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At a glance
Armageddon is one of the great industrial hive worlds of the Imperium. Its colossal hive cities house billions of people, and its manufactoria produce weapons, vehicles and munitions for the Astra Militarum across the Segmentum Solar. It sits close enough to Terra to be strategically vital, and its loss would open a road towards the heart of the Imperium. For these reasons, Armageddon has been fought over three times on a scale that few other worlds have ever witnessed.
The planet is divided into two continents, Armageddon Prime and Armageddon Secundus, separated by a wide band of dense, poisonous equatorial jungle. Between the hives stretch the ash wastes, grey deserts of pollution and industrial fallout where little lives and visibility can drop to a few metres in a storm. The world is choked with smoke, its seas poisoned and its sky permanently overcast.
The Wars for Armageddon are among the most famous campaigns of the 41st millennium. The first was fought against the daemon legions of Angron; the second and third against the Ork Warlord Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka. In the course of these wars, heroes such as Commissar Sebastian Yarrick and Commander Dante earned undying fame, and countless millions of soldiers and civilians died. In the Era Indomitus, the fighting on Armageddon has never truly stopped.
Geography & environment
Armageddon's two continents have very different characters. Armageddon Prime, in the north, is older and more developed, with ancient hives and heavily polluted ash wastes. Armageddon Secundus, in the south, is the industrial heartland, home to the greatest hive cities and the most productive manufactoria. Between them lies the equatorial jungle, a vast, steaming, almost impassable region of carnivorous plants, poisonous creatures and endless rain, which the people of Armageddon regard as a death trap.
The ash wastes are the defining landscape of Armageddon. They cover huge areas between the hives, formed from millennia of industrial waste, volcanic ash and pollution. Ash storms can strip paint from vehicles and choke the unprotected. The wastes are dotted with ruins, abandoned settlements, mining camps and the burned-out wrecks of battles past. Ash Waste Nomads, hardy tribes who travel the wastes in armoured vehicles, scrape a living by trading and scavenging between the hives.
Armageddon also has mountains, polluted seas and polar regions, but most of its population lives in the hives. Each hive is a mountain of plasteel and rockcrete rising kilometres into the sky, its upper spires home to the nobility and its lower levels home to teeming masses of workers. The underhives are lawless warrens of gangs, mutants and scavengers.
The equatorial jungle is home to the Death Mire, a region of swamps and fetid water, and to creatures that prey on anything that strays into their territory. During the wars, the jungle became the scene of desperate fighting, as both Imperial forces and Orks tried to use it as a route around enemy lines. Many who entered it never returned.
The great hives
Armageddon's hives are some of the largest and most heavily populated cities in the Imperium. Each has its own character and history.
Hades Hive
Hades Hive became the most famous hive on Armageddon during the Second War, when Commissar Yarrick led its defence against Ghazghkull's Orks. Its defenders fought for months, holding out against enormous odds, and their stand became one of the great legends of the Imperium. By the end of the siege the hive was a ruin, but it never fell.
Helsreach
Helsreach was a great port hive on the coast of Armageddon Secundus. In the Third War, it became the scene of a desperate defence by the Black Templars, the Steel Legion and the hive's own people. The fighting in Helsreach was among the most brutal of the war, and the city was largely destroyed. The Black Templars' Chaplain Grimaldus won fame for his role in its defence.
Acheron, Tartarus and Volcanus
These hives were among the most important industrial centres of Armageddon. Acheron was the site of treachery in the Second War, when its governor collaborated with the Orks. Tartarus and Volcanus were centres of the Imperial defence and saw intense fighting in both Ork wars.
Infernus
Infernus Hive fell to the Orks in the Second War. Its fall was a terrible blow, and it became a symbol of the destruction wrought by Ghazghkull's invasion. Its population was massacred or driven out, and the ruins became an Ork stronghold.
History
Before the wars
Armageddon was settled during the Great Crusade and quickly became a centre of industry. Its hives grew over the millennia, and its manufactoria became some of the most productive in the Segmentum Solar. The planet's strategic location made it an important military hub, and the Armageddon Steel Legion became one of the best-known regiments of the Astra Militarum.
The First War for Armageddon (444.M41)
In 444.M41, a massive daemonic invasion struck Armageddon. The daemon Primarch Angron led the forces of Khorne, and his armies swept across the planet. The Imperial defenders were overwhelmed, and the daemons slaughtered millions. The Space Wolves and the Grey Knights came to Armageddon's aid, and after terrible fighting, Angron was banished by the Grey Knights. In the aftermath, the Inquisition ordered the purging of everyone who had witnessed the daemonic invasion, including many of the planet's defenders, to keep the knowledge of daemons secret. The Space Wolves objected furiously, and the incident became a source of lasting tension between the Space Wolves and the Inquisition.
The Second War for Armageddon (941.M41)
In 941.M41, the Ork Warlord Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka launched a massive invasion of Armageddon. The planetary governor, Overlord Herman von Strab, mishandled the defence, and the Orks overran large parts of the planet. Commissar Sebastian Yarrick, who had been in semi-retirement, took command of the defence of Hades Hive and held it against overwhelming odds. Space Marine Chapters, including the Blood Angels under Commander Dante, the Ultramarines and the Salamanders, came to the planet's aid, and eventually the Orks were defeated. Ghazghkull escaped, and Yarrick vowed to hunt him down.
The Third War for Armageddon (998.M41)
In 998.M41, Ghazghkull returned with an even larger force. The Third War was fought on a massive scale, involving dozens of Space Marine Chapters, hundreds of Imperial Guard regiments and countless Ork warbands. Yarrick led the Imperial forces once again, and the war became a stalemate that spread across the entire planet and into space. Ghazghkull eventually left the planet, but his Orks remained, and the war continued for years afterwards.
The endless war
In the Era Indomitus, Armageddon remains a battlefield. Orks continue to fight in the ash wastes and the jungles, and the Imperial forces are locked in a war of attrition. Armageddon's manufactoria still produce weapons and vehicles, but the planet is scarred by centuries of war, and its people live with the constant threat of Ork raids.
The Orks of Armageddon
Armageddon may never be free of Orks again. Orks reproduce by spores, which are released throughout their lives and especially when they die. Every Ork killed on Armageddon scatters spores into the soil, and in the warm, wet equatorial jungle these spores take root and grow into new Orks. After the Second War, feral Ork tribes appeared in the jungles, and after the Third War the infestation became permanent. Imperial commanders now accept that the planet will need a standing garrison for as long as the Imperium endures.
The Orks of Armageddon are not a single army but a patchwork of warbands, from the battle-hardened Goff mobs who followed Ghazghkull to feral tribes who have never seen space. Speed Freeks race across the ash wastes in buggies and trukks, Deathskulls loot Imperial wrecks and Blood Axes copy human tactics with unsettling skill. Mekboyz build towering Gargants from scrap and the wreckage of fallen Titans, and these crude god-machines lumber across the wastes, firing at anything that moves. The ash wastes are littered with the remains of battles between Orks and Imperial forces, and with the debris of Ork wars against each other.
The Ork Hunters of Armageddon know this enemy better than anyone. They have learned to read the signs of Ork activity in the jungles, to set traps for the beasts that accompany Ork warbands and to burn Ork corpses before their spores can spread. Their war never ends, because the jungle never stops producing new enemies.
The war in the void
The Wars for Armageddon were not fought only on the ground. Ghazghkull's invasions came with huge fleets of Ork vessels, including space hulks and asteroid fortresses carved into the shape of Ork faces. The Imperial Navy fought desperate battles above the planet, and the Black Templars under Helbrecht led a crusade against the Ork fleets. Orbital defence stations were boarded and overrun, and many ships were lost on both sides. The debris of these battles still orbits Armageddon, a graveyard of broken ships that is itself a hazard to navigation.
People & culture
The people of Armageddon are hard and resilient. Most live in the hives, working in the manufactoria or serving in the military. Life in the hives is crowded and dangerous, and the underhives are home to gangs and criminals. The people of Armageddon are known for their pride in their world and their hatred of the Orks, who have caused them so much suffering.
The Armageddon Steel Legion is the planet's most famous military force. Its soldiers are well-equipped and highly trained, and they specialise in mechanised warfare, fighting from Chimera transports and supported by tanks. They are known for their greatcoats and rebreathers, which protect them from the polluted atmosphere. The Steel Legion fought in all of the Wars for Armageddon and earned a reputation for courage and determination.
The Ash Waste Nomads live outside the hives, travelling the ash wastes in convoys of vehicles. They are tough and self-reliant, and they know the wastes better than anyone. During the wars, they served as scouts and guides for the Imperial forces.
Armageddon also has specialist Ork hunters, soldiers who track and kill Orks in the jungles and the ash wastes. These Ork Hunters are some of the most skilled jungle fighters in the Imperium, and their knowledge of Ork behaviour is unmatched.
Heroes of Armageddon
Commissar Yarrick
Sebastian Yarrick is the greatest hero of Armageddon. He led the defence of Hades Hive in the Second War, losing an arm to an Ork warlord and replacing it with a power klaw taken from his slain foe. His bionic eye, the "bale eye", became a symbol of his defiance. He returned to lead the defence in the Third War, and he became Ghazghkull's greatest enemy. To the people of Armageddon, Yarrick is a living legend.
Commander Dante
The Chapter Master of the Blood Angels led his Chapter in the Second War, and his forces played a decisive role in defeating the Orks. Dante returned in the Third War, leading the Blood Angels against Ghazghkull once more.
Chaplain Grimaldus
The Black Templars Chaplain led the defence of Helsreach in the Third War, fighting alongside the Steel Legion and the people of the hive. His bravery and leadership became legendary, and he was elevated to the rank of Reclusiarch.
High Marshal Helbrecht
The leader of the Black Templars, Helbrecht, commanded his Chapter's crusade on Armageddon during the Third War, leading a fleet against the Ork vessels in orbit and fighting on the ground.
Defenders & war-machine
Armageddon is defended by the Steel Legion, supported by Space Marines and other Imperial forces. The Steel Legion fields Leman Russ tanks, Chimera transports, Baneblade super-heavy tanks and artillery. Titans of the Collegia Titanica have also fought on Armageddon. Space Marine Chapters such as the Black Templars, Blood Angels and Salamanders maintain a permanent presence on the planet, and the Imperial Navy guards the system.
Notable battles
- The First War for Armageddon (444.M41): Angron leads a daemonic invasion; the Space Wolves and Grey Knights save the planet.
- The Second War for Armageddon (941.M41): Ghazghkull invades; Yarrick holds Hades Hive.
- The Third War for Armageddon (998.M41): Ghazghkull returns; the war becomes a planet-wide conflict.
- See Wars for Armageddon for the full account.
Trivia
- Yarrick's bale eye is a laser weapon mounted in his bionic eye.
- The Steel Legion's greatcoats and rebreathers have become iconic.
- The Inquisition's purge after the First War led to the Space Wolves' long-standing mistrust of the Inquisition.
- The Ash Waste Nomads' knowledge of the storms and hidden routes between the hives made them some of the most valuable scouts of the Ork wars, even though hive-dwellers often looked down on them.
- The Steel Legion's mechanised doctrine was shaped by the ash wastes, where infantry without transport and rebreathers could not survive for long.
- Ghazghkull believes he is a prophet of the Ork gods, Gork and Mork.
