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The '''Orphean War'''{{Fn|1}} (also known as '''Orpheus War'''{{Fn|2b}} or '''Orpheus Crisis'''){{Fn|4}} is a conflict being waged in the [[Orpheus Sector]] since 991.[[M41]] between the forces of the [[Imperium]] and the [[Necron]] [[Maynarkh Dynasty]].{{Fn|1}}

Striking suddenly and essentially without warning, the Necron forces of the sector struck not a single [[Imperial]] world but scores of planets and outposts, conducting total genocide of the local populace wherever they struck. The [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] world of [[Harrow Watch]] and the [[Frontier World]]s of [[Pallasite]], [[Khatris]], and [[Borrus]] had their populations erased seemingly instantly. On [[Libethra]], the [[Fortress-Monastery]] of the [[Angels Revenant]], contact was also quickly lost. Only at the [[Inquisitorial Fortress]] of [[Apollyon]] was the alarm first raised, allowing for the sector [[Battlefleet]], [[Imperial Guard]], and local [[PDF]] units to be mobilized. However, at this time, the Imperium was still unaware of who exactly they were facing. The Sector Commander, [[Calibron Laan]], took the opportunity to strip away garrisons from other worlds and instead protect his domain of [[Amarah]].{{Fn|1a}}

On [[Drucilla Majoris]], a [[Hive World]] of six billion, all contact was soon lost and the powerful [[Ramilies Class Star Fort]] ''Fortress Tarris'' came under attack by a mysterious but malicious foe before it to ceased all contacts with the outside world. Through all this, Governor Laan refused to take aggressive action and instead waited in his bunker as millions of men and thousands of warships amassed around him, waiting. This Imperial inaction allowed the attackers to take systems around Amarah one-by-one until soon the entire Orpheus Sector had been cut in half.{{Fn|1a}}

Laan's inaction allowed the attackers, now identified as [[Necrons]], to slowly choke off Amarah, but rather then making a swift move on the sector capital, the mysterious foe simply halted their advance. This allowed Laan to bring in reinforcements from out-of-sector as well as build up the defenses of Amarah itself. The forces on Amarah had grown to colossal proportions: over 19 million [[Imperial Guard]], with ten times that number of [[PDF]] and militia. Foremost among the Imperial Guard forces were 2 million guardsmen of the [[Death Korps of Krieg]], spearheaded by the [[17th Line Korps]] under command of [[Marshal_(Imperial_Guard)|Marshal]] [[Karis Venner]]. In addition, several [[Space Marine]] [[Chapter]]s had answered the Orphean call to arms, including the entirety of the [[Minotaurs]] and elements of the [[Marauders]], [[Red Seraph]]s, and [[Nemesis Chapter]], which were en-route. The naval armada around Amarah included hundreds of [[escort]]-class vessels, over sixty [[Imperial Navy]] [[Cruiser]]s and Capital Ships (including seven [[Battleship]]s), and four [[Space Marine]] [[Battle Barge]]s. Seldom in the history of the Imperium had such a force been massed to defend a single star system.{{Fn|1b}} At some point after their entry into the war, the Minotaurs destroyed a Necron fortress on [[Thamyris]].{{Fn|2b}}

The machine overlord slew all in his path and even defeated the Dreadnought [[Geryon]], but the distraction posed by the duel allowed Moloc to plunge his relic-weapon deep into the Necron Lord's back. Soon the ship's hull gave way from all the combat, and both Moloc and the Necron Overlord were sucked into the void of space. Outside, the dying Minotaur Battle Barge ''Fedelitas Lambda'' plunged itself into the Tomb Ship, gravely damaging it and forcing it to flee from battle. With the rout of one of their capital ships, the rest of the Necron fleet broke off and retreated. With the fleeing of the Necron fleet, the attackers on the ground vanished with them. The Battle of Amarah was over, but it was a hollow victory as the planet had been completely devastated{{Fn|1b}}

After the Battle of Amarah, any surviving defenders (of which there were few) were evacuated from the planet as quickly as possible and pulled back to the outer worlds of [[Laymon (Planet)|Laymon]] and [[Calama]] to regroup while whatever surviving civilian population remained was left to their own fate. As of 995.[[M41]], the Orphean War had reached a point of stalemate. Imperial Forces remaining in the Amarah and Hydroghast systems have been cut off, and the current rate of attrition losses have reached 60%. Taking advantage of the carnage, the Chemarium System fell under the control of the [[Ruinous Powers]] and the [[Chaos]] forces have begun to engage both Imperial and Necron positions.{{Fn|1b}}

In 999.[[M41]], over eighty years into their century-long penitent crusade, the [[Executioners]] arrived at the war-torn Orpheus Sector. There they discovered a slew of planets decimated by war, and swear revenge for the fallen brothers of other Chapters.{{Fn|2a}} In the aftermath of the [[Great Rift]]'s creation, the [[Indomitus Crusade]] was launched and a [[Torchbearer Fleet]] also sent to the Orpheus Sector. There, they discovered that some Angels Revenant had actually survived on their homeworld, hidden beneath the surface in underground caverns. The Imperials then purged the remaining Necrons on Libethra, and reinforced the Angels Revenant with [[Primaris Space Marines]].{{Fn|3}}

*[[Adeptus Astartes]]

**[[Minotaurs]] - Entire [[Chapter]]

*[[Indomitus Crusade]] forces (since early [[M42]]){{Fn|3}}

*{{Endn|1}}: [[Imperial Armour Volume Twelve - The Fall of Orpheus]] {{Cite this}}

**{{Endn|1a}}: pgs. 28-30