The Blood Deserts of Auros IX: Battle Summaries (Battles #10 and #11)
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 #10: "Nuttin' fancy: just 'urt 'em bad" (2000 points per side)
As he rode alone across the desert on his Vincent Black Shadow, Raja Shamshir Talatra was well-pleased. 

Not because of how the invasion was going. Though the Tigers had enjoyed some success, victory was still a long way off, and the last mission had been particularly galling. On that mission, the Tigers had inflicted massive casualties on the Orks but had nevertheless failed when they had discovered that their objective--a captured Rhino--had been booby-trapped against them. To accomplish their mission and destroy the Rhino--and the Ork Warboss' plan to use the Tigers' communication system--they would have had to first disarm the crude Ork grenades tied to the outside of the hull. And there had been no time for that. 

No, he was not pleased about that. Nor was he pleased at how many Marines the war had cost already, or how tenaciously the Orks were resisting. But what did please him this morning was the stark, savage beauty of this world, so different from Veda. He liked its stony red soil and its green, spiky cacti, its deep, empty riverbeds and silent canyons. He liked how he could see his breath in the chilly air and how it had not rained once in all the weeks he had been here. For a moment he found himself envious of the miners and the settlers who would come after him and spend the rest of their lives here, exploring and taming this wild and truly beautiful world.

He halted his bike atop a high ridge and, taking the monocular from his saddlebag, looked down on the thousands of advancing Orks that were still miles away. The reports from the Tigers of Puchan had been correct, of course: the greenskins, flush with success, were attempting to break through the Tiger cordon again. No doubt their Warboss intended to link up with the Orks outside the cordon and launch a massive offensive against the Space Marines from Veda. 

Poor fool, Raja Shamshir thought. He wondered if the Ork Warboss had any idea how few followers he had left outside the cordon. The Tigers had been content to contain him and what was left of his army for the last few weeks while they hunted down and exterminated the scattered, disorganized mobs cut off from their Warboss. Or, more accurately, while the Tigers hunted down and exterminated the Orks that hadn't already killed each other fighting for supremacy now that their Warboss didn't have them under his iron boot. 

Raja Shamshir watched them for a long time--how long, he didn't know--until he heard the rasping whine of Scout bikes. A squad of them, female Tigers of Puchan in white and brown armor, approached. The Scout Sergeant dismounted and bowed low before him.

"Greetings, Raja Shamshir. Your advisor, Talwar Chakram, is distressed that you have not responded to her repeated attempts to contact you. May I ask if your communication equipment is in working order?"

"It is in working order. I merely wished to be alone for a time." He took another look at the Orks through the monocular. "I take it she disapproves of my venturing out into the desert alone and wishes me to return to base at once."

"The Raja is as wise as he is formidable," the Scout Sergeant answered. 

"Tell Talwar Chakram that I will return by and by." 

"Forgive me, mighty Raja, but she instructed me not to return without you."

"Perhaps I shall have to remind Talwar Chakram that I answer to only three people in the galaxy: my counterpart, Raja Khandar; our Founder, Maharaja Shiva; and the Bhraman, the Sleeping Emperor whose dreams shape the universe." He replaced the monocular in his saddlebag. "Nevertheless, I have finished here. Let us return to base and prepare our attack."

Premise:	Sho-T BigHed has gone on the offensive, eagerly leading his Orks into battle to "bash dem Tigerz up good." This battle was fought using the "Cleanse" mission from page 139 of the main rulebook.
Tiger Strategy:	Raja Shamshir Talatra (accompanied by Bikes, Attack Bikes, and Tactical Squads in Rhinos) leads a "refused flank" (see page 21 of Codex: Space Marines) against the Orks.
Ork Strategy:	Swamp 'em! Hit enemy from all sides and shut down main Tiger force.
Play of the Game:	Ork Killer Kans deploy in center of board and steadily advance on Tigers, forcing them to: 1) send main force through narrow gap to avoid them; and 2) expend all support fire against Killer Kans instead of against Ork units attacking main force.
Winner:	Orks (at end of game, held 2 table quarters to Tigers' 0 table quarters).Secure first of five objectives!
How the Orks won:	Pat effectively divided my forces into several small, bite-sized chunks that his Orks then devoured. Pat's Stormboyz and Slugga Boyz occupied my forces on the left. His Killer Kans kept my supporting forces in the center on the defensive the entire game. Finally, Sho-T, his Stikk Bommas, and his Trukkboyz shut down and slowly wore down (in hand-to-hand combat) my main force of bikers. A crushing victory for the Orks!
How the Tigers lost:	Before each game I draw up a battle plan; however, in this game, I neglected to adjust it for enemy deployment (Pat's Killer Kans in the middle of the board) and terrain (a narrow gap that my main force would have to go through to escape said Kans). I compounded my error by allowing Pat to go first, thus ensuring that his Orks would get to that gap before my Tigers could pass through it. My main force was trapped there and slowly hacked to pieces. No heroics from Raja Shamshir saved the day this time....
Objectives Secured:	Tigers 2, Orks 1.

Battle #11: "Get 'em!" (2000 points per side)
Sho-T BigHed paced up and down the lines of his troops, eyeing each Ork carefully. Morale was high after their recent success and Sho-T was seizing the initiative. In hours, his ladz were going to unleash their most devastating attack yet. 

Nevertheless, his Boyz were tired and wounded. Some mobs had been whittled down to just a few Orks. Some changes would have to be made if they were going to kick those Tigers off their planet. 

“Boss! Boss!” yelled Sprokkits the Mekboy, his bare, flat feet flapping over the blood-red gravel as he ran.

“Not now. I’m busy,” Sho-T growled. He stopped in front of Gordreg, the Stikk Bommas’ Nob, and scowled. “Suck in dat gut! Eyes front! Wipe dat smirk off ya face, ya mook. Youze a piss-poor example to da udder Nobz.”

“But Boss,” Sprokkits panted, coming to a halt—well outside arm’s length—near Sho-T. “Lookee what I found.”

Sho-T looked back at the gaggle of Gretchin behind Sprokkits. They were struggling along, dragging several large pieces of scrap. As they came closer, Sho-T saw that they had scavenged several parts from some Tigerwagons. 

“Whatchu got dere, Sprokkits?”

“Dese parts is gonna make some really ‘ooge guns, Boss. Big boomas. Real zappa like.”

Sho-T cocked his shoota and stuck it in Sprokkit’s face. “None of dat nookleer stuff again. I’ve warned yoo about dat….”

Despite the cool, dry air, Sprokkits managed to break into an immediate sweat. “No Boss, nothing like dat. Good old-fashioned Orky blasta stuff. You’ll see.”

Sho-T grinned. It was all coming together. “Dat's okay den. Sprokkits, lad, yoo build as many of dose new blasta guns as yoo want. Meantime, me and da boyz will have a lil talk ‘bout kickin’ dem Tigerz right in dere stripey tails.”

Premise:	Emboldened by his recent success, Sho-T launches an all-out offensive against the Fighting Tigers to “lern ‘em good.” This mission uses the "Meatgrinder" mission from page 146 of the main rulebook.
Tiger Strategy:	Use the "solid defense" tactic (see page 21 of Codex: Space Marines). In addition, I had a few diversionary units: 2 Rhinos and a Razorback, bought as transports for my Tactical and Devastator Squads. The plan was for the squads to remain in my deployment zone as part of the "solid defense" while the transports led some of the Orks on a wild goosechase across the board. Remember, the Orks would have to wipe out EVERY Tiger unit to win, so this tactic would fragment the Ork force, blunting their attack and allowing me to stall until time expires.
Ork Strategy:	Use Looted Basilisk and brand new Zzap guns to whittle down main Fighting Tiger force. Infiltrate with Kommandos and use trukks and Battlewagon to get to the Tiger lines as fast as possible.
Play of the Game:	Ork Kommandos with tankbusta bombz successfully infiltrate near Fighting Tiger lines and destroy the diversionary force, allowing the rest of the Orks to concentrate their attacks on the defending squads.
Winner:	Orks.Secure second of five objectives!
How the Orks won:	In the early part of the campaign, Pat's army used to be unbalanced when it came to speed: he had a few fast units, but the majority of the army was pretty ponderous. The invariable result was that the fast parts would get too far ahead of the slower main force, allowing me to divide his army and destroy it piecemeal. As the campaign has gone on, he has added several faster units and has done a much better job coordinating his attacks, as he proved again in this battle by wiping out my entire army in 6 turns.
How the Tigers lost:	"They're coming in too fast!" In this battle, as in #10, I simply had too many units coming at me at the same time to stop them all.
Objectives Secured:	Tigers 2, Orks 2.

 

Previous Page: Battle #9 Next page: Battle #12

Related Pages
Fighting Tigers Glossary and Pronunciation Guide
 

Like what you've seen? Then vote for the Jungle in the "Top 100 40K Sites"

© Copyright Patrick Eibel and Kenton Kilgore, June 2000
 

Top