At 5 bells past midnight and one hour before the dawn our advance scouts reported that the expected attack of the foe was coming earlier than expected. The reason that the alert came so early in the day was that the Ungol horse archers were guarding the peasant levies while they constructed field defenses and boobytraps on the predicted field of battle. The Ungols withdrew and formed up to protect the retreating levies while the rest of the army luckily had already been forming up to enter the field according to plan when the alert had came in. Though if we had not had scouts out we would have been surrounded and cut off while the horde flowed south to savage the unprotected refugees and if they were lucky take the defenses of Bolgasgrad almost undefended.
The first moves were by the winged lancers as they rode forward to take up position with the Ungol horse on either flank to protect to levies from the advancing foe. They were becoming clearer as the dawns light crept over the battlefield in the front were four units of barbarian spearmen. They were clad in furs, scraps of chainmail and what were most likely bits of looted Imperial and kislevite armor. Their arms were crude spears topped with barbed metal points some of which were black others normal steel. Other than that they sported the usual assortment of hand weapons such as axes, swords and various other crude implements of death. Due to their light armament they had rushed ahead of the rest of the army, this most likely marked them out as followers of the Blood God desperate to slake their thirst for battle.
Behind them looming over one entire formation of the lesser scum was a gang of Ogres running forward as fast as they could armed with the crude weapons of their kind. All roaring out challenges to each other and us intermingled with growls of hunger from the larger/more insane monsters among them. Two of them were armed with small imperial looking cannons their size allowing them to carry them like muskets or even pistols in the case of the second monster. Who must be the Tyrant looming almost to the size of what I imagine a giant looks like!
Suddenly on either flank twisted packs of monsters emerged from the morning haze they were made of up of various abominations complete with tentacles and writhing constantly mutating appendages. These must be the infamous chaos spawn that I have read of in the briefings, foolish souls who had either dedicated themselves to the dark gods, failed them in some way or just been used for sport by the foul minions of disorder. They had then been twisted by evil magic into the forms that were seen that day, surging towards the advancing Kislevites in three unholy masses. You could see various shadowy figures behind them seemingly urging them on with evil spells and long wicked looking blades. Before they had a chance to attack our allies, one company of White Wolf Knights on each side and the Imperial Pistolier units divided two on one flank and one the other, rode to the rescue.
On either side of the retreating main blocks of Peasant levies our artillery set up hurriedly while the sergeants gathered some of the peasants to help dig hasty field works for the guns. The imperial cannons without the great cannon which had been left at the fortified camp got set up behind the quickly growing mounds of dark local earth, their crews desperately unloading black powder barrels, shells, canister containers, cannon balls and all the other impedimenta of artillery. This was while the rest of them loaded the guns which could immediately bear on the rapidly advancing northern barbarians; they were truly skilled crews I cannot deny it!
The guns from Erengrad looked strange with what looked like some kind of screw arrangement at the back of the barrels; this must be the new mechanism of which they talked. During the battle that day I had the chance to see them in action and they were like and unlike the guns I had known before. As they fired they flew back just like normal cannon but when they came to rest the reloading process was much quicker! They first undid the screw to place another shell and bag of powder inside its freshly swabbed maw. Then aimed it again on target before firing again. The guns seemed more accurate at least from my perspective, though this was later confirmed by the balloon crews during the compilation of this report. They too rushed to get all in place but due to the lightness of the guns they were in a much more advanced state of readiness than their imperial counterparts.
The two companies of the Knights Panther came cantering out of the rear of the army the foot solders cheering to see them in this dark hour where in the past all they would receive would be glowers and scowls at the best. They did look inspiring their armor glistening, leopard trims bright and freshly cleaned, no doubt by their extensive servant entourage but well it did look pretty. They held their lances high complete with pennants as they rode by my men and myself if I recall correctly before they separated heading around the retreating Levies advancing one unit to each flank. Roughly at the same time as the Winged Hussars in concert with the Ungol horse archers, White Wolves and Pistoliers following on afterwards
Also It was at this point that the Balloon crews came into action and the reports of the disposition of our own and the foes troops became clearer. The true direction of the battle in the new method can finally start rather than the traditional groping in the dark that we have all indulged in to this point. Behind the two flank groups of cavalry one company each of Steletzi handgunners quick marched in line formation banners flying, bayonets shining in the dawn light and their drums sounding out over the cacophony of the battlefield.
Three units of the Peasant Levies were coming into position behind the guns; these were the units that contained those with the best or most sturdy weapons and healthiest recruits. They looked steady and ready for battle lined up three companies deep behind both sets of batteries ready to force the foe back if they threatened the guns.
My own four companies of handgunners advanced steadily along the course of the road in line formation, they looked resplendent in red tunics with sleeves slashed through with white complete with the symbol of the Bull on the left breast. Our hats were black and if you could afford it you could wear a black feather in it. We also had our bayonets already attached to our rifles ready for this bloody day. The two companies of Reiklander pike men protecting our flanks marched steadily looking scruffy compared to our spotless uniforms. Their pikes however looked as deadly as ever ready to rend the flesh of the unholy, I recall thinking at the time.
To the right of the Pike formation marching at our side the human and dwarf engineers were setting up. This included the final adjustments and test signals from their heliograph to the balloon, all according to our pre-practiced maneuvers that had taken place in Wolfenburg. They were also setting up their portable mortars and a small quantity of rockets could be seen being set up in their firing racks ready for opportune moment of target of the moment. Of course the rush to move forward had meant that there was only enough for one medium volley or several small ones but that is reality always screwing with the plan!
Supporting the humans and their own engineers the two dwarf handgunner companies and the Hammers were moving forward coming up behind the Levies on the right flank. They looked magnificent as only those of the Elder race can when kitted out for glorious battle form heirloom runic armor to weapons that have spilt the blood of the evil ones for more time than the Empire has existed! There were Dwarfs in their fighting formations that were older than any two of our oldest troopers combined! As they marched they chanted the foremost grudges against the Chaos Lovers to get ready for the ruck rapidly approaching the rear of the levies who looked glad to see them as all right thinking folk are especially on days like these!
On the far right over the large tributary of the Northern River Lynsk, called the Ravens vein in the local tongue I believe. The balloon was securely set up as the two companies of Tilean mercenary Handgunners moved up to cover them, marching towards the small deep lake that fed the river. Their bland uniforms seeming very plain compared to the beauty you could see in the imperial and Kislevite battle dress and accouterments none the less they were heavily armed and they had several small squads of Nuln engineers along complete with a few of the portable mortars that were proving so useful in fighting all our foes!
Riding low on the two the lakes our two armored river monitors steamed up the river and took up position in the lake, their twin smokestacks throwing dark smoke into the air full of glowing cinders that shone in the early morning pre gloom and light rapidly disappearing mist. Before anchoring and sending their own test signal to the balloon so they can start to get ready to fire at the rear of the Chaos worshippers massive army with deadly fury!
The joint command group including both Boyar Rakenov Nechako and Grand Marshall Oleg von Raukov advanced on their horses behind our marching troops slightly to the right of us. They needed to keep position near to the engineer's heliograph so they could manage the ballet of battle correctly and receive the signals and messages both spoken and unspoken. And the last of Ungol refugees were retreating along the road behind them to hopefully safety and a long life! The accompanying Imperial War Wizards were also tagging along with the commanders entourages and bodyguards seemingly not doing anything in particular.
The extent of the foe was also becoming clear with the lightening of the sky and the burning off of the morning's river mist, their gibbering countenances and unholy warcries already did battle with our clean purposeful noises of drums, fifes and hymns to the various gods of our army. On the far left there were two warbands of Nugleite warriors their half rotting organic look marking them out among their fellows, both bands were advancing at a pace that belied their shambling appearance waving their various weapons and totems enthusiastically. They advanced towards the Chaos Spawn pack that was about to close with the Pistoliers. The knights of the White Wolf and were already being peppered with arrows from the Ungol horsemen and a few on the flanks of their formation spared them some attention while the others fired at the khornite barbarians in the center.
There was also what looked like one Magma cannon and several Hell Cannons to the left of the Nurglites, crewed by stout armored Chaos Dwarfs assisted by their numerous slaves getting their foul weapons ready for battle. In some cases they provided fuel for their foul engines demonic hearts as the horrified balloon pilots later recorded and told me about in their after battle verbal report. Behind them there was large mass of Kurgan horsemen seemingly trying to organize into battle order, the balloon reported maybe twelve different formations within it.
There was also another set of these weapons on the right flank also crewed by Chaos dwarfs and slaves, the one Hell cannon going quicker at the task as they appeared to have a crew of Ogre slaves doing their work rather than the punier Greenskins or Hobgoblins of the other Cannons. Setting up quickly on the banks of the lake ready to attack our Kislevite allies. They were already firing at the artillery crews with their tough recurved horse bows holding javelins ready for the short range fighting that was rapidly approaching.
Behind the Chaos dwarf weapons on the left there were two large warbands of Chaos knights approaching, going from a slow canter to the gallop as they reached the right distance for the charge. They were clad in the usual black steel armor complete with spikes, claws and other bestial features typical of their kind, their lines were as straight as a razor seemingly a middle finger to their imperial opponents from which they most likely were related. Most of them waved axes and seemed to be armed otherwise with lots of massive bladed weapons in general so it is safe to assume that they where worshippers of Khorne. Behind them you could see a mass of Kurgan horsemen milling around getting ready to ride into battle. There were roughly divided by sub tribe into twelve different groups of archers and lancers, though both groups had a mix of weapons. This meant it was hard to tell the difference even with telescopes being available for the purpose between the two until the archers fired and the lancers charged.
In the centre six blocks of Kul warriors were advancing behind the Khornite spearmen, the balloon pilots later reported that their marching order was surprisingly for a Chaos army similar in appearance to an Imperial army! They turned out to be armed with crude smoothbore muskets, barrels made with usual Black Iron with rough dark pine wooden stocks; they also upon examination of their fallen found ammunition pouches and powder horns as standard. They were also tooled up with more usual choices of weapons, though again they were not in evidence from the ground or the air. They were clothed in same fashion as usual in rough cut leathers and furs with scraps of armor and chainmail for protection.
These troops kept dressed ranks and held their muskets such as they turned out to be ready for firing, as the distance decreased they started to sing praises to the Dark Gods in counter point to their own parodies of our pure martial instruments. This is the first black powder missile troops that the forces of the Dark Ones have employed to my knowledge outside of the Chaos Dwarves. However their organization even in terms of marching is a development that is worrying beyond mere weapons technology!
Behind these ordered formations were three mobs of what was later to proven to be a raiding force of Sarl Sea Raiders who were being lead by their chieftain Vergon Daggerzon. The reason for this was a blood quest to revenge themselves on the Kislevites for counter raiding their home region burning the tribe's main town and several farms and villages. In retaliation for their own raiding activities on Erengrad shipping interests, this information only came to light after the battle when several of these raiders were captured and interrogated. They were disorganized as you would expect from warriors out of their normal home but all the same were armed with an eclectic mix of weapons even including some looted Imperial and Brettonian pistols and muskets.
Bringing up the rear behind the Sarl was the command group consisting of the Warlord, his retinue of Chaos Knights and sorcerers cabal. The magical contingent consisted of various acolytes in plain robes designating their status as inferior to the insane variety of clothing styles and colors the masters of the changer sported, who numbered nine the sacred number. The most prominent visually was the mage Balouris Razortongue clad in shining golden robes hiding a body now made of snake like appendages that protruded from his hood, sleeves and legs. The reason for his name was made apparent when during the battle he was seen to shoot out a tongue of glistening organic metal fifty feet into the eye of a Knights panther and the throat of the one behind! He is rumored to be on the path to higher things, but as things go was fairly minor in the scheme of things in the ways twisted spellcraft and perverted convoluted reasoning that the Lord of Change prefers. The other masters were all decked out in their own insane themes which I will detail somewhat later in this report.
The head Chaos lord Karl Heartaker was a fearsome sight even when compared to his fellow commanders he was taller, broader and than anyone else and rode the largest warhorse out of his entire army it seemed. His reputation of a merciless champion of the Lord of Change had preceded him; his brutish outer form belied the keen mind and vicious nature that was contained within the ghoulish snarling Black Iron mask the he wore. According to later reports it seemed to shimmer and change expression from minute to minute, one second growing fangs and then the next looking as innocent as a virgin on Herdstone altar. It was rumored that his former life had been that of a Reiksguard Sergeant Major who had been captured during an expedition to Kislev. He had then after various horrors joined the foe and then over the years killed his way nearer to the top. No doubt also sacrificing his soul in the process!
His subordinates were commanding their own wings and warbands, though no doubt they were waiting for their warlords new commands while they advanced with their troops. Looking at the same time for him to falter so they could take his place as is common among these deviants. Bloodletting, traitorous plots and double dealing are after all the hall marks of those who thrown in their lot with Chaos!
From information gained from prisoner interrogation it became clear that there were several major champions, Wolfen Rottensoul was in charge of the two units of Nurgelite Cultists and barbarians that made up the left wing, he could be easily seen as his bloated form was carried on a raft of nurglings and was truly immense. The pilots reported that as he advanced with his horde of rotting shambling followers, his enormous tongue snaked out of multiple mouths to eat. Or bless in turn with a horde of demonic flies various of his not so mutated idiots that followed his rotting flag. It was later determined to be made of enchanted human skin that bound the souls of the slain into its very fabric. It was said in the horde it was so Wolfen could torment them and use it to spread commands to his troops. This is instead of the usual instruments or spoken commands other less changed units might use. Hence even before anyone could see the approaching horde there were reports that screams and high-pitched groans could be heard emanating from the early morning mist.
The right wing was commanded by Gearson Skulltaker a fearsome knight of Khorne who was clad in spiked armor and was armed with twin massive black axes along with various other weapons. They were rumored to be made from an alloy of metals including warpstone from a meteorite that had fallen to the arid tundra and steppe south of the wastes proper. Gearson and his band of followers had fought all comers including several small armies of Skaven for possession of the cooling twisted rock that lay in a halo of blacked grass. He had taken this to the Master Smiths of Fallen Karak Dum who had made his axes and bound the souls of lesser demons of Khorne into each razor sharp blade. Like all his kind he was surrounded by fellow Chaos knights clad in their own magical black armor and with their own dark desires and stories.
Another band of knights which had attached themselves to his charismatic leadership was led by Smasher von Dreadriek. Though he was not such an impressive figure as his warlord he did still loom over his less advanced on the path to damnation colleagues. This monstrosity was armed with a massive sword that looked to be a parody of the imperial greatsword though of course this exceeded the length of the Imperial version by a fair bit! Nothing was really known about him but I have doubt should you know of his origins you would find a bloody path leading to this field of battle.
The center was commanded by Grezgor the Eyeless who was of unknown origins but is rumored to hail from Karak Dum and is one of the, at least in the north, infamous Dark Smiths. Instead of the usual black magical plate that was the normal choice for warrior servants of the Dark Powers he wore what appeared to be black silken robes, these however were made of black enchanted steel plates that would unify into a solid mass when attacked but allow the wearer total maneuverability and dexterity. His head was uncovered apart from a small conical helm and showed where his name came from as though he had a nose and mouth no eyes adorned his face. The skin appeared totally smooth and without blemish, yet the pilots said you think when you see him that his looking right through you into your soul and out the other side. His followers were typical tribesmen, The Kul were the major tribe in the area around Karak Dum. Though worshippers of Chaos, other than the leadership cast they did not show massive signs of mutation, the odd tentacle instead of an arm, horns and other facial deformities were common. Their equivalent of sergeants and officers were either armored in the usual black plate or were heavily 'blessed' cowing the usual disorganized tribesmen into serried ranks, marching in unison all holding their muskets ready to fight. They no doubt worshipped other powers than the Raven as they called it, but in this place they had no choice but to follow his appointed champion's orders.
Far behind the battle lines to the rear of the command group was the Chaos Dwarf slaver camp, their servants and slaves were busy constructing a rough palisade of rough cut timbers, then fitting cruel looking iron work inside to discourage escapee's. Quite a few of the slaves were human but there was also a cowed group of goblins were helping what looked like fresh caught Ungol slaves. The Chaos Dwarves looked on silently apart from giving orders to their Hobgoblin overseers or to crack one of their long black metal tipped whips over the back of reluctant or slow slaves. There was also a large group of what looked to be perverted versions of the Steam wagons that were starting to appear in the civilized south. They were adorned with intricate towering hats and were armed with all kinds of cruel looking bladed weapons and unwieldy looking blunderbusses. These carrion were no doubt here to cream off the best of the captives for return to the East in return for weapons and armor. There would likely be other groups of slavers and tribes behind this army sweeping up any stragglers and then returning to the north to sell their wares to the dark forges and farms of the north. Of course behind the elite troops of the main army there were masses of tribesmen and Kurgan horsemen though they had numbers their equipment was not as good as their fellows.
A series of muted belches sang out over the battlefield as the Imperial and Erengrad guns that were ready cut loose with canister. Even from where I was advancing you could hear the swish of musket balls tearing through the air and see the clouds of powder smoke. The results as reported by our eyes in the sky later were effective, The distance for canister was almost perfect so cones of shot hit the sides of their formations each heavy ball going through several of the weaker Khornite troops and even destroying outright some of the tougher monsters. One ball hit a black armored warrior in the chest throwing him backwards but not cracking his armor, only for three others to hit him in succession rupturing his metal second skin and tearing him into metal encased pieces and scattered them over those of his comrades that survived the first volley. The advance of the foe was slowed somewhat both by the effects of the artillery and by the half finished trenches and other impromptu field fortifications that the Kislevite Peasant Levies had been constructing overnight. While the scum recovered some semblance of their usual disorder the Ungol Horse archers on either flank came closer on their hardy little ponies and started raining arrows down of them as well, their fire blackening out the skies as they fired in unison to get the greatest shock factor as they hit the foe. Those who had shields raised them against the fire and redoubled their pace, which was turning into a charge as they cleared the last of the works. The Levies were still retreating as they would be slaughtered by the now berserk warriors.
However behind the Ungols who had halted so they could fire more quickly came the famous winged lancers of Kislev! They were splendid all their horses are dyed red below the waist with tack, harness replete with charms against malign influences and symbols of their Gods. The warriors themselves were clad in shining breastplates and mail complete with conical helms and the feathered wings for which they are so famous for, singing out their songs as they charged letting the darkness know the sun was on its way!
The clash when it came could be heard over the clamor of the rest of the battlefield, the marching of our side sounded a rhythmical counterpart to the drum of horse hooves on the sod. I recall most strongly what happened next, the sound of injured horses and the screams of men and other less human creatures rang out over the battle like a magical clarion call announcing the start of the beginning. The pilots reported that it was like seeing two waves hitting the beach eroding channels in the sand as they advanced. The scum had managed to get a semblance of a spear wall into place before the impact of the lancers swept it away their razor sharp swords cleaved through the foe! Those of them who were hardier or mightier still stood like a rock surrounded by eddies as the Kislevites flowed around them slaughtering the weaker more human spearmen and warriors.
While this was happening the Ungol horse archers had redirected their fire onto the charging Chaos Spawn and their handlers, though this time the fire was more sporadic as they retreated before them peppering them as they went. As this was occurring the individual pistoleirs units performed a caracole emptying their revolvers into the twisted monstrosities before riding away on their swift horses. Several even though they tried to evade them were grabbed by tentacles and other twisted parodies of the human form like unnaturally long arms with clawed talons. Their horses were often grabbed and devoured like their riders in the maws of these horrific monsters, their screams effect me more than humans I think somehow.
The twin impacts of the Arrows and the heavy buck and ball impacts of the pistol fire eroded their numbers slightly but they came on the same, though on the right flank there was only the one horde of the monsters. So they were more disorganized especially as their handlers had been badly hit, their smaller cloaked bodies being vulnerable to being stuck with arrows and blown apart by heavy pistol fire! The Spawn unlike them were stronger than that so there were plenty left alas.
Then the White Wolves arrived smashing into the monsters laying about themselves with Hammers, swords and booming revolvers spraying out cones of heavy shot blessed by Priests of Ulric to be hateful to the followers of the Evil powers. Though twisted and terrifying to the ordinary man these veterans of hundreds of fights and more than a few large scale battles on these frontiers had the fear scalded out of them. They lived to strike the foe down with their righteous fury and armored with faith in their God. Their savage aspect made them look not unlike their foes in some ways though I would be loathe to say so to their faces!
On the left the other White Wolves and the two units of pistoliers managed to hammer one group of Spawn into retreating in a rout. The other had slipped by and was gaining on the retreating Ungol horse archers and the rear of the Winged Lancers unit as they pressed against the Khornite spearmen, the three units of Peasant Levies turned to face them waiting no doubt tensely for the impact. Luckily the Imperial cannons had reloaded by now and cut lose just at the right time to catch both the central formation of spearmen not engaged by the cavalry and the other guns managed to wipe out the three remaining larger Spawn and incapacitate most of the rest. These cripples and minor things were easy prey for the Levies; they tore them apart with their scythes, smith's hammers, sickles with a smattering of rusty swords and leather armor. Several died in the effort but quantity has a quality all of its own!
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On the right this combined with the previous casualties meant that the remaining Spawn were now fleeing backwards before flowing around the two formations of Chaos knights who were now starting the charge! Too much shouting and anger from the Chaos Dwarf crews they passed through, not around the Magma and Hell cannon battery preventing them all from firing! Behind them on the right also came the Kurgan horde, archers starting to get slightly ahead of the lancers curling around the flank of the knights intermingling while trying to avoid the fleeing Spawn. All so they could fire their bows at the White Wolves and their hated foe the Ungols before peeling away, The Ungols of course returned the favor riding out ahead now they were supported. The Pistoliers and White Wolves, after driving off the Spawn were now reorganized and moving towards them.
Just as our Horse Archers peeled away after firing one last volley to allow the Pistoliers to ride by the Kurgan and perform a caracole, The Magma Cannon fired anyway, The Chaos knights had cleared the Cannons line of fire, leaving only a few stragglers from the Kurgan Horse archers in the way. The pulsating writhing stream of fire whipped through around a dozen Kurgans before it impacted on the serried ranks of the pistoliers. They had always looked so prim and proper even after so long in the field, now the red hot flames incinerated fourty five troops and horribly burned another thirty, the horses suffered even worse as at least those humans at the edge of the blast who lived could remove clothing. Myself and the pilots I interviewed after the battle said that the sight of burning horses running aimlessly around the center of the battlefield screaming as they ran was one of the most horrifying things that they had ever seen, only bettered by what we all saw later in the fight of course.
The Pistoliers were broken by this attack and routed back towards the rear mingling with the Ungol horse archers as they also started to move to the rear in the face of the Chaos Knights and the terrifying power of the Magma cannon! The survivors who were still on horseback looked singed I recall their being fine uniforms burned and smoke stained and looking of naked panic on their young faces. As they passed me and my troops they stopped running especially as the command group was coming up behind my own force and finally regained some order.
The White Wolves were still advancing towards the foe of course, but before they could meet the depraved ones in glorious combat the Nuln Engineers came into play. The Balloon had reported to the Engineers, River monitors and the commanders via their heliographs of the mass of enemy horsemen pressing on the right flank, the perfect time for aces in the hole! The clarion call of a pure and magically enhanced bugle rang out, the signal for the imperial special artillery to fire their first volley.
First the mortars fired their payloads of death, the stubby pieces dug into deep pits behind the main battle lines were attended by a small horde of people all taking part in the choreographed dance of a modern machine of destruction. A few seconds after the first round left the tubes the wail of rockets firing could be heard, the fire of their exhausts igniting the grass around the base of their launching racks as they sped up in the air on a ballistic trajectory. Then the Erengrad guns cut loose again this time firing shell fused to explode just before they landed for maximum effect. Then finally the Monitors armored trapdoors opened and their great twin guns let loose of course their target was not the right flank rather the left where other things waited to be destroyed.
The first to impact the ground was the twelve mortars having the shortest flight time, their impact was small each round only held a few pounds of blackpowder and shrapnel. However they fell slightly short of the main body of the Chaos knights among the Kurgan horse archers so they managed to kill around sixty and injured to some degree or other one hundred others or so according to estimates. The survivors were either retreating back around the flanks of the still advancing Chaos Knights or milling about in front of them for now.
Then the rockets landed the contact fuses mostly working so that they exploded upon impact or just after it in ten and never in five percent of the time. The effect however of two hundred rockets landing in a circle of destruction five hundred paces wide was satisfying to say the least. The area where they landed was mostly where the Kurgan Lancers were stationed along with the fleeing remains of a few of the horse archer units hot by the mortar fire. The impacts threw men and horses into the air and slaughtered others while mortally injuring the horses of others and the riders of a few as well. This of course spread confusion and surprise through the survivors as they could not seem to understand where the fire was coming from! That is apart from one rocket which fell short and landed square on the head of a minor Chaos knight on the edge of the formation and blew him and his horse into tiny steaming or glowing red pieces.
The shells from the Erengrad Guns were aimed at the Magma Cannon and the Hell cannon batteries that were now ready to fire as their line of sight was now restored. They landed with a series of satisfying explosions among the crews of the guns. They dismounted one demon engine from its wheels sending vile energies racing among the crew leaving them blackened husks. The shells killed a few Chaos dwarves and many of their slaves perished, were injured or fled into the disorganized troops surrounding them. One lucky shell impacted on the Magma cannon that had so recently immolated the Pistoliers unit and destroyed it utterly along with all its crew slaves, masters and the crew of another Hell cannon that though while intact no longer had anyone to serve it as they were all piles of soot on the floor.
Finally the rounds from the River monitors were not so successful only one actually hit the Kurgan horsemen the other just blew deep holes in the grass. The one that did hit however was perfect exploding just at head height the massive shell belched out a massive cloud of shrapnel and blackpowder residue in a cloud of black with angry tinges of red flames and the sound of a million wasps. After the smoke cleared there was a ring over forty paces wide where nothing remained other than a shallow smoking crater, after this the devastation lessened. The next ring of forty paces there was nothing but pieces of flesh and metal from the horse and men, the next forty paces after that there were of course more remains and injured survivors even. That one shell had torn the heart out of three formations of kurgan horsemen. Though no rout took place the survivors of those units were too busy trying to staunch their own wounds, those of their comrades or loot the bodies of enemies and friend alike that had fallen to this momentous detonation to advance. The other Kurgan were shocked but held ready to advance against us alas!
The Chaos knights were unaffected by all this on the right as they charged towards the White Wolves Knights as eagerly as they charged towards them. Luckily for the Ulric lovers the glorious Knights Panther unit arrived at the counter charge on the flank of the knights while the Erengrad Streletzi halted readied themselves then volleyed their Hammer rifles into the scum by rank again then again then again in quick succession before they paused to reload. This fusillade of fire penetrated even the tough magical armor of the knights felling more than a few with mortal wounds and wounding other so they lost limbs or horses to the high velocity bullets.
The White Wolves and Knights Panther arrived at this point lances down in the case of the Panthers and warhammers, blades raised and revolvers ready for the Wolves. The impact was epic as noble knights in perfectly groomed leopard pelts and gleaming mirrored armor speared some black armored scum others had their lances deflected and chopped down themselves. Once the lances were abandoned the other weapons came out fighting one on one against the evil doers, many of course regretted this honorable behavior as they quickly dies under enchanted blades and viper quick reflexes.
The Wolves more experienced at this kind of warfare cleaved a deeper spearhead into the foe the commander of the Wolves taking down Smasher von Dreadriek in single combat knocking his greatsword blade from his hands then shooting him in the face three times in-between his helmet slit and his neck armor before running him through with his own pure steel blade forged in New Middenhiem no doubt. Though not routed the knights were put on the back foot by these attacks and then another smaller volley impacted on the foe just at the same time as another barrage of mortar shells impacted in the still milling kurgan horsemen on the right behind them. Then the knights decided that joining battle in the center with the famed Winged Lancers was a better bet than staying where they were and wheeled towards that destination instead.
In the center the Barbarian spearmen were shattering small groups of injured or more cowardly men were trying to break away from the rear of their battered formations. However the Winged Lancers though reduced to sword and mace were still bludgeoning their way on each flank of the foe, forcing them backwards like a tide even as they steadily killed their way through them until the met a tougher warrior or one changed by the evil powers into a monster. This slowed their advance but did not stop it.
The Peasant levies that had replaced the retreating lightly armed construction units from the rear had fixed the front of the spearmen in place so they could not advance. They were paying a deadly price in dead and maimed to do so as they had little armor and were armed mostly either with crap or surplus weapons. They had courage even though they had nothing but their bare hands many of them would swarm a larger foe and bring him down by weight of numbers alone!
The Erengrad cannons finished reloading again and volley fired cannister into the front of the only mostly unengaged unit of spearmen left. This hail of fire decimated them destroying whatever command structure they might have had when one charge hit their tribal chaos champion full on and turned him into a foul smelling mist of polluted blood and bone mixed with metal fragments and spent lead shot. The remainder though over six hundred strong started to fleeing back towards their own lines, the other units of spearmen already shedding individuals started to edge backwards or try to disengage from the fights they were engaged in. That is other than those too lost to the blood god's lust for death and carnage, these warriors edged forward to better get to grips with the Peasant Levies and the Lancers.
While this was happening the mercenary Ogre Company commanded by Talon Oathbreaker had finally lumbered far enough forward to get to grips with the action. They had of course been bellowing their usual warchants interspersed by loud complaints that they were hungry but this had gone unnoticed by the general melee. The first realization of their arrival was when the two Ogres armed with cannon cut loose with their own storm of canister this impacted on the Winged lancers on the right, who were to busy hammering the routing as well as the spearmen tearing them limb from limb.
The Winged lancers reorganized and counter charged the Ogres hoping to hold them in place and stop them reaching the Peasant levies now advancing driving the remaining spearmen before them. The Lancers on the left were slaughtering the fleeing barbarians before pulling up short so that the rest of the advancing Chaos army could not kill them instead especially as the Nurgelites shambling pace was now bringing it forward along with the Kul musketmen in the center coming to a rest waiting to fire.
Before the two Rota of Lancers could wheel and retreat back towards our lines the Hellcannons on the left finally came into play they let loose a volley of the Dark Warp energy that they are infamous for. These bolts of multicolored lightening struck the lancers devouring men and horses utterly leaving not even bones just dust that floated away on the wind blowing into the faces of our advancing army tainting the very air with death. The Magma Cannon also fired sending a streak of fire writhing through the air seeming to soak up the black dust of the formerly living winged Lancers making it even wider in its breadth and the flames seemed more intense according to our eyes in the sky. This impacted the Ungol Horse Archer unit the most burning through the front of their units lined up to better volley fire arrows towards the approaching Nurgelite formations. This killed one hundred men and horses and horribly burned over two hundred more as the flames spread out the further they spread from the hellish fusion of technology and magic that made up the Magma cannons. Though the two units were not gutted the formations of course had to retreat from the burning grass at least and the remains of their comrades while helping the injured as best they could while pulling back.
The two units of Pistoliers and the White Wolves on the left luckily unaffected yet by the evil artillery moved towards the Nurgelites before they could fire again. The Pistoliers and surprisingly the Wolves caracoled in front of the rotting cultists and tribesmen throwing up a curtain of lead in defiance of the foul banner of their perverted bloated leader towering over the rest of them. Of course more than a few of them failed to survive this maneuver as the powers that the Lord Of Rot gives his followers is not to be despised. Several Pistoliers fell to clouds of enchanted flies getting into their mouths and in-between armor and flesh making them fall from their horses and be devoured from the inside out by these evil creations of the fell ones! Others were pulled down by fragile looking ordinary humans seemingly filled with maniac energy and stabbed with fragments of bone and rusty metal. One White Wolf knight was felled by a spell that was fired by a shaman concealed up until this point by his fellow rotting devotees of death, It was in the form of a stream of putrescent vomit that hit the knights armor in the chest and dissolved it in a flash, his cry of agony was reported by his surviving comrade knights to be something that they wish they could forget.
The effects on the foe of their fire was enough to justify these casualties, the heavy pistol fire blew apart even those who were filled with unholy energy. Weapons were torn along with limbs, heads still screaming out praises to Nurgle as they flew through the air, bodies pulped by buckshot. Alas the pistol fire that hit the Champions and their commander was shrugged off and mere pin pricks, in the case of their bloated leader the clouds of flies and Nurlglings soaked up the fire, easily replaced by the clouds spewing from the screaming mouths set into the sides of his gargantuan body.
The Pistoliers and White Wolves started to withdraw slightly to let the Erengrad Streletzi advance with their hammer rifles and for the Pike regiment on the left of my own troops to advance far enough to support the riflemen's flank against the advancing cultists. The barbarian Kurgan horsemen behind them were finally getting reorganized after the devastating impact of the river monitors one on target round. They had also started to fire their Bows at the retreating Pistoliers and Wolves while staying behind the Nurgelites, the lancers were also edging around the flanks of the advancing infantry getting ready to charge towards the now waiting Streletzi and Imperial Pikemen. This meant that their advance was interfering with the line of the sight of the reloading Chaos Dwarf artillery, however as they were busy driving their slaves to reload their pieces to castigate them too much.
It was at this point that that the River Monitors opened their casements again and fired, the huge shells took so long to reload that they were only ready now after half an hour after firing before! However this time the four monster shells were all on target thanks to the information supplied by the Balloon. They all impacted at about the same time, by a fluke the first one landed directly in-between the Hellcannon battery and the Magma Cannon. This one hit in the form of a perfectly timed, airburst throwing out a hail of shrapnel and explosive force, wiping the crews and slave masters of the guns out of existence like a painter wiping off a unwanted canvas, leaving a hideous mess behind. It also destroyed or injured the clans of Kurgan horse archers and lancers that had been passing through at the same time.
The second hit was just to the right and fell into the small stream that lay to the left of the battlefield sending a massive geyser of water in the air as well blowing apart the Unit of Kurgan Lancers that was passing by on the right at the time. The Third hit was slightly towards our lines and to the right of the first and hit the right of the Nurgle Cultists ragged lines reducing them to the viruses and bacteria that no doubt animated most of them now. This was as well as hitting some of the Kurgan Lancers who had been readying to charge on the Kislevite riflemen. The Kurgans on the left flank were now either destroyed, injured or thoroughly terrified and were heading towards Chaos Dwarf slavers camp at the rear to reorganize after such huge casualties to a foe which they have no chance to fight back against.
This should have been good news but as the smoke and steam cleared three more groups of what looked like more cultists raced at an unnatural speed across the stream and towards the flank of the Pistoliers and White Wolves. This was obviously the work of the Fell ones as the Balloon had not see them coming rather the landscape had been obscured with fog for the last few hours. This had been dismissed as mere weather but was now revealed as magical concealment, our won mages confessed afterwards that they did not think they were capable of such subtlety! This also applied as more tribesmen and Kurgan horsemen appeared to the west of the slavers camp using the same sorcery as had propelled the reinforcement Nurgelites so quickly I have no doubt!!
The absence of major magical spells from the Chaos sorcerers was now explained as they must have been concentrating all their powers in ensuring that more raw numbers and foul perversions reached this field of battle to overwhelm our righteous troops! Of course why own magical supporters had not discovered this will be matter of investigation after the battle!
On the right the Dwarf Handgunners and Hammerers were coming up to support the Streletzi to replace the routed Pistoliers and Ungol Horse archers in the line before the horde flowed into the gap and rolled up our right flank and got behind the rest of our troops! They had taken a while longer than human troops would have taken but they got there in the end and awaited the advance of the foe!
The Kul musketmen had steadily advanced towards our lines while all this was happening and looked ready for the fight ahead, or so I am informed. Behind them two units of Sarl Sea Raiders were advancing as well the command group of Chaos knights and their general as well. Of course the reinforcements of a large horde of ordinary tribesmen backed up by more Kurgan Horsemen were following on ready to join the fight.
While everything else was happening the Kul musketmen after a short while of inaction and a silent gesture from their commander Grezgor the Eyeless opened fire with their muskets. They volleyed while the broken remains of the Khornite spearmen were either fleeing or still fighting with the Lancers, Levies or Chaos knights on the right. The cloud of smoke was tainted by a tinge of green as their no doubt warpstone tainted ammunition sped towards our lines. The pilots reported that they set to reloading with a fury their sergeant equivalents using the ship in more than one case to encourage speed, in one case the mutant used a extremely crude looking revolver to shoot a tribesman in the head for fumbling the process.
The impact of the volley was as bad as you might expect the bullets had more penetration than standard lead balls, even the new shaped lead bullets that had revo0lusionised things only a few short years ago. One of the first innovations that was ascribed to the fabled 'Engineer' was this refinement, as it allowed greater range and the use practical of rifled muskets for the first time. It seems an ability the foe has picked up on, I am afraid to report!
They hit first the intermingled winged lancers both horsed and unhorsed first and then the Khornite spearmen that they had pinned against the Levies. The bullets often went through three or four people before lodging in the final victims burning them from the inside with the evil warpstone contaminated lead. This attack gutted the Lancers on the right side killing over a hundred in the initial volley, along with exterminating most of the remaining Chaos worshippers who had not either fled or died under good imperial steel. A few Chaos Knights were also struck down though no one important in their ranks as they did not pause in assaulting the remaining Lancers and the Levies. Soon another volley spat out hitting the Levies more fully causing one unit to disintegrate under the fire and send the survivors fleeing back into their comrades behind them.
Then both the Imperial and the Erengrad cannon let loose with another volley of canister and the Nuln engineers mortars also fired another salvo. The canister fire hit the Ogres who were also laying into the survivors of the Levies and the Lancers felling most of them. It left the others badly injured as their bulk counted against them when it involved a full shot of canister! The rest of the fusillade while on the edge of the range for canister hit the first two ranks of the Kul musketmen felling many and wounding others.
The Mortars fired without proper coordinates were a more hit and miss proposition while three rounds did hit the Kul scum, six missed anything entirely, only blowing holes in the muddy turf and two hit the Sarl Sea Raiders units behind them. However the impacts were deadly as always throwing bits of nearly normal and mutated beings alike into the air and disorganizing the units to the desired degree! There were no more rockets, Though there were of course more coming from the supply dump being established at the fortified camp behind us.
Now my own troops were coming into range of these dangerous new types, I decided to carry on until we reached optimal range and damn the casualties before opening fire our selves. The Streletzi on the right flank fired their own volley in reply to the Kul's and received a full volley from three units of them in return tearing through their ranks and causing these stalwart troops to take a step back before recovering their losses. This volley of magically enhanced bullets also tore through the right flank of the Dwarf Handgunners just moving into position, felling many stalwart defenders of humanity that second in one fell swoop! The other three units fired into our left flank, luckily the order had been given and they fell prone before readying their own reply. This did not come soon enough for many that were too slow, they were struck down or ripped to pieces by the warped musket fire. The Erengrader's closed ranks and then took two steps forward to show their defiance before firing another volley this one was timed to coincide with the volley from the Dwarf Handgunners and my own troops now arrayed ready for the final blow, even those who were still lying prone could produce in fact an even more deadly aimed fire with their more stable firing platforms!
The fire from four units of Imperial Handgunners, two Erengrad Streletzi and two Dwarf handgunners units reached out and struck the Kul Musketmen. Though our attack was not mixed with magic it nonetheless scythed through the ranks of the foe almost destroying three units of the foe leaving them to reorganize. Grezgor the Eyeless was struck by so many bullets that he fell into pieces, even his warp enhanced body, unique magical armor and mutations could not save him from so many impacts. However we then fired again, then again and again, a mere side effect of this was the impact it had on the survivors of the Chaos knights, Gearson Skulltaker was struck down, seemingly he had hesitated after the first volley confused by this new twist in the discipline of battle then had been destroyed by the follow on volleys.
The Kul stood steady in the face of this fire and carried on reloading staying true to their training in the face of this holocaust, for them though the battle was over. Their inability to lay prone while reloading meant that they had felt the full brunt of the aimed repeating rifle fire, though there was over three units worth of troops still standing they were broken after the second volley even though they still had fight left in them. The bullets that did not hit the remaining Kul hit the Sarl behind them rending what little organization they had and sent them fleeing to the rear without even getting to grips with us.
It was like seeing a house fire being doused with a mechanical fire engine pump, each stream of water would put out a little piece of the fire, while leaving the remainder to consume more of the house, then another piece was extinguished then another until all that was left were little pockets of flame. It was at this point that my units started to fire by rank then advance, the remains of the Chaos knights had already started to retreat by this point. I suspect they might have used the subterfuge of a reconnaissance in force rather than fleeing. However they moved at a rapid rate to the right behind the lake and into the steppe and survival.
While the Kul were being taken to the gutter, the remains of the Kurgan lancers and archers galloped around the lake containing the now hated Imperial River Monitors. This flanking or fleeing towards the foe maneuver was stopped cold when they encountered the Tilean mercenaries waiting just for such a move. They volleyed several times with their Hammer rifles before the Kurgan fled north away from the battle no longer having the stomach for a one sided slaughter on someone else's cold steel this time for a change!!
It was also at this point that the Nurgelites retreated under fire from the Streletzi, Pistoliers and charges from the White Wolves and the so far un-blooded unit of Knights Panther. Their bloated masters retreat was covered by his followers hurling themselves in front of bullets and blades. The advance of more cultist units provided the further cover that the plague master needed; they soaked up the rifle and heavy pistol fire along with the lances and weapons of the Panthers and the Wolves. When they too broke under this hail of fire/steel the knights and the more slowly advancing infantry went into pursuit mode. This was tempered by caution provided by the example of foul spells and clouds of plague files upon our troops during this fight. The sheer level of mental and physical exhaustion for such a brief period of time is amazing when you think about it and would need a period of recovery. While this was happening the Command group of the servants of the rotting one left for other horrible things…..
While more reinforcements of Barbarians and Kurgan horsemen arrived on the battlefield the mounted Command group and the mages that had taken no visible part in the proceedings today retreated behind these even more disorganized fodder for our guns! The fact that no one from the command group had even been injured during this battle said something when all is done and buried. In fact the pilots reported that instead of summoning evil spells to hurl at our forces the mages and various advisors around the overall Warlord of this former army were most unusual. There was a great deal of note taking and summoning of magical presumably magnifying spells rather than bolts of lightning or warpfire. I intend to report to our command structure that I feel that this was more in the way of a investigation rather than battle.
My troops advanced along with the rest of our army killing the inured and capturing the weak or injured for interrogation. The wave of order was cleansing this piece of Kislev for the forces of good rather than letting it lie under the yoke of Chaos! Melodrama aside this battle was won and all that was left was the mopping up and the 'after battle' records relating to the clean up, follow up to this action and of course my further scribbling regarding my journeys in the North
