1,369
edits
Changes
From Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum
minor expansion
|Commanders1 =[[Admiral|Grand Admiral]] [[Ospheus LaBray]]<br>[[Lord Marshal]] [[Ireton MaSade]]<br>[[Governor]] [[Malthus Grange]]<br>[[Governor]] [[Pryamus Beket]]<br>[[Iron Father]] [[Autek Mor]]
|Commanders2 =[[Warmaster]] [[Horus Lupercal]]<br>[[Primarch]] [[Mortarion]]<br>[[Archmagos]] [[Draykavac]]<br>[[First Captain]] [[Ezekyle Abaddon]]<br>[[Autilon Skorr]]
|Strength1 =3,800,000 [[Solar Auxilia]] troops<br>[[Imperial Army]] troops<br>[[Imperial Armada]] ships<br>[[Knight]]s<br>Loyalist [[Adeptus Mechanicus]]<br>[[Iron Hands]]<br>[[Raven Guard]]<br>[[Imperial Fists]]<br>[[Blood Angels]]<br>[[Salamanders]]<br>[[Death Eagles (Blackshields)|Death Eagles]]
|Strength2 =[[Sons of Horus]]<br>[[Death Guard]]<br>[[Night Lords]]<br>[[Alpha Legion]]<br>[[Iron Warriors]]<br>[[Dark Mechanicum]]<br>[[Knight]]s
|Casualties1 =Unknown, heavy
Cut off from the [[Ruinstorm]] created by the [[Word Bearers]], the Imperial worlds of the Coronid Deeps had little time to prepare for the traitor attack and little hope of outside aid. The traitors struck first at the [[Gethsamaine|Gethsamaine System]]. They then struck at the [[Cyclops Cluster]], where [[Dark Mechanicus]] ambassadors convinced the [[Forge World]] of [[M'Pandex]] to join Horus' cause. However on the Forge World of [[Mezoa]] the ruling [[Tech-priest]]s judged the traitor Mechanicum ambassadors to be [[Heretek]]s, forcing Horus to blockade the planet.{{Fn|1b}}
Letting Mezoa sit and rot in its isolation, the Warmaster began with the next stage of his plan. He dispatched the [[Death Guard]] led by [[Mortarion]] across the Cyclops cluster, where they captured the worlds of [[Lascal]] and [[Dominica Minor]] with the help of the traitor [[Knight House]] [[House Makabius]].{{Fn|1b}} At Lascal, the Death Guard massacred the local Loyalist defenders including Iron Hands remnants belonging to [[Clan Felg]].{{Fn|1e}}
Horus next struck at the [[Manachean Commonwealth]], a loyalist independent dominion within the Imperium to the galactic east of the Cyclops Cluster. As the traitors approached, insurrection and rebellion (perhaps instigated by the [[Alpha Legion]]) began to plague Imperial authorities throughout the commonwealth. To the further detriment of the Commonwealth, Imperial command at [[Port Maw]] dispatched the bulk of their fleet to deal with a nearby [[Ork]] force. Meanwhile, the defenses at Port Maw were undermined by sabotage thanks to the treacherous [[Archmagos]] [[Leit Mercuric]], who hid his true allegiance until it was too late. With communications and defenses in complete chaos, the traitor forces swiftly captured the base from brave but outclassed [[Solar Auxilia]] troops and what active [[Imperial Armada]] warships remained loyal. When Horus' own flagship, the [[Vengeful Spirit]] arrived, the battle in space was decided in the traitors favor.{{Fn|1c}}{{Fn|1d}}
While the ruling traitor Magos under [[Draykavac]] was still busy mopping up the last remnants of resistance in his newly conquered sectors, a loyalist reinforcement fleet from the nearby [[Agathean Domain]] arrived under [[Lord Marshal]] [[Ireton MaSade]]. MaSade struck at the recently captured world of [[Numinal]], creating a vicious battle where his Solar Auxilia battled traitor Mechanicum forces. [[Knight]]s, used by both sides, proved the decisive factor in the battle. However the loyalists held firm and slowly began to overwhelm the traitor forces, and aided by local rebellions and small amounts of [[Imperial Fist]]s and [[Raven Guard]]s were able to win the day. Numinal had fallen to the loyalists.{{Fn|1d}}
But despite the liberation of Numinal, much of the region still lay in traitor hands. Stalemate erupted, and the Manachean Commonwealth was devastated in a series of attacks and counterattacks.{{Fn|1d}} At [[Lethe (planet)|Lethe]] and [[Revorthe Keep]], the loyalist [[Death Eagles (Blackshields)|Death Eagles]] [[Blackshields]] clashed with the Emperor's Children.{{Fn|1d}}
===The Siege of Epsilon-Stranivar IX===
**{{Endn|1b}}: pgs. 25-35
**{{Endn|1c}}: pgs. 36-52
**{{Endn|1d}}: pg. 158
**{{Endn|1e}}: pg. 159
*{{Endn|2}}: [[The Horus Heresy Book Six - Retribution]], pg. 34
