First Ork WAAAGH!

## Naval Strategy

With Ansazia coming under ork attacks soon you have summoned the naval and military command of the dominion to discuss what strategy to employ against the Greenskins.

First you have Shroga give a list of available vessels for Ansazia’s defence (that are not occupied with securing other systems ) :

* 1 Retribution class battleship
* 4 Armageddon class battle cruisers
* 9 lunar class cruisers
* 30 Azul frigates
* 15 Amethyst destroyers
* 18 endurance light cruisers
* 8 Admech light cruisers
* 15 Gothic cruisers
* 14 troop transports
* 1 Achilles Starfort
* 10 monitors

Armcus then reports the number of troops available for deployment on Ansazia :

* 200 Auxilia infantry regiments
* 10 Auxilia Armoured regiments (exotank)
* 70 skitarii regiments
* 20 Auxilia mechanised regiments
* 20 Atlas mech regiments
* 30 Goliath mech regiments
* 25 Pyronaut regiments
* 10 heavy weapons specialists (Volkite)
* 5 heavy infantry regiments
* 5 void regiments
* 5 Ogryn assault squads.

Finally Sephyr then speaks of the native Ansazian forces available :

* 217 PDF infantry (using Ana’si equipments )
* 100 panzerhund units
* 12 mech regiments
* 7 Armoured regiments (Leman Russes)
* 514 million militia (composed of able bodied former rebels)

After observing the total forces you have at your disposal for this , planning begins in its earnest, starting with the naval battle. A point raised is the fact that unlike imperial ships, ork fleets are not restricted by warp break points; the greenskins not comprehending the concept of gravitational interference and so are liable to appear in any point in the system meaning that they might bypass your traps and defence systems entirely. After much deliberation these are the predominant plans:

* Concentrate on Ansazia: In this plan , the majority of the dominion fleet remains around Ansazia to defend it and prevent any ork landings or bombings while light ships will patrol the rest of the system to scout for the greenskins attack and harras the enemy fleets whenever possible. This plan nearly guarantees that Ansazia (the planet) will be well protected and greatly reduces the possibility of the greenskins landing on the capital word and damaging it. However, this also leaves the orks with pretty much free reign in the rest of the system , possibly even setting up a hard to dislodge foothold.
* Spread out : This plan suggests stationing a modest ship formations at possible sites where the orks might set up bases or try to enter the system through. The formations will be evenly spread so that whenever one encounter the orks , the others will be able to respond in a relatively short time. However this runs the risk of the orks overwhelming the separated formations or the ships not responding to each other in time which gives the greenskins an opening to strike at the less defended Ansazia.
* Write in .

## No Plan Survives Contact With The Enemy

The war council after much debate settles on the following course of action :

[] Plan: Spreading Out Densely

Atlantean Ground Forces:

- Majority are established on Ansazia. Establish several lines of defense so as to optimally fall back bleeding out the enemy, while our specialist target key elements of the Ork command hierarchy.

- Auxilia Armored regiments (75:25 mix of Exotanks and Scorpios) are to serve as a rapid reaction force, stationed accordingly to serve said purpose. Coordinate with Ansazian Lem Russ armored regiments, use them to hold positions while Atlantean armored, being faster, act as flankers and shock assaults.

- Specialist, Auxilia, and Skitarii regiments have standing orders to target Ork leaders to create localized chaos in Ork formations, providing opportunities for Atlantean offensives.

- All Void and Ogryn forces, 20 Skitarii, 30 Auxilia, 5 Pyronaut, 2 Atlas and 2 Goliath mech regiments are to be placed in orbit on reserve for boarding and counter-boarding actions. When the Ork orbital presence is defeated or suppressed, said forces can serve as rapid reinforcements to trouble spots on Ansazia itself.

Ansazian Ground Forces

- Train as much as possible until prior to Ork arrival. Train close to designated combat sites and assigned locations; when word of Ork presence arrives, deploy to combat theaters. (OOC: Hopefully this will provide a small bonus to Ansazian combat rolls, maybe).

- All mech and half Panzerhund regiments are to be deployed to defend Ansazian cities. The rest are to be evenly distributed as best seen fit by Atlantean general staff and officers.

Atlantean Fleet:

- Naval Forces: Spread out naval forces, but only throughout the inner system closer to Ansazia's star. This provides the benefits of some concentration of force AND spreading out to cover nearby threat zones, while immensely reducing the amount of space we'll need to cover. Reinforcement will be faster. If the Orks do pop up in the outer system, that will give us time to marshal our forces into a coherent battle fleet and engage them. Yeah it gives the Orks time to organize as well.

- Azuls and Amethysts are to partake in patrol runs on the outer edges of the Inner System, as they are our fastest ships. Once the Ork forces are detected, packets of Azul-Amthyst combinations are to track and harass the Orks from range, using their superior speed to evade Ork weapons fire while dealing maximum damage.

-- All warships have standing orders to take out Ork leaders upon confirmation of identity, to create chaos in the Ork ranks to exploit.

- Reconnaissance: Send reconnaissance missions, fast light ships (civilians transports with skeleton crews) arcing through the Outer System irregularly, whose purpose is to track and inform the fleet of any Ork sightings to give us better response times. The civilian ships are to be supplemented by 10 fighter squadrons and the 10 system monitors. If engaged by Ork forces, the monitors and squadrons are to defend the civilian ships and engage in a fighting retreat back to the Inner System and Ansazia.

- (15) Fighter Squadrons: The rest of the system's fighters are to supplement Inner System warship patrols. The fighters are to be armed with a mix of long-range antiship weapons, primarily torpedoes).

With this, the council concludes and you prepare for the tumultuous journey home though not before touring the slowly rebuilding Ansazia to build the locals’ trust in Atlantean rule and observe the integration of some of the STCs you offered.

X

Five months after the war council

You are Hazen Tayaris, the Vice admiral and overall commander of the fleet surrounding Ansazia (you were swiftly promoted due to your high scores in the academy and for the lack of a better alternative candidate). For months your ships have remained in orbit around the devestated world until finally , one of your patrols report that the ork fleet has entered the system.

Though the greenskins haven’t used the conventional warp-break point some of their ships fell to its traps as they passed through the area though the damage remains minimal

(Ork entry : 1d6=5. Orks don’t enter from the warp break point but pass through it on their path .

Dogpile traps : 3d100=198 vs ork fleet : 3d100=193. Orks suffer minimal losses : -4 roks + 1 space hulk critically damaged)

As more reconnaissance and reports arrive , something weird is revealed to you : it appears the entire fleet or even a portion of it isn’t heading straight to Ansazia but are rather splintering off and seeding every possible planet and moon suitable for ork habitation in the outer systems. The only action they have taken so far is ambushing your patrols and reconnoissance with varying degrees of success, displaying suprising cunning and discipline all the while.

(1d9=1. Ork fleet ignores Ansazia entirely and focuses on infesting uninhabited planets and moons )

This throws the strategy in disarray and you have to devise a new one to combat this new development.

Choose plan :

* All out assault: A simple yet effective strategy is to attack now with everything you have while the ork fleets are scattered , using your greater fleet concentration and firepower to wipe out the orks decisively in orbit while ground forces decimate any ork strongholds . However this plan is risky in that the orks might be able to sneak a force into Ansazia which will be left less defended in this plan and the orks might be able to lay a trap or have unexpected surprises waiting for you.
* Piecemeal: On the other hand , you can choose a less decisive albeit less risky approach of having your lighter faster ships , engage in hit and run tactics against the greenskins and only directly contesting and conquering their stronghold when you have an overwhelming advantage. This strategy is more cautious and risks fewer ships and has a chance of provoking the orks into attacking directly where you are well fortified. But this also can give the greenskins a chance to build up a hard to dislodge presscence in system.
* Write in .

## Engagement

You have settled on a complex but potentially ingenious plan:

[X] Plan: Harass and Hammer

-[X] Fleet Composition:

--[X] Planetary Defence Fleet

* 1 Armageddon class battle cruisers
* 3 lunar class cruisers
* 6 endurance light cruisers
* 2 Admech light cruisers
* 5 Gothic cruisers
* 14 troop transports
* 1 Achilles Starfort
* 10 monitors

--[X] Assault Fleet 1

* 1 Retribution class battleship
* 1 Armageddon class battle cruiser
* 3 Lunar Class Cruisers
* 6 Endurance Light Cruisers
* 3 Admech Light Cruisers
* 5 Gothic Cruisers
* 3 Amethyst Destroyers
* 6 Azul Frigates

--[X] Assault Fleet 2

* 2 Armageddon class battle cruisers
* 3 Lunar Class Cruisers
* 6 Endurance Light Cruisers
* 3 Admech Light Cruisers
* 5 Gothic Cruisers
* 3 Amethyst Destroyers
* 6 Azul Frigates

--[X] Wolfpack 1

* 6 Azul frigates
* 3 Amethyst destroyers

--[X] Wolfpack 2

* 6 Azul frigates
* 3 Amethyst destroyers

--[X] Wolfpack 3

* 6 Azul frigates
* 3 Amethyst destroyers

-[X] Use Wolfpacks 1-3 to launch ambush and hit and run attack on the Orks to disrupt their activities.

--[X] Choose targets based on which are the most important and the least defended.

--[X] Avoid heavy concentrations of the Ork fleet, and withdraw from combat if they risk taking major damage.

--[X] If the Orks move to target Ansazia, they are to attempt to intercept individual groups and eliminate them before they can join up with the rest of the fleet.

--[X] Unify to wipe out stronger targets and support the larger fleet once the weakest targets have been eliminated.

-[X] Planetary Defence Fleet

--[X] In battle, stay within range of the Achilles Star Fortress if possible.

--[X] Star fighters and frigates are to prioritise knocking out shuttles and dropships that are on course to make planetfall.

--[X] Use as a reserve force to reinforce the other fleet sections if they are in range and their support is needed, before withdrawing back to Ansazia.

--[X] Troop transports are to avoid combat, and will be used for rapid redeployment in the event that the Orks make planetfall.

-[X] Assault Fleets 1 & 2

--[X] Move both fleets together in one direction around the system, remaining close enough to reinforce each other in battle, while destroying Ork ships and strongholds.

--[X] They will prioritise destroying the largest sections of the Ork fleet as well as their most entrenched positions, leaving smaller fry for the Wolfpacks.

--[X] Both will move together to attack any target that is more powerful than either of them alone.

--[X] If the Orks move to target Ansazia, they are to attempt to intercept and engage the Ork fleet fleet, seeking to engage the largest detachments before they can unite.

-[X] Combat Tactics:

--[X] In combat, all ships are to stay at range and avoid being boarded where possible.

--[X] Ships are to deploy heavy bombardment of any Ork held positions in the outer system.

---[X] Ground assault of Ork bases in the outer system using troop transports will only be undertaken if the Ork fleet has been destroyed.

The Wolfpacks sent are immensely successful in their missions, taking out many of the orks’ roks and even taking out a spacehulk after taking it by suprise . Though they managed to destroy many ork ground bases they were forces to retreat after the orks began to wise up and concentrate in larger flotillas . Losses are minimal

Atlantean Wolfpack roll : 3d100=229 vs Ork counterparts roll : 3d100=122. Crushing Atlantean success

(Atlanteans losses : 2 Azul frigates heavily damaged, 2 Amethysts heavily damaged and two destroyed )

(Ork losses : 8 roks and 1 spacehulk destroyed . -5 to ork rolls )

The wolfpacks’ actions seemed to somehow provoke the orks into a more direct assaults with ships across the system abandoning their posts and massing for a direct assault on Ansazia

(???? : 1d6=4. Orks directly assault Atlantis)

The orks manage to concentrate their ships frighteningly quickly and move to Atlantis, scouts report that the fleet appears much larger than anticipated wether because of reinforcements or inaccuracies in Amara’s visions you don’t know and it changes nothing as the ork fleet clashes with the 1st Assault fleet .

The battle is fierce as what the ork vessels lack in armour and size they more than make up for with crushing firepower, which proves more than capable of crippling many of your older, slower imperial vessels . However the golden age ships prove to be a lifesaver in this case , their weapons being able to target the orks at much longer distances than the greenskins’ vessels’ range and inflicting damage on the fleet’s sole Kroozer.

Many ships end up being boarded by the orks using some kind of makeshift teleportation technology. Despite the massive number of greenskin attackers , not one Atlantean ship falls to the orks though some are barely holding back the ork tides.

Suprisingly the orks disengage and are in full retreat which is very unusual for the normally suicidally brave race.

(Atlantean fleet roll : 3d100=142 vs Ork fleet roll : 3d100=100-5=95. Atlantean victory , orks retreat )

(Ork teleportation : 3d100=176. Success . Orks board many vessels )

(Atlantean anti boarding forces : 3d100=165 vs ork boarders : 3d100=134. Stalemate in Atlantean favour)

(Atlantean Losses : 2 Lunar cruisers Crippled , 2 Admech light cruisers destroyed , 1 Endurance damaged) (ork losses : 12 roks destroyed , 3 spacehulks Crippled and kroozer damaged )

The retreat does offer you an opening though , if you prusue the weakened fleet now you might stand a chance of decisively and quickly ending their presscence in space. However this runs the risk of this being a trap by the orks who might have something prepared for any pursuers. Some of your officers advice waiting for the 2nd assault fleet to arrive before attempting a chase while others favour withdrawing and regrouping before mounting a assault.

Choose 1

* Attack now
* Wait for second fleet
* Withdraw and regroup .

## An Un-Orky Conclusion

You decide on the following plan:

[X] Plan: Withdraw and regroup 2.0

- Take advantage of the pause in skirmishes to consolidate friendly forces waiting for Assault unit 2 to join the party, then pursue from distance using long-range weapons.

- Any vulnerable Ork ships that can be immediately engaged at long range are given authorization for two massed volleys, then break off for regrouping.

- Regroup near Ork-controlled space outside 1.5x normal Ork attack range, but still pressing them in an obvious manner. Make the Orks sweat, since they are now seemingly capable of caution and thus some element of fear. Fear can be controlled and manipulated.

- Make sure Atlantean naval groups have overlapping sensor field coverage, and that every group has at least two GAOT design ships per, to try and counter possible Ork "stealth".

it doesn’t take long for the 2nd assault fleet to arrive and merge with the remainder of the 1st assault fleet completing the battle group as you begin an assault on the retreating orks

(2nd fleet roll : 3d100=287. Critical success , fleet arrives swiftly)

The new combined fleet makes its way into the area where the orks retreated , slowly as a measure against a possible ambush which proves to be wise as the orks swiftly reform their battle stations and counterattack with reinforcements arriving seemingly out of thin air though most explode the second they appear (no doubt whatever mad science the green-skins employed for this backfiring against them )

Despite this your fleet is safe as the orks are still far from their firing range while your advanced ships can shoot at them from afar though they are not able to inflict any significant damage due to the enemy’s mobility.

(Ork reinforcements roll : 3d100=167. Bare Success. Reinforcements arrive but most explode as a result of unstable teleportation)

(Ork Ambush : 3d100=157-5=152 vs Atlantean fleet : 3d100=211. Atlanteans remain safely away from the ambush )

The orks attack with suprising speed and battle is joined again , this time the fleet scores a decisive victory with the orks’ Kroozer flagship being destroyed by the initial volley of your remaining destroyers and with it (it appears) the warbozz masterminding the whole invasion as any coherence the ork fleet had disintegrates and their disorganised rabbles become easy targets for the Atlantean navy, though they don’t go down without a fight with many frigates and even two Armageddon battle cruisers getting wrecked by a kamikaze attack by 5 spacehulks. Despite unexpected losses , the Atlantean fleet is victorious in the end with the orks’ presscence in space eliminated. Now all that remains is to destroy their outposts throughout the system.

(Atlantean fleet roll : 3d100=298 vs Ork fleet roll : 3d100=147-5=142. Overwhelming Atlantean victory though not without casualties)

The invasion of Ansazia is over, you have won.

## Aftermath and Cleanup

With the ork fleet destroyed, the ork outposts throughout the system are quickly destroyed by orbital bombardment with your specialised anti ork infantry and Auxilia along with Ansazian PDF volunteers clearing any survivors. Despite he orks being no longer a threat to Ansazia it will be a long time and take a lot of effort before they are completely cleared from the system, such is the virulence of the orkoids. Some of Atlantis’ anti ork forces will have to be stationed here for years to aid in the extermination though the Ansazian soldiery will form the majority of any cleaning efforts.

(-5 pyronaut and heavy weapons regiments for 1 turn as they purge Ansazia )

While that happens you mull over the ship losses , not very high but still exceptional for a relatively small invasion:

* 7 Azul frigates heavily damaged and 1 destroyed
* 4 Amethysts heavily damaged and 2 others destroyed destroyed
* 2 Armageddon battle cruisers heavily damaged
* 2 Admech light cruisers destroyed
* 5 lunar cruisers Crippled and 2 destroyed

The golden age ships have proven quite invaluable to the success of the defence effort though the fact that they were always in the thick of the fighting meant they suffered disproportionate damages , in part because of your officers’ inexperience with their capabilities compared to imperial ships, something you hope data from this battle will help mitigate in future officer corps.

Nevertheless looking over the ork wrecks it’s appare the greenskins suffered more than you :

* 47 rok wrecks
* 11 spacehulks
* 1 Kroozer

(Those are just the derelict ships and wreckages, the rest of the fleet was completely obliterated)

You have ordered that these wreckages be quarantined immediately until the boarding teams and salvage ships from Atlantis arrive with orders from Fabricator General Octavia . From her reputation you are sure the ruler of Atlantis will want a look at the greenskin “technology”