Legio Damicium - Notable Campaigns: Cataclysm of Iron (010-015.M31) - Across border sectors of the Segmentum Tempestus and the Segmentum Pacificus are located numerous lesser Forge Worlds known collectively as the "Belt of Iron." After the sundering of the Imperium, many declared for the Traitor cause, including the Legio Damicius, at the engineering of the treacherous fabricator-general of Mars, while others remained loyal to Terra or sought to remain as aloof as possible from the conflict. Strife and tentative conflict between these once-aligned worlds erupted into full-scale war in 010.M31, pitching the Traitor Mars-aligned Forge Worlds of Incunabula, Urdesh, Valia-Maximal and Kalibrax against the forces of the Loyalist worlds of Graia, Arl'yeth and Atar-Median, while Arachnis and Jerulas Station both fell into civil war. The resulting conflict, which later became known as the "Cataclysm of Iron," saw the forge lords, their armies and allied Titan Legions and Knight houses turn on each other in protracted warfare, with scores of Human-inhabited worlds in the region suffering as they became the battlegrounds upon which they fought.Invasion of Ny'Drinah (302.010-552.010.M31) - Several hundred vessels, bearing the livery of both the Traitor Forge Worlds of Urdesh and Kalibrax, emerged from the Warp within the Paradonal'ny System, obliterating its defence stations with minimal losses and laying claim to the fleet anchorage. Soon after, astropaths across the Belt of Iron passed word of a widespread message, dispatched from unknown origins, calling for those worlds that had turned aside from the Omnissiah and His blessed representatives in favour of distant idols shrouded in falsehood. Acting upon preordained strategies, the Traitor Forge Worlds moved to lay claim to the valuable worlds of the Ny'Drinah sub-sector. The subsequent conquest of the sub-sector proved swift. Having secured a base of operations through their capture of the Paradonal'ny System, the Traitor fleet moved to seize their secondary targets. The core of the Traitor force consisted of Titans drawn from both the Legio Damicium and the Legio Kulisaetai, of which varying strength estimates placed between 25 and 70 Traitor god-engines committed to the conquest and whose considerable might far outstripped the defenders scattered across the Ny'Drinah sub-sector. Notably, the Traitor assault coincided with the commencement of the negotiation cycle during which the next solar decade of industrial supply was allocated amongst worlds within the Belt of Iron. This timing was no doubt meant to exploit laws which ensured that only a token force from each petitioning Forge World was allowed entry to the sub-sector, lest accusations of external pressure influencing the negotiations be levied against the process. In accordance with such an edict, less than a decad of Loyalist Titans, consisting of a mixture of Legio Atarus, Legio Venator, and Legio Astraman god-engines, stood within the sub-sector when the Traitors began their invasion and represented the sole force capable of besting an assault led by a Titan Legion. Facing a Traitor force capable of assaulting several worlds at once, the Loyalist Titans were quick to accept the inability of their numbers to defend the entire sub-sector and redeployed to the Xiloci'ny System, mustering to defend the sub-sector's capital world and await relief from allies further afield.Conquest of Xiloci II (010.M31) - In the solar weeks following the fall of the Paradonal'ny System, the Traitors secured their hold upon the Ny'Drinah sub-sector, seizing control of four further systems before attempting to conquer the Hive World of Xiloci II. Here, the Traitor advance stalled, their Titan Legions contested by the considerable defences of the hive cities and the valiant retaliation of the vastly outnumbered Loyalist Titans. In an effort to break the developing stalemate, those worlds captured by the Traitors were turned towards fuelling the conquest of Xiloci II; the flow of supplies from conquered Mining Worlds was funnelled inwards, increasing the construction of materiel to the Traitor fleets within the sub-sector, while those population centres deemed "non-essential" to the continued operation of the war effort were processed into vast legions of mindless warriors augmented by profane technology which were thrown against the Loyalist defences to sap morale and drain resources. By 552.010.M31, only the Xiloci'ny and Uridoci'ny Systems remained defiant in the face of invasion, with their worlds dispatching frequent calls for aid.Devastation of Yanzar IV (706.010.M31) - The first sign of relief for the defenders of the Ny'Drinah sub-sector was seen when a probing fleet from Atar-Median entered the Yanazar'ny System intent upon securing a beachhead within the sub-sector. With them came two maniples of Legio Venator Titans dispatched from Arachnus, these reinforcements sent as a sign of good faith to the Imperium. Such an act was no doubt motivated by missives of the Imperial Household having expressed concern towards the Forge World's cessation of weapon production intended for the Legio Custodes. Official reports note the dwindling shipments dispatched from the Forge World in the years following the events at the Isstvan system, no doubt hampered by the escalating tension amongst the political factions of Arachnus. This complement of Legio Venator Titans was to be the first of several Iron Spider maniples committed to the unfolding conflict within the sub-sector. The first target of the Loyalists' ire was the Mining World of Yanazar IV, a frigid planet notable for possessing significant concentrations of monazite and bastnäsite deposits beneath the surface, garrisoned by a detachment of Legio Laniaskara Titans dispatched from Valia-Maximal. Under the cover of an orbital bombardment, the Iron Spiders, led by Sub-Princeps Jandolla Altreax, descended to the surface and marched upon the entrenched Impalers Titans who guarded the sole strip of mining quarries that had survived the first invasion. As battle was joined, the Iron Spiders upon the ground were alerted of a Traitor fleet having entered the system and moved to engage the Loyalist fleet. Outnumbered in orbit, the Loyalist fleet was quickly driven off and denied the means to extract their allies on the surface. The final reports note that the initial assault by the Iron Spiders proved successful, with the Loyalists regaining control of the quarries before finding themselves trapped upon the planet and faced with a new wave of landers, bearing the livery of the Legio Damicium, descending upon Yanazar IV.Assault upon the Paradonal Fleet Anchorage (874.010.M31) - The flames of insurrection were ignited upon the Paradonal fleet anchorage, culminating in the destruction of a Legio Damicium coffin ship housing four Warlord-class Titans, when the rebels seized control of several defence stations. Extensive damage was subsequently recorded at the eastern docking bays of the fleet anchorage when wreckage from the ship's destruction impacted with the station, rendering them unusable and in need of extensive repair.Censure of Urdesh (149.012-856.012.M31) - The fall of the Ny'Drinah sub-sector secured a nexus of industry that, though severely damaged, proved sufficient enough to facilitate the rapid refitting of the Loyalist Titan Legions in preparation for the next stage of conquest. Although numerous conflicts raged across the Belt of Iron, the Loyalists set their sights upon the Traitor-held Forge Worlds of Urdesh and Arachnus. The assault upon Urdesh was not solely motivated by the desire to punish the Traitors, for messages from Terra itself had reached Graia calling for the censure of the planet for its efforts in ferrying supplies to the Segmentum Solar. The force dispatched by Graia in answer to these calls included over 40 Legio Astraman god-engines and 60 Knights of House Moritain within their number, yet those upon Terra dared not risk the failure of such an important mission. To this end, assistance was sent both in the form of martial strength, with Terra dispatching an octad of Legio Ignatum god-engines, redeployed from the outer sphere of defences across the Segmentum Solar, to Urdesh and relating broadcast codes, gathered by agents of Malcador the Sigillite scattered throughout the galaxy, that masked the Loyalist approach as a fleet under service to the Warmaster Horus rather than sworn to Graia. En masse, the Loyalist landing crafts descended upon the world, directed to landing zones across the surface of the Forge World. Having inadvertently invited their foe onto their world, the ruling caste of Urdesh gathered to greet the representatives of the Warmaster, flanked by a token guard drawn from Legio Damicium. Their attempts at hospitality were met with death, Morning Stars Titans standing proud before the Traitors as the landing vessel lamps lowered and, with a single devastating salvo, eradicated the upper echelons of Udresh's leadership. Across the Forge World, similar scenes played out and in quick succession a series of landing zones had been secured by the Loyalists, allowing further reinforcements to be ferried to the surface. The complete subjugation of Urdesh proved far more troublesome. With Urdesh deprived of much of their leadership, the resistance faced by the Loyalists proved uncoordinated yet ferocious, for the people of Urdesh had forever held back those seeking their destruction. The opening months of war saw the battered Legio Damicium, their numbers depleted by the Cataclysm of Iron combined with the lack of engine shipments following the blockade of the Red Planet, punish the Loyalists for their audacity, holding back the numerically superior Legio Astraman. Within the Ferrum Bastion, a vast abandoned quarry long exhausted of ore, a pack of Unbroken Lords Warhound Titans utilised its tunnels to ambush Loyalist forces, forcing solar weeks of delay as the Legio Astraman hunted them down. At the Siege of Draunheim, a month-long assault upon the forge city, seven Legio Astraman Titans were felled by the handful of Legio Damicium Warlords, the Gloria Victoria, an ancient Warmonger-class Emperor Titan, amongst them. With the Traitors contesting every advance the Loyalists made, the forces of Graia paid for each step in blood, the invasion slowly advancing until, six solar months after the death of Urdesh's leaders, the promised reinforcements from the Segmentum Solar arrived in the form of the ancient and honoured Legio Ignatum Titan Legion. In recognition of their status as one of the Triad Ferrum Morgulus, the original three Titan Legions of Mars, they were given command of every battlefield they strode upon. Alone or in pairs, the Legio Ignatum Titans joined the different fronts across Urdesh, guiding the unfolding conflict and lending both their vast experience and the fury of their own Titans to ensure victory. The forge city of Urdessec proved to be the location of the Traitors' last stand with the remnants of the Legio Damicium upon Urdesh, 11 in number and each one bearing the scars of war, standing guard over the last stronghold of Traitor strength. Were the resulting battle fought for more noble purpose in the glorious age of the Great Crusade, the names of those Unbroken Lords Titans who fell in the defence of Urdessec would forever be celebrated within the annals of glory not damned to ignominy. Against thrice their number, the Unbroken Lords held their ground, each claiming at least one foe before the city of Urdessec was reduced to rubble, never to be rebuilt. As censure for their crimes against the Imperium, the largest forge cities of Urdesh were laid waste by massed Titan fire, its knowledge banks purged of any technology the Loyalist Mechanicum deemed Urdesh unworthy of. Soon, the battered industry of the Forge World was turned towards supplying Loyalist forces, operated by fresh numbers of displaced tech-priests now part of the newly-formed Adeptus Mechanicus. By order of the Regent of Terra, the Legio Ignatum was left to stand guard over Urdesh and its holdings and given authority to punish any who dared rise once more against the Emperor.