Welcome to Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum! Log in and join the community.

Siege of Alaitoc

From Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum
Revision as of 09:01, 15 May 2015 by Madbot (talk | contribs) (clean up)
Jump to: navigation, search
Siege of Alaitoc
Date ???.M41
Location Alaitoc
Outcome Ceasefire, Imperial withdrawal
Combatants
Imperium Alaitoc Eldar
Commanders
Unknown Arhathain
Baharroth
Maugan Ra
Karandras
Strength
Imperial Guard
Imperial Navy
Sons of Orar
Craftworld
Casualties
Heavy Heavy

The Siege of Alaitoc was a recent battle between the Imperium of Man and the Eldar Craftworld Alaitoc.[1]

Prelude

After Dark Eldar raiders launched vicious assaults on Imperial shipping near the Craftworld, the Imperium, blaming the Craftworld Eldar instead of their dark kin, decides to make an example of Alaitoc by invading and annihilating it. The Imperium was able to trace Eldar raiding parties back to the Craftworld, identifying its location.[2] Forewarned to the attack by the Craftworlds Farseers, the Eldar managed to prepare for the assault and were aided by the Phoenix Lords Baharroth, Maugan Ra, and Karandras.[1]

The Battle

The Imperium struck with an enormous[2] fleet of Imperial Navy warships, carrying large number of Imperial Guard ground troops. Battling through the Craftworlds fleet defenses in a bloody engagement that saw heavy Imperial Navy losses, the Eldar fleet and Craftworld defenses managed to destroy multiple Battleships and Troop Transports. However Imperial Guard boarding parties managed to board Alaitoc itself. Though the assault by the Imperial Guard initially went poorly in the face of Alaitoc's Aspect Warriors, a Boarding Torpedo attack by the Sons of Orar Space Marine Chapter inflicted heavy losses on the Eldar defenders as the sheer number of Imperial Guardsmen managed to expand the Imperial beachhead on the Craftworld. Taking casualties in the face of the Space Marine spearhead and the Imperial Guard forces supporting them, the Eldar were forced to withdraw in order to defend the Alaitoc's Infinity Circuit and core cities after the outlaying Exodite settlements were overrun and laid to waste. The Imperial assault was then slowed by the intervention of Phantom Titans and an Avatar of Khaine.[1]

The war for Alaitoc had become a bloody war of attrition, one which the Imperium was seemed to be slowly prevailing in. Despite this and the continued Human advance, the Craftworld's Farseers foresaw ultimate victory for the Eldar. Nonetheless, the bloodshed continued as much of the Craftworld was laid to waste and even Titan warmachines destroyed by the Space Marine and Imperial Guard forces, while the dwindling Alaitoc's fleet continued to batter the Imperial Navy. The Space Marines, using their Chief Librarian to tap into one of the younger Eldar Farseers minds, were able to accurately predict and counter Eldar strategies. Chokepoints and close-quarters fighting in the confines of the Craftworld worked in the numerically superior Imperium's favor and against the more precise and sparsely deployed Aspect Warriors. But despite these advantages, the Imperial forces take massive losses to advance across even fractions of the Craftworlds surface.[2]

Conclusion

The decisive moment came when the Ranger Aradryan, who had discovered the real reason for the Craftworlds invasion before it had even begun, arrived on the Craftworld. Aradryan was able to convince the Sons of Orar Chapter Master that the attack had all been a ruse by the Dark Eldar. The Chapter Master, seeing that the entire purpose of the invasion had been for nothing and understanding to continue would see crippling losses for his Chapter, decides to abandon the siege of Alaitoc. With their Space Marine spearhead gone, the rest of the Imperial forces follow in the withdrawal. But while Alaitoc had survived the invasion, they had taken heavy losses and much damage to the Craftworld itself.[3]

Sources