Deacon John surveyed the tactical scroll with unease. The Vraks forces were chopped into three, the citadel and two forts to the west. The southern fort was already cut off. The commander had begged to retreat towards the citadel before the trap closed but John refused and issued a fuhrer-order to stand, shooting the CO to emphasise the point. The northern fort commander wisely stayed put, despite having an escape path to the rear.
The expected attack on the northern inner perimeter line duly materialised. The renegades were dug in. Three superheavy Imperial tanks emerges from the smoke of the preliminary bombardment: a Baneblade, Stormlord and Gorgon.
The renegade infantry huddled down in their trenches to shelter from the withering firepower. The Baneblade smashed the defender's self propelled gun with its first shot. It ploughed through the dragon's teeth and barbed wire until it ground the renegades under its tracks. Khorne was delighted.
In the centre, the Gorgon ran into heavy lascannon fire that damaged its transmission, slowing it right down. The anti-tank guns switched fire to the Stormlord. They could not penetrate its thick frontal armour so focussed their fire on its tracks. Repeated hits brought it to a halt.
The Imperial infantry was forced to debus from the two superheavy transports the wrong side of the wire. Their corpses hung on the wire like raspberries on the bush. The Gorgon and Baneblade backed off the battlefield. The immobile Stormlord had to be destroyed by charges.
A Victory!
Unfortunately, the Imperials launched a second attack from the flank that penetrated quickly to the Renegade atillery line. Deacon John had every hope that the artillery could look after themselves. The firbase had a battery of heavy fixed cannon, a battery of heavy mortors and light mortors and a squad of lascannons.
Specialist Imperial Leman Russ siege tanks tore through the defences as the renegades were bombarded by Manticore missiles and long range heavy artillery. The result was a disaster (lower photo) and the inner defence line fell. One of the few Vendettas to survive the fall of the spaceport made a pass across the battlefield, brewing up an Executioner, but it was too little, too late.
Deacon John moved to fortify the Citadel perimeter wall. Soon he would be able to see the Imperials from the citadel window. He was desperate enough to summon potent allies, but would they be more dangerous than the enemy?
Imperials: 15vps
Renegades: 10VPs
Renegades hold the citadel
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