Battle of Mortem Abbey - Hyperia Hivesprawl

 

Points: 1500.

Mission: Forward Push.

Secondary Objectives: Assassination, Mental Interrogation and Thin Their Ranks.

The Battle of Mortem Abbey was a major engagement in the conflict for Hyperia Hivesprawl. It took place in the abbey of Saint Mortem between the Rift Wardens and the Order of the Bloody Rose.

A few days after the Rift Wardens were attacked by the Grey Knights, the Adepta Sororitas attempted to draw the space marines into a preselected kill zone with a campaign of selected misinformation. When the plan succeeded with the chapter lured into the ruined abbey, the Sisters deployed a force of a thousand battle sisters to entrap them within. The space marines suffered many casualties and injuries before they were able to force a point through the Sororitas lines and retreat.

Victory to the Sisters of Battle.

Into The Fire - Pariah Nexus

 

Points: 1500.

Mission: Scorched Earth.

Secondary Objectives: Engage on All Fronts, Raise the Banners High and Thin Their Ranks.

Warzone Pariah has become the current defining crusade of the 42nd Millennium as the Imperium struggles to defeat the evil machinations of the Silent King and his Necron armies. The Rift Wardens have come to offer their blades and their lives in defeating the soulness machines.

Within days of their arrival in the Pariah war zone, the Rift Wardens became the target of a sizeable Necron assault. The Necron leadership sought to encircle and crush the space marines between two advancing forces. One flank was delayed due to encountering an Astra Militarum battalion. The main force however relentlessly advanced into the Rift Wardens position. The space marines had prepared a defensive position having expected an enemy assault.

Captain Lorgraine was unaware of the Necron numbers in the area and believed the area to be lightly held. When his scouts failed to report in or return after a few hours, he realised that the enemy might be more numerous than expected. Lorgraine decided that a swift assault into the Necron lines might destabilize their forces initially.

In the early morning, the Rift Wardens charged the advancing Necron lines. Many necron warriors were slain but with their reanimation protocols, they did not stay down for long. The necrons outnumbered the Rift Wardens, but the overlord was aware of their strengths and expertly turned the tide of battle. Conjouring an aspect of the Nightbringer most certainly gave them the edge in the battle.

The Rift Wardens charge was stopped by the arrival of the Nightbringer and a squadron of tomb blades. Gauss fire strafed the marine lines. Many marines were killed and more wounded. Lieutenant Tristan sold his life, bravely engaging the C'tan in melee so that his brothers could retreat. His name was recorded in the chapter's hall of heroes.

Ultimately the chapter was forces to fall back and request thunderhawk evacuation.

Victory to the Necrons.

The Tide Turns - Dontoria Hivesprawl

Points: 500.

Mission: Incisive Attack.

Secondary Objectives: Assassinate, Domination and Thin Their Ranks.

In an attempt to entrap Imperial forces in the Gethesmane district of Dontoria Hivesprawl, Typhus - warlord of the Death Guard, attempted to lay a number of ambushes for guard forces in various fortifications. When this failed, Typhus raged in frustration, and ordered this his forces to instead march forth to assault Imperial forces directly.

At first, the Death Guard performed well and slaughtered many Imperial warriors. However, their luck soon ran out when they themselves were ambushed in return by the Rift Wardens. The space marines sought vengeance for their recent defeat and they poured all their hate into the servants of the plague god. Their vengeance was great and a good many plague marines fell to their assault, or were forced to flee. Typhus himself was sorely wounded and had to teleport back up to the Terminus Est high in orbit.

Victory to the Rift Wardens.

Dig Site Alpha 12 - Kaelac's Bane

Points: 1700.

Missions: Ascension.

Secondary Objectives: Ascend, Bring It Down and Thin Their Ranks.

The battle of Dig Site Alpha 12 was a minor battle in which the Rift Wardens took part. Aeldari raiders had assaulted a Mechanicus ice mining station. They picked this target as it was lightly defended and they wanted to perpetrate an aggressive show of force against the Imperium. The major Craftworlds were engaged elsewhere so this was left to a minor craftworld.

The battle was short and the Aeldari successfully assaulted the dig site. They killed many and forced the majority of the counter attacking Rift Wardens to fall back to the nearest Mechanicus facility. The Aeldari planted their banners on the site atop bodies of the fallen as a message to the Imperium.

Victory to the Aeldari.

The Tau Advance Continues - Corinthia

Points: 1700.

Missions: Four Pillars

Secondary Objectives: Engage On All Fronts, Investigate Sites and Thin Their Ranks.

Less than a week into the invasion, the Tau high command found itself occupying an abandoned settlement several miles from the frontline of the war. A council had been called to discuss the Tau battle plans since the war was going better than initially expected.

The Rift Wardens 4th company has fortified a series of bastions and defence lines across the anticipated path of the Tau advance. This site was chosen to restrict movement of the Tau fire warriors so that they could locked down and destroyed by more mobile Astra Militarum mechanised detachments. To protect this defensive line, the company was divided into four with each occupying a quarter of the total length.

The Tau forces carefully scouted and observed the space marine positions for three days. It was determined by the war council that the space marines had positioned themselves to hold off a dedicated attack force coming from the front. A weakness was detected in the right flank that the Tau could use to their advantage.

In the early hours and under cover of night, Tau fire warriors and stealth teams approached a steep slope to the east of the Rift Wardens right flank. From here the surprise attack was nearly total. Barely challenged on their way in, they were into the Rift Wardens' position with but a few stray shots. The Tau began to fire down into the space marine positions inflicting many casualties before advancing down into the lines.

The fighting lasted until just after sunrise when the Rift Wardens present recieved communications to fall back to a secondary fire base. The Tau, accepting a victorious fight against the Imperium, harried the retreating space marines while simultaneously claiming the fortified network for themselves and creeping ever closer to the main target, the capitol hive city of Corinthia.

Down With The Sickness - Dontoria Hivesprawl

Points: 1500.

Missions: Front Line Warfare.

Secondary Objectives: Engage On All Fronts, Thin Their Ranks and Vital Ground.

At Dontoria Hivesprawl, the Rift Wardens had deployed primarily to combat the Death Guard threat which had arrived in the early days of the war. The first battle for the Rift Wardens came when one of their companies came under attack from a vanguard force of Death Guard led by a foul daemon prince. Taken by surprise the battle brothers were eventually cornered and forced into a corner of a warehouse district.

Despite having overwhelming numbers, the Death Guard still suffered heavy losses. The Rift Wardens lost many good brothers, some to combat and some to an unnatural malady that swept through their numbers. After two weeks of heavy fighting, reinforcements from other chapters were able to breach the area and rescue the survivors. Following this, the Death Guard fell back into the waste tunnels beneath the hive to regroup.

Victory to the Death Guard.