Legio Venator - Notable Campaigns: Accatran Compliance (Unknown Date.M30) - After the events of the campaign to bring Accatran into Imperial Compliance, the Legio Venator could no longer be trusted to fight alongside the Legio Mortis without the threat of internecine conflict between the two rival Titan Legions.Battle of Beta-Garmon, "The Titandeath" (006-013.M31) - The Legio Venator took part in the long and savage Beta-Garmon campaign, which included hundreds of war zones across dozens of worlds. Even before the greater armies of the Warmaster Horus reached the star cluster, the battle lines had long since been drawn, and fighting had been going on for many Terran years. It was a cauldron of battle that would consume millions of lives before its end and see the demise of entire Titan Legions, earning this campaign the dire moniker of the "Titandeath." The Beta-Garmon Cluster, also known as the gateway to the Throneworld of Terra, was the last hurdle that the Warmaster's forces had to overcome before they reached the Imperium's capital world. Heavily fortified by the Loyalists, Beta-Garmon would become one of the greatest and bloodiest battles of the Horus Heresy, as well as one of the longest-lasting. During the Battle of Beta-Garmon, the Legio Venator was supported by the Knights of House Hyperion.Cataclysm of Iron (010-015.M31) - In the region of minor Forge Worlds known as the Belt of Iron, the Horus Heresy brought many long-held grudges to the surface. Realising how crucial the Forge Worlds in the area were to both sides in the conflict, the Loyalists deployed several Titan Legions, including the Iron Spiders.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, oblitering 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 have 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 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  Venator, Legio Atarus, 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 star 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 resistance 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 Yanazar 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.Dark Tide (010-218.011.M31) - In the years following the events in the Isstvan System, the loyalty of the Forge Empire of Arachnus became suspect. Within the borders of Arachnus, two warring ideological sects fought a political battle that would determine the allegiance of the Forge Empire. Those that had spent solar decades serving in the Great Crusade held great respect for the Imperium and its values and advocated for standing against the Warmaster Horus in aid of the Emperor, while others claimed the unfolding civil conflict served as the perfect backdrop against which Arachnus could once more seize control of their own independence. This disagreement appeared settled following repeated expressions of concern from the wider Imperium, interlaced with implicit threats from the Imperial Household itself, that bade the Forge World resume shipments of aid and supplies to worlds both within the Belt of Iron and further afield. In answer, the rulers of Arachnus dispatched several fleets, and several dozen Legio Venator god-engines, to aid the Loyalist push into the Ny'Drinah sub-sector. It fell to those who had served widely during the Great Crusade to lead the war efforts of the Legio Arachnus within the Belt of Iron, while other elements were given the task of guarding the borders of Arachnus. Close observation of deployment records show that the distribution of military strength outside the borders of the Forge Empire of Arachnus largely consisted of those who refused to support the idea of independence, placing them far removed from the Forge World. The first reports of conflict upon Arachnus itself came in the closing days of 010.M31, with data indicating the discharge of weapons fire within the principal Legio stronghold upon the Forge World. Having committed many of the dissenting elements of the Legio Venator to far-flung conflicts, the Titan Legion of Arachnus eliminated those who still resisted rebelling against the Imperium before moving to purge the Forge World of other dissenting opinions. In what would come to be known as "Trident's Purge," conflict engulfed Arachnus and its two moons, Iktomia and Nizkara, with later estimates placing the death toll at several million and 37 Titans recorded as having fallen. Following three solar days of extended conflict, the rebellious elements of Arachnus had uncontested control of both the Forge World and Iktomia, though battles still raged upon the surface of Nizkara due to fierce resistance led by a handful of Loyalist Legio Venator Titans. In a message to all within the Belt of Iron, Arachnus pronounced itself as an independent state, declaring punishment for any who defied them. In recognition of this new state of affairs, the traitorous faction of the Legio Venator was renamed the Legio Tritonis in homage to the three celestial bodies, Arachnus and its two moons, from which the Titan Legion hailed. Others knew them by another name, calling them the "Dark Tide" for the widespread destruction they brought down upon any who opposed them.The Conquest of Ny'Drinah (049.012.M31) - Following the loss of Arachnus to the newborn Traitor Legio Tritonis, the Loyalist Iron Spiders were vocal in their desire to recapture their homeworld, making several unsuccessful assaults upon the holdings of Arachnus. It quickly became apparent that their efforts would achieve little without aid from their allies, all of which viewed the securing of the Ny'Drinah sub-sector as a target of higher priority than Arachnus. Princeps Maxima Procolus, the acting grand master of the Legio Venator, desiring aid in his efforts to secure his homeworld, committed the Iron Spiders' full strength to the sub-sector, forming an agreement with Atar-Median that after the full conquest of Ny'Drinah, the Legio Atarus would commit a measure of their forces to war against Arachnus. Though the Loyalists' numbers within the sub-sector were lessened by the redeployment of many Legio Astraman Titans to the eastern front of war, the 60 god-engines brought by the Legio Venator quickly turned the tide, with a series of rapid assaults driving out the Legio Damicium from the Yanazar'ny System and retrieving the fallen god-engines of the Legio Venator from the ravaged planet of Yanazar IV, its mining operation deemed inoperable due to the level of damage inflicted upon it. Similarly, the Loyalists assailed the Paradonal'ny System, committing 50 Titans, of both the Legio Atarus and the Legio Venator, to besiege the Traitors entrenched around the orbital elevator upon Paradonal I linked to the fleet anchorage in orbit. The subsequent siege, which saw 18 Titans fall, ended when the Traitors turned their guns upon the orbital tether itself, severing the link between the fleet anchorage and the planet. The resulting debris fell upon the Traitors' position, claiming the life of Magos Dominus Xixos and nine Loyalist Titans along with the few remaining Traitor Titans while causing catastrophic damage to the planet's biosphere. This final act of spite, committed as the remaining Traitors withdrew, left the Loyalists in control of a ravaged sub-sector, its industry and populace severely reduced when compared to its pre-invasion status; censuses taken two solar decades after the invasion of the sub-sector report a 64% decrease in population, and 76% decrease in industrial output, relative to the numbers recorded before the Horus Heresy began. Though no longer capable of supplying the Loyalist Forge Worlds as it once had, the sub-sector still proved strategically viable, not least because it awarded the Loyalists a stronghold from which they could assault the Traitor Forge Worlds directly. Importantly, victory within the sub-sector also served to shore up the morale of the Loyalist forces, prompting many across the Belt of Iron whose allegiance had previously been undetermined to announce their support for the Emperor, undermining the Traitors' attempts to find new allies.Reckoning (145.013-015.M31) - The loss of Urdesh damaged both the cohesion and morale of the Traitor forces, becoming a symbol of the ascendency of Loyalist forces across the Belt of Iron. While several lesser Forge Worlds such as Tridolii threw themselves on the mercy of the Imperium, others, such as Narunbax, had fallen too far and were in turn crushed by the Legio Venator and the Legio Atarus as the two Titan Legions marched on Arachnus, intent upon recapturing the world in the name of the Emperor. Kalibrax, recognising that the attention of the Loyalists was held elsewhere, retreated inwards, abandoning its allies in an attempt to fortify its holdings. In doing so, the worlds they had conquered were deprived of the presence of the Legio Kulisaetai and with their oppressors removed many of their number rose up once more, casting down those Traitors that remained. Having freed themselves of Traitor rule, many amongst them wished not to stand idle after their long standard years of suffering and gathered in small numbers, seizing control of what ships they could. Together, a vast flotilla of mismatched starships was formed, hundreds in number and eclectic in design. This fleet, lacking a purpose beyond vengeance, fell upon Kalibrax. Millions died against the superior guns of the Forge World yet, as is oft the case in war, numbers proved superior and the fleet seized control of Kalibrax's orbit. Lacking any means of conquering the planet, the Loyalist flotilla vowed to blockade the Forge World until greater forces came to scour the world clean, trapping the Traitors on their planet to do little but await their fate. Arachnus too felt the wrath of the Loyalists. Since announcing their succession, the empire of Arachnus had grown, the name Dark Tide proving apt for their conquests were brutal and swift, and turned upon worlds without a means to defend themselves. These worlds were the first to be reconquered as the Loyalist vanguard carved straight to Arachnus, falling upon its two moons before the wayward elements of the Legio Tritonis could be recalled to defend the planet. On Nizkara, the invading Loyalists found the world heavily contested by those still loyal to the Imperium, the beleaguered defenders having weathered a siege since Arachnus first fell into civil war. The Legio Atarus moved to relieve the moon's defenders, breaking open the Traitor lines and forcing the Legio Tritonis from its surface. On Iktomia, a similar fate befell the Traitors defending it, the full wrath of the Legio Venator brought down upon those who had renounced their oaths and stolen their homeworld. Following the successful conquest of Arachnus' two moons, the Loyalists turned their gaze upon the Forge World proper. With the agreement of those who had been forced into exile from the world, the guns of the two moons were unleashed upon the Forge World, tearing great craters in the planet's surface in order to clear the way for an invading force. Those of the Legio Venator that had defended Nizkara in the Emperor's name were given the honour of being first to stride upon the surface of Arachnus and bring His justice to the Traitors. True conquest was not achieved until after the fall of the Warmaster Horus and the great war that followed, dozens of Titans falling upon Arachnus before the Legio Venator once more reclaimed their home.Imperial Muster at Beta-Garmon (012-013.M31) - For reasons only understood later in the war, the Ruinstorm that had been invoked by Lorgar, primarch of the Word Bearers, several standard years earlier during the Battle of Calth, began to abate across vast swathes of the galaxy. Loyalist high commanders were able to utilise the potent astropathic relay at Beta-Garmon to contact and recall formerly lost or stranded forces from across the war-torn reaches of the northern Imperium. The Imperial Muster at Beta-Garmon rapidly escalated into the largest gathering of Loyalist might since the early years of the war, a concentration of forces so mighty that the Traitors had to respond in kind. The resulting clash of arms would become known as the Great Slaughter, a theatre of war of such scale that it would encompass the "Titandeath" and the Sea of Fire campaigns, each major campaigns in their own right. By its end, both sides were so badly bled that their only remaining option for ultimate victory was to force a final, decisive confrontation. As history related, the final battle would be fought at Terra, but only after the weighty butcher's bill of the Great Slaughter was paid in full.Angevin Crusade (322-384.M39) - The Legio Venator is known to have supported the Angevin Crusade which resulted in the creation of the Calixis Sector and the grant of the Lathe System along with several other worlds as the perpetual domains of the Adeptus Mechanicus.War of Brass (738-741.M40) - Led by the charismatic leader known as the "Emperor of Brass," the population of the Hive Worlds of the Gelmiro Cluster began worshipping the Ruinous Powers and fell into sedition. Controlling the heavily militarised planets of the cluster, the Renegades were able to quickly sponsor and arm rebel groups on nearby worlds. When the Imperial counterattack came, it quickly revealed the hand of dark forces from the Eye of Terror at work in stirring up the rebellion. The so-called "War of Brass" that followed was brief and bloody, drawing forces from across the sector, involving the Adeptus Astartes and the Titans of the Legio Venator. The war turned the once-thriving worlds of Gelmiro into blasted, rubble-strewn charnel houses. Classified by the Administratum as War Worlds and haunted by murderous mutants and Renegades ever since, the Gelmiro System is a shunned no-man's land to this day.Lycanthos Drift Campaign (780.M41) - In the aftermath of the long-running and infamous Fourth Quadrant Rebellion, the Astral Claws Chapter answered a general call to arms among the Astartes of the region and despatched a powerful force under the direct personal command of Lufgt Huron in 780.M41, undertaking the Lycanthos Drift Campaign against one of the last major stronghold systems of the revolt located to the galactic south of the Maelstrom Zone. Lufgt Huron was elected battle leader of a number of Astartes contingents by common consent, comprising companies from the Astral Claws, Fire Hawks, White Scars and Celestial Guard Chapters, backed by Death Korps of Krieg and Cal-Sec Astra Militarum regiments and the Titans of the Legio Venator. The Fire Hawks' Chapter Master Stibor Lazaerek was bitter that he was not given command of the campaign, and is known to have born a grudge against the Astral Claws from this time forward. Under Huron's inspired command the taskforce ruthlessly purged the heavily fortified system of Traitor and Chaos forces in under a Terran year. This conflict confirmed Lufgt Huron's reputation as a masterful strategist amongst Space Marine commanders.