Warhammer 40,000 Battle Report: Fortress Antorktica - Part 1

The Setup
This was a 2000 point Warhammer 40,000 game pitting my Tyranids against two friends playing Orks. We planned a small campaign consisting of three linked battles. The first would represent a surprise attack by the Tyranids on artillery emplacements in the rear of the Ork lines. This would be an attempt to disrupt the artillery from being used in the defense during the main Tyranid attack planned for the same time.

For the game, we used the Reconnaissance In Force mission from the Battle Missions book, with the Tyranids taking the place of the Necrons. The Objectives would represent the artillery pieces of the Orks. As per the mission, the Tyranids had to secretly select a table edge before the Orks deployed their army anywhere on the table 12" from the edge. The Tyranids would then move on from their table edge on the first turn. The game would use Random Game Length, and the player capturing the most objective would be the winner. Also, during the first game turn, units would need to pass a leadership test to shoot or assault, to represent the surprise of the attack and not knowing the positions of the defenders.

We decided that if the Tyranids lost this game, then in the final game in the campaign, the assault on the Ork defensive lines, the Tyranids would have to re-roll all successful reserve rolls, to represent the disruptive effect of the massed artillery fire on the attack. However, the Tyranids would be allow to attack the objectives as if they were vehicles (we used some captured Imperial Guard tanks). If the Tyranids lost, then for every artilery piece they managed to destroy, they could choose a reserve roll to not have to re-roll.

The Story
The battle would follow the exploits of my Tyranid hive fleet, which I'm now calling Hive Fleet Maturin, in continuing their invasion of Imperial world 18-D93, which had previously been invaded by Orks. We decided that an entire continent of the world had been mostly taken over by the Ork invaders before the Tyranids arrived. This continent the Orks had taken to calling Antorktica.

The Tyranids, having completely secured and cleared the land mass they made planetfall on, were now ready to attack the other contents of planet 18-D93. The first task would be an assault on Fortress Antorktica, which was heavily fortified by the Orks in order to repel counter-attacks from Imperial forces. Now the Tyranids would have to break through the defenses on the coast in order to reach the population centers of the Ork-held continent.

Tyranid Turn 1
The Orks, though not expecting an imminent attack, were on alert for Tyranids since the Tyranid invasion began. Significant forces were deployed around the five looted Imperial artillery pieces in the area. The Tyranid attackers had dropped or tunnels in behind the Ork lines in in the night and had snuck up on the Orks undetected from the rear. The first sign of the Tyranid attack was the sudden appearance of Spore Mines in the midst of the Ork army. One of the Spore Mines casually drifted into the nearby Lootas and detonated, killing several of them. The unexpected attack rattled the Lootas, who broke and ran.

In the midst of that distraction, the entire Tyranid attacking force emerged from their hiding places behind the Ork army. Most of the army advanced at a run, but the two units of Tyranid warriors opened fire on the Orks nearest them. Two units of Hormagaunts, one of Termagants, and one of Gargoyles were close enough to have assaulted some of the Ork enemies. Unfortunately, having just emerged from hiding with no knowledge of enemy positions, all of these units were too surprisedby the closeness of the enemy to launch an assault.

On the Tyranid left flank, the Hive Tyrant, Trygon, and Genestealers reacted quickly enough to recover from the surprise of coming upon the enemy so quickly. The Hive Tyrant used his psychic abilities to cause the Nobz guarding the nearby artillery piece to suffer from paroxysms. The Trygon and Genestealers then charged the Nobz, killing a few immediately. The remaining were too startled an affected by the paroxysms to do anything in return. They tried to flee, but were devoured by the hungry Trygon.

Ork Turn 1
The Orks overcame the surprise of the attack and responded quickly. The only exception was on the Tyranid right. The Orks Boyz in the woods led by the Weirdboy had no idea what was going on, and failed to either shoot at or assault the Gargoyles that seemed to be suddenly surrounding them. The rest of the Ork army responded quickly. Stormboyz flew over to assault Tyranid Warriors, the Warboss and his retinue deployed from their Truck to assault Hormagaunts, the large unit of Boyz in the center assaulted the other Hormagaunts, and the Deff Dread charged the Genestealers.

The Deff Dread managed to kill a couple of the Genestealers, but had one of it's close combat weapons torn off. The Warboss and his bodyguard couldn't quite finish off the Hormagaunts, mostly due to the Warboss completely failing to cause any wounds, and were held up by the two remaining Hormagaunts. The Tyranid Warriors on the right easily finished off the Stormboyz, but the unit of Boyz in the center made equally short work of the second Hormagaunt unit, wiping them out. The Ork counter-attack had mixed results, and was not nearly as effective as the Orks had hoped.

Tyranid Turn 2
The Tyranids continued to press their attack. The Trygon, Carnifex, and the unit of Tyranid Warriors on the left surrounded the large unit of Ork Boyz. The Tyranid Warriors fired, killing a few Orks, before all of them charged in. The Assault by the Trygon, Carnifex, and Warriors from all directions was enough to wipe out the unit of Orks.

On the Tyranid right, the Gargoyles continued to advance at full speed, attacking the looted tank and an artillery piece to no little effect. The Termagants fired on and then assaulted the unit of Boyz in the woods led by the Weirdboy, wiping them out completely. The other unit of Tyranid Warriors assaulted the retinue of the Ork Warboss. The Orks finished off the remaining Horagaunts, and only lost two of their number in return, but the Warboss again fought pathetically, and none of the Tyranid Warriors were harmed.

Ork Turn 2
The Ork army still had a big card up their sleeves. Five mega-armored Nobz disembarked from their Battlewagon right by the Trygon. Fearing the massive beast, the Nobz, and the rest of the Ork army, focused all of their firepower on the mighty Trygon, and managed to bring down the beast with the overwhealming weight of fire. Elsewhere, the unit of Tyranid Warriors finished off the Warboss's retinue, leaving only the Warboss himself, who again flailed ineffectually against his opponents. On the Tyranid left, the Genestealers destroyed the Deff Dread, but the resulting explosion killed several of them, leaving only six remaining.

Tyranid Turn 3
Now freed up, the Genestealers set to work dismantling the nearby artillery piece, and succeeded in destroying it. The Mega-Armored Nobz were clearly the most immediate threat to the Tyranids, who hoped to assault them with the Carnifex and large unit of Tyranid Warriors at the same time. Unfortunately for them, the Tyranids were slowed down by the difficult terrain of the woods, now slick with Ork blood. Only the Carnifex was able to reach the Nobz. It tore apart three of the hulking Orks, but the huge number of power klaw attacks from the Nobs took down the Carnifex.

On the Tyranid right, the Termagants came over to help the Tyranid Warriors in the combat against the Warboss, but even combined they couldn't finish off their tough opponent. The Warboss was clearly more concerned with defending himself than attacking his enemies.

Ork Turn 3
The Mega-Armored Nobz fired their Heavy Flamers at the nearby Tyranid Warriors before assaulting them, but couldn't quite finish them off. In turn, the Tyranid Warriors were unable to penetrate the heavy Mega-Armor of the Nobs. Ork Kannons finally made their presence felt, killing some of the Gargoyles and causing them to fall back to within Synapse Range of the Tyranid Warriors on the right. At the same time, those Tyranid Warriors and their supporting Termagants finally finished off the inept Warboss.

Tyranid Turn 4
Free of the Ork Warboss, the Tyranid Warriors and Termagants moved back towards the nearest objective. The Gargoyles fired at and charged the looted tank, their many claws and weapons combining to immobilize the vehicle, disable it's main weapon, and finally destroy it.

Ork Turn 4
The Nobz in Mega-Armor finally finished off the last of the Tyranid Warriors they had been fighting, and consolidated towards the Hive Tyrant.

Tyranid Turn 5
The Hive Tyrant, however, having the benefit of the experience of thousands of previous battles, realized the true threat. A large unit of Shoota Boyz, which had been in reserve, had embarked onto the Nobz's Battle Wagon and were heading towars the objective on the Tyranid left. In an attempt to protect the Genestealers currently holding the objective, the Hive Tyrant fired at and assaulted the Battle Wagon, but it was moving so quickly it was impossible to hit.

On the Tyranid right, the two remaining Tyranid Warriors in the army and the Termagants consolidated their positions between the two nearby objectives. Back in Synapse range and able to act according to the wishes of the Hive Mind, the Gargoyles flew off towards the Ork Kannons, and easily slaughtered their crews. They then consolidated around the empty Truck.

Ork Turn 5
The Nobs in Mega-Armor had been left alone in the middle of nowhere, with nothing to attack. They called for transport, and the Truck drive maneuvered around the Gargoyles to come pick up the Nobz. Caught out in the open, the Hive Tyrant and his two guard took fire from the Lootas. Their highly effective hail of fire wounded all three Tyranids, which finished off one of the Tyrant Guard.

At the objective on the Tyranid left, the Battle Wagon parked right next to the destroyed artillery piece. The Shoota Boys jumped out and poured fire at the Genestealers, leaving only one left standing. They assaulted the final, hapless Genestealer who stood no chance against the mass of green that swarmed over him. The Orks had now recaptured the gun, though it would need to be repaired.

Tyranid Turn 6
Sensing the battle was coming to an end, the Tyranids moved to secure the objectives they could. On the right, the Termagants spread out between the two objectives they could reach, shielding the crucial Tyranid Warrios from the Mega-Armored Nobs in the nearby Truck. If those final two Synapse creatures on the right flank fell, the whole flank could collapse. The Warriors also managed to destroy the right-most artillery piece with some lucky shooting. On the left, the Hive Tyrant and his one remaining Tyrant Guard charged the Shoota Boyz in an attempt to take back the objective they held. The Boyz took down the Tyrant Guard, but many were killed in the process.

Ork Turn 6
The Truck driver floored it and managed to get the Nobz close enough to disembark and assault the Hive Tyrant. The Tyrant simple turned around and cut down both of the Nobz as they charged in.

The Result
With most of the Ork army destroyed, the remaining few Orks fled leaving the Tyranids holding the field. It was a complete victory for the Tyranid attackers. There would be no artillery support for the Orks during the main Tyranid assault on the their defensive line.