Conquest of One-Five-Four Four

Conquest of 154-4 The Salamanders battle Exodite Eldar[1] Conflict Great Crusade[1] Date ???.M30[1] Location One-Five-Four Four[1] Outcome Imperial victory[1] Combatants Imperium[1] Eldar[1] Commanders Ferrus Manus Vulkan[1] Farseer[1] Strength 154th Expeditionary Fleet including Iron Hands, Salamanders, Death Guard, and Imperial Army elements[1] Craftworld and Exodite Eldar non-eldar servants[1] Casualties Unknown All retreat or destroyed Human collaborator population annihilated[1]

The Conquest of One-Five-Four Four was a battle of the Great Crusade.^[1]

Overview

Waged on the Exodite of One-Five-Four Four by the Iron Hands 154th Expeditionary Fleet alongside Death Guard and Salamanders contingents, the campaign was in truth a trap erected by the Eldar to attempt and warn Primarch Ferrus Manus of his impending doom at the hands of Fulgrim at Isstvan V.

As Iron Hands forces led by Morlocks became bogged down by hit-and-run tactics of Eldar and insect-like chitlin slave soldiers, Imperial Army regiments began succumbing to the elements and many were left behind for their "weakness". Catastrophe struck the Iron Hands when Manus was trapped within a type of psychic labyrinth by the Eldar where he was subjucted to cryptic visions of the future, including a Gigantic purple serpent. Worse still, the Eldar managed to use some sort of weather manipulation to disable much of the Iron Hands bionics. Without their Primarch and with many of their warriors disabled the Iron Hands had to fight on their own and fend off an attack by Eldar from a Webway Gate. Manus was eventually able to break free from his trap and rejected the xenos visions, rallying his forces and destroying the Webway Gate. With their quest a failure, the commanding Eldar Farseer had his forces withdraw.^[1]

Meanwhile, the Salamanders came into contact with tribes of primitive humans living alongside Exodite Eldar. Surprisingly, the humans did not welcome the Imperial invaders. Vulkan was guided by a mysterious Remembrancer (later discovered to be a psychic projection of the Emperor) to a Webway Portal. After a vicious battle the Portal, Vulkan came across human tribals preparing to sacrifice a Dark Eldar woman. The Humans had learned to fear the Dark Eldar raiders, and sought to sacrifice her to ward off their return now that the Exodites had been defeated. Moreover, Vulkan realized that the Dark Eldar woman was from the raiding parties that terrorized Nocturne in his youth, and these humans were descendants of Nocturne captives liberated by the Eldar. Vulkan realized the Emperor had guided him here and understand that these humans would never accept the Imperium over their Eldar liberators, ordered the planet cleansed. He sought to erase any trace of Human-Xenos coexistence.^[2]

See also

• Battles of the Great Crusade (List)

Sources

This article needs work on its citations. For help on citation see the citation guidelines. You can help Lexicanum by fixing it.

• 1: Feat of Iron (Novella),^{[Needs Citation]}
• 2: Promethean Sun (Novella),^{[Needs Citation]}