Danse Macabre - Bellaraphon

Points: 1000.

Mission: Deliverance.

Secondary Objectives: Bolster Barricades, Bring It Down and Grind Them Down. 

Opponent's Secondary Objectives: A Deadly Performance, Retrieve Battlefield Data and Take Your Places.

In response to appeals for help from captain Andred, Arthurus organised a company of battle brothers to assist Andred in launching a counter-attack against the Harlequins. Arththurus moved to a northern flank, while Andred's squads continued to maintain pressure against any of the alien raiding parties.

For the next two days, the Harlequins advanced upon the space marine positions, forcing many squads to retreat under heavy shuriken fire. The aliens forced the space marines to commit their reserves and left few areas where the battle brothers could aid one another. On the fourth day of the battle, the Rift Wardens began to bolster the forest around their lines although frequent casualties left the space marines a shadow of their former numbers. Andred prepared a counter-attack by the Harlequins were ready and the front lines remained unchanged.

The Harlequins moved westward and tried to encircle the space marines to the south, and by day four they were assaulting the Rift Warden defences and inflicting heavy casualties. After nearly two weeks the Harlequins were pushing the space marines out of the forests and back into territory controlled by the Mechanicus. Once on the borders of their territory, the Rift Wardens bolstered and held their ground.

The Harlequins had captured several locations within the forest and it soon became aware to space marine command that the enemy was driving them back in order to secure specific locations although it was not known why.

After a month of rearming and reinforcing their numbers from the orbiting fleet, Andred led a counter-attack concentrating their efforts towards the nearest location held by the enemy. After three days of heavy fighting, little had changed in the position of the front line.