Thursday 7 July 2016

Steel Lightning: Cadian 25th Assault Engineer company


A Warhammer 40K campaign started at our club, which has been generated a lot of excitement and been very successful in mobilizing many veteran gamers to dig up their old armies. This has certainly happened to me, and I have even found myself painting new additions to my already quite extensive collection of Imperial Guard (or whatever they're called nowadays).

In a flurry of nocturnal painting I finished a platoon of veteran guardsmen I had assembled maybe 5-6 years ago and tuned up their transports with some battle damage. I had originally assembled the force because I thought the theme was cool, so it's a nice surprise that they now constitute a "formation" in 40K, which get some nice bonuses to boot. Score!

The 25th Assault Engineer company is a separate formation that is permanently attached to the Cadian 6th Armoured Regiment. Their tasks are manifold: clearing and bridging obstacles, escorting the regiment's Leman Russ battle tanks, securing objectives and assaulting fortified enemy positions. The veterans are armed with shotguns, meltaguns, meltabombs, flamers, demolition charges and other "tools of the trade". Each squad is mounted on a Chimera APC and the platoon is supported by two Hellhound flame-thrower tanks. The company is commanded by Major Steele, a hardened veteran with almost as many bionic replacements than "original" parts.


1st squad

2nd squad

Major Steele with his command squad

Squad 3

The platoon's AFVs

One of the battle-worn Chimeras

A Hellhound from Forge World

Friday 1 July 2016

Encounter at Joyle's Depot


The deep thud of a heavy bolter sounded off in the distance, accompanied by a few shotgun blasts. The battle was already quieting down and Major Steele, commander of 3rd platoon, 52nd Cadian assault engineer regiment was already contemplating his next move. The grizzled veteran walked around a wrecked Chaos war-engine that his men were rigging with explosives. More Cadians were busy dispatching the enemy wounded and dragging the fallen of both sides to massive heaps. Everything that had been tainted by Chaos would be incinerated or blown up, just in case. The several Leman Russ wrecks of Cadian 6th armoured would be salvaged and, if possible, repaired by the regiments enginseers.

The task force's mission had been a success, but its implications worried the Major. The platoon of assault engineers, supported by a squadron of Leman Russ battle tanks, had been tasked with investigating what had happened at Joyle's Depot. The little village, which had acted as one of the regiment's supply dumps, had gone awfully quiet a few days ago. Upon arrival, the Cadians found the village littered with bodies and reeking of intoxicating scents. Chaos!

Cultists were busy organising some form of ritual in nearby woods and unnatural daemons lurked in the shadows. Major Steele immediately ordered an attack, which had gone well. Advancing on a broad front, the Imperial tanks had laid down a withering fire, which cut down many of the smaller daemons that were gathered in some kind of vile celebration. 

The surprised Slaanesh forces counter-attacked with all sorts of daemonic war engines and Chaos monstrosities, which materialized behind the guardsmen and on their flanks. Several Leman Russ tanks were destroyed by the massive claws of the Chaos monsters while the rest lumbered forward. Unperturbed, Major Steele had ordered his assault engineers to press on with the attack and the mobile veterans obliterated each threat before it got out of hand.

The battle was short and brutal. Imperial losses were light while virtually the entire Chaos host was cut down. Only the leader of the cultists managed to escape, while the daemons disappeared into the Warp whence they had come from. Major Steele knew from experience though, that the fight was not over. Every last one of those cultists would have to be hunted down and the village would have to be purified. This was only the beginning.

Cadian armour rolls into the village

Enemy sighted, fire at will!

The daemonic horde is caught off-guard

Major Steele's HQ races to secure an objective

A Chaos monster races forward at unnatural speed and rips a Leman Russ in two with its claws

Cadian infantry counter-attacks and destroys the monstrosity with well-aimed melta shots

Chaos Spawn and the vile warlord of the Chaos host arrive from outflank...

Cadian veterans redeploy and take down the Chaos outflankers with well-placed shotgun blasts

A daemonic sorcer lands in a deadly cross-fire and is eventually destroyed

Forward for Cadia!

Chaos forces are in a tight spot as the Imperial tanks lumber on


Major Steele is victorious!