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From Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum
m
→Prelude
Following the [[Drop Site Massacre]], the traitorous [[Warmaster]] of the Imperium and of the [[Sons of Horus]], [[Horus]], had crippled three Loyalist [[Space Marine]] [[Space Marine Legion|Legions]]. The [[Raven Guard]] and [[Salamanders]] were nearly destroyed, while the [[Iron Hands]] survived in larger numbers but were left leaderless. The fragmented warbands from these [[Shattered Legions]] continued hitting traitor forces during their advance upon Terra but were unable to contribute to the defense of the Throneworld itself. The [[Ultramarines]], [[Space Wolves]], and [[Dark Angels]] were either too far away or bogged down in their own campaigns to come for aid. Only the [[Imperial Fists]], [[Blood Angels]], and [[White Scars]] [[Space Marine Legion|Space Marine Legions]] were in the [[Sol System]] in force.{{Fn|1a}}
Facing them were the armies of [[Chaos]] under [[Warmaster]] [[Horus]] which included nine Legions of [[Chaos Space Marines]], traitorous forces of the [[Imperial Army]], [[Daemon|Daemonic hordes]], and the [[Titan Legion]]s of the [[Dark Mechanicum]].{{Fn|1a}} [[Mars]], the capital of the [[Adeptus Mechanicus]], had recently [[Schism of Mars|fallen]] to the traitor forces. The situation had become disastrous for the [[Imperium]] and the forces of the [[Emperor]]. Horus, sensing that he could decisively end the conflict and overthrow the Emperor once and for all, began to move on Terra. [[Rogal Dorn]], of the [[Imperial Fists]], was given overall command of the defenses of humanity's homeworld while the Emperor himself was busy with his own secret project, the [[Golden Throne]].{{Fn|1a}} In this endeavor, the Primarch was assisted by a team of tacticaesuch as [[Osaka]], and data-adjudicators such as [[OsakaPerez Grist]].{{Fn|24r}}
In addition to the loyalist Space Marine forces deployed in the Sol System, the loyalists were bolstered by the [[Custodian Guard]], [[Sisters of Silence]], millions of [[Imperial Army]] troops as well as various [[Mechanicum]] forces such as [[Titan Legion]]s, [[Knight]]s, [[Legio Cybernetica]], and [[Skitarii]]. Much of Terra's population was forcibly conscripted in the stages before the battle, with millions of terrified [[Conscript]]s being handed a [[Lasgun]] with virtually no training. Most of these were deployed in the 3-layered trench network around the Walls of the [[Imperial Palace]], with Dorn intending to save his Astartes and Mechanicum troops for the later stages of the battle.{{Fn|9a}}
