Season of Blood
The Season of Blood was a major campaign of the Third War for Armageddon which saw the forces of Khorne under the Daemon Primarch Angron return to the world.[1a]
Contents
Overview
Prelude
During the formation of the Great Rift and subsequent Noctis Aeterna, Chaos forces erupted across the world of Armageddon as it was already in embroiled in a war between the forces of the Imperium and Orks originally led by Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka. While Ghazghkull eventually left the warzone to pursue his Great Waaagh! remaining Imperial, Chaos, and Ork forces continued to battle for the world.[1a]
In the eastern reaches of Armageddon Secundus, Hive Thoraddis was assaulted by a combined force of Chaos Space Marines, Heretics, Daemons, and Traitor Titans. The defenders of the Hive fought with great bravery but were eventually driven back. Colonel Berkant of the 473rd Armageddon Steel Legion eventually took the measure of sabotaging Thoraddis' power cores, resulting in a catastrophic explosion that obliterated both sides. This however only fed the Red Angel's Gate, causing it to swell and alerting the faraway Conqueror to the warzone. The vessel plunged in the Warp with a trail of accompanying forces, gathering more and more armies of the Blood God to its side as it traveled towards Armageddon.[1a]
As the forces of Khorne gathered in the Warp, the Prognosticars of the Grey Knights were alerted within the Citadel of Titan. Sensing great threat, the Prognosticars were able to contact Fifth Brotherhood Grand Master Rothwyr Morvans and advised him to divert from his course towards the Nachmund Gauntlet and instead make for Armageddon. The Prognosticars were also able to contact High Marshal Helbrecht of the Black Templars and Njal Stormcaller of the Space Wolves. While three Prognosticars were lost in the rituals required to commune with these lords of war over great interstellar distances, the Imperium was warned of the encroaching threat to Armageddon.[1a]
Uprisings
As the Conqueror made its way towards Armageddon, Cultist activity erupted across many of its remaining hives. Heretic and loyalist citizens alike were subsequently purged in counter-insurgency operations launched by the Ecclesiarchy. Entire Regiments of the Armageddon Steel Legion went mad and turned upon their former allies as corruption spewed from the Red Angel's Gate. Eventually, a heretic leader dubbed Askarra the Ensanguined appeared who oversaw the occupation of several hives.[1a]
It was into this chaos that Logan Grimnar's Space Wolves and Helbrecht's Black Templars arrived at Armageddon. The Wolves landed near Hive Volcanus in Armageddon Prime, wiping out throngs of Mutants and Cultists and restoring order amongst the remaining Imperial Guard Regiments there. Meanwhile, Helbrecht and his forces landed near Hive Infernus and pushed back heretic armies besieging it. His ultimate objective was to recapture the ruins of Hive Hades and Hive Thoraddis alongside the 74th Line Korps of the Death Korps of Krieg. Meanwhile, Black Templars Reclusiarch Grimaldus returned to Hive Helsreach, rallying the defenders. As these battles raged, the Grey Knights 5th Brotherhood under Morvans arrived as they sought to identify the locus of Warp energy on the world.[1a]
It was then that the Conqueror arrived unexpectedly over Armageddon, producing a ripple effect of warp instability across Armageddon's surface. Though it was met by the Eternal Crusader and Allfather's Honour leading an Imperial Navy armada, the World Eaters vessel and its allies showed little interest in a naval duel. Instead, the Chaos fleet surged into low orbit. Expendable ships were shifted in front of this armada and used as cannon fodder, tying down the Imperial fleet long enough for their core warships to reach combat drop altitude.[1a]
Armageddon Ablaze
With the remainder of the Chaos fleet now positioned in low orbit over Armageddon, the invasion truly began. Bulk landers, Drop Pods, and other types of landing craft dove through the skies alongside escorting packs of winged Daemon Engines which fought against Imperial navy fighters. While many of these craft were shot down, many more managed to make planetfall and disgorge their occupants. The majority of the invaders landed in the northern reaches of Armageddon Secundus, overrunning Hive Hades and Thoraddis and erecting idols to Khorne which summoned great amounts of Daemons to Armageddon's surface.[1c]
In Armageddon Prime, Logan Grimnar and the Space Wolves took command of the remaining Imperial forces and set to work combating the many Cultist uprisings at Hive Volcanus and the Volcanus Mountains. Meanwhile, High Marshal Helbrecht and his Black Templars established a base of operations in Hive Infernus alongside the Armageddon civil government. From this hive, the Black Templars engaged in campaigns to the south and east, seeking to recover and purge the ruins of Hades and Thoraddis. However, the Imperial counterattack towards Hades Hive ground to a stalemate against well-equipped Cultists and Traitor Guard at Eumendies Bridge before World Eaters landed in the Imperial rear, unleashing packs of Khorne Berzerkers across the narrow corridor. With the loyalists unable to bring their heavy firepower to bear on the newcomers and already attacked from the other side of the bridge, the Imperials were facing total destruction until the Black Templars intervened. Taking thousands of casualties, the Imperials withdrew to Hive Infernus.[1c]
At Hive Thoraddis, Castellan Holzer oversaw the Imperial push alongside Death Korps of Krieg Colonel Korss. While it initially met with great success, and under Korss' advice the Krieg forces began digging a network of trenches and defensive bastions in recaptured positions southwest of Thoraddis dubbed Imperator Line Alphus. As the Death Korps dug-in, the Black Templars led repeated forays into enemy lines. All recaptured ground was soon heavily fortified and entrenched. Slowly but surely, the Krieg lines dug their way towards Thoraddis' alongside accompanying artillery barrages and trench raids as the Black Templars pushed back the heretics. The Imperials goaded the temperamental enemy into ill-advised frontal assaults on the Krieg lines which exacerbated their losses. Soon enough a new layer of defense dubbed Imperator Lines Vayron, Iota, and Mortis were established. Eventually however, progress slowed as the Imperials became bogged down in the heavier Chaos defenses at the outer ruins of Hive Thoraddis and met more disciplined Traitor Guard forces. The arrival of fresh World Eaters forces and their masses of Cultists removed any hope of the loyalists capturing their objective.[1c]
As waves of freshly arrived Chaos forces landed across Armageddon and established idols to the Ruinous Powers, the barriers of realspace recoiled from the massive Warp influx. A gushing tide of Daemonic fury spilled forth, and it was into this maelstrom that [[Angron], Daemon Primarch of the World Eaters appeared on Armageddon once again through the Red Angel's Gate. Already hard-pressed, the Imperial forces in the vicinity of Thoraddis were completely overwhelmed by Angron's sudden onslaught. Tides of Daemons followed in the wake of the Red Angel and Imperator Line Mortis and Primus were quickly overrun. In a matter of hours Holzer and Korss' armies lost 50% of their strength and were driven back over territory they had seized over days of fierce fighting. The survivors rallied at Imperator Line Vayron, finally repelling a concentrated assault by the World Eaters and Mutant cultists.[1c]
At Hive Volcanus the Volcanus 4th Army under Field Marshal Kezeron stood ready to defend the Mannheim Gap, the only navigable path through the Volcanus Mountains. It consisted of crack forces from the Armageddon Steel Legion, Vostroyan Firstborn, and Ursani Voidsharks which had years of experience fighting Orks and were deployed in three defensive layers dubbed Orientum and Meridiem Lines as well as the more formidable Volcanine Wall. Weeks before the arrival of the World Eaters, the Volcanus 4th Army was in the process of withdrawing from the eastern fringe of the plains and redeploying themselves north of Hive Volcanus and the more defendable Volcanus Mountains. Thus when the World Eaters attack came, the Imperials were already in a state of partial deployment and disarray. The subsequent frenzied attacks on the Meridiem and Orientum Lines saw the heretics prevail after the latter collapsed and the former was then assaulted in the rear. The remaining Imperialis formed makeshift battle groups and made a breakout attempt towards the west that saw most of their armour and heavy equipment abandoned. Relief came from an unexpected source when the heretics were met by the Orks of the Equatorial Jungle who were eager to not miss out on the big fight erupting across the planet.[1d]
The arrival of Orks allowed the Imperial survivors to reach the Volcanine Wall, where Logan Grimnar was informed of the desperate situation. Three dropships of the Space Wolves carrying Blood Claws and Grey Hunters were immediately dispatched for a counterattack, engaging the Chaos forces as they battled the Orks. In the ensuing three-way struggle the situation became stabilized and the Mannheim Gap held for the Imperium. Meanwhile, Grimnar's Wolf Scout packs continued to root out and destroy Cultists and Daemons hidden within Volcanus Hive. To the north, the World Eaters rallied under the Bloodthirster Zhul'korr and his armies of Bloodletters and Bloodcrushers which launched repeated assaults on the outer defenses. The Daemons attacks were only halted when Grimnar and his Wolf Guard launched a Thunderwolf Cavalry attack that saw the Great Wolf banish the Bloodthirster personally with the axe Morkai.[1d]
As Chaos forces rushed to Angron's side, their lines near Hades Hive thinned out. This caused Helbrecht and his Sword Brothers to launch a second assault on Eumendies Bridge, this time aided by a pair of Warlord Titans of the Legio Crucius and Armageddon Steel Legion mechanized infantry. While initially devastating the Heretics, just as they approached Thoraddis Hive massive amounts of Daemons and World Eaters appeared alongside Chaos Titans. In the ensuing fight, the Warlord Titan Irae Ferrum was crippled while the remaining Imperials sought to stem the heretic advance. Amid the bloodshed, Space Wolves Battle Leader Styrbjorn Flinteye arrived via Stormwolf gunship and landed upon the Chaos Titans head and managed to fight their way to the reactor before planting Melta Bombs. The subsequent detonation consumed nearby traitor forces, but the losses amongst the Imperials were also massive. With their force depleted, Helbrecht had the battered survivors withdraw towards Hive Infernus.[1d] In the aftermath of the disaster, Hades Hive was annihilated by orbital debris strikes.[1e]
Helbrecht arrived back at Infernus Hive with his retreating survivors to find it in disarray from Khornate Cultist uprisings and nearly half of the Savlar Chem-Dogs defecting to the Chaos side. Helbrecht, already angered by his prior defeat, was infuriated by this state of affairs and began a brutal purge of the Infernus districts.[1d]
In space, the Eternal Crusade and Allfather's Honour were damaged in combat against the Chaos fleet and forced to withdraw, though they successfully drove off or destroyed the majority of the enemy vessels thanks to the arrival of the Grey Knights 3rd Brotherhood under Grand Master Aldrik Voldus and Brother-Captain Arvann Stern. The Grey Knights Battle Barge Bright Sword meanwhile settled into low orbit to act as a command and support vessel.[1e]
Stemming the Murdertide
With Angron engaging in near-mindless rampages, it fell to the commanders of the various World Eaters warbands to control their forces. None were more prominent in this role than the savage but surprisingly rational Slaughterbound Jarrok Skreel. Skreel deployed a core of cultists and renegades to the Fire Wastes to occupy positions long abandoned by the loyalists, further fortifying their positions around the Red Angel's Gate as Goremongers packs were dispatched to the deadlands at the south pole. They struck at aqua processing planets, denying the Imperials of fresh water. On the coastal islands surrounding the Fire Wastes, Traitor Guard regiments seized prison complexes and oil refineries, providing a fresh influx of recruits and fuel. These strikes had the secondary effect of drawing Imperial forces away from the northern reaches of Armageddon Secundus, where the main thrust of the Chaos invasion was focused.[1d]
Meanwhile, the Grey Knights under Morvans had exploited the bloody turmoil to pursue their own agenda. In the Equatorial Jungle, Librarian Lovrik followed the psychic spoor of Angron, fighting through Feral Orks and Chaos Spawns to reach Angron's primary monolith. There, they enacted a ritual of cleansing to weaken Angron's anchor on Armageddon. While emerging victorious, there were many more monoliths to purify. At the same time, Brother-Captain Tauros Hendron devised a method to destroy Angron's physical form, leading Purgation Squads in an assault on the ruins on the Diabolus Forge Complex. There, they were able to claim a cache of Vortex Missiles. Morvans himself led a force into the Fire Wastes to slay key heretic demagogues and destroy Chaos idols.[1d]
Morvans then held a council of war aboard his Battle Barge Bright Sword with the holographic displays of the other major Imperial commanders. The Grey Knights Grand Master informed the assembled warlords that the primary objective of the war should be to seal the Red Angel's Gate, and doing so would require the assistance of all present. In order to seal the gate, Angron and the bulk of his armies would have to remain distracted. Brother-Captain Tauros Hendron would secure the Diabolus Forge from remaining Orks to stage a defence as the Imperials at the Imperator Line staged a westward withdrawal to draw away the Chaos forces. Grimnar and Helbrecht, despite their frequent arguing due to past grievances, would lead forces to bolster this defense to buy enough time for a second force under Morvans, Princeps Matteus Kalonice, Colonel Korss, Castellan Holzer, and Battle Leader Styrbjorn Flinteye to strike north across the Boiling Sea and towards the Red Angel's Gate.[1d]
Helbrecht and Grimnar's Space Marine forces arrived at the Diablous Forge Complex together alongside Catachan Jungle Fighters reconaissance elements where they laid mines and prepared ambushes. Hendron's Grey Knights withdrew to the heart of the forge, taking with them their cache of weapons and preparing for the coming onslaught. Meanwhile, the Imperials began a withdrawal from the Imperator Line, offering sacrificial counterattacks and rearguard actions to draw the enemy in and disguise their greater goal. This proved a bloody affair, and by the 5th day more than half of the retreating soldiers were killed or wounded. When the last of these retreating Imperials entered the Diablo Mountains foothills, Angron's army was hot on their heels and plunged right into the prepared defenses. Caught in a killzone, the incoming Khornate forces were decimated. Angron, despite his bestial state, still knew a trap when he saw one and had his Goremonger and Eightbound packs scale the mountains to the west and north to strike at their rear. With the aid of winged Daemons, Daemon Engines, and Daemon Princes, these attackers were able to silence much of the Imperial artillery.[1d]
As the Chaos forces surged forward, Grimnar and Helbrecht kept most of their Space Marines in reserve, drawing the enemy further up the slopes and into preprepared killzones. Helbrecht's forces, aided by three Dreadnoughts, held the southern defences and reaped a heavy toll on the incoming Khornate armies. Only when the momentum of the traitors' assault slowed did Angron himself descend into battle, killing a dozen Black Templars and destroying one of their Dreadnoughts. The Black Templars were forced back, joining with Grimnar and his Space Wolves in a fighting withdrawal back into the Diablous Forge Complex. Overcome by bloodlust, the Daemon Primarch pursued the Space Marines, outpacing his own embattled warriors. Inside, he engaged Brother-Captain Hendron and his bodyguards but instead found himself in the center of a unicursal hexagram. At each of its six points stood one of the recovered Vortex warheads, and as Hendron intoned words of banishment the Grey Knights opened fire upon Angron. Hendron then detonated the warheads, and the hexagram served to contain the ensuing catastrophic explosion and focus it directly upon Angron. Nonetheless, the shockwave from the blast collapsed much of the mountain range. In the aftermath of the explosion, it became apparent that Angron had been banished at the cost of most of the Imperials.[1d]
Assault on the Fire Wastes
Before turning their attention to sealing the Red Angel's Gate, Morvans would need to land on the southern shores of the Fire Wastes and clear the traitors from their positions. The assault force consisted of not only Grey Knights, but also the Krieg 74th Line Korps, who would have to fight through hellish conditions and warp madness as they grew closer to the Gate. With the orbiting Imperial fleet busy chasing away remaining traitor vessels, the Imperials would cross the boiling sea and reach the Fire Wastes on various mercantile craft, requisitioned aquatic vessels, and military landers. Holzer and Flinteye's forces mustered at Phoenix Island, purging scattered traitor forces and reestablishing control over the Victorinus Starport to serve as the logistical center for the coming operation.[1e]
The first landings in the Fire Wastes were done to the south of the Chaya Ranas Mines by Morvans Grey Knights, who inserted via Stormraven Gunship and teleportation via the Battle Barge Bright Sword. Engaging well-equipped and determined Chaos infantry, Flinteye's Wolf Scouts simultaneously infiltrated bunker networks and destroyed their Heavy Stubber nests and gun batteries. The subsequent waves of arriving Imperials only met with scattered resistance thanks to these actions. Pressing north, the Imperials soon reached the Chaya Ranas mine network, which had previously been heavily fortified to resist Ork attack and now was a formidable Chaos bastion. Subsequent resistance proved heavy, and the Krieg forces in particular took heavy casualties to not just Traitor Guard and World Eaters but also to Daemons and Heldrakes. The situation for Imperial Guardsmen were exacerbated by radiation sickness caused by irradiated sandstorms. Nonetheless, inch by inch the Krieg forces advanced as the Space Marines focused on Daemonic threats.[1e]
On the 3rd day, Morvans launched his breakout assault and came into conflict with large numbers of Cultist and Traitor Guard forces under Askarra the Ensanguined. The traitors were further reinforced by Dark Mechanicum Titans from the Legio Vulpa, including the Banelord Tarda Mors and two Reaver Titans. These proved resistant to the opening Imperial bombardment, and they reaped a terrible toll on the first wave of attackers. Even the intractable Krieg warriors almost broke in the face of such firepower as well as frenzied charges by the defending Chaos infantry. Only the arrival of loyalist Titans from the Legio Crucius saw the tide turn, with the repaired Warlord Titans Irae Ferrum and Cataphractis Pugnus forcing the Legio Vulpa to retreat north of the Red Angel's Gate and allowing the Imperials to capture the traitor positions. In the aftermath, the retreating traitor forces rallied under Askarra who sought to avenge her defeat and redeem herself in the eyes of the Blood God by pursuing advancing loyalists towards Crimson Mesa.[1e]
Meanwhile, the Grey Knights sought to shatter the two key monoliths around the Red Angel's Gate which kept it active. This would allow Morvans to conduct a banishment ritual, sealing it for good. At Crimson Mesa, the attack was made by Castellan Holzer and his Sword Brothers while at the Black Lung Tar Pits Styrbjorn's Space Wolves would launch the assault. Morvans led the third and largest force, consisting of Grey Knights and clearing a path for the final move.[1e]
At Crimson Mesa, Holzer's forces met heavy Chaos defenses and the terrain offered little cover. The attack swiftly ground to a halt, and the Castellan ordered the Ursani Voidsharks 645th Mechanized Artillery Regiment to loop east and seize the Deosan Heights to use as a firebase to support his advance. They were accompanied by the Black Templars Dreadnought Klavan, and they succeeded in clearing the position of Traitor Guardsmen and setting up artillery batteries. Meanwhile, the Tallarn Desert Raiders and Armageddon Steel Legion armoured elements circled wide to the west and sought to cross the Muradip Badlands and outflank the enemy, facing determined Traitor Guard resistance and large numbers of Leman Russ Battle Tanks. Nonetheless, these actions allowed Holzer to launch the central attack on the Brazen Citadel with his Black Templars, managing to fight through tides of Daemons and capture the position as Klavan and the Ursani Voidsharks sacrificed themselves to hold their firebase. Grey Knights forces teleported in during the final stages of the attack as enemy lines weakened, using their empyric rituals to deactivate the Monolith and ordering orbital bombardment on remaining enemy positions.[1e]
At the same time, Styrbjorn launched the attack on the south-western monolith near the Black Lung Tar Pits known as the Gorebeacon. He led Space Wolves and Death Korps forces towards the ziggurat-like monolith structure, fighting through every kind of warp madness imaginable. The warp had corrupted even the tar pits, which was now a blood-like noxious mire that hindered Imperial vehicles. Thus, Styrbjorn was forced to launch the attack with infantry alone, with Wolf Scouts and Fenrisian Wolf packs proving decisive in supporting the incoming Space Wolves and Krieg infantry. As the Imperials crossed the mire, they were set upon by Khorne Berzerkers under Jarrok Skreel and his Eightbound. Skreel aimed to lure the Imperials deep into a preprepared killzone and strike from warp rifts to amubsh their foes, but was foiled by support from the Grey Knights and their gunships. Skreel and his core elite turned their attention to these formidable newcomers, desperately attempting to prevent the Grey Knights from deactivating the monolith.[1e]
Skreel however proved a formidable enemy, whose abilities were further empowered by the monolith's warp power. He inflicted heavy losses on the Grey Knights, causing Styrbjorn and his remaining Wolf Guard to come to their aid. The Space Wolves cleared a path to the Eightbound to and Styrbjorn engaged Skreel in single combat, with both inflicting terrible wounds upon the other. However it was a badly wounded Flinteye who was able to land the final blow, burying his axe in Skreel's skull before succumbing to a dozen lethal injuries himself. This sacrifice through the Chaos forces into disarray and allowed the Grey Knights to complete the deactivation ritual of the monolith and causing a titanic explosion that consumed the remaining Space Wolves and Eightbound alike. Only the Grey Knights were able to teleport away in time.[1e]
As the Gorebeacon shattered, Morvans and his own forces made their move. Morvans himself led the advance from a Dreadknight, judging that the conditions were too dangerous for teleportation or airborne insertion. Supported by two more Dreadknights, the 20 of the 5th Brotherhood's elite led thousands of Krieg Imperial Guard and small numbers of Space Wolves and Black Templars toward the Crimson Mesa. Fighting against heavily fortified enemy positions in a mutated and hellish landscape, they made their way through a single scalable route that rose from the southern edge of the mountain. The Imperials took grievous losses to all manner of enemy defenses, losing hundreds for each yard gained. Yet eventually, they were able to clear the last ridge line of opposition and reach the base of the Crimson Mesa where the Red Angel's Gate lay. Now met by Daemonic hordes, it was then that Morvans and his Grey Knights plunged right into the heart of the battle to continue to push forward. As Morvans and his two supporting Dreadknights cleared hordes of Daemons, Librarian Torvik and 8 Paladins made their move on the Red Angel's Gate itself.[1f]
Upon reaching the Gate, each of the Paladins held up a captured shard of Angron's old weapon, the Black Blade. This produced the arcane foci that allowed Torvik to begin sealing the portal itself. All nine of the Grey Knights pooled their psychic might together, beginning the ritual of sealing. However just as they were about to succeed, something began to push back through the Gate. Angron's mighty form returned through the portal and brought with him a wave of warp madness and bloodlust. This threw the mortal Imperial forces into disarray while rallying the remaining heretics, with Askarra's Cultists and various World Eaters warbands also being drawn to the battlefield as the maddened Krieg Guardsmen began to turn upon their allies. Colonel Korss himself fell to a horde of Jakhals, having maintained his loyalty to the Emperor and crying out prayers of atonement for his men's actions. The Space Wolves and Black Templars aimed to hold back the incoming tide of Khornate forces, leaving the Grey Knights to face Angron alone.[1f]
In the subsequent battle against Angron and newly arriving Daemon forces, the 8 Paladins concentrated as one to unleash a ritual of exorcism as Morvans sought to hold off the Daemon Primach. However Angron was able to reach the Paladins first, killing 6 of them as Morvans and two more Dreadknights piloted by Brothers Vorren and Gorne arrived. Fighting through waves of Bloodcrushers and Bloodletters to reach Angron, the trio of Dreadknights sought to buy enough time for the remaining Paladins to complete their task. In the battle against the protecting Dreadknights, Angron was able to down Gorne and cripple Vorren. Morvans then drew upon his own psychic might and charged forward, crashing into Angron and engaging in a ferocious battle with the creature just as the ritual reached its crescendo. The remaining Paladins were able to erect a psychic shield, protecting themselves from incoming waves of Daemons, Cultists, and World Eaters as Morvans was badly wounded by Angrons blade, Samni'arius. Just then the Paladins completed their ritual, having snatched up the eight shards of Angron's Black Blade. A great vacuum effect erupted from the Red Angel's Gate, with Angron only falling back in thanks to Morvans gathering the last of his strength to push both through together. Morvans sacrifice allowed Angron to be banished once more and the Gate quickly shut behind him.[1f]
Aftermath
The sacrifice of Morvans and the other Imperials at the Fire Wastes turned the tide of the renewed Chaos offensive on Armageddon, though fighting against remaining Heretic elements continues. An end to Armageddon's suffering is nowhere in sight.[1f]
Order of Battle[1b]
Imperial
- Space Marines
- Space Wolves - Commanded by Wolf Lord Logan Grimnar and Rune Priest Njal Stormcaller
- Champions of Fenris - 21 Wolf Guard, 83 Battle-Brothers, and 14 armoured vehicles under Battle Leader Styrbjorn Flinteye
- The Blackmanes - 4 Wolf Guard, 15 Battle-Brothers, and 2 armoured vehicles under Battle Leader Sigvi Bearheart
- The Deathwolves - 3 Wolf Guard and 10 Battle Brothers
- Fleet - Battle Barge Allfather's Honour, 3 Gladius Class Frigates, 2 Nova Class Frigates, and 4 Hunter Class Destroyers
- Black Templars - commanded by High Marshal Helbrecht, High Chaplain Grimaldus, and Castellan Holzer
- Armageddon Crusade - 56 Sword Brothers, 123 Battle-Brothers, 84 Neophytes, and 53 armoured vehicles
- Fleet - Gloriana Class Battleship Eternal Crusader, 7 Gladius Class Frigates, 15 Hunter Class Destroyers.
- Grey Knights
- 5th Brotherhood and Battle Barge Bright Sword under Grand Master Rothwyr Morvans and Brother-Captain Tauros Hendron
- Elements of the 3rd Brotherhood under Grand Master Aldrik Voldus and Brother-Captain Arvann Stern aboard the Strike Cruiser Adamastor
- Raptors - Strike Force Garron
- Sons of the Phoenix - Combat Unit Kemenor
- Hammers of Dorn - Strike Force Dekker
- Mortifactors - Strike Force Vangello
- Salamanders - Strike Force Vu'khal
- Silver Skulls - Strike Force Dominor
- Space Wolves - Commanded by Wolf Lord Logan Grimnar and Rune Priest Njal Stormcaller
- Imperial Guard and PDF
- Armageddon Steel Legion - 42 regiments
- Armageddon Ork Hunters - 14 Regiments
- Armageddon PDF
- Infernus Defence Units - 45 ad-hoc brigades
- Tarantine Scorpions - 77 pickets
- Volcanus Militia - 81 regiments
- Phoenician Penal Legion - 12 regiments
- Jopall Indentured - 7 regiments
- Acheron Armoured Corps - 12 regiments
- Golgoth Artillery - 23 reserve battalions
- Hadean Exiles - 350 volunteer battalions
- Death Korps of Krieg - 45 Line Korps
- Vostroyan Firstborn - 23 regiments
- Ignos Lancers - 13 regiments
- Ursani Voidsharks - 19 regiments
- Tallarn Desert Raiders - 24 regiments
- Catachan Jungle Fighters - 45 regiments
- Miasman Redcowls - 61 Regiments
- Savlar Chem-Dogs
- Adeptus Mechanicus
- Legio Crucius - 5 Titans (3 Warlord, 1 Warbringer, 1 Warhound) commanded by Princeps Matteus Kalonice
- Martian Skitarii and other war macroclades under Magos Dominus Pagoth Sekth
- Imperial Navy - Battlefleet Armageddon under Rear Admiral Gaeriel Rothe
- 1 Battleship
- 1 Carrier
- 8 Cruisers
- 16 Frigates
- 8 Destroyers
- 16 Corvettes
- Additional Elements:
- Adeptus Arbites Exaction Squads
- Rogue Trader Kyprian Tellanarosea and 3 companies of Voidsmen
- Frateris Militia
- Squat mercenaries
Chaos
- Angron's Host:
- Chaos Space Marines - Broadly controlled by Slaughterbound Jarrok Skreel
- World Eaters warbands
- The Foresworn
- Brazen Butchers
- Crimson Desecrators
- Ironspines
- Sons of Carnage
- Viscerati
- 13+ additional warbands
- Fleet Assets: Battleship Conqueror, 12 other capital ships, 20 escorts, 15 picket ships, large numbers of dropships and super-heavy landers
- Other Khornate Chaos Space Marine forces
- Bloodblessed
- Murderhounds
- Children of the Crimson Lord
- Fleet Assets: 4 capital ships, 2 escorts, 20+ dropships
- Lost and the Damned
- Jakhal and Goremongers Cults
- Traitor Guard - 6-7 regiments
- Mutant and Spawn packs
- Corrupted Servitors
- World Eaters warbands
- Chaos Space Marines - Broadly controlled by Slaughterbound Jarrok Skreel
- Armageddon Renegades - Commanded by Askarra the Ensanguined
- Hive Thoraddis
- Traitor Armageddon Steel Legion
- 34th Armageddon Infantry Regiment - 2 battalions, 8 companies
- 189th Armageddon Armoured Regiment
- 56th Volkaros Iron Bloods
- Thoraddis Desecrators - at least 4 heavy artillery batteries
- Cultist and Jakhal rabble
- Hive Hades
- Cult of the Crimson Emperor
- Sons of Blood
- Vremaine Mutilationists - Formerly the VIIth Greythan Exculpators
- Minervan Tank Legion - 1 Super-Heavy Tank squadron
- 4 Arphista Penal Legions
- Hadean Hounds - Corrupted Enforcers
- 111 artillery pieces
- 19 mobile anti-air assets
- Mutant rabble
- Hive Thoraddis
- Dark Mechanicum
- Legio Vulpa - 4-6 Titans and 1 bulk lander under Cossus Narek
- Abheilüng forces - commanded by Archmagos Axemok Roark
Sources
- Armageddon Wars
- Battles (Adeptus Mechanicus)
- Battles (Armageddon Steel Legion)
- Battles (Astra Militarum)
- Battles (Black Templars)
- Battles (Catachan Jungle Fighters)
- Battles (Chaos)
- Battles (Collegia Titanica)
- Battles (Dark Mechanicus)
- Battles (Death Korps of Krieg)
- Battles (Imperial Navy)
- Battles (Imperium)
- Battles (Grey Knights)
- Battles (Leagues of Votann)
- Battles (Salamanders)
- Battles (Space Marines)
- Battles (Space Wolves)
- Battles (Vostroyan Firstborn)
- Battles (World Eaters)
