Imperial Guard turn 5
Colonel Winters looked around him. His command was crumbling beneath his feet. Whole squads were disintergrating under hails of bolter shells, men were running back to the safety of the city. He and his squad stood alone amidst the burning carcasses of friend and foe. He grasped his basket-hilted powersword with bloody and shredded fingers. Wiping blood and sweat from his eyes, he looked to Commissar Jrunkopff, the man affectionately known as 'Crusher' among the ranks, a man who had loyally stood by his side for uncounted years, through the horrors of war and the monotony of peace. The grizzled old Commissar made no expression, staring back into Winter's eyes he simply nodded. Adjusting his field cap, and straigtening his shoulders in a moment's lull amidst the fighting, he steeled himself for his final moment.
With a mighty bellow of defiance, his squad threw themselves back into the fray, Winters grasped his power sword with both hands. His bolt pistol lay amidst the corpses, long out of ammunition. Commissar Jrunkopff was armed with his powerfist and a ceremonial sabre. The rest of his squad took firm hold of their lasguns and knives. Racing out into the open, around the burning wreck of the Chimera, Winters and his men charged headlong into the Terminators' fire. The earth churned around them as percussion warheads detonated in the dirt at their feet and zipped past their heads. The air was awash with glowing orange propellant trails and every bound forward was a supreme act of mind over matter. He was thankful the enemy assault cannon had run out of ammunition. To his right, Corporal Hrufflen screamed as a bolt struck him in the abdomen. His agonised cries were cut suddenly short as a further two bolts ripped into him and blasted his chest apart. The vox-operator was dead before he hit the ground and as his shattered body tumbled down, his companions lept over his corpse and carried on into the maelstrom. Guardsman Lupis levelled his meltagun and fired from the hip as they closed the final few metres, striking one of the Terminators in the shoulder. Not even the awesome protection offered by a suit of Tactical Dreadnought Armour was enough to withstand a close range blast from a weapon of such magnitude and the Marine roared in pain as his right arm and shoulder were disintegrated in an instant. Clutching for the gaping hole in his upper-right chest the Terminator fell silent and collapsed.
Somehow, against all odds, Winters reached the first of the Terminators, his loyal Commissar right beside him. He ducked just in time as the Sergeant swung for him with a massive thunder hammer, it crackled and hummed as it parted the air just above his head. Winters reacted immediately, slashing upwards with his power sword. The Marine looked momentarily surprised as the blade raked his armour, but he was undaunted and unharmed.
To his left, Winters' Guardsmen fought defiantly against seemingly impossible opposition. Amidst the whirling mayhem of close combat, he thought back to something his Grandfather had said to him after he had first witnessed the Space Marines in combat.
"They were good, really good. I didn't know men could
move that fast!"
"Men? Ha! Listen, boy - You're a man when you can charge down a creature twice your size and armoured like a tank, with nothing but your combat knife and your own wiles to protect you." His Grandfather had been a Storm Trooper once upon a time and had seen action against the Tyranids on neighbouring worlds. "Walk away from
that and you're more of a man than these pompous Space Marines will
ever be!" Honestly...Winters was glad he was armed with rather more than a combat knife.
To his right, Corporal Kaylan screamed. It was a sickening sound, born of agony and panic; a Terminator had grabbed Kaylan with his massive power fist and was crushing the life out of him. Commissar Jrunkopff was there in an instant, before Winters could even react. The Terminator, still crushing the hapless medic in his left hand, raised his storm bolter to meet the Commissar, but Jrunkopff knew what to do. Grabbing the weapon with his own powerfist, the Commissar twisted and crushed it in the Terminator's grip and with his free hand, thrust his sabre into the gap beneath the Marine's arm. The blade easily pierced the soft, flexble material and drive deep into his body. The Terminator tensed suddenly, dropping Kaylan to the ground before keeling over himself. But it was too late...Corporal Kaylan was gone. Turning to face him, one of the two remaining Terminators pointed his Storm Bolter at Jrunkopff and pulled the trigger. In a blur of speed, the Commissar sidestepped the volley and lunged towards the Marine, grabbing his helmet with his power fist. Twisting his wrist sharply to the left, the Terminator suddenly went limp with a muffled crunch. Only the Sergeant remained, stubbornly refusing to die. Winters rolled to his left to avoid his adversaries Thunder Hammer and came up into a crouch, power sword at the ready. It was now or never...
Command squad:- Moved 6” west and fired at Terminator Squad.
- Both bolt pistol and meltagun scored hits and both wounded
- Bolt pistol saved, meltagun failed – Sergeant removed.
- Assaulted Terminator Squad.
- Colonel Winters fails to hit.
- Four hits from guardsmen, one wound – Saved.
- Commissar Crusher scored two hits, both wounded – Saves failed.
Terminator squad:- Terminators assign four attacks to command squad.
- Krull assigns his two attacks to Winters himself.
- Two hits from the Terminators, two hits from Krull.
- Krull fails to wound with both hits.
- Terminators killed medic and master-vox bearer.
Tactical view
Battlefield view (South)
Battlefield view (North)
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Topic: Battle Report - Space Marines VS Imperial Guard - 'No escape' (pic heavy) (Read 3745 times)