Hive Volcanus
Hive Volcanus is one of the major hive cities of the planet Armageddon, located on the west coast of Armageddon Prime[2b] on the estuary of the Erebus River.[1] The hive has participated in all three wars for Armageddon.[1]
First War
During the first war, it was one of the Hives whose population was falling towards the forces of Chaos, and as such revolted when Angron and the World Eaters landed.
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Second War
Hive Volcanus was quickly conquered by Ghazghkull Thraka, failing to put up much resistance. Overlord von Strab failed to use his forces effectively and promptly fell back to Armageddon Secundus.[2a][3]
Third War
During the Third War, it endured a heavy siege, supplies being ferried from the north to keep the Hive in Imperial hands. Though these supplies are getting through, they are were insufficient to prevent many of the population from dying of starvation. Towards the end of the war, a unit of Elysian Drop Troops reinforced the defenders, and they attempted to break out of the Ork ring that surrounded the Hive. Once they had broken out, the idea was to attempt to retake Hive Tempestora. Although at the end the Orks had taken a heavy toll on the Imperials, it turned out that most of the key sites in and around Hive Volcanus had been taken by the Imperials, although some sites were still contested, but none of them were held by the Orks.[4]
The Volcanus Mountain Space Defence Fortress was given a special priority to retake by the Imperial Commanders of Hive Volcanus. Imperial Guard assaults up the slopes met with failure until the Iron Champions and Celestial Lions Space Marines Chapters arrived to assist. The Celestial Lions had to destroy Gargant production facilities in the hills while the Iron Champions had to retake the fortress itself. Seven regiments of Hive Militia assaulted up the slopes, taking heavy casualties, although they were led by Commissar Yarrick who inspired much faith in them. The Iron Champions landed behind the Orks and all but destroyed the Orks, recapturing the guns of the fortress.[4]
The Celestial Lions attacked in the Mannheim Gap, only to discover that the Gargants were active. They were outnumbered and outgunned by Warlord Thogfang's Gargants and Razorhed's Speed Freeks and not one Space Marine escaped. The Orks pushed forward but were only stopped by the renewed firing from the fortress.[4]
As well as the land wars, Ork gunboats bypassed the Volcanus Archipelago defences and forced landings on Nemesis Island and easily took control of the prison complex. The inmates were quickly turned into slaves, hauling artillery and pieces ashore. Fortunately, before the guns could be assembled, Elysian Drop Troops led by Colonel Prinz landed on the island and recruited the slaves to fight alongside the Imperial Guardsmen. Nemesis Gamma, the westernmost of the islands, still resists the Imperial advances and proceeds to bombard the Hive and every attempt to take it has failed.[4]
Results[4]
The results of the campaign in the Hive Volcanus region shows that the Imperium held very strongly over half of the features and contested the rest. Perhaps if other hives fell this would have been a fall back point.
| Key feature |
Orks
|
Imperium
|
Outcome |
| Ork Rok Dropsites |
38%
|
62%
|
Imperial held |
| Volcanus Archipelago Offshore Defences |
44%
|
56%
|
Contested |
| Vulcan Bridge |
43%
|
57%
|
Imperial held |
| Volcanus Mountains |
34%
|
66%
|
Imperial held |
| The Mannheim Gap |
41%
|
59%
|
Imperial held |
| Volcanus Ridge |
47%
|
53%
|
Contested |
| Volcanus Hive |
44%
|
56%
|
Contested |
| Volcanus Mountain Space Defence Fortress |
30%
|
70%
|
Imperial held |
| Motorway |
39%
|
61%
|
Imperial held |
| Nemesis Island Penal Facility |
46%
|
54%
|
Contested |
See also
Sources
- 1: Third War for Armageddon website: Hive Volcanus (archived page, last accessed via Wayback Machine 25th August 2020)
- 2: Codex: Armageddon (3rd Edition):
- 3: Blood and Fire (Novella) — Armageddon (Anthology), Chapter III
- 4: Hive Volcanus Sector News (archived page, last accessed via Wayback Machine 25th August 2020)
