Trench Warfare - 40K Style!

Two weeks back, Conscript Greg came over for a game of 40K on the new Fawcett acquisition - some amazing trench terrain boards. I picked these up a few weeks ago off eBay from a fellow in Quebec and ever since they arrived, I've been plotting the first game with them... the obvious choice would've been a Great War game but since I'd loaned a bunch of figures to the Millennium Library for a window display, I figured a 40K game with hapless Guardsmen Astra Militarum would be just the thing to break them in.

Greg brought over 1200 points of his gorgeous Vostroyans and Veterans to man the trenches against 1500 points of my Chaos Renegades. This gave me some impetus to paint something (anything!) as I don't think I'd picked up a brush all summer. The Renegades had mostly been sitting in pieces in a Plano box after I'd bought them from Forgeworld oh, about five years ago. I'd assembled and painted one squad of ten, assembled and painted two Leman Russ tanks, then done up some Beagle-Boys-style penal legion troops, but there they sat, mocking me in their bare plastic and resin sadness...

Anyway, the new terrain got me cracking again and in the last two weeks I finished the Company command squad, a Commissar/Enforcer, two squads of ten Renegade troopers, and two heavy stubber teams! Cool! I reinforced the Renegade list with some Nurgle stiffening: two Blight Drones (one a recent pickup and repaint off local kijiji) and a squad of Plague Marines. The list was constructed based on the "Renegades and Heretics" list in Imperial Armour Vol. 6 - Siege of Vraks Part 2. We set up "the Big Push" - the Renegades got VPs for getting into the Guard's support trenches or exiting the table behind the Guard lines. The Guard scored for preventing this and for destroying Renegade units.

Greg brought along a Basilisk, a platoon of Vostroyan Guardsmen, a squad of Veterans with fancy guns, a Hellhound/Banewolf with chemcannon, 5 Sentinels with autocannons/lascannons, a squad of Crimson Fist Marines, three Ogryns, and a funky command squad with some attached advisors.

The Veterans deployed in a frontline trench on the Guard left.

The scary chemical tank deployed nearby.

Vostroyan squad in the middle, backed up by Sentinels and the Basilisk.

Shifting a bit to the left, more Vostroyans and Sentinels with Crimson Fists in the support trench.

The battlefield. Guard command is in the ruined church at lower left. The Renegades army is deployed across the top of the picture, left to right: Leman Russ, workers rabble squad, Plague Marines, Blight Drones, penal troopers, Leman Russ, Renegade Militia platoon command and platoon.

Here's some of the Renegades.

The red dice by each squad indicates the squad Leadership - Renegades determine their Ld randomly at the start of the game by rolling a d6 and adding 4. The guys at top left are rock-hard with Ld10 but their colleagues behind and to their left are not quite so steady with Ld5 and 6 respectively...

The Renegads took first turn and while much of the army ran forward, the Drones, penal troopers and Plague Marines took aim at the Ogryns in the forward sap, wounding but not killing them.

The rabble rabbled themselves along across no-man's-land.

A surge of Renegades flowed towards the Guard trenches. Surely a bowel-loosening moment for the good old Astra Militarum...

Guardsmen deployed well in the frontline.

Accurate fire (as well as a couple of large templates) took a toll on the renegades. Ouch!

The Penitents managed to hose off the Ogryns and take the sap.

On the Renegade right flank the Leman Russ multi-melta'd the Hellhound as the rabble is decimated by lasgun fire.

Loins are girded...

Leaving a trail of dead in their wake, the Renegades reach the frontline trenches.

Plague Marines advance, minus one of their number felled by his own plasma gun :-(

Renegade champion reaches the wire, followed by the survivors of his platoon. There will be a reckoning...!

Almost there...!

Leman Russ reaches the frontline trenches and roasts some Vostroyans.

The Vostroyans manage to win the close combat against the Renegades and moments after this picture was taken, wipe them out in a Sweeping Advance! (below)

On the Renegade left, troops pile into an unoccupied trench.

The penal troopers advance down the sap.

Command squad and Vostroyans make a lateral move to cut off the Renegades. Seconds later the models in the foreground are killed by a Blight Drone.

Renegades continue their advance.

Renegades are caught up by the surviving Vostroyan commander and advisors. He died in a hail of bullets as the Renegades gunned him down. Hail Eris, all hail Discordia!! :-)

Hapless Sentinels before the mechanized onslaught.

Basilisk crew pretty nervous as all potential targets are over open sights :-(

Anyhow, we called the battle shortly after this as the Renegades had penetrated the front line trenches and despite taking heavy losses, looked able to seal the victory.

Last evening, we set up a rematch with the forces slightly re-jigged. Greg had ditched the Hellhound and Basilisk and added two Leman Russes (!) while I had reinforced the Renegades with a new commander model (a conversion of a very nice metal Imperial Guard Regimental Advisor) and a troop of five mounted Renegades.

Conscripts Keegan, Frederick and Kevin came over to participate in the mayhem that ensued. Here are pictures!

Vostroyan squad with heavy bolter mans the frontline trench 

Ogryns backed up by Leman Russ tank

The gorgeous new Tempestus Militarum Scions

Vostroyan command squad

 

Crimson Fist Marines stiffen the Imperial resistance

Initial dispositions - Renegades attack from the top right

Renegade Blight Drones

Renegade squad with heavy stubber

Renegade Death Riders!!

Renegade Leman Russ. Rabble advancing

Imperial Sentinels

Plague Marines vs Sentinels!

"When I get older I will be stronger
They'll call me freedom, just like a wavin' flag"

Renegades press on past knocked out Leman Russ

"On Vostroya, lasgun shoot YOU!!"

 

Another fun game with great figures and terrain, but quite a different result. Keegan hot-rolled his way into the Astra Militarum Hall of Fame with that one, and I got a taste of what it's like to face two AV14 tanks with no lascannons. The Big Push was definitely halted.