Arkhona Campaign

The Arkhona Campaign was a protracted planetary campaign fought by Imperial forces, Chaos Undivided, Orks and Eldar for the planet Arkhona in the Segmentum Obscurus.
Imperial and Chaos forces both sought control of the planet's mysterious dormant webway portals that lead directly into Segmentum Solar, until the world was finally captured by chaos at the end of the 41st millennium, bringing an end to the conflict.
In Real Life

Arkhona Campaign: In Real Life

The 'Arkhona Campaign' refers to the video game Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade, where 40k gaming communities took on the roles of the Craftworld Eldar, Space Marines, Orks or Chaos Space Marines to battle each other in online, 3rd-person shooter battles.
Though hopes were initially high for the game, Eternal Crusade's servers shut down several years into early development before the grand scale of the project could be realized.
This did not diminish the time invested by several gaming communities however, who had coalesced to form guilds of loyalists, traitors, orks and eldar. Together they fought countless battles both competitive and casual, weaving the threads of narrative that are detailed throughout this website.

History

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Prelude to War

Although the settlements of Mankind at one time stretched across all of its continents, when representatives from the Inquisition's Ordo Xenos arrived they found that the entire human population of Arkhona had been destroyed, later determined to be the result of an unexpected incursion by the Tyranids. Shortly afterwards, the Inquisitors themselves were lost under terrible circumstances, thus setting the terrible events of the conflict on Arkhona into motion.
It was later discovered that Arkhona had several dormant webway gates on its surface, which were theorized to lead to star systems within Segmentum Solar - marking the planet as a high priority target for Imperial, traitor and xenos forces alike.

Imperial Deployment

Imperial forces deployed en-masse after the loss of inquisitors who discovered signs of tyranid activity in years prior. Initially comprised of imperial guard, the imperium of man secured and fortified several of the planet's key locations, taking great care to protect the dormant webway gates.
The imperial guard were lated joined by increasing numbers of space marine detachments as the campaign wore on.

Defence of Forge District Zedek

LORE DATE: 999.M41 - REAL DATE: 2021 - GAME: ETERNAL CRUSADE
Bade by Abaddon the Despoiler to capture the planet for the machinations of the Black Legion, the disparate warbands of traitor space marines united in order to conduct tactically precise assaults upon imperial and xenos forces on the planet.
Their attacks were bolstered by unorganized cultist reinforcements, who flocked to the system at the behest of their dark gods and overlords.
The Epsilon Battalion engaged the brunt of such attacks - notably driving off a determined chaos marine assault on Forge District Zedek thanks to the leadership of Claudius Drakan and the determined third company under his command.
In Real Life

Defence of Forge District Zedek: In Real Life

Claudius Drakan demonstrated highly effective command skills during a pitched guild-vs-guild match against Chaos Space Marines in Eternal Crusade, winning the day in what was one of the final competetive matches ELWP played before the game's servers were shut down.

Withdrawl to Firebase Epsilon

LORE DATE: 999.M41 - REAL DATE: LATE 2021 - GAME: ARMA 3
After years of fighting, chaos forces had been gaining steady ground until the final days of the conflict - killing most of the ork war hosts present, driving off the Eldar and reducing imperial forces to a scattered handful of crumbling bastions.
The Epsilon Battalion had withdrawn back to its final redoubt, Firebase Epsilon, whereby they conducted several last-ditch raids on awakening chaos gates that were appearing in increasing numbers along the planet's equatorial regions.

In Real Life

Withdrawl to Firebase Epsilon: In Real Life

As Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade's game servers shut down, ELWP switched over to Arma 3 as their primary game. This transition was frought with technical difficulties and an immense amount of learning took place in order to ensure that the transition was successful. Overall, the transition was a success as ELWP's community adapted to its new life in Arma 3, hosting its first few operations in Firebase Epsilon.

Monsters in the Mist

LORE DATE: 999.M41 - REAL DATE: LATE 2021 - GAME: ARMA 3

During the hasty withdrawl to Firebase Epsilon, some Imperial Guard contingents were cut off from the main force and pinned down in a valley North-East of the Firebase. The Epsilon Battalion sent out a handful of squads to regroup with them and secure their extraction, but instead, the marines discovered only a few-dozen terrified, shattered survivors.
An unnatural fog swiftly enveloped the area around the marines as they came under attack from daemons who struck with blistering speed and force. Together alongside the surviving guardsmen, the relief force conducted an organised withdrawl, eventually managing to escape the supernatural fog and the daemons that stalked the valley.

Rescue of Lenkor Khalahan

LORE DATE: 999.M41 - REAL DATE: LATE 2021 - GAME: ARMA 3

Plunging South in a daring raid, the Epsilon Battalion sallied out from beyond the walls of Firebase Epsilon to regain some initiative in the conflict and deny their enemies a vital vantage point.
What followed was an arduous hill assault - and to their surprise upon reaching its summit, they found a handful of imperial guard prisoners who joined the marines in reclaiming the hilltop from chaos forces. Among these prisoners was Captain Lenkor Khalahan of the 700th Cadian infantry.

Fall of Firebase Epsilon

LORE DATE: 999.M41 - REAL DATE: LATE 2021 - GAME: ARMA 3
The Epsilon Battalion tried in vain to stifle the overwhelming hordes of daemons, cultists and chaos space marines that moved unchecked across the landscape of Arkhona. During these final days, the battalion committed its strength to striking at chaos ritual sites and daemonic portals - one such chaos gate to the North of Firebase Epsilon was so vast in scale that the full might of the 2nd and 3rd battle companies was repelled. The subsequent withdrawl yielded more ground than anticipated and the very walls of the firebase itself were besieged.
The battle for Firebase Epsilon was fierce with both sides suffering heavy losses; the remnants of the Cadian 700th were ordered to withdraw as chaos warhound titans approached on the horizon, all while traitor marine droppods deployed into the very heart of the firebase itself. Realising that the defence of the firebase was now untennable, Battalion Commander Dekra Akalius ordered a general withdrawl from the planet - and thanks to the timely intervention of a detatchment of Ultramarine aircraft, the Epsilon Battalion escaped moments before the warhound titans demolished the firebase in its entirety.

Loss of Arkhona

! SECTION WIP!

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This article is a work in progress.

The Eternal Crusade Only in death does duty end.

Kharon System Open full size System scan map of the Kharon system, renown for the Arkhona campaign.

Conflict Type

Military Campaign

Battlefield Type

Planetary

Conflict Result

Arkhona is consumed by the warp, and most likely destroyed. All imperial forces are forced to withdraw and scattered. The forces of Chaos claim a pyrrhic victory.

Location

Arkhona

Ork Raiders A multitude of relatively small ork war parties descended upon Arkhona as the fighting grew more intense between chaos and imperial forces. Together, their numbers swelled applying significant pressure to all opposing sides of the conflict.

The Aeldari Ever illusive and mysterious, the Eldar appeared to conduct lighting raids across the planet - always striking at strategically vulnerable targets, before disappearing once again the moment the battle threatened to become costly. Among the Eldar present were those of the Myriad Shrines Aeldari, who routinely appeared to strike at critical imperial and traitor locations.

Nardax Wielder of the Daemon's Eye An infamous Night Lord sorcerer reaped a bloody tally of loyalist space marines during the war for Arkhona, drawing the ire of many of its defenders - none more so than the Epsilon Battalion. In Real Life Nardax: In Real Life Nardax (AKA. 'H*tlerius Trump') was a well known player of Eternal Crusade, infamous for his skill with the Chaos faction's Sorcerer class; he would wield the 'Daemon Eye' ability to terrifying effect and, true to his Night Lord character skin, also conduct a large amount of psychological warfare before the real battle would begin. Videos, montages and a great deal of verbal taunts would be made by Nardax often at the expense of opposing loyalist space marine guilds. As a result, he was hated by many - but his skill as a sorcerer was nonetheless respected by all. Guild members of ELWP would form an intense rivalry with Nardax during the final years of Eternal Crusade's lifespan.

Belligerents

Imperial Forces

• Crimson Fists
• Epsilon Battalion
• Imperial Fists
• Imperium of Man

Led by

Strength

Significant.

Casualties

Heavy.

Objectives

Prevent capture of Arkhona by chaos forces.

Chaos Undivided

• Alpha Legion
• Chaos Undivided
• Iron Brethren

Led by

Strength

Significant.

Casualties

Heavy.

Objectives

Capture and hold Arkhona.

Orks

• Evil Sunz

Led by

Strength

Middling-sized ork force.

Casualties

Near total.

Objectives

'Av a good scrap and krump some shiny gits. Lootin da snazzy gubbinz would also be gud.

Eldar

• Myriad Shrines Aeldari

Led by

Strength

Multiple craftworld strike forces.

Casualties

Middling.

Objectives

Unknown.

Tyranids

Led by

Strength

Scattered, feral pockets of tyranid bioforms. Relatively low numbers.

Casualties

High.

Objectives

Unknown - lacking an obvious synapse creature, the bioforms seem to be without purpose or direction.