Battle of Lucifuge - Lucifuge

 

Points: 1000.

Mission: Ransack.

Secondary Objectives: Oaths Of Moment, Raise The Banners High and Slay The Warlord.

Opponent's Secondary Objectives: Oaths Of Moment, Ransack and Relentless Assault.

In the aftermath of the Vigilus Crusade and the Rift War, Marneus Calgar requested that the remaining Rift Wardens head into the Imperium Nihilus to bolster the Blood Angels in the Lucifuge system against the forces of Chaos. Although underpowered now, Arthurus agreed. However, upon reaching the target system, the Rift Wardens found a system corrupted by the Ruinous Powers. Arthurus made the decision that the Blood Angels on Lucifuge must have been corrupted and ordered his battle brothers to engage them. Once again, the chapter found itself at war with it's own allies.

Following the initial Rift Wardens attack, Lemartes issued instructions hold back his battle brothers because scout teams found few Rift Wardens marines operating in the area. The larger chapter force was advancing some miles to the north-west. A wait and see approach to determine what the enemy would do.

On the second day, Lemartes was ordered to occupy a series of defences in the path of the Rift Wardens but not to engage unless fired upon first. An attempt to assault the enemy would be for naught if they proved to be unresponsive to parlay. Captain Leander of the Rift Wardens was ordered to occupy a series of fortifications but not to advance too far forward. Better to wait rather than be slaughtered by the blood crazed Death Company.

Lemartes and his battle brothers attacked with elements of the third and death companies with support on the following day by the fourth and fifth. They fell upon the fortifications held by Captain Leander with seething aggression. Further south, elements of the Rift Wardens held place and watched for signs of Blood Angel assault coming their way. During this moment, the Rift Wardens made planet fall at strategic locations all around the planet.

Blood Angel reinforcements moved slower than expected and it left Lemartes undermanned for the battle ahead. Rift Warden reinforcements were reported as converging on his position. The Rift Wardens lacked any real knowledge of the area and were unaware of just how many Blood Angels marines remained in the area. They had won a series of small skirmishes but had yet to face the full force of the sons of Sanquinius. 

Eventually on the third day day, Leander attacked the dug-in Blood Angels, striking out in thick fog and heavy rain, with little support other than a handful of dreadnoughts. As the fog lifted, Blood Angel heavy weapons fire brought down all but one redemptor dreadnought. A Blood Angel counter-attack pushed back the Rift Wardens and they were not able to reclaim their position until the early evening. 

To the north, a company of Rift Wardens advanced in the fog, encountering enemy forces and was forced to withdraw and take a divisionary route to join their battle brothers. On the southern flank, the Rift Wardens fared even worse and the whole force there retreated a short distance under heavy assault. 

Although this initial engagement for Lucifuge was brief and made up of scattered skirmishes, it showed the commanders of both sides that the other was not willing to give ground and attempts at communication failed. This would be a long, slow and bitter campaign.

Second Battle of Sartur - Corinthia

Points: 1000.

Mission: Shifting Front.

Secondary Objectives: Bring It Down, Engage On All Fronts, and Oaths Of Moment..

Opponent's Secondary Objectives: Aerospace Targeting Relay, Engage On All Fronts, and Slay The Warlord.

Following a series of minor victories against the Tau elsewhere across the surface of Corinthia, the Imperial commander in this warzone persuaded Arthurus to launch a second offensive against the Tau forces besieging the hive city of Surtur while they lacked immediate reinforcements. The commander argued that his troops, many natives of Surtur themselves, would be demoralized if forced to retreat and leave the city in the hands of the enemy. He also pointed out that the Tau were not as strong as they appeared to be.

On the day of battle, after a night deployment, the Rift Wardens advanced through the wastes and outflanked a Tau division, having been left largely unprotected. The battle was brief and inflicted sixty percent casualties on the enemy, capturing one of the city gates as a result.

To the south, the Astra Militarum regiments were still moving up and were not ready for combat.  Hearing of the space marine victory to the north, to rushed to engage the Tau forces. However, their expected air support did not arrive in time to assist. The Tau in the area were well aware of the Imperial intentions due to the Rift Wardens attack, and had spend time preparing for the assault by moving up their heavy support. At first the Imperial attack went well, but it faltered once it came under Tau artillery fire, and the Tau were able to easily turn the Imperial flanks and force them to retreat.

Rather than press the attack once again, the Militarum regiments turned north to assist the Rift Wardens. Their flanks were then attacked by Tau battle suits and gravitic tanks. Unable to advance without sustaining heavy casualties, the guardsmen were forced to stop and fight. The Rift Wardens were ordered to pull back from Sartur to assist which meant their hard won victory at the north gate was for nothing.

Battle of Chernobog - Vigilus Wastelands

 

Points: 2500.

Mission: Open War Deck.

Chernobog, a haunted polluted ruin whose sands run with spilled promethium and worse chemicals. Reports have reached Imperial command that a daemonic incursion has arisen within these wastelands and it's existence cannot be allowed to continue. The Rift Wardens and Sons of Orar chapters are tasked with working together to eliminate this threat.

As the chapters approached the blighted area from the northeast, they encountered numerous daemons and decimated them with massed firepower. The space marines spread out to surround and contain the threat. Alavaan, chapter master of the Sons of Orar ordered Arthurus to hold his Rift Wardens back to keep a secure perimeter, but typically, Arthurus refused and led his battle brothers into the fray.

Alavaan advanced with his three companies but due to Arthurus' refusal to be led, the Sons of Orar were forced to adapt their strategies on the fly. The Rift Wardens charged in, bolters firing and backed up by several dreadnoughts. Alavaan once again ordered Arthurus to fall back, but the Rift Wardens chapter master refused, stating "We shall break the engagement only when the enemy is dead!" Although disobediant, the Rift Wardens were able to handle the daemonic assault and flank the enemy.

A furious frontal attack broke the daemon lines and the forced them into the blades of the Sons of Orar. The daemonic incursion was defeated. Both chapters then dispatched Librarians to flood the area with psychic energy, closing the portals once and for all. The battle was won but an already growing enmity between the two chapters was reaching boiling point.

Battle for Mount Circe - Pariah Nexus

Points: 1000.

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.

Battle of Fort Luka - Vigilus Wastelands

Power Level: 60.

Mission: Cut Off The Head.

Agendas: Know No Fear, Reaper and Titan Hunter.

Opponent's Agendas: Exterminate, Priority Target and Reaper.

Day 1 - 9

The initial operations of Abaddon's traitor knight detachments began with an assault on the Imperial defences surrounding the various hive cities. The battle for Fort Luka was one such engagement that involved the Rift Wardens chapter.

A small detachment of traitor Knights from House Lucaris crossed from the Vigilus wastelands and advanced upon the Imperial held Fort Luka. The Rift Wardens, who had been using the fortress as a base of operations against the Black Legion and Ork horde mobilized quickly and using the fortress defences were able to destroy a scout force of enemy knights. On the 9th day of hit and run raids by the smaller Karnivore units, the main force of Knights arrived.

Day 10

On the tenth day of the battle, the main enemy force attacked en masse but the Rift Wardens were able to hold them off initially. Smaller Knights attacked the sides of the fort drawing fire away from the larger walkers. As sections of the outer walls fell under the assault, the Rift Wardens fell back to the heart of the fortress.

The space marines had now lost their artillery pieces as the outer wall fell. Parties of Karnivores crossed into the ruins in pursuit and engaged the space marines. As bolters and melta weapons failed to inflict enough damage at this range, the space marines were continually pushed back. Assault intercessors, dreadnoughts and what few tanks the Rift Wardens had at this point, counter-attacked with great determination. Briefly, the enemy was forced back to the breaches in the walls with the space marines managing to retake some vital ground. The Knights of House Lucaris withdrew from the claustrophobic streets of the fortress at this point. The Rift Wardens attempted to continue their counter-attack but were prevented from leaving the fortress by significant heavy fire.

Day 11 - 17

On the eleventh day of the battle, the Rift Wardens sought to re-fortify the outer walls using fallen blocks and rubble to fill in the gaps. During this time, skirmishes took place with the Knights once again performing frequent hit and run attacks against the walls. The fortress was soon ablaze and sections of the fort were now longer habitable. The space marine commander was slain at this point and it fell to Lieutenant Agrippa to take charge and he choose to request reinforcements from the Astra Militarum forces in the wastelands west of the fort but such aid would be delayed in coming. 

Day 17 - 18

During the night at this point the main Knight force charged the fortress and smashed their way through the walls, sending rubble and marines flying. The Chaos Knights began destroying the fortress from the inside, denying the Rift Wardens anywhere to hide. Many of the space marines were slain during this brutal and bloody assault. Agrippa was left with no choice but the pull his forces out of the fort and into the wastelands. Many battle brothers were cut down as they retreated but at last aid arrived with a Astra Militarum tank detachment with Imperial Knight support. The space marines had survived, barely, but a vital fortress now lay in burning ruins.

The Talos Crusade - Talos

 

Points: 1000.

Mission: Crossfire.

Secondary Objectives: Oaths Of Moment, Outflank and Raise The Banners High.

Opponent's Secondary Objectives: Mental Interrogation, Outflank and Slay The Warlord.

This engagement was fought between the forces of the Tyranids and the Rift Wardens space marine chapter. The Tyranids had forced their way though into Imperial held territory, slaughtering their way through two hive cities and advancing further than ever before. Two companies of Rift Wardens rushed south to engage the Tyrnaids and delay their invasion but were ambushed in the wastelands beyond Hive Tarterous. The Rift Wardens suffered casualties and were forced to retreat. The Imperium was only capable of fighting defensive actions while the Rift Wardens regrouped. 

The Offensive Begins - Corinthia

Points: 2000.

Missions: Data Scry-Salvage.

Secondary Objectives: Bring It Down, Oaths of Moment and Raise The Banners High.

Opponent's Secondary Objectives: Aerospace Targeting Relays, Engage On All Fronts and To The Last.

The main Imperial offensive in the south began when Arthurus led two hundred of his battle brothers north-east towards Fort Sanctus, and two regiments of Astra Militarum advanced on their left. One regiment also advanced slowly towards Hive Gothos, as a flank guard against Tau attack from the wastelands. The Rift Wardens had captured several vital locations further south in the days before hand, to protect the southern flank as the army advanced forward.

Despite warnings from Imperial commanders against splitting their forces, Arthurus decided to spread his forces out to cover more territory. Tau troops withdrew during the day allowing the Rift Wardens to recapture Fort Sanctus, and the Militarum regiments to advance much further than expected. At dusk, the Astra Militarum attacked Hive Gothos and was engaged by artillery and long range fire, which repulsed them with many casualties. On the second day of the attack, Tau long-range artillery had been able to bombard the Militarum artillery and infantry, inflicting greater and greater casualties.

The Rift Wardens had to attack methodically after artillery preparation but managed to push back the Tau. Scouts soon report an identified line of resistance of fire warriors close to the advanced Imperial troops and that a counter-attack was imminent. On day two, the Tau opposed the Imperial advance with long range artillery fire and day three, the Militarum received reinforcements. When the Tau were found to have evacuated the city, Arthurus ordered his marines to head north after them, while the guardsmen mopped up any stragglers.

A Tau counter attack occurred a couple days later, forced to separate battles on the Imperial armies, who were then defeated and retreated. The Tau pursuit was slow and it allowed the Imperium to occupy positions east of the city and extend the right wing towards the south. The right flank was attacked and driven back from their positions from whence the offensive had begun. Reluctantly, the Rift Wardens fell back to maintain contact with the main Imperial forces.

The First Battle for Fort Europa - Talos

Points: 1000.

Mission: Centre Ground.

Secondary Objectives: Bring It Down, Engage On All Fronts and Oaths Of Moment.

Opponent's Secondary Objectives: Attrition, Engage On All Fronts and Psychic Ritual.

The war for Talos had reduced to a series of scattered skirmishes between the Imperium and the invading Tyranids. At Europa, the Imperium had hold up at a series of frontier posts, supported by the much larger fortress Europa. Marines of the Rift Wardens chapter were sent out to blunt the incoming forces. Initially the Tyranids fell back sustaining heavy losses. Chapter master Arthurus had directed two companies to engage as many Tyranid scouting patrols as possible to assist the Astra Militarum forces operating further north. These forces were headed south towards Fort Europa, hampered by breakdowns in the supply chain. 

As the Tyranids slowly advanced, Arthurus continued to fortify Europa with his battle brothers and their presence assisted the Astra Militarum in repelling the enemy vanguard. The Astra Militarum commander, preferred to dig in and wait for the enemy to come to them but Arthurus ordered him to send his men out to engage the enemy in the wastelands. In the early hours communications came through to say that the Tyranids had overrun one of the frontier posts. Following this, the Tyranids emerged from the wastes and advanced towards Fort Europa from the east. Battle was soon joined and fought in a series of isolated actions, with the Tyranids making costly assaults. As night fell, the Tyranids had suffered thousands of casualties while the defenders of Europa held firm. At this time the frontier posts were finally overrun and the Militarum survivours fell back to Europa to bolster the defences.

With a sudden surge in reinforcements, the Imperial forces attempted a large offensive against the alien invaders. The Tyranids changed tact and began a delaying action as the Astra Militarum advanced forth from the fortress. On the left flank, two battalions advanced into the wastes. The Tyranids however, were able to capture a lot of ground during this time and came to the walls of Fortress Europa.

Due to the Rift Wardens, the Tyranids were forced back from the walls but hunkered down in the ruined trenchworks around the fortress, where the space marines fought them in hand to hand combat. These trenches were systematically recaptured and within two days the fortress was back fully in Imperial control. After this defeat, the Tyranids withdrew to regroup their forces. The fortress had held against the xenos threat but the defenders had suffered severe casualties as the Astra Militarum defenders had, even with reinforcements, been decimated, leaving the Fortress Europa under the command of the Rift Wardens, who themselves were running low on ammunition and supplies. 

Night Falls on Grendel - Grendel

Points: 2000.

Mission: Open War Deck.

In the aftermath of the event known as the Night of a Thousand Rebellions, somewhere in the Segmentum Pacificus, the Rift Wardens along with a dozen other chapters assisted the Grey Knights in cleansing world after world of the taint of Chaos. At the end of one particular Crusade, against the world known as Grendel, the Rift Wardens were privy to things seen and heard that none should be. Just as they had been on other worlds in recent years, the Rift Wardens found themselves fighting against former allies in an effort to survive.

As the war changed tact, captain Gwaine assumed control over two companies of his battle brothers. The Rift Wardens then entrenched themselves into strong defensive positions around a small fortification.

The Grey Knights under command of grand master Voldus and Kaldor Draigo attacked quickly, closing in on the Rift Warden positions. They used everything at their disposal to dislodge the Rift Wardens but the space marines held firm, and on several occasions allowed Grey Knights to advance. When the daemon hunters came into range, the Rift Wardens fought back hard, and repulsed the assault. The Rift Wardens held firm and morale grew substantially. 

Had the Grey Knights broken through the space marine defences, they might have doomed the chapter and destroyed them. This defensive victory, along with other successes at other attack sites to the north, protected them from immediate retaliation. The battle was won but it was only the start of the war.

Crusade - Hadex

Points: 1500.

Mission: Open War deck.

A splinter crusade of Black Templars have decided that the existence of Primaris marines both within their own chapter and others, is an anathema and goes against the will of the Emperor himself. When this crusade descended upon the Rift Wardens recruitment world of Hadex, the chapter was forced to once again wage war upon their own brothers. Even when "loyalist" Black Templars arrived to halt their heretical brothers, the Rift Wardens still saw them as the enemy. There would be no peace, only war!

This initial engagement was a major conflict and was fought over a period of eleven days in the heart of the planet's capitol city. After a successful initial battle, the Rift Wardens pushed hard against the aggressors and managed to drive back the vanguard and occupy suitable defensive positions.

Over the next couple of days, the Rift Wardens were assaulted repeatedly by the Black Templars, held in place and unable to prevent them from bringing in further reinforcements from their own battle barges. After bitter fighting, however, the Rift Wardens managed to break out into the city streets. For days the fighting continued and the Black Templars fell back to regroup. Over the next two days the Rift Wardens pushed the enemy back into the outer districts. Because of this, the Rift Wardens received their own reinforcements, without much enemy opposition. The Rift Wardens were eventually stopped by significant Black Templar resistance although they did recapture some important territory.

The following day, the Black Templars attempted to encircle the Rift Wardens by applying pressure to their flanks. Unphased, the Rift Wardens successfully counter-attacked. On the Eastern flank, the Rift Wardens sought to break out of the encirclement, pushing into a manufactorum sector. The breakout was halted and the street fighting ground to a stalemate. On the Western flank, an offensive was launched with the objective of reaching the Black Templar command. This failed and the Rift Wardens took heavy casualties, especially in the South.

After nearly two weeks of heavy fighting in the streets, the Rift Wardens retained their position and were weathering the onslaught of incoming fire. However, it had allowed the enemy to gain a foothold on the surface and they controlled a large section of Hadex city.