[Perturabo]

This was a massed battle fought by myself and a good friend a couple of weeks ago-so this is more of an overveiw than full battle report.

The Scenario
The background was that the Iron Warriors had dug themselves in on an isolated part of an Imperial world,the Imperial guard had massed its forces and were storming the lines.

Victory Conditions
Simple the the Imperial Guard won if they had any scoring unit in the Iron warriors deployment zone at the end of the final turn.This represented them getting the foothold in the Chaos lines allowing them too bring in reinforcements.Anything else meant that the attack had stalled and the Iron Warriors had held the line forcing the Imperial Guard to withdraw.

Deployment
The battle was played along the table with the forces deploying on the short table edges.The imperial forces could deploy up to 18" from their board edge and the Iron Warriors had a fortified Deployment zone up 24" from thier edge,including bunkers turret emplacements and fortified barricades (godbless forge world for such a fantastic range).

The Battle
First turn was given to the Imperial guard to represent the element of suprise.

A huge mass of imperial guard surged forward with a mighty battle cry supported by artillery and tanks, chimeras,leman russ's and a leman russ vindictor roaring forward next to the footsoilders in vanguard of the attack.

Sentinals stalked up the flanks knocking out emplacements punching holes in the Iron Warriors formidable defence,screaming vindicator shells reduced the main command bunker to rubble leaving the occupants to claw their way free.The Iron warriors returned fire with impressive accuracy felling swathes of guardsmen,but the hordes of local conscripts were pushed forward by the commisars yelling devotional prayers to the Emperor.

A possesed predator surged forward its engines howling like the trapped creature within its Las tongue flicked out and the sentinels were no more.Plasma fire poured out from the ancient dreadnought recently brought forward and unchained,it screamed with rage as the plasma dripped off the front of the closest Leman Russ barely scorching the paintwork.

The Guardsman continued to close with grim determination,pouring grenades and heavy Las Fire into the Iron Warriors massed ranks, more of the prepared positions were turned into smoking ruins filled with powered armoured corpses.

The vindicator homed in on the corrupted predator, offering a prayer to the Emperor the gunner scored a direct hit blowing the main weapon clean away from the hull,though to the disbeleif of the crew the demon tank could not be stunned by such a greivous blow.

Missiles flew out from every part of the Iron Warriors lines bouncing of the heavy armour of the Leman Russ's stunning some of the crews with the constant ringing but failing in their accursed task of destroying the lumbering tanks.Flames bloomed as a chimera was taken down just as it passing through a bottle neck of tank traps-a cunning ploy by the Iron Warriors Generals.More and more guards man fell to the massed fire power, many men could not stand to see such wanton slaughter and broke down into jibbering wrecks useless to their cause.

The Guard Commanders responded by surging forward with renenwed vigour only to see their volleys of weapons fire bounce harmlessly off the ancient power armour of the chaos marines and see the ghostly shapes rise from the impact craters and swirling smoke of artillery hits only to start firing again.

Just as the guard thought it could not get any worse crackling warp energy surrounded the predators cusred hull and before the disbeleiving eyes of the horrified guardsmen the turret reformed and slowly tracked towards the nearset Russ,a beam of incandessant light leap out,for a second they thougt the tank had survived but then with a bright flash and a boom louder than hearing it exploded outward incinerating several unfortunate guardsman nearby.

As if by some hidden signal this led to a wave of heavy weapons fire that destroyed another Chimera and totaly imobilised the second Russ the remaining guardsmen took whatever cover they could and managed to weather the storm of bolter fire washing over them.

Called by the foul sorceries that had rebuilt the predators shattered hull a glowing light appeared in the wasteland before it, the outline of several power armoured figures became more solid stepping forward one of the figures swung his masive armoured fist and punched straight through the blistered side armour of the demon tank and ripped the very substance of the warp from inside-the deamons howling fell silent,the Imperial inquistor wiped his hand clean on the tabbard of his terminator armour,as he turned to the retinue of grey knights and ordered them into the Iron Warriors lines.

More glowing outlines started to appear all through the Iron Warrior lines suddenly the Grey Knights were among them.Some fell screaming as they appeared half in and half out of barricades and rocks but soon the fortifications were swarming with shining silver warriors in baroque Terminator armour.A hush fell over the battle field as the bolter fire lessened as the two armoured forces were drawn into personal combat,guardsmen charged in inspired by the presence of the marines only to be torn to shreds on the evil blades of the Iron warriors who met the charge fearlessly in their own lines safe in the knowledge that they knew these fortifications.For a few precious minutes it looked like the Grey Knights had tipped the batlle for the Imperial forces.

Unknown to them the Iron Warriors had managed to get a comm signal out before they were jammed-reinforcements were here-Warsmith Zarich the Banefull himself was gracing the battlefield with his damning prescence-the gods of chaos would be worshipped today!Bodies flew through the air as he carved a bloody path through the intruders in his lines,reveling in the death and destruction he was causing brought pleasure to him,seeing that their lord was pleased his inner circle of Terminator chosenturned the lines into an orgy of death-no-one was left standing,no quater was given,no slaves would be taken today only skulls.

Looking over the shattered remains of the predator the Inquistor saw the bloodbath unfolding infront of him,knowing he could do nothing to save those locked in the whirling deathstorm he gathered the remain forces around him and began to withdraw back to Imperial lines-he had to save as many men and as many pieces of equipment as he could,the battle was lost but the war was far from over,he would regroup and come back again stronger and more determined!

Conclusion
Victory to the Iron warriors by a narrow margin!
The battle actualy went to the last close combat of turn 6 with the Grey Knight Terminators just losing that one man to many to reduce them to a non points scoring unit.
Both myself and my opponent spent ages pouring over the battle aftertwards and agree it was one of the best we've had in a long time and say there is little we would do to change our tactics if we fought it again.

Next
The Imperial Guard are in retreat from the pursuing Iron warrior forces,they must defend several Key Crossings over the river to allow their forces to retreat-or do they just blow them sacrificing men but stopping the Iron warriors pursuit-the next report will tell all!


Hope you liked it-never tried this kind of thing before!
Comments welcome