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2nd Black Crusade

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Black Crusades of Abaddon the Despoiler 1st - 2nd - 3rd - 4th - 5th - 6th - 7th - 8th - 9th - 10th - 11th - 12th - 13th
2nd Black Crusade
Conflict Long War
Date 597.M32
Location Cadian Gate
Outcome Imperial tactical victory, Abaddon achieves objectives[4]
Combatants
Imperium Forces of Chaos
Commanders
Unknown Abaddon the Despoiler
Strength
Cadian Shock Troopers
Imperial Navy
Black Legion
Word Bearers
Casualties
Unknown Unknown

The Second Black Crusade, also called the Cursing of Corona was the second crusade of Abaddon the Despoiler. Abaddon buried a curse in the core of Belis Corona and released daemons bound in Nemesis Tessera.[1]

"The Eye will close on the King of Blood, And a Fortress will rise to contain him".[3]

Overview

The Second Black Crusade consisted primarily of a massive assault on the newly constructed bastion of Cadia in the year 597.M32. The attacks were no less powerful in numbers and strength, or in savage viciousness, but the Imperium had had time to prepare themselves for the oncoming attack. After the 1st Black Crusade, the Imperium had seen fit to build defences in the area of the Cadian Gate, primarily on Cadia itself, a fortress on Nemesis Tessera and a vast naval port at Belis Corona, all to provide a wall onto which the forces of Chaos would wash against and be stopped, to prevent them from threatening the heart of the Imperium ever again. The lessons from the 1st Black Crusade were well learnt, by both sides.[Needs Citation]

The invasion was again led by Abaddon the Despoiler, at the head of a vast army and armada, possibly even exceeding the numbers and power of the previous invasion. At Belis Corona Abaddon launched a diversionary attack that destroyed the Imperial shipyards, destroying dozens of Imperial Navy Cruisers.[4] Meanwhile, he and his Bringers of Despair landed on the system's outermost moons. There the Warmaster invoked a ritual that cursed the moon that would awaken centuries later and unleash a mutagenic plague upon the defenders there. Meanwhile, Black Legion forces assault the Inquisitorial Fortress on Nemesis Tessera which freed several Daemons kept captive there.[1] Abaddon himself also teleported upon the surface of Nemesis Tessera to topple its hexagrammic 'Eldritch Needles', in truth a black stone Pylon holding back the tides of the Warp.[4]

Savage and brutal fighting broke out all over Cadia, especially around the walls of the various fortresses spread across the world. The siege lasted for five years of hell and grief for the defenders, while the attackers suffered from frustration at the impervious defences that lay against them.[Needs Citation]

Meanwhile, a Word Bearer fleet arrived and began assaulting Imperial Fleet assets in the region. Though they formed no formal alliance with Abaddon, the Word Bearers nonetheless boarded five Imperial Cruisers, unleashing Defilers onto each. The machines ripped their way through the ships before the Word Bearers packed them with explosives. The captured ships were then sent spiraling back into the Imperial armada.[2]

After the forces of Chaos were stymied at Cadia, they began to spill out into the surrounding systems wherever they could. These attacks were masterfully stopped by the various other fortifications erected for just this occasion, instilling a new hope into the hearts of men. Abaddon was forced to retreat once more to the Eye of Terror where he would wait, rebuild his forces and plan his next attack.

Sources

Uncited