TACTICA DEATHWING By Matthew Sprange |
This article has been reproduced with kind permission from the author. It is also available at the author's own website and hs been previously published in Citadel Journal # 37. It's use here is not intended as a challenge to the original authors copyright and is reproduced here for the sole purpose of enhancing he Dark Angel spirrit and the warhammer 40,000 experience. |
Land Raiders The Land Raider is the finest main battle tank in the Imperium and the Emperor, in his wisdom, has made sure that the Deathwing have an ample supply of them enough to transport every one of our squads, if we so choose. On the battlefield, however, it is rarely practical for us to dedicate this amount of resources to any single engagement, so you will more often just have one or two. Each Land Raider will have its own dedicated role and will fulfil one of two functions. The first and most obvious is as a heavy support vehicle. Its armament of twin-linked Lascannon, combined with our natural accuracy as Space Marines, is fully capable of blasting apart the heaviest of enemy armoured vehicles, whilst the Land Raiders incredible all round armour will allow it to take extreme levels of incoming fire, shrugging off hit after hit without sustaining any lasting damage. Even the famed Battle Cannon of Renegade Guard regiments will have trouble breaching the Land Raider's hull and all the while our tank can focus on the heaviest and toughest targets in the enemy army, pounding them into ruin as our Terminator squads advance under this umbrella of support. Unique amongst main battle tanks, though, is the Land Raider's ability to carry a squad of five Deathwing Terminators into the heart of battle. This is an ability that you should study very carefully, especially when facing an enemy that has the ability to bypass the protection of Terminator armour, such as Tyranids with large amounts of Genestealers, or Eldar that are well equipped with Star Cannon. As I have said before, the armour of a Land Raider is incredibly difficult to breach, even on the rear which is normally a weak spot for all armoured vehicles. A squad of Terminators can be carried right across the battlefield in relative safety under the heaviest of fire, to be deployed around an important objective or right into the heart of a dangerous enemy unit. However, in doing this you will be robbing both the Land Raider and the Terminator squad of a lot of firepower as the Land Raider will not be able to fire whilst on the move and the Terminators inside will have their firepower cut drastically. Always have a specific plan and a definite target in mind before attempting to do this. Under most circumstances, a Land Raider is best placed behind your main line, picking off the largest and most dangerous targets the enemy can provide. Final Notes You must consider yourself ready for battle now as the newly commissioned Master of the Deathwing and with time, you should be able to add to our great tactical knowledge of the Deathwing company. You should be able to find new tactics and new ways of doing things that your predecessors never considered and it is your duty to let those who continue after you know what you have learnt. There are many different types of battle and though your are a Dark Angel, you must exhibit a certain degree of tactical flexibility to meet all the challenges you face. For one thing, you must get used to fighting alongside with the other glorious companies of our Chapter in combined operations. You may also want to try engaging the services of the company's Techmarine, Apothecary and Standard Bearer within your Command Squad, something that very few Masters have tried in the past whilst leading the Deathwing, but a tactic that can pay great dividends when fighting. Ultimately, the Deathwing is now your company and it is your duty as a Dark Angel and a member of the Inner Circle to never flinch, never give up in the face of the enemy. Go face the enemies of the Emperor, Marine, our Chapter's history awaits you. . . |
TACTICA DEATHWING |
