Battle of Beta-Garmon
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The Battle of Beta-Garmon, also known as the Great Slaughter of Beta-Garmon and Titandeath[5], was a battle of the Horus Heresy.
Contents
History
The battle was waged towards the end of the Heresy in 013.M31[2] following the infiltration of the Alpha Legion in the Solar System[3] in preparation for Horus's advance on Terra. With the Ruinstorm abating commander of loyalist forces on Terra, Rogal Dorn, decided to muster the majority of his non-Astartes strength to Beta-Garmon to hold the traitor advance until such a time where Roboute Guilliman and Lion El'Jonson could arrive from the rear and crush them. Titans made of the primary strength of the Imperial force, as Dorn feared that their mass use on Terra could destroy the planet forever.[4]
Thus a massive armada consisting of tens of thousands of vessels including hundreds of Collegia Titanica Titan transports were mustered to the strategically important world of Beta-Garmon which was known as the gateway to Sol.[4] Many Imperial Fists joined the loyalist forces, and were confronted by a massive traitor armada led by Horus himself.[1] The Beta-Garmon System was already being contested since the Schism of Mars by both loyalist Mechanicum and Dark Mechanicum forces, but by the time of the muster the situation was largely favoring the loyalists. The arrival of Horus' fleet changed all that, and the traitors rapidly fell across multiple worlds of the Beta-Garmon Cluster. This included Beta-Garmon II, the capital Hive World of the system. The loyalist Imperialis Armada and Mechanicum Fleet forces resisted best they could in light of difficult warp navigation, and hundreds of naval battles both big and small erupted across the Cluster.[7a]
The subsequent battle became one of the largest of the Heresy. The scale was such that it encompassed multiple theatres such as the Titandeath and Sea of Fire campaigns, both massive engagements in their own right.[5] At Theta-Garmon V, also known as Iridium, the Legio Solaria led an offensive by dropping onto surrounding orbital platforms, capturing them from the Legio Fureans before landing on the planet proper. On Beta-Garmon III the other half of the Solaria alongside Knights pf House Procon Vi, the Legio Defensor, and Fasadian Heavy Infantry Imperial Army engaged in a bitter stalemate against traitor Imperial Army, who used weight of numbers to overwhelm loyalist engines. Thanks to the technology of the Dark Mechanicum, many of the traitor troops were enslaved captured loyalists forced to fight for the Warmaster via neuroslave implant technology. So many ships were destroyed in orbit around Beta-Garmon III that the debris fields would periodically rain down on the planet and strike loyalist and traitor forces alike.[7a]
After months of vicious fighting, it became clear that the traitors were slowly advancing. Due to issues with Warp travel around the Beta-Garmon cluster, the loyalist forces were arriving in piecemeal and could not form a united front. This was compounded by the proud nature of the Collegia Titanica, with many of its leading Princeps refusing to subordinate themselves to another commander. At any given time in the first half of the Beta-Garmon theatre, there were at least 3 different Imperial commanders claiming supreme authority. By comparison, the traitors were united through fanaticism, fear, and the unquestioned authority of Horus.[7a]
The situation for the loyalists changed when the Red Tear and a combined Blood Angels and White Scars fleet arrived. Though a month late due to the difficult warp travel, Sanguinius and Jaghatai Khan both immediately set about reforming the war effort. Sanguinius quickly took supreme command, while the Khan engaged in hit-and-run strikes across the Beta-Garmon Cluster. On the system capital of Beta-Garmon II Sanguinius led a force of Blood Angels and nearly 30 Titan Legions to capture the planet from Horus' forces. Despite fierce orbital bombardment from the loyalists, most of the traitor forces remained intact thanks to heavily entrenched positions, debris fields, and Void Shields. At Nyrcon City they were met by an equally massive traitor force, and over a thousand titans fought on the irradiated fields of Beta-Garmon II. During the height of the battle Sanguinius and the Sanguinary Guard dropped from the sky via Stormbird, boarding the traitor Imperator Titan Axis Mundi and destroying it from the inside.[7b] The fighting was bitter, and five times did the loyalist Titan's fling themselves before the traitor defenses around Nyrcon City. Meanwhile, Azkaellon led an assault on Beta-Garmon II's orbiting Starfort known as The Anvil. Aboard, the Blood Angels discovered only small ravenous bands of Sons of Horus and Lost and the Damned rabble. Realizing that they had been played, Akzaellon and his men narrowly evacuated The Anvil as it detonated. The resulting debris showered across the surface of Beta-Garmon II, annihilating both sides.[7c]
It soon became apparent that the assault on Beta-Garmon II had been a feint, and the traitors real intent was taking the now-lightly defended Beta-Garmon III and the Astropathic choir which served as the loyalist communications center known as the Carthega Telepathica. At Caldera City, Horus himself emerged at the front of a massive army of Sons of Horus and 100 titans of the Legio Mortis, the Warmaster's favored Titan Legion which until this point had been held in reserve. Alongside these forces strood eight daemonically possessed Warlord Titans of the Legio Vulpa. The predominately Legio Solaria and Imperial Army defenders were quickly overwhelmed by Horus' force. The titans of the Legio Mortis managed to topple the Carthega Telepathica, sending the massive edifice on top of the loyalists and decimating them and securing a traitor victory. While inspecting his field of victory upon Beta-Garmon III, the wound Horus had suffered from Leman Russ reopened, causing him to collapse and be whisked away by his desperate subordinates Horus Aximand and Falkus Kibre. The Warmaster was rushed back to the Vengeful Spirit.[6]
Meanwhile on Beta-Garmon II, Sanguinius and the Khan realized that with most of their forces now destroyed and Beta-Garmon III as well as the Carthega Telepathica in enemy hands, Dorn's gambit to buy time had reached its limit. They abandoned the Beta-Garmon warzone with any surviving loyalists that could be found.[7c]
Aftermath
Ultimately, Horus' victory at Beta-Garmon allowed him free access to the Sol System which in turn culminated in the Siege of Terra. However he only did so at great cost to both sides. The casualties of the Beta-Garmon campaign were so great that they exceeded the last five years of the entire Great Crusade.[6]
See Also
Sources
- 1: Weregeld (Novella)
- 2: Horus Heresy Weekender 2016
- 3: Duty Waits (Short Story)
- 4: Wolfsbane (Novel) Chapter 4
- 5: Warhammer Community
- 6: Slaves to Darkness (Novel) - Chapter 1
- {{Endn|7}]: Titandeath (Novel)
