Uprising on Mane Primus - Mission #7 Game - Protect the soldiers

Mission

Start with 5 CP. All rolls done by the player can be CP rerolled.

Variable game length.
Deployment: modified Dawn of War, 12" deployment zones.
PDF detachment: 2x10-man squad of Guardsmen, 1 Chimera.
Major victory: 10 soldiers or the tank survives.
Minor victory: at least 1 soldier survives.
Minor defeat: at least 1 scout survives.
Enemies can seize the initiative.

Deployment

Alpha Squad dug in, with one squad of PDF embarked in the Chimera and the other hiding behind ruins. Many scouts bore injuries from previous engagements.

Turn 1

The enemy forces tried to seize the initiative, but no mere human commander can match the tactical acumen of Space Marines. Alpha Squad opened fire, and ordered their human teammates to do the same. They wrought devastation unto the enemy forces.

The renegades charged forward, with several lucky autogun and flamer shots finding weak spots on the Chimera.

The initial wave of cultists was reinforced by elite Disciples and a Spawn.

Turn 2

The PDF soldiers disembarked, unleashing a volley of lasgun fire into the cultists.

The sniper scouts concentrated their fire on the enemy sorcerer, but not even their high powered rounds could get through his witch-aura.

More reinforcements: Cultists and Spawn. An enemy Chimera also chugged unto the battlefield.

Turn 3

After a somewhat effective volley, Argus and Boreas charged the Chaos Spawn. Their PDF allies, emboldened, charged with them.

Although the Spawn inflicted heavy damage on Boreas, it was eventually cut down.

With the defenders exposed, the traitor force attacked as if revitalized. Cultists swarmed the brave men up front, killing all the PDF and wounding the scouts.

Elite Disciples disembarked from the Chimera and incapacitated Oberon in a hail of supercharged plasma fire.

Another Chimera rumbled up, and the enemy tanks kept the defender's own transport under fire.

Argus and Boreas were overrun in close combat.

Turn 4

The scouts went all in, killing cultists left and right. Grigor and Derex finished up the Disciple squad in close combat. But the enemy wasn't through. The close combat cultists and the renegade Commander held up the right flank, as the second chimera disgorged its contents: more plasma-wielding Disciples, Marauders armed with plasma and melta weapons, as well as a second sorcerer.

Alas, their attack floundered without inflicting much damage. The melta shot fizzled out on the thick front plating of the Chimera. At least the remaining PDF troopers died after the two enemy tanks concentrated their firepower on them.

Turn 5

Only 3 sniper scouts remained in the ruins, keeping up the pressure on the sorcerer.

The Chimera, heavily wounded but still in working order, drew back behind the ruins and engaged its smoke launchers.

The scouts advanced, and cleared any enemy squads up front.

The renegades were short on time, and committed themselves fully. The sorcerer ran up, intent on blasting the Chimera, but was not quick enough, and had to engage the scouts.

Cultists and Spawn assaulted Grigor and Derex, but failed to take them out.

The reinforcements - Cultists, a sorcerer and a Disciple squad with a missile launcher - tried their hand at the Chimera, but failed to kill it.

Turn 6

The game went on, despite a CP reroll. The scouts inflicted some casualties, but then the sorcerer fell back from combat, reaching the Chimera and inflicting exactly 2 damage, destroying it.

The two scouts engaged in combat were taken out.

... and then the game ended.

Aftermath

For the first time in the campaign, the scouts lost a mission - although only with a minor defeat.

I got better at gauging difficulty over time. While some missions were a walk in the park, they got harder and harder, until finally, we got to "just hard enough". I also managed to keep my eyes on the objective this time, instead of going all out killing scouts (unlike last mission...). The PDF troopers were also needlessly exposed to danger. All this contributed to this result, but neither of us minded. The game was very close right up to the very end.

And no, still no permanent casualties for Alpha Squad.