The Devos IV liberation campaign so far.

Cornish (oo-ar) Beserkers were seen on Mheuvan 158, but not on Devos IV.

As if you needed reminding...

Devos IV is an important Agriworld in the Dynorwic cluster, with large, productive seas and vast prairies and grox herds.   It is on an almost direct line (accounting for prevailing warp currents) between Cadia and Hydraphur, which puts it equidistant from both the Sabbat Crusade and Cadian Gate warzones.  It has a population of less than 20 million, a well respected PDF with a history of Mechanicus collaboration and modest garrison of IG for the system defence network[1] based on the outer moons.

There has been a long history of increasing liberalism, espousing the rights of the individual and ‘improvements’ in governance over a period of a hundred years or so.  Attempts by the head of the Church to scare the ecclesiasty on the planet into compliance backfired and the problem began to snowball.

Eventually, with a person now known as ‘Caux Na M’rrsee’ close to government, asylum was offered to Apocrypha Quinelle, a witch on the run from the OH.  When eventually cornered, the tables were turned by the authorities on Devos IV, the OH was put on trial for failing to protect her from possession in the first place.  The legitimate Planetary Governor was sidelined without being deposed or arrested and Caux Na M'rrsee became the defacto ruler of the continent of Benq, which is where the newly formed 'people's congress' meets and establishes the new republic.  

The world was split[2], the continent of Benq is in full rebellion with Imperial institutions, mocked, dissolved, dismantled and lately wrecked.  Loyalists gather on the continent of Acer, where the Starport is.  The Cadian 144 Recce Regt are diverted to Devos IV to shore up the regime, but soon find themselves fighting a guerrilla war on Benq.

The OH petition the High Lords and an Army Group (72AG) is sent from Klestor Sub Sector Command (based on Agripinna, nowhere near Klestor).  The Starport is secured[3] and in a couple of months there is a secure base of operations on Acer, depots and rail lines are constructed and the Dyamo of Acer give themselves over to the war effort.

There is a minor fleet action, during which the Imperial Crusier ‘Thunderchild’ is lost with all hands. 

The invasion of Benq begins with Operation Lockheart, the seizure (largely by air) of the city port of Ranstadt.  This culminates with the Battle of Freeman’s square, won largely by the Cadian’s of 2/24, supported by the Arcomet 887^th.  It becomes apparent that the Preatorian 5^th (nominally the garrison for the system defences on the moon [Devos XII])  Have thrown in their lot with the rebels, as have almost all of the PDF.  It is reported that Deamonic incursions take place during this battle.

The PDF renames itself the People’s Libertine Army (PLA).  The Planetary Governor, Maj Gen Marcus Frith III (Cadia), is escorted to Randstadt by a small number of loyal men from the Devos 2^nd regt.  He is placed under house arrest in Acer by the OH.

17 Korps consolidates its position around Randstadt, occupying the strategically important Nolag Heights to the NE of the city.  They are threatened by and respond to feints from the SE.  A number of witches are captured and handed over to the OH.  This, along with overstretch of 17 Korps[4] is used as justification to expand 72AG.  72AG is expanded to three Corps; over half a million fighting men.  A maniple of the Legio Astoria is assigned to the campaign.

A major component of the expanded Imperial Navy force remains on station, preventing a reoccurrence of the ‘Thunderchild’ incident.

With a greatly enhanced force, 4* Gen Zhukov (Vostroya) launches an offensive, the imaginatively entitled Operation Righteous Thunder.  The Colil Promethium Refinery complex is seized with overwhelming force and provides 72AG with a base (and valuable resource) for a push eastwards.  Simultaneously, a distraction action at the Cudlip defence lines (72AG’s next objective) becomes a breach in the rebel defences due to the brilliant quick thinking of Gen Pallumgski (Vostroya) who is promoted for his pivotal role in this successful action.    

Warpsmiths from 'The Cleaved'.  None of these on Devos IV, surely (?).

Paint by Mr Lee.  You shouldn't see any of these on Devos IV at all.  No siree, no CSM here, thank you very much.  This is a local rebellion, for local people. 

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[1] The Inquisition now believe that the Eldar attack on the missile silos was an attempt to get the Imperium to bolster its defences.  As it is, it turns out the threat is internal, so much for their over estimated powers of foresight.  Pah !

[2] Idealogically. The cultural revolution was a gradual one, which has allowed persons with strong inclinations one way or the other to move location as it suited them.

[3] Operation Tranquillity.

[4] 72AG basically leaves 17 Korps to occupy the Randstadt area whilst waiting to be given a bigger army in order to prosecute the war in a manner to liking of Gen Zhukov.  They are in the field for almost a year before 72AG takes any further action.

Wolftime ! If you're an IG player with a couple of hundred points for an allied unit that does compliment...

So, you will have noticed these fellows loping alongside the DKK Chimera in the Apoc game.

Sadly, for reasons beyond human control, Karitas was unable to make the Apoc game. His beautifully finished Space Wolf army would have looked great on the table and more importantly, might have saved the Corbanian's from having to walk everywhere for the rest of the war...  But it looked like there would be no Space Wolves on the table.  Humm.  I could fix that, I thought to myself.

I had a sprue of Space Wolf bits that I had accidentally bought whilst searching for the wolf standard for the Flektarn Iggies.   And I have a box of tic tac spaze murheens handy for another project that is way down someone else's backburner.

Still with me ?   I've got some IG in my collection and had been thinking about how to introduce allies that complimented the IG strengths.  So, basically, what an IG army needs is couple of powered armour wearing close combat specialists.  But I have to do this fluffily.  One way might be an Inquisitor with a Black Templar honour guard.

But slightly more gritty and less dangerous to the Iggies themselves might be lone wolves.  In case you didn't know, these are the last men standing from their 'pack' and as such are on a troll slayer like death quest.  So you get an independent character who can have powered armour or tactical dreadnought armour, with a statline and weapon options that give an Iggy player the chop and bang of a Spaze Murheen.  So a handful of lone wolves (or in this case, loan wolves, n'cest pas ?) have a place in any iggy player's army case.

Once together, they were sprayed with Tamyia's German Grey, then Humbrol sea grey and finally directionally with humbrol mid grey. The other bits and pieces (guns, furs, pultrons etc) were done and then the powered armour was weathered with the AK interactive set I'd used on the Commissar's Panzer.

So here are a few more shots of them, one Long Fang, one Wolf Guard and four Grey Hunters.

We have two power swords and a power axe, with sundry plasma and bolt pistols and power shield.  Lots of wolfie talismans which get you the crown of command some limited protection from pskyers.

And in addition to the Long Fang's Heavy Bolter, there is also a plasma gun and a token bolter.

I may go back and weather them a bit more.  They really should have their bases coloured in.  And there are one or two mould lines that I've not made a particularly good job of.  But on the whole I'm quite pleased with them.  It's just one more thing that makes SM armies popular I suppose, Powered Armour is easier to paint than people in clothes.

Command Bunker

We had a lot of conversation about scenery.  In fact, Col Corbane sounded so enthusiastic I suspect he went home and ignored his wife and kids to start on his new terrain projects.  Anyway, here is the command bunker that anchored the PLA's Northern flank during the Apoc game.   Both other players were impressed that it was quite as old as it was.

Five structure points.  Intact with its communication tower.

Four structure points, communication tower gone.

Three structure points. Roof gone.

Two structure points.  Walls gone.

One structure point.  Down to the walls.

And the exit, which is what the occupants will probably need if the bunker is reduced to this level.

August Apocalypse (four or four)

3* Gen Romos (Macragge), Commander 18 Corps, faced very little resistance at the Colil Promethium refinery.  Having a few scant hours warning, much of the high value military equipment that the PLA had there was evacuated.  The remaining forces, whilst tenacious and courageous, quickly collapsed down to a level where 18 Corps were able to move from isolated pocket to isolated pocket, hunting them down and neutralising them. 

Having had a complete briefing by the 72AG's officio strategae, Gen Romos, knowing what 17 Korps has been ordered to do, releases a pair of warhounds from the Legio Astorium to support their attack. The warhounds swiftly cover the 30 kloms, outstripping their Knight Praetorian escorts, not the best of moves, as it turns out; before the battle ends, the Devos IV Chimeltavets (whose vehicles can be seen here, facing away from the rear of the wrecked Corbanian Hellhammer) were able to walk under the void sheilds and significantly damage one of the Warhounds. 

The appearance on the scene of a Warhound armed with an XR3i pattern Turbo Laser Destructor removed the Baneblade that had been damaged by the martyrs of the Corbanian Special Forces.

The other valiant strike by the Corbanians was into the Thudd Gun position.  They gunned down the rough riders who were there as a counter attacking force and would have destroyed the Thudd Guns as well however, they were ambushed in turn by Ogryn beserkers dosed up on 'Slaught.

On the Northern Flank, Feldwebel Nonead and his last surviving Gibergsjeager now occupy the position where the Bloodcoats attached PBS had been.  Of their whole platoon, they are the last two to survive the murderous curtain of mortar and heavy stubber fire.

The center of the PLA's lines, reduced to ten tanks from twelve and two Baneblades.  With support from the titans, the remaining Imperial forces would be able to force and hold a breach in the 140 + Klom line of trenches, minefields and bunkers that blocked 72AG's line of advance towards Xyphonica.

One thing that the Corbanian's are thankful for is that Gen Zhukov immediately puts Gen Pallumgski up for promotion out of 17 Korps and the Departmento immediately reassigns him to the ongoing Sabbat Crusade.  Every cloud has a medal dangling from it somewhere.

The Ogryn's dosed up on 'slaught tore into the Corbanian storm troopers.  The 'Zerker Ogryn leader with the power weapon accounted for six of them with his charge alone.  However, comma, the chemical over stimulation slew him at the zenith of his (one combat round) military career.  Paraphrasing Helen Lovejoy; "Will no-one think of the Ogryn ?" I think it's criminal that these metal and resin simple folk are being abused by both sides in this terrible conflict. 

On an only slightly less frivolous note, the shite GCSE proof reading and sense checking of GWs products has even reached BOLS.  An author, either as a conceit or for valid dramatic or story arc preserving reason, might write a story as end, beginning, middle.  Or middle, end, beginning.  Which ever; the point is that if Osprey or Simon Shama did it, it would make no sense due to the nature of the subject and the manner in which the writings are likely to be accessed.  Nice one GW, everyone thought you uncommonly avaricious, now they think you are incompetent as well. 

August Apocalypse (three of four)

As the Armageddon Steel Legion are torn apart by the defenders, the 20th DKK push up behind them but their advance is constrained by the wrecked vehicles in front of them.  The Adeptus Mechanicus came on and repaired one of the Cadian 144th's scout cars.

Corbanian Special Forces behind the enemies front line finally manage to seriously damage one of the pair of Baneblades that bolster their front lines and prevent a decisive breakthrough in the center.

As an interesting couterpoint to the Corbanian Storm Trooper's actions inside the fortifications, stay behind Chimeltavets from the Devos IV 1/1 Special Forces, in vehicles almost identical colours to the Corbanian ones, are allowed to close with the Hellhammer with devastating results.  They would remain in situ, protected by constant bombardments from Bloodcoat Thudd Guns and mortars, defying the efforts of Corbanian veterans to dislodge them.

Private Corbo infiltrates the Command Bunker and manages to wipe out the Bloodcoat commander, his command team and almost all of the heavy stubber teams therein.  He was then ignominiously slain by the psyker on the roof.

There is not that much to add here in terms of editorial: the Flecktarn platoon that came on the left flank were seriously threatened by scouting sentinals from the Tigers coming on behind them and took a pasting from the mortar fire and the Heavy Stubber teams before Pte Corbo did his thing.  The Corbanians on the right flank were seriously inconvenienced by thudd gun fire which made their attempts at any infantry actions more or less ineffective.  On the plus side the huge number of tigers manning the barricades in front of them was being chomped through at an alarming (for Admiral Drax) rate.

August Apocalypse (two of four)

Colonel Commandant Welbahnn (Armageddon), commanding 902 Div, has, through a process of observation and deduction, second guessed Gen Pallumgski's intention.  Pallumgski has not shared his intentions with Col Commandant Welbahann because that is just not what Vostroyan Officers do.

The Corbanians begin their armoured thrust on the southern edge of the minefield gap.

Well used to their Vostroyan Divisional Commander, the Corbanians move their RAP as close to the front lines as they dare.

The view from the Corbanian spearhead towards the formidable defences that they have been ordered to attack.

Three of Col Corbane's superbly finished tanks.  Photos do not do his army justice.  If you ever get the chance to see his medical section up close, do, they are wonderfully well finished.
902 Div lend their support to the Corbanian attack.  The Armageddon 22nd Armd Regt push forward into the gap.

Armageddon Steel Legion support platoons dismount in no-mans-land.  Doctrines which work against Orks in ash wastes would see the support platoons wiped out before their firepower could achieve anything for the Imperial Guard.

Since we did this, I've bought the new Apocalypse book; like my opinions of the new codecies, this is a well produced and well illustrated book.  But there is just a whole lot of repetition; most of those superheavies are the same thing with just one of every gun combination the kit can make.  Fine but did they all need a datasheet ?  And the contradictory hyperbole gives me the impression that it wasn't proof read.  The little passage about the storm lord makes no sense.  Is it designed to take a platoon through a firestorm or not ?  And what kind of update is this supposed to be ?  Are the datasheets from the 'web and the older book and reload now invalid ?  It's eye candy, but could have done with a little middle-school project quality control. 

Further update:  I won a prize !  From the Mordian 7th.  Watch this space.  Not this one, but one like it, probably sometime at the beginning of November...

August Apocalypse (one of four)

The picture Admiral Drax put up on 16 Aug has 47 Leman Russ in it.  I hope it whet your appetite. 

Operation Righteous Thunder is launched.

Now that his army is three Corps and has support from the Legio Astorium and the Ordo Hereticus, 4* Gen Zhukov (Vostroya) has launched his pet offensive using the newly in theatre 18 Corps.  He has directed that their organic air support and artillery assets be stripped from 17 Korps and 38 Corps in order to ensure that 18 Corps has the best chance of success.

18 Corps will assault and capture the Colil Promethium Refinery, pushing the front 180 kloms east and providing a jumping off point (and vital resource) for a future offensive.

38 Corps is still forming up and training on the Loyalist continent of Acer.  17 Korps retains its current tasks (securing the rear lines, the port of Randstadt, occupying the Nolag heights north east of Randstadt and meeting any PLA formations that come into 72AG's TAOR) and additionally will advance to contact PLA units occupying the Culip Lines defensive wall beyond the Colil area in order to prevent those units from reinforcing their comrades defending the refinery.

3*Gen Tolstoy (Vostroya) doesn't really have the resources to undertake the new tasking.  901 Div (Cadian 24th and 127th) are covering the Nolag uplands, 905 Div (Palladia) are covering the main supply routes and remains of 903 Div (Valhalla) are occupying Randstadt.  Gen Tolstoy sends 902 Div (Kreig) and 904 Div (Corbania) to launch a diversionary attack on the Cudlip Defence Line.

Cudlip Lines weak spot.

The Commander of 904 Div, 1* Gen Pallumgski (Vostroya) is a one of officers favoured by Gen Zhukov.  True to the Vostroyan way of war, Gen Pallumgski has decided that he has a chance for glory if he can find a weak spot and punch a hole in the fortifications of Cudlip Lines.  He reviews the assets available to his Division and instructs that the Urban Assault Regiment's Hellhammer is just the very thing for bunker busting.

1 Corbanian's Hellhammer

902 Div's recce elements have identified a 400m gap in the belts of minefields.  The problem is that this is one of the most heavily defended sections and without air interdiction, the PLA have moved up two Baneblades to cover the vulnerability.  Gen Pallumgski orders the Corbanian 1st to attack.

17 Korps recce elements identifying the gap in the minefields.

I have split this BATREP into four because, quite simply, as the only game I have played this year, it is the largest and therefore should get a comparatively large amount of this blog's coverage.  For those interested in the mundanities, we started at ten and finished at six, eating half a pound of bacon in one and a half french sticks and had four rounds of tea and two rounds of pints of squash.  I think Col Corbane got through about half a dozen Loh sticks.  We approached the whole thing in a fairly relaxed and chatty manner which means we might have had a "better" (ie used all the proper rules, killed everyone much quicker and got new toys on the table quicker) game if we'd have concentrated.  But I think we preferred it like this.  Do look back in as it was interesting to see the battle unfold and I've tried to write it up in any easy to follow sort of way, C&C accepted. 

And hello to the Larfin' Ferrit and James Smith, welcome to Devos IV, do make your selves comfortable.

Mr Lee's Painting Emporium: Let's give away some prizes!

Mr Lee's Painting Emporium: Let's give away some prizes!: Yes, finally, it is here! All the pre-post articles lead us to this moment.. this one moment when all will be revealed on how you can win...