vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Sicarian Ruststalker - Notable Killclades: The tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus revere ancient technology such as the robots of the Legio Cybernetica, which are held in greatest regard, but the same cannot be said for the troops of the Skitarii Legions, who are churned out on uncaring production lines.The Skitarii are functional and effective en masse, but are never treasured as individuals, even by the tech-priests that fix them, often using whatever spare parts are at hand. However, this has not stopped a few clades from distinguishing themselves, and if their deeds and heroic efforts are not recognised by their masters, they are at least made note of by their foes.During their invasion of Ryza, the Orks of WAAAGH! Rarguts learned to fear one particular unit of Ruststalkers more than any other. Clade R2-111 attacked during the acid rain season, using the deluges to cover their infiltration. They developed distinctive dripping rust patterns that the Greenskins grew to fear, naming them the "Rust-rippers."Several clades from Stygies VIII have earned similar infamy amongst their foes, including those clades known as the "Crimson Blades" and the "Skullmarks." These units seem to have gone rogue, often bearing unusual markings and appearing unbidden amongst other legions that have been summoned to battle.As all their acts have been in aid of their Forge World, little effort has been expended to track them down for reprogramming.
Sicarian Ruststalker - Notable Formations: Sicarian Killclade - The vile hissing that accompanies a Sicarian Killclade on the hunt gnaws at the mind. When the stomach-churning hum of Transonic Weapons mingles with the mind-numbing aura of a Sicarian Infiltrator assault, its effect can be magnified, leaving those brave or foolish enough to stand their ground all but crippled. The sight of their foes reeling from their approach fills the Sicarians with righteous faith, readying them for the hyperaction imperatives their masters inload as they near the foe. At an unspoken command, the Sicarian Ruststalkers of the Killclade will burst from concealment like hunter-arachnids. Their Transonic Weapons flash azure as they plunge headlong into the foe with reckless haste, then gory red as the butchery begins. A Sicarian Killclade typically consists of three squads of Sicarian Ruststalkers accompanied by a single squad of Sicarian Infiltrators.
Sicarian Ruststalker - Unit Composition: 4-9 Sicarian Ruststalkers1 Ruststalker Princeps
Sicarian Ruststalker - Wargear: As standard, Sicarian Ruststalkers are armed with:Sicarian Battle Armour - As agility is of paramount importance to the long-limbed killers of the Sicarian brotherhood, Sicarian Ruststalkers go to war clad in Sicarian Battle Armour. This is made up of a multi-layered alloy that, though thin and flexible, provides admirable physical protection. This alloy, informally known as aegium, acts as a capacitor that harnesses the energy of incoming attacks and disperses it harmlessly across the wearers bionic frame.Transonic Razor - A Transonic Razor emits a low, insistent buzz that makes stomachs turn and eyes vibrate in their sockets. When they strike armour, these weapons will adjust their hostile sonic field to match the armour's resonant frequency, quickly slicing right through itChordclaw - A Transonic Weapon in the form of a needle-fingered gauntlet capable of turning a man's muscle, bone and fat to jelly.Mindscrambler Grenades - Mindscrambler Grenades harbour the egg-sac of a Cthellan electrogenesis squid. When detonated, the resultant surge of bio-electricity causes heavy neural trauma in living creatures and artificial sentiences alike.All members of a Sicarian Ruststalker squad can choose to replace their Transonic Razor, Chordclaw, and Mindscrambler Grenades with:Twin Transonic Blades - Stiletto-swift weapons wielded in pairs, Transonic Blades are a form of Transonic Weapon that augments the user's own strength to devastating effect.Optional wargear that a Ruststalker Princeps can take include:Chordclaw - A Chordclaw can be taken if the Ruststalker Princeps chooses to wield twin Transonic Blades.Prehensile Dataspike - Usually mounted on a tail-like Mechadendrite, the dataspikes favoured by the agents of the Adeptus Mechanicus can stab into the cortex of enemy machines and steal their secrets within a couple of heartbeats.Relics of Mars - Relics of Mars are items of terrifying power that are sometimes bestowed upon a Skitarii Alpha or Sicarian Princeps by a senior tech-priest for them to field test.Special Issue Wargear - Elite Skitarii warriors have the right to bear special issue wargear into battle, which can include either a Conversion Field or Refractor Field, and Digital Weapons.
Sicarian Ruststalker - Sources: Codex: Adeptus Mechanicus (8th Edition), pp. 50, 79Codex: Adeptus Mechanicus - Skitarii (7th Edition), pp. 27, 32, 34-39, 59, 66, 75-78Wrath & Glory: Forsaken System Player Guide (RPG), pg. 111
Sicarus - Sicarus: SicarusDaemon WorldEye of TerrorWord BearersTraitor LegionHorus HeresyForces of ChaosImperiumFrom here, the veteran Dark Apostles of the Legion who make up the ruling Dark Council watch over the Word Bearers Legion in their Primarch's absence. The Word Bearers seek to orchestrate the corruption of the Imperium from within at the hands of the various Chaos Cults and witches' covens they sponsor across the galaxy.The Word Bearers continue to fanatically wage their Long War against the Imperium of Man, and they do not intend for it to end until every icon of the False Emperor lies shattered at their feet and He has been toppled from the life-sustaining mechanisms of the Golden Throne to wither and die. Only in this way, the Word Bearers believe, can Mankind finally be free to understand the truth and glory of Chaos.Beneath a roiling sky of fire and blood, Sicarus is a world completely covered by vast sprawling cathedrals, temples and monuments dedicated to the worship of the Ruinous Powers of Chaos in the guise of Chaos Undivided. It serves as the homeworld of the Word Bearers Traitor Legion and its Daemon Prince Lorgar. Spider-legged cranes and slaves numbering in the millions constantly toil in a never-ending task to raise more structures of devotion and worship, level upon level atop the existing crumbling edifices and cathedrals, producing obelisks and spires many kilometres high.As a result, the majority of buildings on Sicarus are subterranean; a labyrinthine warren of interconnected structures devoted to the worship of Chaos. The seat of the Dark Council of Dark Apostles that rules Sicarus in Lorgar's name is the Basilica of the Word -- an immense cathedral fortress crowned with hundreds of five-kilometre-high barbed spires, each studded with jagged spikes, upon which are impaled countless living sacrifices dedicated to the Dark Gods.Within another structure, known as the Templum Inficio, unseen by even his own Heretic Astartes since the Word Bearers arrived on the world, is the Daemon Prince Lorgar. Lorgar now maintains a constant meditation on the will of the Chaos Powers that has remained undisturbed since the Word Bearers fled into the Eye of Terror 10,000 Terran years ago. The bodies of the Word Bearers' fallen Dark Apostles are carefully buried in Sicarus' unholy soil.
Sicarus - Sources: Dark Apostle (Novel) by Anthony ReynoldsDark Disciple (Novel) by Anthony Reynolds
Sidon Protocols - Sidon Protocols: The Sidon Protocols designate a complex web of oaths of fealty and servitude, contractual obligations and pledges of support that form the basis of the ties between the Forge Worlds of the Adeptus Mechanicus and Knight Worlds across all of the Imperium. In essence, the Sidon Protocols are a bilateral treaty benefitting both the Forge World and its attached Knight Worlds. However, not all Imperial Knight Households are subject to these protocols, as it has been the policy of the Imperium for millennia to tie the rediscovered Household's loyalties to itself rather than to the fractious Priesthood of Mars. As such, the Sidon Protocols only apply to independent Knight Houses that chose to align themselves with the Mechanicum rather than directly with the Imperium, and that have not been fully absorbed by their patron Forge World.
Sidon Protocols - Oathbound Vassal Households of the Mechanicum: At the core of every Knight Household is a panoply of arcane artefacts that defy the understanding of all but the most learned Adepts of the Mechanicum. From the mind-impulse thrones from which the Knight armours are guided, to the Ion Shields that ward the enemy's wrath from their imposing hulls, without these mysterious technologies the Noble scions of the Knight Households would be utterly powerless against the larger foes they might face; and so it is far from surprising that many Knight Households have strong ties with the Mechanicum. Few Forge Worlds would spurn the loyalty of such a mighty force, representing as it does both a devastating weapon to wield as well as a potent symbol of the divine Machine Spirit, and many a bargain has been brokered between Forge and House.Unlike their more independent brethren, those Households sworn to the service of the Mechanicum are a strange breed, centuries of service to the creed of the Magi who dominate their patron Forge having warped their traditions and appearance. Often these Houses stride to battle in machines far different from the ancient Paladin-type armours, bearing strange and terrible weapons not seen upon the battlefield since the Dark Age of Technology. Some are even rumoured to have been inducted into the lesser mysteries of the Mechanicum's secret arts, studded with esoteric Augmetics, or even sealed eternally within the tomb of their Knight armour as illustrated by the bonds between House Hermetika and their patron Forge World of Mezoa. When the Taghmata of the Mechanicum muster for war, they are joined by these secretive warriors and the thunder of their war-horns heralds the victory to come.
Sidon Protocols - Blade of the Omnissiah: Regardless of the means by which a Forge World exerts control over those Knight Households in its sworn service, its seasoned warriors and their arcane combat walker mounts are precious assets and quickly incorporated into the forces available to that Forge World. The Archmagos Prelate assigned to the House will normally represent them within the Forge World's Synod, a gathering that is neither meant for those un-indoctrinated in the higher mysteries of the Cult Mechanicus, nor easily understandable to the un-augmented, and decide on their deployment should the time come that they are summoned to war.Most commonly, a Mechanicum-oathed Knight House bound by the Sidon Protocols will be required to assign a cadre of Knights to any significant mustering of the Forge World's Taghmata, serving for the duration of the campaign under the overall command of the Archmagos leading the Taghmata, but serving under their own officers. Within the Taghmata of the Mechanicum, Knights serve a vital role as shock assault troops, valued for their independent initiative as much for their raw power. In massed battles, their first role is as line breakers, breaching an enemy's ranks to enable the cybernetic Skitarii Legions of the Cult Mechanicus to sweep forward and engage the weakened foe, or serving as escorts to the gigantic war machines of the Ordinatus Locum and Ordo Reductor. There are few Forge Worlds willing to commit to wholesale battle without the support of at least a single allied Knight House, and many of the most well-established Forge Worlds can call on several should the need arise.
Sidon Protocols - Knights and the Titan Legions: It is also common practice among those Forge Worlds that maintain a Titan Legion to assign allied Knight detachments to Titan maniples as skirmishers and scout elements. These Knights are expected to screen the larger Titans from infantry formations and strike tanks, and many Magi view such an assignment in support of the God-machines as a distinct honour. It is common practice amongst those Knights granted the privilege of fighting alongside Titans to apply elements of the Titan Legion's heraldry to their own armour. In such actions during the Great Crusade, the most terrifying and powerful xenos races were purged from existence in deadly combat, and few Knights survived long in the shadow of the mighty war machines they guarded in such battles. The Princeps of the Legio Titanicus were proud to honour the sacrifice of the scions that marched to war with them in this manner, and afforded their allied Knight Houses great respect, and those who returned to their homeworld on both sides often retained elements commemorating their fellowship in their personal heraldry as a mark of honour.
Sidon Protocols - Knights Questoris: Those Households that maintained some measure of political autonomy, whether through strength of arms or steadfast loyalty, often retained the right to sanction independent military operations or to join the ranks of the Ordo Questoris -- the Household forces that were independently detached into the service of the Expeditionary Fleets of the Great Crusade's armies. Such Houses were driven to seek glory among the far-flung stars of the galaxy, far from their patron Forge Taghmata, or even engaged in their own conquests; as loyal to the ideals of human unity and the Emperor as ever they were to their Mechanicum patrons. The riches and reputation brought from such independent martial endeavours served in some case to aid them in gaining greater autonomy from their Mechanicum patrons, which is why many Archmagi were loathe to grant such rights as part of the Sidon Protocols.
Sidonus - Sidonus: Sidonus was a grizzled Veteran Sergeant of the Ultramarines 2nd Company who accompanied Captain Titus, and served as his second-in-command. He also served as a mentor to Brother Leandros, a Battle-Brother newly promoted to the ranks of the 2nd Company. Sidonus has served the Imperium of Man for 225 Terran years. A hardened veteran, this hoary old warrior has fought in countless campaigns. He was brutally efficient in combat and would stop at nothing until all enemies were dead at his feet. Despite the grim danger he often faced, Sidonus always managed to maintain his dry, caustic wit to help diffuse the tension of any difficult situation. Sidonus met his fate on the Forge World of Graia at the hands of the Chaos Sorcerer Nemeroth.
Sidonus - History: Sergeant Sidonus was Veteran Astartes of the Ultramarines 2nd Company, who had fought across the width and breadth of the galaxy. The numerous scars all over his body were a testament to his long service. This included the loss of one of his arms during an encounter with Tyranids, which was replaced by a bionic one, and the loss of one eye and deep scars on one side of his face after being shot by an Eldar weapon. Having seen it all, he was able to call upon his vast experience to help mentor his junior Battle-Brothers in the arts of war. Despite the ability of the Chapter's Apothecarion to heal such wounds, Sergeant Sidonus elected to leave his scars in place as a reminder of his victories over such formidable enemies.
Sidonus - Graia Campaign: Sergeant Sidonus and the rest of his company of Ultramarines were sent to the Adeptus Mechanicus Forge World of Graia in the Segmentum Tempestus to stop an invasion by an Ork WAAAGH! a million of Greenskins strong led by the Warboss Grimskull. Grimskull was intent on stealing advanced Imperial weapons, including a Warlord-class Battle Titan, which were manufactured upon Graia, making the world a startegic asset of the Imperium that had to be retaken. The assault was part of an intricate plan unleashed by the Chaos Sorcerer Nemeroth, the Chaos Lord of a warband of Chaos Space Marines known as the Chosen of Nemeroth, to get his hands on an experimental power source on the world that would allow him to ascend to become a Daemon Prince.Accompanied by 2 members of his Command Squad, Sergeant Sidonus and Battle-Brother Leandros, Captain Titus joined with the Imperial Guard's 203rd Cadian Shock Troops Regiment and its only surviving officer, 2nd Lieutenant Mira, to eventually kill Grimskull and halt the WAAAGH! Unfortunately, the Ordo Xenos Inquisitor Drogan, who Titus and his Astartes relied upon for assistance in retaking the world, was actually an undead pawn of Nemeroth who used a specially designed weapon known as the Scourge, powered by the experimental power source Nemeroth wanted, to open a portal into the Warp that allowed the Chaos Sorcerer, a horde of Chaos daemons and his warband of Chaos Space Marines to come to Graia.Curiously, however, Titus displayed an unknown immunity to the sorcerer's psychic powers which immediately raised the suspicions of the highly orthodox Leandros to his commander's possible corruption.Captain Titus gave the Scourge's mysterious power source to Sergeant Sidonus in order to return it to their Strike Cruiser for safekeeping until it could be passed on to the Ultramarine's Master of the Forge for analysis and if necessary, entombment in the Vaults of Hera with other forbidden and dangerous pieces of technology. Attempting to leave the besieged planet's surface, Sidonus encountered Nemeroth on a landing pad and was impaled by the Chaos Lord's Lightning Claws.Nemeroth then retrieved the power source and intended to use it to ascend to daemonhood. Following the death of his old friend Sidonus at Nemeroth's hand, Titus hunted down the foul Chaos Sorcerer and slew him just as he was in the throes of the ascent to daemonhood, banishing his dark soul back to the Warp for punishment by his Dark Gods. Unfortunately, after saving Graia, Captain Titus was taken into custody by the Inquisition's Inquisitor Thrax and his retinue of Black Templars Space Marines on suspicion of heresy after Leandros reported his Captain to the Inquisition for both his resistance to Nemeroth's sorcery and his multiple deviations from the Codex Astartes held sacrosanct by all Ultramarines. The current fate of Captain Titus remains unknown.
Sidonus - Trivia: The Space Marine video game takes place in a parallel Warhammer 40,000 universe where the Ultramarines 2nd Company is commanded by Captain Titus rather than Cato Sicarius.
Siege Dreadnought - Siege Dreadnought: The Siege Dreadnought is a specialised variant of the standard Imperial Castraferrum Dreadnought combat walker used by the Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes. Dreadnoughts are cybernetic combat walkers that house the mortal remains of a fallen Space Marine hero, so that he may continue fighting for the Emperor and his Chapter even after his body has been fatally crippled.Dreadnoughts are classified in several different ways, the most common of which is simply by their armament. Standard Dreadnoughts are equipped with a long-range weapon such as an Assault Cannon in place of one of their arms and their other is tipped with a Dreadnought Close Combat Weapon, such as an enlarged Powerfist.Siege Dreadnoughts are specifically armed for either taking part in or actively leading an assault on heavily fortified enemy positions, such as armoured pillboxes and ferrocrete bunkers. These variants of the Dreadnought have their Dreadnought Close Combat Weapon on their left arm replaced with an Assault Drill and built-in Heavy Flamer, and their right weapon arm replaced with an Inferno Cannon.The Assault Drill with its built-in Heavy Flamer allows the Dreadnought to grind its way through ferrocrete in a matter of solar seconds. After the hole in the enemy fortification is completed, it unleashes a blast of super-heated Promethium into the structure, burning enemy infantry out of their fortifications or simply engulfing them in flames. The walker's other weapon, the Inferno Cannon, is a massive Dreadnought-sized Flamer that allows the Siege Dreadnought to excel at close-quarters fighting, such as in dense street-to-street combat.
Siege Dreadnought - Armament: The Siege Dreadnought was specifically designed to fight in close-quarters, such as breaking through a static defence line, capturing enemy fortifications, or taking part in dense urban combat. The Siege Dreadnought's armament relies heavily on the fear-inducing power of fire, which can easily clear entire rooms and defensive structures with ease.The Siege Dreadnought's Assault Drill is capable of creating breaches in enemy walls and bunkers, and its in-built Heavy Flamer can clear the other side of the breach of enemies, thus allowing friendly troops to enter the fortification without immediate retaliation. The Assault Drill also makes for an extremely effective close-combat weapon, one that is capable of destroying hardened rockcrete just as well as flesh and bone.The sight of a massive machine spouting fire and using a rock-crushing drill to utterly destroy all in its path is very effective at demoralising enemy forces. The Siege Dreadnought's Inferno Cannon can be used to clear entire streets as well as the inside of enemy buildings and fortifications. The Siege Dreadnought can have its Inferno Cannon replaced with a Flamestorm Cannon or a Multi-Melta.The Siege Dreadnought can be outfitted with extra armour plating, allowing it to shrug off even more enemy fire, and up to two Hunter-Killer Missile Launchers can be attached to the top of the walker's chassis. It can also be equipped with smoke launchers and a searchlight, while a Storm Bolter can be attached to the underside of its sarcophagus for additional anti-infantry firepower.
Siege Dreadnought - Unit Composition: 1 Siege Dreadnought
Siege Dreadnought - Wargear: A standard Siege Dreadnought is armed and equipped with:Dreadnought Close Combat Weapon (Seismic Hammer) with built-in MeltagunDreadnought Inferno CannonSmoke LaunchersFragstorm LaunchersA Siege Dreadnought may replace its Dreadnought Close Combat Weapon (Seismic Hammer) with:A second Dreadnought Inferno CannonA Siege Dreadnought may replace one of its Dreadnought Inferno Cannons with any of these options:Multi-MeltaFlamestorm Cannontwin-linked Autocannonstwin-linked Lascannons
Siege Dreadnought - Known Siege Dreadnoughts: The following is a list of known Siege Dreadnoughts and the Chapters to which they belong:Brother Daeres - Brother Daeres is a Siege Dreadnought who is part of the Red Scorpions Chapter's 6th Company. Brother Daeres took part in the fighting during the Siege of Vraks, where his Assault Drill proved to be a valuable asset to the attacking Imperial forces.Brother Voral - Brother Voral was a Siege Dreadnought of the Astral Claws Chapter. He was destroyed while fighting the Loyalist forces during the Invasion of Pireaus in the Badab War.Ancient Herulian - Ancient Herulian is a Siege Dreadnought of the Novamarines Chapter. Ancient Herulian fought against the Secessionists during the Badab War.Sura'kan Foehammer - Sura'kan Foehammer is a Siege Dreadnought of the Salamanders Chapter. He fought against Secessionist forces during the Badab War.Brother Galtus - Brother Galtus is a Siege Dreadnought of the Red Scorpions Chapter.
Siege Dreadnought - Adeptus Mechanicus Technical Specifications: Siege Dreadnought Mark IVVehicle Name:Siege Dreadnought Mark IVMain Armament:Weapon arm-mounted Inferno CannonForge World of Origin:IncaladionSecondary Armament:Weapon arm-mounted Assault Drill with in-built Heavy Flamer, hull-mounted Storm BolterKnown Patterns:I - VTraverse:360 degreesCrew:1 PilotElevation:-90 to 90 degreesPowerplant:Thermic ReactorMain Ammunition:12 ShotsWeight:11.5 TonnesSecondary Ammunition:1,000 RoundsLength:2.2 metresArmour:Width:3.4 metresHeight:3.7 metresSuperstructure:75 millimetresGround Clearance:N/AHull:75 millimetresMax Speed On-Road:8 kilometres per hourGun Mantlet:N/AMax Speed Off-Road:5 kilometres per hourVehicle Designation:8681-756-0115-DR 040Transport Capacity:N/AFiring Ports:N/AAccess Points:N/ATurret:N/A
Siege Dreadnought - Canon Conflict: The Siege Dreadnought has been described as having both an Inferno Cannon and Flamestorm Cannon as its main weapon. On pages 131 and 132 in Imperial Armour Volume Six - The Siege of Vraks - Part Two, the Siege Dreadnought is shown as having an Inferno Cannon as its main weapon, along with a Storm Bolter, on its specifications page, and yet on the next page it is described as having a Flamestorm Cannon.In Imperial Armour Apocalypse (2nd Edition) the Siege Dreadnought is described as having a Flamestorm Cannon as its main weapon, yet its picture and every other officially released picture of the Siege Dreadnought to date all show it as having the Inferno Cannon as a main weapon.This book specifically points to the walker's Inferno Cannon and labels it as such. Until it is fullly clarified which is the vehicle's main weapon we can only assume that it is capable of being equipped with both.
Siege Dreadnought - Also See: Imperial Vehicles
Siege Dreadnought - Sources: Imperial Armour Volume Six - The Siege of Vraks - Part Two, pp. 87, 128, 131-132Imperial Armour Volume Nine - The Badab War - Part One, pp. 9, 53, 122, 185, 191Imperial Armour Volume Ten - The Badab War - Part Two, pp. 26, 42, 82, 188, 208Imperial Armour (Update 2006), pg. 11Imperial Armour Apocalypse, pg. 29Imperial Armour Apocalypse II, pg. 35Imperial Armour Apocalypse (2nd Edition), pg. 29Imperial Armour Index: Forces of the Adeptus Astartes (8th Edition), pg. 25
Siege Hammer - Siege Hammer: A Siege Hammer is a form of siege weaponry used by the Adeptus Mechanicus robots of the Legio Cybernetica and the Titans of the Collegia Titanica. These weapons, while differently sized depending on whether they are deployed on an Imperial robot or a Titan, are capable of pounding down enemy fortifications in order to create a breach for the entry of assault forces.
Siege of Darkenvault - Siege of Darkenvault: Siege of DarkenvaultExecutionersSpace MarineChapterStygia-AquilonxenosIn what is now a largely forgotten episode of the Imperium's history, the southern fringe of the Segmentum Tempestus was assailed by wave after wave of Ork nomad fleets, xenoform migrations and strange psychic phenomenon which themselves caused a near epidemic of Witch Cults, alien infestations and daemonic incursions. Seen now by some sources within the Ordo Xenos as a precursor to the coming of the Tyranids, these events were largely unrecognised at the time as forming a pattern, as the eyes of the Imperium were focused on threats elsewhere.Suffering severe attrition in a series of campaigns defending the Imperium's borders against invading Orks, Enslaver outbreaks and worse, the Executioners Chapter had been reduced to less than 300 Battle-Brothers when their own twin Chapter worlds of Stygia-Aquilon came under siege. The attackers were a nightmarish xenos species of worm-ridden, writhing charnel-feasters never before encountered by Mankind.Again and again they struck without warning, their strange disk-like ships all but undetectable to the defences of the Executioners' fortress-monastery, Darkenvault, until the last moment of their attack when their ghostly energy rays seared through tens of metres of ferrous asteroid mass in an instant to spill a tide of horror into the fortress' lower levels. The resulting battles in the catacombs at the heart of the Executioners' fortress-monastery were unceasing and terrible, and in a short span of time few Space Marines remained to defend the inner sanctum and the Chapter stood on the brink of extinction.It was the Astral Claws, supported by the Cruisers of Battlefleet Tempestus, that broke the siege of Darkenvault; their arrival came just as the last of the Executioners were gathering for a final stand. Many Astral Claws died in breaking the siege, and among their losses they counted their Chapter Master, Acas Seneca.The handful of Executioners that endured owed a blood debt to the Astral Claws for the salvation of their Chapter, and swore that should the Astral Claws ever be so threatened they would respond in kind. It would be almost a century and a half before the Executioners returned again to full strength as a Chapter, and they would never forget their oath. When the time came over two thousand standard years later, they would heed Lufgt Huron's call, siding with the Tyrant of Badab and the Secessionists during the infamous Badab War.
Siege of Epsilon-Stranivar IX - Siege of Epsilon-Stranivar IX: The Siege of Epsilon-Stranivar IX was the first major setback encountered by the Traitor Legions on their long march to Terra during the Horus Heresy in 007.M31. A former lynchpin of the Great Crusade, "Fortress Stranivar", as is was commonly called, became a rallying point for those Imperial formations that had successfully escaped the onslaught of the first wars of the Horus Heresy such as the Drop Site Massacre and the Manachean War.Despite facing overwhelming odds, the unity of purpose of the surviving Loyalists was enough to repel an ill-conducted siege by the Traitor forces which would set back Horus' campaign by almost a solar year. It was a proud Imperial victory prominently displayed in several Loyalist Legions' battle honours and an abject failure for one of the enemy's rising commanders, Autilon Skorr of the Alpha Legion, which would eventually force him into conducting the disastrous Mezoan Campaign in a vain attempt to rise against in the Warmaster Horus' favour.
Siege of Epsilon-Stranivar IX - Outcome: For the Loyalists, the defence of Epsilon-Stranivar IX was a much-needed victory, which was celebrated as such. News of this first success would embolden those elements of the Shattered Legions and the Loyalist defenders of the Segmentum Obscurus to go on fighting. The outcome of the siege was the first major setback of the war for Horus, who had to redeploy and allot new troops for a second attempt at taking Stranivar.Although this second attack less than a Terran year later indeed captured the world, the damage to the Traitors had already been dealt. Whilst due to his status as a Primarch, Mortarion was never blamed, both Autilon Skorr and Nârik Dreygur returned to the Warmaster in shame.Weakened by their failure, it would be these two commanders who would be charged with conducting the brutal Mezoan Campaign to finally bring the Loyalist Forge World of Mezoa to heel. On the dark volcanic soil of Mezoa the seed of discord sown at Epsilon-Stranivar IX would finally blossom in hideous form, as the 114th Grand Battalion finally earned its vengeance by turning its guns on the Alpha Legion when the insidious XX Legion betrayed them yet again.
Siege of Somonor - Siege of Somonor: The Siege of Somonor was a military campaign fought by the Eldar of Craftworld Alaitoc in 798.M41 against the Necrons of the newly emergent Sautekh Dynasty on the Tomb World of Somonor. The Sautekh Phaeron, Imotekh the Stormlord, played on the overconfidence of the Eldar Farseer Eldorath Starbane to lead the Eldar war host he commanded into a trap deep within the Necron stasis-tomb on Somonor that saw the entire Eldar force exterminated. As a reminder of the humiliating defeat, Imotekh amputated Starbane's right hand, but allowed the Farseer to live so that he could take the news of his defeat back to Alaitoc. The Seer Council of Alaitoc promptly began planning for a major assault on the heart of the Sautekh Dynasty in response.
Siege of Somonor - History: When the Eldar Farseer Eldorath Starbane led his war host to the Tomb World of Somonor, he expected to face a Necron tomb disoriented from its long sleep of sixty million standard years in stasis. Yet such a simple battle was not to be. The Phaeron Imotekh the Stormlord, his campaign of reconquest ascendant after a series of pivotal victories against the Imperium of Man, had come to Somonor seeking to bend its Overlord to his will and the service of his Sautekh Dynasty. The arrival of the Eldar had sped the negotiations in Imotekh's favour, for Somonor could not stand against this ancient enemy of the Necrons alone. The Tomb World's stasis-crypts had been ill-prepared for the Great Sleep and many thousands of its Necron Warriors had passed into dust; those that had survived were rising slowly and fitfully. Thusly, Somonor's Overlord Szaron had little hesitation in pledging allegiance to the growing Sautekh Dynasty, for the alternative was to see his domain destroyed at Starbane's hands. With the pact sealed, Imotekh's priorities swiftly turned to battle -- a battle that would have to be won through guile as much as through force of arms.
Siege of Terra - Siege of Terra: The Siege of Terra, also called the Battle of Terra and the Siege of the Imperial Palace in Imperial records, is a reference to the final confrontation of the Horus Heresy that raged on Terra in 014.M31 between the Traitor Legions and the other forces of Chaos led by the Warmaster Horus and the Loyalist armies of the Imperium of Man commanded by the Emperor of Mankind Himself.The Loyalist forces ultimately proved victorious, though only just barely, and Horus was slain by the Emperor on the deck of his massive flagship, the Vengeful Spirit. The forces of Chaos were forced to flee the Imperial Throneworld in complete disarray. Over the next several Terran years they were hounded from their remaining occupied territories in Imperial space during the campaign known as the Great Scouring. Eventually they were forced to take up residence within the Warp Rift called the Eye of Terror.Yet the Master of Mankind was mortally wounded in battle with His fallen gene-son and had to be interred within the cybernetic life support mechanisms of the advanced psychic augmentation technology known as the Golden Throne. Mankind would never again benefit from His direct guidance and leadership.The outcome of the Siege of Terra shaped the destiny of Humanity for the next 10,000 standard years and marked the true start of the Age of the Imperium.
Siege of Terra - Assault on the Imperial Palace: Although the Loyalist fleets and defenders fought back and the massive orbital defences on Luna reaped more than a quarter of the starships in the Traitor fleet they, like the Loyalist soldiers on the surface, were too few to face the combined force of so many Traitor Legions, and were mowed down without mercy.The battle in space lasted for 30 solar days as the Traitors attacked the Imperial blockade of Mars, but ultimately Horus drove off the Loyalist fleet, destroyed Terra's orbital platforms, and laid waste to the lunar defences.The siege of Terra by the Traitor forces of Horus began on the thirteenth day of Secundus with an orbital bombardment by the Warmaster's fleet as the prelude to a ground invasion.After solar days of bombardment, the Traitor Legions landed on the surface of Terra in Drop Pods and advanced on the two spaceports nearest the location of the Imperial Palace to secure them in preparation for the main landings of the Traitor forces.Elements from five of the Traitor Legions participated in the initial ground assault, aided by the Traitor forces already on the surface. Despite the brave efforts of the Loyalists, the Eternity Wall and the Lion's Gate Spaceports fell within only solar hours to the Traitors.Chaos Cultists, Traitor Imperialis Auxilia and Renegade Imperialis Militia troops made their invocations and blood sacrifices, thinning the barriers to the Immaterium and calling down the Greater Daemons of Chaos from the Warp directly onto Terran soil.With the spaceports secured, Horus' remaining troops of the Traitor Legions and their mortal auxilia and Dark Mechanicum support forces landed en masse, and the hulking transports carried thousands of troops each as well as bringing to the battlefield the terrible Chaos Titans that served the Warmaster's cause and had been possessed by the daemonic entities of Chaos. The transports' immense size made them prime targets for Terra's ground-based Defence Lasers.Although many of the Traitor landing craft were destroyed in-atmosphere, many more made it to the surface, disgorging yet more soldiers, main battle tanks and Traitor Titans to add to the besiegers' strength. They met stiff resistance from the Loyalists as the Imperial defenders knew that the survival of the Imperium Throneworld, their Emperor, and the entirety of humanity rested on their shoulders.
Siege of Terra - Canon Conflict: Originally, the Primarch Lorgar himself led his Word Bearers Legion to Terra.However, as of the events of the novel Slaves to Darkness, Lorgar had been banished from Horus' sight and service for attempting to usurp him as the leader of the Traitor forces.Instead, the Word Bearers still loyal to the Warmaster are led to Terra by the Dark Apostle Zardu Layak.
Siege of Vraks - Siege of Vraks: The Siege of Vraks was an Imperial miltary campaign fought over the course of 17 Terran years to retake the Imperial Armoury World of Vraks Prime from the heretical forces of Chaos led by the Apostate Cardinal-Astra Xaphan. Vraks was besieged by the forces of the Imperium of Man in 813.M41, after the attempted assassination by an agent of the Officio Assassinorum of the heretical and traitorous Cardinal-Astra of the Scarus Sector, Xaphan, failed.The Astra Militarum's 88th Siege Army was raised from line regiments of the Death Korps of Krieg to undertake the planetary siege of Vraks and bring the Renegade Cardinal down in a campaign of attrition that the Administratum's Adepts calculated would take 12 standard years to successfully conclude.Overall command of the army and the Vraksian Campaign was initially given by the Imperial Guard's Segmentum Obscurus High Command on Cadia to Lord General Zuehlke, the son of a well-connected Imperial noble family from the Segmentum Solar, who maintained his campaign headquarters on Thracian Primaris.The Zuehlke family's influence stretched across the higher echelons of the Imperial Navy and the Astra Militarum. His great-grandfather had once served as an attache to the Lord Commander Solar on Terra. Lord Zuehlke's qualifications for leading the campaign, apart from his social rank, were few beyond his martial upbringing and a detailed study of the Tactica Imperialis, but political pressure and a good family name yielded its rewards.At the conclusion of what became a 17-year-long campaign of attrition requiring 34 regiments of the Astra Militarum to re-take the planet for the Emperor of Mankind in 830.M41, 14 million Imperial Guardsmen had been lost and Vraks Prime's entire original population of 8 million souls had been consumed in the violence or exterminated after they fell to Chaos corruption. The world was then declared dead and Perdita by the Imperium and placed under an interdiction to cordon it off from the rest of human space as ordered by the Ordo Malleus' Inquisitor Lord Hector Rex.
Siege of Vraks - The Assassination of Xaphan: The Cardinal's gospel to the repressed and hopeless of Vraks' labour gangs spread like wildfire, igniting the flames of rebellion. The message of redemption in the inevitable holy crusade gave them the hope of an escape from their brutal and short lives. But the Cardinal's message also reached other ears. There were many informers and spies for the Inquisition on Vraks. The news of the Cardinal's preachings alarmed the Ordo Hereticus. Theirs was the sacred duty to guard against heresy within the Imperial Cult, to monitor and police the Imperium against the enemy of corruption within. The Ordo Hereticus had seen it before -- Cardinals whose personal power led them to stray from the Emperor's light -- powerful men that began to believe that they themselves could be worshipped like the Emperor. Decisive action had to be taken. Believing the Cardinal to be amassing far too much popularity and power, an agent of the Officio Assassinorum was sent by the Ordo Hereticus to assassinate Xaphan during one of his sermons. An Assassin of the Vindicare Temple had been lying in wait for many solar days. But when the time came, and the opportunity to kill the Cardinal was right, the sniper-assassin's shot failed to end Xaphan's short reign. The Cardinal was only saved from the deadly round by his Rosarius-mounted Refractor Field.After the failed attempt on his life by this operative, the Armoury World of Vraks erupted in full-scale rebellion against the Imperium. It wasn't long until the Citadel and the industry of the Armoury World were under Xaphan's control. By seceding Vraks from the Imperium, Imperial forces in the sector and, in some cases, the entire Segmentum, would be left without adequate resupply of arms and armour. By breaking the Imperial supply chain of which Vraks was a part, forces as far removed and important as the Cadian Astra Militarum regiments guarding the Eye of Terror would be sparsely armed, allowing a potentially major Chaos incursion to occur in or around the Cadian Gate.The Administratum deemed that Vraks Prime must be returned to the Imperium's fold. By the time word reached the Imperium of the rebellion on Vraks, it was already too late. Millions of Traitors and Heretics were now dug into meticulously planned, constructed, and reinforced defences, with massive orbital lasers protecting the world's Citadel from orbital bombardment and assault. It fell on the Imperial Guardsmen of the Death Korps of Krieg, united under the umbrella of the Imperium's 88th Siege Army, to dislodge the traitorous forces of Cardinal Xaphan in what would become a grinding war of attrition that would consume millions of lives across 17 standard years of battle.
Siege of Vraks - Vraks Landings (7908.812.M41): In 812.M41, 200,000 guardsmen of the Krieg 143rd Siege Regiment marched, up the boarding ramps and into the holds of their transport vessels. They were the first men of the 88th Siege Army to begin their journey to Vraks Prime. They were just the beginning of a vast armada of vessels in orbit above Krieg now prepared to load and rendezvous for the journey to Vraks. Lord Commander Zuehlke established his headquarters on Thracian Primaris, a principal planet of the Scarus Sector. Now that the unstoppable Imperial war machine was in motion, his personal presence on Vraks itself was not required. He would oversee the campaign from a comfortable distance. Assuming victory was already assured, all he needed to oversee was the replacement of men and supplies.The first convoy of tansport ships carrying men, equipment and supplies from Krieg began to arrive in the Vraks System at 1999812.M41. Carried in 21 transport vessels of various size was the vanguard 88th Siege Army, protected by a flotilla of Imperial Navy escort ships under the command of Admiral Rasiak from his flagship, the cruiser Lord Bellerophon. The landing zones had been chosen to provide the 88th Siege Army with a secure bridgehead on the surface. The first regiment to land was the 143rd, which provided vital protection against enemy attacks.For months the landing zones were busy, as shuttles constantly shuttled supplies which were stockpiled in vast quantities of food, ammunition, water and every item the army would require for its 12 year war. This massive undertaking continued until all of the 88th Siege Army's regiments had arrived. It took almost a year for the army to be fully in place. The Krieg offensive lines were dug in 1,000 miles away from the Citadel, making use of Earthshaker and Bombard artillery batteries. A Departmento Munitorum labour corps of 500,000 men was brought in from the Imperial penal colonies of Arphista to lay railway lines across the barren wilderness to support the siege so that men, mounts and vehicles could reach the enemy in good condition to wage war against the heretic forces of Cardinal Xaphan.
Siege of Vraks - The Campaign Plan: The 88th Siege Army's plan of attack to reduce Vrak's defences, and the eventual recapture of the Citadel, involved repeated offenses on two fronts. Rather than massing for one attack at a single point, and allowing the enemy to amass his forces to block it, the line korps would attempt to encircle Vraks and apply pressure all along the line. The approach to the Citadel was dictated by terrain. The area criss-crossed by Vraks' distinctive gorges and canyons were located to the south and east, unsuitable for any attack and creating an impassable barrier to an advancing army on foot. The attack instead, had to come from the west and north, where the vast majority of the defence lines were situated. The 1st and 30th line korps would form the northern part of the attack, whilst the 12th and 34th line korps formed the southern part, occupying an area from the Saritama Abyss to sector 45-45. These two korps' orders were to breakthrough the western outer defence line.The orders for the 1st line korps was to attack the northern defence line, having circumnavigated the western defence lines. This might even make it possible for them to push further eastwards and avoid the northern defence line, which had never been completed, and attack directly south from sector 57-53 into the second defence line. Coordinating their attacks precisely would enable the Krieg regiments to drive deep into enemy territory with the support of flanking regiments. With the outer defence lines overrun, the encirclement could begin properly. Approaching the second defence lines the army's overall frontage would shrink, thus making all of its regiments less vulnerable to enemy counter-offensives. This meant that the first defence lines had to be overwhelmed quickly, at any cost.Once regimental commanders reached the second defence lines they could take a more cautious approach to probe for weaknesses before committing any major attacks. Once the second line of defence was breached, the ring around Vraks' citadel could constrict and close in again to the inner defence line, entirely encircling the Citadel and for the first time bring it under long range artillery fire. This would send a clear message to the defenders that all was lost. Once in position the 88th Siege Army could then afford to sit and wait; their enemies pinned in, with no hope, no respite or a safe place to hide from Krieg's big guns, which would pound the enemy into so much dust.
Siege of Vraks - The Beginning (166.813.M41): Official Imperial records show that the official time recorded from the beginning of the Siege of Vraks was at dawn, on 166813.M41, when Krieg's artillery opened up with a devastating barrage of Earthshaker round and the terrible howl of Bombard shells. The shells blew great craters in the soft earth. All morning the bombardment went on, hammering the outer defence lines, explosion after explosion, until the gun barrels of the 88th Siege Army began to glow red with the constant heat of firing.Meanwhile, behind the outer defence lines' forward positions, the defenders' gunners responded in kind with counter-battery fire from their Basilisk artillery pieces. The artillery duel had begun. Far away in the Krieg gun lines the scream of incoming shells couldn't be heard over the sound of their own guns. The first enemy shells landed well short, then wide, then growing ominously closer. At the 413th battery, an enemy shell scored a direct hit, smashing an Earthshaker Cannon to pieces, detonating the ammunition stockpiled close-by and killing all 8 members of the gun's crew in the ensuing inferno. Though it was a lucky hit at extreme range, it signalled that the artillery duel would not be a one-sided battle that Imperial strategicians thought it would be.As the artillery duel was getting underway, the gas-masked soldiers of the 158th regiment advanced at an even pace, moving steadily forwards as artillery shells tore through the skies overhead. The infantry was limited to a steady advance towards the enemy, then a halt with enough time to begin the work of digging the first trenches. The Death Korps guardsmen were not to attack the enemy positions yet, the artillery needed far longer to soften-up their lines, but the heavy shelling was acting as a covering bombardment, preventing the enemy from engaging the advancing infantry at long range and harassing the enemy's own artillery positions. By nightfall the first foxholes were dug.