Betrayal - Hesperous Prime

Power Level: 60.

Mission: Overrun.

Agendas: And They Shall Know No Fear and Recover Archeotech.

Responding to an Alpha Legion attack on the Imperial world of Hesperous Prime, the Rift Wardens find their brothers, the Dark Angels, engaged in the battle. Over the course of a month the two marine chapters cleanse the planet of traitor astartes. However, unknown to the Rift Wardens, their brothers had come to this Imperial world in search of the Fallen, several of whom were within the ranks of the Alpha Legion. Unwilling to allow that potential knowledge to leave with the Rift Wardens, the Dark Angels turn upon their brothers in a surprise attack.

The battle began with the Dark Angels company moving towards the Rift Wardens through the streets of the ruined city in which they had fought the Alpha Legions. Not expecting betrayal, the Rift Wardens paid little attention as they swept the ruins for any survivours.

Once within range, the Dark Angels captains ordered their brothers to open fire into the Rift Wardens. The plan being to pin the Rift Wardens down while then striking hard into their lines with aggressors and dreadnoughts. The Rift Wardens suffered casualties in the initial attack and in places were forced to fall back.

The Dark Angel assault successfully turned the Rift Warden's right flank. forcing the chapter to regroup near the entrance to a series of mine workings. By nightfall, the Rift Wardens had sustained a number of casualties but held their ground. Captain Andred ordered his assault units into the battle and their counter-attack forced back the Dark Angel momentum. 

The Dark Angels soon began to retreat following the counter-attack. Some of their brothers were unable to complete the fall back due to the presence of the Rift Wardens assault intercessors, who had overrun their positions. By nightfall, the Rift Wardens had turned the tables and broken through the Dark Angels lines. The chapter continued to fall back although they in turn took casualties as they rear-guarded the retreat.

At this point, the Rift Wardens consolidated their positions. There had been no communication from the Dark Angels during or after the engagement. Captain Andred vowed vengeance against the Dark Angels for this betrayal.

Battle of Sentinel Hive - Oteck Hivesprawl

Points: 1750.

Mission: Overrun.

Secondary: Assassinate, Engage on All Fronts and Oaths of Moment.

The Battle of Sentinel Hive was a major battle fought during the early days of the Vigilius Crusade, between the Rift Wardens and the growing Genestealer Cult. It occurred as the chapter marched into the Sentinel Hive district to bolster the defenders. After recent cult victories across the planet, the cult's leaders planned to conquer the whole hive while the Imperial forces were occupied with the Chaos invasion. The battle ended with a cult victory as the Rift Wardens were forced to retreat back into the wastelands. The cult looted the space marine dead for equipment which enabled them to further their cause in the Hivesprawl. The Rift Wardens regrouped and reported the increased xenos presence within the hive.

Battle of Arnmort Gate - Mortwald

Points: 2000.

Mission: Homebrew.

When further elements of Abaddon's forces arrived from the rift and made planetfall, a contingent moved to bolster their traitor brethren at Mortwald. Upon arrival, their warlord divided his forces. One third was assigned to attack the Astra Militarum defences further south, while he himself led the rest to converge on the Rift Wardens postions at Arnmort Gate.

Chapter master Arthurus planned to counter the traitor advance with a series of planned withdrawls, intended to trade some territory for the time needed for reinforcements to arrive to give him a decisive numerical advantage. However, this strategy failed as the reinforcements fell under attack themselves from cultists hidden deep within the labyrinthine streets of Mortwald.

The battle for Arnmort Gate was short but decisive for the traitor marines, who claimed territory freely given but inflicted heavy casualties on the Rift Wardens while doing so.

The Tables Turned - Vigilus Wastelands

Points: 1750.

Mission: Ambush.

Secondary Oaths of Moment, Psychic Ritual and Slay the Warlord.

The great rift pulsed with the arrival of Abbadon's forces, and hideous daemons of Chaos materialised across the wastelands of Vigilus. Chapter Master Arthurus of the Rift Wardens sought permission from Marneus Calgar to take the fight to these horrors. After all that was what the chapter had been created to do. Permission was given and Arthurus sought to entrap a marching force in an ambush of massed firepower and whirring chainswords. However, the chapter master of the Rift Wardens had not counted on the presence of the infamous Keiros Fateweaver being in the number, nor for the fact that the greater daemon of Tzeentch had forseen this very act.

Fateweaver's plan to turn the tables on the space marines began with a careful build up of amassed daemonic forces. Ultimately the daemon intended to push his forces forward towards the Imperial lines and cause as much devastation as possible while the Despoiler committed his forces to his own schemes. 

As Fateweaver had foreseen, the Rift Wardens maneuverered into set pincer positions ahead of the daemonic advance. He marched his forces into that line of fire before screeching into the dusty air. Immediately the daemons raced to the sides, assaulting the space marines who had been confident of their planned attack.

One flank of the Rift Wardens pincer was quickly decimated by waves of flamers and bloodletters. Many marines died but the rest proceeded to retreat into the desert drawing some of the daemons out with them, and away from the main space marine force. Taken by surprised an unprepared for such savagery, the Arthurus ordered a hasty retreat when even he could not fell the mighty Fateweaver. Their one victory was the defeat of the khornate hearld, Skulltaker, who was banished back into the Warp.

Fateweaver had won a tactical victory by defeating the space marines, but his forces had suffered such losses that they could do little more than be a nuisance to the Imperial forces scouring the deserts of Vigilus. A pyrrhic victory at best for both sides. 

Dirkden City Fight - Dirkden Hivesprawl

Points: 1500.

Mission: Abandoned City.

Secondary Objectives: Assassinate, Engage On All Fronts and Oaths of Moment.

The battle began in the early morning before sunrise when the Genestealer Cult detonated a series of explosives in the sewers and waste tunnels beneath the Imperial lines. This act of terrorism killed many thousands of guardsmen and dropped a number of tanks and artillery pieces into those fire filled tunnels. The Astra Militarum commanders sought permission to the withdraw but the Rift Wardens advised that retreat was cowardice and would only undermine the victories that the space marines had so far achieved in the Dirkeden Hivesprawl. Cultists began making probing attacks within a few hours of daybreak.

By mid-afternoon, the cult had suffered heavy casualties thanks to the Rift Wardens, and had only been successful in dislodging the Astra Militarum from some entrenched forward positions. Although outnumbered the Imperial forces had better weapons and a higher rate of fire. Both sides were committed to a tight city fight by early evening. By nightfall, the cult had suffered extreme losses while the Astra Militarum had not weathered their attacks surprisingly well. The failure of the xenos attacks bolstered the Imperial defenders morale.

The Genestealer Cult counter attack came during the midnight hour with the cult attacking the Astra Militarum left flank, quickly overrunning them and into the central lines. The cult captured territory that had been hard won by the space marines just days earlier. The cult moved it's heavy weapons forward but little return fire took place. The cult forces emerged from their hiding places and captured further territory from the Imperium. This final engagement saw the cult drive the Astra Militarum from their positions, forcing the Rift Wardens to perform a rear guard action to cover the retreat. The chapter was far from pleased and the company soon needed a new commander, one more agreeable to the chapter's efforts in the war.

The Battle of Mortem Pass - Kaelac's Bane

Points: 1500.

Mission: Vital Intelligence.

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

Chapter master Arthurus had assumed command of the Imperial forces fighting the Drukhari raiders in the frozen polar region. His force of marines and 250,000 soldiers of the Astra Militarum held a location known as Mortem Pass, which was an ice route between mining colonies and a local space port. The guardsmen fortified the pass and began trying to fill suspected weak points in the defences with as many bodies as possible. The Rift Wardens had lost a number of battle brothers in recent engagements, were forced to divide their remaining squads present between the two ends of the pass. 

The Drukhari forces, led by Drazhar, awaited reinforcements from the webway portals before launching his attack. Guarding the strategic Mortem Pass, the Rift Wardens had three companies with artillery in addition to their own companies. Three days after their fortified the pass, the Drukhari launched a two pronged attack, striking at both ends of the path simultaneously. This force was supported by raiders and ravagers, which swooped over the Imperial positions, dropping off kabalite warriors and incubi.

Several hours later as the sun began to rise over the distant horizon, the Drukhari attack faltered which allowed the Rift Wardens to organise a retreat towards the nearest Imperial firebase. Casualties were actually light on both sides effectively but the retreat allowed the Drukhari to consolidate more territory and cut supply lines.

Battle of Fortwall - Dirkden Hivesprawl

Points: 1000.

Mission: Centre Ground.

Secondary Objectives: Assassinate, Engage On All Fronts and Oaths of Moment.

The battle of Fortwell was a major initial battle against the Genestealer Cults in their stronghold of Dirkden Hivesprawl. It took place in the Fortwall district which, if retaken, would allow Imperial forces the opportunity to stage a retake of the hive city. After the Rift Wardens successfully fought through the hybrid defenders, they were able to fortify Fortwall district and weaken the cult forces in the area. The battle was a victory for the Rift Wardens, but with heavy casualties on both sides.

Into the Plague City - Mortwald

 

Points: 1000.

Mission: Anomalous Readings.

Secondary Objectives: Oaths of Moment, Shock Tactics, and Slay The Warlord.

In an attempt to defeat the Death Guard forces currently encamped in the Mortwald hive city, captain Lorgraine lead a company of Rift Wardens into the city and the enemy positions. The Death Guard had the possession of high ground and some artillery. Rather than joining his forces with the surviving planetary defence forces, Lorgraine ordered two thirds of his forces to accompany them, while he led a smaller force to envelop the Death Guard along their right flank. Although the Death Guard detected their presence, Typhus decided to deal with this threat himself and took a couple plague marine squads to counter Lorgraine's manoeuvre. 

The battle began with artillery engagement as a basilisk detachment in the wastelands opened fire on the Death Guard positions. Plague mortars attempted to return fire but were way too inaccurate in the close city confines to adequately target either the oncoming space marines nor the basilisk detachments. The Imperial artillery had a significant effect on the battle, causing a great many casualties among the enemy.

As the Rift Wardens and their PDF allies reached the Death Guard lines, a skirmish commenced between the two forces. Typhus confident in his abilities ignored the main battle in favour of engaging captain Lorgraine. It was a costly mistake.

The battle continued late into the night and it was as dawn began to rise over the wastelands, Lorgraine called in his reinforcements. Typhus was so intent on his flank that he failed to dispatch orders to his commanders on the main line and despite inflicting heavy causalities on the Astra Militarum forces, the Death Guard were left disorganised and forced to retreat deeper into the hive. Lorgraine engaged Typhus in an impressive melee but he was felled by the Traveller, and had to be dragged to the apothecary before the effects of Nurgle's Rot could take hold. In retaliation Typhus was grievously wounded by a dreadnought and forced to retreat himself.

With this battle, the Astra Militarum were able to set up defences while the Rift Wardens prepared to hunt down the plague forces hold up within Mortwald's core.

Initial Assault - Dharrovar

 

Points: 1250.

Mission: Homebrew.

Before the Imperial forces could safely travel through the Nachmund Gauntlet to bolster Vigilus, they had to reclaim the Knight World of Dharrover, which had fallen into the hands of a traitorous Knight lord. The troops garrisoned there had no knowledge of this but had to be fought if Dharrover was to be secured.

The Rift Wardens were one of several chapters dispatched to launch a surprise attack on the defenders. The plan was for the Rift Wardens to assault the garrison defending the planet's void shields, while other chapters penetrated the shield generators to destroy them.

Under heavy anti-air fire, the Rift Wardens strike force attacked the defensive lines of a Cadian garriosn protecting the outer walls of the shield generator. Although they numbered only 400 men and women, and armed with antiquated supplies, the Cadians were able to repel the space marine assault twice before they were able to breach the defensive gates. The Rift Wardens then spread through the fortifications engaging the guardsmen in close ranged firefights and brutal assault.

Despite the successful early attack, the Rift Wardens assault was blunted by prolonged artillery strikes, followed by infantry counter-assaults. Armed with some mechanized elements and heavy weapon emplacements, the Cadian forces inflicted heavy casualties upon the space marines. After nine repeated attempts, the Rift Wardens were forced to retreat. While they had taken casualties and forced to pull back from the battle, their brothers in the Ultramarines and Sons of Orar chapters were successful in destroying the planetary shield generators allowing the main Imperial force to make significant landings.

The Walls Fell - Mortwald

Points: 1250.

Mission: Homebrew.

The Astra Militarum commander assigned to Mortwald followed a strategy of stalling the Chaos advance in a desperate attempt to hold out until reinforcements could arrive. He knew that Mortwald had been all but abandoned by the Imperial command but his devote and faith held out. After six months of fighting off wave after wave of heretic astartes, help finally came in the form of the Rift Wardens chapter. Within days of the space marine reinforcements arriving, Mortwald's trenchworks are besieged by a huge force of World Eaters led by the infamous Kharn the Betrayer. 

The World Eaters attack came in the early hours. Before dawn they had slaughtered their way through the outer trenchworks and were advancing into the Imperial defences. Wave after wave of Raptors assaulted the lines ahead of the main force, exposing holes for the main Berzerker squads to breach with ease/ As the sun rose, the World Eaters smashed through those defences and the Rift Wardens redeployed to stem the advance. 

Kharn's forces took it's position at the head of the assault, crossing the shattered walls into the habitat districts. There they slaughtered guardsmen and civilians alike. By midday the Imperial forces were in full retreat and the World Eaters pursued them, cutting them down and coating the streets red with blood. 

The Rift Wardens were able to halt the advance initially, even inflicting enough injury to Kharn that he was taken out of the fight. However, despite this, the number of World Eaters was too strong to fully stop with out significant help. The loyalist marines fell back, providing a rear guard for the fleeing guardsmen. 

The battle was ultimately a massive defeat for the Imperium. Mortwald was falling to the Chaos hordes and it would appear that there was little that the defenders could do to stop it.