Siege of Vraks

The Death Riders act as scouting units on the battlefield as well as shock troops for exploiting any breakthroughs. The uniform is a little different to the infantry with a more ornate helmet and metal breastplate and boots. The engineered horse is a sturdy looking beast and looks as sinister as the rider in their gas masks. The one thing I always wanted were command units for the riders but they were never released. So I converted one rider to carry a power sword.

Spear heading assaults are the Death Korps Grenadier units, their version of stormtroopers. Equipped with better armour and hell guns, Grenadiers can e mounted in small Centaur carriers to carry them across no mans land making them more mobile than the average guardsman. Heavy flamer teams are often employed to clear enemy defences.

The Death Korps of Kreig are known for their uniformity and showing any hint of individuality is unusual however officers need to stand out on the battlefield. Most officers dress in Death Rider uniforms with the edition of a trench coat. The honour guard have similar armoured plating and stand out from the usual guardsman.

Any good trench line needs heavy guns to cover the wide expanse of no mans land. I spent some time using greenstuff to create muddy areas. My favourite crew are pulling their Heavy Bolter through the slop.

My favourite squad from the Death Korps collection is the unit that is standing at ease. They stand leaning on their lasguns and fixing bayonets. I like that some are looking down as if thinking about what comes next when the order is given to go over the top. It’s unusual to get a squad that are standing around in such a fashion. usually it’s action posses but it fits the narrative of trench war really well.

Back in 2007 Forge World released the first of three books that followed the Siege of Vraks campaign. I was hooked by the WW1 imagery of the Death Korps of Kreig trying to retake the armoury world from Chaos militia. Like all good trench wars it’s bogged down in attrition and a war that a bunch of Space Marines might end in days takes years. Knowing full well that it would be very expensive to collect a Forge World army it’s taken me some time to collect the forces I currently have. But starting with the infantry was as good a place as any.

I started a decade ago with my first infantry squad and got painting what was unfamiliar resin at the time. The book had some great colour schemes for various regiments. I thought black might not look to great so went for more earthy colours for the trench coats. I went for a blue grey for the helmets as a nod to ww1 French. With a bit of wire and greenstuff on the base I was pleased with the results. I found the lasguns very fiddly and a couple have snapped along with their bayonets.  I do love the poses though, running across no mans land, storming the enemy lines.