines flanking ten sanguinary guard and their captain. They took a barrage of fire from the tomb blades and Stalker plus the left hand warriors and particle caster armed praetorians who counter attacked, and nearly half fell, but then they were in assault range.
They unleashed their assault against the tomb blades and praetorians as two storm ravens arrived in the centre and took out one praetorian and scored a glancing hit on the stalker. The tomb blades were hit by heavy assault and wiped out by the heavily armed marines and guard. First blood to the enemy.
Our attempts to shoot down one of the fliers failed and our praetorians were locked in combat. The enemy wiped out our praetorians with particle casters, but they had been reinforced by the other squad so the battle continued, Xa was challenged as the guard assaulted the immortals and the other remnant assault marines moved to assist their comrades against the praetorians.
Xa fell taking three wounds without getting in a return blow and the immortals were wiped out. With points available to the enemy for linebreaker and character assassination the enemy scored three unanswered points this turn therefore. The enemy cockily now detached their captain to deal with our left hand warriors whilst the guard headed for our stalker in the centre.
Our warriors had taken losses form the right from aerial attack and now the meltas of the guard did for the stalker which exploded. Our wraiths meanwhile had joined the melee centre left whilst our spyder moved across the centre all too slowly. The scarabs had taken an objective, but only with denial to the enemy in mind.
The enemy flier now engaged our scarabs taking several out, but there were still more than we had started with as the spyder had been birthing. The captain assaulted our warriors, taking two wounds to overwatch but killing two warriors in reply. Our counter scored two glancing hits on a flier and a couple of guards fell to the spyder and right hand warriors.
The enemy captain then fell to our left hand warriors, paying for his over confidence. We actually won that round two one as a result. The praetorians were now all gone but the marines were down to two sergeants and two priests, all our wraiths were wounded, only saved by their reanimation protocols given to them by the formation.
The guard now assaulted and destroyed our right hand warriors whilst the marine units were reduced to just one priest and one sergeant, the tomb spyder having joined the fray too, they actually broke but were caught in the sweeping advance and therefore rallied. The action broke off with our scarabs securing linebreaker, but not enough to catch up, the action broke off 3-6 to the enemy.
The enemy had one priest, one marine sergeant and six sanguinary guard left, plus the two storm ravens one reduced to one hull point. Estimated losses: 60%. They had lost only one of six units deployed, their warlord, though three others were badly damaged. We had been reduced by two thirds and had remaining four of eleven units, with eight warriors, six scarabs, the tomb spyder and all four wraiths though all four were wounded.
The concentrated marine hammer had broken through our widely scattered force and although we had held many objectives for long periods neither side concentrated on these, indeed whilst we had scored one point the Angels had not even taken theirs, all points coming elsewhere including two each for secondary objectives.
18.7.15
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