Issue: 13,291     Publication: 6 653 743.M41

Greetings, Guardsmen!

As our glorious commanders constantly remind us, ultimate victory against the greenskin invaders of Hegira is inevitable.

But, if you need yet more proof, then you should learn the story of a plucky band of Imperial guardsmen who recently took on a sizable mob of orks and stopped their attempt to infiltrate Imperial lines in the Sea of Dust.

Standing on top of the town’s roofs provided the guardsmen with good visibility, but they failed to spot the orks sneaking up a nearby wadi.

This motley crew of guardsmen call themselves “Mal’s Malcontents” in honor of their sergeant, Alos Mal, a 25-year veteran of the Guard and a bit of a “mother hen” to his men.

Now, regimental regulations generally frown upon unofficial nomenclature, but even the sternest of commissars will look the other way when a unit’s performance under fire is top-notch.

So, you may ask, what did Mal’s Malcontents do to get our attention? Well, their story begins  in the vast emptiness of the Sea of Dust, one of the most barren and disagreeable desert regions of the desert moon of Hegira.

According to a recently awarded unit citation, “First squad, 2nd Platoon, 7th Battalion, 728th Cadian Regiment, while on patrol in a relatively isolated section of the Imperial defense line, encountered a superior force of orks attempting to cross through Imperial lines.”

“Waiting until the greenskin menace was at point-blank range range, 1st Squad open fire in an attempt to repulse the enemy. What followed was a general exchange of fire, in which the commanding NCO, Sgt. Alos Mal, was seriously wounded.”

“Despite his wounds, which left him unable to walk, Sgt. Mal did not attempt to crawl to safety but continued to command his men during the battle.”

Given the order to retreat, the guardsmen didn’t run far—just far enough back that, when the orks entered the town, they’d be surprised by a hail of lasgun fire and frag-equipped grenade launchers.

“As it became clear that his men’s position atop several ruined buildings was vulnerable to an ork assault, he ordered his men to withdraw to the far side of town and, as the greenskins entered the town and became disorganized, the men were to target individual orks and whittle down their numbers.”

“This order was carried out to great effect, particularly by a Corporal Hagan Paxal, who took a position on a building roof and, as the orks passed by, dropped several grenades down upon them.”

“Victory final was ensured when a nearby patrol rushed to the sound of gunfire and outflanked the greenskins. A hail of frag grenades took down most of the orks, while the patrol’s auxiliary trooper, an ogryn named Chonk, charged forward and took out the rest in close combat.”

“Faced with accurate lasgun fire to their front, supporting fire from two grenade launchers, and the attack on their flank, the ork attack faltered—and the xeno scum fled.”

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Three orks attempted to outflank the guardsmen in the town. To their misfortune, a nearby patrol had heard the fighting and raced to the scene. When they spotted the flanking move, they waited until the greenskins were close—and tossed a few grenades in their direction.

There you have it, guardsmen. A plucky squad of Imperial soldiers took on a superior-sized force and, with calm professionalism and a lot of guts, gave the greenskins a bloody nose they won’t forget.

And, remember, never assume a small-scale fight like this is insignificant If those orks had discovered they could slip through our lines, who knows how many xenos could have gotten into our rear and caused havoc. Wars are lost that way.

Let’s do our jobs. We need to hold every inch of ground, if only so we don’t have to retake it when our inevitable counteroffensive begins.

+ + +

Thought for the day: “We are born to obey. We live to serve. We die to honor Him.”

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TheGM: This little skirmish action didn’t last 30 minutes, but I’ll take the win. What won it for me was the recognition that, while I loved the visibility of my original position on the rooftops of the town, the orks advanced so quickly that I was a sitting duck once the orks decided to assault. Where can you run when you’re in a building surrounded by greenskins?

As my troopers fled, however, I mentioned to the Gaffer: “If I win, I’ll get a commendation for great tactics. If I lose, I’ll be shot for giving ground to  the enemy.”

As it was, I only retreated about 12″. but it was enough space to allow me two solid shots at the orks as they entered the town. Those extra die rolls, along with a bit of luck on those rolls, turned a very dangerous situation into a solid victory.

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The Corvus Cluster is a Warhammer 40K blog documenting our gaming adventures in the fantastical sci-fi universe of Games Workshop.