Thursday, April 10, 2008

Battle Report: The Assault on Morkandy Beach, 1st Wave

The Story
It was a battle a long time in the making. The Ork Waaagh! had ravaged much of Arcadia Prime, driving the Arcadian Planetary Defense Force back in disarray, sending them into the sea. For more than a year, the Arcadians regrouped and began to form a huge invasion force to take back their land. But the Orks didn’t sit idle during that time. They had constructed fortifications all along the beaches, waiting to stop any Imperial invasion dead before it left the surf. Sailing out of the dawn sunrise of an early summer day, the assault ships of the Arcadians bore down on the beaches and into the teeth of the Ork defenses, wallowing in the coastal waters and heavily laden with their human cargo. In the years to come this battle would become known as the Assault on Morkandy Beach.

Scenario Premise
The purpose of this scenario is to have a friendly game re-enacting the invasion of Normandy Beach by the allied forces in World War II. The result is essentially pre-ordained, as the Imperial Guard forces in this scenario are going to keep bringing on units until they break through the Ork defenses; the drama will be in how many waves it takes them, and in how long the Orks can hold out before being overwhelmed. The only “victory” condition to achieve is the ultimate capture of the beach defenses by the Imperial Guard and the total extermination of the Orks.

The forces used are not optimized for doing battle against each other. Rather, they consist of the models we had available that could represent forces in the real-world battle.

The Beach Assault
In this battle the Imperial Guard Forces, consisting only of infantry, will assault the beaches in multiple waves, each of company strength. Each wave will arrive more or less together. Each squad will arrive on a 4+ on Turn 1, 3+ on Turn 2, and any leftovers will automatically arrive on Turn 3. No Imperial Guard units will fall back (there’s nowhere to go but forward) but instead of morale checks they will take pinning tests. Models that fail All On Your Own tests will be removed as casualties. Once a wave is effectively destroyed, another wave will arrive on the battlefield, and will enter using reserve rolls just like the first wave. The battle will continue until the Imperial Guard forces successfully breach the Ork defenses.

Behind Enemy Lines
Behind the beach defenses, the Orks have several artillery pieces, including a static Basilisk Earthshaker Cannon and a battery of Big Gunz. These pieces have been pre-sighted on the beach to support the first line of defense. The night before the assault, the Imperial Guard sent in parachute infantry behind the defense line to take out the artillery. Representing the chaotic nature of the drops, each Imperial Guard squad will arrive on a 6+, one die for each squad rolled every turn. They will start on a random table edges and move onto the board.

Army Lists
In short, we’re using every nearly every Ork and Imperial Guard (Infantry) model that we own for the battle. Each Assault wave will consist of a full Imperial Guard Company of three platoons of three squads each, each with a command section, and commanded by the HQ section. The Parachute Infantry will consist of a platoon of Imperial Guard Infantry of three squads and a command squad. The defending Ork forces will consist of a dozen Ork mobs, ranging in size from 10 to 20 orks, several of them led by Nobz. In addition, the Lobbas and Earthshaker will have a hefty grot krew and several ork guards.

The Forces
Imperial Guard Forces (1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Rgt, Company Organization)
Command Platoon: Command HQ Squad (5)
1st Infantry Platoon: Command Squad (5)
1st Infantry Platoon: Infantry Squad (10)
1st Infantry Platoon: Infantry Squad (10)
1st Infantry Platoon: Infantry Squad (10)
2nd Infantry Platoon: Command Squad (5)
2nd Infantry Platoon: Infantry Squad (10)
2nd Infantry Platoon: Infantry Squad (10)
2nd Infantry Platoon: Infantry Squad (10)
3rd Infantry Platoon: Command Squad (5)
3rd Infantry Platoon: Infantry Squad (10)
3rd Infantry Platoon: Infantry Squad (10)
3rd Infantry Platoon: Infantry Squad (10)
Parachute Infantry Squads (10 per squad)
Hardened Veterans Squads (5 or 10 per Squad)
Ork Forces
Burna Boyz with Mekboy
Gretchin with Slaver
Slugga Boyz
Flash Gitz
The First Wave
Turn 1
Company A, 1st Battalion, 16th Infantry Regiment, the first wave of the assault, rode the rough waves in their landing craft. The craft, fighting the ocean currents and buffeted by the intense artillery barrage, drove forward as fast as possible and disgorged their human contents onto the shores of Morkandy Beach. Immediately the troops would come under heavy fire.
 Ork Defenses
Most of the first wave would arrive on the west side of the beach, including the Command HQ section (C/HQ), Command Section, 1st Platoon (C/1), 3rd Squad, Second Platoon (3/2), The 1st and 2nd Squads of 1st Platoon (1/1 and 2/1), and Command Squad, 3rd Platoon (C/3). The remaining units to arrive were strung out thinly, with 2nd Squad, 3rd Platoon (2/3) in the center, 3rd Squad, 3rd Platoon (3) to their east, and finally Command Squad, 2nd Platoon (C/2) on the far left. The guardsmen all stumbled out of their landing craft into the rough surf, and immediately ran into the teeth of the Ork fire.

Sighting the Command HQ, the Warboss opened fire on them with his big shoota, wounding one of them. Quickly the Company Medic ran to the wounded guardsmen and used his Narthecium to save his life. It didn’t matter, for as soon as he had stopped the bleeding, the man was killed, along with the standard bearer and the veteran sergeant, by a stream of heavy caliber shells from a twin-linked big shoota in the defenses. Cursing, the medic and the company captain dove into the sand to avoid the onslaught. More big shootas opened up, sending sprays of sand flying through the air, showering the pinned guardsmen.

Dakkaboss, in position in the draw with his Flash Gitz, opened fire with five big shootas on C/3, which was in the open, and tore them apart. With nowhere to go, the guardsmen who were not killed immediately attempted to spread out or dive for cover, but it did them no good, and all five men in the command section were killed in seconds.

The first wave hits the beach
To the east of the draw, the Orks in the bunker opened up on 3/3, killing four of them as they piled out of the landing craft, leaving their bodies floating in the surf. The twin-linked big shoota on that flank gave the men in C/2 an anxious moment, but did not kill any of them.

The artillery in the rear opened fire, landing just off shore behind the landing troops, destroying one of the landing craft in a shower of foam and debris and sending many of the guardsmen sprawling.

Imperial Guard Casualties: 12
Ork Casualties: 0

Turn 2
Behind Enemy Lines
The squad of Hardened veterans arrived behind the large rock formation, and stealthily moved up to get a sighting on the Basilisk, one of their primary targets. Some of them must have been spotted, because several mobs of orks began to move in that direction.
The Beach Assault
Several more landing craft arrived, disgorging more than fifty guardsmen onto the beach. 1st Squad, 2nd Platoon (1/2) arrived to the extreme east of the beach sector. In the center, 3rd Squad, 1st Platoon (3/1), 1st Squad, 3rd Platoon (1/3) and a unit of Storm Troopers arrived in a tightly packed mass. To their west, two squads of heavy weapons teams (HW1 and HW2), each bearing three missile launchers, moved onto the beach and immediately prepared their weapons to fire.

The ork firing continued unabated on the beach. 3/3 was peppered again from the bunkers again losing two of their number, and lost two more from the massed ork shootas in the defenses.

On the western side of the beach, the situation was not any better. An Earthshaker round from the basilisk slammed in between 1/1 and 2/1, sending shredded body parts of four guardsmen flying into the air along with a shower of sand. The Lobbas shots slammed into the sand nearby, but didn’t kill any more. Dakkabosses’ Flash Gitz turned its aim on 2/3, tearing into it and killing five guardsmen as they staggered ahead towards the cover of the seawall. The orks in the defenses on the left flank fired at 2/1, who had already taken casualties from the Basilisk, and mowed down three more of them.

The guardsmen had taken their first opportunity to strike back, however, and 3/2 fired a krak grenade into the underground firing position on the west cliff. Miraculously the grenade went in and hit its ork target, blowing him apart. The ork behind him impatiently shoved past the blood and gore to get at the twin-linked big shoota at the firing point, only to receive C/2’s krak grenade right in the face, which promptly exploded and turned the upper half of his body to reddish-brown muck. A third ork, who was not perturbed by this, was instead excited to get his chance at the big shoota, ran up and manned the position.

Imperial Guard Casualties: 26
Ork Casualties: 2

Turn 3
Behind Enemy Lines
The orks were responding to the arrival of the Hardened Veterans, who were taking up positions in the rocks. In fact their plan was to lure some of the orks into an ambush, and it worked. As a mob of slugga boyz moved into the open, Squad Three of the Parachute Infantry sprung their trap, rapid firing into the orks. Five orks fell to their short range fusillade, and one more was killed by the squad’s grenade launcher. The Hardened Veterans’ Sergeant added his weight to the fight by firing his storm bolter at the slugga boyz, killing one more. The Slugga Boyz, surprised by the sudden attack, broke and began to flee.

Another mob of Slugga Boyz and the ‘Ard Boyz moved towards the Basilisk.

The Beach Assault
2nd Squad, 2nd Platoon’s (2/2) landing craft arrived, dumping them on the beach, behind the remnants of 1/1 and 2/1. The entire first wave of the beach assault had now arrived, their mission to clear away as much resistance as possible for the succeeding waves.

The rest of the assault force continued their desperate advance up the beach. C/2’s grenade launcher sent a grenade into the tunnel on the east side, killing one ork. The Missile Launchers opened up on the bunker on the west side of the draw, six rockets streaking to their targets. The explosions rocked the bunker, but only a single ork was killed by the blast. On the west side, a krak grenade from 3/2 landed on target in the tunnel, killing another ork.

The Burna Boyz advanced, bringing their Mek Boyz’ Kustom Force Field into the draw to protect the Flash Gitz who had taken up positions there. The Ork bombardment continued. On the western flank, The Warboss killed one member of C/1, while the twin-linked big shoota in the tunnel and the boyz in the bunker on that flank all took aim on 3/2, killing five guardsmen. The Flash Gitz took aim at 1/1, a large target that had thus far evaded most attention, and tore them apart, killing seven and leaving the Sergeant as the only survivor. He dove into the sand and covered his head while his men were slaughtered around him.

On the eastern flank, the orks in the large bunker fired at 3/1, killing five of them, while the unit of Shoota Boyz at the top of the cliffs targeted C/2, killing three.

The Lobbas missed hitting anything, merely digging more craters in the beach sand, while Basilisk landed a hit close to the Stormtroopers, killing one of them.

Imperial Guard Casualties: 48
Ork Casualties: 12

Turn 4
Behind Enemy Lines
Squad Two of the Parachute Infantry arrived in support of Squad Three. Squad Three, approaching the primary objective of the Basilisk, opened up with their lasguns, killing two of the Ork guards and killing three of the Grot Krew. The Hardened Veterans lent their support, killing two more Grots and one Ork. Squad Three’s Grenadier, seeing the Basilisk dead ahead, took a shot at it with a Krak Grenade and successfully disabled the Earthshaker Cannon. Squad Two opened fire on the approaching ‘Ard Boyz, killing one of them.

Squads 2 and 3 assault the Earthshaker Cannon
The Slugga Boyz and ‘Ard Boyz opened fire on Squad Two, killing a pair of them. The Ork guards and the Grots advanced on the Hardened Veterans firing their blastas, killing two, and then charged. The Hardened Veteran Sergeant killed one ork, while the rest of the veterans killed four Grots. One of the Ork guards took down a veteran, while the Grots pulled down three more, but the Veterans came out on top and the Grots and the Orks both fled.
The Hardened Veterans fight off the Orks
The Beach Assault
The Grenadier in 3/2 killed one more ork in the west tunnel, and then the unit reached the shingle and took cover behind the seawall. 2/1 arrived seconds later. C/1 reached the barbed wire on the west flank, but was dangerously exposed as they tried to make their way through.

On the east flank, the Shoota Boyz killed two guardsmen in 1/2, while the Orks in the Big Bunker killed two more.
The Guardsmen make their way up the beach
On the west flank, the Warboss got a little too excited and missed his target, but the twin-linked big shoota in the tunnel, coupled with the orks in the small bunker, tore into 3/2 despite them taking cover, killing five between them and wiping out the squad. The Flash Gitz fired on 2/2, their five big shootas ripped apart 2/2, killing six guardsmen. The Lobbas continued to pound nothing but sand.

Imperial Guard Casualties: 71
Ork Casualties: 27

Turn 5

Behind Enemy Lines
The Earthshaker Cannon was destroyed, so the Parachute Infantry's mission was half complete. Only the Lobbas remained functional, but there were literally dozens of Orks between the guardsmen and their objective. It would take a miracle for them to succeed.

The Grots had regrouped, but were easy targets as the Slaver whipped them back into position. The Hardened Veterans killed three, while Squad Two’s grenadier killed two more with a frag grenade.

The surviving Grots massed their fire on the Hardened Veterans, who attempted to take cover behind the rocks, but the volume was fire was just too high, and all four Veterans were killed. The ‘Ard Boyz and Slugga Boyz advanced on Squad Two, firing their sluggas, but only managed to kill a single guardsman.

The Beach Assault
The Imperial Guardsmen were reaching the defenses, and began to make their desperate push through to charge the Ork lines. It would be a bloody affair. 2/1 and C/1 led the attack, climbing over the seawall and advancing. 3/3, C/2, and 1/3 made it to the barbed wire but stalled there, while the Stormtroopers, 2/3, and 1/3 made it to the cover of the seawall.

C/2 and 1/2 make it to the barbed wire
On the east flank, 1/2 fired their lasguns into the tunnel, killing a pair of orks.

On the west flank, C/1’s meltagun vaporized one ork in the tunnel, but another eagerly leapt forward to man the twin-linked big shoota.

The Lobbas landed on target, killing two of the Stormtroopers. The Warboss and the Slugga Boyz with him opened fire on C/1 at close range. The Warboss killed one, while the Boyz wiped out the remaining three in a tremendous barrage of Slugga shots. The twin-linked big shoota on that flank fired on C/HQ, wounding the Captain, but the Medic quickly patched him up so he could keep fighting. The Boyz in the small bunker opened up on 2/1, killing four and leaving only the guardsmen armed with a flamer alive. The Flash Gitz fired at 2/2, still beyond the seawall, killing four and wiping out the squad. On the east flank, the Shoota Boyz and the twin-linked big shoota fired on 1/2, killing a pair of guardsmen.

Imperial Guard Casualties: 92
Ork Casualties: 35

Turn 6
Behind Enemy Lines
Squad Three fired on the Grots, killing no less than seven between the lasgun fire and the frag grenade, sending the Grots to ground.

The Grots promptly regrouped and fired on Squad Three, but failed to kill any of them. The Sluggas did better, killing four with their sluggas, while the ‘Ardboyz fired on Squad Two, killing one.
C/2 and 3/3 make it to the Eastern Tunnel

The Beach Assault
C/2 and 3/3 made it to the defenses on the east flank. C/2’s grenade launchers fired into the tunnel, killing one of the Orks inside. The Orks fired back on 3/3, killing both guardsmen and finishing off the squad. Behind them, 1/2 was wiped out by fire from the Shoota boyz.

1/3, 2/3, and C/HQ went over the wall, into the teeth of the Ork fire. The Missile Launcher Squads advanced to get into better positions. 1/3 fired into the Big Bunker, killing one of the Orks inside. The Orks immediately got revenge as the Lobbas landed on 1/3, killing two of them, and then the Shootas in the bunker let loose, firing everything they had on 1/3. The close range was a killer, and eight guardsmen died in bloody explosions within sight of their objective, and the squad was no more.

On the western flank, the Captain and his medic received a lot of attention. The Warboss missed them, but his Sluggas wounded the Medic, who slapped on a bandage, only to be killed seconds later. The Captain staggered on, but the Orks in the small bunker killed him with a barrage of big shoota fire.

The Flash Gitz fired on 2/3, and amazingly did nothing with their five big shootas, but the shootas themselves picked up the slack, killing all six members of the squad.

Imperial Guard Casualties: 117
Ork Casualties: 44 
Turn 7

Behind Enemy Lines
Squad Three fired on the Grots, its grenade launcher killing three of them, and the guardsmen proceeded to plow into the grots. The guardsmen wasted seven of the Grots on the charge, while the Slaver and Grots between them felled three guardsmen. The Grots had finally had enough and fled the field, their Slaver cursing them as he too fell back.
 Squad Three sends the Grots packing
The Slugga Boyz attempted to charge Squad Two, but ran out of steam before they got there.

The Beach Assault
The Storm Troopers and 3/1 went over the wall. C/2 advanced on the east flank, reaching the Ork defenses. The flamer armed guardsman in 2/1, the sole survivor of his squad, advanced bravely towards the Flash Gitz. He unleashed his stream of promethium on the Flash Gitz, burning four of them alive. The Stormtroopers, following his example, killed four more with their hellgun fire. Missile Launcher Squad 1 killed one of the Orks in the big bunker.

The two Grenadiers in C/2 charged into the east tunnel, but the Orks were waiting for them and they were both killed before they could attack.
The lone guardsman unleashes his flamer on the Flash Gitz
The Lobbas fired on Missile Launcher Squad 1, killing four in a huge explosion. The Orks in the west tunnel fired their twin-linked big shoota at 1/1, killing the Sergeant and finishing off the squad. The orks in the small bunker, seeing what the lone flamer did to the Flash Gitz, fired everything they had on him at close range, including two big shootas and half a dozen shootas, but miraculously, the guardsman survived! The Flash Gitz decided to take matters into their own hands, and fired an obscene amount of firepower into the guardsman, finally bringing him down.

On the east flank, the Shoota Boyz fired on 3/1, killing two, leaving the flamer as the last survivor. The Orks in the big bunker fired on the Stormtroopers, unleashing several big shootas and a host of shootas at them, which was too much for even the Stormtroopers, and all seven Stormtroopers were brought down under the horrendous barrage.

With the Stormtroopers down, the first wave was all but annihilated, with only Missile Launcher Squad Two still on the field and combat effective. The first wave did manage to kill many orks, but far too few to make it easy for the next wave. Soon the second wave would arrive, and they would suffer just as badly as did the first.

Imperial Guard Casualties: 137
Ork Casualties: 61


Warphammer said...

Brilliant. I saw something similar at Salute '01. They used imperial guards and orcs too.

Earlydawn said...

Seems to me like it would be fluffier if you reversed the sides.

Admiral Drax said...

Wow - that's insane...and insanely detailed too!

You've no idea how jealous I am, mate.