what follows is a description of a 2.5k game between me and my OnG regular opponent.
my forces:
Lords
General von bittgenstein- fp, ench shield, ham battle, crown of command
lvl4 (light) rop
high priest Tobias of Ulric (AL). Dawn armour, barded steed, great weapon
heroes
Captain of the guard of the house: bsb, aomi
engy
lvl2 (fire) scroll
priest- h.arm, shield
core
town guard, x39 halbs /fc (ban discipline) *gen here, priest here
Von bittegenstein guard of the house, x35 swords (deserters: 5 sword detach)
mercenary xbows x18 /mus
flaggelant band x30
special
x10 knights /fc + IC
cannon
mortar
mortar
rare
rocket battery
his list:
60 NGs, fanatics, netters
spider riders x10
wolf riders x10
orks x30
black orcs x30
gobbo spears x30
gobbo archers x20, fanatics
giant
big boss, bsb, lvl4 and lvl2
Southern Wissenland was no stranger to orc invasions. the recent incursion that devestated solland left dozens of smaller tribes scattered throughout the ravaged lands, and with very little military presence in the area, they began to throng into a bigger threat.
Von Bittgenstein had been appointed grand duke of southern wissenland for a reason, that reason to drive the greenskins out of the empire. that fight started today.
the troops had mustered in the clearing between two large copses of trees, within gun range of the ruins of a large windmill that once stood along the old road to the lake. local huntsmen had reported an upsurge of goblin activity of late in the area, and had to flee their camps.
the rumble of the cavalry and artillery trains had brought the enemy out of the forest and had formed a motly band of troops on the other side of the ruins, a huge and lumbering giant striding amongst scrawny feotid goblins and drooling, ravening orcs.
with a gutteral howl the orc boss began the mobilisation that would ultimately spell his doom, though von bittgenstein had hardly got his troops into position to receive it.
the mercenary crossbow company detailed with protection of the left flank took up the firing lanes aiming to the southwest of the ruined windmill immediately came under seige by yelping goblins riding ferocious wolves at breakneck speed and soon found themselves outflanked and taking wounds from their shortbows. a unit of skittering spiders with goblin riders followed the wolves lightning advance and were backed up by their slower black orc and night goblin allies. after loosing their quarrels at the fanatics spinning wildly towards them and nailing one of the bastards to the floor, their captain screamed wildly at the artillery officer to direct their fire in support and signalled for the guard of the house to their right to wheel to their assistance.
the whole left flank of von bittgensteins army was lit up with artillery fire, mortar shells howling through the air and detonating amongst the wolf riders, and a hail of rockets impacted between the black orcs and the night goblins, causing greivous casualties amongst the green mass of bodies.
such was the impact of the bombardment, the remaining few wolf riders took flight, fleeing from the battle, though their cries of despair went unheeded amongst their more disciplined allies.
The huge giant strode into the ruins of the old windmill to better choose his lunch and drew the ire of the artillery officer, who directed the horse artillery to open fire on it. the haste with which the troops had been mustered had not aided the crew, who in their rush, added too much powder causing the barrel to explode with the shot, badly wounding the crew with the resulting shrapnel.
the giant bellowed with laughter at the unfortunate turn of events for the defenders and strode towards the empire right flank.
Von Bittgenstein took stock of a rapidly deteriorating situation.
he should have had more time...the delays in getting the artillery down the unkempt dirt paths had held him up and cost him dearly. the left flank would hold, providing the artillery continued their bombardment and his loyal house guard withstood the initial onslaught.
behind him, the light wizard battled with the orc shaman, though he was bested by his opponent's dispels in the opening moments of the battle.
his right flank was bolstered by the local town guard, a well drilled regiment of halberdiers, made up of ex-soldiers and young able men. to their right was a small squad of the reiksguard, seconded to bittgenstein from the wissenburg garrison.
at the vanguard of the army was a huge mass of crazed flaggelating naysayers (so popular in these ravaged lands), desperate to get to terms with their fate and with the enemy forces approaching.
against them, faced a horde of orcs, supported by two smaller groups of cackling goblins, gesturing and taunting the men under his command.
as the flaggelant band collided with the orcs horde, the knights under command of High priest Tobias entered the thick copse of trees ahead of them, sensing the eyes of the enemy upon them, knowing that with the trees, they could take shelter from the incoming arrows of the goblin archers, as the booming of the giants footsteps grew nearer.
the town guard were instructed to wheel right and prepare for the incoming orcs, once the flaggelants had received what they ultimately wished for, a bloody end to their suffering in this world.
their ferocity outmatched that even of their foes. both tobias and bittgenstein were astounded by the sacrifice they made as three of their number jumped onto the waiting enemy force, causing the whole throng to go insane at the sight of their deaths. as the dust settled, the carnage was great. survivors estimates vary wildly, but at least 26 orcs died to that initial charge alone; forming a bloody pile of corspes, some still breathing though crushed under the hulk and drowned in the purple-red hue of the mixing bloods.
powerful magic arced overhead, though the light order and the shaman were equally matched, none able to get a hold over the other, until a detonation shuddered from the black orc unit and a bolt of green energy escaped from the shaman causing the greenskins to waaagh! and surge forwards towards the empire lines.
fanatics hurtled out of the archer units, knocking themselves unconsious in the woods to the right of tobias' reiksguard unit and those already released broke through the left flank of the now engaged mercenary crossbows, causing damage to their spider mounted assialants and the remnants of the rocket depleted night goblins, killing the fire mage detailed to bittgenstein in the ensuing chaos.
the situation worsened on the left flank as the magic infused goblins and spiders cut down the mercenary crossbowmen, their momentum carrying them into von bittgesnteins house guard's flank.
the situation on the right flank however was much better and was turning in bittgenstein's favour. as the giant lumbered towards the brave men of the reiksguard, he gave the signal to charge!
the reiksguard rode like fury through the thick trees, two of their number falling to horses wounded by the undergrowth and uneven going.
their lances impacted the thick gut of the giant, disemboweling it. Putrid stomach contents poured into the thicket, steaming.
Mortally wounded, the giant doubled over in pain, Tobias severed its neck with two blows of his mighty war axe, causing it to topple and dismount one of the brave riders, crushing his steed under its bulk.
The remaining riders reformed into the thicket as the goblin units advanced towards them, and awaited their fury.
To tobias' left, the remnants of the bloodied orc horde finished off the last of the flaggelants and with a victorious and furious howl, advanced toward von bittgenstein.
light magic illimunated the air over the town guard and reiksguard, igniting several of the goblin archers, who merely laughed and gestured back at the learned scholar of magic, demonstrating their threatened retribution.
As bittgenstein looked over his left shoulder, it became clear that retribution wasnt necessary. Wildly arcing magic was barely controlled and earthed, causing the mage to stagger around dazed, clearly mentally wounded by the overly succesful casting attempt, his familiar desperately trying to bring him back to his senses.
bittgenstein's attention spun back to his present situation, demanded by the thundering of orcs towards the town guard he was leading.
the young soldier to his left was visibly shaking in terror. the time had come to lead the men. to him he spoke: to me, son of sigmar, for your unit, for your town, for Wissenland, FOR THE EMPIRE! CHARGE!!!
the wall of steel halberd points and crudely fashioned orc blades clashed in a thunderous cacophony of screaming men, orcs and colliding bodies.
the empire charge had impaled most of the orcs before they even reached striking range, and the two who negotiated the bill-wall lost their stomach for the fight, and fled. as bittgenstein ordered the pursuit, he realised the only survivors had been the enemies general and battle standard and urged the men forward to catch their foes. They were easily outpaced, though their beaten foes never even looked back to check the fate of the rest of the army.
As their general and colour fled past them, the right flank looked increasingly more secure. Tobias' thicket though was under siege by the spear armed goblins and their archer allies, though a lucky mortar shot served to limit their assailants numbers, tobias' unit found themselves engaged to their front and flank by their skittering and numerous foe.
Heroically they fought for what seemed like hours, their thick armour seeing off most of the enemies blows, whilst causing wounds on the enemy in return. tobias incurred the wrath of ulric onto his enemies, searing them and hewing off the head of the remaining spearmen.
as the fatigued knights, reformed to face their flankers, it was clear their enemies had lost their nerve now the momentum and their allies had been killed. tobias' great war axe cleaved two of the archers in half and the rest turned to run and were scattered beyond hope of regrouping by the hacking and hewing of the knights hot in pursuit.
Bittgenstein was in a daze.
an orc body had sailed through the air after impacting on the halberd line, landing on his shoulders, its bulk causing a blow to his head. as the stars subsided and the thunder of the mortar fire returned to its normal thin crack and deep booming, he spun around to take stock of his situation.
the orc general had far outpaced his unit and was beyond hope of being caught. the left flank was heavily under siege, his crossbow mercenaries dead and his personal guard now under threat of assualt by the black orcs, obviously having routed the lightly armed spider riders and taken their colours.
he signalled to the muscian to call the reform and swiftly brought the guard about, as tobias now gave chase to the orc general directly in his rear.
the artillery officer signalled for one last barrage on the black orcs before they clashed into the swordsmen.
A murderous volley of iron and powder was unleashed, though in its haste its aim swung wildly. Its visual effect was spectular, columns of dirt rising above the flame bursts, but the shrapnel only caused minor flesh wounds to the advancing elite orc fighters. The valour of the house guard was not in question, but the task seemed daunting.
As the lines clashed, the captain of the guard directed his men to direct attacks at the shaman, his mighty hammer caving the skulls of two of the back orcs to a pulp.
The skilled veteran warriors of the guard parried the worst of the onslaught, and bringing down their shaman and greviously wounding two more. the thick headed elite orcs took stock of the situation; their general had fled with their colours, the army had been routed.
they too turned and fled back to the woods they had come from.
The rebuilding of Wissenland had begun.
This was a highly succesful game for me, though i'm sure the cowardly orc boss will not take his defeat lightly. i expect to see his ugly maw emerging once more from the southern forests one his scheming and rearming is completed!
