What is the Greatest Battle of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe?

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**Imperial Monkey**

As a fist player I want to say the battle for Rynns world, although I know it's not that big.
The Sabbat Crusade isn't too shabby as wars go either (does a crusade count as a war? It sorta is one long continuous one...)

**htj**

Honourable mentions to the Age of Apostasy and Armageddon (all lumped in together) but it's got to be the Siege of Terra for me, Imperial lapdog that I am.

**Roadkill Zombie**

-Loki- wrote:
Roadkill Zombie wrote:The super massive galaxy spanning Hive Fleet Ninja that attacked and destroyed the Squat Homeworlds that spanned the Center of the Milky Way Galaxy! It was such an awesome battle that every single Squat in existence was snuffed out with a word from the Hive Mind Jervis, never to show it's face in the 40k universe again.

What made the battle so extremely unusual was that not a single race was harmed except for the Squats. Even the Imperium escaped unscathed!

Then, all of a sudden, the Tyranid Hive Fleet Ninja dissappeared, leaving no trace of it's existence...not even in the Tyranid codex.

Truely, this was the greatest Battle of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe.

Pretty sure the 4th edition codex has a galactic map with a marker that says 'Squad Homeworld (Destroyed)'. I can't remember the planet name given. Obviously they had more than one world, but it has been noted in a codex.

And considering how much GW wanted to forget about the dwarfs in leather chaps riding trikes, are you really that surprised at the little fanfare given to their passing?

That would be Golgotha. It wasn't destroyed by Tyranids, it was Destroyed by Orks and Commisar Yarrick was also captured on it. The story comes from an old White Dwarf battle report they did for the 2nd edition Epic game. Jervis Johnson was showcasing the new Squat Super Heavy Vehicles and chose the most crap army he could while his ork opponent Andy Chambers chose a very well thought out Ork Horde with a Great Gargant, a Mekboy Gargant and a bunch of speed freaks.

It also isn't the squat Homeworld. They didn't have just one homeworld, they had a bunch of them.

**tehbarry**

I think that I would probably choose the Siege of Vraks, the reclamation of Krieg, and the War in the Heavens or whatever it was called...

**xXSir MontyXx**

3rd Armageddon world. The largest WHAAGH! of Ork's at the time and it is stopped at a single planet.....

Iyanden was also an amazing conflict.

**flota**

the battle of terra

**Commisar Von Humps**

Siege of the Emperors palace.

**Hlaine Larkin mk2**

The greatest battle the imperium will never hear of..... the battle for monthax, only one loss and a chaos horde wiped out.

**Bloodfrenzy187**

Kasrkai wrote:Siege of The Emperor's palace.

^ this

**sexiest_hero**

The one where the space marines win. So all the ones involving space marines.

**Ashryu**

I vote The Battle of Terra for having the most at stake and the Octavius/Tyranid war for the highest level of sheer carnage.

**Shayden**

I think that the greatest battles are yet to come...

**Necanor**

I would say, the battle of North Afric`s capital, during the unification wars. Billions of soldiers fought there.

**Tyranic Marta**

Got to be the battles between the tau and the nids, the sheer number of nids killed actually drained a hive of resources

**ShatteredBlade**

I've alway thought that the Siege of Vrakas wasn't a small engagement by any means.

**moonshine**

Shayden wrote:I think that the greatest battles are yet to come...

I agree with this

For the largest battle so far I would have to say, The battle of Terra.

I am suprised nobody has said the battle of Isstavan III, a whole twelve space marine legions were fighting there and all nine chaos space marine legions foughth there

**SomeRandomEvilGuy**

moonshine wrote:I am suprised nobody has said the battle of Isstavan III, a whole twelve space marine legions were fighting there and all nine chaos space marine legions foughth there

**moonshine**

Oh yeah, I forgot the thousand sons did not fight there. Eight legions deffinalty fought there : Sons of horus, Death guard, World eaters, Emporers children, Alpha legion, Iron warriors, Night lords and Word bearers. There was still ten full legions. That is alot imo

**KamikazeCanuck**

It's probably the biggest for space marines but the siege of terra had everything.

**Asherian Command**

The Astral knights need an honorable mention!

The Astral Knights were a chapter from an unknown founding and origin.

The Astral Knights sacrificed their chapter to destroy the World Engine. This Necron weapon was a planet sized spaceship, armed with gauss projectors capable of scouring planets of all life.

The World Engine was attacked by fifteen Space Marine task forces plus elements from the Imperial Navy. Even the mightiest weapons could not harm it. Drop pods and torpedoes could not penetrate its shields and it was impossible to lock on to it with teleport beams.

The Imperial task force tried twelve times to overwhelm it through sheer valour and firepower and was rewarded with a string of destroyed and crippled ships and millions of casualties.

The World Engine destroyed a third of an Imperial Navy Battlefleet before Artor Amhrad1, the Chapter Master of the Astral Knights, decided to ram the World Engine with his Battle barge, Tempestus1.

Engines at full power, the Battle Barge collided with the World Engine's shields, and broke through. Once inside the shields did the Space Marines have a chance. The entire Astral Knights space marine chapter deployed from Drop Pods onto the artificial world's surface.

For one hundred hours1, seven hundred seventy-two1 Astral Knights fought against tens of thousands of Necrons, destroying every flux generator, weapon forge and command node they came upon. But each victory came at a price.

Only Amhrad and five battle brothers were left to launch the final assault1. Fighting with the fury that legends are made from, the surviving Astral Knights made their way to the deepest part of the World Engine that housed many command nodes. In a final act of heroism, Amhrad detonated melta-charges that brought down the World Engine's shields and silenced most of its weaponry. The Astral Knights were gone.1

But their sacrifice was not in vain. Seeing the foe defenceless, the Imperial fleet destroyed the World Engine with volley after volley of cyclonic torpedoes.

A monument made of seven hundred seventy-two1 arbalstone statues and the wreckage of the Battle Barge Tempestus now stand on the lifeless world of Safehold, the final victim of the World Engine1. This shrine is guarded by a score of Space Marines from the dozen Chapters who fought at the Astral Knights' side.

Another Chapter, the Sable Swords, was formed to take custody of the Astral Knights' Fortress Monastery.1

and the Battle Of Terra waas pretty big, can't forget Isstvan III and the dropsite massacre. Where many many loyalists died to the guns of traitors in such a heroic fashion that would make any space marine jealous.

**Melkhiordarkblade**

The Emperor fighting Horus.

Not the physical battle,the battle in the mind as it happened.

**C-montygman**

I would have to say the octavious war

**thehod**

1st War for Armageddon

The entire might of the Grey Knights vs Deamon Prince Angron and a retinue of 9 Bloodthirsters.

**C-montygman**

Hive fleet kraken should get an honorable mention too

**Necroagogo**

Asherian Command wrote:The Astral knights need an honorable mention!

They got one on p1

**Redshade**

the Astral Knight's attack on the World Engine was epic but for biggest the battle for Terra.

**TyraelVladinhurst**

thehod wrote:1st War for Armageddon

The entire might of the Grey Knights vs Deamon Prince Angron and a retinue of 9 Bloodthirsters.

13 bloodthirsters actually, but while epic the greatest battle has to be the battle for Tallarn, largest tank battle ever

**UselessSage**

Necanor wrote:I would say, the battle of North Afric`s capital, during the unification wars. Billions of soldiers fought there.

Interesting...

Afric gets no hits on Lexicanum. What do I need to find and read?

Thanks.

**porkuslime**

Roadkill Zombie wrote:
-Loki- wrote:
Roadkill Zombie wrote:The super massive galaxy spanning Hive Fleet Ninja that attacked and destroyed the Squat Homeworlds that spanned the Center of the Milky Way Galaxy! It was such an awesome battle that every single Squat in existence was snuffed out with a word from the Hive Mind Jervis, never to show it's face in the 40k universe again.

What made the battle so extremely unusual was that not a single race was harmed except for the Squats. Even the Imperium escaped unscathed!

Then, all of a sudden, the Tyranid Hive Fleet Ninja dissappeared, leaving no trace of it's existence...not even in the Tyranid codex.

Truely, this was the greatest Battle of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe.

Pretty sure the 4th edition codex has a galactic map with a marker that says 'Squad Homeworld (Destroyed)'. I can't remember the planet name given. Obviously they had more than one world, but it has been noted in a codex.

And considering how much GW wanted to forget about the dwarfs in leather chaps riding trikes, are you really that surprised at the little fanfare given to their passing?

That would be Golgotha. It wasn't destroyed by Tyranids, it was Destroyed by Orks and Commisar Yarrick was also captured on it. The story comes from an old White Dwarf battle report they did for the 2nd edition Epic game. Jervis Johnson was showcasing the new Squat Super Heavy Vehicles and chose the most crap army he could while his ork opponent Andy Chambers chose a very well thought out Ork Horde with a Great Gargant, a Mekboy Gargant and a bunch of speed freaks.

It also isn't the squat Homeworld. They didn't have just one homeworld, they had a bunch of them.

Golgotha gets revisited in the novel Gunheads.. an entire IG Tank Detachment/Regiment is sent to retrieve the Fortress of Arrogance from the Orks of Golgotha (harkening back to that old battle report).. short, dwarvish, stunted humanoinds were the original settlers of the planet and still exist in statuary, frescos, and amazing engineering projects that the IG encounter.

-P