Siege of Barbarus
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The Siege of Barbarus occurred during the Horus Heresy in 013.M31, when the vengeful Dark Angels and their allies invaded the Death Guard's Homeworld, Barbarus.[1a]
History
The Primarch Lion El'Jonson had overall command and the Invincible Reason spearheaded the attack into the Barbarus System. The vast armada of Loyalist forces then obliterated the few Death Guard warships defending the System, along with its defense platforms and finally Barbarus' Orbital Stations. With the world's defenses now gone, the Dark Angels began the invasion of the Death Guard's Homeworld. Among the Imperial forces that accompanied them, were the Raven Guard and the Space Wolves, who were led by the Legion's Primarch Leman Russ. Meanwhile the Death Guard were aided by forces from their allies, such as the Sons of Horus elite under Captain Arbras Haax[1a], which consisted of several Companies[1b]. Groups of Iron Warriors fleeing the ruination of Luth Tyre[1a] and Tallarn[1b] had also sought refuge on Barbarus beforehand, along with the Dark Mechanicum forces that served them.[1a][1b]
As the Loyalists began their invasion, however, swarms of the Death Guard's Stormbirds and Thunderhawks launched to stop them. This was a desperate attempt to give their forces on Barbarus more time to prepare, but the aircraft were swiftly shot down by the Raven Guard's massed formations of Interceptor craft. By then, the Death Guard and their allies were sheltering behind multiple layers of Void Shielded defenses, as the wrath of two Primarchs and three Legions landed upon the surface of Barbarus. The Loyalists would face stiff resistance during the invasion, though, particularly from the Iron Warriors who made them pay a heavy price before the end.[1a]
Around the time of the Siege of Terra, the Invincible Reason under the command of Stenius would eventually destroy Barbarus from orbit with Cyclonic Torpedoes.[2]
See also
Sources
- 1: White Dwarf 478:
- 2: Dreadwing (Novella), Chapter I, Part VIII
