Operation Hemlock has been a long running semi-narrative campaign m Skumgrod have been playing. It is set in our corner of the Warhammer 40K universe but uses a variety of games to play. Sometimes we use GW games, sometimes we use my games, and sometimes we use other, third party games. Today, we elected to play Restless Sun which is my model-vs-model sci-fi game.
Colonel Brusilov had Taskforce: Sword pounding the ork encampment for days now. He could hear the rhythmic cycle of the Earthshakers just outside of his command chimera. His command holo-display lit up with indications and assessments of where the great shells were striking in the Ork camp.
His artillery were running out of shells. Ork air attacks had weakened his supply lines back to North Ammoriss and his fellow Taskforce commanders had been unable to stop the greenskin raids. He was very close to breaking the Ork toe-hold on Grig's Rest, but his supplies had to hold out long enough for him to push them off the island once and for all.
Before he could launch his assault, he needed better intel. The Office of Strategic Intelligence was sending him streams of information but they were back at Northcomm, miles away. They couldn't tell him where the orks were hiding in their dug-outs, where they had hidden their traks, and where their gun emplacements were. Before he could order an assault into the ruins of the Ork camp he needed intel.
Brusilov tapped some controls, and a vox-channel opened to his adjunct at the front lines. The hiss of static filled the air, before it stabilized and toned clear.
"Major, gather scouts from each Company and send them forward. We need to know where to strike."
Forces:
Our Imperial Troops will be represented by my Death Korp Kill Team. They are all going to be Regular Infantry units.
Mission:
To match the situation, we decided to use the Control Terrain scenario for our battle report today. Models gain points for being in Difficult terrain at the end of the game.
For complications, we went with Minefield. Therefore, if you fail a movement roll you will lose Effectiveness from artillery, wild fire, or a mines. I mean, they are trying to scout an active warzone!
This scenario will last 8 turns.
Set-up:
We will be using a 36 x 36 inch board for this. Plus, since Difficult terrain is important, we will be putting 5 pieces of it out on the table. 1 near each deployment zone and three along the rough center line.
Both sides are deploying about 6 MU in from their own table edge.
As usual, this will not be a turn by turn break down of the game. This game went 8 turns. Instead, I will cover it in broad strokes for the Maneuver phases, the Battle, and the End Phases.
Maneuver Phase:
The Artillery barrage and mines made it hard to move forward. Some of the shells were landing dangerously close, disrupting maneuver by both sides. However, those that could pressed forward, with the two sides trading ineffective shots. The PDF troopers manage to force some of the leading elements of the Ork thrust with suppressive rifle fire.
However, an Ork manages to sneak around the edge and attack a pair of Guardsman, forcing them to retreat from the onslaught. The better training of the Troopers appears to be paying off!
Battle Phase:
A PDF Trooper with a support weapon flees from the board thanks to the ferocious Ork Assault. However, it does not go all the Orks way as concentrated rifle fire sees three Orks forced off the board and into retreat as well. The PDF have dug in at two buildings, while the Orks have 1 building and a Grot in a ruin.
The PDF Troopers manage to leap-frog forward, with mines hampering their movement. As a Guardsman makes the ruins, a startled Gretchin leaps out and forces him back with a flurry of vicious stabs. Meanwhile, fighting is house-to-house and at close range!
The Trooper with the Squad Support Plasma Gun manages to drive the Gretchin out of the cover of the ruins and forces him to retreat. The Orks manage to counter-attack and push the PDF troopers back, but it might not be enough as their momentum is quickly spent. Both sides still hold two objectives each.
End Phase
The Ork assault is blunted by accurate rifle fire as the Ork Nob is forced back, as is an ork by the house. However, the Bomb squig re-orients itself and charges towards the PDF lines.
The PDF Sniper finally manages to outright kill an Ork with a shot to the head. Bam! Headshot!
However the Bomb Squig gets to the PDF positions and detonates. The blast outright kills 1 trooper and sends the other one scurrying away in shock.
A trooper scrambles into the ruins to contest it from the Ork hiding inside of it. With that, the Ork Nobs hears a distant horn blast, signaling for his Boyz to fall back and cover the final withdrawal back to the Green Zone from Grig's Island.
Conclusion
This was a hotly contested battle between the PDF and Orks. However, the PDF managed to score 2 objectives, while the Orks only had 1. The PDF lost 1 KIA and 2 MIA from the squad, while the Orks had 2 killed outright, while 3 Orks and a Grot were unaccounted for during the retreat.
It is hard to outright kill folks in this game, but you are constantly pushing them around the battlefield as they retreat, get Shaken, and Rally. Probably a bit more realistic in that sense, as you could see momentum shift when friction did its thing during game play.
I wanted to do one big Grig's Island showdown with Restless Galaxies, but I am not getting my Ork forces printed up for it. Challenges, challenges. Perhaps I will need to play a Aquanautica Imperialis Naval or even a Aeronautica Imperialis game to represent the Orks trying to flee the island, or even just a big Restless Stars or Xenos Rampant game instead?
It might be a while until my Skumgrod is available for another game. This one was on the books for a few months before we got it done. We will see what happens in Operation: Hemlock next!
Until next time!
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