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(Battle for Terra)
(Battle for Terra)
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Shortly after the Eldar raid on Terra the "Last Wall", the combined force of [[Imperial Fists]] successors, finally arrived in the [[Sol System]]. 20 [[Battle Barge]]s and [[Strike Cruiser]]s carrying 2,800 [[Battle-Brother]]s from the [[Black Templars]], [[Crimson Fists]], [[Fists Exemplar]], and [[Excoriators]] emerged over the Ork Attack Moon plaguing Terra. They were led by [[High Marshal]] [[Bohemond]] and the last surviving Imperial Fist, [[Koorland]]. The Astartes were finally able to wrangle aid from [[Mars]], and [[Fabricator-General]] [[Kubik]] agreed to donate the fleet of the [[Basilikon Astra]], 5 [[Skitarii]] Regiments, and 7 [[Cybernetica]] cohorts.{{Fn|6a}}
 
Shortly after the Eldar raid on Terra the "Last Wall", the combined force of [[Imperial Fists]] successors, finally arrived in the [[Sol System]]. 20 [[Battle Barge]]s and [[Strike Cruiser]]s carrying 2,800 [[Battle-Brother]]s from the [[Black Templars]], [[Crimson Fists]], [[Fists Exemplar]], and [[Excoriators]] emerged over the Ork Attack Moon plaguing Terra. They were led by [[High Marshal]] [[Bohemond]] and the last surviving Imperial Fist, [[Koorland]]. The Astartes were finally able to wrangle aid from [[Mars]], and [[Fabricator-General]] [[Kubik]] agreed to donate the fleet of the [[Basilikon Astra]], 5 [[Skitarii]] Regiments, and 7 [[Cybernetica]] cohorts.{{Fn|6a}}
  
The Astartes and their [[Mechanicum]] allies struck at the Attack Moon, using [[Cyclonic Torpedo]]s to disable most of its surface weapons stations. However the station's gravitic whip was still active, and it inflicted heavy losses on the Imperial forces. Meanwhile a massive landing operation was launched, hundreds of [[Terminator]]s backed by [[Thunderhawk]]-borne battle tanks touched down on the moon alongside Skitarii and [[Battle-Automata]], battling thousands upon thousands of Orks. The battle in space was slowly swinging in favor of the Orks thanks to the Moon's devastating gravitic whip, but the timely arrival of the [[Iron Knights]] turned the tide. Ultimately, the Astartes were successful in disabling the Moon's portal to prevent new reinforcements from emerging, and with 2/3rds of the moons surface destroyed the exhausted Imperials withdrew as Iron Knights [[Chapter Master]] [[Malfons]] died covering their escape against a massive Ork [[Nob]] the size of a [[Dreadnought]].{{Fn|6a}}
+
The Astartes and their [[Mechanicum]] allies struck at the Attack Moon, using [[Cyclonic Torpedo]]s to disable most of its surface weapons stations. However the station's gravitic whip was still active, and it inflicted heavy losses on the Imperial forces. Meanwhile a massive landing operation was launched, hundreds of [[Terminator]]s backed by [[Thunderhawk]]-borne battle tanks touched down on the moon alongside Skitarii and [[Battle-Automata]], battling thousands upon thousands of Orks. The battle in space was slowly swinging in favor of the Orks thanks to the Moon's devastating gravitic whip, but the timely arrival of the [[Iron Knights]] turned the tide. Ultimately, the Astartes were successful in disabling the Moon's portal to prevent new reinforcements from emerging, and with 2/3rds of the moons surface destroyed the exhausted Imperials withdrew as Iron Knights [[Chapter Master]] [[Malfons]] died covering their escape against a massive Ork [[Meganob]] the size of a [[Dreadnought]].{{Fn|6a}}
  
 
In the aftermath of the battle, massive victory celebrations were broadcasted over beleaguered Terra, and the High Lords led by [[Lord Commander]] [[Udin Macht Udo]] took credit for the victory. In a private meeting with the leaders of the Last Wall ([[High Marshal]] [[Bohemond]] and [[Chapter Master]]s [[Quesadra]], [[Koorland]], [[Verpall]], [[Maximus Thane]], and [[Issachar]]), Lord Commander Udo scolded the Astartes. He dubbed the unification of the Imperial Fists Successors borderline heretical, condemned them for arriving over Terra without warning, ordered their fleets be broken up immediately, and demanded that the destruction of the Imperial Fists be kept from the public. Most ominous at all, he forbade any further fleet action against the heavily damaged Ork attack moon as Mechanicum Fabricator-General Kubik demanded it intact for an unknown purpose. Though the Astartes Masters were furious, Koorland ultimately swayed them to maintain the Emperor's vision and listen to the Chairman of the Senatorum.{{Fn|6b}}
 
In the aftermath of the battle, massive victory celebrations were broadcasted over beleaguered Terra, and the High Lords led by [[Lord Commander]] [[Udin Macht Udo]] took credit for the victory. In a private meeting with the leaders of the Last Wall ([[High Marshal]] [[Bohemond]] and [[Chapter Master]]s [[Quesadra]], [[Koorland]], [[Verpall]], [[Maximus Thane]], and [[Issachar]]), Lord Commander Udo scolded the Astartes. He dubbed the unification of the Imperial Fists Successors borderline heretical, condemned them for arriving over Terra without warning, ordered their fleets be broken up immediately, and demanded that the destruction of the Imperial Fists be kept from the public. Most ominous at all, he forbade any further fleet action against the heavily damaged Ork attack moon as Mechanicum Fabricator-General Kubik demanded it intact for an unknown purpose. Though the Astartes Masters were furious, Koorland ultimately swayed them to maintain the Emperor's vision and listen to the Chairman of the Senatorum.{{Fn|6b}}

Revision as of 01:07, 27 April 2016

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War of the Beast
Date 544.M32
Location Galaxy-wide
Outcome Imperial Pyrrhic victory
Combatants
Imperium
Iron Warriors
Orks
Commanders
Lord Commander Udin Macht Udo
Lord High Admiral Lansung
Master Tobris Ekharth
Ecclesiarch Mesring
Lord Commander Militant Heth(KIA)
Lord Commander Militant Verreault
Grand Master of Assassins Drakan Vangorich
Inquisitor Wienand
Inquisitor Veritus
Fabricator-General Kubik
Juskina Tull
Chapter Master Cassus Mirhen(KIA)
Chapter Master Quesadra
Chapter Master Issachar
Chapter Master Alameda(KIA)
High Marshal Bohemond
Chapter Master Malfons(KIA)
Captain Koorland
Captain Maximus Thane
First Captain Verpall
Warsmith Kalkator
The Beast
Strength
Imperial Guard
Imperial Navy
Space Marines
Mechanicum
Frateris Templar
Sisters of Silence
Grand Company
Majority of the Ork race[1]
Casualties
Billions[3a]
Heavy for the Adeptus Astartes[1]
Extremely heavy

The War of the Beast, also known as Waaagh! The Beast was an enormous Ork Waaagh! first encountered by the Imperium in 544.M32. Waged by the Warboss known only as The Beast after he succeeded in uniting much of the Ork race, his Waaagh! was the largest the Galaxy has ever seen and rampaged across the Imperium, eclipsing even the one Horus defeated during the Ullanor Crusade which earned him the title of Warmaster. The largest war fought by the Imperium since the Horus Heresy, humanity only halted his advance at great cost and desperate measure, devastating the Adeptus Astartes.[1]

Overview

The Beast Arises

By mid-M32, the Imperium was in a state of relative peace and prosperity. Having recovered from the devastating Horus Heresy, the Traitor Legions had were still reeling from their defeat, Xenos were relegated to the frontiers of Imperial space, and the stagnation and decay that would define the Imperium millennium later had not yet set in. Confident that humanity had endured its greatest challenge, the Orks in particular were underestimated and judged to have been removed as a threat since the Ullanor Crusade. Under the powerful Lord High Admiral of the Imperial Navy Lansung most of the Imperial Fleet was dispatched to humanity's borders, far from Terra.[2a]

This underestimation of the greenskins would prove to be disastrous upon the world of Ardamantua in Segmentum Solar, just an estimated six weeks Warp travel from Terra. There, the Imperial Fists battled the Chromes, insectoid aliens seemingly in flight of another, worse threat. The planet soon became wracked by gravitational storms and geological disturbances as the Chromes made their last desperate attack on the Imperial lines.[2b] The source of the disturbances became clear when an enormous Ork planetoid began to materialize into Ardmantua's orbit, laying waste to the Fists fleet.[2d] Realizing the disaster facing Terra, a rescue operation led by Lord Commander Militant of the Imperial Guard Heth and nearly the entire imperial Fists chapter in the Phalanx itself was dispatched.[2c] On Ardamantua, the Fists under Chapter Master Cassus Mirhen and Koorland with Guardsmen allies waged a desperate struggle against the panicked Chromes and escalating gravity anomalies as the Greenskin planetoid seemed to phase in and out of reality as it drew closer to full materialization. When the Imperial expedition transitioned in system, they were scattered by the gravity storms and annihilated by a massive Ork fleet dispatched from the "Attack Moon", which had somehow arrived from what the Imperials would dub "Subspace".[2e] After dispatching a message that the Imperium faced a threat like none before, Heth's fleet was destroyed along with seemingly the entire Imperial Fists chapter. The Imperium estimated that the Attack Moon would next move on Terra itself.[2f]

Disaster

In the months that followed, it became apparent that more than a single Ork Attack Moon existed. They spread swarms of unusually large and vicious Greenskins across Segmentum Solar, swallowing up at first entire Systems. Soon entire Sub-sectors, and then finally entire Sectors were overrun by the Greenskins and billions upon billions perished.[3a] The gravitational and psychic storms given off by the Waaagh! and their attack moons drove millions to madness, while other humans founded cults dedicated to worshiping the Beast himself, though in the end this did not save them.[3a] Faced with this unstoppable tide, the High Lords of Terra bickered among themselves and proved no leadership during the crisis. Lansung refused to cooperate with the Imperial Guard and instead gathered most of his fleet at the Glaucasian Gulf for an unknown reason.[3c] As the Grand Master of Assassins Drakan Vangorich attempted to counter High Admiral Lansung's influence in the Senatorum Imperialis and discover what the Mechanicum was hiding about the Greenskins, Black Templars Marshal Bohemond was undertaking a quest to reunite the scattered Successor Chapters of the Imperial Fists.[3b] Koorland ultimately enacted the "Last Wall" protocol which sought to reunite the Successor Chapters of the Fists into a Legion once more should Terra itself come under threat. This would be undertaken despite the wishes of the High Lords. This plan was solidified during a meeting between Koorland, the Black Templars, Crimson Fists, Fists Exemplar, and Excoriators.[4a] The Iron Knights also responded to the call, while the Soul Drinkers could not be contacted.[6]

The Battle of Port Sanctus

Meanwhile, the High Lords infighting continued to hamper the war effort. Inquisitorial Representative Wienand ultimately forced Lord High Admiral Lansung' to take action by having her agents exploit the rivalry between Admirals Price and Acharya. Exploting the latter's lust for glory, Wienand's agents were somehow able to convince the latter to attempt to take his portion of Lansung's fleet anchored at Lepidus Prime to attempt to relieve the Ork siege of Port Sanctus. Not wishing to display an inability to command his own forces, Lansung departed with a segment of Battlefleet Solar to personally lead the attack.[4b] However after Lansung left, the Puritan Lord Inquisitor Veritus was able to launch a political coup within the Inquisition, forcing Wienand to fake her death and go into hiding. Becoming the new Inquisitorial Representative, Veritus became determined to force the High Lords into a subordinate role to the Inquisition. Despite a seeming conflicting agenda Drakan Vangorich speculates that Veritus and Lansung are in league.[4c]

At Port Sanctus, elements amounting to half a Segmentum Fleet rallied around Admirals Lansung, Acharya, and Price, launching a desperate attack against the Ork Attack Moon and accompanying fleet besieging the shipyards. After weeks of smashing through Ork asteroid forts and raiding craft ringing the Sanctus System, it became clear that the Imperial fleet was outmatched and would ultimately be defeated in a pitched battle. In particular, the Ork ability to have small raider-sized vessels rapidly teleport warriors aboard Imperial vessels even when they still had their Void Shields up proved troublesome. However perhaps from a lack of discipline, the Greenskin fleet began to dissipate to pursue individual elements of the Imperial Navy. Sensing an opportunity to destroy the Attack Moon or die trying, the Imperial fleet launched a desperate final charge at the station.[4d]

The near-suicidal charge against the Ork Attack Moon proved costly for the Imperial fleet, the station's Gravity Whip in particular destroying whole squadrons of Cruisers and Battleships with each volley. However the repeated firing of the weapon de-powered the Attack Moon's Void Shields, allowing for the Imperials to combine their firepower in conjunction with a suicidal run by Attack Craft directly inside the station. When the Moon's gravitic generators were destroyed, the entire structure exploded, though it took much of the surviving Imperial vessels with it. The siege of Port Sanctus was lifted and the first of the Ork Attack Moon's were destroyed.[4e]

Lansung returned to Terra to a triumphant parade, but his victory was short lived as another Ork Attack Moon materialized directly over the capital of humanity.[4e]

The Proletarian Crusade

At the same time, the Orks expanded their campaign onto a galactic scale. Every Segmentum of the Imperium saw heavy fighting. Prandium and Quintarn in Ultramar were invaded, forcing the Ultramarines and several of their successor Chapters into a defensive role. While the Iron Hands sent three companies towards Terra, the Space Wolves, Salamanders, and Raven Guard all became too bogged down in fighting their own campaigns to come to aid. The Blood Angels were able to successfully destroy an Ork Attack Moon. The Ork attack even spread beyond the borders of the Imperium, the Iron Warriors world of Klostra near the Maelstrom was also assailed.[5a]

Meanwhile on Terra, following the arrival of an Ork Attack Moon, panic erupted across the throneworld. All contact with Mars ceased, as Fabricator-General Kubik refused to give Holy Terra any aid. The Adeptus Arbites struggled to contain the wave of riots, anarchy, and disorder and thousands died. The High Lords had to be barricaded into secure areas of the Imperial Palace. With the majority of Battlefleet Solar deployed elsewhere or destroyed in the Battle of Port Sanctus, Terra was virtually defenseless and Lansung was disgraced and fell from power. In this moment, a joint plan by Speaker for the Chartist Captains Juskina Tull and Ecclesiarch Mesring was proposed. Announcing a "Proletarian Crusade", millions of Frateris Militia and civilian volunteers were to be transported by Tull's Merchant Fleet to the orbiting Attack Moon in a massive boarding operation. The largest civilian mobilization in Imperial history, the volunteers were to be supported by relatively small numbers of Imperial Guard and Arbites. Many of the High Lords, Vangorich, Veritus, and Lansung included, all condemned the plan as madness but were overruled by the ascendant Tull and Mesring.[5a]

The Crusade commenced shortly after its announcement due to the very small amount of planning that went into it. Thousands of civilian craft from massive Mass Conveyors to tiny shuttles rushed towards the Attack Moon, carrying millions of crusaders, guardsmen, and arbites. Ork fighters and boarding parties took a heavy toll on the makeshift fleet, but due to its immense size many of the vessels got through. The Imperials were able to land millions of troops and even 100 Leman Russ Battle Tanks and 50 Chimeraas and Hellhounds onto the surface of the moon, where they engaged in vicious battle with Ork mobs. In a part-tank part-melee battle, the Imperials were able to drive back the Orks through sheer numbers and brutal hand-to-hand fighting. However as they ewre approaching a gate into the interior of the moon, the Orks manipulated the planetoids surface and the entire invading army was crushed by enclosing mountains.[5b]

Following the disastrous Proletarian Crusade, Terra seemed out of options. A astonishing incident took place where a surviving Crusade ship landed on Terra, carrying 3 Orks including an "ambassador". Identified as an entirely new sub-species of the hyper-evolving Beast Orks, the ambassador spoke Gothic and was able to arrange a meeting with the High Lords thanks to Vangorich and the disbelief of the palace guards. The Ork ambassador, identifying himself as Bezhrak, demanded the surrender of Terra or face death. The High Lords were speechless, unable to give any coherent response. Disgusted by their cowardice and lack of resolve, the Ork ambassador left just as Eldar vessels appeared over the Imperial palace.[5c]

Battle for Terra

Chaos further gripped the Imperial Palace as a small force of seven Harlequins led by Shadowseer Lhaerial Rey infiltrated the complex. The Eldar maintained that they had come in peace at the behest of Farseer Eldrad Ulthran, but massacred any who tried to stop their advance towards the Golden Throne. After brushing past Lucifer Blacks security, the xenos managed to reach the Inner Palace where they encountered hundreds of furious Custodes. In the end, the xenos attempt to reach the Emperor's throneroom failed and the last surviving Harlequin, Lhaerial, was captured by Custodes at the foot of the Eternity Gate. Though Captain-General Beyreuth ordered the execution of the Shadowseer, Grand Master of Assassins Drakan Vangorich and Inquisitorial Representative Veritus arrived and urged the Custodian to transfer the Eldar to their care for interrogation. Reluctantly, complied. After interrogation at the Inquisitorial Fortress of Terra Lhaerial revealed that Eldrad had dispatched her on a mission to personally deliver a message to the Emperor himself. As proof of her message of peace, she revealed the tooth of a Nocturne drake that Vulkan supposedly had given Eldrad.[6]

Shortly after the Eldar raid on Terra the "Last Wall", the combined force of Imperial Fists successors, finally arrived in the Sol System. 20 Battle Barges and Strike Cruisers carrying 2,800 Battle-Brothers from the Black Templars, Crimson Fists, Fists Exemplar, and Excoriators emerged over the Ork Attack Moon plaguing Terra. They were led by High Marshal Bohemond and the last surviving Imperial Fist, Koorland. The Astartes were finally able to wrangle aid from Mars, and Fabricator-General Kubik agreed to donate the fleet of the Basilikon Astra, 5 Skitarii Regiments, and 7 Cybernetica cohorts.[6a]

The Astartes and their Mechanicum allies struck at the Attack Moon, using Cyclonic Torpedos to disable most of its surface weapons stations. However the station's gravitic whip was still active, and it inflicted heavy losses on the Imperial forces. Meanwhile a massive landing operation was launched, hundreds of Terminators backed by Thunderhawk-borne battle tanks touched down on the moon alongside Skitarii and Battle-Automata, battling thousands upon thousands of Orks. The battle in space was slowly swinging in favor of the Orks thanks to the Moon's devastating gravitic whip, but the timely arrival of the Iron Knights turned the tide. Ultimately, the Astartes were successful in disabling the Moon's portal to prevent new reinforcements from emerging, and with 2/3rds of the moons surface destroyed the exhausted Imperials withdrew as Iron Knights Chapter Master Malfons died covering their escape against a massive Ork Meganob the size of a Dreadnought.[6a]

In the aftermath of the battle, massive victory celebrations were broadcasted over beleaguered Terra, and the High Lords led by Lord Commander Udin Macht Udo took credit for the victory. In a private meeting with the leaders of the Last Wall (High Marshal Bohemond and Chapter Masters Quesadra, Koorland, Verpall, Maximus Thane, and Issachar), Lord Commander Udo scolded the Astartes. He dubbed the unification of the Imperial Fists Successors borderline heretical, condemned them for arriving over Terra without warning, ordered their fleets be broken up immediately, and demanded that the destruction of the Imperial Fists be kept from the public. Most ominous at all, he forbade any further fleet action against the heavily damaged Ork attack moon as Mechanicum Fabricator-General Kubik demanded it intact for an unknown purpose. Though the Astartes Masters were furious, Koorland ultimately swayed them to maintain the Emperor's vision and listen to the Chairman of the Senatorum.[6b]

Meanwhile on Dzelenic IV, Black Templars led by Marshal Magneric and Warsmith Kalkator came to an uneasy truce in the face of a mutual Ork threat. For the first time in 1,500 years, sons of Rogal Dorn and Perturabo fought side by side.[6b]

Sources