Medean Crusade

### Outcome

Costly Imperial victory, reduction in immediate Ork threat, stabilisation of Aeaean Cluster

Strength| **Adeptus Astartes*** Detachments from several Chapters

**Astra Militarum*** Various Army groups
* Various PDFs

**Imperial Navy*** Battlefleet Kantharos, several additional Battlegroups

**Adeptus Mechanicus*** Loricatti, additional Skitarii forces
* Legio Cybernetica
* Collegia Titanica
* Questor Imperialis
* Hundreds of Roks and looted warships
* Various Militia Army groups
* Mercenary forces

Casualties| **Heavy** **Adeptus Astartes*** Regulus Caellumis of the Nemean Lions
* Several Hundred Astartes

**Astra Militarum*** Est. 80 million+ Guardsmen, 30,000 Tanks and other vehicles

**Imperial Navy** * Several Battlegroups, Est. 10,000 Dropships and attack craft

**Adeptus Mechanicus*** Est. 20,000 Casualties, 8 Titans, 94 Knights

**Civilians** * Est. 27 Billion+
* Hundreds of warbands scattered or destroyed
* Est. 300 million+ Orks
* Hundreds of ships
* Several flotillas of ships lost or severely damaged
* Est. 60,000 militia and mercenaries

The **Medean Crusade** was a sprawling conflict that took place in the 39th millennium between a massive Ork Waaagh and a Crusade force of the Imperium of Man. The conflict secured many centuries of lasting peace for the Aeaean Cluster and permitted the Nemean Lions to take on a greater role within the Imperium.

## History

### Prelude (112-120.M39)

In the centuries leading up to the dawn of M39, Warboss Darrioz and his first lieutenant Xerkzez were relatively minor players in the inter-tribal conflicts of the Ork territories to the north-east of the Aeaean Cluster, lacking the numbers to threaten any of the larger empires. Both Darrioz and Xerkzez displayed an unusual amount of strategic thinking for greenskins, often pulling off elaborate strategies against their foes. The defeat of Warboss Pelle'Grino by Imperial forces in 999.M38 left a significant power vacuum, with the larger tribes all destroyed along with him. Darrioz and Xerkzez seized their opportunity, conquering and absorbing nearby warbands with surprising speed. As their numbers grew, they took on larger and larger warbands, showing tactical skill even on a large scale.

With the majority of the Ork warbands brought to heel, the pair began to plot their moves against the Imperium, looking towards the nearby Aeaean Cluster. This was a formidable nut to crack, still flush from the victory over Warboss Pelle'Grino and well provisioned with defenders, including the Astartes Chapter, the Nemean Lions, recently returned from a Crusade. Despite this the Orks were confident of victory, knowing they had the numbers and the “kunning” to best them. Darrioz began mustering his warbands for a Waaagh, dividing them into fleets with specific targets, lead by trusted lieutenants to keep them on track.
One such target was the Tyras System, a formidable defensive barrier in the north-east of the Cluster that dominated surrounding systems. Past Waaaghs either broke against this fortress or suffered greatly from bypassing it, subjected to constant raids on their supply lines by the fleet supported by the refuge. Warboss Darrioz did not want to end up in either situation so devised a strategy to neutralise the threat without being drawn into a full conflict. Xerkzez was tasked with neutralising the threat, approaching the system undetected amidst the chaos of diversionary efforts and launching a huge assault of Kommandos to infiltrate and disable the defences. The Imperial defenders were caught by surprise, and much of the fleet was burned at anchorage. With Tyras largely neutralised, the Waaagh pressed on into the Cluster, with three primary thrusts heading for Tvastar, Caelus Prime and Tymar. The goal was to neutralise these threats and in doing so cripple the defenders. Imperial commanders realised the intention however and hastily moved to bolster the defences of the three systems. While they merely reinforced the other two, the Caelus System was chosen to set up a trap for the Orks, luring their Warboss and main force into a set piece battle. The entirety of the Nemean Lions' Chapter was mustered, Strategos Shaka revived from cryo-sleep to lead his Astartes. The bulk of Battlefleet Kantharos moved to the system and hid in the upper atmosphere of the gas giant Caelus Tertius. AM Regiments from across the Cluster were brought in to reinforce the PDF and dig extensive fortifications to supplement the formidable array of defences already in place as part of the Fortress-Monastery complex on Mytikas Peak.

As these plans were implemented, the Orks continued to rampage across the Cluster, overrunning almost all of the Inoi SubSector and pushing into the remaining three. Darrioz increasingly was unable to control the splintering Ork forces, as warbands split away to loot planets or chase after fleeing ships. The three main thrusts continued but they were weakened by these losses, combined with continuous harrying by Imperial Battlegroups and the staunch defence put up by some systems. When the first thrust arrived at the Minash System, it was stalled by the Tvastarian fleet and the myriad defensive installations.

### The Crusade Musters (120-128.M39)

Although the Nemean Lions had taken considerable casualties in the initial stages of the conflict, as the largest single Astartes force, they were elected to be in nominal command of other the Chapter detachments present.

## Order of Battle Medean Crusade (120-193.M39)

### Senior Commanders (Adeptus Astartes)

#### Commanders (Astra Militarum)

 Lord General Agathocles
 Lord General Vambrac
 Lord General Aristeaia
 Lord General Hierax

### Imperial Forces

#### Imperial Guard (Regiments)

Assault and Siege Army Groups were comprised of the following Regiments:

#### Adeptus Mechanicus Forces

 Knights of Troi
* 105 Knights
* Legio Tvastarum "Iridyon" - 16 God-Engines

## Significant Battles

### Battle of Tymar

The largest battle to take place almost exclusively using mercenary and civilian forces, the Battle of Tymar was a void siege around the orbital shipyards and space ports of Tymar IV. The fleet of the Rogue Trader House of the Solar Winds of Auximite swiftly bought or coerced any visiting ships to join the defences, linking with the defensive stations to form a caravan like defence. The makeshift space fort held off multiple Ork assaults, aided by the splintering of the Ork fleet as they grew bored of the siege and sought weaker targets nearby.

### Siege of Tvastar

While overshadowed by the later battle on Caelus Prime, the siege of Tvastar was one of the most important of the war, tying up the attention of Xerkzez and a huge number of Orks, which could then not be diverted to assist Darrioz when the trap was sprung. Ork forces successfully landed on each of Minash's ore rich moons, however they were almost entirely unsuccessful in landing on Tvastar itself. Its superb defence network and titan legions laid waste to landing forces. A Nemean Speria was deployed to the system and supported the Tvastarian home fleet. This Speria's most famous act was the battle of the Hot Springs, in response to the only successful landing of Orks to the planet's surface. An Ork dreadnought succeeded in piercing the orbital barriers and landed substantial forces. The Titan legions were elsewhere, mopping up smaller parties tat had landed earlier. The Lions conducted an emergency deployment via drop pods to secure the mountain pass known as the Hot Springs, which blocked the main route from the landing sites to the main manufactorums. For three days these few Astartes held the pass against an enormous force of Orks. While they eventually fell, the victorious Orks streamed through the pass into a wall of Titan cannons.

### Battle of Mytikas Plateau

The turning point of the original war and the reprieve that allowed the Crusade to be mustered, the Battle of Mytikas Plateau marked the end of the siege of Caelus Prime. The culmination of months of planning as the Ork Waaagh progressed, the battle was an elaborate trap, breaking the Ork assaults against layers of defences, centred around the formidable Fortress-Monastery of the Nemean Lions. Almost the entire Chapter was present and formed the final layer of the defence. As the remaining Orks, led by Darrioz himself, broke through the designated weak spot in the lines, they found themselves face to face with close to one thousand Astartes lined up in battle array. The Lions formed a textbook example of the 'Lion's Claws' stratagem, a pincer manoeuvre where the centre gave ground and the reinforced flanks punched through to encircle. While the Orks fought well, they were eventually completely enveloped and slaughtered to a beast. Shaka personally duelled with Darrioz as the battle reached its climax and slew him in single combat, ending the brief yet bloody reign of the Warboss.

### Naval Battle over Athos

Taking advantage of sudden warp storms between the Feral world of Athos and the Chekov System. A battlegroup from Battlefleet Kanthros attacked an Ork flotilla and drove it out of the Inoi SubSector.

### Siege of Lindos

Within the Lydia system, the hive city of Lindos was besieged by one of Xerkzez's lieutenants. Despite an overwhelming assault the collective PDF and armed civilians held out for several years and were eventually relieved by the Crusade's forces.

### The Naxon Campaign

Vastly outnumbered, the Naxon governor withdrew all possible civilian and military assets within the walls of a vast pre-heresy fortress. The Orks destroyed all remaining assets outside of the keep, and burnt its walls black but were unable to break the mysterious materials that the fortress was constructed from. When Trojan relief forces arrived the Naxon PDF sallied forth and joined the assault.