From the Front Line - Report

Another glorious victory for the Dark Angels, this time against Black Templars.

He had "The Mob", 18 models with a mix of marines led by a Chaplain and neophytes, a squad of 8 in a rhino led by an Emperors champion and a 5-man assault squad .
I fielded my usual force.

Take and Hold mission on a building in the centre of the battlefield.

My two Land Speeders nailed the Rhino on the first turn, then the marines that stumbled out on the second and third turns (I couldn't see them, unfortunately, as they came out of the vehicle on the first turn alas!). The Emperors Champion, however, disengaged from the unit and charged my Dreadnought. Not the sharpest tool in the box, that one. Although he could technically damage it (needing to roll 6 armour penetration) he ended up locked in combat with the Dread for the rest of the game. I counter-charged him with my Chaplain and assault squad, thinking I might have a chance through sheer weight of numbers.

Meanwhile, his assault squad landed and attacked my Rhino, only to find the hull tougher than expected. They then came under fire from my Tactical squads, losing two of their number, but were able to destroy the razorback. The final squad member failed his leadership test and started heading homewards, only to be unable to rally (I advanced the rhino to stop him from being able to!) then was finished off by the Land Speeders in the final turn.

The mob had moved forward at an astonishing rate during all of this, taking a couple of casualties from here and there. They charged into my assault squad to try and finish them off.

With only two turns to go, I had my two speeders as scoring units, plus one combat squad on the opposite flank to the fracas, all who could make it to the objective. I also had two combat squads on the right, close to the Mob, which at that point was still a scoring unit. So I did the only thing I could - the two combat squads charged in - not something that my opponent was expecting! In the ensuing mess that is multiple combats, I lost most of the two combat squads and all the assault troops, but I did reduce him to three marines and the champion.

Battle Honours go to:

One of my Veteran sergeants who had the coolness of nerve to extricate himself from the melee with his one surviving squad member, then recharge on the final turn...

The Dreadnought who managed to kill but one neophyte, yet kept locked in combat the Emperor's Champion for four turns.

The Land Speeders for killing the rhino, the squad inside it and then the assault squad almost entirely on their own. As usual, well worth their points.

Things learnt:
Units in multiple combats do not Sweeping Advance, so do not cut down opponents that break off from combat.
Black Templars move ridiculously fast, especially if you shoot them. If they take a casualty, they take a leadership test. If passed, they move toward the firing target, if failed, they break. This can, as you might think, be used to draw them away from your lines by shooting from behind, however the Chaplain means they can choose which enemy unit to move towards.
And They Shall Know No Fear allows the marines to not only pass their leadership test, but also to move and fire normally when they do (including charging!)
Emperor's Champions are nasty little buggers with a 2+ save.


Things my opponent learnt:
Take more anti-tank infantry. One hunter-killer as the only long-range weapon is not good. This particular one will henceforth be known as the "Thing that went ping"
Marines can (and will) fight in hand-to-hand if they need to.
Ignoring Land Speeders is suicide.
Don't let a unit of marines and neophytes with S4 and no power fists get into combat with a Dreadnought with Front Armour 12 (I recall us both learning that one the hard way!)
How To Use a Tape Measure. This was the guy who will move the front rank 6", then leap frog the second rank over the first.
Putting marines at the front of a squad, and the neophytes at the back for casualty removal doesn't work when the 12" range only covers the marines!