Legio Arctica

Based on the forgeworld of Kronn IV, the Legio Arctica (commonly referred as the 'Icebreakers') stands as a proud bastion on the border between the segmentum Obscurus and Segmentum Pacificus, fighting off encroaching Ork invasions and Chaos warbands. The Legio was founded during the Great Crusade, and have eventually developed tactics to hold prolonged sieges and wars of attrition due to the constant Ork incursions against their origin forgeworld as well as sporadic attacks from chaos warbands seeking to corrupt the forgeworld and open the one of the gates to the segmentum Pacificus. The Legion has harboured a grim reputation as careless destroyers during deployment, pushing for the elimination of key objectives before they could be overrun, such as hive cities or key manufactorums, this has given the Legio an unsavoury reputation amongst the troops that deploy next to the god-machines.

Rise of the Legio
Founded during the Great Crusade and emplaced on a key mechanicum outpost that would grow into a globe-spanning forgeworld, the world was thought lost during the age of strife, but during the Great Crusade it was brought back to the Imperium’s fold. The legions assembled during the growth on an isolated continent separated from the rest of the growing forges, the continent eventually became the foundation for the colossal temples dedicated to the god-machines.

During the Horus Heresy, the entire world suffered of a civil war, with one side being loyal to the perceived Omnissiah and the other being loyal to the Warmaster, the legion itself was turned against one each other, and the victory of the loyalists came at a terrible price. Almost one third of the god-machines were destroyed, and of those remaining, half were in dire need of repairs, and the rest remained damaged for two hundred standard years after the conflict’s resolution.

After the Siege of Terra, the forgeworld now purged of heretic cells, came under heavy assault of the retreating traitor legions, barely managing to hold the desperate Astartes at bay until the awakening of the usable God-machines, successfully spearheading a counter-offensive against the Astartes, managing to repel their incursion.

1st Kronnite Expeditionary Force (643-832.M34)
During the massive event for the Forge World that was the launch of its first Expeditionary fleet, the Legio’s forces were divided in half, and the most well-maintained titans moved alongside the expedition, seeing deployment on very few worlds, but managing to secure relics of the Dark age of Technology, including the remains of a STC that is, to this date, one of the largest discoveries ever done during their Expeditionary fleet. The Legio managed to hold a defensive perimeter alongside Skitarii forces on the desert world of Pasarna VII against a Necron uprising, the world being an ancient tomb world without any knowledge of it. The Legio lost during the decisive hours of the battle the Warlord titan Invicta, lost to a focused attack of Gauss artillery, and the warhound titan Indomable, the princeps overcharging its engine to prevent the advance of a necron monolith on its last struggle against the necron armies. After the recovery of technological wonders from before the age of strife, the titans were extracted from the world before they were overrun.

Meritas Cluster Campaign (Mid-M38)
During the Meritas Cluster campaign, the forces of the Legio Arctica were called in as reinforcements to subdue the heretical revolts of the system alongside the Astral Leviathans. The Skitarii forces deployed alongside the Legio provided assistance to the Imperium’s forces on the ground, securing key objectives and solidifying gains against the chaos forces, while the titans of the Legio marched over mining complexes and rehabilitation facilities, entire building sectors leveled to the ground as the titans marched onwards, delivering the Omnissiah’s wrath to those who revolted against its will. They proved vital during the peak moments of the fighting, where the forces of the Legio applied enough pressure on the concentrated heretic lines to create an opening for the Astartes to strike at their leadership. The Legio’s forces also assisted the astartes on the rest of the system, at the loss of Princeps Vortum, his mind already extenuated by the extended combat times became lost in his Reaver’s machine spirit close to the final assault, on one of the cultists’ last desperate pushes.

2nd Kronnite Expeditionary Force:
The rumors of a warpstorm spewing to material space a collection of worlds next to the Kronn sector raised the interest of the Forge world’s magos due to signals being actively transmitted despite the long period of time in the warp. Soon after, the second expeditionary force was sent to discover the source of the mysterious signal. During this expedition, the Legio offered its most venerable titan to the cause, the only Imperator-class titan. Accompanying it, were four Reaver and six Warhound, and a trio of Warlord titans. This mass-deployment of forces eventually ended in the bloody conflict called the Battle for the ruins of Hive Hygroi, where the Skitarii fended off an encroaching chaos warband that had been tailing them since their arrival, at the cost of three titans, including a Reaver titan and two Warhound titans. After the second expedition, it was decided that the Legio wouldn’t deploy such a high number of titans on an expeditionary force until their numbers were somewhat replenished, and new generations of Princeps rose to face the challenge the Legio was unprepared for.

Notable Titans
The Legio posessed under its direct command a compact force of Titans, each of those being in maniples of five led by a sixth titan that acts as on-field command post for the most veteran Princeps of the deployment, and act as command centres for the maniples. Here are the most well-renowed maniples and titans, but there are less notable ones.
 * Eterna (Imperator-class Titan): The only Imperator-class Titan under the Legio's control. The titan is often kept on its temple-manufactorum due to its abrasive machine-spirit.
 * Lux Polaris (Warlord-class Titan): The crown jewel of the Legio, often seen spear-heading attacks. Like the rest of the Legio's Warlord titans, the princeps is entombed into an amniotic tank.
 * Pax Polaris (Warlord-class Titan): The Pax Polaris bought alongside Lux Polaris and Invicta during the 1st Kronnite Expedition's last battles.
 * Invicta (Warlord-class Titan): Destroyed during the 1st Kronnite Expedition, its name revered on the Legio for its valiant sacrifice.

Notable Legio Formations

 * Coheris Maniple: A maniple consisting of five Reaver-class Titans, named Coheris Major, Coheris Minor, Coheris Ballistica, Coheris Bertraal and Coheris Cerebrum. This maniple specializes in heavy artillery support and long-range firepower. They have earnt renown during the Meritas Cluster campaign as an extremely flexible maniple, its long-range weaponry allowing the maniple to cover each titan over long distances.
 * Petal Maniple: A maniple consisting of five reaver-class titans; Petal Major, Petal Minor, Petal Secundus, Petal Ballistica and Petal Cerebrum. This maniple has specialized on concentrated firepower, often deployed with one of the Warhound maniples, using the scout titans for target acquisition. This maniple was responsible for turning what was left of Hive Hygroi during the Second Kronnite Expedition to dust and ash.
 * Snow hunters Maniple: A maniple consisting of five Warhound-class Titans; Snow Stalker, Snow Hunter, Ice Breaker, Ice Climber and Frozen Lead. They are often deployed on artic worlds as their name indicates, their bodies equipped with special equipment against cold climates.
 * Swamp walkers Maniple: A maniple of five Warhound-class Titans; Swamp Lead, Swamp walker, Water Strider, Mudrunner and Jungle Raider. This maniple is often deployed on worlds with difficult terrain, such as jungles, dense hive cities or large deserts.

Origin Forge-world
The world of Kronn IV is an almost-inhospitable frozen world, covered in manufactorums that cover its entire surface. Those ancient buildings pile one over the other, massive forges cover the surface, using the planet's cold temperatures to regulate the over-heating forges. The world's population has been completly turned over to working on the massive forges, day and night fires burn bright beneath the layer of snow that permanently covers the roofs of the manufactorums.

Beneath the surface, the forges expand beneath the ground, carved on the rock like mining shafts, and with massive ventilation systems that drain the air to throw it back on the surface, while others bring air from the outside. Bright red columns of still melted metal light the massive stairways down, ramps, conveyors and roads as they fall down to other forges for being re-used.

Above the orbit, a space station orbits the world, constant travel between the station and the forge-world lets a constant influx of materials to be imported, processed and sent to the nearby systems on a tight schedule.

The world's manufactorums located on the northern continent are entirely dedicated to providing the titan legion and the skitarii forces of the world with equipment, repair parts, servitors, vehicles and other supplies.

Allies
Astral Leviathans

By the Legio Arctica
''It is vital that the enemy falls, it is the end goal. How much it costs to take it down is not of our concern, lives will always be lost during war.''-Grand master Pilleus, 590.M36

About the Legio Arctica
''The wrath of the god-machines can only be stopped with the blood of those who stand against its will. Hereteks and xenos alike fold like paper once the god-machines walk the fields of war once more, unstoppable and unbreakable, under the weak weaponry of those not blessed by the Omnissiah.''

-Magos Domina Scytalla, 054.M42