War for Chogoris
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The War for Chogoris[1b] began in the last year of the M41, when the Red Corsairs' Chaos Lord, Huron Blackheart, led a massive invasion of the White Scars Chapter's homeworld, Chogoris, as part of his larger campaign to subjugate the Yasan Sector.[1a]
Contents
Overview
When the Red Corsairs attacked most of the White Scars' Brotherhoods were fighting elsewhere and even Great Khan Jubal was commanding their forces in Armageddon. This led Chogoris' defence to be led by Barutai Khan, but the Chapter's Astropaths hurled messages into the Warp, for their forces to return and defend their Homeworld. The Red Corsairs soon invaded in large numbers, but under Barutai's leadership, the Chapter was not overwhelmed. In time, some of the White Scar's Brotherhoods were able to return and Jubal Khan later arrived with his strike force. Even with the Great Khan's efforts though, the Chapter did little but slow the Red Corsairs' onslaught. Worse followed, as the Great Rift was created and the Noctis Aeterna allowed Daemons to materialize on Chogoris, which then fought beside the Red Corsairs. Within days these new foes slaughtered hundreds of thousands of the world's tribal population and they risked extinction. In order to save Chogoris' surviving population, Jubal Khan had his warriors strike recklessly at the Chaos forces, hoping to goad as many as possible into following the White Scars back to their Fortress Monastery, Quan Zhou. The Chaos forces fell for the bait and so, months after the Red Corsairs first made planetfall, the final fate of the White Scars was to be decided in a bloody siege of their Fortress Monastery.[1e]
It was at this desperate hour, that Kor'sarro Khan and his 3rd Brotherhood finally arrived. The Master of the Hunt wasted no time in marshalling scattered White Scars forces, along with a great militia of all those tribes that still possessed the will to fight. At the head of this mighty force, Kor'sarro launched a spear-thrust into the rear lines of the besieging Chaos forces, while the Great Khan attacked from the Fortress Monastery. After three days of bloody battle, Kor'sarro's warriors broke through to Quan Zhou and forced Blackheart into a calculated withdrawal. Still the Chaos forces might have carried the day, had the Noctis Aeterna not lifted over Chogoris and with it the energies of the Warp temporarily receded. This caused many of Blackheart's Daemon allies to fade back to the Warp and, seeing that he now faced a far less certain battle, the Tyrant of Badab decided to withdraw from Chogoris.[1e] Leaving renegade Warbands[1f], Cultists, and Daemon Engines[1a] rampaging across Chogoris' surface, Blackheart and his elite Red Corsairs fell back to conquered strongholds elsewhere in the Yasan Sector.[1e]
With the galaxy now rent by the Great Rift, the age of Chaos was nigh and Huron Blackheart knew he had ample time to return and conquer the Chapter's Homeworld.[1e]
Aftermath
The Chapter suffered heavy losses, with most of the Chapter's Brotherhoods left devastated. Even their Khans suffered heavily, as Seglei Khan died in the War[1c] and the wounds Jurga Khan was dealt led him to be interred within a Dreadnought.[1b]
The White Scars quickly reclaimed their homeworld. Chogoris was left scarred and burned by the war.[1a][1f] Worse yet, it suffered from the lingering touch of Chaos, with outbreaks of malign phenomena and twisted mutated beasts. Despite the victory on Chogoris, the Red Corsairs are still present throughout the Yasan Sector and occupy multiple worlds throughout it.[1a]
Later, Jubal Khan sought revenge for the Red Corsairs invasion of Chogoris by leading a daring attack on the Seethnar, a space station seized by Huron Blackheart. During the boarding operation Jubal Khan and his honour guard reached the heart of the Seethnar and caused catastrophic damage to its plasma reactors with melta charges, but were caught by the collapsing corridors.[1f]
While his Chapter could not ascertain Jubal's fate, he had in fact been captured by the Red Corsairs and was then horrifically tortured. The White Scars later discovered the Great Khan was still alive and rescued him, but by then his body had been completely broken. His wounds were beyond the Imperium's ability to heal and Jubal was then taken to the Quan Zhou, and placed within a life-support cradle. His condition has not changed since then; all the Chapter's Apothecaries can hope for is to sustain the Great Khan's mind for as long as possible. Though the shadow of the trauma he suffered lies heavy upon Jubal, he has not lost any of his keenness. The Great Khan now issues the White Scars' commands with relentless assurance, seeing through the eyes of the Chapter's outriders and orchestrating their actions on a Segmentum-wide scale. If anything, it seems Jubal's strategic nous has increased with his physical confinement, as it has freed him from the distractions of leading his armies in person. The Great Khan's will is now enacted through his closest advisers, who ensure his orders are relayed clearly to all the White Scars' campaigning strike forces.[1d]
The Blackheart War
Red Corsairs forces are still present throughout the Yasan Sector, ravaging swathes of worlds. Moreover, there are reports that Space Hulks have arrived which are disgorging Black Legion armies.[4]
However, recently Indomitus Crusade forces of Tertius Fleet's Battle Group Delphi II have rendezvoused with the Scars. They brought with them reinforcements and technology for Primaris Space Marine production.[1f] The White Scars have received reinforcements from several of their successors, such as the Marauders, Rampagers, and Destroyers.[4]
Conflicting sources
The original account of the battle put the salvation of Chogoris coming from Roboute Guilliman and the Indomitus Crusade.[2] This is not present in the more recent account given in Codex Supplement: White Scars (8th Edition) but instead has the Crusade arriving after the planet had already been secured.
Related Publications
Sources
- 1: Codex Supplement: White Scars (8th Edition):
- 2: Codex: Space Marines (8th Edition), pg. 21
- 3: First Founding (Background Book), pgs. 80-81
- 4: Codex: Space Marines (10th Edition), pg. 16
