Fall of Heldenhame
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| Next | Battle of Red Cairn |
| Conflict | End Times |
| Date | 2524 IC |
| Location | Heldenhame, Talabecland of Empire |
| Outcome | Victory for the Undead |
| | |
| Empire | Undead |
| | |
| Hans Leitdorf Otto Kross |
Arkhan Mannfred von Carstein |
| | |
| 1200 knights garrison of the city 400 castle defenders |
Legions of skeletons |
| | |
| Kross dead thousands of the garrison lost all except 42 of the castle defenders |
insignificant |
The Fall of Heldenhame was a siege-battle during the End Times. [1a]
Arkhan the Black and Mannfred von Carstein combined their forces and advanced on the fortress seeking to retrieve the armor of Nagash, Morikhane from its vaults. Neither had the time for a long siege and so despite the formidable defenses they determined to assault the castle immediately. [1a]
Spies of Mannfred had told them that Waaagh! Bludtoof attacked had the city last year - although the greenskins had been defeated, the western wall had been badly battered, almost to the point of collapse. Arkhan scouted the weakened walls of the city the previous night, and began raising the dead of the previous years Orc attack. [1a]
Contents
Battle
The battle commenced the next morning. The hungover Commandant Otto Kross was rudely awakened by his second-in-command to the sounds of war. The ancient mage-servant of Nagash had summoned a battery of catapults and unleashed them on the weakened west wall, drawing the attention of the defenders. The cannons of the Rostmeyer bastion returned fire and although they began destroying the enemy siege engines, Arkhan quickly restored them, again and again. As they exchanged fire, Regiments of skeleton warriors advanced into handgun range. [1a]
The Knights of Sigmar's Blood rode out through the south gate, determined to bring their lances to bear on the besiegers. The dead, despite the constant fire of the defenders, began to climb the walls of the Rostmeyer and Sigmundas bastions. Helblasters let fly and shattered the attack on the Rotmeyer bastion but the Sigmundas bastion began to be overwhelmed. [1a]
Father Odkrier came to the aid of the beleaguered bastion, a beacon of faith and fury which roused the men of Talabecland until he was in turn plucked from its walls and torn apart. Seeing this, the defenders of Sigmundas bastion began to rout. [1a]
Reinforcements led by Captain Volker were too late and a wave of magical missiles now struck the wall, shattering it finally, crushing commander Kross and making a breach that the hordes of the dead could enter through. Fighting through their fear, Captain Volkner and remaining defenders formed a line over the breach and barely withstood waves of skeletal attackers.[1a]
Led by Hans Leitdorf, the vast majority of the Knights of Sigmar's Blood had ridden forth, nearly twelve hundred cavalry and these now charged into the legions of skeletons. Skilfully Leitdorf charged and reformed again and again, while sending two brotherhoods to finally silence the catapults. [1a]
However this had only been a ruse to draw out the best part of the defenders. [1a]
Attack into the Heldenhamne Castle
Even as the Knights were shattering the risen dead outside the walls, Manfred began his attack directly into their true target. Vargheists attacked the castle of the Knights of Sigmars Blood from the air, tearing at the garrison until they were hunted down and overwhelmed with weight of numbers and steel. The vampiric monsters were followed by the ghosts of ancient warlocks and witches, but they were countered by the blessed weapons, relics of the orders crusade against Araby. [1a]
Finally Mannfred arrived flanked by a pair of Terrorgheists and dropped into the castle courtyard. Rudolph Weskar, the seneschal of the castle went to meet him with a handful of knights, driving back and then destroying one great monster. The seneschal charged the Vampire Lord but he was proved to be no threat, Mannfred taking off his head with his first swing and cleaving two knights with his second. [1a]
Soon most of the defenders of the castle were dead or dying. Nothing now stood between the vampire and the vaults. Manfred claimed what they had been searching.[1a]
Order of Battle
Defenders of Heldehame
- Commandant Otto Kross, Empire General. [2a]
- Captain Wendel Volker, Commander of the East Wall, Empire Captain. [2a]
- Kurt Medoc, Warrior Priest. [2a]
- Luminous Albrecht, Battle Wizard of the Light Order. [2a]
- Empire Halberdiers: Three companies. [2a]
- Empire Spearmen: One company. [2a]
- Battery of Mortars. [2a]
- Captain Hagel Deinroth, Commander of the West Wall. [2a]
- Janos Odkrier, Warrior Priest. [2a]
- Crossbowmen with Spearmen. [2a]
- Halberdiers: Two companies with spearmen. [2a]
- Swordsmen: One company with Handgunners. [2a]
- Nuln Blacksides: Four batteries of Great Cannons, Two batteries of Helblaster Volley Guns. [2a]
- Captain Ingold Rack, Commander of the South Wall. [2a]
- Hans von Helgart, Battle Wizard of the Bright Order. [2a]
- Crossbowmen: Two companies. [2a]}
- Swordsmen: Three companies. [2a]
- Swordsmen: One company with Spearmen. [2a]
- Meridian Guard: Two companies of Halberdiers. [2a]
- Captain Wendel Volker, Commander of the East Wall, Empire Captain. [2a]
- Grand Master Hans Leitdorf. [2a]
- Knights of Sigmar's Blood. [2a]
- Heldenhame Holdwatch Two companies of Greatswords. [2a]
- Heldenhame Skywards: Two companies of Handgunners. [2a]
- Talebheim VI: Eight companies of Handgunners. [2a]
- Talabheim XXI: The Lions of Taal: One company of Swordsmen and Free Company. [2a]
- Talabheim XXIX: Taal's Teeth: Two companies of Spearmen, One company of Halberdiers. [2a]
Undead
- Arkhan the Black, Mortarch of Sacrament. [2a]
- The Arisen: Twelve warbands of Skeleton Warriors. [2a]
- The Wallbreakers: Six Screaming Skull Catapults. [2a]
- Mannfred von Carstein. [2a]
- Beast of Bohzensee: Terrorgheist. [2a]
- Scovix of the Endless Hunger: Strigoi Ghoul King on Terrorgheist. [2a]
- The Debased Ones: Pack of Vargheists. [2a]
- The Shriven: Pack of Vargheists. [2a]
- The Soul-Cursed: Pack of Vargheists. [2a]
- Blight of Scuric Moor: Bats. [2a]
- Karveist Bloodsuckers: Bats. [2a]
Sources
- 1: Warhammer: Nagash, Book I
- 1a: Chapter 1, pg. 84-92
- 2: Warhammer: Nagash, Book II
- 2a: Appendix, pg. 89
