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The Iron Cage

No change in size, 10 March
m
clean up, replaced: organiz → organis (2)
[[Perturabo]] resolved to retaliate against his brother for undoing his empire and to demonstrate his superiority in siege after the death of [[Horus]] denied him the opportunity to fully destroy the defenses of the [[Imperial Palace]]. To do so, Perturabo constructed the Eternal Fortress on the world of Sebastus IV, a mighty trap designed to ensnare the [[Imperial Fists]] and allow his [[Iron Warriors]] to inflict overwhelming casualties. The Fortress consisted of over 20 square miles of bunkers, towers, minefields, trenches, [[Accordion Wire|razor wire]], tank traps, redoubts and a system of complex underground tunnels. The defenses of the fortress were shaped as an eight-point star. At the center was a massive bunker intended to serve as a decoy and of no value whatsoever.{{Fn|3b}}
Upon discovering the Eternal Fortress, Dorn declared that he would go there and bring Perturabo back to [[Terra]] in an iron cage.{{Fn|3b}} His determination to do so had two motivations. First, Dorn of course wanted to continue his crusade against the Traitor Legions and the Iron Warriors in particular. Second, Dorn decided to resolve the [[Imperial Fists#Codex Astartes Crisis|Codex Astartes Crisis]] by accepting the [[Codex Astartes|Codex]] but willed that the entire Imperial Fists Legion would symbolically enter into the [[pain glove]] together and emerge ready and willing to reorganize reorganise into [[Chapters]]. Assaulting the Iron Warriors' Eternal Fortress provided just such an opportunity.{{Fn|1b}} This indicates that Dorn was prepared for his Legion to take heavy casualties and perhaps even invited the prospect.
==The Battle of the Iron Cage==
Upon breaking out, the Loyalists discovered less resistance than expected. Unknown to the loyalists, Perturabo was withdrawing portions of his force to entice the Imperial Fists to assault their positions and take additional casualties. Crucially, this allowed the Primarch of the Iron Warriors to control the movements of the Loyalists, directing them into carefully planned traps and kill zones. By repeating this tactic, the Iron Warriors were able to break apart the formations of the Imperial Fists, first Company by Company and then Squad by Squad. By the sixth day, the Imperial Fists had been reduced to largely fighting Battle-Brother by Battle-Brother.{{Fn|3b}}
The battle lasted another three weeks. The Imperial Fists' ammunition was expended and they fought individually in half flooded trenches with their combat knives,{{Fn|1b}} refusing to submit while they dug into the mud and used their fallen Battle-Brothers for cover.{{Fn|3b}} Dorn personally turned back a number of attacks. The Legion's Captains pleaded with their primarch to organize organise a breakout and retreat, but Dorn refused. Ever loyal, the Imperial Fists resigned to die fighting alongside their lord if necessary.{{Fn|3b}}
==Ending and Aftermath==
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