Deployment and Mission: Tipping Point / Night Fighting.
Primary Objective: Burden of Trust.
Detachment: Gladius Task Force.
Opponents Detachment: Canoptek Court.
This engagement was a series of battles fought over several days that resulted in a decisive victory for the Necrons in the Hell's Point offensive. It saw an almost total disintegration of the Imperial forces and saw them retreat and into other less important warzones.
Deployment: Front Line.
Primary Objective: Duel.
The battle of the Colicos Mines took place in and around an abandoned mining station less than a mile from the main battle site at Hell's Point. The Necron forces advancing on the left flank were attacked by a sentry patrol of Outriders. The Rift Wardens engaged in heavy fighting but had to pull back from the mines themselves. The Necron commander pushed the warriors under his command in to swamp the Imperial defenders. With the arrival of Skorpek warriors, the site was seized in a matter of hours.
The following morning, a Rift Warden assault was repulsed but some time later, the warriors were ordered to abandon the mines, allowing the space marines to recapture it, although cautiously. Two days later, the Necrons returned in even greater numbers and once again the Rift Wardens fell back. A bloody battle begun in which the Rift Wardens took significant casualties. The mines were captured but Lieutenant Tristan led a tactical counterattack and after a fierce battle, the site had exchanged hands once again. That night, the Necrons surged forward again. Tristan's forces were pinned down in the mine opening.
Reinforcements, intended for the Hell's Point front, arrived to bolster the Necron forces. Tristan ordered his outnumbered battle brothers to fall back, but fighting continued throughout the night, Tristan pulled his few units back and retreated to the main Imperial lines. The Necrons abandoned the mines to give pursuit.
Deployment and Mission: Hammer and Anvil / Fog of War.
Primary Objective: Take and Hold.
Detachment: Anvil Strike Force.
Opponents Detachment: Awakened Dynasty.
This engagement took place on the formerly deserted borders of the Hell's Point tomb, and was the result of two opposing forces making contact during their respective patrols. After initial resistance, the majority of the Necrons were destroyed, while the Rift Wardens remained completely intact.
After repelling a numerically superior Necron surprise attack at Volstead Colony and clearing the Draachenfel blackstone mines, a small force of Rift Wardens led by Captain Gwaine decimated a significant Necron force including Trazyn and the Silent King himself. The Rift Wardens sustained minimal casualties, and Gwaine received recognition from Arthurus for overrunning the alien forces.
Points: 2000.
Deployment and Mission: Crucible Of Battle / Hidden Supplies.
Primary Objective: Burden Of Trust.
Detachment: Anvil Strike Force.
Opponents Detachment: Hypercrypt Legion
The Battle of the Borderlands was fought over several days on the Hell's Point front. The battle took place during the final stages of the Imperial offensive, The battle began as a penetrative action launched by Necron forces, to advance their lines and bolster their opposition through a series of small raids against the Imperium. Afterwards, both sides rotated their forces in the area and the Rift Wardens launched a counter-attack against forces led by Illuminor Szeras. This attack was eventually repulsed and the Necron line held.
Deployment and Mission: Hammer And Anvil, Targets Of Opportunity.
Primary Objective: Supply Drop.
Detachment: Gladius Task Force.
Opponents Detachment: Hypercrypt Legion
Necron units assisted by multiple C'Tan shards, attempted to break through the Imperial lines beyond Hell's Point. The Rift Wardens were ordered to stop them, and fighting ensued in several places (while other Imperial units withdrew). The main Necron force broke through the space marine lines with ease, mainly utilizing eldritch technology to bypass the space marine defences.
Deployment and Mission: Search And Destroy / Minefields.
Primary Objective: Priority Targets.
Detachment: Stormlance Task Force.
Opponents Detachment: Obeisance Phalanx.
This was a battle that took place at the end of the crusade to defeat the Necron command at Hell's Point. The battle was the most successful Necron attack of the engagement. Using bite and hold tactics, with objectives limited to what could be held against Imperial counter-attacks, the Necrons now led by the Silent King himself, devastated the Rift Warden defence. This caused a panic among the Imperial command and caused a severe loss of morale in the Astra Militarum troops. Under Arthurus' command, the Imperial forces made for a local withdrawal and planning for a greater withdrawal, which would leave Hell's Point firmly in under Necron control.
Deployment and Mission: Dawn Of War / Chilling Rain.
Primary Objective: Take And Hold.
Detachment: Gladius Task Force.
Opponents Detachment: Hypercrypt Legion.
On the high ground above Hell's Point, the Necrons continued to inflict many losses on the Imperial divisions attacking there. Chief Librarian Uther took charge and led a joint infantry, dreadnought and aircraft operation against the enemy. Necron strongpoints and artillery pieces were captured or destroyed. Over the next two days, Uther took advantage of gaps in the Necron lines and his assault continued. However, this run of success was soon to come to an end as his forces neared the tomb complex itself. The enemy command unleashed a force of C'Tan shards the like had not been seen before and their attack was costly to both sides. Uther laid down a new formation of skirmish lines to be supported by the dreadnoughts and what terminator forces were available to him, and then attacked the enemy simultaneously. Despite a brave and heroic charge, the very presence of the star gods forced a recall of Uther's battle brothers. The engagement had been lost but at the very least, a number of vital positions had been destroyed, denied to the enemy.
Deployment and Mission: Search And Destroy / Minefields.
Primary Objective: Supply Drop.
Detachment: Anvil Siege Force.
Opponents Detachment: Canoptek Court.
After a terrible storm halted the Imperial offensive, the Rift Wardens once again attacked the Necron positions in an attempt to capture several enemy held objectives. The space marine advance succeeded but Necron aircraft and infantry counter-attacks isolated Captain Gwaine's forces between waves of enemy forces. As night fell and the storm broke, Illuminor Szeras manifested with a force of Immortals and recaptured all but one small corner of their defences, although this left Gwaine trapped behind the enemy lines.
Points: 1000.
Deployment and Mission: Hammer And Anvil / Hidden Supplies.
Primary Objective: Scorched Earth.
Detachment: Anvil Siege Force..
Opponents Detachment: Awakened Dynasty.
In the deep deserts of the equatorial regions contained substation sections of the Imperial supply lines and these were attacked and destroyed by elements of the Necrons reinforced by wandering bands of Flayers. The Necrons destroyed bridges and convoy vehicles in the south. While the main force completed their work, the Rift Wardens attempted to hold them while the support staff evacuated. They were unable to halt the Necron raid but did evacuate several hundred of the supply workers.
Points: 1000.
Deployment and Mission: Search And Destroy / Chilling Rain.
Primary Objective: Take And Hold.
Detachment: Anvil Siege Force..
Opponents Detachment: Awakened Dynasty.
The second battle for Look Out Point was an Imperial offensive during the war for Hell's Point. For the best part of a week, the Rift Wardens led an attack against the Necron defences overlooking the Hell's Point tomb complex. The Rift Wardens achieved the longest advance since the engagement began, The advance did slow over the next few days and the Necron defences recovered. The battle became a costly stalemate for both sides and by the end of the battle, the Imperial forces had suffered hundreds of thousands of casualties.
Deployment and Mission: Crucible Of Battle / Scrambler Fields.
Primary Objective: Sites Of Power.
Detachment: Anvil Siege Force.
Opponents Detachment: Awakened Dynasty.
The Battle of the Dunes was a minor engagement between Rift Warden and Necron forces during the Deep Desert campaign. Several Rift Wardens squads were ordered to attack Necron forces that had been detected marching from the tomb complex at the heart of the desert. The Rift Warden advance was detected by the Necron sentries, which enabled them to prepare and repulse the attack.
Deployment and Mission: Crucible Of Battle / Targets Of Opportunity.
Primary Objective: Take And Hold.
Detachment: Gladius Task Force.
Opponents Detachment: Awakened Dynasty.
This battle took place during the Imperial attack on Zann, specifically the campaign to eradicate the Necron forces from the deserts of the southern continent. The Rift Wardens under Captain Vortigern came under attack early on by a sizeable Necron force led by Orikan the Diviner. The Rift Wardens had fortified a series of fire bases surrounding the deserts edge.
Prior to the events of this engagement, Orikan's forces had been forced to retreat from the deep deserts after an series of successful assaults by the Deathwatch. The xenos hunters pursued the Necron forces, pushing them eastwards and allowing Imperial forces to consolidate and garrison vital sites in the central desert wastes. Patrols and reconnaissance by Orikan's forces soon detacted that the only way out was through the Rift Warden positions.
As the twin suns rose over the horizon, Orikan's force matrialised from the heat haze and attacked the space marine positions. During the fierce fighting, the tactic of advancing forward while aircraft straffed the positions and deathmarks assassinated important marine officers prevailed, while the main force supported by giant walking machines laid waste to anything else the Rift Wardens moved into battle. The space marines themselves werre unable to hold their positions under such devastating assault. Vortigern had no choice but to abandon the fire bases to the enemy for now.
Deployment and Mission: Crucible Of Battle / Hidden Supplies.
Primary Objective: Supply Drop.
Detachment: Gladius Task Force.
Opponents Detachment: Awakened Dynasty.
The Rift Wardens attacked north of Hell's Point, capturing the Necron positions and the roads into the area. Captain Galadhus led his forces along the left flank, capturing the high ground and destroying thousands of enemy warriors. Hhis forces then attacked further south, pushing towards the Necron tomb complex but after three days they failed to capture any new territory.
Galadhus attacked again on the north flank, advancing on the left and gaining more ground. Then the Necrons counter-attacked, stopping the space marine advance. When the space marines took the enemy positions at "Look Out Point" they were in a position to block the enemy counter-attack, forming a boundry between the two forces.
Two days later, the space marines attacked towards the tomb complex and attacked multiple enemy positions, breaking through the Necron defences. Over the next few days, the Rift Wardens hunkered down and they defeated several big enemy counter-attacks. Further attacks though, were stopped by difficult terrain and the appearance of a vast Tesseract Vault.
Necron attacks were suspended at this time in order to bring in fresh warriors from the complex, despite the repeated Rift Warden attacks. The Necrons now reinforced, began to put increasing pressure on the space marines, who met frequent counter-attacks. Despite the initial successes, the battle bogged down into stalemate.
Deployment and Mission: Search And Destroy / Secret Intel.
Primary Objective: Purge The Foe.
Detachment: Gladius Task Force.
Opponents Detachment: Awakened Dynasty.
The battle of Morvaal Ridge was a large offensive mounted by the Necrons against the Imperial attackers at Hell's Point. Morvaal Ridge was well fortified and the Rift Warden defenders fought with great determination, while the Necron co-ordination of infantry and artillery declined after the first day, due to confused fighting in the maze of trenches, dug-outs and shell-craters. The final Necron objectives were not reached for several days. Organisational difficulties and deteriorating weather frustrated the space marines, whose forces became disjointed and declined in effectiveness, and at the same time a revival occurred in the Necron forces. The Rift Wardens struggled with withstand the vast numbers of oncoming warriors and walking machines. The battle of Morvaal Ridge saw the Rift Wardens hold for now, but suffered the worst casualties to date in the war for the Pariah Nexus.
Deployment and Mission: Dawn Of War / Chosen Battlefield.
Primary Objective: Priority Targets.
Detachment: Gladius Task Force.
Opponents Detachment: Awakened Dynasty.
The Battle of Fort Astraeus was an attack on the Imperial defences at Hell's Point by the Necron forces, in which they captured in within a day. Astraeus was on the right flank of the Imperial lines, near to where the Rift Wardens were camped. Imperial defences ringed the fort and had observation towers towards the south of the battlefield. The Imperial defences were based upon a series of small hastily constructed fortifications, which provided overlapping fields of heavy weapons fire. The battle was seen to be a supreme effort by the Necrons, who then pushed into the Imperial forces, forcing them back from Hell's Point.
Deployment and Mission: Crucible Of Battle / Sweep And Clear.
Primary Objective: Purge The Foe.
Detachment: Gladius Task Force.
Opponents Detachment: Awakened Dynasty.
This battle was a subsidiary attack to support the Astra Militarum to the south of the main battle front, to exploit the weakening of the Necron defences opposite. Preperations for the attack were rushed, the Rift Wardens hastily dug trenches and the power of the Necron defence was sorely underestimated with the Imperial forces being outnumbered two to one. The Necron command anticipated the offensive and pulled their troops back to their own defences, The battle inflicted some losses on the Necron defenders but gained no ground and deflected few enemy warriors bound for the main battle front.
Mission: Conversion.
Secondary Objectives: Assassination, Engage On All Fronts and Warp Ritual.
Opponent's Secondary Objectives: Behind Enemy Lines, Retrieve Battlefield Data and Treasures of Aeons.
The Rift Wardens attacked a Necron defensive position, leading a vanguard strike. The objectives of the attack were several fortifications. The attack was made by four hundred battle brothers in the early hours using the long night to cover their approach. Desolator missile fire then created a creeping barrage and the battle brothers advanced up close behind it, leaving them only a short distance to cross when the barrage lifted. Most of the objective was captured and the Necron defence south of the fortificiations was put under great strain. Unfortunately the chapter had suffered a great number of casualties and were unable to push further.
Mission: Sacred Ground.
Secondary Objectives: Assassination, Grind Them Down, and Raise The Banners High.
Opponent's Secondary Objectives: Ancient Machineries, Engage On All Fronts and Grind Them Down.
The gates opened and a force of Necron warriors marched out to face the Imperial forces arrayed across Hell's Point. They advanced in two waves and many were blasted away by Imperial fire, and many many still reached into their lines. The warriors were making their way through the attacker's lines causing much devastation. The Astra Militarum, Rift Wardens and Blood Angels continued fighting until noon when it became obvious that the attack had failed. In the south of the battlefield, the Rift Wardens were attacked by a force led by the infamous Imotekh the Stormcaller himself although his form was destroyed by chapter master Arthurus. This affected the Necron cohesion, allowing the Imperial attackers to fall back and regroup.
Mission: Crossfire.
Secondary Objectives: Bring It Down, Grind Them Down, and Raise The Banners High.
Opponent's Secondary Objectives: Ancient Machineries, Purge The Vermin and The Treasures of Aeons.
The landing at Hell's Point was part of the Pariah Nexus campaign and the beginning of the main offensive against the Necron command structure here. It began with a series of orbital landings by multiple Astartes chapters and Astra Militarum regiments. The location of Hell's Point was chosen as the main landing area. With orbital fire support the Rift Wardens chapter led the attack on the Necron tomb structure and seized several strategic objectives. They then planned on capturing a series of enemy firebases as they crusade advanced.
An Astra Militarum feigned landing further in land and an real landing in the north was made by multiple regiments. At dawn a diversionary landing was made by Legio Titanica forces several kilometres to the west. As night fell, the various Astartes chapters made a drop pod assault into the Necron positions.
Unfortunately the Hell's Point landing was mismanaged by the Imperial commander. The Astra Militarum beach heads became bloodbaths, despite the meagre Necron defences present, while the Astartes landings were not supported. Although the Rift Wardens managed to gain a foothold, their plans to advance were curtailed. For two months, the Rift Wardens fought costly battles to reach their initial objectives but they were eventually driven back by the Necron defenders.
Mission: Crossfire.
Secondary Objectives: Assassinate, Oaths Of Moment, and Raise The Banners High.
Opponent's Secondary Objectives: Attrition, Raise The Banners High and The Treasures of Aeons.
Late in the evening, elements of the Necron vanguard encountered Imperial outposts set up by the Rift Wardens on the slopes of Mount Circe and fighting erupted. The outposts were lightly held, and their defenders driven back away and out onto the mountainside. By midnight, fierce clashes between the Necrons and the space marines were underway and chaos ensued in the snowy darkness. By morning, the Necrons had seized two outposts and dislodged the Rift Wardens from the positions lower down the mountain. The Rift Wardens, who had suffered heavy casualties during the fighting, retreated. As the day progressed, the Necrons drove the space marines off the slopes of the mountain and into the icy fields below.
On the second day, the Rift Wardens attempted to retake their outposts on the lower slopes but failed. The Necrons attacked back and began pushing the space marines further out into the snow fields. Each time the Rift Wardens counter-attacked the enemy outmanoeuvred them.
Not to be defeated, the Rift Wardens launched another counter-attack, with the intention of pushing the enemy back to the base of the mountain to hold them in place. However, the attack failed as Necron reinforcements assisted by the appearance of a C'tan Shard arrived from the east, forcing the Rift Wardens to once again withdraw.
Elsewhere, the Necron forces counter-offensive continued and other Imperial firebases came under severe pressure. The first Necron attack was fought of, but wave after wave of further attacks followed throughout the night. In the early hours of the third day, the Necrons finally defeated the Imperial presence and seized those outposts. Each time the Astra Militarum counter-attacked, they were defeated sustaining heavy losses. Only the Rift Wardens were able to inflict sustained light casualties upon the enemy. Because the Imperial forces did not break the Necrons, they were unable to halt the advance.
The war for the Pariah Nexus was not going well for the Imperium.
Points: 2000. Deployment: Opposing Forces. Primary Objective: Duel. At dawn just days after the evacuation of Direkden Hivesprawl, in t...
