Battle of New Vitae Docks - Mortwald

Points: 2000.

Mission: Tear Down Their Icons.

Secondary Objectives: Bring It Down, Engage On All Fronts and Raise The Banners High.

Opponent's Secondary Objectives: Behind Enemy Lines, Exalt The Dark Gods and Warp Ritual.

The battle of New Vitae Docks was a Rift Wardens counter-attack against the Word Bearers occupying the site. New Vitae Docks was positioned on the eastern side of the hive sprawl. A large portion of the Rift Wardens had withdrawn to this position following frequent attacks by the Word Bearers and their daemon engines. Following the traitor marine assaults at Electros Hive, the Rift Wardens withdrew to the eastern walls. This allowed the Word Bearers to occupy New Vitae Docks unopposed. 

With the Word Bearers capturing territory this prompted a Rift Warden counter-attack to retake the docks. The chapter's librarians flooded the aether with psychic interference to impede enemy communications. The Word Bearers constructed a ring of defences around their forward positions. The Rift Wardens force of company strength attacked and was repelled after suffering significant casualties.

The space marine assault was conducted simultaneously on two enemy held positions. The Word Bearers has constructed numerous entrenchments and fortifications in preparation for the  Rift Wardens attack. A number of infantry assaults against the Word Bearers positions were carried out but each failed and after which the chapter withdrew.

The result of the battle was a successful Word Bearers defence in the region around the docks.It consolidated chaos marine control in the region and allowed further pushes towards the interior of the hive sprawl. Following this battle, Arthurus requested Imperial command that his chapter stop being spread so thin across the warzones of Vigilus as the chapter was suffering untenable losses fighting multiple opponents on multiple fronts.

Second Battle of Electros Hive - Mortwald

Points: 1500.

Mission: Tide of Conviction.

Secondary Objectives: Assassination, Retrieve Nephilim Data and Shock Assault.

Opponent's Secondary Objectives: Exalt The Dark Gods, Rise To Glory and Warp Ritual.

Chapter Master Arthurus ordered the streets of Electros Hive swept for enemy forces. During the sweeping, Lieutenant Agrippa, began the unopposed landing of fresh battle brothers in two groups. One at the ruptured gates of the Hive where the Astra Militarum fought to contain the enemy. And the other deep within the Hive close where they last engaged the Word Bearers. By evening of the next day, the Rift Wardens had deployed almost their entire chapter to the Hive, bar the scouts who were occupied fighting out in the wastelands. By noon on the third day, Arthurus ordered his chapter to march on the enemy positions. Well concealed defenders quickly broke up the advance. The fighting soon turned into skirmishing among the ruins and bitter street fighting. Agrippa, leading several squads of Eliminators, made good progress, capturing several vital locations. But by then, the advance had been stopped. The Word Bearers had scattered and isolated many Intercessor squads, and those marines were soon forced to fall back and regroup, giving up ground hard fought for.

A host of cultists loyal to the Word Bearers soon arrived and although not a major threat, their presence gave the traitor marines an increase in massed small arms fire. The Word Bearers commander attempted to envelop the Rift Warden squads, launching brutal assaults into the loyalists as they fell back. At least three hundred battle brothers were slain during this phase of the engagement.

Battle of Electros Hive - Mortwald

Points: 1500.

Mission: Data Scry Salvage.

Secondary Objectives: Assassination, Grind Them Down and Retrieve Nephilim Data.

Opponent's Secondary Objectives: Exalt The Dark Gods, Rise To Glory and Warp Ritual.

When the invading forces of Chaos turned to face the Imperial forces, they held one of the most important locations on Vigilus. Mortwild Hivesprawl was the primary food source for the population on Vigilus. Unless the hive was recovered then the billions would starve to death. A force of Word Bearers settled themselves in the path of the Rift Wardens within a blasted collection of ruins covering an advance where the space marines had little concealment. The Word Bearers commanded a wide field of fire.

Under the cover of dense smoke from burning buildings, most of the Rift Wardens advance force approached the Word Bearers position. Contact was soon established with the enemy, and the Rift Wardens made negligible progress beyond this position. Under the cover of thick smoke, a small force led by Arthurus himself, advanced through narrow streets up to the traitor's position. When the Word Bearers detected their approach, the Rift Wardens were mercilessly raked by massed firepower. The main Rift Wardens force fared little better.

It soon became clear that neither side could budge the other and since neother chose to retreat, the impasse hardened into a stalemate, that would lock the two antagonists into a relatively narrow stretch for the next four weeks. Arthurus ordered his battle brothers to to entrench as much as possible within the ruins. The marines dug in and prepared for a lengthy siege. 

Siege warfare was an unexpected option for the Word Bearers who preferred a more straight forward battle plan, but they adapted quickly. They used powerful daemon engines to unleash a constant stream of firepower into the Rift Wardens location to both hold them in place and to inflict heavy casualties.

The early loss of their dreadnoughts and tanks handicapped the Rift Wardens. Only some relic deimos pattern predators were powerful enough to shell the enemy positions and they proved inferior to the daemon engines. Reinforcements were requested and rushed to their side but for now the two forces were locked into their stalemate.