CHARGE! Astra Militarum V Orks- 8500pts- Battle report Part 1

So You have had THE FLUFF, now to the Battle report. 

The Imperials had 5000pts to spend, however, we could only use it on Infantry. No Tanks/Fliers etc. The Orks had 3500, aswell as a series of pretty tight bunkers and Defence lines. They were also unrestricted in what they could take.

A Guardsman's eye view. I don't think I fancy that!

As the bombardment raged the Imperial forces shuffled towards the very edge of the tree line. Mud was turned to mist and splinters of debris held thick in the air. Each Shell impact hammered the heart of the gathered Imperials. Bilk, manning the left flank with Major Eklan and most of 5th company, Spat the clagging dirt in his mouth to the ground. Despite the shocking presence of the bombardment, it was falling inaccurate, right at the edge of the Artillery batteries range. Most landed in the no man's land between the line and the defences. 

Checking his Chronometer,  Lord Commissar Delvin, awaited the final shell fall. This he had been warned would be a star shell, burning blue phosphorescent light. Just as the Chron hit 07-30, the star shell burst, bathing the whole area is a ghostly blue glow. The final muffled bang rang still as silence crept in. Delvin reached for his speaker horn,

"Major, We are ready."

"Yes Lord Commissar"

Major Eklan straightened, nodding to Commissar Bilk as adjusted his grip on the vox. He thumbed the power toggle on his plasma pistol and turned back to the speaker set. "OK, Advance by company order, All officers, code Gamma! Captain Pluskat, take the right flank, but keep tight with the centre. Captain Sperrick, Keep the Support fire coming, hold the centre and plug gaps, 5th Company and Auxiliary support, your with me on the left. Clear?!"

Four Cant-code clicks fizzed in his head set and he knew the orders where received. Major Eklan waved his boys forward...

The Imperial Guard objective was simple. Control as much of the board as possible, and occupy as many of the bunkers, defence lines and strategic points (Bridges Hilltops etc) as possible. In a standard length game this was going to be tricky, but everyone loves a challenge. The Ork Objective was even simpler, stop me from achieving my objectives.

To save time, both myself and Tom deployed at the same time. There weren't going to be too many tactical choices for myself at this stage, as ultimately I had to move forward as fast as I could. I stuck all my Ogryns and Bullgryns dead centre and pushed Lord Commissar Delvin into the centre( He was using Yarrick's rules, so I wanted to spread his leadership and warlord trait as far as possible.
Tom Deployed quite deep, with three big Boyz mobs right up front and Gretchin creating a small speed bump in the craters just in front of my lines.

An Overview of the full 12' x 4' we played on. Rivers, Bunkers, Defence lines and 3500pts of Orks, this was going to be tough!

Bilk, Eklan and Psyker Whent, move up the left flank.

 The Ogryns and Bullgryns advance hastily up the centre.

 Captain Pluskat leads his 3rd Company from the front.

The heavy weapons of 5th Company support the advance of the 3rd company. Preacher Mahann can be seen extolling the virtues of Martyrdom to the men of Red Platoon, 3rd Company (and anyone else in Earshot!!!)

 Into No man's Land! The 3rd, 4th and 5th companies of the 32nd Vastadtian Fusiliers, alongside their attached Auxiliary troops charge. 

 Another shot of the well ordered infantry advance.

The Orks swarm from the bunkers and man the barricades following the bombardment. They are ready for the fight.

The Boys sight up, Itching to have a go at the Pesky Hoomies!

The Ork Warlord Trackle Black Secradda and his mega Armoured 'Kronies' survey the battlefield from the hilltop.

The Lobbas deploy deep to provide supporting fire.

 The Killa Kans and Squiggoth stand by to plug gaps in the forward defences.

The Gretchin occupy the scattered remains of old trenches to provide a small speed bump to the Imperials.

The Advance had begun. From his forward position, Captain Pluskat could see the Orks spilling into the defence line. The Auto cannons on his right were starting to chanter away on the Green skin lines. From the smoke, a massive form was emerging, a Squiggoth! "All heavies, engage the Squiggoth, fire on my target!" 

As he called into the vox horn, Pluskat could see the rapier laser destroyer clanking round on its tracks. The ancient weapons system opened fire, scoring a direct hit on the meat of the massive beasts shoulder. An ear splitting bellow erupted from the creature, almost shaking loose some of its cargo. The Green skins on the crudely crafted howdah held on for grim death as the beast lurched forward, swinging its massive Jaw back and forth.

Trackle Black Secradda leant his heavily armoured fists on the barricades in front of him. "Alrigh' Lets get stuck in Boyz!" He called as he hurled the massive weight of his Mega armour over the barricade, the metal wall buckling under the pressure. His Boys Cheered as they began their trudge forward.

Tom failed to steal the Initiative, so I took the first turn. I simply ran as fast as I could towards the Ork lines. The Platoons from 4th company opened fire on the Gretchin, Killing one squad and forcing the second to flee towards their own lines. I was worried that these small units might cause me to slow my advance as I had a long way to travel. 

The Orks Rushed forward, hoping to put up a strong line of resistance early on. The Lobbas had yet to find range. I was glad of this, however I was dreading the moment they would be able to start their counter barrage. 

As there are a lot of pictures to get through from this battle report I'm going to finish here for now. Next time, can the Imperials march forward to claim what was once theirs? Will the Orks flatten the Imperial Advance?