A Civil War

A minor border dispute threatened to escalate into a large-scale war on the borders of Averland and Stirland. The wily Averlanders thought they'd strike to reclaim a Stirland hamlet while the Stirlanders were away fighting the Vampires. Having been on their way back from discussions in Wissenburg a coalition of allied states rose to defend the hamlet and ensure this petty squabble didn't erupt into large-scale civil war.

Does that adequately explain why an Averlander army would be fighting a Talabheim-Middenheim-Ostland alliance? I just tried to field a painted Empire force, so I had to dip into several different factions to do that.

The armies lined up either side of the hamlet, recongising that the key to holding this strategically important village was to hold the barn and the Sigmarite Chapel (and not the enormous watchtower that was deployed on a table edge).

We played 1500pts per side without any fancy rules, just hoping we'd remember enough 8th ed rules to get us through.

The Alliance had the first turn and made their way towards the two buildings hoping to claim them early and rely on their strength of arm and belief in their cause. The Talabheim halberdiers and Battle Standard were looking to take the chapel, while the Talabheim handgunner detachment was dispatched to hold the barn. The remaining forces would try to hold back the black and yellow soldiers of Averland.

The first volley of handguns removed the pistoliers that rode too close to the Chapel, while the mortar catastrophically blew itself to pieces on the hill behind the watchtower. The winds of magic were waning without a spell or prayer being cast.

The Averlander advance brought with it a boom from the steam tank as it fired upon the Ostlander cannon, reducing it to a pile of splinters and bodies. Meanwhile, the Helblaster and Crossbowmen took aim at the Middenheimer Halberdiers and ripped many of them apart. Yet the boys in blue and white held their nerve and continued the advance.

The Halberdiers took up residence in the Chapel and prepared to defend it from the onrushing Greatswords. As the melee erupts in and around the holy building bodies began to fall on both sides, yet the resolution of the halberdiers, led by their captain, was too strong and they held. This melee continued for a long time as the greatswords refused to halt their assault. By the end, the halberdiers are cut down and the Captain made his last stand. But the chapel was eventually lost to the handful of remaining Greatswords.

Meanwhile, in the centre, the spearmen feared the onrushing steam tank and despite their specialty in receiving a charge, they opted to charge the metal behemoth instead. The General swung his magic blade designed for cutting down infantry by the bushell, and couldn't even mark the paint work.

With the death of the Talabheimers, the few remaining Greatswords claimed the Chapel. But with a crack of thunder and a blinding light the Battle Wizard called down lightning upon the Averlanders killing the Greatswords. With his head ringing, the warrior priest stumbled to his feet, bloodied and angry.

His recovery was short lived however. As upon stumbling out of the building he found the Ostlander handgunners lining him up. With a crack of musket fire, the Warrior Priest crumpled to the ground.

Man/Object of the match goes to the Chapel of Sigmar. It withstood:

•  a raging melee between Halberdiers and Greatswords that resulted in the death of at 40 brave empire soldiers, 1 Captain and 1 Warrior Priest

• 2 Uranon's Thunderbolts

• 3 Helblaster volleys

• 2 Crossbow volleys

• 1 Handgun volley

• 2 Steam tank Cannonballs

• 1 Steam gun gout

• 1 Exploding Steam Tank

We had a great melee in the Chapel as the Battle Standard and stubbornness, due to holding a building, frustrated the superior Averland troops. In the centre it was a very dull affair as Empire knights slowly whittled down halberdiers, but couldn't land telling blows on the Celestial Hurricanum. Meanwhile, the Hurricanum couldn't get a wound through the knights' armour (nor could it cast spells, as I forgot they were direct damage), and with the general nearby wouldn't run. Then the spearmen into the steam tank was also dull, as the tank slowly ground its way through. I was scared of the charge, so I tried to get in early, but unfortunately gave the general the wrong weapon (+3A is useful against troops, but not tanks). 

It was great to see the 1+ saves being useful, as well as seeing halberds being a good weapon. I've always loved halberds, but unfortunately every time I play my Empire it's against T4 armies (Orcs, Chaos, Beastmen etc). While the halberds are necessary there, it was nice to use them against T3 low armour stuff.

The Steam Tank was great! It was finally fun to see it do something rather than die horribly early or grind to a halt. It was so tough to deal with, even with magic support - though I did throw the absolute wrong unit at it.