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From Warhammer 40k - Lexicanum
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clean up, replaced: armor → armour (2), Armor → Armour (2)
Though the rest of Terra was in chaos or in Traitor hands, the Palace stood firm. All traitor attacks against the walls failed to achieve a breakthrough, and the Emperor's psychic shield endured strong enough to keep the Daemon Primarch's from the Palace. In order to further the weakened Emperor's barrier, both Horus and [[Magnus]] launched psychic attacks against Him. Magnus utilized the gestalt [[Daemon]] [[Shai-Tan]] in the attacks.{{Fn|11}} At Horus' command Mortarion attacked near the Saturnine Gate turning the previously lavish Palatine Arc into an infected quagmire nicknamed Poxville. Angron fruitlessly rampaged outside of the Helios Gate, and Fulgrim's degenerate hordes launched raids to both the west and north. The Emperor's Children were already beginning to leave the frontline, instead taking prisoners for their own perverse reasons. Of Magnus there was no sign, and not even Malcador could ascertain his true intentions. In this stalemate, Horus placed [[Perturabo]] in charge of achieving a major breakthrough. Perturabo surmised that the [[Lion's Gate Spaceport]] was both the weakest and strongest points in the Palace's defenses. Taking it would allow the traitors to land badly needed [[Titan]]s and give the traitors access to both the Inner and Outer Palaces. At the same time however, it was one of the most heavily defended bastions. This did not deter Perturabo, and he shocked his [[First Captain]] [[Forrix]] by placing [[Kroeger]] in charge of the assault on the Spaceport. Perturabo hoped that Koreger's bluntness would shock Dorn, who had planned for a more sophisticated attack.{{Fn|10a}}
The Imperial Forces at the Lion's Gate Spaceport numbered 18,000 Imperial Fists and nearly 800,000 Imperial Army troops under the command of [[Fafnir Rann]]. To break this, the traitors amassed a massive force of their own. 25,000 Iron Warriors, thousands more [[World Eaters]] under [[Kharn]], 2,308 [[Basilisk]]s, 1,500 [[Manticore (Tank)|Manticores]], 13 [[Bombard]]s, 476 [[Deathstrike Missile Launcher]]s, 495 [[Medusa (Siege Tank)|Medusas]], 84 [[Typhon Heavy Siege Tank]]s, 7,108 [[Thunderburst]] towed guns, 306 [[Siege Dreadnought]]s, and tens of thousands of Astartes tanks representing 80% of the Iron Warriors Legion's ArmorArmour. Supporting this were 1.5 million traitor Imperial Army troops and untold numbers of [[Beastmen]], [[Mutant]]s, and [[Cultist]]s.{{Fn|10b}}
Despite the apprehensions of Forrix, Kroeger chose not to launch a massive preliminary bombardment and instead launched an immediate attack on the Walls outside the Lion's Gate Spaceport. To the surprise of the traitors the Fists under Fafnir Rann forayed out of the Spaceport and formed a Shield Wall, pressing the [[Lost and the Damned]] masses together as Astartes armor armour moved around on their flanks. The armored armoured encirclement decimated the traitors, wiping out 300,000 troops in under two hours. The traitor attack stalled until the appearance of Angron himself, who managed to turn the tide. However as the Emperor's psychic shield prevented the Daemon Primarch from moving into the Palace Walls, the traitors failed to take the Spaceport.{{Fn|10c}} Following the failed attack, Perturabo realized that to take the Walls they must combat the immaterial might of the Emperor, Horus agreed, and gave Perturabo the support of [[Zardu Layak]] and [[Abaddon]] as well as [[Typhon]]. The four moved back down to the Palace Perimeter and enacted a ritual that would summon [[Cor’bax Utterblight]] into the minds of the mortal defenders of the Palace, forcing the Emperor's psyche to its limits.{{Fn|10d}} Meanwhile at the orders of Kroeger Forrix and 1,000 Iron Warriors infiltrated into the Spaceport, using the earlier attack as a smokescreen to move in and seize the bridges between the Spaceport and Lion's Gate itself. However in truth Kroeger intended to abandon Forrix behind enemy lines, or at the very least simply didn't care enough to lend him support. Shortly after Forrix's infiltration, 3,000 Sons of Horus under Abaddon alongside forces from the World Eaters under Kharn and Iron Warriors under Kroeger and [[Berossus]] attacked the upper tiers of the Spaceport.{{Fn|10e}}
Dorn agreed to provide Rann with reinforcements under [[Sigismund]] to prevent a total traitor victory at the Spaceport. During the defense Rann was wounded by Kroeger but saved by Sigismund, who led a vicious counterattack.{{Fn|10f}} It soon became apparent that the Iron Warriors attempt to seize the bridges had been simply a feint. Perturabo used Forrix's men to shield his true intentions, docking the ''[[Iron Blood]]'' with the Space Port's space elevator facilities and unloading waves of new reinforcements. The defection of the [[Addaba Free Corps]] prevented Dorn from sending reinforcements and the situation collapsed for the loyalists. In the ensuing brawl Sigismund battled Kharn, but while the [[First Captain]] was the superior warrior the World Eater's Captain was now infused with [[Khornate]] strength. Sigismund was bested, but saved by the appearance of Rogal Dorn himself who slapped away Kharn like an insect. Abaddon refused to allow Kharn to die and led a counterattack to save the World Eater, forcing Layak to intervene in order to save the future [[Warmaster]] of Chaos from the Primarch's wrath.{{Fn|10g}} Layak held off Dorn for a time with his sorcerous power, but was eventually slain. However, as he died he opened a portal to the [[Warp]] which allowed the first [[Daemon]]'s to manifest on Terra. With the situation now hopeless, Dorn ordered a withdrawal as Perturabo himself landed in the Spaceport. The two brothers came face to face, but both refused to waste their time and resources engaging one another in a fruitless duel. Perturabo had taken the First Wall, but there were still many more left to capture before the Sanctum Imperialis. Perturabo was undeterred as he oversaw the landing of the first Traitor Titans from the [[Legio Fureans]] upon Terra.{{Fn|10h}}
The grim outlook of the chance for victory was not shared by the White Scars and their Primarch, Jaghatai Khan, who continued to talk of life after they had won the battle.{{Fn|20a}} Not content to simply hide behind walls, the Khan at last decided at this desperate final hour to make his move. He became committed to retaking the [[Lion's Gate Spaceport]], which if captured would allow Guilliman's coming reinforcements to quickly land on Terra as well as slow the flow of traitor forces. Overworked and exhausted and knowing he could not control his brother, Rogal Dorn did not try to stop the Khan. Facing the White Scars were the bulk of the Death Guard under Mortarion, who had taken up Lion's Gate Spaceort as his new headquarters since the departure of Perturabo.{{Fn|20b}}
For the operation to recapture Lion's Gate, the Khan mustered not only nearly the entire White Scars Legion but also the [[Terran First ArmoredArmoured]] and the [[Sky Fortress]], the last [[Orbital Plate]] on Terra that until now was being used as an airborne carrier and fire support platform. After much careful planning, the Khan struck with an overwhelming push by thousands of Imperial Army tanks protected by White Scars infantry. In their wake came a massive charge of White Scars [[Jetbike]]s. Gold Battlefront under [[Ganzorig Noyan-Khan]] struck an arrowhead across the northern sections of the space port approaches, while Ebony under [[Qin Fai Noyan-Khan]] attacked the southern flank. Jaghatai Khan himself led Amber Battlefront through the center and directly into the thickest enemy defenses.{{Fn|20c}} The ensuing fighting was ferocious, even for the standards of the Siege. The Sky Fortress was able to fulfil its mission to provide fire and aerial support for the White Scars until it was shot down, crashing into the Imperial Fleet College and creating a massive explosion. While the White Scars and Imperial Army tanks were able to quickly push to the Lion's Gate Spaceport, inside their advance began to become bogged down by the stubborn defenses of not only the Death Guard, but also their Daemonic and Mutant allies. A war of attrition broke out, one in which the White Scars were ill-suited but the Death Guard excelled at.{{Fn|20d}}
As loyalist casualties mounted, the Khan was able to fight his way into the heart of the Spaceport and confront Mortarion himself. The old enemies exchanged few words before engaging in a final duel. Faced with Mortarion's new Daemonic endurance and strength, the Khan was brutally beaten down and nearly defenseless. However he was able to find a weakness in the Death Lord with his pride. Jaghatai Khan scolded Mortarion for being weak and giving into the powers of the Warp, while he himself had resisted the temptations of Chaos and remained true to the Emperor. Mortarion flew into a rage, which the Khan took advantage of to launch a second wave of dizzying attacks that overwhelmed the Primarch. In the end the badly wounded Jaghatai Khan was impaled on the blade of Mortarion's scythe, but simply pulled his body along its length to get face-to-face with the Death Guard Primarch. The loyalist Primarch decapitated Mortarion, who was banished into the Warp in a massive explosion similar to that of a [[Vortex Weapon]]. Later, the Khan's badly wounded body was discovered by [[Ilya Ravallion]] and [[Jangsai Khan]].{{Fn|20e}}
