Siege of Inwit
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The Siege of Inwit (009.M31 - 013.M31) was a Horus Heresy campaign, that Warmaster Horus' Traitor forces waged against the Imperium's Inwit Cluster.[1]
Prelude
By 009.M31, the Inwit Cluster was targeted by the forces of the Warmaster, with the Traitors conducting spoiling raids across the Imperial Fists' domain. Unwilling to withdraw forces from the defence of the Sol System to reinforce the cluster as Horus anticipated, Rogal Dorn ordered the garrison upon Inwit to marshal as many troops from local systems to the cluster’s defence as possible, as well as accelerating and expanding their induction of new Legionaries. These efforts involved the strike frigate Light of Inwit, which redirected vessels stationed at the fleet anchorage of Pilgrim’s Rest within the Tallarn system to the Protectorate’s muster, leaving the system with only a handful of Warp-capable void craft.[8]
Battle
The siege was undertaken by dozens of Traitor fleets, who each sought to claim the prize of the Imperial Fists Legion's Homeworld, Inwit. The siege then steadily increased in intensity for four years,[1] with the Imperial garrisons being occasionally reinforced by contingents of the Imperial Army and Mechanicum.[3]
Eventually, a vast Traitor force including elements of the World Eaters, Iron Warriors, and Thousand Sons[3] fought their way to Inwit itself as the remaining loyalists sought to dug-in and make a final stand. After the invaders then laid siege to the world, the Imperial Fists lost dozens of warships in desperate attempts to break the blockade and seek reinforcements. While the Imperial Fists Frigate Astral Majesty was able to reach the Dark Angels forces, they soon found themselves requisitioned for Lion El'Jonson's Crusade of vengeance instead of relieving Inwit.[2]
As the blockade went on, other Loyalists forces tried to bypass the traitors' defences attempting to support Inwit, which resulted in numerous space battles across half a dozen worlds in the Inwit cluster. The Imperial Fists desperately attempted to keep space lanes open to supply Terra, ceding worlds to the Traitors as they fell back to an ever-tightening defensive line.[6] During the battle, a vast Traitor fleet led by elements of the Emperor's Children wrought terrible destruction within the Inwit Cluster.[7b]
During the Traitor's blockade, the stoic defenders of the fortified cryo-hives on Inwit were confronted with starvation and inevitable defeat should their supplies of food and ammunition be cut off entirely. It was only through the relentless bravery of Imperial Fists and allied Loyalist Divisio Aeronautica pilots that disaster was adverted. Thousands of supply drops were made over the course of several years, Marauder transports escorted by Xiphon Interceptors and ground-to-air batteries time and again. Only later was it revealed that many of these supply drops were in fact covert troop insertions, allowing Loyalists hunter-killer teams to infiltrate the ice wastes and to kill key individuals in the Traitor's command hierarchy.[4]
By 012-013.M31, the Traitors’ blockade of Inwit had become a protracted siege, and forces loyal to the Warmaster established footholds upon the surface of the planet in addition to the growing cordon around the entire system, forcing the Imperial Fists and their Auxilia allies to fight from increasingly isolated pockets of resistance on numerous planets throughout the cluster. These locations relied on scarce supplies of ammunition and reinforcements, air dropped in by Divisio Aeronautica pilots who flew thousands of perilous sorties over the course of the engagement. Amongst the troops inserted into the thick of the fighting were Salamanders squads, specially equipped for fighting within the close confines of the ice hives and hab blocks of Inwit. In coordination with the VIIth Legion forces already entrenched within the defences, the sons of Vulkan conducted guerilla raids on Traitor positions on every planet throughout the cluster, setting deadly traps for enemy troops, destabilising their supply lines and sabotaging their war machines. Loyalist morale was significantly boosted when one such raid successfully destroyed two Warhound Titans and critically damaged a Reaver Class Titan as it was undergoing refit and resupply. Despite suffering heavy losses in these dangerous actions, comparatively small numbers of troops were able to disrupt the enemy’s actions where the option of conventional attack was not viable.[7a]
However, after Warmaster Horus' gained the advantage during the Solar War, a direct assault on Terra drew the many traitors away from the Inwit Cluster.[1][6] This allowed a relief force of Salamanders, Imperial Army, and Mechanicum forces to reach Inwit and break the siege.[3] In the wake of the traitors' retreat, however, they left behind a string of burning and wasted worlds across the Inwit Cluster.[1] After their victory at Inwit, the local loyalists intervened in the Malagant Conflict.[3]
Order of battle
Loyalists
Traitors
- World Eaters[3]
- Iron Warriors[3]
- Thousand Sons[3]
- Emperor’s Children[5][7b]
- Traitor Imperial Army
See also
Sources
- 1: Horus Heresy Website: Explore the Galaxy - The Siege of Inwit (Posted on 02/06/22) (Last accessed on 2 June 22)
- 2: White Dwarf 478, pg. 106
- 3: Legions Imperialis Rulebook (2023), Timeline of the Horus Heresy
- 4: Horus Heresy: Aeronautica Imperialis, pg. 8
- 5: Liber Hereticus, pg. 171
- 6: Horus Heresy: Age Of Darkness 2nd Edition Rulebook, pg. 135
- 7: Campaigns of the Age of Darkness: The Siege of Cthonia
- 8: Legions Imperialis: The Devastation of Tallarn, pg. 10
