The Blood Deserts of Auros IX: Battle Summaries (Battles #1 and #2)
We've included this section for those of you who might be curious as to how the the games and the campaign actually played out. For the sake of brevity, we're presenting summaries of the battles instead of turn-by-turn transcripts. Remember that each army's goal is to secure five objectives. 

Battle #1: First Strike (2000 points per side)
The Thunderhawk, engines screaming in the thin desert air, slowly lowered itself to the plascrete landing pad. Twenty Fighting Tiger Space Marines and their leader, all in mustard and brown armor, marched to the nose of the craft, where a woman was descending down the exit ramp. She was tall and impossibly beautiful for a warrior, with pale skin, long, rippling red hair, and blue eyes, her armor white and black. Her advisors and loyal bodyguards, all in orange and black armor, followed her as she approached.

“Raja Khandar Madu,” the leader addressed her, in the ritual fashion, “I bid thee welcome.” His bald head sported a large portwine stain and the irises of his eyes were the same red color as the nearby desert sand. Though the 500 Marines under him obeyed without question there were some outside the Chapter who whispered that he was a mutant and hence unclean, or that he was touched by Chaos and hence damned. 

“Raja Shamshir Talatra,” she returned the ritual greeting, “I thank thee for thy welcome.”

They fell in step together as they moved toward the Space Marine compound that hadn’t existed eight days ago. “Our headquarters facility is complete and ahead of schedule, as promised,” he told her. “Tigers of Puchan and Indra have rooted out and eliminated all Orkoids within 20 miles of this place. Our enemies are completely unaware of our presence here on Auros IX. Talwar Chakram has compiled a list of targets and we may begin operations at any moment.”

She smiled grimly. “Then let us do so.”

Premise:	To cut off Ork communications on Auros IX, the Fighting Tigers must disable the enemy's main communications tower. Unfortunately, the Ork warboss Sho-T BigHed is on the scene performing a "surpriz enspekshun." This battle was fought using the "Sabotage" Mission from page 149 of the main rulebook.
Tiger Strategy:	Reach communications tower quickly using vehicles carrying assault troops; fight way through Ork Troop units and plant charges before Ork reserves arrive.
Ork Strategy:	Surround communications tower with masses of Troop units to stave off Fighting Tiger attacks until reserves arrive or time expires.
Play of the Game:	Ork Kommandos arrive on Turn 2, use tankbusta bombz to destroy/disable 2 Rhinos, delay Tactical Squads inside. Without backup from these squads, Assault Terminators and Veterans are unable to reach and destroy communications tower.
Winner:	Orks
How the Orks Won:	Luck I tell you, just damn luck! Seriously, Pat's Kommandos effectively ended the game almost as soon as it began by negating 583 points worth of Marines. Ouch!
How the Tigers lost:	I didn't think I would be able to sneak my way across the board without being detected, so I decided to skip it and just take vehicles. Mistake #1 was moving the Tactical Rhinos too close to the edge of the board (to go around some terrain), which allowed the Kommandos (in Reserve) to appear and assault them. Mistake #2 was shooting and not assaulting the Kommandos; had I assaulted them, I would have been able to make an 11" sweeping advance (I rolled for it afterwards just to see what would have happened). Mistake #3 was getting the Terminators shot up by mega-blastas.
Objectives Secured:	Tigers 0, Orks 0.

Battle #2: "We'll see 'bout dat..."(2000 points per side)
Sho-T BigHed, SupreemArchBigShot of Da Hol Wurld, was well-pleased. Though his Blood Axe Boyz had licked all the other Ork mobs on this red planet and Sho-T himself had dispatched all the rival Bosses in a grand public execution, he had begun to wonder when some of his Nobz would start to get bored and start plotting against him. That was why he had commissioned his Mekboy Sprokkits to build the tallest antenny he could so Sho-T could keep tabs on them—after all, one didn’t get to SupreemArchBigShot by being careless. 

But now that the Marines had arrived Sho-T had nothing to worry about from his Nobz. Good ting I wuz here enspektin da joint, Sho-T thought to himself, as he stepped over the crumpled body of a Fighting Tiger. Uudderwize dem stripeypants mighta broken sumting.

He grinned broadly. Around him lay the burnt and bleeding corpses of Boyz and Space Marines alike. At the edge of the compound, two striped Rhinos continued to burn, destroyed by well-placed tankbusta bombz. Sho-T himself had a nasty cut on his forearm that he was sure went clean down to the bone. But his gleaming antenny was intact, the Tigers had retreated before the Ork reinforcements, and prisoners had been taken. Which meant that, with some prodding from his Painboyz, soon they’d tell him where he could find more of them….

Premise:	Having fought off the Fighting Tigers of Veda in the first battle for Auros IX, Sho-T BigHed and his Blood Axe Orks seize the initiative and "pay a friendlee-like vizit" to the Space Marine base to disrupt their operations. This battle was fought using the "Strongpoint" mission from page 151 of the main rulebook.
Tiger Strategy:	Keep Orks away from bunkers by overwhelming firepower and rapid counterattacks.
Ork Strategy:	Rapidly attack from all sides and seize/destroy bunkers before Fighting Tiger reserves can arrive.
Play of the Game:	Vindicator destroys Sho-T's wartrukk, killing his bodyguard and so severely injuring him that he cannot continue the battle.
Winner:	Though the Ork Kommandos managed to destroy one bunker, the Tigers won by points.
How the Tigers won:	I effectively concentrated my firepower and picked off each Ork unit one by one.
How the Orks lost:	Because of the Reserves rules, Pat's units arrived piecemeal and were unable to mount a coherent attack.
Objectives Secured:	Tigers 0, Orks 0.

 

Next page: Battles #3 and #4

Related Pages
Fighting Tigers Glossary and Pronunciation Guide
 

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© Copyright Patrick Eibel and Kenton Kilgore, April 2000
 

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