vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Battle Barge - Great Crusade and Horus Heresy-Era Vessels: LegionNameCurrent StatusLegio Custodes and the Emperor of MankindBucephelusUnknownDark AngelsInvincible ReasonFlagship of the I Legion; Status UnknownAngel of RetributionUnknownImplacable JusticeUnknownUltimate VengeanceUnknownUndying FaithUnknownUnrelenting FuryUnknownVinco RedemptorUnknownEmperor's ChildrenPride of the EmperorFlagship of the III Legion; boarded and crippled at the Battle of ThessalaThe Agony and the EcstasyUnknownCallidoraUnknownLonginusUnknownWage of SinUnknownIron WarriorsIron BloodStatus UnknownContradorUnknownStonebreakerUnknownWarbreedUnknownWhite ScarsSwordstormFlagship of the V Legion; destroyed during the Battle of CatallusJaghatai's PrideUnknownSpace WolvesHrafnkelFlagship of the VI Legion; Declared missing by the Space WolvesAllfather's HonourCurrent Chapter flagshipGylfarheimUnknownHerald of MorkaiUnknownHolmgangUnknownSpear of RussUnknownImperial FistsAntoraxDestroyed by Orks during War of the BeastHammer of TerraDestroyed during Horus HeresyLanxiumDestroyed by Orks during War of the BeastSpear of VengeanceUnknownStorm of WrathUnknownNight LordsNightfallActive, flagship of Gendor Skraivok's warbandHunter's PremonitionUnknownTerrorclawUnknownUmbrea InsidiorUnknownBlood AngelsRed TearCrashed on Signus Prime, towed to BaalBellusUnknownBloodcallerUnknownEuropaeUnknownMisericordeUnknownIron HandsArmourum FerrusUnknownFerrumUnknownFist of IronUnknownIron RequiemUnknownMetallusDestroyed by the DiasporexWorld EatersConquerorActive, Flagship of Chaos Lord KossolaxUltramarinesMacragge's HonourActive, Flagship of Roboute GuillimanAsidusUnknownAeternusUnknownCaesarDestroyed during M'kar's InvasionEmperor IncarnatusUnknownExcelsiorDestroyed in the Warp in 977.M35Lord LamedonUnknownOctaviusActiveRath's HonourRescued the Raptors from Death World of Jemdal; Status UnknownSeditio OpprimereActive: Rebuilt after combat with Hive Fleet BehemothSeverianActiveDeath GuardEnduranceActive, Flagship of the XIV LegionReapers' ScytheUnknownStalwartUnknownThousand SonsPhotepUnknownAnkhtoweUnknownKymmeruUnknownScion of ProsperoUnknownLuna Wolves / Sons of HorusVengeful SpiritFlagship of XVI Legion; currently flagship of the Black LegionBreakspearUnknownHarbinger of DoomUnknownWord BearersFidelitas LexFlagship of XVII Legion; destroyed during the Shadow CrusadeChronicle of AshesCaptured by the Nemesis Chapter, renamed Lex TalonisDestiny's HandDestroyed during the Battle of CalthDe ProfundisDestroyed by the Ultramarines vessel SamothraceInexorable ReasonUnknownInfidus ImperatorDestroyed by Macragge's Honour during the Battle of CalthMisericordeUnknownSalamandersFlamewroughtFlagship of the XVIII Legion; Status Unknown; A new battle barge of this name was built for the Salamanders Chapter in memory of Vulkan's flagshipHammer of NocturneUnknownPyre of GloryUnknownSerpentineUnknownVulkan's WrathUnknownRaven GuardShadow of the EmperorFormer flagship, destroyed at Istvaan V by the Terminus EstAvengerUnknownRaven's ClawUnknownAlpha LegionAlphaUnknownBetaUnknown, took part in attack on Ravendelve on Deliverance
Battle Barge - Post-Heresy Vessels: Chapter / Traitor LegionNameCurrent StatusAngels of AbsolutionLiberatorii DelictumUnknownAstral KnightsTempestusChapter flagship; destroyed in collision with the Necron World Engine; Hull recovered and converted into an Imperial shrine on the world of SafeholdBlack LegionHarbinger of Doom (formerly Magna Tyrannis)UnknownBlack TemplarsEternal CrusaderChapter flagshipAbhorrenceFought during War of the Beast; Status UnknownLight of PurityUnknownNight's VigilUnknownRevenantUnknownSigismundUnknownSigismund's LightUnknownSigismund's OathTook part in Third War for Armageddon; Status UnknownBlood DrinkersLux RubrumCurrent Chapter flagshipBlood RavensLitany of FuryUnknownOminous InsightWatches over Qulus Trine in Qulus SystemOmnis ArcanumUnknownScientia Est PotentiaUnknownDauntlessDestroyed during the Acheron CampaignCarcharodonsNicorCurrent Chapter flagshipCharnel GuardInvictrixChapter flagship; Destroyed during the Devastation of BaalDoom EaglesDoombearerTook part in defence of Cadian Gate during 13th Black Crusade; Status UnknownExecutionersNight HagChapter flagshipPhaeton's WrathUnknownExorcistsPunisherUnknownRedeemerUnknownExcoriatorsCerberusUnknownFire HawksAbsolutePresumed lost in the WarpFists ExemplarAlcazar RememberedTook part in the War of the Beast; Status UnknownFlesh TearersVictusChapter flagshipGrey KnightsBright SwordUnknownEmperor's WillUnknownFire of DawnUnknownRedeemer of SoulsUnknownHowling GriffonsForce of DestinyTook part in Third War for Armageddon; Status UnknownImperial HawksCarmine TalonUnknownIron SnakesTemerityUnknownLamentersDaughter of TempestsUnknownMantis WarriorsEndless RedemptionUnknownNovamarinesInexorable FuryDestroyed by Craftworld Iyanden in 993.M41RaptorsWar TalonUnknownRed CorsairsSpectre of RuinUnknownRed ScorpionsAuel's BaneUnknownSword of OrdonUnknownScythes of the EmperorThe Heart of Sotha (formerly Honour's Might)Current Chapter flagshipSilver SkullsManifest DestinyUnknownSoul DrinkersCarnivorePresumed DestroyedStar PhantomsMemento MoriFormer Chapter flagship; Now fortress-monasteryThousand SonsTizca's RevengeCurrent flagship of Daemon Primarch Magnus the RedWarmongersAllegiance of TerraUnknownWhite ConsulsSword of TruthUnknown
Battle Cannon - Battle Cannon: The Battle Cannon is the standard ballistic weapon used as the primary turret armament of the Leman Russ Battle Tank and the Rogal Dorn Battle Tank. It is a formidable weapon whose shells can deal significant damage from a long distance against both vehicle and infantry targets.The Battle Cannon devastates an area and may be fired from behind cover though the weapon requires a line of sight. The sheer power of this weapon makes it an excellent addition to the Astra Militarum's arsenal.The Battle Cannon is a fairly conventional 120 millimetre smoothbore cannon. The standard munition is an Armour-Piercing High Explosive (APHE) round capable of penetrating all but the heaviest armour with ease but also containing a substantial impact-fused explosive charge with a large blast radius. This makes the Battle Cannon an effective dual-use armament capable of taking out light and medium vehicles as well as groups of heavy infantry.
Battle Cannon - Sources: Codex: Imperial Guard (5th Edition), pg. 48Warhammer 40,000: Wargear (4th Edition), pg. 48Imperial Armour: Imperial Vehicles for Warhammer 40,000, pp. 6-16Warhammer Community - The Rogal Dorn Battle Tank Crushes Heretics With the Power of the PraetorianGames Workshop - Rogal Dorn Battle Tank
Battle Fly - Battle Fly: A Battle Fly is a large Daemonic Beast in the service of Nurgle, the Chaos God of disease and despair, which resembles a giant corpse fly.These creatures are created from favoured Beasts of Nurgle much like their counterparts the Rot Flies, which are used as aerial steeds by the Lesser Daemons of the Lord of Decay known as Plague Drones.Battle Flies were first encountered by the Loyalist Space Marine Legions of the Imperium of Man in the early years of the 31st Millennium during the dark days of the Horus Heresy.
Battle for Black Reach - Battle for Black Reach: The Battle for Black Reach was an Imperial military campaign undertaken in 855.M41 by the Ultramarines 2nd Company under the command of Captain Cato Sicarius against the WAAAGH! Zanzag unleashed by a horde of Goff Clan Orks under the control of the Greenskin Warboss Zanzag.This campaign was fought upon the Hive World of Black Reach located in the system of the same name in the Imperium's Ultima Segmentum. This campaign is considered a textbook example of how the Adeptus Astartes serve as a potent force multiplier whose planetary assault tactics and skill at mobile combat can turn the tide of battle against a much more numerous foe.
Battle for Black Reach - Eye of the Storm: Upon the embattled world of Black Reach, a punishing orbital bombardment from the Strike Cruiser Valin's Revenge hammered into the ranks of the Greenskin invaders. Seeking to confirm the ever-resourceful Warboss Zanzag's death by killing him personally outside the walls of Ghospora Hive, Captain Sicarius lead a Thunderhawk assault upon the position of the Ork leader. Sicarius had under his command a a full Tactical Squad, the legendary Terminators of Squad Helios under the command of Brother Agnathio, a mighty force indeed.Sicarius prayed it would be force enough. The ochre sands outside Ghospora Hive were soon turned green with  the sick, alien blood of the Ork. Explosive warheads detonated in the midst of the horde as the Orks ran for cover, but a tight group of Greenskins still advanced upon the Imperial Guard bastions as if the bombardment were nothing more than light rain. Sicarius' tactical acumen quickly located Warboss Zanzag and his retinue; and the captain issued orders to land the Thunderhawk and attack. As the surrounding areas was consumed by the wrath of the orbital bombardments, Sicarius and Zanzag met blade to blade in the eye of the storm.Forced to withdraw, Zanzag escaped the battle at the walls of Gospora Hive, and both factions recovered swiftly from their earlier encounter. With Sicarius and the bulk of his strike force elsewhere, the Orks renewed their attack on Ghospora Hive. However, Sicarius had foreseen this possibility and took the appropriate precautions, deploying several Thunderfire Cannons in defensive positions around the beleagured hive city. These formidable weapons mowed down the incoming Orks in droves.As Sicarius continued his search for the Ork war leader, he received a distress call from the desperate Black Reach Planetary Defence Forces (PDF) defending Sulphora Hive. Torn between his sworn oath to seek out and kill Zanzag and to defend the Imperial citizens of the hive city, Sicarius temporarily abandoned his hunt for Zanzag to help bolster the beleaguered PDF garrison. Unable to trace Zanzag's retreat, Sicarius instead tasked Scout Sergeant Torias Telion and two squads of Scout Marines with finding the Warboss' hidden lair.Telion did this by waiting patiently for Zanzag's Lootas to appear and, when they surfaced, placing a tracer beacon upon their ramshackle submersible before it returned to base. Armed with the coordinates of the Ork base, the Ultramarines readied their forces and prepared to mount a full-scale raid upon Zanzag's position. The first the Orks knew of the Space Marine attack was when the Thunderhawk Gladius burst through the waterfall at the mouth of Zanzag's lair, guns blazing. The havoc that ensued was utter chaos and it took a good while before Zanzag could restore order.
Battle for Black Reach - The Beast at Bay: Having inflicted terrible casualties upon Zanzag's forces, Captain Sicarius would settle for nothing less than killing Zanzag once and for all. As they fought their way clear of Zanzag's underground hideout, the Ultramarines found that Zanzag had fled through the tunnels at the rear of the cavern. They plunged into the tunnels in hot pursuit. Though they were initially separated, the Ultramarines commander and his squad caught up with the Terminators of Squad Helios, and Sicarius strode confidently forward into the vanguard of his force.As they exited the minehead, Sicarius saw Zanzag and his retinue loping towards his strike force's position. Just as the Warboss tasted the sweet air of freedom, the remaining Ultramarines emerged from the minehead and brought him to bay. There could only be one victor, as the maddened Orks prepared to sell their lives dearly. After hours of bloody fighting, Zanzag was finally killed. However, the cost had been high for the 2nd Company: a dozen Space Marines plus one Terminator were lost in the fighting.Following the defeat of the Ork Warboss, Sicarius led a series of lightning strike that broke the back of the Ork WAAAGH!, effectively eliminating the Greenskins' continued ability to wage war. Inevitably, there was much infighting amongst the Orks' ranks following Zanzag's death as other Nobz sought to assume control of the WAAAGH! but ultimately, order could not be maintained within the Orks' ranks following the death of such a powerful Warboss.The Orks were left effectively leaderless and highly disorganised. Having achieved their primary objective, Captain Sicarius and his Ultramarines departed Black Reach, leaving the local Imperial Guard and Planetary Defence Force to secure the planet and to hunt down and mop up any remaining pockets of Greenskins.
Battle for Grand Al'gul - Battle for Grand Al'gul: Battle for Grand Al'gulFire AngelsSpace MarineChapterChaos Space MarineThe SanctifiedCemetery WorldsInquisitionChaosDuring this campaign against the Chaos Space Marines and their daemonic minions, the Fire Angels blocked their efforts to desecrate the resting places of the honoured Imperial dead and work hideous Chaos rituals in the ruins. These were fraught and brutal combats where not only the lives but the souls of the Space Marines were at stake.The Fire Angels Astartes succeeded in forcing their enemies to fight them in a series of assaults and counter-assaults, with the Fire Angels maintaining disciplined order and using the cover provided by the marble forests of headstones and maze of burial vaults to their advantage. The Sanctified responded with all the foul sorceries at their command, liquefying stone with their dark magicks and summoning roiling, chattering swarms of mindless daemonic beasts to harrow those that would dare to oppose them.The Fire Angels paid a heavy price in the short but savage combat before victory was achieved, including the martyrdom of their Chapter Master Haran Stark in battle against a frost-rimed Greater Daemon of Tzeentch, known as a Lord of Change, while defending the sacred Narthex of Penitents, and the self-immolation of their Chief Librarian Mathias Dee in order to avoid Warp-possession.Eventually, their forces spent, The Sanctified were driven from the sacred sites and routed from the system; the planned apotheosis of The Sanctified's Arch-Sorcerer Ezrath Cull to daemonhood thwarted. Following the defeat of the corrupted Heretic Astartes, Cull, a once-favoured Champion of Chaos, was assassinated by his own apprentices in a brutal power struggle to control the shattered remains of his decimated warband as they fled Grand Al'gul.
Battle for the Abyss - Battle for the Abyss: Battle for the Abyss is the eighth volume in the Horus Heresy series of novels.
Battle for the Abyss - Synopsis: Now that news of Horus's treachery is in the open, a time of testing has come. Some Legions have already declared their allegiance to the Warmaster, while the loyalty of others lies firmly with the Emperor. As Horus deploys his forces, a small band of loyal Space Marines from disparate Legions learn that a massive enemy armada is heading to Ultramar, home of the Ultramarines, headed by the most destructive starship ever constructed. Unless they can intercept the fleet, and destroy the mighty battleship the Furious Abyss, the Ultramarines may suffer a blow from which they will never recover.
Battle of Calth - Battle of Calth: The Battle of Calth, also referred to as the Calth Atrocity, was the name given by later Imperial scholars to the treacherous campaign conducted during the early stages of the Horus Heresy in beginning in 007.M31 by the traitorous XVIIth Space Marine Legion, the Word Bearers, on behalf of the Warmaster Horus against their hated rivals, the XIIIth Space Marine Legion, better known as the Ultramarines.The campaign was launched by the Word Bearers' Primarch Lorgar Aurelian with the goal of exterminating the XIIIth Space Marine Legion outright. The purpose of the Word Bearers' invasion of the Ultramarines' Realm of Ultramar in the Eastern Fringes of the galaxy was to tie down the XIIIth Legion and prevent them from reinforcing their fellow Loyalists as the Traitor Legions marched relentlessly on Terra itself.The crux of the campaign came on the Agri-world of Calth in the Ultramar Sector, where the Ultramarines successfully broke the Word Bearers' surprise assault after a viciously-fought siege action, though at the cost of terrible casualties and the complete destruction of Calth's atmosphere and once-verdant biosphere.As a result of the devastation wrought by the Word Bearers during the Calth Atrocity upon the Veridia System's sun, future generations of Calth's people were required to live deep underground in massive subterranean hive cities to escape their world's radiation-scorched, airless surface.While both the Ultramarines and their Primarch Roboute Guilliman survived the Word Bearers' assault, the campaign successfully prevented the Ultramarines from participating in the Siege of Terra just as Horus had planned.
Battle of Calth - The Calth Conjunction: Calth was a verdant Agri-World in the Veridian System of Ultramar whose manufacturing output at the time of the Horus Heresy would have rivalled that of Macragge in only two to three more decades. There was even talk of constructing a superorbital ring like that which encircled Terra and was intended to get cargo to and from orbit as quickly and inexpensively as possible. The most important and heavily populated worlds of the Imperium had all constructed similar rings, which were marvels of human technology and engineering and symbols of the new Golden Age that the Emperor intended to create for Mankind. Calth intended to join Macragge, Saramanth, Konor, Occluda and Iax as the most important worlds of the Ultramar Sector, whose influence already extended across a vast swathe of the Imperium's Segmentum Ultima. Calth's people hoped that their world would become one of the anchor points of the glorious new Imperial civilisation that would come to full fruition after the end of the Great Crusade.Roboute Guilliman and a sizeable portion of the XIIIth Legion had been stationed near the moons of Saturn in the Sol System when they received their orders to mass at Calth from Horus. Some within the Primarch’s command questioned the need for the deployment of so large an Astartes force; the size of the combined Ultramarines/Word Bearer force would have been the largest since the Ullanor Crusade. The Ultramarines' officers had seen the tactical audits and knew that the Orks of Ghalaskh presented little real threat to the Imperium. But the wiser, more experienced Chapter Masters realised that the Ultramarines were to lend a little shine to the tarnished reputation of the Word Bearers by operating in concert with them, and the assault on Ghalaskh was intended to demonstrate the authority of the Warmaster over all of the Legiones Astartes.Regardless of the Ultramarines' trepidations or personal feelings, Roboute Guilliman acquiesced to Horus' rightful authority and moved his Legion to the world of Calth in order to rendezvous with other elements of the Ultramarines and take on supplies for the coming campaign. The Ultramarines would then join with the Word Bearers and combine their efforts to crush the Greenskins. In truth, Guilliman still had misgivings about the actions that the Ultramarines had been ordered to take by the Emperor against the XVIIth Legion during their chastisement at Khur. Guilliman felt that the Emperor had been wrong to use the Ultramarines as an instrument of humiliation against a brother Legion and as an example of Astartes perfection. Guilliman was correct in believing that relations between the Ultramarines and the Word Bearers had been poisoned by what had happened on Khur, but wrongly thought that Horus had ordered the two Legions to work jointly in the pacification of Ghalaskh in an attempt to close the rift that had opened between them.
Battle of Calth - The Offering: Multiple Word Bearer vessels had already arrived in the Calth System, which included at least a half dozen or so crimson-coloured vessels, unusual for the Word Bearers, since the XVIIth Legion's colours were a flat steel grey. Counted amongst their number was the massive Infidus Imperator -- a Grand Cruiser and the flagship of the Word Bearers' First Captain Kor Phaeron, as well as Destiny's Hand, the Battle-Barge of the Dark Apostle Erebus. The Dark Apostle was tasked with a vital mission on behalf of the Warmaster. While the rest of the XVIIth Legion's vessels stationed themselves to the rear of the massive orbital flotilla gathering above the world, Erebus teleported down to Calth's surface, to the Satric Plateau, located 2,000 kilometres north of Numinous City. Covered in frost from the hard winter, this particular area was selected as the best potential site to conduct the blasphemous Chaotic ritual Erebus had been tasked to perform, for the Immaterium vectors aligned perfectly and the barrier between realspace and the Empyrean was particularly thin in that part of Calth.A Word Bearers strike team already on Calth awaited the Dark Apostle. Its leader was Essember Zote, one of the dreaded daemon-possessed Word Bearers known as the Gal Vorbak. He had with him a work party of the Tzenvar Kaul, “The Recursive Family”, one of the many Chaos Cults serving the XVIIth Legion. This was to be the point of the true conjunction on Calth. The men of the Kaul laid out a circle of polished black rocks upon the ground, each taken from the volcanic slopes of Istvaan V and marked with a blasphemous sigil. These were arranged in a perfect circle a kilometre in diameter. The rocks were summoning stones, whose latent Chaotic power could make one sick just by holding them.The men of the Tzenvar Kaul approached the summoning circle, each carrying other offerings from the Istvaan System. Marching in procession, they bore along portable stasis flasks, the fluid within murky with blood, as they contained Progenoid Glands and gene-seed harvested from all the Legions that had fought each other on Istvaan III and Istvaan V, Traitor and Loyalists alike. The Kaul carried the flasks into the circle and the moment that they crossed the mystical border created by the summoning stones, the bearers started to whimper and retch. Several passed out, or suffered strokes, and fell, smashing the flasks. As the moon rose into perfect alignment, Erebus took his Vox-link and sent a message to the Traitors in orbit. The time had come for the Word Bearers to have their revenge against the Ultramarines and their insufferable Primarch.
Battle of Calth - Betrayal: Aboard the docked Ultramarines vessel Samothrace in high orbit of Calth, Captain Sorot Tchure of the Word Bearers was enjoying a formal dinner arranged by his Ultramarines counterpart and friend, Honorius Luciel, the Captain of the 209th Company. Receiving his order to carry out his part of the plan, Tchure returned back to the dining table with his fellow Word Bearers. As the two Astartes officers struck up a conversation, the Ultramarines captain was aware that his counterpart seemed agitated.Tchure shared with Luciel that he had recently learned a bit of useful warcraft whilst fighting in the Istvaan System that he thought his Ultramarines counterpart would appreciate. Unaware of any recent Imperial campaigns within the Istvaan System, Luciel's interest was piqued. The Word Bearers officer spoke of the art of betrayal and its inherent power because the treachery ran so deep, especially if it was committed against a trusted ally or close friend. Asked to join the advance into the Ultramar System, he told Luciel that he had to prove his commitment. The Word Bearer subtly tried to warn Luciel that in order to show that he was loyal to the XVIIth Legion's new cause he must first betray his friend. Realising, too late, the meaning of Tchure's obscure warning, Luciel rose to his feet to defend himself, but was cut down with a well-placed plasma shot through his chest. Tchure and the rest of his Word Bearers then opened fire upon the other startled Ultramarines at the dinner, killing Luciel's entire entourage, the heart of the leadership of the 209th Company. They were then offered as a sacrifice to the Ruinous Powers -- the first casualties of the Battle of Calth.Aboard the bridge of the Samothrace, an alarm alerted the Officer of the Watch of a malfunction. Accessing his Cogitator for clarification, he was shocked when he saw the phrase: weapons discharge, company deck. Activating the vessel's internal Vox system and rousing deck protection, the Officer of the Watch began to cordon and secure the entire deck used to house the 209th Company. Suddenly, general quarters was sounded, as the bridge came alive with a cacophony of various alarms, klaxons and bells all screeching and booming; the proximity alarm, the collision warning alert, the course defect advisor as well as many others. Looking at the main screen for visual verification, the Officer of the Watch saw a starship heading at full collision speed for the heart of the Ultramarines fleet gathered above Calth.
Battle of Calth - Assault at High Anchor: The vast orbital shipyard that was the Calth Veridian Anchor was damaged beyond the possibility of salvation or stabilisation by the ruinous trajectory of the Campanile. With the destruction of Calth's main data-engine hub the Mechanicus' ability to communicate with all of its various installations across the world' orbital plane had been torn out, their systems compromised beyond repair. All the various orbital stations that rode at Calth's high anchor had been shattered beyond repair, consumed by firestorms from within when enough atmosphere remained to fuel the blazes. The Ultramarines fleet and Calth's orbital fleet yard infrastructure had suffered a grievous injury while the death toll amongst Imperial personnel and Calthian civilians in the orbital habitats was catastrophic. In the first few seconds after the initial impact of the Campanile, starships across the high anchorage attempted to desperately power up their drives and bring their weapon systems back online. Some attempted to generate enough power in the vain hope of raising their Void Shields or to slip from their moorings in order to reposition in case of an attack.Then the massive Grand Cruiser of the Word Bearers Legion known to the Ultramarines as the Raptorous Rex, but which the Word Bearers had renamed the Infidus Imperator ("False Emperor") to display their new allegiance opened fire. Kor Phaeron ordered the massive warship that was his flagship to discharge all of its primary Lance weapons at the Battle Barge Sons of Ultramar, obliterating it in one brutal salvo. In formation behind the massive Word Bearers flagship, other warships of the XVIIth Legion's fleet, including the Crown of Colchis, the Battleship Kamiel, the Flame of Purity, the Spear of Sedros and the Battle Barge Destiny's Hand, all opened fire upon the remains of the Ultramarines fleet riding at high anchor.Shipmaster Ouon Hommed, the captain of the Ultramarines' heavy destroyer Sanctity of Saramanth, saw the Infidus begin its merciless prowl along the anchorage's line of docked Loyalist vessels. He understood that the vessel was executing starships the way a man might execute a row of helpless prisoners. The Sanctity was sitting at anchor with its drives cold and it would take at least 50 minutes to rouse the ship to operational readiness, a reality for every starship in the fleet of the XIIIth Legion which had been sitting cold at high anchor for the conjunction with the incoming Word Bearers. All of their power plants were at lowest yield for the purposes of maintenance, loading and embarkation checks with their drives, weapons and shields off-line, leaving them all under the protective aegis of Calth's planetary defence grid. The Word Bearers continued their onslaught of the Loyalist fleet unabated, leaving Roboute Guilliman to witness the perfidy of his brother Lorgar first-hand.
Battle of Calth - Wolves Among the Flock: Upon witnessing the Word Bearers' attack, Roboute Guilliman and his officers concluded that the sons of Lorgar had made some tragic mistake. Some reached the conclusion that the Word Bearers had misconstrued the death of Calth Veridian Anchor as an enemy assault and were firing blindly, their systems or their wits so blasted by the calamity that they were unable to tell friend from foe. Others concluded that the Word Bearers feared that the Ultramarines had taken it upon themselves to censure them again in a repetition of Monarchia, that if the Word Bearers' worst unspoken fears had been confirmed, they saw no alternative but to fight for their very lives. The tortured vox channels were choked with attempts to contact the Word Bearers and restore sanity, but even those few vessels whose hailing systems were functioning were unsuccessful -- the Word Bearers would not, or could not, answer.From the first moment of disaster, the bridge crew of the Ultramarines flagship, Macragge's Honour, had fought valiantly to restore vox capability and establish contact with the Word Bearers. Now, contact was made, albeit limited to a grainy, flickering holo projection and sibilant audio transmission laced with static and feedback. Guilliman demanded his brother stand his fleet down, swearing to Lorgar that the Ultramarines had played no part in whatever disaster had visited Calth. Lorgar had no interest in conversing with his brother and instead spat a bitter curse before terminating the link. In that moment Guilliman saw that what was unfolding could be no accident. With his fleet burning and the Word Bearers crippling or destroying ever more of his vessels with each passing minute, the Primarch of the Ultramarines gave an order he had never imagined he would have cause to speak. With bitter resolve, Roboute Guilliman ordered his sons to defend themselves, authorising measures up to and including return of weapons fire.
Battle of Calth - The Killers Close In: Unknown to the surviving Ultramarines Legion officers or any of the defenders desperately holding back the tide of horror spilling through the Macragge's Honour, a hunting pack of Word Bearers cruisers was closing in on the flagship through the burning void. Though the Ultramarines vessel was far larger than the enemy war ships, the Macragge's Honour was not only defenceless without its bridge, but its crew could scarcely defend their vessel from boarders whilst fighting a desperate battle for their very survival within. The cruisers took up position about the wounded flagship, matching her now drifting, directionless course before firing close range boarding grapnels across the void, tethering hunters and prey together so that the boarding assault could begin. Within minutes, dozens of Word Bearers assault groups were crossing the gulf between vessels. The Macragge's Honour was heavily armoured against external assault, however, and although her outer skin was studded with scores of air-gates of all sizes, the enemy would have to fusion-burn their way in before a full boarding action could get underway.
Battle of Calth - Order Restored: Having secured the shipmaster and the senior Mechanicum magos, the Ultramarines Legion had won a very real hope of regaining control of the Macragge's Honour. It was not until both Gage's and Thiel's forces at last fought their way through what remained of the warp incursion and rendezvoused at the auxiliary bridge that either knew for certain that the other had succeeded in their mission. It was a tense wait for the first squads to arrive at the muster point, but it was soon apparent that both forces had achieved their equally vital objectives.Almost exactly ten hours after the main bridge of the Ultramarines flagship had been breached and their beloved Primarch lost, Shipmaster Hommed, with the aid of the two most senior magos rescued from the launch deck, gained control of the vessel. The auxiliary bridge was activated and control of the mighty war ship invested in Shipmaster Hommed. Within minutes, vox systems were re-awakening and contact was established with Ultramarines units on the surface of Calth for the first time since the destruction of Calth Veridian Anchor by the Campanile. These facts might have been cause for celebration in any other circumstance, but with the re-activation of the vessel's communications and augur systems came still more dire realisations. There was still no sign of the Primarch, Legion forces on the surface had been worse than decimated and of the fleet that had gathered in orbit, barely one fifth of the original number of vessels were battle-worthy. Furthermore, only now was the full extent of the boarding action against the Macragge's Honour realised.
Battle of Calth - Pyrrhic Victory: High above, in orbit above Calth, Roboute Guilliman and his Kill-squad attempted to extract themselves from the burning master control room of the Zetsun Verid Fleet Yard. Flames and smoke rapidly filled the orbital habitats of the yard. The remainder of the Kill-squad retreated, packed tightly around their wounded, limping Primarch. As they awaited transport from the inbound Ultramarines flagship, the Primarch looked out one of the orbital platform's viewports and was stricken by what he observed. Their victory had come just in time for them to stare ultimate defeat in the face. He and his Astartes saw that while they had controlled the planetary defence grid, the Word Bearers had turned its potent weapons upon the Veridian System's sun, destabilising it. The stricken star cast a baleful shadow as it prepared to go supernova, unleashing a cataclysmic stellar explosion that would wipe out all life upon the surface of Calth.Suddenly the Primarch’s attention was diverted when he looked below their position and saw half a dozen surviving Word Bearers carrying the bloody carcass of Kor Phaeron. Somehow, the wretched First Captain of the XVIIth Legion remained alive despite the fact that Guilliman had torn out his primary heart. Drawing their Bolters, the Ultramarines fired upon the retreating Word Bearers, just as their forms shimmered and vanished in a cascade of teleporter energy.Guilliman contacted Chapter Master Gage aboard the Macragge’s Honour, and ordered him to hunt down the Infidus Imperator at all costs. He did not want Kor Phaeron to escape his ultimate fate to plague the Imperium once more. Though worried about his Primarch’s well-being, Guilliman informed Gage that they would secure one of the Ultramarines vessels docked at the Zetsun Verid Yard. The Word Bearers Grand Cruiser Infidus Imperator turned slowly in the debris-rich field of Calthian nearspace, as the wreckage of countless starships lay dying in flames behind it. It engaged its main drive and began a long, hard burn towards the outer reaches of the Veridian System. As it accelerated away, the Macragge’s Honour turned in pursuit, beginning one of the most infamous naval duels in Imperial history.
Battle of Calth - Recruitment of Rubio: While the remnants of the Ultramarines and the Imperial Army were making their exodus to the caverns beneath Calth to escape the irradiation of the world's surface, the Ultramarines' 21st Company, under the command of Captain Erikon Gaius, were dug in at one of the railway tunnels leading to Numinus City.In the midst of their defence from the attacking Word Bearers, Nathaniel Garro, the former Battle-Captain of the Death Guard, arrived on a secret mission given to him by Malcador the Sigillite, the Regent of Terra, to recruit Tylos Rubio, a former Codicier of the XIIIth Legion.At first, Rubio refused to abandon his brothers, but was left with no choice when in the face of the Word Bearers' overwhelming assault, he unleashed his dormant psyker abilities, saving his company but making him an outcast for disobeying the dictates of the Council of Nikaea that had disbanded the Space Marine Legions' Librarius corps.Rubio, with little choice, then left Calth behind with Garro in his Stormbird. Rubio would become one of the Sigillites Knights-Errant and later one of seven Astartes drawn from both the Traitor and Loyalist Legions who would form the founding core of what became the secret Grey Knights Chapter of Space Marines.
Battle of Calth - Furious Abyss: At the same time that Lorgar had concentrated his Legion's offensive on Calth, a separate assault by the XVIIth Legion on the Ultramarines' homeworld of Macragge had been prepared, using a massive prototype Battleship specially constructed by Horus' allies in the Mechanicum before the start of the Heresy known as the Furious Abyss.Had it succeeded in reaching Macragge, the Furious Abyss would likely have annihilated the planet, the remaining two Chapters of the Ultramarines Legion garrisoned there, and the stores of precious gene-seed in the XIIIth Legion's fortress-monastery, the Fortress of Hera.Fortunately, the Furious Abyss was intercepted in the void before it reached Macragge by an ad hoc force led by the Ultramarines Captain Lysimachus Cestus and was destroyed, though at the cost of every one of the Ultramarines' lives.
Battle of Calth - Martyrs of Calth: In the aftermath of the fighting on Calth, it was all but impossible to form an accurate picture of the losses incurred on the combatants. With the surface of the planet rendered all but uninhabitable by the actions of Kor Phaeron, it has since proved impractical to recover many of the fallen or verify the deaths of those who came to Calth with treachery in their hearts.The Ultramarines recorded their casualties at the moment when Guilliman and the remains of the XIIIth Legion fleet departed Calth at 119,422 Legiones Astartes fallen in combat, with a further 28,392 rendered combat-incapable by battle injuries and trauma. Few of the chapters committed to Calth could muster even a quarter of their nominal strength, and some were so decimated that they faced being reorganised into other chapters and their old designations removed from the XIIIth Legion's order of battle.Most of the injured were evacuated to the surviving craft of the fleet and swiftly returned to combat duties in the crisis that was unfolding across Ultramar, a crisis that forced Guilliman to order the prioritisation of military assets over the stranded civilians in the brief evacuation effort. Almost 40,000 Ultramarines, both wounded and combat-ready, were forced to remain on Calth, some as volunteers, set to the protection of those civilians who could not be evacuated, and others due to the brutal dictates of circumstance.Of the forces of the Excertus Imperialis, details are more vague, but it seems likely that at least half a million troops-under-arms perished during the fighting, alongside the entire fighting complement of the Legio Praesagius.Of the Word Bearers who landed on the surface of Calth, almost none would ever leave. It is estimated that 50,000 or more of Lorgar's sons and an uncounted mass of Renegade Auxilia troops were sacrificed in the battle, although only 20,000 are thought to have died in the initial fighting, with the remainder prosecuting the Underworld War on Calth for over a solar decade after the initial battle.Just as bitter to the Ultramarines Legion was the damage inflicted on its fleet assets. Never renowned for the numbers of heavy combat voidcraft in its service, the losses suffered at Calth were crippling and hamstrung any effort to prosecute an interstellar war beyond the bounds of Ultramar.Such was the Ultramarines' desperation, missions to salvage the hulks drifting in orbit above Calth were quickly authorised despite the death toll such missions exacted in the deadly radiation of the destabilised Veridia star.
Battle of Calth - Legiones Astartes XIIIth ("Ultramarines") Personnel: Roboute Guilliman, Primarch of the XIIIth LegionTauro Nicodemus, Tetrarch of Ultramar (Saramanth), Primarch's ChampionEikos Lamiad, Tetrarch of Ultramar (Konor), Primarch’s ChampionJustarius, Venerable DreadnoughtTelemechrus, Contemptor DreadnoughtMarius Gage, Chapter Master, 1st ChapterRemus Ventanus, Captain, 4th CompanyKiuz Selaton, Sergeant, 4th CompanyLyros Sydance, Captain, 4th CompanyArcho, Sergeant, 4th CompanyAnkrion, Sergeant, 4th CompanyBarkha, Sergeant, 4th CompanyNaron Vattian, Scout, 4th CompanySaur Damocles, Captain, 6th CompanyDomitian, Sergeant, 6th CompanyBraellen, 6th CompanyAndrom, 6th CompanyEvexian, Captain, 7th CompanyAmant, 7th CompanyLorchas, Captain, 9th CompanyAethon, Captain, 19th CompanyErikon Gaius, Captain, 21st CompanyTylos Rubio, 21st CompanyHonoria, Captain, 23rd CompanyTeus Sullus, Captain, 39th CompanyGreavus, Sergeant, 39th CompanyKaen Atreus, Chapter Master, 6th ChapterKlord Empion, Chapter Master, 9th ChapterVared, Chapter Master, 11th ChapterEkritus, Captain, 111th CompanyPhastorex, Captain, 112th CompanyAnchise, Sergeant, 112th CompanySharad Antoli, Chapter Master, 13th ChapterTaerone, Captain, 135th CompanyAeonid Thiel, Sergeant, 135th Company [marked] - Thiel's helmet was painted red to indicate that he was marked for censure for running theoretical scenarios for combating other Space Marines - at the time, this was to satisfy his own curiosity and a yearning to account for all possibilities. However, due to the substantial losses amongst the XIII command personnel, Thiel emerged as a proficient leader and resourceful fighter. When the time came to organise the shattered remnants of the XIII into fighting squads, the new leaders were marked with the red helmet. This pattern continues to the present day.Evido Banzor, Chapter Master, 16th ChapterHeutonicus, Captain, 161st CompanyJaer, Apothecary, 161st CompanyKerso, 161st CompanyBormarus, 161st CompanyZabo, 161st CompanyAnteros, 161st CompanyHonorius Luciel, Captain, 209th Company
Battle of Calth - Legiones Astartes XIIIth Legion "The Ultramarines": XIIIth Legion records of the Calth muster remain highly accurate with regards to their own numbers, and place the total amount of combat-ready Legiones Astartes deployed by the Ultramarines at 185,923 Space Marines.
Battle of Calth - Line Chapters: Full deployment at Calth, all at a nominal strength of 10,000 Legionaries. These Chapters were concentrated around Calth's primary spaceport at Numinus City in western Erud:1st Chapter2nd Chapter3rd Chapter5th Chapter6th Chapter9th Chapter11th Chapter12th Chapter13th Chapter16th ChapterDeployed to Calth after seeing heavy combat in the Eastern Fringe, all at a nominal strength of at least 6,000 Legionaries and slated for full resupply at the munitions plants of Dainhold before loading for transport outsystem:8th Chapter14th Chapter15th ChapterComprising those chapters whose order of battle included large numbers of armoured vehicles, especially the 4th, known as the "Aurorans". These chapters were assigned to muster in the largely uninhabited continent of Ithraca:17th Chapter18th Chapter23rd Chapter4th ChapterKnown informally within the Legion as "The Eagles" and "The Hawks", the 20th Chapter having trained extensively for void combat and the 21st being renowned for the skill of its pilots. These two chapters were assigned to security duties among the orbital platforms and docked warships in Calth's local orbit:20th Chapter21st ChapterComprising the majority of the XIIIth Legion's Destroyer assets, and the stores of volatile and hazardous weaponry that characterised their operations. The 22nd Chapter, known as the "Nemesis" Chapter, was often deployed in small formations alongside other chapter units. At Calth, 2,000 Nemesis Legionaries were mustered along the desolate Thrascias Highlands, furthest from the densely populated cities of Calth:22nd Chapter
Battle of Calth - Ultramarines Fleet: Aegis of Occluda (Severely Damaged)Antipathy – Cruiser (Destroyed)Antrodamicus – Grand Cruiser (Destroyed)Antropheles – Troop Transport (Destroyed)Burnabus – Escort (Catastrophic Damage)Campanile – Fleet Tender (Destroyed)CavascorConstellation of Tarmus – (Destroyed)CornucopiaCourage of Konor – Carrier (Destroyed)Deliverance of Terra (Destroyed)Gauntlet of Glory – Battle-BargeGauntlet of Victory – Battle-BargeGladius – Escort (Destroyed)High AssentHope of Narmenia – Battle-Barge (Destroyed)Janiverse – Frigate (Destroyed)Jeriko Rex – Fast Escort (Catastrophic Damage)Johanipus Artemisia – Carrier (Destroyed)LutineMacragge’s Honour – Flagship of Primarch Roboute GuillimanMenace of Fortis (Destroyed)MlatusMlekrus – Strike CraftRemonstrance of Narthan Dume – Battleship (Destroyed)SamothraceSanctity of Saramanth – Heavy Destroyer (Destroyed)Solonim WoeSons of Ultramar – Battle-Barge (Destroyed)Spirit of Konor – Battleship (Destroyed)Stations of Ultramar – Picket Cruiser (Destroyed)Steinhart – Carrier (Catastrophic Damage)Suspiria Majestrix – Grand CruiserTarmus Usurper (Catastrophic Damage)Testament of Andromeda – Carrier Ship (Moderate Damage)Triumph of Iax (Crippled)Ultimus Mundi – BattleshipValediction – Carrier (Destroyed)Vernax AbsolomVospherus – Carrier (Destroyed)
Battle of Calth - Adeptus Mechanicus Fleet: Phobos Encoder (Destroyed)
Battle of Calth - Titans Legions: Legio Praesagius - "The True Messengers" - Long allied to the warriors of Ultramar, the Legio Praesagius deployed to Calth at full Legio strength, with nearly 118 god-engines landed in the southern continent of Ithraca prior to embarkation.Legio Oberon - "The Death Bolts" - Wardens of the newly founded Forge World of Anvari, a thrall domain of mighty Accatran, the Legio Oberon had undertaken to provide a demi-Legio force for the Ghaslakh Crusade. However, only two maniples of god-engines were to make planetfall before the arrival of the Word Bearers forces, grounding in eastern Ourosene and northern Erud. The remainder of the Legio's forces would not arrive until after the fighting had concluded.
Battle of Calth - Questoris Familia: House Vornherr - One of the largest Knight Houses in the Segmentum, House Vornherr was oathed to fight alongside the Five Hundred Worlds unto death. Aside from a small honour guard of squires and barons left on their home world of Luhnborg-IX, the entire Household, consisting of around five hundred Knights, were mustered at the Platia island-city in Calth's southern oceans.
Battle of Calth - Non-Astartes: Ollanius "Oll" Persson – Perpetual
Battle of Calth - Excertus Imperialis Regiments: Over a million soldiers the Imperial Army were mustered for the planned Ghaslaskh Crusade, including several established army groups such as the Calaq War Host, and nearly a dozen newly raised regiments from the various cities and agricultural provinces of Calth. Also added to the muster was a number of Solar Auxilia pattern regiments in anticipation of void actions against Ork asteroid-craft at Ghaslakh, including the much renowned 41st Espandor High Guard. Other notable regiments include:2nd Erud Ultima6th Neride ‘Westerners’Neride Regulators 10th14th Garnide Heavy Infantry41st Espandor19th Numinus21st NuminusNuminus 61st, Regular Infantry
Battle of Calth - Excertus Imperialis Personnel: Colonel Sparzi, commander, Neride 10thBowe Hellock, Sergeant, Numinus 61stDogent Krank, Numinus 61stBale Rane, Numinus 61st
Battle of Calth - Adeptus Mechanicus Forces: Kalkas Cohort of Skitarii
Battle of Calth - Adeptus Mechanicus Personnel: Uhl Kehal Hesst, Server of InstrumentationMeer Edv Tawren, Tech-Magos of AnalyticaeUldort, Tech-MagosArook Serotid, Master of SkitariiCyramica, SkitariiShipmaster Sazar, Captain of Macragge's HonourBohan ZedoffPelot, Tech-MagosShipmaster Ouon, captain of Sanctity of SaramanthHommed, Representative of Macragge's Honour
Battle of Calth - Legiones Astartes XVIIth Legion ("Word Bearers") Personnel: Lorgar Aurelian, Primarch of the XVIIth LegionKor Phaeron, The Black CardinalErebus, Dark ApostleArgel Tal, Crimson Lord of the Gal VorbakEssember Zote, Battle-Brother, Gal VorbakFoedral Fell, CommanderMorpal Cxir, CommanderHol Beloth, CommanderMaloq Kartho, Apostle to Hol BelothSorot Tchure, CaptainUlmor Nu