The Battle Of The Crossing
Linked Warhammer Battles
For months the forces of Chaos have pushed their way deeper into Empire territory, but have found their way blocked in the north by the magic of Darius and in the west by the faith of Leopold. The spear of Chaos, turned ever southwards, now fixes upon Jengen and the lowlands beneath the foothills of the Black Mountains.
The River Staffel now stands as a bulwark against the incursion of Chaos into the lands of Morr. At Jengen, Anslem Eichelberger commands the defence of the river. The People’s Prophet is an icon for the citizens of these lands, who have long felt the protection of the Empire overlooked their quiet lands. Even now, with Chaos at their door, much of Wissenland’s army is tied up by Leopold in his defence of the north.
And so the hordes of Chaos prowl the northern banks of the river, with no seer or scout able to penetrate their ranks and discover their strategy, Anselm faces a difficult choice. From his vantage in the clock tower of Jengen, he can see the forces of Chaos camped on the eastern bank. Jengen has long been the first port of call for goods sent downriver from the mines and Dwarven holds in the foothills and Black Mountains above. The town was built at a natural harbour where the swift moving Staffel broadens, deepens and slows. Anselm's people have built their defence well, and he knows that a river crossing here, while not impossible, would be difficult. But both upriver and down there are easier crossings, and his resources are slim.
Up river, the Dwarves of old dammed the flow of the Staffel to power their mechanical forges. The work of the people of Ungrim was crafted from stone and iron, and built to last, so that whilst the forges, the Dwarven settlements and indeed the Dwarves themselves no longer dwell this far down from the mountains, the dam itself still stands to hold back the flow of the river. Below this ancient structure, the river opens out at a series of fords that a force could cross in numbers, should the narrow bridge offered by the dam itself be strongly defended.
Down river, where the river meanders into the silt rich plains of Wissenland, a broad bridge, built by Karl Franz to ease the passage of troops and trade to this corner of his Empire, now stands as a route of passage for his enemies. Anselm is loath to destroy this structure, partially because the works of the Emperor are not lightly brought to ruin, but mostly because it is also the chief route by which any reinforcements from Leopold Weiss would flow. And so he sends a part of his strength to fortify it.
The Battle of the Crossing is fought in three parts, as Anselm tries to hold the forces of Chaos on the far side of the river.
Armies
The Empire Forces under Anselm Eichelberger comprise 11000 points, plus Anselm himself. No other special characters can be selected. Anselm is the army Grand General, even though he may not have the highest leadership in the army. Note that the usual restrictions of The Righteous Host (see Anselm’s Special Rules) do not apply to this scenario.
The Chaos forces comprise 10000 points, plus the Engine of Khorne, which is given at no cost to one Khornate character as a mount. This character becomes the army Grand General.
Division of Forces
Once each army has been selected, it is then divided into three sections, each of which must be between 2500 and 5000 points. These forces are then assigned to each of the three fields of battle that make up The Battle for the Crossing.
Special Rules
The Grand General
Each army has a Grand General to oversee the entire three-pronged Battle of the Crossing.
The Grand General is not necessarily the tactical commander of each engagement, indeed if they are not the character with the highest leadership then they cannot be the general of a particular battle. Rather they are the inspiration for their side’s warriors to fight all the harder for victory.
The presence of the Grand General grants the army for which they fight D3 re-rolls for the game. These can be used on any roll that has not in itself already been rerolled, and can include Leadership tests (in which case reroll both dice).
Should the Grand General be slain, unused rerolls are lost, and the army will be subject to Hatred against whichever unit or model caused the GG to die.
Sequence of battle (optional)
The three battles of the Crossing need not be fought in isolation. The opposing sides can agree to the order they occur in, or this can be determined randomly. Obviously, the events of the battle of Hrafnkel’s Dam might have a significant impact on the battles downstream, whilst the victor at Emperor’s Bridge may well be able to provide troops in support of the assault across the river in Jengen.
If a sequence is used, the following rules should apply:
· If Hrafnkel’s Dam is destroyed, subsequent battles will be affected by the rush of water downstream. Roll for each raft that appears in the battle: on a roll of 1 it is swept away in the deluge and troops on it are destroyed. However, the rush of water also damages the Jengen foreshore, so no troops will be able to deploy there at the start of that game.
· The side that wins the Emperor’s Bridge may deploy an additional unit that survived the battle as a flanking force in one subsequent battle. This unit arrives as per the rules for Dwarven Miners, and may begin rolling to arrive on ANY table edge from turn 2 onwards.
· The result of the battle for Jengen determines who gains control of the clock tower, and may use this advantage once the battle has been won (it is assumed lookouts in the tower are too fixated on the incoming assault to be of use until after the battle). In one subsequent battle, the side that won Jengen can re-deploy D3 units after Scouts have been deployed, in the Deployment phase.
Victory
The side that wins two or more of the three battles, wins the Battle of the Crossing.
The River Staffel now stands as a bulwark against the incursion of Chaos into the lands of Morr. At Jengen, Anslem Eichelberger commands the defence of the river. The People’s Prophet is an icon for the citizens of these lands, who have long felt the protection of the Empire overlooked their quiet lands. Even now, with Chaos at their door, much of Wissenland’s army is tied up by Leopold in his defence of the north.
And so the hordes of Chaos prowl the northern banks of the river, with no seer or scout able to penetrate their ranks and discover their strategy, Anselm faces a difficult choice. From his vantage in the clock tower of Jengen, he can see the forces of Chaos camped on the eastern bank. Jengen has long been the first port of call for goods sent downriver from the mines and Dwarven holds in the foothills and Black Mountains above. The town was built at a natural harbour where the swift moving Staffel broadens, deepens and slows. Anselm's people have built their defence well, and he knows that a river crossing here, while not impossible, would be difficult. But both upriver and down there are easier crossings, and his resources are slim.
Up river, the Dwarves of old dammed the flow of the Staffel to power their mechanical forges. The work of the people of Ungrim was crafted from stone and iron, and built to last, so that whilst the forges, the Dwarven settlements and indeed the Dwarves themselves no longer dwell this far down from the mountains, the dam itself still stands to hold back the flow of the river. Below this ancient structure, the river opens out at a series of fords that a force could cross in numbers, should the narrow bridge offered by the dam itself be strongly defended.
Down river, where the river meanders into the silt rich plains of Wissenland, a broad bridge, built by Karl Franz to ease the passage of troops and trade to this corner of his Empire, now stands as a route of passage for his enemies. Anselm is loath to destroy this structure, partially because the works of the Emperor are not lightly brought to ruin, but mostly because it is also the chief route by which any reinforcements from Leopold Weiss would flow. And so he sends a part of his strength to fortify it.
The Battle of the Crossing is fought in three parts, as Anselm tries to hold the forces of Chaos on the far side of the river.
Armies
The Empire Forces under Anselm Eichelberger comprise 11000 points, plus Anselm himself. No other special characters can be selected. Anselm is the army Grand General, even though he may not have the highest leadership in the army. Note that the usual restrictions of The Righteous Host (see Anselm’s Special Rules) do not apply to this scenario.
The Chaos forces comprise 10000 points, plus the Engine of Khorne, which is given at no cost to one Khornate character as a mount. This character becomes the army Grand General.
Division of Forces
Once each army has been selected, it is then divided into three sections, each of which must be between 2500 and 5000 points. These forces are then assigned to each of the three fields of battle that make up The Battle for the Crossing.
Special Rules
The Grand General
Each army has a Grand General to oversee the entire three-pronged Battle of the Crossing.
The Grand General is not necessarily the tactical commander of each engagement, indeed if they are not the character with the highest leadership then they cannot be the general of a particular battle. Rather they are the inspiration for their side’s warriors to fight all the harder for victory.
The presence of the Grand General grants the army for which they fight D3 re-rolls for the game. These can be used on any roll that has not in itself already been rerolled, and can include Leadership tests (in which case reroll both dice).
Should the Grand General be slain, unused rerolls are lost, and the army will be subject to Hatred against whichever unit or model caused the GG to die.
Sequence of battle (optional)
The three battles of the Crossing need not be fought in isolation. The opposing sides can agree to the order they occur in, or this can be determined randomly. Obviously, the events of the battle of Hrafnkel’s Dam might have a significant impact on the battles downstream, whilst the victor at Emperor’s Bridge may well be able to provide troops in support of the assault across the river in Jengen.
If a sequence is used, the following rules should apply:
· If Hrafnkel’s Dam is destroyed, subsequent battles will be affected by the rush of water downstream. Roll for each raft that appears in the battle: on a roll of 1 it is swept away in the deluge and troops on it are destroyed. However, the rush of water also damages the Jengen foreshore, so no troops will be able to deploy there at the start of that game.
· The side that wins the Emperor’s Bridge may deploy an additional unit that survived the battle as a flanking force in one subsequent battle. This unit arrives as per the rules for Dwarven Miners, and may begin rolling to arrive on ANY table edge from turn 2 onwards.
· The result of the battle for Jengen determines who gains control of the clock tower, and may use this advantage once the battle has been won (it is assumed lookouts in the tower are too fixated on the incoming assault to be of use until after the battle). In one subsequent battle, the side that won Jengen can re-deploy D3 units after Scouts have been deployed, in the Deployment phase.
Victory
The side that wins two or more of the three battles, wins the Battle of the Crossing.