Welcome to the Aleph Sector Campaign blog, Sheffield University Wargames Society's narrative based campaign set in Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 universe. If you are new here, have a read of the Aleph Sector Campaign System. This will explain what the campaign is, how it works etc. If you are really keen you can download the entire ten year history of the campaign! If you are a new student in Sheffield, visit the Wargames website from the links section on the right to get involved!
Friday, March 29, 2024
Reversals on Mordecai Primaris
Monday, March 11, 2024
Fighting on Enaloth intensifies
In the ongoing campaign to extend Imperial dominion into the Perseus Deeps, General Veers spearheaded efforts to conquer the necron tombworld of Enaloth. Despite initial setbacks, including the withdrawal of the Black Templars from the Tomb complex of Khamet, Imperial forces persevered, ultimately achieving significant gains in their conquest of the world.
A bridgehead had been established on Enaloth prior to General Veers' renewed offensive. Tasked with securing the Tomb complex of Khamet, the Black Templars encountered unexpectedly fierce resistance from the entrenched necron forces. Forced to retreat in the face of overwhelming opposition, the Templars regrouped, their resolve undiminished despite the setback.
However, the high command on Bastien were determined to press on with the offensive despite the astartes setback. Reinforcements from the Lycannon Guard bolstered Imperial ranks, enabling a renewed assault on the Tomb of Khamet. In a brutal engagement involving an entire regiment and armoured support elements, the Imperial Guard forces overwhelmed the necron defenders, seizing control of more than half of the tomb complexes on Enaloth and securing a decisive foothold within the Tomb of Khamet itself.
As Veers' latest campaign in the Perseus Deeps continued to unfold, general Veers remained resolute in his determination to extend the Emperor's dominion into the darkest reaches of the region, intent on removing the dual Xenos threats of the Necron and the Tau. He had good reason to be confident in victory, as more and more reinforcements flooded in from the Vastrid subsector, although the inevitable conflict with the Tau and Federacy began to concern a number of his staff. For now the necron domains within the Perseus Deeps seemed open to quick conquest.
They began by probing the outer defences with small reconnaissance cadres, seeking week points in the defences but the mountain was surrounded with a web of sensor nets and one after another the scouting forces were ambushed by ravenwing or devastated by teleporting terminator attacks from the deathwing who were guided to their positions with pin point accuracy.
The Tau did identify one location where the defences might be breached and committed a linebreaker cadre to exploiting the weakness. Just such a tactic had worked well in New Feducia and the Tau hoped that success could be replicated here. As the heavy battlesuits closed on the mountain they were met with an aggressive counter attack. The attack stalled in its tracks as the battlesuits engaged, wary about closing the distance and determined to exploit their advantage in fire power. Fighting raged and casualties mounted on both sides but eventually the battlesuits were forced to withdraw. Both sides had sustained heavy losses but the aggressive response had kept the Tau from pressing forward to claim the key positions they would require to breach the fortress.
Disheartened the Tau commanders analysed the data that had been gathered with much sacrifice. The fortress itself was a subterranean stronghold, immune to even orbital battleship bombardment, and its key position and surrounding sensor web made any approach impossible to conceal. Taking the mountain would require prolonged attractional warfare of a kind that was anathema to the Tau philosophy of war. All analysis lead to the same conclusion, that the military benefit of taking the mountain was simply not worth the cost. Faced with this unpalatable conclusion the Tau moved to a strategy of containment and refocused their resources to future conquests.
Friday, March 08, 2024
Last Stand on Lodax Secondus
The tension was palpable as the Imperial forces, battered and weary, prepared to make their last stand. The Tyranid horde, a relentless tide of chitin and claws, surged against the crumbling fortifications, threatening to engulf all in its path.
Amidst the chaos, a glimmer of hope shone through the darkness. Commissar McGuffin, bearer of vital intelligence regarding the dreaded Hive Fleet Poseidon, was the Imperium's last hope for survival. With his information in hand, the Imperium rallied to ensure his safe extraction from the doomed world, as Admiral Sommerville's fleet was only hours away.
Even the Iron Warriors, sworn enemies of the Imperium, set aside their ancient grudges in the face of the greater threat. Together, Imperial and traitor alike stood united against the xenos menace, their determination unwavering in the face of imminent annihilation.
As endless waves of Tyranids crashed against the bulwarks of the Imperial defences, Commissar McGuffin made a desperate dash to the extraction point. The Deathwing and Iron Warriors Chosen fought with grim resolve, holding the line against the relentless onslaught.
During the carnage, the Dark Angels Chapter Master emerged as if from nowehere, with some identifying his as the Primarch of legend himself, charging into the fray. With lethal precision, he pursued the monstrous Tyranid beasts, slaying them one by one in a dance of death. Whether this was the mighty Lion El Johnson or these were just the fever dreams of exhausted guardsmen remains an unresolved mystery. Either way the powerful space marine was seen charging into the Tyranid hive swarm with aggressive savagery. Yet, in the heart of the battle, the supreme augmented soldier of humanity faced his ultimate challenge: the dreaded Swarm Lord, embodiment of the Tyranid hive mind. In a clash of titans, the Dark Angel commander fought valiantly, but in the end, he fell before the monstrous might of his foe. No body was ever recovered however, so whether this account is true, or a heroic myth cannot be verified.
As desperation reached its zenith, salvation descended from the heavens as Admiral Sommerville arrived: the Mastodon, a behemoth of war, crashed down from orbit, blocking the path of the onrushing Tyranids and protecting McGuffin at all costs. With a thunderous roar, it trampled the weakened Swarm Lord beneath its colossal treads.
Now the Genestealer cults, vile servants of the Tyranid menace, swarmed the extraction point, their numbers seemingly endless. Only through the heroic sacrifice of countless lives did the Imperium hold fast against the relentless tide of xenos horrors.
In the end, amidst the ruins of Lodax Secondus, Commissar McGuffin emerged unharmed, his precious cargo of intelligence intact. Though victory came at a great cost, the defenders of the Imperium had held the line against the encroaching darkness, ensuring that hope endured even in the face of inevitable doom. As the Tyranids consumed the planet in their ravenous hunger, the sacrifice of those who fought and fell would be remembered.
Thursday, March 07, 2024
Novgorod Guard expand bridgehead on Enaloth
In late 023M42, the Imperium had made landfall on Enaloth, securing a precarious foothold amidst the ancient ruins and desolate landscapes that covered the planet's surface. Gradually, they fortified their landing zone, preparing themselves conscientiously for the inevitable confrontation with the awakened Necrons.
As General Kutuzov ground out a brutal campaign against the forces of Chaos in the Mordecai system, the Novgorod Guard now spearheaded the Imperial offensive on Enaloth. With their usual implacable resolve, they launched a relentless assault against the Necron defences, their artillery fire and ranks of Leman Russ tanks forming an impenetrable wall against the advancing xenos.
The Necrons, not content to allow the armies of humanity to simply take their world, launched a counter attack against the Imperial invaders, their mechanical forms marching directly into the teeth of massed Imperial firepower. Yet, despite their resilience, they faltered in the face of the Imperial Guard's steadfast defence, as their ranks were decimated by charges from the specialist Novgorod cavalry units.
By early 03.024M42, the tide of battle had turned decisively in favour of the Imperium. Fully half of Enaloth lay under Imperial control, and the progression of the campaign was precisely on General Veers' pre-invasion schedule. However, the struggle for Enaloth was far from over. The Necrons, ancient and undying, remained a formidable foe, their wrath unquenched by the loss of territory. As the Imperium pressed forward, their resolve would be tested, as the battles ahead would be fought not only in the desolate tombs of Enaloth but in the very heart of darkness itself.