The Devastation of Tallarn Lore

I realized I completely forgot to write a lore article on The Devastation of Tallarn. I must have been busy when it was released back in August 2024 - that was when I was preparing to return to Singapore from Minneapolis - so I wasn't able to write, and after I returned to Singapore, my stuff took a while to return, so it completely slipped my mind once things settled down. Oh, well.

In a way, I suppose it's fine anyway, given that Journal Tactica The Battle of Tallarn Part 1 is just released, and that covers the first, opening battle of the Battle of Tallarn. The Devastation of Tallarn, released for Legions Imperialis about 2 years ago, covers the fall of Sapphire City, which is way after that first ambush the Tallarn Reborn Cohort launched upon the invading Iron Warriors armored patrol. So chronologically, covering The Devastation of Tallarn's Sapphire City arc after Part 1's first ambush is more fitting.

I will have to sum everything up because there's over 50 pages of lore in this book, and I don't think anyone wants to read every single detail. If they do, they would have bought the book, not read an online article, ha ha. In a way, my summary is to persuade you whether you should buy the book, or to help you catch up on the lore quickly, to know what's this whole Tallarn is about.

Tallarn is located on a major warp route to Terra, connecting the holy birthplace of Man to the lynchpin Loyalist stronghold of Inwit. Initially, Tallarn tried to stay neutral, neither renouncing their Loyalty to the Emperor nor rallying to the Loyalist cause in hopes that the Heresy will pass them by, like the Great Crusade.

They were wrong.

Like in the Journal Tactica, they explain here that Tallarn is one of the first worlds encountered by the Imperium in the Trailing Tempest region, and had a bloodless Compliance. At first, the Imperium decides to preserve Tallarn as the only agri-world in the region, not wanting to destroy its biosphere, so they assemble facilities in vast caverns tunneled into the rock. Basically, they create subterranean storage vaults with the capacity to stockpile immense quantities of arms and munitions, as well as serve as secure shelters.

These are concentrated in the Crescent Province in the north, with Khedive Plateau serving as muster and landing ground for the colossal military formations of the Excertus Imperialis. There's also Rachab Fortress. Within the Tallarn system, Marad has refueling stations for docking vessels or Pilgrim's Rest for fleet anchorage.

As the Great Crusade expanded, the Imperium discovers more agri-worlds, and Tallarn's significance wanes, providing a place of refuge and rest, and as a supply hub far from the frontiers of the ever-expanding borders.

Here's a brief summary.

- The Inwit Protective, the Imperial Fists' primary fiefdom, is attacked by Traitor's forces, and Rogal Dorn's orders its garrison to marshal as many troops from local systems to defend the cluster. The strike frigate, Light of Inwit, at Pilgrim's Rest, redirects vessels from the Tallarn system toward the Inwit system.

- Perturabo and the Iron Warriors appear and virus bomb Tallarn to oblivion.

- The Iron Warriors land in Tallarn's northern continent, in a region they dubbed The Northern Desolation, to find a weapon (the Black Occulus/Cursus). The surviving millions of Tallarn's populace, alongside Imperlais Auxilia regiments and vast stockpiles of armored vehicles placed there before the Horus Heresy, having sought shelter underground, reorganize and begin a guerilla war. A surviving astropath in Tallarn also sends a cry for help, summoning vengeful Loyalist forces to assist Tallarn (this is also covered in John French's Tallarn stories).

- As Loyalists - comprising of hosts of Imperialis Auxilia, battle-automata, Legionaries, Knights and Titans - reinforce Tallarn, the Iron Warriors find themselves on the back foot. Perturabo dispatches a fresh force to establish a stronghold on the surface, targeting Sapphire City, which sits atop a massive shelter network thronging with Loyalist troops, and provides a staging point within the Northern Desolation. They succeed, slaughtering millions of Imperial Army crew, and also apparently with the help of Alpha Legion operatives, who attack the Loyalists from within.

- The Loyalists launch an attack to try and take back the Sapphire City, whose subterranean shelters they now name the Sightless Warren. They fail and are massacred by the Iron Warriors. Only the Solar Auxilia from the Ithak-Nur and Sectanal Regency Guard Cohorts escape, thanks to a near-suicidal breakthrough by the White Scars Brotherhood of the Foresworn.

- The Loyalists launch a second attack on the Sightless Warren. This time, Loyalist Mechanicum deploy a colossal macrocannon from the crashed battleship Victory's Sacrament in the Kadir Plains, and the vengeful survivors of Ithak-Nur and Sectanal Regency Guard Solar Auxilia Cohorts ambush the intercepting Iron Warriors, concealing their vehicles in a tank graveyard from the previous battle to surprise them. While the Loyalists succeed in retaking Sapphire City at first, sabotage blows up four Legio Gryphonicus Titans, obliterating vast swathes of Loyalist armor and forcing them to retreat.

- Despite their consecutive losses, the Loyalists score a tiny victory when Imperial Fists sabotage a macro transporter, Eagle's Talon, and deny the Traitors Iron Warriors Inductii and tanks reinforcements, and it falls right into the battle at Arida Pass, destroying everything there. Surviving Titans continue to fight in the crater.

- The Loyalists launch a third attack on the Sightless Warren, with a flotilla attempting an orbital drop despite the Tallarn defenders protesting that it's a bad idea. Unsurprisingly, the Loyalists fail once more, and Iron Warriors reveal a colossal force of tanks freshly constructed within the Sightless Warren, with their Inductii crew directly grafted into their armored hulls. Ugh.

- The vast Golden Fleet of the Rogue Trader Sangrea translates into the Tallarn system - and this is also in John French's Tallarn stories, by the way - and blasts apart the Iron Warriors fleet after pretending to be Traitors. The detonating Traitor vessels create an aurora that the Tallarn survivors call the Inferno Tide.

- Governor-militant Dellasarius is murdered by Traitors (Alpha Legion operatives), but the defenders are galvanized further, the Loyalists rallying and mustering every available asset upon the Khedive Plateau for one final battle, strengthened with reinforcements from orbit after the Iron Warriors fleet was blown apart. Just as he was about to lose, Perturabo predictably withdraws (a common pattern we see him repeat later during the Siege of Terra), using the Warmaster's order as an excuse for the IVth Legion's defeat. Tallarn is finally back in the hands of the Loyalists, the mortals claiming an undisputable victory over transhuman Astartes.

There's a further expansion of lore after that summarized chronology, but I'm not sure I can cover all the details. Here are some interesting stuff I picked up.

The Iron Warriors, after translating into the system and settling grudges within their own ranks (because Chaos and evil), coalesce around the Iron Blood, Perturabo's flagship, and attack the orbital refineries of Marad. Then they slingshoot toward Tallarn, whose orbital defenses are neglected. However, a cadre of officers from the 71st Cinder Born Solar Auxilia Cohort, took control of Tallarn's equatorial defense station and fought back against the Iron Warriors, bringing the orbital defenses back to life and broadcasting a warning to the population below, even as the IVth Legion fleet cut the weapons platforms and void craft apart. Even the Imperial Fists strike frigate, Light of Invit was hunted down by Kasimir Garsenn, an Iron Warriors commander.

Tallarn is then virus-bombed to oblivion, the Iron Warriors using a new strain of life-eater virus modified by their Lyssatra.

Perturabo believes the Black Occulus/Cursus is a weapon of arcane power, and sequestered on the doorstep to Rogal Dorn's fief, he believes he can use it to burn a path through the Inwit Protectorate, ruining the Praetorian's homeworld and lighting the way to Terra.

With Tallarn's atmosphere toxic from the virus bombs, the Iron Warriors descend in environmentally sealed vehicles to search for the Cursus, focusing on the northern continent, especially in the area that was formerly the Crescent Province, encompassing Tallarn's shelter network around Khedive Plateau.

Commander Garsenn is put in command of the search, and for almost two months, they find nothing. Instead, they dissolve into infighting and petty rivalry as tension grows. Eight weeks after the viral bombardment, they finally pick up vox and auspex signals, and they dispatch patrol sections to investigate. Commander Garsenn's 32nd Armor Echelon heads to the Sapphire City, encoutering Aurox carriers and Aethon heavy Sentinels, which they happily butcher.

Fortunately, they pay the price for callous murder with their lives.

Leman Russ Vanquishers show up and wreck Iron Warriors Predators. Secondary squadrons of Leman Russ Executioners and Annihilators back them up, showing livery of the Tallarn Reborn, luring the Iron Warriors into a trap and destroying their Predator tanks.

The Tallarn Reborn is primarily comprised of the 71st Cinder Born Cohort, rallying all the far-flung regiments stationed upon the world and Tallarn's surviving populace to retaliate against the Iron Warriors who murdered their world. Led by Cohort-Marshal Jasira Sannoval, who had retired long ago and now takes up command, the Tallarn Reborn is formed around a core of veteran Solar Auxilia. They are trained and armed in the pattern of Solar Auxilia armored cohorts, placing a single veteran auxiliary of the Cinder Born in command of a tank crew of second line Imperial Army troopers, multiplied ten thousand-fold across each shelter to form the skeleton of new cohorts.

Reacting with transhuman swiftness, the Iron Warriors fight back, their Predators destroying Leman Russ tanks in return. As Predator and Leman Russ squadrons tear each other apart, the Tallarn Reborn attempt to counter the Kratos squadrons, with Aethon Heavy Sentinels emerging to distract them and pin them in place.

Then entire squadrons of Leman Russ Vanquishers fire, simultaneous volleys targeting individual Kratos to ensure their destruction.

The Iron warriors are forced to retreat, maimed by the ambush, and two of their patrol sections are wiped out by concealed Tarantula sentry guns. Only a single patrol section wins, its Kratos smashing directly into Tallarn Reborn Leman Russ tanks and thwarting their ambush. The remaining two patrol sections limp away, severely mauled.

At Sapphire City's outskirts, Commander Garsenn's core armor centuries are ambushed by Imperialis Auxilia tanks consisting of Valdors, Macladors, Destroyers and a single Stormblade, Ignifera, the command tank of Cohort-Marshal Jasira Sannoval. Despite his three armor centuries comprising of Land Raider and Sicaran battle tanks, Garsenn is forced to retreat, swearing as "mere" auxiliaries annihilate his massed tank squadrons. He desperately requests for help over the vox, unaware that many IVth Legion divisions have also fallen prey to similar ambushes across the Northern Desolation's dead metropolises.

Only Warsmith Strux's 18th Grand Battalion responds, his storm batteries bombarding the Sapphire City. Garsenn dies, a firestorm engulfing his surviving tanks amidst the ordnance, and the Tallarn Reborn retreat.

The first Loyalist attacks claim over a thousand Traitor tank kills in the span of two hours. Impressive. On the other hand, they also lost almost a thousand Leman Russ tanks, ouch. However, this is evidence that mere humans can beat transhuman legionaries, having killed more Iron Warriors vehicles than they had lost.

However, the Iron Warriors are far from annihilated. Within a day, they land tens of thousands of vehicles, including bonded Legio Cybernetica maniples and massed tank formations of the Selucid Thorakite Legiones Auxilia.

Despite their initial successes, the Loyalists' ambushes stall. Iron Warriors storm batteries and Thorakite siege lokhos bombard cities to deprive the Tallarn of cover, Fire Raptors strafe the sites, and Land Raiders and Spartans' AV14 being too tough for the Tallarn tanks to penetrate.

Aware that they cannot win alone and need reinforcements, the Tallarn stubbornly continue their campaign of hit-and-run, keeping the Traitors at bay from their shelters. Aware of this - and this is actually the plot of one of John French's Tallarn short stories - Marshal Lycus, the only surviving Imperial Fist from the Light of Inwit, along with a tercio of Tallarn Reborn armor dispatched from the Rachab Fortress reach a lone astropath, who was staying at a tiny civilian shelter beneath Crescent City censorium before the Iron Warriors virus-bombed Tallarn. Iron Warriors Terminators followed in hot pursuit, massacring the Tallarn Reborn soldiers and killing Lycus, but they were able to prevent the IVth Legionaries from breaching the airlock. Before they sell their lives dearly, Lycus and the Tallarn soldiers are able to instruct the astropath to send a message pleading for assistance. Fortunately, 93 days after the Iron Warriors' arrival at Tallarn, Loyalist vessels show up to reinforce them.

Funnily enough, there's a small footnote that observes how vast armor reserves, food stockpiles, large qunatities of munitions and regiments of Imperialis Auxilia have been continually shipped toward Tallarn over the years, and they suspect Horus Lupercal planned to use Tallarn to consolidate military resources and an ideal stockpile for a Traitor push into the Segmentum Solar. Having observed both the lack of conviction for both Traitor and Loyalist cause within those Imperial Auxilia forces relocated to Tallarn, Horus intended to accrue forces on the backwater world without rousing the suspicions of the Loyalist war effort.

Unfortunately, that is all undone when Perturabo stupidly obliterates Tallarn without warning, just because he seeks the Cursus, and the Imperialis Auxilia regiments garrisoned on Tallarn are now forced to fight the Traitors just to simply survive. In other words, Perturabo messed up Horus's plans with his impulsiveness, and causes the wargear and military might amassed upon Tallarn to be wielded against them instead of for the Warmaster's cause. No wonder Horus sounds so pissed when he called Perturabo and orders him to withdraw from Tallarn. He must have known the vast reserves of armor, munition and Auxiliaries on Tallarn would drown Perturabo in an unending quagmire of war that the Traitors can ill-afford to be stuck in.

Anyway, back to the Loyalist vessels. You'll notice I'm not calling them a fleet...because they aren't. Rather, these Loyalist ships pour into the system either alone or in small flotillas, approaching from countless directions. The Iron Warriors fleet is suddenly outnumbered and unable to prevent all of these ships from landing reinforcements on Tallarn's surface.

Cohort-Marshal Jasira Sannoval's Carmine ambush tercio was fighting against the Iron Warriors in the Sapphire City spaceport when the reinforcements show up, about six freeblade Knights and their accompanying talons of Armigers smashing apart Iron Warriors Predator squadrons. The Empyrean Coursers Freeblade company has saved Cohort-Marshal Sannoval's Carmine ambush tercio, and they repay the favor by attacking alongside the Knights to annihilate the IVth Legion division.

Across the Northern Desolation, Iron Warriors armor centuries are overrun by massed Loyalist tanks, and the IVth Legion are driven back to their bulk landers and fortifications. The commanders in Sapphire City light up their array of geo-locator beacons, allowing the Loyalist reinforcements to assemble but also exposing their location to the Iron Warriors. Other shelters, such as the Rachab Fortress and Cobalack Shelter, simply rely on scouting forces of armor to escort the newcomers back toward their bases, not wanting to risk exposing their locations, but having to fight off Iron Warriors tanks prowling the wastes.

Among the reinforcements was Princeps-master Yasue Koenen of Legio Gryphonicus, arriving in the mustering ground of Khedive Plateau at the head of Battlegroup Meridian. White Scars show up in the Kadir Plains east of Sapphire City. Hundreds of thousands of tanks emerge from heavy landers and assault dropships across the Northern Desolation, comprising of many Imperialis Auxilia regiments. Including the Ryuusei Katanas. The armies of the Imperium consist of auxiliaries, taghmata, Legionaries, Knights (House Yato among them!) and Titans.

Perturabo refuses to give up, still determined to claim the Cursus for himself, and decides to build a fortress to turn the war into one of siege and attrition that the Iron Warriors are so famed for. He chooses Sapphire City, intending to obliterate the massed troops who had marshaled to the city. The Iron Warriors fleet converge in a single space above the Northern Desolation to land troops, sweeping aside the fragmented Loyalist fleet, with even the battleship Victory's Sacrament under Admiral Phoroc falling to the IVth Legion ships.

The Iron Warriors begin with an orbital bombardment of Sapphire City, then deploy a vast invasion host under the command of Warsmith Cyrus Strux and his Hexad Themata, as well as Titans. In contrast, the Loyalists are divided and bickering amongst themselves, with officers from a hundred different Imperialis Auxilia regiments arguing over the course of action, while Legiones Astartes, Taghmata and Knight commanders kept to themselves. This forces Cohort-Marshal Sannoval to rely only on the Tallarn Reborn even as the Sapphire City is bombarded.

Once the orbital bombardment ceases, tercios of the veteran Sapphirine Ghosts Tallarn Reborn Cohort emerge into the devastated Sapphire City. Though annoyed by her initiative, the Imperialis Auxilia commanders dispatch their tanks to join her tercios on the surface, where they prepare to ambush the Iron Warriors, tens of thousands of tanks ranging consisting of columns of Leman Russ, Malcadors and Carnodons.

Tanks emerging from Rho-West Shelter to join the forces at Sapphire City encounter Traitor Titans from Legio Krytos, who proceed to annihilate them before destroying the shelter. A Warmaster Titan is among them.

The Sapphirine Ghosts await the Iron Warriors' attack, but instead of the IVth Legion or the Selucid Thorakite, Leman Russ Demolishers, siege Malcadors and Stormsword super-heavies of the Galibed Oathsworn show up, and they are Iron Warriors' auxiliaries as well. So they excel in siege warfare. A Galibed Oathsworn Stormsword destroy a Sapphirine Ghosts Leman Russ Annihilator, and after a pause because they wonder if there are enemy tanks laying in wait, they move on because the Sapphirine Ghosts are disciplined enough not to fire. Thankfully, this reveals secondary squadrons of Basilisk and Medusa artillery following behind.

The Sapphirine Ghosts finally strike, a Valdor tank destroyer taking out 3 Leman Russ Demolishers of nthe Galibed Oathsworn. Leman Russ Annihilators of the Sapphirine Ghosts attack the Oathsworn tanks from behind, joined by Executioners' plasma cannons that blind the Traitor crews. Vanquishers disable or destroy Leman Russ and Malcador tanks on the flanks of the Traitor Stormblade super-heavies (not Stormsword? I thought they were Stormsword super-heavies).

Long story short, the Sapphirine Ghosts wipe out the Galibed Oathsworn tanks and artillery except for the Stormswords. Siege Breaker Company Thyreos surge forward, using the bulk of their super-heavies to smash aside the Loyalist tanks. Leaving the still-intact Stormswords and thousands of wrecked enemy armor in their wake, the Sapphirine Ghosts then encounter Iron Warrior Sicaran squadrons and Contemptor Dreadnought talons, who linger behind the Galibed Oathsworn, waiting as their allies are slaughtered for the defenders to reveal their position and true extent of their numbers.

Though the Tallarn Reborn would usually retreat here, thanks to their strike and fade as phantoms doctrine, the Sapphirine Ghosts instead hold fast as the Iron Warriors fall upon them. Unfortunately, in less than thirty minutes, almost all the 100,000 Sapphirine Ghosts auxiliaries who deploy to shield the Loyalists' muster are butchered, with the few surviving tercios hunted down by Orgus attack flyers.

Fortunately, the battle-automata of Taghmata Zelth emerge from south of Sapphire City to claw apart Iron Warriors tanks and tear down Contemptor Dreadnoughts. White Scars Thunderhawk and Storm Eagle gunships drop assault legionaries with melta bombs on the Iron Warrior tanks, with dismounted Tallarn Reborn infantry making use of the central rise's altitude to avoid the toxins and virus in the atmosphere. Both of these allies allow significant pockets of Sapphirine Ghosts tercios to escape.

The Sapphirine Ghosts didn't sacrifice themselves for nothing. Tens of thousands of tanks emerge from Sapphire City, amassing in a defensive line that stretches almost 40 kilometers. South of the Sapphire River, Loyalist super-heavies ready. The Loyalists and Traitors trade artillery fire. Then the Hexad Themata invade the city in a dozen divisions, each targeting a specific point in the Loyalists' line.

Kratos heavy tanks with flanking Sicaran Punishers, Arquitor, Vindicator and Thunderstrike bombards and storm batteries, smash into the defender lines, but the Loyalists have numbers and pour more tanks into the killing fields. Warsmith Strux's armor century of seven Fellblades lead a breakthrough attack, crushing Loyalist tanks as they desperately try to stop the Iron Warriors from breaching the Omikron-North shelter.

Legio Krytos Battlegroup Sabaktes reach Sapphire City along the Crescent Sea's shoreline. Loyalist armor are forced to retreat, as do the Taghmata Zelth battle-automata, the cybernetica directed to pull back to the Sigma-North shelter. However, the Traitor Titans are ambushed by Loyalist columns of armor who blow out the void shields of the Warhound Titan, Sunderer, and the Acassian Linebreakers' Bellerophon titan-killer trident, a squadron of Shadowswords, fire from their concealed positions and destroy the Sunderer with their volcano cannons.

The Iron Warriors appear to be winning, and despite their initial success, the Acassian Linebreakers cannot hope to stand against the full might of Legio Krytos Battlegroup Sabaktes. The Warmaster Titan Typhoeus is revealed to be among them. Fortunately, the Empyrean Coursers Freeblade company saves the Cohort from destruction, striking at the titan maniples' exposed flanks after wading through the Sapphire River.

In the north of Sapphire City, White Scars Predators and Sabers destroy Selucid Thorakite armor, the Brotherhood of the Foresworn making use of their mobility. They then clash against Taghmata Suhurmasu armor who are following the Secluid Thorakite, in a series of hit-and-run until the Incaladion Taghmata close about the shelter's entrances, then the White Scars are forced into a head-on fight, their Terminators wrecking automata, and jump pack troops attacking Mechanicum forces. Unfortunately, lots of White Scars power armored Legionaries die because of the toxins, but their sacrifice bought the shelter a reprieve, the Taghmata withdrawing after suffering losses.

Cohort-Marshal Sannoval is excluded from the main defensive front as reprimand for directing the Sapphirine Ghosts to the surface alone, so she musters whatever forces would heed her directive, including the Tallarn Reborn Cohort, to prepare a counterattack in the eastern cityscape.

While hundreds of thousands of troops die to enemy fire and toxic atmosphere, the Traitor host also invade the caverns beneath Sapphire City, exploiting the breach the Legio Krytos open in the Rho-West shelter and sending Iron Warriors breacher squads along the access tunnels. Termite assault drills also dig underground alongside tunneling machines belonging to the Magos of the Belial Ordo Reductor Covenant.

While Sapphirine Ghosts and Ithak-Nur Cohorts fight in the city above, the Tallarn Reborn infantry tercios muster to repel the subterranean assault, tercios of Veletarii equipped with augury scanners.

Then there's the story from John French's Tallarn: Executioner where Alpha Legion operatives infiltrate Loyalist armor cohorts to destroy them from within. Broadcasting Loyalist indents, they are allowed to go past the Loyalist defensive lines, and they do so before shooting the Loyalist tanks in the back. Ouch.

The treachery breaks the Loyalist defensive line, and reserves of Traitor Selucid Thorakite auxilia exploit it, pushing into the Xi-East and Xi-West shelters, their massive columns destroying Loyalist armor still escaping the shelters. The Acassian Linebreakers, having escaped Legio Krytos thanks to the Empyrean Coursers freeblade company, encounter the Iron Warriors Mastodon and Spartans with massed Terminator detachments and Leviathan Dreadnoughts.

Omikron-North and Omikron-Central shelters fall to the Traitors and basically Iron Warriors breachers and Ordo Reductor cyborgs manage to breach the shelters, and though the Tallarn Reborn manage to throw back a dozen successful Traitor breakthroughs with reserves of Imperialis Auxilia troopers, the Iron Warriors are inevitably getting closer to the shelters' entrances and environmental controls.

Only Omikron-South remains firmly in Loyalist hands, with Cohort-Marshal Jasira Sannoval and her Tallarn Reborn holding strong and firmly ensuring the retreating tanks aren't Alpha Legion operatives. Realizing that Sapphire City has fallen, Sannoval decides to issue the order to withdraw. Whatever armor from Sigma-South, Pi-East and Xi-South marshal to the surface with whatever fuel they can carry, to meet up with the retreating Loyalist tanks. The surviving auxiliaries from Omikron-South shelter set out and pass through the Sapphire River, collapsing the tunnels to bury both stalwart Veletarii and assaulting Traitors. They are joined by the cybernetica of Taghmata Zelth and White Scars tanks.

After joining the mustering host from Pi-East vault and companies of battered tanks who survive the conflict, led by surviving members of the Ithak-Nur Tallarn Reborn Cohort, they flee east.

Warsmith Strux has won and seized the Sapphire City, and his Legion and Mechanicum allies set about to repairing the significant damage dealt to the shelters. However, Strux hungers for more, desiring to annihilate the fleeing survivors in order to break the Loyalists' resolve, and also to eradicate the more unpredictable and resilient White Scars and Mechanicum contingents before they become a real threat.

The Loyalists head for the Cobalack Shelter east, encountering Selucid Thorakite Lokhoi but delaying them with delayed-fuse shells to escape. The Tallarn Reborn, White Scars and Mechanicum then spot a massed armored division ahead of them, who proceed to obliterate the Selucid Thorakite armor. The Imperial Fists 26th Household has arrived to help!

Further east, the Loyalists departing Sigma-South Shelter are saved from encroaching Legio Krytos Titans from Legio Gryphonicus Battlegroup Meridian, Princeps-master Yasue Koenen leading them to intercept the Traitor Titans.

South of Sapphire River, Legio Gryphonicus Titans and Imperial Fists make a stand to save the Loyalists. Imperial Fists rapid strike batteries of Sicaran Arcus and Whirlwind Scorpius artillery, and Inwit Phalangites Legiones Auxilia annihilate the advancing Selucid Thorakite armor, while Legio Gryphonicus trade fire with Legio Krytos, leveling the terrain. The Knights of House Caesarean attempt to flank the Loyalist Titans from the Crescent Sea's coast, but encounter Iron Hands. House Cadmus lances were destroyed earlier during planetfall, so Legio Gryphonicus Battlegroup Meridian enlisted Iron Hands armor for help, their hundreds of tanks garrisoning the Rachab Fortress and now rolling out to meet the House Caesarean Knights.

Clan Brannsar isn't just any tank column, possessing macro-destruction phalanxes of Cerberus and Falchion super-heavy tanks matching even the destructive power of Acastus-class Knights. Despite the Iron Hands' graviton and neutron weaponry, their tanks are no match for House Caesaran's Knights in melee, their Kratos and Sicaran tanks cleaved apart by the Knights.

Eventually, even as Warlord Titans detonate, the Loyalists manage to retreat.

There is also a cool footnote regarding Inwit. The star cluster of Inwit is among the first to receive the astropathic cry for help, and the Imperial Fists commanders realize the Iron Warriors' assault on Tallarn is a preamble to an attack on Inwit. So they assemble 7,000 Legionaries from the 26th Household, both Veterans and Inductii, along with three cohorts of Inwit Phalangites Legiones Auxilia. Among the earliest flotillas to arrive in Tallarn, the fleet stops at Pilgrim's Rest, under the command of Seneschal Vedasto Roche, to wait while accruing scattered Loyalist vessels and embarked troops arrived at the system's fringe into a growing mass of ships.

Though they do not arrive in time to prevent the fall of Sapphire City, their role in saving the Loyalists fleeing the doomed city would help swing the war in the Loyalists' favor later.

The Iron Warriors consolidate and rebuild the shattered Sapphire City into a fortress. The surviving Loyalists make the journey back to Rachab Fortress or the Crescent and Cobalack Shelters. Also, the terrain in Tallarn apparently transforms, with patches of ground turning into muck.

Here's the state of affairs after the fall of Sapphire City. The Iron Warriors have gained their beachhead from which to sally forth. But more Loyalists flock to Tallarn. The defenders now have an objective to strike, with Sapphire City representing the beating heart of the Traitor invasion. That explains why they attack Sapphire City three bloody times...anyway, the IVth Legion realizes this will be no easy victory for them, and their search parties risk encountering hostile patrols from Loyalist redoubts across the Northern Desolation, with ever deadlier armored hosts showing up.

While this also essentially means Inwit Protectorate is spared from an Iron Warriors invasion for now, as Loyalist hosts from across the Segmentum Tempestus are drawn to Tallarn, it also means Inwit is deprived of defenders as Horus Lupercal's forces close in on them, bleeding them out slowly.

In the end, Perturabo fails to get the arcane weapon he wants, and the Inwit Protectorate remains vulnerable to the Traitors. Apparently, the Domain of the Reaper - the Death Guard and Mortarion - expands from Barbarus as they swallow entire star clusters, while Loyalist holdings around Deliverance retract as Traitors and renegade hosts surge.

That's it for the story in The Devastation of Tallarn. As we know, the Iron Warriors are finally defeated and forced to leave, Perturabo ordered by the Warmaster to withdraw while his forces are being massacred in the surface by resurgent Loyalist armor in one final battle. But for now, the Iron Warriors have won and taken their prize, something that will not be dislodged from their iron grip despite the Loyalists desperately attacking it three times.

Tallarn History

As promised in the previous article covering spoilers from the Journal Tactica: The Battle of Tallarn part 1, I thought I should briefly go through the history of the Tallan Desert Raiders.

It has been speculated that the Tallarn Desert Raiders are influenced by the depiction of Middle Eastern or Arabian warriors from the 1960s movie, Lawrence of Arabia. Of course, this is fan speculation, based on the aesthetics and appearance of the Tallarn Desert Raiders themselves. There are also clear visual cues from Dune, so yeah. Desert planet? Shemagh? Cloaks? Not to mentioned the curved ceremonial daggers they carry, called Khaligs.

If you've watched the Indiana Jones movie, you'll also know what I'm talking about. Anyway, before I get too ahead of myself, let's take a step back. The Tallarn Desert Raiders were introduced as far back as the 2nd edition, when the Imperial Guard codex was released in 1995 and they had their metal miniatures, just like all the other Imperial Guard regiments did. Despite the desert planet and Middle Eastern influences, as early as 2nd edition when they were first introduced, we already had the infamous Battle of Tallarn where their once-fertile homeworld was virus-bombed to oblivion by the Iron Warriors during the Horus Heresy. So this isn't a new thing. This lore has been around since 1995, and over 30 years! Now they're only starting to expand upon it. Incredible.

Funnily enough, though, the Khaligs were introduced in the 2005 Imperial Armor volume 3: The Taros Campaign. There were also Desert Raiders by Lucien Soulban and The Traitor Hand by Sandy Mitchell, featuring Ciaphas Cain. These novels portrayed the Tallarn Desert Raiders as spiritual and...quite frankly, they were based on the stereotypes of Middle Eastern Muslims, with tribes, conflicting sects, religious fanaticism...you know, the typical portrayal of Middle Eastern Muslims in the 2000s, which was particularly affected by the whole 9/11 terrorist attack on the Twin Towers and the guerilla warfare in Afghanistan...wait, that sounds familiar. Now, I'm not blaming either author because we are the products of our time, and...let's just say there have been political and social shifts since the 2000s, so Games Workshop appears to be moving away from these Middle Eastern Muslim stereotypes when writing about Tallarn Desert Raiders.

I think that's why we have the emphasis on the Horus Heresy era Tallarn, focusing on the largest armored conflict in the Horus Heresy. It's far more interesting than the whole Dune-inspired desert planet with clearly Middle Eastern Muslim warriors thing. I mean, look at this cutscene from the 1997 game, Final Liberation! So awesome.

Love the voice acting and the attempt at a Middle Eastern accent. And the headscarf, called Shemagth in Warhammer 40,000, or to be specific, in Tallarn.

That said, it's worth observing how these early stories tend to depict the Tallarn Desert Raiders because of how fascinating history is. In The Traitor Hand, the Tallarn Desert Raiders were so taken with Ciaphas's heroics that they began worshipping him, with a prominent Tallarn character, Alem Mahat, writing The Book of Cain, which contains his aphorisms. They view Ciaphas as the Prophet of the Emperor and the conduit through which His divine will is enacted. Of course, this is clearly a reference to the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad. In Desert Raiders, the central conflict - aside from the Tyranids, of course - stems from the differing faiths of two regiments, who have a conflicting interpretation of the Imperial Truth. Again, this is clearly inspired by the Sunni and Shia faiths in Islam.

The Tallarn Desert Raiders had more expansion on their lore and forces in the Taros Campaign, alongside the Elysian Drop Troops, who had their own Forge World line. Rest in peace, Elyisan Drop Troops. I wonder if they'll ever get a plastic refresh. It would be awesome. During that Imperial Armor volume, they even received a Rough Rider variant where Tallarn soldiers rode on Mukaali, and Forge World released the models in resin.

The Mukaali are xenos mounts, herbivores known as "Sand Pacers" indigenous to the Desert World of Goru-Prime. Imported to Tallarn because these xenos adapt well to arid climates and environments, they unfortunately can't deal with the cold. They are pretty good at bearing loads and traveling across sandy terrain, so that's their advantage.

Tallarn officers also wear sashes adorned with gems and treasures. Anyway, even after over 30 years, the doctrine of the Tallarn Desert Raiders have remained consistent. They are mobile guerilla fighters, a doctrine inherited from the days of the Horus Heresy where they would avoid meeting the Iron Warriors in open battle and instead struck at the flanks and launching ambushes before fading back into the sands. Their tribes live in domed towns or caverns hollowed out of Tallarn's crust, and their settlements are linked by a complex system of tunnels, enabling them to move between them without exposing themselves to desert environment.

The Tallarn infantry regiments are very mobile, as are their famed armored regiments, who fight differently from most armored squadrons across the Imperium. Instead of a slow moving wall of steel, Tallarn armored regiments - of which there are a lot, and you can even see in the Final Liberation cutscene above that the Tallarn Desert Raiders move across the desert in Leman Russ tanks! - coordinate lightning fast spearhead assaults, their swift-moving tanks striking unexpectedly at the foe's weak flanks before disappearing. The infantry also excel in tunnel-fighting because of the subterranean tunnels mentioned above.

The current lore mentions how Tallarn was caught in a warp storm following the opening of the Great Rift and they were almost overrun by daemons. Fortunately, Roboute Guilliman's Indomitus Crusade Fleets appeared and saved them, and newly raised Tallarn regiments pledged themselves to his Crusade, usually fighting as diversionary forces who assault lightly defended outposts behind enemy lines. This forces the enemy to deploy reinforcements to these locations, but by then, the Tallarn have withdrawn to strike elsewhere. Called Siroccos, their objective is to spread the enemy army thinly, but the Tallarn guerilla warriors are so effective they end up crippling their targets permanently anyway.

Anyway, rather than the current core, I'm going to do a retrospective and talk about a very interesting account that was in the 2nd edition Imperial Guard codex, but not picked up again for a long time. Interestingly, while the lore on the Battle of Tallarn during the Horus Heresy has been expanded upon through John French's Horus Heresy Tallarn novels, novellas and short stories, and the newly published campaign books by Games Workshop - Legions Imperialis The Devastation of Tallarn and the Journal Tactica for Horus Heresy 3rd edition, The Battle of Tallarn Part 1, what is lesser known is the aftermath of the Battle of Tallarn, and what exactly is this Black Occulus or Cursus that the Iron Warriors were seeking.

The answer lies in the 2nd edition Imperial Guard codex.

Let me type everything out. It's a couple of pages long, but I think it's worth it. I'll just retype the story in the 1995 codex, to ensure it's not lost to the sands of time. In a way, I'm performing like one of Guilliman's historitors. Maybe he'll recruit me into the Logos Historica Verita...if I'm somehow still alive in the 41st millennium. Anyway...

TALLARN

The world of Tallarn was once a fertile planet bathed in the gentle orange light of its twin suns. Oceans, plains and lush jungles covered its surface, and its people prospered. All of this ended during the Horus Heresy.

CHAOS ATTACK!

In a devastating surprising attack, the Iron Warriors Chaos Space Marines struck the planet. Thousands of virus bombs rained down on Tallarn and the people ran to the enviro-shelters deep beneath the surface. As they hid, safe from the devastating bio-infestation, the deadly coils of DNA mutated as they were programmed to do. Animals, plants, even insects died as the virus did its work, destroying the planet's eco-system and leaving an empty shell.

After seven weeks of isolation, the virus had run its course and the remaining people of Tallarn emerged upon the surface. They found a world covered with the acrid slime of plants and corpses not yet decayed — for the world was completely sterile, without even bacteria to aid the decomposition of its dead.

The Iron Warriors sent their task-force to repossess the world for the Dark Gods of Chaos. From underground bunkers the Tallarn forces emerged to do battle with the invaders. Soon, reinforcements from both sides arrived, rival space fleets bringing vast armies to fight over the worthless remnants of the dead planet.

The Battle of Tallarn raged for many months and was the largest armored conflict of the Horus Heresy. Outbreaks of viral infection from rogue DNA residue made it almost impossible for infantry to operate outside their protective shelters. The battle was finally decided by armies of tanks. When the fighting ended, the empty, putrid wastes of Tallarn were littered with the wreckage of more than a million shattered vehicles.

A HOLLOW VICTORY

Chaos was driven from Tallarn at great cost, yet for all the millions that died there seemed little gained from the fight. The planet was destroyed and rendered useless for large scale habitation, industry or agriculture. The armies of the Imperium might well have given up Tallarn had their commanders realized the extent of the devastation, but once the armies were in motion there was no going back.

At the time, the Chaos attack made little sense. It seemed insane that even the fickle Gods of Chaos should expend such energy fighting over a devastated world of no particular strategic significance. But in the aftermath of the Horus Heresy, there were few left to ponder such questions. Amongst the evil of the times, it was just another demonstration of the random destruction of Chaos.

TALLARN SURVIVES

Within a thousand years of the Horus Heresy, Tallarn evolved into a very different world from the prosperous planet of former times. Deserts of sulfurous sand stretched from pole to pole and all water disappeared, except for a thin residue in the atmosphere. No vegetation remained on the surface exposed to the blistering, wind-blown sands. All that grew was the carefully husbanded crops of the Tallarn themselves, sheltered in their protective horticultural domes.

The surviving Tallarn now lived in domed towns or in natural caverns hollowed out in the planet's rock. Fierce winds drove the Tallarn into their shelters, corrosive sulfur storms made all travel risky, and eventually, a system of tunnels was built to facilitate travel beneath the surface.

Above their settlements, the Tallarn built vapor traps to catch water from the thin atmosphere. The tall towers still stand above their domes to this day, and all the water they use is caught by these cunning devices and channeled into subterranean holding tanks.

A SECRET UNCOVERED

During the construction of an arterial tunnel, Tallarn miners struck an outcrop of hard black rock. They were unable to break through this strange substance, which was quite unlike any other they had encountered. After some days, they decided to divert their tunnel to go around it. As they did so, they discovered something very strange. At first, the black wall seemed like a natural formation, but soon, they realized they had uncovered a deliberate construction.

The initial excavations revealed a huge wall of strange, black rock carved over its entire surface with weird, entwined figures. The figures were human sized yet not entirely human, possessing a grace and beauty which rendered their grotesquely inscribed cavorting all the more perverse. Giant earth movers were brought in to dig out the layer of sulfur sand in which the wall was buried, and bit by bit, it was slowly and painstakingly exposed to the daylight.

The Tallarn soon discovered the wall was not straight but curved, in fact, part of a huge circle. Carefully, their most skilled technicians worked to uncover the entire thing, a huge ring-shaped mound almost half a mile across.

THE DANGER AWAKES

It was not until the whole circle was exposed that the disaster happened. With a blast of power, the circle screamed and writhed, its inert form turned suddenly to moaning flesh. Where before there had been carvings, now there were the creatures themselves, Eldar creatures, yet twisted with an uncanny evil, locked together by some sorcerous bond into a sickening embrace of depraved passion.

Within the circle itself, blackness boiled and stars wheeled — stars that belonged in another part of the galaxy altogether.

THE DARK LIBRARY

In the Dark Library of the Eldar, a custodian shivered as he felt an unaccustomed surge of power. Adrift from time and space, his mind searched the endless strands of probabilities and found the thread that led to Tallarn. After so long, it had been discovered: the Cursus of Alganar, legend of evil from before the Fall, vortex of unimaginable power, one of the three mythical Gateways of the Gods.

His mind shifted into synchronicity with the Farseers of his race, tracing the paths that linked his mind to the Craftworlds of the Eldar. When that knowledge touched the Farseers, the Avatars of Khaine would wake. And Khaine would recognize the work of his ancient destroyer, Slaanesh — Bane of the Eldar, Prince of the Chaos Gods.

ELDAR ATTACK

The Eldar struck from the skies without warning or explanation. To the Tallarn, it was an unwarranted act of aggression. Little could they imagine that the fate of the entire Eldar race was bound up with their strange discovery. To the Eldar, there was no time for explanation or discussion. They couldn't know whether the Tallarn were in league with Chaos or whether the fierce desert people were unwitting pawns in the Dark Gods' game. As far as they were concerned, the only option was to attack, to destroy the Cursus if they could, before it was too late.

The Tallarn fought back with characteristic ferocity. Years of living upon the burning sulfurous deserts had honed them into resilient fighters. To the Eldar, the deserts were an unknown quantity. Even the hardy Aspect Warriors died under the heat of the sun, whilst the Eldar Guardians fell to the lightning raids of the human fighters. But the Eldar did not give up. They could not afford to abandon their attack. The survival of the galaxy depended on it.

THE DARK GODS AWAKE

But it was already too late. The gateway that was the Cursus grew in power by the minute. Its screams and wails filled the desert as the dark light brightened and fluxed within its core. Lights and stars swirled and clashed, fountains of spinning incandescence spat into the night sky. The laughter of gods rebounded across the sulfur dunes and Eldar and humans alike shuddered in terror.

From the Cursus poured the minions of Chaos. There were things indescribable to men. Things that awakened primal terrors in Eldar hearts — horrors of slime and flame that cackled and bounded into battle, transparent bodies of pure energy dividing and reuniting in a cascade of colors, vile fleshy things that pulsed with inner power and sucked at the air with poisonous lips. Long-legged abominations carried slender and elegant creatures upon their backs, beautiful and yet sickening to look upon. It was as if all the daemons of hell had fallen upon Tallarn.

THE BATTLE FOR THE CURSUS

The human commander called a truce and hurried to the Eldar lines where the alien Seers sat waiting. Knowledge had finally opened their eyes. The runestones lay cast upon the desert floor. Hope in union was predicted. Division would lead to damnation, darkness and death. With their fates so clearly predicted, the Eldar and Tallarn joined forces.

The two races fell back before the Chaos onslaught. Many were caught and destroyed in the early confusion, but the Chaos advance was slowed by the merciless hit and run tactics of the desert raiders. Humans led Eldar jet-bike riders into the attack, and soon the Tallarn and Eldar were able to regroup.

As the daemon hordes advanced beyond the Cursus, their power waned, as if they were dependent upon its proximity for their power. And so it was, for the tendrils of Chaos — though long — are very tenuous, and only blood-letting and victory can sustain the link between the Dark Gods and their minions.

CHAOS DEFEATED

With skill and cunning, the Tallarn drew out the Chaos battle lines. Choosing their targets carefully, the Tallarn launched one attack after another, always retreating before the Chaos hordes could turn to meet their fire. It was a tactic calculated to drain the power of the horde, and it worked better than even the wily sons of the sulfur desert could have hoped.

The Eldar Seers saw the runes change, saw the opportunity develop. The daemons were fading fast, their glittering bodies growing ever more transparent, their cries ever weaker. Now was the time to hit them hard.

With a furious charge, the Eldar and Tallarn threw their remaining strength against the gibbering horde. It was a last effort that would result in absolute victory or utter defeat. The Chaos hordes shuddered and the bodies of the daemons seemed to fade and dull. The crackle of energy died and the spark of life vaporized into the oily air.

Many lay dead, human and Eldar, gored by monstrous claws, crushed by the sensual caress of a poisoned tongue, or torn apart by razor sharp teeth. Many Eldar waystones were collected from the field, and many Tallarn taken back to their domes to surrender the water from their bodies to they hydro-tanks. But it was a victory nonetheless.

THE CURSUS

Once the Eldar had departed in peace, and the people of both races had exchanged their promises of friendship, the Tallarn returned to the Cursus. They found the black stone cold and lifeless once more, just as it was when they had first uncovered it. However, they knew now that the stone was not dead but merely sleeping, awaiting its time again, waiting for the call of its evil masters.

The Tallarn buried the Cursus beneath the sulfur sands once more and placed within its circle the mysterious devices that the Eldar had given them for that purpose. Then they sealed the surface with plascrete and turned their backs upon it.

That's from the Imperial Guard codex, second edition. That was kind of fun. It has all sorts of Imperial Guard lore and origins written in there, and if you guys are interested, I can also write articles based on the stories in here. There's one about Mordian Iron Guard, very interesting. Cadians have a short story too, and I also like the Valhallans. Obviously, there's the Catachan, who are the cover boys for this edition, but rather than story, it's more about their world - though I might talk about that Ork story, ha ha. Attilan Rough Riders too, who also have their cavalry metal miniatures in this edition, also have a description, but not much in the way of their feats and war stories.

Back to the Tallarn, though. You can see that while there has been a lot of familiar references that continue to today, over thirty years later, there have been more than a few changes and expansion. For example, the Iron Warriors attack that "made little sense" has been expanded in John French's Horus Heresy novels - the Tallarn books - as well as the campaign books for Legions Imperialis and Horus Heresy 3rd edition. We learn that Perturabo is seeking the Black Occulus, or the Cursus if you read the Tactica Journal The Battle of Tallarn Part 1. They're the same thing. As you can tell from this account, the Cursus is made from black rock. I almost thought they were blackstone, but that's a Necron thing, and it nullifies Chaos, so...I dunno.

It's also kind of weird, because the Iron Warriors are not a mono-God Legion, yet the Cursus is clearly Slaanesh. This has more to do with the Eldar jumping in than the Iron Warriors, but I'm surprised the Emperor's Children didn't show up. I think the Chaos Astartes Legions weren't as fully fleshed out in 2nd edition as now, so maybe that's why, and the Iron Warriors would be the most approrpiate Traitor Legion for a tank battle and armored conflict anyway.

The Black Library is mentioned here - clearly, the Dark Library is meant to be the Black Library. I'm not sure which Eldar Craftworld showed up, but I assume it's Biel-Tan, the most warlike of the Craftworlds, or Saim-Hann, who use jet-bikes heavily, and they mentioned jet-bikes. They're also the most similar to the Tallarn in terms of mobility, swift attacks and guerilla warfare, so thematically, the Saim-Hann makes more sense. Besides, Biel-Tan might be too aggressive and warlike to accept the Tallarns' truce.

They also expanded further on Tallarn's role during the Great Crusade. Originally, it was just a prosperous, fertile planet that happened to have enviro-shelters. In the new, updated lore, they explain that Tallarn served as a muster world, then as a supply hub, during the Horus Heresy, which justifies why there were so many enviro-shelters. They constructed subterranean shelters and facilities to house munitions, vehicles and machines, while simultaneously avoiding destroying the rich and vibrant biodiversity that Tallarn was famed for. As the Great Crusade moved on, it was too far from the frontlines to serve as a mustering world for the armies of the Imperium, and so instead the subterranean bunkers and facilities were used to store damaged Imperial Army assets and allowing those regiments who had been through brutal campaigns to rest and recover.

There's also a cute Dune reference in there (2nd edition), regarding how the Tallarns had to bring the bodies of their dead back to extract whatever water they could. Hah! Also, the seven weeks made it back here. In 2nd edition, the surviving Tallarn emerged from their enviro-shelters after seven weeks to find a dead world. In the most recent The Battle of Tallarn Part 1, the Iron Warriors spent eight weeks searching the toxic surface and got complacent before the Leman Russ tanks they thought were wrecks came to life and ambushed them. Lots of things made it to modern lore, and were expanded upon!

Despite the Horus Heresy background in 2nd edition, up until the 2010s, Tallarn was always depicted as a monolith. That is to say, like Lucien Soulban and Sandy Mitchell's novels, and even in official Games Workshop artwork, they were essentially the stereotypical guerilla Middle Eastern warriors as popularly portrayed by 2000s media in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Afghanistan war, and taking references as far back as the 1960s Lawrence of Arabia, and Gulf War (this probably is what happened with 1997's Final Liberation). I mean, they aren't alone, just watch Indiana Jones...

Tallarn characters would have clearly Arabian or Middle Eastern or Muslim inspired names, if you read the novels. Jal-Gada of the Tallarn, in Final Liberation. Alem Mahat, from The Traitor's Hand. General Akkir. General Hasso Ras-Aziz. Sabaak. Nisri Dakar. Hell, we even had rules for a character named Captain Al'Rahem of Tallarn in the 2nd edition codex. He has a plasma pistol and a Claw of the Desert Tigers power sword. I mean, c'mon...

I do like the part where the victorious Al'rahem and his regiment were given the rights to settle on Thoth and rule it. This ties into the rights of conquest or settlement, where successful Imperial Guard regiments are allowed to retire and garrison a world, thus effectively becoming the rulers of that world. Very cool.

Anyway, the good news is that current Games Workshop is moving away from the stereotypical Middle Eastern/Arabian/Muslim characters for Tallarn in Horus Heresy. While you still have Susada Syn and Jasira Sannoval, who could...yet at the same time, aren't typical Middle Eastern names, you also have many different ethnicities and cultures from many different worlds and regiments congregating in Tallarn for the Horus Heresy battle, such as the Cinder Born who formed the core of the Tallarn Reborn Cohort. Tallarn has become more multicultural, and a mustering world for many different people to show up, not just the hooded desert warriors that dominated their image during the late 1990s and 2000s. I do like this, though at the same time, I feel like there's an effort to preserve that cultural direction while not reducing them to stereotypes for modern 40K. But it does mean the modern Tallarn receives less of a spotlight than their Horus Heresy counterparts.

I am unsure if Tallarn is one of the more popular regiments - most people prefer Armageddon Steel Legion, Mordian Iron Guard, Praetorians, maybe Valhallans and Vostroyan Firstborn, and even the Elysians. However, the Horus Heresy solves that by saying, there's no monoculture in Tallarn, and Heresy-era Tallarn is multicultural because you have musters of regiments from many different worlds all coming together to fight for a single purpose - to drive the Iron Warriors from an Imperium-held planet. Plus, if you're all fighting in tanks, the whole stereotypical image is less visible. Hence the direction toward Heresy-era Tallarn instead.

That said, I do think there's a high possibility that Games Workshop will revisit Tallarn at some point. With Pertarubo emerging from the Eye of Terror and constructing his Infinite Citadel to choke the Imperium, there's no reason he wouldn't return to Tallarn to settle his grudge to a world he believes he could have conquered if Horus Lupercal hadn't ordered him to withdraw for pursuing his own agenda. He will want to finish what he started back in the Horus Heresy and claim the Cursus/Black Occulus once and for all. Eldrad Ulthran is also wary of Perturabo's plans, and seeks to stop them, so this might set up another Tallarn-Eldar alliance against Chaos. Maybe the Craftworld from back then was neither Biel-Tan nor Saim-Hann, but Ulthwe? That makes sense.

And also, just like Armageddon, the Tallarn Desert Raiders (though they'll receive a plastic refresh and be featured in animated trailers and artwork, unlike the poor Armageddon Steel Legion, who get sidelined in their own planet and didn't get featured much in the Return of Yarrick books, 11th edition, and the CGI trailer, instead being replaced by Krieg and Cadians) will probably not fight alone, but receive tons of reinforcements from across the Imperium. Just like The Battle of Tallarn, where regiments and Space Marine Chapters (instead of Astartes Legions) show up piecemeal to oppose the Iron Warriors. Wouldn't be surprised if a new Tallarn campaign for 40K is released in the future.

That will both avoid the whole Arabian/Middle Eastern stereotypes complaints, as well as bring back a fan-favorite storyline. While I don't know about the Desert Raiders being a popular miniature line, I do know that the Battle of Tallarn is popular among a lot of Imperial Army and Solar Auxilia in the Horus Heresy. I mean, it is the largest armored conflict in the Heresy, so of course everyone will be enamored with it. Or perhaps Games Workshop will keep Tallarn in the Heresy spotlight and avoid returning to it in the 41st Millennium, aside from Tallarn regiments fighting in the Indomitus Crusade. Who knows?

...I just realized that for some reason, I did not write an article on The Devastation of Tallarn. I don't know what happened, but I assume I was too busy back then...which, I think I was, as I was preparing to return home from the US and everything when the book was released back in August 2024. I think I was too busily packing up stuff and shipping them home, and there was a time when I panicked because they didn't arrive for a while. I apologize for the oversight, and the next article will cover the lore in The Devastation of Tallarn.

Honestly, though...I don't know why I'm writing these articles. Actually, wouldn't it be better if someone like Arbitor Ian or a Warhammer 40,000 Youtuber cover all these Battle of Tallarn lore and history? I can imagine Arbitor Ian tracking down the history of Tallarn Desert Raiders and how their lore and origins evolved over the last 3 decades, and he'll do a much better job than me. Sigh.

The Battle of Tallarn

The Battle of Tallarn tells the tale of the Rise of the Reborn. Quite frankly, we all know what the whole Tallarn saga is about, having read about it in various forms, whether it's John French's Tallarn novels and novellas and short stories in the Horus Heresy series, or Imperial Guard codex of various editions. If you're familiar with the Tallarn Desert Raiders, the codex across all editions cover their origins and the Battle of Tallarn (though the 2nd edition codex has a more detailed account of what happens after the Battle of Tallarn). Back to this Journal Tactica: There is a short summary for those who haven't read those, so maybe it's worth repeating.

To sum it up, Tallarn was once a verdant, abundant and beautiful world with fertile biomes, and was regarded as a jewel in the Trailing Tempest region in the Segmentum Tempestus. It was designated as a supply hub, then as the Great Crusade expanded further, it served as a harbor for damaged, recovering or recuperating assets. Not wanting to destroy the beautiful biosphere, they instead built a lot of subterranean caverns to store Imperial Army assets such as vehicles, tanks, munitions, supplies, etc., many of which were brought along by these resting and recuperating units who needed a break after serving in lethal campaigns of the Great Crusade.

Then everything changed when the Iron Warriors attacked.

The IV Legion fleet translated deep into the Tallarn system, led by Perturabo's flagship Iron Blood, and unleashed a planetwide barrage of virus bombs. These differed from the life-eater virus that consumed Isstvan III, this virus was re-engineered into a more complex strain that caused necrotic decay and mutated to corrosive compounds that permeate and linger for centuries.

Though billions on Tallarn died, many made it to the underground shelters, which were militaris-grade rad/chem sealed, and this was where they staged their retaliation and vengeance. As for the Iron Warriors, after virus-bombing the surface of Talalrn, they landed armored battalions, comprised of Predators, Vindicators, Sicarans and Kratos tanks from Stormbirds, Thunderhawks and other heavy drop ships. Their objective was singular: to locate the Cursus, which is some MacGuffin thingy that you'll read about in John French's Tallarn novels and novellas and short stories. Check out Tallarn: Executioner, Tallarn:Ironclad, Tallarn: Siren and Tallarn: Witness for more details. And Black Oculus and Iron Corpses for more. Epsecially Ironclad. Oh, and the 2nd edition Imperial Guard codex would talk about this Cursus turned out to be a gateway for Slaanesh Daemons to invade Tallarn, and how the Tallarn Desert Raiders - with the assistance of the Eldar - were able to drive them off and seal the Cursus. You know what, I'm gonna write a separate article on this.

The Cursus is also known as the Black Oculus, by the way. Yeah, I know it's confusing, but the Cursus and Black Oculus are the same thing.

For eight weeks, the Iron Warriors combed Tallarn for the Cursus. There were bitter rivalry and intense competition between them, and nothing happened, so they got complacent, especially since they saw no signs of life, and nothing but wrecks.

However, the Tallarn Reborn retaliated, seeking revenge. Under the command of Cohort-Marshal Jasira Sannoval, the 71st Cinder Born Cohort of the Solar Auxilia took charge and distributed their veterans among crews made up of civilian volunteers, to deploy their squadrons of tanks into the now toxic surface of Tallarn. Other cohorts include Sapphirine Ghosts, Ithak-Nur and these fall under the Crescent Province Command.

There's also mention of Astartes Legions joining them piecemeal, with forces from the White Scars, Space Wolves, Imperial Fists, Blood Angels, Iron Hands and Ultramarines present, as well as other Legions who had cast off their old colors in the wake of Horus's betrayal and pledged to fight for the Imperium. Loyalist Thousand Sons armored companies, anyone?

The Iron Warriors comprised of what were the core of the 125th Expeditionary Fleet. Mostly armored battalions, they fell under the command of Tetrarch Forrix and were made up of a lot of Inductii crew, led by various veterans who survived the attritional campaigns of the IVth Legion. Apparently, they were reorganized into Grand Battalions, with Armor companies built from Armor Centuries leading Patrol Sections. They were accompanied by their Selucid Thorakite Legiones Auxilia and even the Mechanicum Taghmata of Incaladion. The Iron Warriors deployed in Legion strength, apparently, with the bulk of their Legion arriving in Tallarn.

No wonder they were in pretty bad shape by the time they reached Terra. They lost a lot of tanks in Tallarn before the Siege.

Anyway, there is only one battle in this particular Journal Tactica, and it tells of how Iron Warriors patrol section Scorn Two-six, under the command of Armor-Commander Vanko Graxxis aboard a Spartan Command Tank, fell into an ambush from the Tallarn Reborn. As mentioned above, the Iron Warriors grew complacent after seeing wrecks for eight weeks, so when they drove straight into a convoy littered with Imperial Army wrecks, they thought nothing of them...until the Leman Russ tanks came to life and blew them up. There was also clever use of mines to trap the entire armored command in the canyon, and though the Solar Auxilia crews in those damaged tanks lying in weight were succumbing to prolonged exposure to the environmental toxins, they were more than happy to make that sacrifice.

More advanced tanks, such as Thunderers and Destroyers and Malcadors emerged from nearby subterranean shelters and hangars to join them. Graxxis called for reinforements, with a reactionary force of Sabres and Sicarans arriving to surprise one side of the Tallarn Reborn tanks from behind and wipe them out. While trading fire with the other side of the Tallarn tanks, several super-heavy tanks arrived - the Falchion, Crucible, accompanied by a Cerberus Heavy Tank Destroyer, and a Typhon Siege tank.

Outmatched, the Tallarn Reborn tanks were forced to retreat, losing lots of tanks to the Iron Warriors super-heavies...but Iron Hands Thunderhawk - the Medusan Sun - and two Xiphon fighters showed up to join the party, and they blew up the Falchion, which resulted in a catastrophic explosion that annihilated not just a lot of Iron Warriors tanks, but also the Cerberus and Typhon. Take that, Iron Warriors scum!

With the Iron Warriors armored squadrons mortally wounded and in disarray, the Tallarn Reborn retreated under the cover of the Iron Hands. Though merely mortal and outmatched in firepower by transhuman Astartes, the Tallarn Reborn learned how to retaliate through guerilla tactics and warfare, ambushing their superior foe from subterranean shelters and disappearing before the IVth Legion could muster enough strength to destroy their foes. In this way, Tallarn was clawed back from the iron grip of Perturabo's invaders, and the Imperium eventually won...but that is a tale to be told in another expansion, for this is merely "Part One" of The Battle of Tallarn.

If you want more Tallarn lore, the fall of the Sapphire City is detailed in The Devastation of Tallarn, the Legions Imperialis expansion. I also recommend you get this book!

Oh, right. The Solar Auxilia get a new Dracosan Command Tank, yay! Just rules, though. Oh, well. However, there are a few confusing points about the rules. There's no Transport Capacity, but there's a Command Transport rule that says he can only transport units that have at least one model with the Command Sub-Type. HUH?! But how, when there's no transport capacity?!

That second rule opens up even more confusion for me because the only units that have the Command sub-type are the Legatine Command Section and Tactical Command Section. All the other command sections are Sergeant sub-type only! Maybe the Veletaris has Champion sub-type too, but basically it means I can't embark my Veletaris Command Section in a Dracosan Command Tank because they lack the Command sub-type. Lame.

A third point of confusion is that the Dracosan Command Tank is a High Command Choice. Basically your equivalent of a Legate Marshal or Praetor. You can use him to unlock Apex Detachments - and I'll be talking about one in a bit - but it also means that the only unit you can transport with this guy, assuming that the - transport capacity is a typo/error, is the Tactical Command Section. Unless you decide, for some inane reason, that you absolutely have to take both of Legatine Command Section and a Dracosan Command Tank, and you use the Special Assignment Prime Trait for one of them (likely the Legatine, since you would prefer unlocking 2 armored detachments with the Dracosan Command Tank, and the Legatine Command Section has no special rules aside from Line 2).

But you're wasting a Command slot when you might as well take Tactical Command Section to unlock 2 more auxiliary detachments, as well as a Prime slot. And if you're taking an allied Solar Auxilia detachment, then the Dracosan Command Tank is pretty much...useless, since if you try to take him via Special Assignment, you lose the Command Tank (2) ability that unlocks 2 armored detachments.

...yeah, this is just weird.

However, if you choose to take Solar Auxilia as your primary detachment and bring a Dracosan Command Tank, then you can unlock two auxiliary detachments, but they must be either the Armored Support detachment or the Armor Tercio detachment. But I'd take the opportunity to unlock the Apex Detachment, Armored Command Squadron, which gives you 3 Armor slots with 2 Prime Traits to choose from - Hardened Systems, which lets you make Repair tests in both Start and End phases, and Suspensor Web Stabilizers, which grants you benefit from Heavy even though you moved.

But another point of confusion arises here. Rules as written, if you take an Apex detachment with the High Command slot of a Dracosan Command Tank, you can't take auxiliary detachments anymore. So you either choose one Apex or two auxiliary detachments, but not one Apex and one Auxiliary. Is that intended? So if I choose an Apex detachment of Armored Command Squadron, I can't take an Auxiliary even though Tank Commander (2) normally allows me to take 2 Auxiliary detachments?

I guess I have to assume that's the case, in which case, it...sucks. But it does make sense somewhat. I would go with a single Dracosan Command Tank, maybe the Apex Armored Command Squadron of 3 Valdor Tank Destroyers, all with Hardened Systems (since I don't really need the Heavy as the Mechanized Cohort gives me that with 4", and their weapons are Ordnance, not Heavy, anyway). Then I'll take an Armored Command Section and 2 Armored Tercios, plus one Super-heavy. That's like 11 tanks, plus one super-heavy. If I really want to, I can throw in a Tactical Command Section, and bring two squadrons of Aethon Heavy Sentinels with the rest of the points.

Realistically speaking, I don't have that many tanks (nor am I planning to buy that many tanks), but you see where I'm going with this. That is a lot of tanks! Also, you can only use this Apex Detachment in Armored Spearhead missions. From what I understand, this dilemma will not arise for normal missions or standard Horus Heresy campaigns, unless you are specifically running Armored Sperhead missions during a campaign. That sort of sucks, but...whatever.

We do have a new Cohorts Vagus: Itinerant Cohorts where automata show up out of nowhere and either help you or fight both you and your opponent. Very cool. Though I think it's a cool concept, I won't be using this as the rules don't really appeal to me and I prefer to just run Legio Cybernetica. However, I like the narrative fluff and the idea of having robots show up on your side all of a sudden. It'll be fun.