Battle of Cambrae
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The Battle of Cambrae was a battle of the Horus Heresy, taking place roughly at the same time as the closing stages of the Solar War.[1]
Overview
As the Sol System came under assault, Warmaster Horus sought to claim any advantage he could to end the stalemate in his war against the Imperium. This led the Sons of Horus cruiser Eschaton to appear above the world of Cambrae, in order to obtain an ancient relic dubbed the Rhadamanthus.[1]
Upon arriving, the Eschaton destroyed the city of Mithras with an orbital bombardment. In doing so, the Sons of Horus not only killed the city's population of hundreds of thousands, but also destroyed a culture that had survived the Age of Strife. The Eschaton then deployed a Praetor-led Company of the Traitor Legion, which successfully excavated the Rhadamanthus from beneath Mithras's ruins. However, before the relic could be sent to the Eschaton, the ship was attacked by an Adeptus Mechanicus cruiser from the Loyalist Forge World Mezoa. The sudden attack forced the Eschaton to defend itself, though it warned the Sons of Horus before engaging the Mechanicus cruiser.[1]
This warning was not enough, however, to save the Traitor Company from the descending might of the Disciples of the Flames Blackshields warband and the Mezoan Skitarii Conclave Expurgis-Zeta-Phi. The battle ended with the Sons of Horus all slain and the Loyalists escaped with the Rhadamanthus, once their cruiser returned from attacking the Eschaton. It is not known how the Disciples and Mezoa were able to learn of the Sons of Horus' attack and then intervene in time to recover the relic from the Traitor Legion. Some have speculated though, that the Blackshields' leader, Cassian Dracos, discovered the Sons of Horus' actions through using certain psychic divinitory rituals, that he had an affinity for.[1]
See also
Sources
- 1: Journal Tactica: Skitarii, pgs. 22-23
