Tallarn
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Tallarn is a fictional planet from Games Workshop's Warhammer 40000 game. "Tallarn is a harsh planet, with endless sulphurous deserts and constant raging sandstorms. It was the site of the largest tank battle fought during the Horus Heresy, the grave of thousands of Chaos heretics, and the home of some of the hardiest warriors in the Imperial Guard - the Tallarn Desert Raiders." It is located in the Segmentum Obscurus. When it was first discovered by Imperial settlers in the 29th Millennium it was classified as a verdant Agri-World. However, around the time of the Horus Heresy, the rebel Iron Warriors legion--intending to destroy all potential resistance before landing--virus-bombed the planet from space, rendering it an inhospitable desert. Only then did the Marines land. Tallarn's few survivors emerged from their underground bunkers to stop the Iron Warriors' invasion.
Soon, reinforcements from both sides arrived. It became clear to the Imperial forces the futility of fighting over a destroyed planet but by then there was no turning back. Although it could not be guessed at the time, the Chaos legion were motivated beyond mere destruction. Since the poisoned environment made it impossible for infantry to operate outside of protective shelter, the only available option of battle was that of armored tank warfare. The largest tank battle in human history erupted on the surface of Tallarn. By the end of it, the Iron Warriors were defeated, and the wreckage of over a million tanks littered the sands.
Approximately twenty years after this, the official Tallarn Desert Raiders military force was formed. These regiments specialised in desert fighting, and were highly adept at ambushing enemy forces in the desert.
The Tallarn Desert Raiders continued their attack on various worlds which had turned to Chaos until sometime around the 30th Millennium, when they were recalled. The "Cursus," a Chaos relic of black stone which had led the Iron Warriors to the world was discovered deep under the desert sands. Immediately after finding this relic both Eldar of the Biel-Tan craftworld and Iron Warriors spilled from the sky once more, to attempt to claim this relic. After months of fighting, the Eldar and Tallarn Desert Raiders formed an alliance and destroyed the Chaos forces.
After their combined victory over the Chaos hordes, both races exchanged their promises of friendship, before the the Eldar departed in peace. The Tallarn re-entombed the Chaos relic beneath the sulphur sands and turned their backs on it.
[edit] References
"Tallarn Desert Raiders," by Rick Priestley (White Dwarf 185)
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