PART 12

THE ATTACK ON EARTH

When the traitors finally made their attack on Terra, several Legions were absent, isolated far from Terra by the deceptions of their treacherous Warmaster. The loyalist forces of Terra were comprised of the Custodian Guard, White Scars, Imperial Fists, Blood Angels, Imperial Army and Navy elements, and several Titan Legions. Horus arrived with the Sons of Horus, Emperor’s Children, Iron Warriors, World Eaters, Death Guard, Thousand Sons, traitor Army and Navy elements, and traitor Titan Legions.   

The Dark King and The Lightning Tower, 2007, by Dan Abnett and Graham McNeill 

THE ATTACK ON EARTH All across the galaxy many of the Emperor’s greatest works had fallen and his worlds were in disarray, having either been corrupted by Chaos or locked in bloody conflict with the servants of the Chaos Gods.  Such was the position when the forces of Horus gathered around Earth.  The Lunar bases, bastion of the fleet, fell to Horus following brief but hard fighting, and soon the rebel fleet was in control of the orbital space around Earth.  Raining down upon the Imperial Seat, Horus’ battleships duelled with planetary defence lasers, crushing them with a heavy bombardment from space – the Space Marine Legions had been created with planetary assault as their primary role and it was a strategy they had perfected during the Great crusade.  The last squadrons of loyal starfighters poured volley after volley into the traitor ships, but could not penetrate their shields.  Seeing no other course of action, the pilots rammed their fighters into the hulls of the orbiting rebel fleet.  It was a defiant gesture, nothing more. The Traitor Legions’ drop ships fell like rain upon the Imperial Palace and the starports surrounding it, disgorging thousands of Space Marines warped and bolstered by the power of Chaos.  The defenders refused to give way, and the attackers forced their way forward step-by-step over the fallen on both sides.  As the traitors assaulted the hundreds of square miles of towers, walls and bastions, the dead were so thickly that corridors were blocked by the press of corpses. Still, the forces loyal to the Emperor withstood the initial assault but could not prevent Horus’ Space Marines setting up siege lines. Gigantic dropships landed at Lion’s Gate and the other starports bringing a second wave of Chaos Space Marines. Bloodthirsty Berzerkers of the World Eaters Legion were the first to attempt an all-out assault against the Imperial Palace, and were hurled back after days of bloody fighting. With the Initial attack stalled, Horus opted to bring forth his entire arsenal of weapons and warriors to overthrow the Emperor. For over a month, the gigantic cannons of the rebel army pounded the walls, foremost among them the siege weapons of the Legio Mortis Titan Legion, which had turned to Chaos in the earliest days of the Heresy.  Eventually, after heavy bombardment, part of the curtain wall came crashing down and the Traitor Legions hurled themselves at the breach to pour into the inner palace. Along banner-lined corridors, through mile-long galleries, the loyalists and rebels tore at each other.  At the heart of the fighting stood the Primarchs. Rogal Dorn of the Imperial Fists and Sanguinius of the Blood Angels fought a desperate rearguard action to halt the force pouring through the breach. Angron of the World Eaters slew loyalist Space Marines by the dozen, while Mortarion of the Death Guard led his pustulent Plague Marines into the thickest fighting. Codex: Chaos Space Marines, 2007, p14

Unlike the conflict on Istvaan V, this battle involved Imperial and renegade army elements, not just Titan crews, specialist Adeptus Mechanicus forces, and Space Marines. While it seems incredibly implausible, traitor forces were able to rampage throughout the region surrounding the Imperial palace, accessing the countless thousands of kilometres of tunnels and chambers that honeycombed the mountains upon which the Palace was constructed, where they tortured, murdered and even took as slaves the civilian population. These actions had the unfortunate consequence of destroying vast quantities of data and historical records.   

   

With his landing sites secured, the next units deployed by Horus were the Storm Lords and Flaming Skulls Titan Legions. The Siege of the Emperor’s Palace, White Dwarf, volume 262

But of all the Legions involved, only three were mentioned specifically in The Siege of the Emperor’s Palace, although these may not have been the names of the Titan Legions at all. The Iron Warriors were given command of the Deaths Heads Titans, but there is evidence that suggests the Deaths Heads may have been legionnaires of a traitor Legion, a Chapter that served alongside the Titans of Legio Mortis. If the Deaths Heads were actually renegade legionnaires, it raises questions about the real nature of the Storm Lords and Flaming Skulls.

Among the Titan Legions, Indias Cavelerio, Princeps of the Warlord Titan Victorix Magna of Legio Tempestus, was known as the Stormlord, but there seems to be no reference to a specific Titan Legion bearing the name Storm Lords. There is, however, a Second Founding Chapter of the V ‘White Scars’ Legion Astartes which has the name Storm Lords, and the Legion itself was divided in its loyalties during the Horus Heresy. If the reference in The Siege of the Emperor’s Palace refers to the Titans attached to renegade Chapters of the White Scars and a traitor Legion, then it seems likely that the Flaming Skulls were also a Chapter of another Legion.

The account also mentions Khornate Battle Titans, but since that particular phase of the attack took place in the region between the Eternity Wall and Lions Gate to link the two traitor landing sites, and involved the Death Guard and World Eaters Legions, it is possible this referred to Titans attached to the World Eaters Legion. The Legion source of the Flaming Skulls, therefore, remains a mystery. 

Most official accounts indicate that the conflict on Terra raged for months, and that the populations surrounding the Imperial Palace suffered the excesses of the traitors while the loyalists within managed to hold-out. But what happened at the end of the siege is something that raises many questions. The two loyalist Legions approaching Terra were listed as the Space Wolves and Dark Angel, but even this is something that raises questions.

The Dark Angels were recorded as having travelled to Ultramar following the treachery in the Istvaan System. A journey from Ultramar to Terra was just over 50,000 Light Years. Under ideal conditions this would take just over four years, although this would only be just over six weeks for those on board the vessel travelling through the warp. Less ideal conditions, like the warp storms that began as the Horus Heresy began, tripled these times. After their visit to Perditus, however, the Dark Angels were able to make journeys like this in far less time.

The Space Wolves, on the other hand, did not have access to such a device. The last recorded campaign for their Legion suggests they were deployed on Prospero, the homeworld of the Thousand Sons, just before the Horus Heresy began. But this is where official records conflict, again. Some accounts claim Magnus tried to warn the Emperor of the impending treachery before the traitors purged their loyalist elements on Istvaan III, while others appear to suggest the warning from Magnus occurred after this.

The final attack was never launched. Horus sensed the approach of the Space Wolves and the Dark Angels. With all his reserves except his own Sons of Horus committed, the arrival of two fresh legions could be decisive. Horus knew that he had but one card left to play. He dropped his shields on his flagship and awaited the Emperor’s arrival. Horus had always known that the war must end with the death of the Emperor and that he alone had enough power to accomplish the task. He had hoped to make the task easier by fighting a weakened and demoralised Emperor, but that advantage had been lost on the battlefield thanks to the courage and resolve of the Emperor’s soldiers. There were no witnesses to the final confrontation between the Emperor and Horus aboard the Warmaster’s battle barge, but we know the events and Emperor’s ultimate victory through the teachings of the Eccles-iarchy. With Horus’ death the remaining Chaos Legions on Terra broke up. The Chaos Space Marines react-ing first, evacuating with practiced efficiency, leaving their minions to suffer the wrath of the loyalists. The Siege of the Emperor’s Palace, White Dwarf, volume 262

Obviously, using his powers and violating the Nikaea Edict to delivering the warning after the event is not only pointless, but incredibly stupid. It makes more sense that the warning was delivered before what occurred in the Istvaan System, otherwise the Space Wolves would probably have been deployed as part of the reprisal fleet. It doesn’t make sense that the VI Legion would remain on Prospero for the duration of the Horus Heresy though, and since Prospero is only about 12,000Light Years from Terra. The evidence suggests the Space Wolves were either deployed on other duties during the Horus Heresy, or somehow prevented from reaching Terra without an extended period of time spent in warp travel.

The final stages of the siege on Terra also make little sense. If Horus and his traitors were aware of the loyalist reinforcements then the Emperor’s loyalists on Terra would also have known. The Emperor would not have to teleport upon the Vengeful Spirit to confront Horus. If the traitors were going to overrun the defenders, then the attack makes sense, but doing so would reduce the defences in the Imperial Palace. If the Emperor had waited for the loyalist reinforcements to arrive, the traitors would be caught between them and destroyed.

Kroeger shook his head. “Perhaps, but whoever is left standing in the Palace will be master of the largest ruin on Terra,” he said. The Horus Heresy, volume XXIII, Angel Exterminatus, p236

Even if the traitors managed to defeat the loyalists on Terra, their numbers were depleted and the conflict would render the defences of the Imperial Palace useless. The traitors could not defend what they had captured. They had no choice but to retreat. But Horus was determined to kill the Emperor, believing this would end the conflict, destroying the moral of loyalist military elements and forcing the civilian population to accept his rule. While there is a reason for Horus to teleport to the Imperial Palace, there is no reason for the Emperor to teleport onto the Vengeful Spirit. Unless he was attempting to escape.

Imperial forces fought a battle on two fronts during the siege of the Emperor’s Palace: the traitors that arrived in orbit and deployed on the surface of Terra, and the creatures of the warp that were attempting to breach the fortified entrance to the ruptured Webway in the dungeons beneath. If the theory suggesting the ruined fortress on Istvaan V may have contained an entrance to the Webway was accurate, then the idea Horus wanted to use it to gain access to the Emperor’s Palace on Terra might not have been the intention at all.

Unspoken understanding flowed between Magnus and the Emperor. Everything Magnus had done was laid bare, and everything the Emperor had planned flowed into him. He saw himself atop the Golden Throne, using his fearsome powers to guide humanity to its destiny as rulers of the galaxy. He was to be his father’s chosen instrument of ultimate victory. It broke him to know that his unthinking hubris had shattered that dream. Without will, the spell that had sent him to Terra was nothing, and Magnus had felt the pull of flesh dragging his spirit back through the gateway. He did not fight it, but let his essence fly through the golden lattice to the tear he had so carelessly torn in its fabric. Vast shoals of void predators were already massing, swirling armies of formless monsters, fanged beasts and awesomely powerful entities that lived only for destruction. The Horus Heresy, volume XII, A Thousand Sons, p447

There is a very real possibility that Horus and his traitors intended to breach the Webway, in the same way that Magnus did, specifically to allow the entities of the warp to use it as a conduit to enter the Emperor’s Palace. It is even possible they were in the process of doing this when Magnus ripped an entrance into the Webway. The access to the Webway beneath the Emperor’s Palace was no longer viable. Perhaps, in time, warp spiders from the Eldar Craftworlds might be able to repair it, but during the Horus Heresy, it was inaccessible.

The Emperor could not allow the technology within the dungeons of the palace to fall into the hands of Horus and his traitors. There were only the two options: defend the palace at all costs, or destroy it and escape to fight another day. While the force fields protected the palace from orbital attack and forced traitor forces to breach the walls of the palace to gain entry, the Emperor’s loyalists could hold.

Then, as hundreds of Orks rushed to join the battle on the perimeter walls. Horus and the entire Terminator armoured 1st Company teleported directly to the foot of the great central tower. As the Luna Wolves blasted away the guards, mobs from the walls raced back to protect Urlakk. Horus left most of the terminators to hold back the Orks and pushed on up the tower with just ten Space Marines at his side. Sons of Horus: The Black Legion Space Marine Legion, Index Astartes IV, 2004 Sons of Horus: The Black Legion Space Marine Chapter, White Dwarf, volume 168

Perturabo and the Iron Warriors may have used the Legio Mortis Titans to create an entrance through the walls, but it was one that simply funnelled and contained the attacking traitors. If a larger section of the wall had been brought destroyed by their efforts, the defenders could have been overrun by a wave of traitors. Logic indicates no reason for the Emperor to teleport to the Vengeful Spirit and fight Horus. The reason for there being “no witnesses to the final confrontation between the Emperor and Horus aboard the Warmaster’s battle barge” could be because it never happened there. The teachings of the Ecclesiarchy may well be fiction.

Horus was well known for his audacity in regards to attacking the leaders of an enemy force using teleportation, as demonstrated during the turning point of the Ullanor Crusade. The outcome of the battle makes more sense if part of the protective shields over the palace failed, even for a moment, and allowed Horus to repeat what he had done to Warlord Urlakk on Ullanor. With the loyalists hard pressed defending the walls, the Emperor was isolated as he orchestrated the defencefrom inside the palace.

The idea that the emperor, Sanguinius and Rogal Dorn would abandon the palace to all make a teleport attack against the Vengeful Spirit is ludicrous. The idea that Dorn would even consider leaving the palace walls adds to the unlikelihood of such an action. There is also the potential damage of loyalist morale to consider as their three greatest assets all decide to leave to attack a single vessel in orbit, one with less defences than the palace itself, and which could be destroyed during an orbital engagement.

Attacking the Vengeful Spirit in this manner was foolhardy. It could have easily been a trap. The vessel could easily have been rigged to explode, killing them all. It was territory Horus and his traitors knew better than the loyalist boarders, an unknown risk only worth taking as a last resort if the plan was to commandeer the vessel or as part of a scorched earth policy. While it is possible there was a boarding action as part of a counter-attack, it seems very unlikely the Emperor, Sanguinius and Rogal Dorn were involved.

Perhaps the Emperor permitted Sanguinius to take the fight to the Vengeful Spirit. The Blood Angels were the foremost drop pod and deep strike Legion, but Horus was well aware of this given the two Legions had fought beside one another using the tactic. It is entirely possible that Horus teleported down with the body of Sanguinius after killing him during a counter-attack against Horus aboard the Vengeful spirit.   

PART 11

PART 13