The Truth of the Iron Cage
The Iron Warriors version is more reliable than the Imperial Fist one. What makes me say that? Quite a lot, actually.
The Imperial Fist version isn’t very detailed. It talks about how Dorn *definitely* didn’t get completely outwitted, and how fierce the fighting was, and of course there’s this bit: “Eventually it became apparent that the Iron Warriors could not finish them. For all their skill and ferocity, the Iron Warriors lacked the faith to make the ultimate sacrifice that victory demanded.“
Does that really sound like the Iron Warriors to you? THE siege Legion? Afraid to make a sacrifice? The same Legion that suffered some of the highest overall losses in the Great Crusade, the same Legion that with one exception was alone in focusing all their efforts on tearing down the Imperial Palace?
Here’s what the Iron Warriors say. You’ll notice that it’s a great deal more detailed in how the battle was fought than the Fist version.
“The Eternal Fortress was a sophisticated trap. At its centre was a keep sitting in the middle of twenty square miles of bunkers, towers, minefields, trenches, razor wire, tank traps and redoubts. Radiating out from the keep in the shape of an eight-pointed star were underground tunnels that connected the surface fortifications. All the entrances to the underground network were concealed and the keep itself was a decoy of no real value. Most fortifications are limited by the need to protect something. The Eternal Fortress was twenty square miles of killing ground.
Perturabo and the Iron Warriors waited below the surface for the first shots of the Imperial Fists orbital barrage. As soon as it commenced they replied with a number of remote weapons silos located well away from the Fortress. The Imperial Fists countered precipitately with Thunderhawk-borne troops attacking the silos and a full combat drop of the rest of the Legion. As soon as the attacks on the silos were under way, the missile stockpiles were detonated. Thousands of tons of debris was hurled into Sebastus atmosphere making communication between ground troops and fleet virtually impossible.
The detonation was the signal for the Iron Warriors fleet to attack. The Traitor fleet was no stronger than that of the Imperial Fists but the loyalist Thunderhawks were on the planet’s surface. Also, the Chaos ships had many Iron Warriors amongst their complements eager to man the assault boats. The Imperial Fists fleet tried to hold but was forced inexorably out of position. After a few hours the only targets being engaged on the planet were coordinates pre-planned by Perturabo.
Under fire from space, the Imperial Fists proceeded with their assault in parade ground formation on a four-company front Perturabo watched them from an observation tower and carefully began to destroy them. First the minefields did their work then, when the Imperial Fists reached the first expanse of fortifications, the Iron Warriors manned their trenches and opened fire. While the trenches held the loyalist’s attention, squads of Iron Warriors with krak grenades and melta bombs emerged from hidden bunkers and attacked the tanks halted by the fortifications. The Imperial Fists turned back to fend off this threat and for a time were pinned down amidst the tank traps. Once more they rallied and swept forward to overrun the Iron Warrior trenches only to find them empty. So it continued Perturabo dissected the Imperial Fists tank by tank, squad by squad. Rogal Dorn remained convinced that victory was in sight and pushed his men on. Perturabo pulled back some of his defenders and called upon others to hold - a stratagem that fractured the Imperial Fists, first into companies then into squads. By day six of the battle, each Marine fought virtually alone, and Dorn s troops were reduced to burrowing into the mud and piling up the dead bodies of their brethren for cover. Still Perturabo remained patient, he allowed Dorn to rampage around the trenches calling his name and demanding personal combat, content that the sight of their Primarch’s impotence would demoralise the Imperial Fists.”
TL;DR GET REKT IMPERIAL FISTS, WILL YOU BAWL AND SHRIEK? WILL YOU BAWL AND SHRIEK!?
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