"Cadia stands! Cadia stands!"
The rallying call of the Cadian Shock Troops rang out down the line as they dug in, prepared to sell their lives as dearly as possible ok the defence of Kasr Krast.
It had been a month since the disaster at the Tyrok Field's, where the Volscani Cataphracts had shown their true colours and turned traitor from the Emperor's light. Ushering in the beginning of the thirteenth black crusade.
Bitter fighting had spread like wildfire as the Black Legion led the denizens of hell out from the warp to assault the Bulwalk of the Imperium that was fortress Cadia.
Here now, in one of the plaza of Kasr Krast, overlooking the Templum Imperator Invicti, the forces of the Thirtieth Caidan Shock Regiment and the One-Hundred and First Kasrkin Regiment dug into good firing positions.
Leman Russ tanks rumbled in the streets behind as they moved forward. Beyond the shell pocked plaza lay a horde of the Lost and the Damned. Traitor regiments, cultists, mutants in their numberless hordes, along with the less numerous but exponentially more dangerous and terrifying traitor Astartes.
Sergeant Von-Styr looked over the deployment of the troops nearby. Nodding to himself, satisfied that the upper-ranks didn't have their heads in their arses at least. Since his elevation to the ranks of the Kasrkin, his section had been seconded to a few...less than able, senior officers. Fortunately, Colonel Graff seemed to have his wits about him.
Commissar Van Der Haal stalked the ranks extolling faith in the Emperor and a good firing line. His augmented gaze drifted over Von-Styr and he nodded to the sergeant.
To his section's left, Von-Styr looked over the huge Whiteshield platoon moving into position. Teenagers really, ready to defend their homeworld as was Cadian tradition.
He chuckled at their rattled expressions as a group of pilgrims trudged the line, shrieking praise to the Emperor and flagellating themselves, the bloodied faithful moving on as the Whiteshields leaders shouted orders to remain steady.
Commissar Van Der Haal approached, "How goes the day Sergeant?"
"Greetings Commissar, ever a pleasant day to kill some heretic filth. Don't think it'll be too long now, the enemy seem to be gathering in numbers"
The Commissar nodded in agreement, as a flight of Traitor Lightning Fighters screamed overhead and loosed off missiles at some distant target.
It was like some unseen signal to both sides as the mutated hordes burst forwards in motion and the Cadians sighted in to open fire.
Within moments the entire area had evolved from a few desultory rounds fired to a spitting cauldron of fire and violence.
The chaos advance had resumed.
*****
As I've said before in my Catachan post, I have a soft spot for the Imperial Guard. They've always been viewed as the necessary but ultimately sacrificial underdogs of the Imperiums defence.
The Space Marines might get the glory, they might be Super-Human, but that does somewhat detract from their appeal. When you don't fear anything, you're not actually heroic.
The humble Imperial Guardsman, whether Infantryman, Tanker, Artilleryman, Cavalryman (yes, they have horse riders), etc have none of the indoctrination and gene upgrades of the Space Marines. They have to face the horrors of the galaxy with a bayonet on their Lasrifle and a fire in their chest.
This is even moreso with the Cadian regiments who literally defend the galaxy from Hell, as their homeworld is the stablest transition point from the Eye of Terror to Real-space. Meaning that they come under constant Chaos incursion and invasion.
As I mentioned before I was starting to work on two Imperial guard armies for the modelling opportunities.
This is the start of the second force, Cadian Shock Troops, repurposed from my now aborted Ventrillian project. Aborted because I can't get heads for the Ventrillian troops anywhere at a reasonable price (guess that comes from copying Peachy's army idea as everyone started doing the same thing).
It also ties into something I'll mention later down the post.
So, to start with, to get the scheme down, I took a unit of Scions, and swapper the heads with Cadian trooper heads to make an in-between version of the Cadian Kasrkin, as again those metal models go for silly monies on eBay...le sigh.
The finished group altogether with the Commissar and Tempestor (who I'm calling a Sergeant-Major in my force).
Given that he is serving on Cadia, and that works being a lynchpin of the Imperial defences, I've given him a Plasma Pistol rather than a Bolt Pistol. I reckon that Cadia would have a higher share of weapons which could cut through power armour due to the high concentration of traitors in the Eye of Terror.
He got an ornate Chainsword from the Scions kit, as I didn't like the Power Sword the Commissar comes with.
Sergeant-Major Jethraan, is a conversion from a metal Kasrkin sergeant which my friend Dom made me many moons ago, probably before the plague time's last year.
Originally he comes armed with a Hellpistol, Power Sword and has a bald head. Dom swapped out the pistol for another Plasma Pistol and the sword with a Powerfist. He also added a Scion backpack with the cables hooked to it and then sent the model to me.
I used a tank commanders head with the peaked cap and headset so he has the special forces look and can keep in contact with his section's without the need for a full gain vox-set. It's a little touch which will get lost in the larger army, but I know it's there.
I've gone for the traditional beige fatigues and dark green armour of Cadian regiments, I added flashes and insignia in white. His armour looks different to his troopers because I reason that he's wearing an older set of Kasrkin armour and refuses to upgrade to the new version.
"This has seen me through four campaigns without a scratch, I'll be damned if I swap it now!".
Two five man sections will make a ten man squad (yes I'm using UK armed forces organisation for this army) and they're in the newer pattern of Kasrkin armour.
Really it's just a regular Scion squad with Plasmagun and Vox-set. Again the Sergeant has a Plasma Pistol but also a Powersword this time. As these are elite troops, I figure Cadian high command gives them requisition of better equipment than the rank and file.
I didn't have any spare Cadian torso's available otherwise I would have done a more in-depth conversion, but with just the head swaps and the paint job I think they work well.
Hobby Bingo and this group tick off three boxes and give me a full line.
Commissar Van Der Haal - Hero box and Line.
Sergeant-Major Jethraan - Hero Box.
Kasrkin Section Von-Styr - Unit of 2+ Models box.
That gives me eighty points for a new total of eight hundred and eighty.
One of the projects which I would like to do in the future is an online participation of the original Eye of Terror campaign:
This was one of the big moments in GW history and I actually took part in the campaign as part of the Green Kroosade, all the Ork players on Da WAAAGH! Forum organised to put all of our results into one system, to make the Orks be noticed in what was obviously a very Imperial/Chaos centric event.
I have bought a mint copy of the codex, acclaimed as one of the finest GW have ever put out. As well as all the White Dwarf issues from the time dealing with the campaign, and the pair later one which dealt with how to re-run the EoT campaign, but for your gaming group, not the world...
What I'm hoping to do, probably summer 2022, is to have a couple of Imperial and Chaos forces built, and then get a few guys to be generals and message me their army moves for each "campaign turn".
I'll fight the battles using solo-40k rules I pulled off the solo wargames Facebook group and message the results back.
I'm hoping this will add in some uncertainty to the campaign in that I don't know who will attack what target, will the two sides collaborate with each other or follow their own agenda's?
It will also allow me to game at my own pace for each turn, around my work shifts on the railway.
That's the plan anyway...
Until next time...
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