Full-on Assault

The concept behind a Full-on assault is to put everything into an assault on the enemy. This is the kitchen sink attack. You are taking everything with you over to the other side of the board to stomp somebody's face in. There's no holding back here. There's nothing worse than slogging across the whole board only to find out that the enemy has more than you do. In keeping with my previous Army advice articles, I will be sticking to the approximate list of units that Anthony had available. This is a good selection of units, and one that is fairly typical for new players.

Mutual support and proximity are very important when undertaking a Full-on assault as well.

This is the list of units available...

1 terminator chaplain
1 chief librarian Tigirius
1 librarian in terminator armour (has familiar)
1 terminator squad (2 chainfists 2 powerfists 1 assaultcannon and
sergeant with power sword and fist)
1 scout bike squad of 2 bikes and 1 bike sergeant
3 tac squads 1 has missile launcher and flamer, 1 has plasma gun 1 has meltagun and missile launcher 1 has plasma gun
1 combat squad of 4 men and 1 seargent 1 man has melta
1 dev squad 2 lascannon 2 multi melta
1 dev squad 4 heavy bolters
2 assault squads of 5 men (2 meltas)
1 5man scout squad with 3bolters and 1 heavy bolter and 1 sergeant with chainsword and pistol
1 5man scout squad has cc weapons and bolt pistols
1 whirlwind (storm bolters)
2 rhinos (storm bolters)

This is what the end phase of a proper full-on assault looks like to the enemy commander...

From those units, I selected this group to best represent the possibilities of a Full-on Assault list...

Chaplain in power armor (to be added to a Tactical squad)

Tactical Squad w/Rhino, Pfist sgt and Meltagun
Tactical Squad w/Rhino, Pfist sgt and Plasma Rifle

2xAssault Squad w/Pfist sgt and special weapons
3 Scout Bikes w/ Pfist sgt and Meltabombs

Terminator Squad: Assault Cannon



Some of these models don't quite fit the original list, but all of the adjustments are ones that are either easy conversions (such as the Powerfist sergeants) simple weapon swaps (special weapon troopers) or single model purchases (Power Armored Chaplain.)

The plan is to make everything mobile and get it across the board and shove it into the opponent's face.

There are a number of items that you need to include for a full-on assault list to make it useful....

Distractions or Shields
You need some way to keep your primary assault units safe. One of the best ways in the the form of other units that either shield the primary assault units directly, or act to distract the enemy from those primary units, by drawing off firepower and manpower fromt the main assault.
Scout Bikes _can_ act as distractions from the main assault. Rhinos act as shields for the Tac squads, Tac squads act as shields for Assault Marines.

Movement or Protection
An assault army needs to either move quickly to reduce the amount of damage they take before they can get to the assault, or it needs to be able to absorb the damage in some way. Some armies do this with armor, some with lots of bodies and others with very fast units.
This army has sort of a combination. The Rhinos will allow them to move a little faster, and the fact that everybody has Powered Armor means they've got a fair amount of protection as well.

Keep from being overwhelmed.

Some way of taking out vehicles and some way of taking out monstrous creatures.
If you don't have a way of taking out vehicles and Monstrous Creatures, you'll be in a lot of trouble. Therefore, you'll want to include several ways of dealing with them.
Assault Cannon. Some Plasma and Melta weaponry. Melta Bombs and Powerfists. All of them can take out vehicles and all but the Melta Bombs will work against Monstrous Creatures as well.

Some way of keeping your assaulters from being overwhelmed.
Next, especially with armies that don't have a lot of bodies in the assault, you need to find a way to keep them from getting overwhelmed and surrounded. If they get stuck in the assault, they may be helpless against enemy assault specialists or simply overwhelmed by numbers.
The Rhinos help block shooting and movement, Tac squads provide bodies and keeping the whole army together in a wedge should take care of most of it.

Tarpit units
Sometimes armies have units or characters that are very difficult to deal with. Sometimes you need to keep them held up for a few turns so that you can deal with them later, sometimes you just need to tie them up for as long as possible while your army takes apart the rest of their army.
This is where a Space Marine army will struggle. The closest thing to a tarpit unit it has is a Tactical squad. A full tac squad is pretty hard to kill, but not by the things you'd normally want to tarpit. It's also awfully expensive. You'll have to weigh the options if you come across something really nasty.

Okay, I've got the kitchen sink, now what?
The setup will be similar to the one for the Combined Arms assault. You'll set up the Rhinos near each other, preferably in cover. The squads will be dismounted behind the Rhinos along with the Chaplain. The Assault squads will be either behind the Rhinos or nearby in cover. The Terminator squad may either advance alongside the rhinos (making them slow, but giving the Assault Cannon a few extra turns of shooting) or may Deepstrike closer to the enemy lines for a slightly earlier assault.

Turn 1: Tactical Squads and Chaplain embark in the Rhinos, which move 12" and pop smoke. The Assault squads move 12" up behind the Rhinos.

Turn 2: The Rhinos move 12" forward and the Chaplain and Tactical squads disembark and Rapid Fire into the nearest enemy. The Assault squads move 12" up behind the Rhinos and stay there.

Turn 3: The Tactical squads and Chaplain fire any assault weapons or pistols, then charge into combat. The Assault squads move 12" to get the best possible matchups, then fire any special weapons or pistols and charge into combat. The Rhinos now move to block potential reinforcements from arriving immediately. Even a 1 turn delay in getting units in to reinforce the ones getting assaulted can make a huge difference in the outcome, as every turn that they fight at disadvantage gives you a bigger advantage.

Similar to the Combined Arms assault discussion, the Scout Bikes are somewhat separate from the rest of the army. That is because they aren't a major component of the assault in this list. (Scout Bikes are capable of such roles, but generally not without a few more bodies or some more fast support.) In this list, the Scout Bikes are the distraction or are assassins. as a Distraction, they can use their Scout movement to get behind cover nearer to the enemy, then potentially assault on the first or second turn. With a powerfist sergeant, they can do some damage and the combination of surprise and the blocking of line of sight can be a powerful help to throw off an opponent's plan. Alternately as Assassins, they can use their Scout movement to get around the flanks and rear of the enemy and charge small, important squads or hit vehicles with their melta bombs. Remember, though, their numbers mean they won't last long. Choose your targets wisely and it will pay off very well.

Although I have used Space Marines as an example in this article, I hope you can take the basic concepts and apply them to other armies or other units. The key points are: some sort of distraction or shield, some movement or protection for your assault units, some way of taking out vehicles and Monstrous Creatures, a way of keeping your assault units from being overwhelmed and some tarpit units for tying up those units or characters that you want to keep safely away from your primary assault units.

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