Operation nesting asps assault on the haslem line part2

Operation Nesting Asps
Assault on the Haslem Line part 2

Major Nagash stood atop the battlements of the bastion and peered out at the fire coming from the Haslem line.  He had failed to achieve tactical surprise and now there was nothing to do but to order his battle group to conduct the assault.  Stygian forces raced forwards eager to clear the deadly killing ground that was no mans land before the sun rose.  Already Nagash could see the faint glimmers of dawn approaching.

 

On the stygian right flank the conscripts advanced under the command of the rogue psycher Kallas.  As they started through the flaming craters Kallas grabbed a conscript screaming dark prayers and invocations, cut his throat.  The body fell to the ground before rising up again and morphing until a herald of tzeentch stood where once there had been a conscript.  The herald looked across the battlefield with no eyes but still able to see with his mind the embers glowing that marked the souls of the living on the battlefield.  His gaze came to rest upon tech marine Vollus and fanged teeth formed a snarled grin as he recognized his old foe.  Fate had decreed they meet again and the herald knew he could not succeed bound to the fool who had summoned him.  kallas rippled with power and shouting incantations tore a hole in the warp and into the world bounded forth a pack of bloodthirsty flesh hounds.  As kallas created the opening the herald muttered a word of power of his own.  Suddenly the psychic energy surrounding Kallas became a portal.  The herald croaked out a harsh laugh as clawed hand emerged from the gateway grabbing Kallas and another conscript and drawing them into the warp screaming before the portal closed.  The herald now had command and it was determined to have it's prize.

Major Nagash began bellowing orders and the heavy weapons teams providing covering fire took aim.  Three lascannon shots reached out for the vindicator on the Imperial left flank.  the heavy laser beams punching through the cermite armor and detonating it's onboard ammo.  The other weapons team targeted the demolisher with most of the shots bouncing off the heavily armored hull.  A single shot however was able to hit the turret enough to damage it and black smoke began to slowly be emitted by the imperial tank.

Meanwhile the left wing of the stygian front made up mostly of armored units advanced in a fire and maneuver method.  Some raced all out then fired off smoke launchers while the rest advanced partially then opened up on the imperial line.  All that fire seemed to have little effect however as the Imperial forces were extremely well dug in.

Now major Nagash ordered the two manticores to open up on the imperial bastion and armor making up the center of the imperial line.  The sudden volley of artillery fire filled the air and suddenly the center of the imperial line disappeared in a deluge of fire.  Most of the Imperial armor was badly damaged and a few of the guardsmen not quick enough to duck down in the trench were killed but it was nothing compared to what happened to the bastion.  By either quirk of fate or extremely well directed fire, the ammo and fuel supplies inside the bunker exploded as one of the rockets punched through.  The veteran imperial guard squad within was immolated in the devastating secondary explosions that turned the Imperial bastion into a raging inferno.

 

 

Special thanks go out to Chris Edstrom (pictured below) for all his help in making this battle report happen.