Armageddon, a harsh industrial planet scarred by combat and corruption, witnessed its first great clash in 444.M41 when the forces of Chaos led by the bloodsoaked daemon primarch Angron launched a brutal invasion. Known in Imperial records as the First War for Armageddon, this conflict involved corrupted rebels, daemons, Ork mercenaries, and traitor Astartes facing off against the beleaguered defenders of the Imperial governorates, the noble Space Wolves, and the secretive Grey Knights. The battle marked not only a turning point in the timeline of Armageddon’s bloody history but also became the source of deep shame and erasure, hidden by the Imperium’s Inquisition to preserve the myth of the planet’s resilience.
Background and Prologue
The Gathering Storm Near the Eye of Terror
The war began with disturbances within Chaos space. The daemon primarch Angron, champion of Khorne and ruler of the traitor World Eaters legion, rallied his chaotic forces aboard the Space Hulk *Devourer of Stars*, drawn by a Warp storm toward the Hive World of Armageddon. By the time vessels arrived in late 444.M41, the Planetary Defence Forces had already suppressed localized rebellions on both Prime and Secundus continents unaware those uprisings were the vanguard of a far greater threat.
Rebellion and Invasion
Rebels on Armageddon Prime fell under dark influence, some fully turning against the Imperium. This sudden shift in loyalties left the PDF stretched thin. Their preoccupation with local insurrections allowed Angron and his Chaos horde to descend with almost no opposition. The combined forces of World Eaters, daemons, rogue rebels, mutants, and beast-men devastated entire hives, slaughtering millions in mere weeks.
Raising the Defences
Space Wolves to the Rescue
With the Imperium teetering on the edge of disaster, the Space Wolves Chapter under the command of Russ’s appointed Great Wolf, Logan Grimnar was dispatched. Grimnar’s warriors, though vastly outnumbered (1:100), entered the warzone and set ambushes in the Styx and Chaeron river valleys. Their sudden appearance and ferocity bought precious time for the dwindling PDF to regroup.
Chaos Pauses Its Advance
Strangely, Angron halted his advance briefly to torture captives and erect gory monuments, giving defenders a narrow window to organize. As the Warp storm that shielded Chaos’s approach subsided, Space Wolves and PDF forces prepared a desperate counteroffensive an unlikely alliance driven by the shared goal of survival.
The Climactic Showdown
Grey Knights Enter the Fray
To confront Angron directly, Logan Grimnar summoned the Inquisition’s clandestine daemonhunters, the Grey Knights. With only 109 Terminatorarmored brethren, they teleported into Chaos ranks at the battlefield’s heart. Though many fell, the presence of the Grey Knights turned the tide. A psychic blast shattered Angron’s Black Blade, and BrotherCaptain Taremar Aurellian confronted the primarch banishing him back to the Warp for a hundred years and a day.
Victory at Great Cost
With Angron in retreat and Chaos forces disoriented, the combined Imperial forces pursued the remnants into the Ash Wastes. Millions of cultists, mutants, and renegades were slain or captured, and daemons expelled. Though victorious, the Imperium paid dearly only thirteen Grey Knights remained to tell the tale.
Aftermath and Imperial Secrets
Inquisition’s Cleanup
Following the victory, the Inquisition covered up the scale of the conflict. Exposure to Chaos was deemed too dangerous soldiers were sterilized, imprisoned, or executed. Entire orbiting vessels and three nearby worlds were purged or destroyed to eliminate witnesses. Armageddon was repopulated with untainted settlers, led to forget the scale of devastation. Even Logan Grimnar’s objections were crushed by ruthless intervention.
Long-Term Impact
Ultimately, the First War for Armageddon was erased from public memory. Official records acknowledge only two wars those of 996 and 998.M41. The grim events of 444.M41 remained taboo subjects, whispered only among highranking Imperial factions and forbidden to the public.
Key Combatants
- Chaos: Angron and World Eaters, daemonhosts, beast-men, mutants, traitor PDF regiments, and Ork auxiliaries
- Imperium: Armageddon PDF/Steel Legion, Space Wolves, Grey Knights, Adeptus Mechanicus forces, and Imperial Navy
This brutal engagement showcased the Imperium’s brutal tactics and the grim stakes of war against Chaos, especially when the Warp spills into reality.
Legacy of the First War
Strategic Lessons Learned
The First War forced Imperial command to rethink defenses on Chaosadjacent worlds. Rapid deployment protocols for Space Marines and daemonhunter contingents became a standard, understanding that rebellion may signal larger Warp incursions.
Myth vs. History
Due to the Inquisition’s suppression, Armageddon’s inhabitants believe only two wars occurred. The First War exists only in forbidden dossiers and whispered conversations among the sanctioned few.
The First War for Armageddon stands as a stark reminder of the Imperium’s willingness to wage grim violence even against its own to contain Chaos. Angron’s incursion nearly shattered the planet and exposed the frailties of Imperial defense. Though won, the price was hidden by official narrative, leaving Armageddon to bear silent scars beneath its forged steel skies. Remembered only in secret records, this war shaped the future of Imperial doctrine, the destiny of the Stratagem of Hell, and the hidden chronicles of the Grey Knights and Space Wolves. In the shadowed annals of 40,000 M41, it remains an infamous testament to both Chaos’s threat and the Imperium’s ruthless frontier justice.