Border Princes Turn 9 Battle Report: The Blood River Feast

[From a Letter Written by Sergeant Sigmund Dolf, 3rd Carroburg Greatswords, also know as the "Immortals"]:

Sire,

We have lost our advance into territories nearing the foul red river bogs. Ogres advance westward as I write - objective unknown at this time.

Losses: moderate. Burgomeister's swordsmen destroyed. Knights whereabouts unknown, as is that of Arch Lector Dieter Bon Lemann. We have sent out pistolier riders - no word as yet.

Command determined by Engineer Winzler. Cowardly cannon crew recovered.

Rumours among the men claim Amadeus the Black, amethyst wizard and mage of Morr, had been seen walking through our campsite at night despite being slain on the field. His body was not recovered, charred bones the only remnant.

We await your orders.

For Sigmar and glory!

The Blood River Feast

Whatever enormous bargain in gold and victuals had bought the ogre forces off attacking the southern Empire via Blackfire Pass obviously did not extend to prohibiting the ogres from attacking Imperial holdings in the Border Princes, for a large army under the voracious Kragg the Guzzler advanced upon the Imperial Blood River Bastion.  Lector Dieter bon Lemann took a sizable Imperial force to hold the ogres along the central banks of the Blood River.

 The battle began with a deafening artillery exchange: the crew of the Imperial Great Canon had been driven from the field by the foul chants and rituals of the ogre slaughtermaster, leaving the Imperial steamtank and   ogre ironblaster to slug it out.  The Ironblaster managed to land a shot on the Steamtank but was unable to penetrate its heavy Nuln-forged steel.  The ironblaster itself had no such protections, however, and was obliterated when the steamtank returned fire.

Meanwhile the ogre Bulls and Ironguts advanced relentlessly across the field, contemptuous of the outriders attempts to harry and slow them, and Kragg and the flamespewing Firebelly  warded off every attempt by Amadeus the Black to bring down the ogre troops with the dreaded incantation of the Purple Sun.  Finally, having closed the distance, the ogre Bulls smashed into the Burgomeister's swordsmen while the Ironguts crashed into the grim 'Immortal' greatswords, who in turn were joined in the defense by a surge of doughty halberdiers.  

The sound of the bone crushing impact and the roar of the ogre battle cry deafened even the screams of the dead and dying as the battle ground on, but relief for the Empire seemed to be at hand as Imperial Knights approached from the west under the command of the Lector Dieter von Lemann himself, ready to plunge into the ogres' flank.  Better still, the Immortals and the halberdiers finally cut down the last of the Ironguts... given time they too could come to the aid of the beleagered Burgomeister's Blackswords.  

Then, just as the Imperial knights were within striking distance of the ogre's flank and were kicking their mounts into would would be the final charge, the Burgomeister's Blackswords finally broke before the terrifying ogre assault.  Wasting no time finding more foes to feed upon, the ogres turned and hurtled into the bewildered knights, who suddenly found that it was THEY who were on the receiving end of a devastating charge.  The knights fought bravely but could not long resist, and were eventually driven off by the ogres who followed them from the field.  

When the ogres finally returned light was fading, and the stunned and bloodied remnants of the Empire were falling back under the command of the stalwart immortals.  Of Lector Dieter von Lemann and the fleeing knights under his command, there was no sign... 

The Blood River Feast (aka the Battle of Blood River), part of the Border Princes War of 2516-2518 IC
Date: 28th Mittherbst, 2516 IC
Location: The Central Blood River Region
Result: Ogre Kingdoms Victory
Belligerents
The Empire	Ogre Kingdoms
Commanders
Lector Dieter von Lemann (†?)	Kragg the Guzzler
Other Leaders
Captain Heinrich Haupfritz† Amadeus the Black (Wizard Lord of the Lore of Death) (†?)	Erogg the Saw Firebelly
Joachim Baum, Warrior Priest of Sigmar
Hydreich Zwingler (Battle Wizard of the Lore of Metal) †
Otto Winzler (Engineer)
Strength
2650 pts.	2250 pts.
Casualties
1335 pts.	1572 pts.
†=killed in battle

Border Princes Turn 9 Battle Report: The Battle of Bloody Banners

The Battle of Bloody Banners

Undaunted by the massacre of Baron Odo’s retinue by the Orcs and Goblins a month past, Lord Raymond and his valiant companions set forth to break through the Greenskins holding the Silk Road. 

Once again, the battle for the Silk Road began with artillery fire as a suicidal goblin devastated a unit of mounted squires, sending the remaining horsemen into a headlong flight from which they were easily hunted down by goblin wolfriders.  The approach of a horde of Night Goblins bristling with spears sent the remainder of the Bretonnian mounted squires into flight.  For their part the Savage Orcs were given some pause when a huge chunk of masonry hurled through the air by the Bretonnian’s trebuchet crushed fourteen of their number to bloody pulp.

With these preliminaries over Lord Raymond ordered his trumpeter to sound a general charge and, without waiting to see if his orders had been carried out lead his personal retinue into a headlong charge which smashed through an approaching Snotling pumpwagon and then into the lumbering unit of trolls.  Unfortunately, disastrous miscommunication meant that the realm knights riding under Sir Thierulf and the Questing knights mistimed their own charges and found their horses spent and vulnerable before engaging the enemy! 

Seizing the momentum, the dread orc warboss lead his Savage Orcs hurtling into the bewildered Realm knights and their exhausted chargers.  The result was as bloody as it was predictable: most of the Bretonnian knights and Sir Phillipe himself fell defending their banner, and a shamed Sir Thierulf and a lone companion were forced to turn and escort their damsel to safety with howling and jeering Savage Orcs snapping at their heels!  Meanwhile the horrific mangler squig tore through the remaining mounted squires devouring all, steed and rider, leather, steel and flesh.

Unaware of the fate of his reserves behind him, Lord Raymond issued a challenge to the foul orc battle standard bearer whose job it was to keep the trolls in line (and from eating too many goblins) and, after exchanging several mighty blows, Lord Raymond cut down the mighty orc. Leaderless, the bewildered trolls lumbered away, allowing Lord Raymond to claim the Greenskin battle standard before he and his retinue reformed ready to come to the aid of his beleaguered troops.

Unfortunately, however, the magics of the Prophetess Regine which were intented to heal Raymond’s wounded companions went awry, and most of his retinue were slain in a terrible magical backlash.  Truly, the foul Greenskin god Gork (or perhaps Mork?) must have been taking a (green) hand in events!

The Questing knights, meanwhile, had been prevented from coming the aid of their knightly compatriots against the savage orcs by the cowardly but wily night goblins who bogged them down in a sea of spears, and the impetuous knights Errant were in turn prevented from riding to join the Questing knights by the harrying guerrilla tactics of sly goblin wolfriders.  All over the battlefield the Bretonnian knights were scattered and unable to bring the force of their charge to bear.

When (the remainder of) Lord Raymond’s personal retinue and the young knights errant finally managed to charge into the flanks of the Night goblins they caused considerable slaughter but it was too little, too late.  With the return of the victorious savage orcs and their awe-inspiring warboss, the wavering Night goblins found renewed purpose and held firm.  The savage orcs charged into the rear of the remaining Questing knights, who were impaled on the spears of the night goblins by the ferocity of the assault and butchered to a man.  Lord Raymond and his sole remaining vassal were driven back into shameful flight, and Lord Raymond himself met with an ignomious death, slain by a goblin doom-diver. 

With the dying of the light all that remained of the once-proud Bretonnian force were the once headstrong knights errant, stunned into silence by the death and defeat all around them, and a sea of corpses and bloodied silk of a once proud Bretonnian host.

The savage orc warboss stood atop the mound of Bretonnian dead and bellowed his mighty war-cry, in one hand the once-proud banners of four knightly units and Raymond's battle standard, in the other the head of Lord Raymond himself: "Waaaaaaaaaaagh!"

The Battle of Bloody Banners, part of the Border Princes War of 2516-2518 IC
Date: 25th Mittherbst, 2516 IC
Location: The Central Silk Road, in the vicinity of Malko
Result: Orc & Goblin Crushing Victory
Belligerents
Bretonnians (Lord Raymond’s Valiant Vassals)	Orcs and Goblins
Commanders
Lord Raymond †
Other Leaders
Sir Phillipe, Bearer of Lord Raymond’s Standard†
Regine, Prophetess of the Lady (†?) Sir Thierulf
Therese, Damsel of the Lady
Strength
2250 pts.	2250 pts.
Trophies Siezed
1 Battle Standard (1 pt.)	1 Battle Standard, 3 Standards, Lord Raymond’s Head (6 pts.)
†=killed in battle

Border Princes: Turn 10 Moves

Border Princes Turn 8 Battle Report: Da Bushwhack Bash (aka 'The First Battle of La Maisonvert Abbey)

Da Bushwhack Bash (aka 'The First Battle of La Maisonvert Abbey')

Aided by a loyal merry band of woodsmen, Tybalt du Boix de Balzac sought to claim the forests north of Malko by re-taking the ruined Bretonnian abbey of La Maisonvert, long reclaimed by the forest but still of great strategic significance in the wild.  Tybalt was more wise and prudent than his crusading brother-in-law Baron Odo, and avoided a reckless charge into the dense ranks of savage orcs, trolls and greenskins. 

Rather, Tybalt held his veteren knights of the realm and otherworldly Grail Knights in check even as doomdivers wrecked havoc around them, waiting for just the right moment to charge.  All the while brave squires mounted upon their doughty horses rode in and out of the greenskin lines, taunting them with bowfire, drawing out their fanatics and trying to draw them out of the tight defensive position they had formed in the clearing.  Meanwhile, the merry band of brigands (er… bowmen) who had guided Tybalt to the clearing desperately rained flaming arrows down upon the horrific mangler squig which hurtled ominously across the battlefield.

Seeing that Tybalt was unlikely to be drawn into a charge and that the goblin doom-divers were struggling to find their mark, the wily Orc shaman Plodda da Olda summoned the Greenskin gods themselves to battle: the power of Gork (or was it Mork?) rained repeatedly down on Tybalt and his proud knights, who sought in vain to flee from the otherworldly onslaught.  When a shamed Tybalt finally regained his composure and returned to the field only one of his proud retainers and the damsel Jeannette remained at his side.  The damsel herself, desperately trying to channel the Lady’s power against that of the Greenskin gods, drew too strongly on the winds of magic and faded away into the mist that wreathes the Goddess’s sacred places.

Meanwhile, Sir Jasperre and Sir Renais had lead their retinue thundering through the woods themselves, protected from tangled root, low bough and forest spirit alike by an enchanted banner fashioned by the prophetess Iseult.  Smashing asunder the rickety Snotling pumpwagon sent against them, the knights burst from the woods behind the Greenskin lines, destroying one of their artillery pieces and wheeling to prepare for a final charge from the rear.

With shadows already growing long the savage warboss Handibul used all his will and menace to keep his savage orcs and trolls in a tight, solid battle formation amidst the insults and stinging bow fire of the mounted squires, several of whom slipped through the Greenskin lines to destroy the remainder of their artillery.  After devouring well nigh a dozen of the good-natured brigands who had guided Tybalt through the woods, the Bretonnian bowmen finally brought the horrific mangler squig down with their volleys of flaming arrows.  For his part Tybalt struggled to gather his Bretonnian knights into position, hoping desperately to find a weakness in the Greenskin block which would collapse under a combined charge.

Tybalt sounded charges from his realm knights in the south, the Otherworldly Grail Knights in the centre and prepared to join the fray himself, but only the Grail Knights timed their charge correctly and the others did not find their mark.  For their part, the Grail Knights held their own against the loathesome bile attacks of the trolls, but were unable to break the beasts.  With the light dying rapidly in the west and the Greenskin lines still intact and largely unscathed, a frustrated Tybalt sounded the withdrawal.  La Maisonvert Abbey would remain with the orcs and goblins this day.  

Da Bushwhack Bash (aka ‘The First Battle of La Maisonvert Abbey), part of the Border Princes War of 2516-2518 IC
Date: 27th Erntzeit, 2516 IC
Location: The Ruined Abbey of La Maisonvert, Woods North of Malko
Result: Orc & Goblin Victory
Belligerents
Bretonnians (Duke Tybalt’s Retainers)	Orcs and Goblins
Commanders
Duke Tybalt	Handibul, Savage Orc Warboss
Other Leaders
Iseult, Prophetess of the Lady	Plodda da Elda, Savage Orc Great Shaman
Sir Renais, Battle Standard Bearer	Hasnobul, Savage Orc Big Boss
Sir Jasperre	Brootus, Orc Big Boss
Jeannette, Damsel of the Lady(?†)	Smudge, Night Goblin Shaman
	Gresi,  Goblin Big Boss Hairball, Goblin Big Boss
Strength
2250 pts.	2250 pts.
Casualties
522 pts.	415 pts.
†=killed in battle