Memo from Azrael to Belial

[Storm Dragons 3rd Company]

TO:  Belial

FROM:  Azrael

DATE:  998.M41

RE:  Training standards of the Deathwing

 

I had the opportunity to observe your recent training exercise against the Imperial Fists.  Your doctrine was sound tactically, and early on, you were well positioned with regard to your strengths and the OpFor weaknesses.  The Deathwing Assault Squad you were personally leading dropped perfectly to force an assault on the OpFor command squad in power armor.  Likewise, the more traditionally armed Deathwing Squad was set up to block the opponent's Terminator Assault Squad.  I noticed you had also positioned the Ravenwing Knights and the four plasma cannon Devastator to fire plasma at the arriving terminators in addition to the Tactical squad with the multi-melta.

 

It was of great surprise to me, therefore, to witness what happened next, and I can only account for it with a slip in the training standards of the Deathwing since my day.  I would like you to remind your troops that:

 

*  It helps the TDA armor's overall effectiveness when the marines remember to zip them up.  That way, the eight bolter shots that they needed to use their armor against do not "kill" the entire five marine unit of Deathwing.

 

*  They need to keep their mind on their immediate situation and not become absorbed in what is happening elsewhere on the battlefield.  How else do you explain the fact that the Ravenwing attached to your force apparently were frozen in place by the Deathwing debacle so that three of the four of them also were "killed"by the stormbolters from a Rhino and three Drop Pods.

 

*  Their equipment is not just to be carried around for bling and impressing the women in the local tavern.  I'm not disappointed that you even managed to lose one of your own Deathwing Assault marines to shooting.  Their failing lies more in their so-called area of expertise, the assault.  Granted, the enemy command squad assaulted your Deathwing Assault squad, however, this cannot mask the patehtic lack of training in their weapons drills.  I noticed that the enemy managed to kill all four remaining members of the squad using only two power fists.   Perhaps it might have helped if your men remebered to unlimber their storm shields next time.  While your men did manage to "kill" three power armored OpFor marines with eight thunder hammer attacks, this does not excuse their poor performance defensively.

 

*  With your entire squad wiped out in one round, I had ample time to observe the dance and show (Sorry, had you thought that was a challenge?) you and enemy commander put on so you could laze about and jaw jack while your troops were displaying their incompetence on the field.  In spite of the fact that you had TDA and he had a storm shield, he managed to wound you twice in the first exchange of blows while you did nothign to him in return.  Then for the rest of the battle [top of T2 until the bottom of T6], you two managed to dance with each other without resolving you challenge.  If I'm not mistaken, in fact, for the rest of the battle, the vaunted commander of the Deathwing managed to land one, ONE, successful blow.  If you aren't going to take these exercises and your command of the Deathwing seriously, I'll have to find someone who will.  That new recruit, Billy Clutzfarth, could have made a better showing. 

 

*  In the heat of battle, your troops need to remember to not dwell on past failure.  You were probably too busy swapping lewd joke with the Imperial Fist commander to see it, but your Devastator squad was so blinded by tears of shame that, in spite of an otherwise stellar performance in this exercise, they managed to miss the entire tightly packed enemy terminator squad with all four plasma cannons!  Even the five man Tactical Squad managed to kill one of them in the same bout of shooting, perhaps because they were all alone now, facing those terminators in the face.

 

*  Take your example from said same Tactical Squad.  When the terminators charged the tactical marines, they didn't flinch.  They acquitted themselves like true sons of the Lion.  They somehow managed to kill enough of the incoming terminators in melee that only two tactical marines were felled.  You didn't see it because of your *cough* distraction, but your five marine Tactical Squad not only slaughtered more assault terminators than the entire rest of your army, but they so disheartened the enemy, that the terminators attempted to flee the combat.  Apparently, your dance partner has some training to do also.  Please convey my congratulations to that unit.

Regardless, with the loss of both your terminator squads and the Ravenwing Knights in a single barrage of enemy fire, the momentum of the battle began to run against you, as you know.  In the end, the results were closer than you had any right for them to be.  Please share this memo with your Deathwing and let them know I expect a better performance form them next time.

[march10k]

That's as bad as the time that a 300+ point chaos lord of nurgle FREAKING DIED to "the curse" upon killing my lowly 115 point tomb prince AT ADEPTICON several years ago.  Or the guy who lost both of his hammerheads to my plasma cannon dreadnought.  Or the time that I lost seven terminators from the same squad (3rd edition) to five ratlings over the course of two turns.  Need I go on?  Great report, though, I was rolling on the ground.

[johnyocum]

*dies laughing*  Oh, Gods, that is hilarious!!!

[marvmoogy]

LOVE IT!

[madman2980]

This is similar to the time that 4 10 man deathwing squads mishapped and DIED

Then to follow it up my librarian freaking PERILED ON VORTEX OF DOOM in the only non mishapping squad with belial,

killing belial and all but TWO deathwing knights. Worst battle I've fought

Brilliant Report though

[Storm Dragons 3rd Company]

Thanks.  If it had ended after 5 turns, I'd have won by 1 point.  By turn 6, he had been able to get his predator to the objective (BGNT 5 objectives).  Score ended up with me at 7 and him at 9.