Re: Warhammer 40K Praetorians

From: Eivind Borgeteien <eivind.borgeteien_at_...>
Date: Mon, 02 Oct 2000 14:45:17 -0000

--- In netepic_at_egroups.com, "rscc" <rscc_at_t...> wrote:
> WOW!
Thanks, this was an awful lot!

Eivind
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Eivind Borgeteien <eivind.borgeteien_at_i...>
> To: netepic_at_egroups.com <netepic_at_egroups.com>
> Date: 29 September 2000 12:17
> Subject: [NetEpic ML] Warhammer 40K Praetorians
>
>
> >Hi!
> >Does anyone know anything about the Imperial Guard Praetorian
> >Regiments? (Those dressed up as colonial era englishmen)What makes
> >them different from the other IG regiments?
>
> They where part of a gamesday display (UKGD 1997).
>
> Here is the fluff from the 1997 GD program:
>
> PRAETORIANS
> from the Games Day 97' Programme
> Montar VII is a minor dustball of a planet that orbits close to the
second sun
> of the sparsely populated inhabited Montar system. The planet is an
inhospitable
> place with little in the way of natural resources, and was largely
ignored by
> the Imperium - until a drifting space hulk deposited the Bloody
Hand Ork tribe
> on the planet and their leader, Warlord Bullgarg, claimed it for
his own!
> The Bloody Hand tribe, or Blood Handz, as they are often called,
are one of many
> Ork tribes that inhabit the Galaxy. Until they came to Montar VII,
the Bloody
> Hand tribe were nomadic raiders whose only home was their space
hulk, and were
> not considered to be a major threat by the Imperium. What happened
on Montar VII
> would cause the Imperium to re-evaluate this view.
> A tribe usually includes Orks belonging to several of the major
clans, and in
> this the Blood Handz are no exception, including Stormboyz,
SnakeBites and the
> Kult of Speed within their ranks. However, the vast bulk of the
boyz are content
> to call themselves simple "Blud 'andz", and leave it to others to
dabble in all
> this whacky clan stuff. In order to show their allegiance to the
tribe the Boyz
> paint their right fist and forearm blood red, in homage to
Bullgarg's heroic
> deed.
> Until he came to Montar VII Bullgarg had been content to lead a
nomadic life of
> piracy and raiding, but his arrival on the planet brought a change.
No longer
> would the simple pleasures of boarding actions and hit and run
raids be enough -
> Bullgarg now wanted to found an Orky empire all of his own,
starting on Montar
> VII! What exactly brought about this change no one was sure. Some
said that Gork
> and Mork spoke to the Warlord as he slept, sending visions of the
empire he
> would found, while others said that he'd started to believe his own
stories of
> his exploits and had got too big for his boots. Whatever the
reason, the result
> was the same - Bullgarg had come to the Montar system, and he
wouldn't leave
> until he'd conquered every planet in it!
> The Ork landing did not go unnoticed, and Planetary Lord Kinwa on
Montar Prime
> urgently requested aid to deal with the Orks before they spread
mayhem and
> destruction throughout the system. Although preliminary reports
indicated that
> the Ork tribe was of no great strength, Lord Kinwa simply did not
have the
> forces to deal with them. The total human and abhuman population of
the entire
> Montar system numbered less than 700, and Lord Kinwa's planetary
defence force
> consisted of an under strength platoon with only three heavy
weapons and no
> armoured vehicles!
> Fortunately for Lord Kinwa his appeal for help was received and
acted upon very
> quickly, perhaps too quickly as things turned out. The Montar
system lies in
> Segmentum Tempestus close to the planet of Tallarn. Imperial Guard
forces in
> this sector were under the control of Lord Commander Sherdan, who
had recently
> completed a successful campaign against a renegade Eldar pirate
fleet. The
> campaign had been a long and bloody one, a running battle fought in
half a dozen
> different systems and on more than 30 worlds, which had ended with
the
> destruction of the Eldar renegades by the Imperial Navy. Reports of
this final
> battle were coming in when Sherdan received the news of the Ork
invasion of
> Montar VII, and it may be that his elation over the victory against
the renegade
> Eldar clouded his judgement about how he would deal with Warlord
Bullgarg.
> Whatever the reason, Sherdan trusted the preliminary reconnaissance
reports and
> decided to despatch a small force to deal with the Orks as quickly
as possible.
> The troops that he sent were the veterans of the campaign against
the Dark
> Eldar, the 24th Praetorians.
> Praetoria is a heavily populated Hive World that lies in a system
close to the
> Imperial naval base at Bakka. The overpopulated Hive-Cities of
Praetoria are
> renowned for their squalor and degradation, and produce some of the
toughest
> gangers on any of the hive worlds in the Imperium. This vast
population work as
> little more than slave-labour in the huge factory complexes of
Praetoria,
> producing the goods that have made the planet (and its rulers) one
of the
> richest in the Imperium, with a huge fleet of merchant craft that
trade all over
> the Segmentum and beyond.
> Imperial Guard regiments raised on Praetoria are renowned for their
iron
> discipline and bravery, even in the face of the most overwhelming
odds. The
> planetary lords of Praetoria hold it is only through fearsome
training and
> draconian punishments for the most minor infringements that the
hive-toughened
> inhabitants of their planet can be made to follow orders and do as
they are
> told. Whatever one's views on the training methods used, they seem
to work,
> producing troops that are as ferocious on the attack as they are
determined in
> defence.
> The 24th Praetorians had lived up well to the traditions of the
fighting
> reputation of their homeworld, but had suffered very heavy
casualties in so
> doing. Of the 1500 troops that had left Praetoria only about 300
now remained.
> More importantly, all of the regiment's senior officers had been
killed. The
> most senior officer left alive, and acting commander of the
regiment, was 21
> year old Captain Gliene of C Company
> To overcome these deficiencies for the campaign against Warlord
Bullgarg, the
> 24th was hastily reinforced with the survivors of the 135th Tallarn
Regiment,
> which had been all but destroyed in the battles against the Eldar
renegades.
> Crucially the commander of the Tallarns, Colonel Al' Ter-Ay, was
put in overall
> command of the reinforced 24th Praetorians, even though the bulk of
the troops
> in the regiment were Praetorians. It was a command structure that
was to have
> disastrous consequences for the regiment.
> The 24th was despatched immediately to Montar VII with orders from
Lord Sherdan
> to act quickly to eliminate the Ork threat to the system.
Information was still
> sketchy about the size and strength of the Ork tribe, but the
common consensus
> was that they were fairly few in numbers, and lacking in any 'eavy
support' in
> the form of Gargants or Battle Fortresses. Ork Blood Axe
mercenaries, hired as
> scouts for the Regiment during the campaign, confirmed that
although they'd
> never actually met Warlord Bullgarg, everybody knew he was "a git
wiv a big
> mouth wot'll never amount to anyfing".
> When the 24th made planetfall on Montar VII Colonel Al' Ter-Ay lost
no time in
> moving against the Orks. Sub-orbital spy-craft had pinpointed the
Ork camp at a
> location on the Big Toof River. Ork numbers were still unknown, the
pall of smog
> hanging over the settlement making it impossible for the Imperial
spy-craft to
> get any readings on Ork numbers, but worryingly there were signs
that the Orks
> were in the process of constructing Gargants and other large
engines of war.
> Colonel Al' Ter-Ay determined to act swiftly, as instructed in his
orders from
> Lord Sherdan, but against the advice of Captain Gliene who
suggested using his
> company's Blood Axes to scout the Ork camp. Al' Ter-Ay didn't trust
the Blood
> Axes one bit, especially in an operation against their own kind,
and in any case
> his orders specifically instructed him to act "with extreme
prejudice", and this
> he was determined to do. Less than 24 hours after arriving on the
planet the
> 24th Praetorians moved against the Orks.
> Al' Ter-Ay split the regiment into three columns. The first of
these (Froce
> Kaz-Ter) consisted of the Tallarn Rough Rider companies and all of
the Tallarn
> Tank Companies, and was commanded by Captain Am' Kaz-Ter of
Tallarn. The second
> column (Force Gliene) consisted of Company C of the 24th
Praetorians. The third
> column (Force Ter-Ay) was commanded Al' Ter-Ay himself and
consisted of Company
> A and all of the regiment's support weapons.
> Al-Ter-Ay's plan was to use Force Kaz-Ter to smash into the Ork
camp in a
> devastating surprise attack. As the Imperial tanks piled into the
Orks, Force
> Gliene (all of which were mounted in fast-moving Chimeras) would
sweep round the
> Ork camp, blocking off the Orks' retreat and cutting down those
that tried to
> escape. By the time that Al' Ter-Ay and the rest of the regiment's
slower-moving
> troops arrived, all that remained would be to mop up. It was not a
bad plan, but
> it relied on the Orks being too weak to fight back effectively
against Force
> Kaz-Ter. Fatally for the Imperial troops, this was not going to be
the case.
> As the Imperial troops crested the hills that overlooked the Ork
camp, Al'
> Ter-Ay's plan had already started to fall apart. Force Kaz-Ter had
pulled ahead
> of the rest of the regiment, and started to cross the Big Toof
river before
> Force Gliene could get into position. Captain Am'Kaz'Ter was a
brilliant but
> headstrong commander, who had proved his bravery, if not his common
sense, in
> many battles. Always before when he took a gamble his luck paid
off. But as the
> Leman Russ tanks spearheading his attack crossed the Big Toof
river, Kaz-Ter's
> luck finally ran out...
> Suddenly from out of the Ork camp there poured dozens of Snakebite
Boarboyz,
> closely followed by hundreds of Ork warriors and their smaller
Gretchin cousins.
> Super-heavy weapon batteries mounted in the watch towers of the Ork
town burst
> into action and started blasting away at the surprised Imperial
troops. And
> then, as this torrent of green-skinned destruction smashed Force
Kaz-Ter's
> front, the reeling Guardsmen were hit by an even heavier volume of
fire from the
> rear. As tanks exploded and men died, the Guardsmen stared in
horror and
> disbelief as the Gargant they had believed still under construction
lumbered
> over the horizon, flanked on either side by huge battle fortresses
bristling
> with blazing guns, and supported by Ork Fighta-Bommerz overhead.
> Within moments Captain Kaz-Ter was dead, while the panic-stricken
survivors of
> the force that he had led did what they could to escape. Many of
the Tallarn
> Rough Riders attacked to the column survived the initial
bombardment, and they
> now tried to escape back over the Big Toof river and away from the
Ork
> settlement. Unfortunately the steep banks on the far side of the
river slowed
> their escape, and within moments the pursuing Snakebite Boarboyz of
the Blood
> Handz tribe caught up with them. The result was a massacre. As was
quickly
> becoming clear, the Imperial force had walked into an ambush
masterminded by
> Warlord Bullgarg, whose scouts had let him know about the arrival
of the
> Regiment from the moment they had landed on the planet. Bullgarg's
ambush was
> hardly original or even well executed, but when combined with
Al'Ter-Ay's
> fatally flawed plan it lead to a disaster for the 24th Praetorians.
It is
> estimated that within 3 minutes of the trap being sprung Force Kaz-
Ter had
> suffered 85% casualties. But the disaster was not over yet, for
above the river
> valley Force Gliene was also under attack...
> From the bluff overlooking the river, Captain Gliene could do
little to help his
> comrades below, for almost at the same moment that Kaz-Ter came
under attack,
> his company had been ambushed by a huge force of Ork buggies. The
Orks had
> appeared from nowhere quickly surrounding the Praetorians and
forcing them from
> their Chimeras. Gliene formed the vehicles into a circle, from
behind which the
> grim red-coated soldiers under his command prepared to sell their
lives as
> dearly as possible. All knew that they were doomed, for having
dealt with Force
> Kaz-Ter, the hundreds of Ork Warriors and the huge war engines that
accompanied
> them were turning their attention to "da 'umies dat were left on da
hill".
> As the Orks swarmed up the hill the Praetorians hit them with
volley after
> volley of tightly controlled lasgun fire, while the multi-lasers of
the Chimeras
> cut bloody swathes through the Ork ranks. Soon the slopes around
the Guardsmen
> were surrounded by hundreds of Ork corpses and blazing buggies. But
still the
> Orks kept on coming, supported by withering fire from the Gargant
and Battle
> fortresses. Yelling their guttural battle-cries and with a complete
disregard
> for their own safety that impressed even the battle-hardened
warriors from the
> Hives of Praetoria, the Ork warriors hurled themselves again and
again at the
> rapidly shrinking circle of Guardsmen, until, finally, there were
no humans left
> alive.
> Within an hour of first seeing the Ork camp, every single member of
Forces
> Kaz-Ter and Force Gliene, with the exception of one of Company C's
Blood Axe
> mercenaries, was dead. Colonel Ter-Ay had no option but to pull
back in the face
> of the victorious Ork army. Fortunately for the troops under his
command the
> Orks' pursuit was desultory at best - the Orks were too busy
celebrating their
> victory to be bothered with chasing the few beaten survivors - and
they were
> able to escape more or less unscathed. Colonel Ter-Ay was never to
be given an
> independent command again. He died 10 years later making a lone
attack on a
> Tyranid Dominatrix. It is said his last words were "Let me go to my
fate
> brothers... I must have peace from the ghosts that haunt me."
> Warlord Bullgarg went on to found a successful Ork empire in the
Montar system,
> but then disappeared along with most of his followers on board an
Ork space
> hulk. It was assumed that the craft was destroyed in the Warp, but
no one can be
> certain. Who knows, may be one day Bullgarg and the Blood Handz may
return to
> carve out a new empire.
> Lord Sherdan recovered from the setback and went on to reconquer
the Montar
> system from the Orks that had remained after Bullgarg had left. In
the forefront
> of the campaign was the newly raised 24th Praetorian Regiment.
Received on Mon Oct 02 2000 - 14:45:17 UTC