Battle In The Dunes - Vigilus Wastelands

Points: 2000.

Mission: Secure Missing Artefacts.

Secondary Objectives: Bring It Down, Engage On All Fronts and No Prisoners. 

Opponent's Secondary Objectives: Engage On All Fronts, Get Da Good Bitz and Grind Them Down.

After the Rift Wardens recent engagement with the Orkish speed waaagh outside the walls of Dontoria Hivesprawl, Captain Oberon was tasked with reorganising the defences north of the city in the anticipation of another assault. A number of squads were drawn from other positions, abandoning those and moved to bolster the new defence works. The new position was a series of tightly packed dunes covered with hardy brush, which became thicker the further in the marines went. The surrounding plains provided no cover, meaning the attacking ork force would be subjected to murderous fire from the Rift Wardens.

Oberon ordered his battle brothers into a frontal assault as the orks advanced towards their position. It was impossible for any flanking actions due to the openness of the terrain. Intercessor squads were sent into the attack - holding the left and right flanks - with hellblasters held in reserve. The force was supported by a repulsor executioner which blasted the ork positions from a far distance. Before they could reach the Rift Warden positions, the orks were forced back by bolter rifle, heavy bolter and some artillery fire. However, this did not stop the greenskins from continuing the attack and they soon swiftly advanced upon the space marine positions.

By late afternoon, more and more orks supported by battle wagons and giant walkers arrived from the wastelands. With the arrival of such weapons of war, the orks let out a battle cry and charged. The orks failed again to reach the space marine lines, suffering heavy casualties. A few isolated squads of boyz reached the dunes as night fell but were forced to retreat by Rift Warden counter-attacks. Despite further reinforcements, the orks were once more forced to withdraw. The greenskins then waited until night had fallen and sneakily attempted to use it to their advantage.

The third and final wave occurred once the sun had set and the desert wastes were lit only by the hellish light of the great rift, and straight away the orks suffered the same problems as earlier, only this time compounded by the lack of light. Eventually, with numbers on their side, the orks were able to force their way into the dunes and into the space marine positions. It was here that the advance stopped. In the darkness many orks had become lost and some fell back into the deserts to regroup. At the same time the ork heavy vehicles and walkers, who had become bogged down in the sands, rejoined the attack. Oberon and his forces held on to the dunes until dawn, when the events of battle and fearing heavy casualties, forced him to order a withdrawal back to Dontoria.