Desert Lions

The Desert Lions are a Loyalist Space Marine Chapter of unknown origin and Founding (presumably from the Second Founding) who took part in the Great Scouring. This Chapter famously fought during Operation Carthage during the 31st Millennium to retake the world of Istvaan V from the Forces of Chaos who had controlled it since the first days of the Horus Heresy. Nothing else is known about this elusive Chapter in Imperial records.

Notable Campaigns

 * Operation Carthage (Second Pacification of Istvaan V) (Circa 31st Millennium) - The Desert Lions were assigned to retake Istvaan V from the Forces of Chaos alongside a cohort of war robots from the Adeptus Mechanicus' Legio Cybernetica. The Chapter had been tasked with the difficult job of reducing the enemies' planetary fortresses. To deal with the problem, the Desert Lions programmed the Legio Cybernetica robots to assault the Chaotic citadels in a seemingly mindless fashion. Though the robots were easily defeated and almost wiped out by the defenders, the automatons also succeeded in providing invaluable intelligence to the Astartes on the nature of the Chaotics' defences, including their firing plans and the various blind spots in the defence.With this information, when the Desert Lions launched their own assault upon the fortresses they were able to quickly reduce the defenders and bring the world back under Imperial control. Only 7 Desert Lions Space Marines were lost during the assault. In gratitude, the Desert Lions inducted all of the surviving robots of the Legio Cybernetica cohort into the Chapter as honorary Battle-Brothers.

Notable Desert Lions

 * Tech-Adept Saul Lliamson - A notable Techmarine and Legio Cybernetica Tech-Adept, Saul Lliamson wrote the manoeuvre routines that proved to be so successful on Istvaan V during Operation Carthage, the Second Pacification of Istvaan V, to retake the planet from the holdout Traitor Legions of Warmaster Horus.