The '''Second War for Armageddon''' is the second best known of the three wars of the system. It took place on the [[Hive World]] of [[Armageddon]] between the mighty [[Ork]] [[Warboss]] [[Ghazghkull Thraka|Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka]] and the forces of the [[Imperium]] and included regiments of [[Imperial Guard]] and [[Space Marines]] of the [[Blood Angels]], [[Salamanders]] and [[Ultramarines]] [[Chapter]]s, along with a large [[Squat]] army. It would see the planet being swarmed with green skinned Orks of five different tribes. The main war lasted for two years, but the actual combat continued for the next twenty years, a colossal effort for just one planet.

Von Strab hastily relocated his command centre to [[Hive Tartarus]] in Armageddon Secundus, knowing that the north would fall to the Orks no matter what he did. Three of the Ork tribes were unaccounted for but von Strab believed they were in reserve. [[Princeps|Princeps Prime]] [[Kurtiz Mannheim]], leader of the [[Legio Metalica|Iron Skulls Titan Legion]] temporarily stationed on Armageddon, advised von Strab to prepare for an attack from these three tribes. Von Strab ignored him, believing they were in reserve, and that they would never cross the equatorial jungle region at the centre of the peninsula. He would then launch a mighty counter-attack, leading from the fore.

Two days later, the Orks invaded Armageddon Secundus. It was the [[Season of Shadows]] and the many volcanoes of Armageddon erupted, sending black clouds high into the sky. Massive armoured columns of Orks charged through the thin Imperial lines, and two tribes moved east of the [[Armageddon_%28geography%29#Armageddon_Secundus|Palidus Mountains]] toward Hades Hive and one to the west of the mountains to [[Port Helsreach]]. Von Strab ordered his titans, under Mannheim, to attack and wipe out the Orks. Mannheim protested that they should wait and fight a holding action, but von Strab screamed that he needed no help. Mannheim was under an oath to what von Strab ordered him to, and as such he gathered his titan legion and said goodbye to his family. The great titans strode forth into the fray, and massacred thousands of Orks, but the huge number of [[Gargants]] blasted the titans quickly. Mannheim refused to evacuate his titan when it was damaged, and strode into the centre of the Ork force as its fusion reactor exploded. He and his crew sacrificed themselves in a fool's attack. Mannheim was posthumously awarded the [[Emperor's Star]].

==Sources==

*[[Battle for Armageddon (Game)]]