Horus Heresy
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Horus Heresy
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| Date | Approx. 005.M31—014.M31 | ||
| Location | Galaxy-wide | ||
| Result | The Emperor and the four Chaos Gods were severely wounded, the rebel leader Horus died, countless worlds were destroyed, much technology was lost, and the Horus Heresy marked the beginning of the decline of the Imperium of Man. | ||
Belligerents
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| Loyalists and their subordinate Imperial Army, Mechanicum, Legio Custodes | Traitors and their subordinate Imperial Army, Mechanicum, Legio Custodes | ||
Commanders and Leaders
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| the Emperor of Mankind Malcador the Sigillite Lion El'Jonson Jaghatai Khan Leman Russ Rogal Dorn Sanguinius Ferrus Manus Roboute Guilliman Vulkan Corvus Corax |
Horus Lupercal Fulgrim Perturabo Konrad Curze Angron Mortarion Magnus Lorgar Aurelian Alpharius & Omegon | ||
Forces involved
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| Innumerable | Innumerable | ||
Casualties and losses
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| Innumerable | Innumerable | ||
Horus Heresyis the British gaming companyGames Workshop's series of tabletop wargames "Warhammer 40,000》 fictional event.
The Horus Heresy, also known as the Great Betrayal, or "The Death of the False Emperor" by the traitors, is the collective name for the large-scale Imperial civil war that broke out at the end of the Great Crusade, and its impact continues to this day.
After Horus was wounded on Davin by a planetary governor corrupted by Nurgle using a dagger, he was deceived by the four Chaos Gods and told the truth: after the Great Crusade, the Primarchs would be discarded like hunting bows once the birds were gone, and the Astartes Legions would be slaughtered like hounds once the rabbits were caught. The Imperium of Man would shift from its current adherence to the Imperial Truth and science to religious faith and ignorance, with the Emperor worshipped as a god, and the Imperium would fall into darkness and slow decay. Horus, feeling wronged, was extremely angry, and the four Chaos Gods promised to help him become the new Master of Mankind and lead humanity toward a bright future.
Although the Great Crusade is described as the most glorious era of the Imperium of Man, as it progressed, conflicts intensified between the Emperor and the Primarchs, among the Primarchs themselves, between Primarchs and Astartes, among the Astartes, between Primarchs and mortals, and between the Imperium and the Adeptus Mechanicus. Especially after the Emperor named Horus as Warmaster, many who were dissatisfied with Horus whispered in secret. Meanwhile, the heavy taxes imposed by the Imperium led to grievances on many planets, particularly those colonies forced into submission. Simultaneously, some Primarchs and Astartes, after enjoying the glory of the Great Crusade, became arrogant and no longer saw themselves as protectors of humanity. After Horus promoted Astartes Supremacism, the contradictions became even more intense. (It is worth mentioning that even among the Loyalists, there were those who were dissatisfied with having to protect weak humans; during the Horus trilogy, Leman Russ, Primarch of the Space Wolves, was very unhappy with the various scribes, poets, and sculptors sent by the Emperor, stating that instead of giving them pens and books, they should be given guns to fight on the front lines, and at that time, some Astartes also had complaints about mortals "holding them back.")
The Traitor Purge: After being corrupted by Chaos, Horus recruited allies while deploying Legions confirmed to be impossible to turn (such as the Dark Angels and Ultramarines) to the frontiers to fight, slowing their time to rescue the Emperor after the rebellion. He also used his authority as Warmaster to prioritize equipping his own Legion and supporters with new gear. Later, during operations, Horus quietly divided his sons into those loyal to the Emperor and those loyal to himself. Once identified, Horus, along with Fulgrim, Mortarion, and Angron, began a plan to purge internal loyalists on Isstvan III. After utilizing a local Chaos-worshipping religion on Isstvan III, they dispatched loyalist members to fight under the guise of suppressing a rebellion. Originally, Horus intended to wipe out the loyalists with a virus bombing after the battle, but thanks to Death Guard loyalist Nathaniel Garro[1]and Emperor's Children loyalist Saul Tarvitz[2]
The Isstvan V Drop Site Massacre: After purging internal loyalists, Horus used a forged edict to trick the Space Wolves and Thousand Sons into slaughtering each other on Prospero. Meanwhile, Nathaniel Garro, who broke through the blockade at the risk of his life, informed Malcador the Sigillite and the Imperial Fists' Primarch Rogal Dorn of the rebellion. Upon learning this, Rogal Dorn dispatched the Salamanders, Iron Hands, and Raven Guard to Isstvan V to eliminate the Sons of Horus, World Eaters, Emperor's Children, and Death Guard, while also informing them that the Alpha Legion, Word Bearers, Night Lords, and Iron Warriors were arriving as reinforcements. However, this was merely a trap; the Iron Warriors, Word Bearers, Alpha Legion, and Night Lords had long since turned traitor and joined Horus. Following a stark disparity in strength, the Iron Hands, Salamanders, and Raven Guard were heavily decimated. The Iron Hands' Primarch Ferrus Manus was killed by the Emperor's Children's Primarch Fulgrim, and the Salamanders' Primarch Vulkan was captured by the Night Lords' Primarch Konrad Curze, subjected to various forms of sadistic torture. The Isstvan V Drop Site Massacre marked the official commencement of the Horus Heresy.
The Shadow Crusade and Imperium Secundus: After the Isstvan V Drop Site Massacre concluded, Horus ordered the Word Bearers and World Eaters to wreak havoc in the Ultima Segmentum. At this time, the Ultramarines' Primarch Roboute Guilliman was completely unaware of the rebellion. The Word Bearers and World Eaters revealed their blades at Calth, causing the Ultramarines to be heavily decimated. After their success, the Word Bearers and World Eaters went on to corrupt, massacre, and destroy the 500 Worlds of Ultramar to weaken the Ultramarines' military strength. However, once Guilliman reacted, the reorganized Ultramarines quickly drove the Word Bearers and World Eaters out of the 500 Worlds of Ultramar. Yet, leveraging the impact of the previous massacres, Angron ascended as a Daemon Prince of Khorne, and Lorgar used a ritual to shroud Ultramar in Warp storms, severing contact with the Emperor. Subsequently, with the help of the xenos beacon of Talos, Guilliman established a new beacon to attract others. Remnants of the Iron Hands, Salamanders, Raven Guard, and loyalists from the traitor factions were drawn in one after another, and finally, the Dark Angels Legion was attractedas well as Konrad Curze. Although Guilliman and Lion El'Jonson had a very pleasant meeting and conversation, neither trusted the other. After several incidents broke outand Curze's covert sabotageoccurred, the Blood Angels and their Primarch Sanguinius arrived at Macragge. After analyzing the situation, the three mistakenly believed that the Imperium of Man was finished and the Emperor was dead, deciding to establish a government-in-exile named Imperium Secundussomething Guilliman would regret for the rest of his life, after some more events occurred, due to discord, Lion El'Jonson, Roboute Guilliman, and Sanguinius parted ways, but subsequently Lion El'Jonson remembered that while capturing Curze, Curze had said he would die at the hands of the Emperor's assassin in the future, and he returned to tell Guilliman and Sanguinius. Realizing they had made a grave mistake, the three Primarchs immediately dissolved Imperium Secundus and rushed to support Terra.
The Siege of Terra and the Finale: At this time, Rogal Dorn was overwhelmed by the rebel offensive, and the Loyalists could only adopt increasingly desperate measures to delay the Traitors. Although the Traitors were significantly slowed down by Chaos corruption and overextended supply lines, they still managed to fight their way to Terra step by step through sheer numerical advantage. Meanwhile, the Emperor's power grew stronger, and the news of the Ultramarines' imminent arrival at Terra caused internal and external strife for the rebels. Finally, Horus personally lowered the shields of the Vengeful Spirit and invited the Emperor to a duel to decide the ultimate fate of humanity. (New lore setting; the previous description was that he did this to quickly decide the outcome with the Emperor and prevent the rebels from being flanked by the returning Ultramarines and Dark Angels). In the end, the Emperor successfully killed Horus at the cost of being gravely wounded, and the rebels were driven out of Terra by the Loyalists who pressed their advantage.
The Great Scouring and the Codex Astartes: Subsequently, with the help of the arriving Ultramarines, the Loyalists began their counterattack, pushing back and eventually driving all traitors into the Eye of Terror. The worlds that had aided the traitors were severely punished. Afterward, to prevent another massive rebellion led by someone wielding heavy military power, however, when Guilliman announced the implementation of the Codex, it nearly triggered a second civil war in the Imperium, Roboute Guilliman began reforming the Legiones Astartes and the Imperial Army; from then on, the Legiones Astartes would no longer existPsych, becoming Chapters of only 1,000 men, while the Imperial Army was split into the Astra Militarum, the Imperial Navy, and the Imperial Aeronautica, subject to strict regulation. The Council of the High Lords of Terra was also established at this time, improving various departments of the Imperium. Subsequently, during the reconstruction of the Imperium, the remaining Loyalist Primarchs gradually faded from public view, and the Horus Heresy officially ended, though its aftermath has continued to affect the Imperium of Man.
The Horus Heresy marked the end of the Space Marines as a regular force. For the next ten thousand years, the burden of the Imperium's defense was borne by mortals. The destruction of many planets during the rebellion, the loss of related technologies, and the corruption of Chaos caused the Imperium of Man to gradually degenerate and fall into its current state.
At the
The atrocities of the Astartes during the Horus Heresy, especially the various horrors committed during the Siege of Terra, became a lingering shadow for both Astartes and humanity alike. This led to a subsequent relationship between the Imperium and the Astartes, as well as those who held significant military power, that remained highly sensitive and akin to walking on thin ice[3]. (The only benefit was that during the War of the Maelstrom, the Council of High Lords, upon learning of the Astartes civil war, immediately dispatched heavy forces to suppress it, preventing the War of the Maelstrom from expanding further. At the same time, after many Legions split, many Chapter Masters re-evaluated their relationship with humanity.)
The Emperor and the four Chaos Gods were heavily wounded. The Emperor ascended the Golden Throne to act as a linchpin to seal the Webway and prevent himself from becoming a Dark God. The four Chaos Gods were hit by the energy backlash from Horus's death, and for approximately the next ten thousand years, the four Chaos Gods did not conduct large-scale activities in the material world.
Shattered Legions: Refers to the remnants of the Salamanders, Iron Hands, and Raven Guard who were heavily decimated at Isstvan V. The survivors and loyalist remnants from the traitor factions gathered together to conduct various guerrilla operations in the rear to hinder the traitors' progress.
Loyalists: Refers to the nine Legions that remained loyal to the Emperor during the rebellion. These are the parent Legions of the future First Founding Chapters and their numerous successor Chapters. They are the Ultramarines, Dark Angels, Blood Angels, Imperial Fists, Iron Hands, Salamanders, Raven Guard, White Scars, and Space Wolves.
Traitors: Refers to the Legions that rebelled along with Horus during the insurrection. They are the Sons of Horus, Death Guard, Iron Warriors, Thousand Sons, Night Lords, Alpha Legion, Word Bearers, Emperor's Children, and World Eaters.