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The daemons of Khorne picking their targets
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Image by jon_a_ross
Battle report here jon-a-ross.livejournal.com/949385.html

Battle Report: 1000 points Khorne Daemons vs. 1000 points Zombies (Vampire Counts)
Six turns (plus one) Zombies move first.

The zombie hordes had seen one battle before, that against the beasts of Chaos army. In that struggle the zombies were counted as the losers, with much of their army ripped to pieces. But it had moments where a zombie victory seemed possible. So the zombies are pulled out again to battle against 1000 points of Khorne daemons. 4 groups of 40 zombies, each with a standard and a musician are lead by one necromancer with all the spells on his corpse cart and another necromancer on foot with the book of dancing dead.

The khorne forces are lead by one Herald of Khorne with flaming attacks and body armour. The mighty herald joins a unit of 11 bloodletters with full command and will lead two more units of 10 bloodletters (full command) and two groups of flesh hounds into battle (11 total). The bloodletters are mostly untried in Fantasy, having seen some action in 40K. In 40K they are excellent marine killers but not so good against guardsmen. We shall see how they do against the fantasy undead.

Unlike the last time the zombies fought with seven pieces of terrain crowding the battlefield, we go with a lightly dotted landscape. One hill crested with heads from a lost civilization. The monolith (one of many that dot my warhammer world) and a small hill with more rocks on it are all that can be seen.

With the zombie first move the plan is straight forward. The necromancer will use the book to move one group of zombies in the south forward in an effort to flank the line of daemons when they hit the zombies in the middle of the table. A group of zombies is raised from the dead and bolstered with more zombies to intercept the approaching flesh hounds in the north. The magic phase goes almost entirely the way the undead wish, with the zombie general getting both his spells cast, as well as the bound spells all working. Only the necromancer on foot fails his spell, rolling a single die looking for 4.

The Daemons of Khorne move forward, not recklessly but carefully. Both groups of flesh hounds are moved to flank, one in the north and one in the south. The bloodletters themselves move forward slowly. One unit of ten on each side of their commander and his unit of 11. (I deployed them in file of 4 because I thought that was legal. As I understand now looking over the rules that 4 is 6th edition thinking and it has to be 5 for 7th edition. I’ll double check later, but carried on the battle regardless.)

Zombie turn two was more slowing shifting forward with failed charges from the lead zombies. More dead summoned, with the raise dead spell being stopped by the dice. It also allowed the daemons to stop the corpse cart from granting strikes first to the zombies around it. That power will promise to be painful.

Daemon turn 2 is marked by charging. Four units charge into the zombies and deal heavy damage. Over 20 zombies fall either through injury or their magic failing to hold them together. The herald and his unit score only 2 kills, even after rerolling to hit because of their hatred. This results in the herald’s unit losing combat and making a leadership test itself.

Zombie turn 3 sees another group of zombies launch a charge against the bloodletter line. This time the zombies are able to flank and will add their weight to pushing the bloodletters down. The dispel dice come up snake eyes, giving the zombies total control over the rest of the magic phase. More undead are raised into existence to flank charge next turn, while a number of the existing units are increased in size. The bloodletters which are being flanked are having terrible luck rolling dice, scoring four ones to hit and one one to wound. In that battle the daemons will end up losing combat and having three lost to warp instability.

Daemon turn 3 has the daemons with their only unengaged unit, the flesh hounds in the south, attempt to charge the zombies and come up short. The rest of the daemons have no choice but to attempt to slay the unliving foes that now threaten to pull them down. Much to the horror of the daemons, they actually use more of their number this turn then they slay zombies. The corpse cart has given the zombies unnatural speed. It accounted for very little last phase but this time the daemons feel their low toughness score. The one group of daemons fighting off 60 zombies, 11 at a time, end up losing combat so badly that between the wounds from the zombies and daemonic instability they are wiped out. Now it becomes 35 daemons against 150 zombies or so.

Zombie turn 4 sees the zombies push in towards the bloodletters. Both the remaining bloodletter groups are now fighting on two sides, with the herald of khorne and his bloodletters being attacked by over 60 zombies. The magic phase goes to the undead as the dispel dice are held to cancel the strike first powers of the corpse cart. Thus another group of zombies can be summoned and added to. This group shall be used to flank the flesh hounds when they charge into the zombie mess.

The close combat phase also goes badly for the bloodletters. Another bad roll off the bloodletters results in only a single zombie death and then a loss of combat for the daemons. Five daemons die in the center and five zombies, not an exchange rate the daemons can afford. The only upside is that the flesh hounds have an excellent round against the zombies they were fighting in the north, destroying the group completely after the leadership test.

Daemon turn 4 has the few remaining bloodletters worried. They are both fighting battles on two sides, against foes that are just strong enough to wound them one third of the time, and who hit them one third of the time. Sure one third of the time they save the wound, but the numbers against them are adding up.

Lucky, the flesh hounds of khorne are able to both smash into the zombie horde like bookends. It took the group in the south four turns to finally get into combat, but thankfully it is going to be worth the wait. The flesh hounds hit the zombies and kill six on the first impact. The zombie horde makes the snake eyes leadership test and loses no more members.

In the north the flesh hounds also strike into the zombies, and the zombies fail their leadership with an eleven. The general will be able to give his leadership to them, but still a large number of zombies fall as the magic that bounds them together fails against the flesh hounds.

Zombie turn five has the zombies looking not as impressive as before. The necromancer on foot is trying to stay out of the way of the khorne daemons should they win, while the general on the corpse cart is trying to get his cart into a position to maximize the strike first power. The flesh hounds in the south get charged by zombies, trying to break them.

The magic phase doesn’t work as well for the zombies, as they are attempting to boost their zombie’s attacks and numbers. Another group of zombies is summoned to rear charge the flesh hounds next turn if possible. The book of dancing is able to allow a group of six zombies to attack now out of turn, an attack that kills two daemons. However, that is the only good thing that happens for the zombies this phase, as the last remains of the group that the flesh hounds charged fall. Another daemon falls in the other combats, but they manage to take twelve zombies with them.

Daemon turn five is the final nail in the coffin of the zombies. The flesh hounds, having ripped through two groups of zombies, are free to charge the necromancer general on the corpse cart. The ranks are redressed to bring the maximum bloodletters against the zombies in the north, and the battle will come to a head here.

The flesh hounds are able to rip the corpse cart to pieces, even with its regeneration. The necromancer lands on his feet against the flesh hounds, worried. The other zombies also lose their various combats. Eighteen daemons remain out of the forty three that launched the battle. There are still over 100 zombies in play but it doesn’t look good for them.

Zombie turn six has the zombies in a tough place. Their general is in single combat against six flesh hounds of khorne. Their zombie hordes are two large blocks and then four small blocks being threatened. A group of zombies that were summoned last turn to attack the flesh hounds get their chance, rushing in to attempt to save the general. Using all their magic the zombies try to get strike first and extra attacks for the zombies against those flesh hounds.

It isn’t enough, as the flesh hounds are able to rip the necromancer general into pieces. However, all that magic being shot around allows the zombies to catch and rip the daemon herald of khorne and his bloodletter escort into pieces. The herald himself falls to daemonic instability as two of his escort fell to zombie claws. So at the end of the turn we have both generals dead and the combat coming to an end. The zombies hold themselves together well with the general dead, only a handful die.

Daemon turn six has the daemons pushing forward their advantage and cutting down the necromancer on foot with their last bloodletters. The flesh hounds keep chewing into their zombie targets. One group of zombies will be lost, leaving fourteen daemons of khorne against 56 zombies. The ratio of zombie to daemon is finally swinging in favour of the daemons.

Thus ends the official six turns of the game, with the points saying that the daemons of khorne have won. 725 or so points for the zombies and 950 or so points for the daemons of khorne. A close match in the end, and close enough that it calls for one more turn.

Turn seven for the zombies sees some bad leadership rolls with their general dead. One group of zombies fighting the flesh hounds in the north falls apart completely, while the other two groups, even with their losses, are able to charge the last bloodletters. The zombies are then able to pull those last bloodletters to pieces, without giving the bloodletters a chance to strike back.

Daemon turn seven has the flesh hounds charge one group of zombies, smashing through it and following up against to the final group of zombies.

And as the game was down to three units, I kept going. Zombie turn eight has a handful of zombies fall without the magic of their general holding them together, but the flesh hounds fail to wound a zombie on their own. In revenge the zombies are able to pull down one flesh hound, after instability rolls.

The second group of flesh hounds joins into the battle against the zombies and it will end quickly with the zombies putting up some brief struggle.

Memorial Day Service at Old St Paul’s, Wellington – May 30, 2011.
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Image by US Embassy New Zealand
Memorial Day Service at Old St Paul’s, Wellington – May 30, 2011.

newzealand.usembassy.gov

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Remarks by the President at a Memorial Day Service

Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington, Virginia

11:25 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you so much. Please be seated.

Thank you, Secretary Gates, and thank you for your extraordinary service to our nation. I think that Bob Gates will go down as one of our finest Secretaries of Defense in our history, and it’s been an honor to serve with him. (Applause.)

I also want to say a word about Admiral Mullen. On a day when we are announcing his successor as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and as he looks forward to a well-deserved retirement later this year, Admiral Mullen, on behalf of all Americans, we want to say thank you for your four decades of service to this great country. (Applause.) We want to thank Deborah Mullen as well for her extraordinary service. To Major General Karl Horst, the commanding general of our Military District of Washington; Mrs. Nancy Horst; Mr. Patrick Hallinan, the superintendent of Arlington National Cemetery, as well as his lovely wife Doreen. And to Chaplain Steve Berry, thank you for your extraordinary service. (Applause.)

It is a great privilege to return here to our national sanctuary, this most hallowed ground, to commemorate Memorial Day with all of you. With Americans who’ve come to pay their respects. With members of our military and their families. With veterans whose service we will never forget and always honor. And with Gold Star families whose loved ones rest all around us in eternal peace.

To those of you who mourn the loss of a loved one today, my heart breaks goes out to you. I love my daughters more than anything in the world, and I cannot imagine losing them. I can’t imagine losing a sister or brother or parent at war. The grief so many of you carry in your hearts is a grief I cannot fully know.

This day is about you, and the fallen heroes that you loved. And it’s a day that has meaning for all Americans, including me. It’s one of my highest honors, it is my most solemn responsibility as President, to serve as Commander-in-Chief of one of the finest fighting forces the world has ever known. (Applause.) And it’s a responsibility that carries a special weight on this day; that carries a special weight each time I meet with our Gold Star families and I see the pride in their eyes, but also the tears of pain that will never fully go away; each time I sit down at my desk and sign a condolence letter to the family of the fallen.

Sometimes a family will write me back and tell me about their daughter or son that they’ve lost, or a friend will write me a letter about what their battle buddy meant to them. I received one such letter from an Army veteran named Paul Tarbox after I visited Arlington a couple of years ago. Paul saw a photograph of me walking through Section 60, where the heroes who fell in Iraq and Afghanistan lay, by a headstone marking the final resting place of Staff Sergeant Joe Phaneuf.

Joe, he told me, was a friend of his, one of the best men he’d ever known, the kind of guy who could have the entire barracks in laughter, who was always there to lend a hand, from being a volunteer coach to helping build a playground. It was a moving letter, and Paul closed it with a few words about the hallowed cemetery where we are gathered here today.

He wrote, “The venerable warriors that slumber there knew full well the risks that are associated with military service, and felt pride in defending our democracy. The true lesson of Arlington,” he continued, “is that each headstone is that of a patriot. Each headstone shares a story. Thank you for letting me share with you [the story] about my friend Joe.”

Staff Sergeant Joe Phaneuf was a patriot, like all the venerable warriors who lay here, and across this country, and around the globe. Each of them adds honor to what it means to be a soldier, sailor, airman, Marine, and Coast Guardsman. Each is a link in an unbroken chain that stretches back to the earliest days of our Republic — and on this day, we memorialize them all.

We memorialize our first patriots — blacksmiths and farmers, slaves and freedmen — who never knew the independence they won with their lives. We memorialize the armies of men, and women disguised as men, black and white, who fell in apple orchards and cornfields in a war that saved our union. We memorialize those who gave their lives on the battlefields of our times — from Normandy to Manila, Inchon to Khe Sanh, Baghdad to Helmand, and in jungles, deserts, and city streets around the world.

What bonds this chain together across the generations, this chain of honor and sacrifice, is not only a common cause — our country’s cause — but also a spirit captured in a Book of Isaiah, a familiar verse, mailed to me by the Gold Star parents of 2nd Lieutenant Mike McGahan. “When I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here I am. Send me!”

That’s what we memorialize today. That spirit that says, send me, no matter the mission. Send me, no matter the risk. Send me, no matter how great the sacrifice I am called to make. The patriots we memorialize today sacrificed not only all they had but all they would ever know. They gave of themselves until they had nothing more to give. It’s natural, when we lose someone we care about, to ask why it had to be them. Why my son, why my sister, why my friend, why not me?

These are questions that cannot be answered by us. But on this day we remember that it is on our behalf that they gave our lives — they gave their lives. We remember that it is their courage, their unselfishness, their devotion to duty that has sustained this country through all its trials and will sustain us through all the trials to come. We remember that the blessings we enjoy as Americans came at a dear cost; that our very presence here today, as free people in a free society, bears testimony to their enduring legacy.

Our nation owes a debt to its fallen heroes that we can never fully repay. But we can honor their sacrifice, and we must. We must honor it in our own lives by holding their memories close to our hearts, and heeding the example they set. And we must honor it as a nation by keeping our sacred trust with all who wear America’s uniform, and the families who love them; by never giving up the search for those who’ve gone missing under our country’s flag or are held as prisoners of war; by serving our patriots as well as they serve us — from the moment they enter the military, to the moment they leave it, to the moment they are laid to rest.

That is how we can honor the sacrifice of those we’ve lost. That is our obligation to America’s guardians — guardians like Travis Manion. The son of a Marine, Travis aspired to follow in his father’s footsteps and was accepted by the USS [sic] Naval Academy. His roommate at the Academy was Brendan Looney, a star athlete and born leader from a military family, just like Travis. The two quickly became best friends — like brothers, Brendan said.

After graduation, they deployed — Travis to Iraq, and Brendan to Korea. On April 29, 2007, while fighting to rescue his fellow Marines from danger, Travis was killed by a sniper. Brendan did what he had to do — he kept going. He poured himself into his SEAL training, and dedicated it to the friend that he missed. He married the woman he loved. And, his tour in Korea behind him, he deployed to Afghanistan. On September 21st of last year, Brendan gave his own life, along with eight others, in a helicopter crash.

Heartbroken, yet filled with pride, the Manions and the Looneys knew only one way to honor their sons’ friendship — they moved Travis from his cemetery in Pennsylvania and buried them side by side here at Arlington. “Warriors for freedom,” reads the epitaph written by Travis’s father, “brothers forever.”

The friendship between 1st Lieutenant Travis Manion and Lieutenant Brendan Looney reflects the meaning of Memorial Day. Brotherhood. Sacrifice. Love of country. And it is my fervent prayer that we may honor the memory of the fallen by living out those ideals every day of our lives, in the military and beyond. May God bless the souls of the venerable warriors we’ve lost, and the country for which they died. (Applause.)

END 11:37 A.M. EDT

 
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