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Terra is arguably the most defended sector in the 40k galaxy. But I have wondered how its defenses would fare in a two (or more) front war.

Do you think it would be possible to see planet side fighting on Terra if a Black Crusade was launched at the same time as second major incursion into the Terra sector? Like a major Ork Waagh! from the coreward Ork empires or a Tyranid hive fleet from under the galactic disc?

If you think they could hold two fronts is it possible that a Black Crusade was launch, while an Ork Waagh! and a Tyranid Hive fleet all struck the Terran sector could the defense keep them off Terra itself?

The main thing would be how they reached Terra. The Black Crusades falter because of the Cadian Gate. I can't remember how Abbadons plan is referred to in the newest codex but it basically relies on overwhelming Cadia and using it as a staging platform for further progress toward Terra.

Similarly Orks would need to bypass Imperial defences in the wider Galaxy to be able to converge en-masse.

A tyrannid hive fleet might reach Terra by simply travelling in from above or below the Galactic plane much like hive fleet Leviathan.



I think what you are describing is the perfect and likely doomsday scenario hinted at in 40k but will never be shown within the existing game. Personally I think with those many threats that Terra would fall, or if Terra did not fall other parts of the Imperium would suffer due to them being called to bolster the defences.

Terra has been described as so absurdly well defended it would take a scarily vast amount of resources (Or inside help) to effect planetfall.
That said anyone attacking it would probably have those resources...

Other than the Black Crusaders has there been any other serious threat to Terra since the Horus Hersey?

Zookie wrote:
Other than the Black Crusaders has there been any other serious threat to Terra since the Horus Hersey?

The Night Lords, a Nurgle Chaos Marine Warband, and a random group of Necrons got kinda close. But only distance-wise. They didn't really threaten it. At all.

Does the Age of Apostacy and The Beheading count?

In the Fifth Edition rulebook there was a mention of a coup d'etat by the lord of the Assassin Temples or something. To be fair they were already ON Terra.

Zookie wrote:
Other than the Black Crusaders has there been any other serious threat to Terra since the Horus Hersey?

I believe the 3rd book of the Word Bearers trilogy outlines a chaos assault led by the word bearers chapter using a Necron relic that nearly overwhelmed a system that had a direct warp current to the Sol system. I can't recall the specifics but they called in 6 space marine chapters plus IG and were nearly obliterated due to the Necron artificat. The word bearers lost at the last minute when the necrons showed up to reclaim their relic and mopped the floor with the space marines and the word bearers before leaving.

I believe they call this Deus Ex Machina

No matter how many fronts open up across the galaxy, you'd be working extremely hard to crack Terra. There's a whole lot of resources sitting there in its own right. Plus if it came down to it the Imperium would likely abandon a whole lot of less important campaigns to pull forces back to Terra if the threat was significant enough.

However, it's certainly not impossible. As said above, an inside job and/or a whole lotta bodies would be required (but lets face it, traitors pop up anywhere if you wait long enough).