Emperor's Bridge
Warhammer Battle
Emperor’s Bridge is a mighty structure commissioned by Karl Franz and designed and built by the Engineers of Nuln. It is wide enough for four chariots to pass each other untroubled, and spans several hundred feet of river where it broadens into towards the fertile farmlands of Wissenland.
Now the bridge forms a natural choke point for the marauding Chaos hordes, and Anselm designs a defence around it. Realising that to try and hold the bridge against the frenzied hordes would play into their hands, Anselm withdraws his forces beyond the western end of the bridge in the hope of trapping the foe on the bridge itself whilst they are bottlenecked. The Empire forces deploy their troops to maximise the potential for crossfire and wait.
Sure enough, the foetid banners of the regiments of destruction are sighted crossing, and the trap is sprung. But the forces of evil and wily as well as brutish, and have once again sent rafts across the river. But will their support arrive in time to prevent the carnage?
Battlefield
The battle is fought on a 6x8’ field, with the first 24” of the northern edge representing the waters of the Staffel. A 12” gap in the centre of this table edge is the bridge itself, and it here the Chaos forces will cross. The rest of the table is terrained as normal.
Deployment
The Empire forces deploy their entire army first, anywhere within 24” of the southern table edge.
Prior to them doing this, the Chaos player secretly writes down whether he has crossed the river upstream (the eastern edge of the board) or downstream (the western edge). The Chaos deployment is then split into three forces.
The first comprises at least half the available forces, which are the troops crossing the bridge. The Chaos player designates an order of battle for these units; this is the order in which they are crossing, and as such is the order in which they must deploy and/or arrive. These units either deployed on the bridge or are behind those troops, in which case they may march onto the board via the bridge in subsequent turns as required.
The second force crosses the river by raft (see the rules for rafts above), and are deployed with their rafts touching the northern table edge. This force may comprise no more than a third of the available troops.
The third Chaos force have crossed either upriver or down, and arrive later in the battle (see Special Rules below).
Scouts deploy as normal.
First Turn
The Empire have the first turn.
Game Length
The battle at Emperor’s Bridge began late in the day, as the Chaos forces attempted to coordinate their surprise attack. After five turns, begin rolling to see if night closes in, signalling the end of the battle. Roll a D6: if a 6 is rolled, the battle ends. Continue to roll at the end of each subsequent turn, adding +1 to the number rolled on the dice.
Victory
The side that has caused the most casualties when the game ends is the victor. Calculate points as normal.
Special Rules
Surprise Attack
In the previous night, the Chaos general dispatched a small force to make the river crossing (either upstream or down) in order to attack any defending forces by surprise. However, timing such a manoeuvre is difficult at best, and there is no guarantee the surprise force would reach the bridge in time to trap the defending Empire army.
From Turn 2 onwards, roll a D6 to see if the surprise force arrives. On a D6 roll of 6 the force arrives in Turn 2. Roll at the start of each Chaos turn adding +1 to the roll in subsequent turns until the surprise attack arrives.
The surprise force is deployed with their bases touching the table edge, and may chare in the turn they arrive.
Now the bridge forms a natural choke point for the marauding Chaos hordes, and Anselm designs a defence around it. Realising that to try and hold the bridge against the frenzied hordes would play into their hands, Anselm withdraws his forces beyond the western end of the bridge in the hope of trapping the foe on the bridge itself whilst they are bottlenecked. The Empire forces deploy their troops to maximise the potential for crossfire and wait.
Sure enough, the foetid banners of the regiments of destruction are sighted crossing, and the trap is sprung. But the forces of evil and wily as well as brutish, and have once again sent rafts across the river. But will their support arrive in time to prevent the carnage?
Battlefield
The battle is fought on a 6x8’ field, with the first 24” of the northern edge representing the waters of the Staffel. A 12” gap in the centre of this table edge is the bridge itself, and it here the Chaos forces will cross. The rest of the table is terrained as normal.
Deployment
The Empire forces deploy their entire army first, anywhere within 24” of the southern table edge.
Prior to them doing this, the Chaos player secretly writes down whether he has crossed the river upstream (the eastern edge of the board) or downstream (the western edge). The Chaos deployment is then split into three forces.
The first comprises at least half the available forces, which are the troops crossing the bridge. The Chaos player designates an order of battle for these units; this is the order in which they are crossing, and as such is the order in which they must deploy and/or arrive. These units either deployed on the bridge or are behind those troops, in which case they may march onto the board via the bridge in subsequent turns as required.
The second force crosses the river by raft (see the rules for rafts above), and are deployed with their rafts touching the northern table edge. This force may comprise no more than a third of the available troops.
The third Chaos force have crossed either upriver or down, and arrive later in the battle (see Special Rules below).
Scouts deploy as normal.
First Turn
The Empire have the first turn.
Game Length
The battle at Emperor’s Bridge began late in the day, as the Chaos forces attempted to coordinate their surprise attack. After five turns, begin rolling to see if night closes in, signalling the end of the battle. Roll a D6: if a 6 is rolled, the battle ends. Continue to roll at the end of each subsequent turn, adding +1 to the number rolled on the dice.
Victory
The side that has caused the most casualties when the game ends is the victor. Calculate points as normal.
Special Rules
Surprise Attack
In the previous night, the Chaos general dispatched a small force to make the river crossing (either upstream or down) in order to attack any defending forces by surprise. However, timing such a manoeuvre is difficult at best, and there is no guarantee the surprise force would reach the bridge in time to trap the defending Empire army.
From Turn 2 onwards, roll a D6 to see if the surprise force arrives. On a D6 roll of 6 the force arrives in Turn 2. Roll at the start of each Chaos turn adding +1 to the roll in subsequent turns until the surprise attack arrives.
The surprise force is deployed with their bases touching the table edge, and may chare in the turn they arrive.