Battle Report: The Dark Eldar Raids, Part 1

As the Imperial Arcadian Forces moved to meet the Ork threat, an attack came from the most unexpected direction--from a Dark Eldar Raiding Party! The 1st Platoon of B Company, 2nd Infantry, was marching to its positions against the Ork invaders, when the Dark Eldar seemingly came out of nowhere to attack them.


Scenario: Raid Ambush
Imperial Guard Forces:  Darkwing
Dark Eldar Forces: Archite

The Forces

Imperial Arcadian Forces (B Company, 1st Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment)		Points
	Command Platoon with 1 Anti-Tank Squad	180
	Infantry Platoon with 3 Infantry Squads	276
	Total Points:	456

Dark Eldar Raiding Party(Wych Cult)		Points
	Illiya Alyivax	90
	Warp Beasts (4) with Beastmaster (1)	63
	Warp Beasts (4) with Beastmaster (1)	63
	Warriors (12)	136
	Wyches (7) with Succubus (1)	104
	Total Points:	456

The Imperial Guard column

Turn 1
The Dark Eldar burst out of their cover to attack the guardsmen--a squad of Dark Eldar Warriors to the front, a pack of Warp Beasts to the guardsmen's right flank, and Lelith to their left. The Warriors opened fire at the squad at the front of the column, their Dark Lances, Splinter Cannons and Splinter Rifles decimating the first squad, killing seven guardsman. The Warp Beasts, showing inhuman speed, plowed into the remnants of the first squad, shredding the last three members of the
squad. Not even pausing, they then charged the platoon's command squad, next in line.
Most of the guardsmen had reacted, and leveled their lasguns at the Warp Beasts. A massed fusillade killed the Beastmaster and three of his foul beasts, leaving one left. It advanced towards the Command Section's Lieutenant, who jammed the barrel of his shotgun into the beasts mouth and pulled the trigger, blowing the creature's head off.

The Warp Beasts slaughter the first squad
Turn 2
All the Dark Eldar began to move in, and the Wyches burst from cover on the left flank of the column, while another Warp Beast Pack appeared on the right. The Command Section was wiped out under a hail of Splinter fire from the Dark Eldar warriors to the front. The Heavy Squad's Missile Launcher found its mark among the Dark Eldar warriors, killing three of them with a frag missile. The Command HQ Section advanced to meet the approaching Wyches, firing their laspistols, killing two of them. The rest of the guardsmen fired their lasguns, killing one more.

Turn 3
The Dark Eldar Warriors advanced again, continuing to fire their Splinter Cannon, killing four more guardsmen. The Wyches fired their splinter pistols at the the Command HQ Section, but the flak armor of the guardsmen and the Medic's skill with a medipack prevented the fire from doing any damage. The Warp Beasts assaulted the Heavy Weapons Squad, while Illiya Alyivax charged the remnants of an infantry squad. The Warp Beasts all but wiped out their opponents, the sole survivor running for his life, the Warp Beasts continuing their attack into the last infantry squad. Illiya Alyivax killed two guardsmen, who failed to strike back, but stayed to continue the fight. The Wyches assaulted the Command HQ Section, killing two members of the squad, while the Captain and his guardsmen killed two of the Wyches.

The Wyches assault the Command HQ
The guardsmen fired a final volley of lasgun fire at the Warp Beasts before they swept into the combat, killing two of them. Illiya Alyivax killed two more guardsmen in the hand to hand combat. The Wyches wounded the Captain, and the guardsmen fled only to be cut down by the pursuing Wyches.

Turn 4
Illiya Alyivax continued to fight against the two guardsmen opposing her, and she cut down one of them, and then the other. The Wyches assaulted the last infantry squad, which was already fighting a last stand against the Warp Beasts. The guardsmen fought with desperation, and killed one Wych, causing the surviving Wyches to back off from the combat and take stock of the situation before attacking again.

Lelith fells the guardsmen one by one

Conclusion
The seven surviving guardsmen were fighting a hopeless battle, as they were locked in combat with Warp Beasts, and more Dark Eldar were approaching from all directions. In the fierce battle against the Orks, it would be some time before the rest of the 2nd Infantry Regiment would notice the missing column of guardsmen, but by then, it was far too late.