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From Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum
→The Battle of Amarah
Despite being taken by surprise and outmatched, the defenders of Amarah fought back hard against the invaders by withdrawing away from open battlefields and into wide concourses. Using lines of [[Leman Russ Battle Tank]]s supported by artillery batteries of [[Basilisk]]s and [[Manticore]]s, the [[Tekran]] Imperial Guard defenders of places such as Callowsheen were able to decimate lines of incoming [[Necron Warrior]]s. Initially not even the Necrons self-repair systems and mechanical endurance stood up to these repeated bombardments, but the Imperial Guard forces were forced to fire at such a high rate for so long that ammunition began to run sparse and guns began to overheat. Soon the [[Meltagun]]s of Guardsmen began to explode from repeated firings, incinerating all those nearby as the Necron employed [[Canoptek Acanthrite]]s to rain terror from above and outflank the Imperial firing lines. The tanks and self-propelled artillery, bunched close together, could not maneuver out of the way of these airborne Necron constructs attacks. Soon a slaughter erupted, and a hasty counter-attack against the Necrons by Tekran Commando units failed in the face of huge anrthopod-like constructs. Only a single Tekran Guardsmen survived the slaughter, and he was later himself executed for cowardice.{{Fn|1b}}
In the days that followed the initial assault, Amarah had been blasted into burning ruins and its primary hives had fallen to the invaders. The Necrons took no prisoners and offered all no quarters, massacring all they came across. Imperial resistance however was not completely spent, and the [[Death Korps of Krieg]] units were still fresh as they had only recently arrived on-world. The Krieg 17th Line Korps mustered on the ruins of the karalsa plains, and the guardsmen used their skill in defense to take advantage of underground utility tunnels and warehouses to establish crisscrossing fields of fire. When the Necron assault finally came, the Krieg troops survived almost unscathed in the initial air attacks then emerging from their shelters unharmed and engaging the incoming phalanxes of Necron infantry with a grim tenacity. Marshal Venner led the effort, and his two hundred thousand Guardsmen backed by scratch-built attack craft dispersed into smaller groups, each taking control of an improvised assault points and forcing the Necrons into narrow bottlenecks of ruins. The Krieg defenders were able to deny the Necrons their advantage in air superiority and long-range firepower, but Venner knew it was only a matter of time before his forces were to be isolated and destroyed. Faced with this prospect, Venner chose a quick and glorious death and ordered all of his Guardsmen to charge into oncoming ranks of Necron infantry and a [[Monolith]]. Venner became determined that he would take these massive pyramid-constructs with him into oblivion and had all of his tanks, aircraft, and artillery focus their fire on them. Guardsmen forces were decimated as they charged the Necron lines across open battlefield, but the Death Korps maintained order thanks to their stubborn discipline. Soon, the sheer numbers of Krieg troops overwhelmed the numerically inferior Necron ranks, and concentrated Imperial firepower succeeded in destroying a Monolith. Their mission complete, the Krieg fought to the last.{{Fn|1b}}
In orbit, the Imperial Navy attempted a counter-attack but it failed in the face of the superior Necron warships. Not even [[Battleship]]s and [[Battlecruiser]]s could prevail in the face of the monstrous power of two Necron [[Tomb Ship]]s, though several smaller [[Scythe Class Harvest Ship]]s were destroyed by Imperial forces in the engagement. Nonetheless the Imperial forces continued their attack, now unleashing the entirety of the [[Minotaurs]] Chapter Fleet of three [[Battle Barges]] and eight [[Strike Cruiser]]s led by [[Chapter Master]] [[Asterion Moloc]] himself. Despite taking heavy losses, the Minotaurs ships were able to get close enough to the Tomb Ships to launch [[Caestus Assault Ram]]s, allowing them to board the Necron vessels. Onboard the alien craft the Space Marine [[Terminator]]s faced horrific casualties from its defenders but nonetheless were determined to destroy the Tomb Ship from within. Just before being annihilated by a force of [[Triarch Praetorian]]s, the Terminators were able to send a signal to their Battle Barges that allowed for an additional thirty Terminator [[Veteran Space Marine|Veteran]]s and two [[Contemptor Dreadnought]]s led by Moloc himself to teleport on board. Battling to the ships control chamber, Moloc did battle with the Tomb Ships [[Necron Overlord]].
