Battle of Zhao-Arkhad
The Battle of Zhao-Arkhad was a battle of the Horus Heresy taking place in 013.M31.[1]
Overview
Taking place in the context of Lion El'Jonson's purge of traitor worlds, an impetuous contingent of Dark Angels reached the Forge World of Zhao-Arkhad and made landfall at its principal forge-fanes. The Dark Angels exited their landing craft only to encounter the Thousand Sons from the Sixth Fellowship[2], who surprisingly did not open fire. Instead they proclaimed their loyalty to the Emperor and offered parlay.[1]
However, under orders to eliminate all traitors with extreme prejudice, and believing the Thousand Sons to be lying, the Dark Angels opened fire. Determined not to let Zhao-Arkhad follow the same fate as Prospero, the Thousand Sons unleashed their psychic might and a seemingly endless tide of Automata against the invaders, inflicting severe losses on the Dark Angels. The 1st Legion then launched three successive counterattacks to push the enemy back at their ever-shrinking landing site, but each failed to achieve its goals. Hundreds of loyalist lives were lost when Titans from the Legio Xestobiax intervened to put an end to the ill-fated invasion, and the remaining Dark Angels hastily withdrew to their fleet and enforced a brutal blockade of Zhao-Arkhad as they awaited further orders from The Lion.[1]
See also
Sources
- 1: White Dwarf 478, pg. 109
- 2: The Horus Heresy Book Seven - Inferno, pg. 65 — The Bloody Tally of Justice
