VICTORY on Oribella VII! The Macharian Thunder Guard are proclaimed heroes after the Battle of Little Red!

Crushing Victory. The Thunder Guards' glorious battle history is preserved. Will they ever be defeated!?

The surface of Oribella VII - known by the imperial indigenous as 'Rubella' (Little Red)

The designated objectives:

Fuel factory

 Relay station

Old Warhound Titan

Supply Camp

Warp zone- chaos ceremonial location

The Imperial force: Thunder Brigade, 1st of foot, Macharian Thunder Guard and Support regiments.

(3594points)

The enemy force: Space Marine turned Renegade.

(3600points)

Imperial deployment.

 As the Thunder Guard force deployed, a scouting force of scout snipers, four attack bikes and a land raider pulled in on the far slope of the forward hill. As they commenced the open moves of the battle the heroic thunder Guard seized the initiative and pounded their positions wiping out the snipers and bikes.

Then the first wave of drop pods stuck, landing right in front of the infantry lines. The first casualties were sustained as the doors blew and a hail of fire burst out. The tanks, artillery and heavy weapons poured everything they had into a squad of marines and 2 iron clad dreadnoughts, felling them all and exploding their pods.

In two separate incidences during the fire fight a few eager guardsmen threw satchels of explosives at the enemy. Unfortunately one flew wide and one exploded prematurely both causing friendly casualties.

Next was the second wave.  Another three pods replaced the first three, accompanied by 3 pairs of land speeders. Two pods fell in almost the same locations as the first wave, while the third dropped near a troop of ratlings sheltering under the titan.

The marines that emerged from a pod that landed to the centre of the infantry line were first met by las fire, then by bayonet. After suppressing fire had softened them up, Colonel Praetori (CA Straken) led several squads including the militia (CA penal legion) in for the heroic kill.

To the left of the line, near the fuel factory, one drop pods spewed a command squad of marines with storm shields and meltaguns, led by a marine Captain and Librarian. They destroyed one of the Russ’s but the reminder escaped.  Major Holtman ordered two infantry squads who were manning the fuel factory walls to fire by ranks on these insurgents. They did so, felling all of the marines with help from mortar fire. It was clear that the surviving Captain and Librarian in their suits of terminator armour and storm shields were about to cut a bloody path through the imperial lines- it was an imperative that they be held up until sufficient fire could be brought to bear. Lieutenant Creswell, concluding this, charged his command squad at them to tie them down. He succeeded (rolling double 1 for leadership test) and as he eventually fell to the bloodied dirt, the rest of the army opened up on the senior renegades with retribution.

Elsewhere down the line the Executioner and heavy weapons cleaned up the land speeders before they could cause trouble with their multi melter’s. However, it looked like the ratlings were in serious threat from a marine squad that had dropped by them. Fortunately, as they left their pod they were pinned by combined sniper fired and a heavy mortar bombardment. This gave just enough time for a troop of cavalry to burst onto the battlefield. At full gallop (24” move!) they slammed into the marines wiping them out with the typical arrogance of cavalry.

Finally, under heavy fire, the enemy land raider reached the fuel factory and spewed forth a squad of terminators with storm shield’s led by a renegade hero (CA the Salamander Vulcan).  They were determined to deal death to the imperials, but too many guardsmen were still standing, too few had fallen, and their big guns had not been silenced. The Imperial officers of the Thunder Guard governed who lived and who died not the enemy, and it was blind stupidity for the renegade to think otherwise.

The Guard closed in and the battle raged on....

Following the battle, Lieutenant Williams’ reported to the Colonel that  "...58 men were wounded or killed in action, and armoured loses were a single tank – more than three quarters of the original 245 men, 5 out of the 6 tanks and all of the artillery are ready for redeployment. Of the renegades, all 78 of their souls have been reconciled with the Emperor and their weapons of war destroyed."