Throwback Thursday: The Second Battle of Minster West

This battle report was first posted on the Imperial Guard Boot Camp forum back in February 2009. The Praetorian-Valhallan War continued with another game at the Games Workshop Battle Bunker in Westminster, CA. 

Unfortunately, no photos exist of this game. Other photos will have to suffice, but these unfortunately aren't always of the best quality. Yay late-2000s camera phones!


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After Action Report
Submitted by Lord Whitlow
32nd Praetorian Regiment of Foot

On the evening of the 22nd, orders came through to intercept a Valhallan invasion force on the old battleground of Minster West. The "Weasel” was once again in command. Our orders were to halt the invasion and capture the enemy commander if possible. Three squads were deployed, as was my HQ staff and platoon command squad. Joining us were a conscript force of Praetorian sailors, Tallarn, and former Armored Fist troops. A Leman Russ was also made available to us.

We arrived on the field to find that the enemy was waiting for us. Their conscript horde moved forward towards a small fort located in the center of the battlefield. A barrage of rockets and lascannons engulfed our troops, and only two men were killed in this initial burst. Spotting his Medusa tank on the edge of the battlefield, our Leman Russ – commanded by Lt. Waters – destroyed the enemy vehicle in one blast. 

Outraged by this loss, the Valhallan commander seized the fort and concentrated all fire into our conscript force. Of the 30 man force, only about 15 survived this ordeal. Additionally, the platoon command squad under Lt. Jenkins was decimated. The lieutenant himself was executed on the spot by Commissar Quint for showing cowardice when he tried to order a retreat. Reeling from these losses, our troops were momentarily ineffective in engaging the enemy. The mortar squad did, however, manage to take out a few more of the conscripts who were now moving outside of the fort. I personally climbed to the top of a nearby hill to survey the scene. 

It was then that our conscripts were decimated, save for one. The brave fellow – Petty Officer Styles – stayed in the face of danger and began to lay into the enemy. We now laid the full fury of the 32nd Regiment into the enemy’s conscripts. The withered and died under our crippling fire, ultimately retreating from the bloodshed. 

By this point, however, it was too dark to further engage the enemy. We could hear his troops withdrawing, however, and their ships taking off. Thus, we had successfully held Minster West once again.

Special mention goes to Lt. Waters, the tank commander who knocked out the Valhallan Medusa in the first minutes of the fight. Petty Officer Styles, also, deserves mention. His stubborn resistance in the face of overwhelming enemy numbers is a credit to the steadfastness of the Praetorian Navy.