Sniper Platoon - Kentares IV Massacre

Kentares Monument

The Kentares IV massacre carries a lot of weight in the lore of the Draconis Combine and Federated Suns in the succession wars era.  This war crime of incredible scale set the early tone for the Draconis Combine; giving it a feel of the unquestioning obedience, but at the same time dichotomy of samurai honor code, that is so prevalent in the pre-clan era.  

The whole scenario played out in the 1st Succession war after the Draconis Combine had been fairly well succeeding at defeating its enemies.  Fate would turn the tide, however, when the Coordinator, out on what one assumes would be a routine battlefield leadership circulation to his commanders, stopped in a mountain glen to observe the beauty of the world he was in the midst of conquering.  As he strolled in the mountain meadow he was observed by a 7th Crucis Lancers infantry platoon.

Taking the shot and changing history

The platoon leader, Latha Pischel, ordered his platoon to withdraw as the Coordinators bodyguard moved on to the small town of New Snowfield leaving the coordinator separated from his Otomo.  Pischel, sensing the man’s importance, lined up a shot with his laser rifle and killed the Coordinator.  As a result hereditary rule passed to his son; and with it the madness of the Kentares IV massacre began.

Davion Infantry

There is no great detail in any of the house sourcebooks or the 1st succession war sourcebook detailing anything more than Pischel’s infantry platoon and the fact he used a laser rifle indicating they were laser equipped.  But I have always been a fan of Infantry and with the TRO 3085 detailing many specialty infantry types I wanted to include them in my miniature collection.  So I chose to represent Latha Pischels platoon of 7th Crucis Lancer infantry as a sniper platoon given his long range laser rifle shot that had such monumental consequences.

The actual tabletop value of a Sniper Platoon is miniscule, but they are fun to include in scenarios or campaign play.  I would imagine that their value is actually just like most real sniper units, in reconnaissance and observation as much as with putting bullets (or lasers) on target.  I would imagine using a platoon like this in a long range recon role, moved about in fast helo’s or on the edge of an urban environment to call in artillery would make them worth the BV.

Example of Capellan
Sniper

The actual infantry models here are 3D printed 6mm infantry from an Etsy shop.  For the price it's an excellent deal though the models are very small and semi-fragile.  I did my best with a triple 0 brush but my skill is somewhat lacking at this tiny scale.  I used Game Workshop militarum green contrast paint for the infantry and misc Army Painter basing elements to give it the mountain slope vibe.  The rifles are painted Games Workshop abaddon black, though any dark gray or black would work.

Just a quick little single hex base project to take up a couple of hours and add a little color to my infantry forces.

Sources:

House Kurita Sourcebook

House Davion Sourcebook

1st Succession Wars Sourcebook