History Awesome / SpaceMarineBattles

* Lysander approaches a daemonic gate, guarded by a Sphinx, who says he must pay a toll. Since she is a servant of Slaanesh, the "toll" must be some kind of sensation, something that she has never felt before. She airily declares that for a being as old as she is, no human mind has anything new to offer her, especially a mind as monkish as a Space Marine's. Lysander invites her to read his mind, and he treats her to his memory of a campaign the Imperial Firsts conducted on a daemon-infested world. Seeing this campaign through his eyes, the Sphinx is scorched by the pure, sun-hot hatred that all sons of Rogal Dorn feel for the denizens of Chaos and is amazed to feel a tiny frisson of something she's heard of and seen many times before, but never actually experienced herself: '''fear'''. And the toll is paid, and she allows him to pass.

* One of the lowly PDF soldiers, the most expendable form of RedShirt in the entire Imperium, goes into a blind fury and ''leads a counter-assault'' during the final battle of Hoth Ridge, grabbing a bolt pistol off the ground and rushing an Ork emplacement. I forget exactly what was accomplished, but it was enough to get a ''personal commendation from the Dark Angels'', whereupon he was awarded with a shard of Veteran Sergeant Naaman's carapace armor.

* ''Rynn's World'', the Space Marine Battles novel, is chock full of these. How about Pedro Kantor beating the absolute ''shit'' out of the Arch-Arsonist of Charadon. He beat him up so badly, the ''Ork Warboss ran away''. This is directly after one of the Captains got three of his limbs torn off by the Arsonist's lieutenant in the process of clearing a spaceport in order to save Rynn's World, by allowing reinforcements to arrive.

* ''Legion of the Damned'', by Rob Sanders, is filled with these. The best is by far one word. Punisher. The little Thunderfire cannon that could. When Khornate Daemons overrun the eastern flank of the city the Excoriators are defending Punisher was the only survivor and continued to hold them off, alone. It held off Khornate Daemons, Cultist Hordes and berserk Chaos Space Marines '''by itself'''. And it that wasn't enough when Zachariah Kersh, the protagonist, sends out a signal to fall back Punisher goes on a search-and-destroy mission through the city. Then it blows down a wall, saving the main characters from being overwhelmed by World Eaters and allowing them to escape, before opening fire into the traitors and killing many of them, including 10,000 year old World Eaters veterans who fought at Terra! They finally kill it by flanking it. Punisher died, but it absolutely owned some of the galaxy's fiercest killers before it died.

* Sister Sethano, big time. Twice she gets ambushed, first by a fallen space marine and later by two Tzeentch daemons, and both times she fights them off using nothing but her skill with a power sword, shrugging off woulds that by all rights should have killed her in less than a minute. Even the sneering Inquisitor Lettinger -- who regularly [[BullyingTheDragon stands up to space marines]] -- is terrified of her in the last few seconds of his life.

* On a meta level, one dedicated fan has been adapting the Helsreach audiobook into animation, all by himself. Check it out, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D4jr-0_COg&list=PLSWAxTw0FAGxkkqmuroxMwN5LviaBosJ5 here]]. By the end of the series it had branched out a bit, with many of the voices (especially the women) being re-recorded and a few other people aiding in the animation. GW and the author not only promoted the series, they [[https://www.warhammer-community.com/2018/12/17/an-animated-series-from-the-far-future-yeah-it-isgw-homepage-post-1/ hired them]] to do an official animation.

* While the commanders of Armageddon's defense are meeting. Commissar Yarrick is talking about how Hades Hive won't survive the week, when a Captain of the Angels of Fire Space Marines Chapter steps up and says that they should try and defend it, because it was where the Ork invasion was broken sixty years ago. Yarrick is adamant in his decision, and the Astartes [[TooDumbToLive laughs at him, saying that he's underestimating them and that any Astartes in the room has more military experience than he does.]] Yarrick doesn't reply, doesn't say anything. He doesn't get angry, doesn't break down. He just ''stares'' at the Space Marine, until eventually the arrogant sap realizes he's goofed up and avers his gaze.

* ''Rynn's World'', the Space Marine Battles novel, is chock full of these. How about [[spoiler: Pedro Kantor beating the absolute ''shit'' out of the Arch-Arsonist of Charadon. He beat him up so badly, the ''Ork Warboss ran away''.]] This is directly after [[spoiler: one of the Captains got three of his limbs torn off by the Arsonist's lieutenant]] in the process of clearing a spaceport in order to save Rynn's World, by allowing reinforcements to arrive.

* [[spoiler: The death of the Godbreaker gargant. Two words: "Engine Kill"]]

* ''Legion of the Damned'', by Rob Sanders, is filled with these. The best is by far one word. [[spoiler:Punisher. The little Thunderfire cannon that could. When Khornate Daemons overrun the eastern flank of the city the Excoriators are defending Punisher was the only survivor and continued to hold them off, alone. It held off Khornate Daemons, Cultist Hordes and berserk Chaos Space Marines '''by itself'''. And it that wasn't enough when Zachariah Kersh, the protagonist, sends out a signal to fall back Punisher goes on a search-and-destroy mission through the city. Then it blows down a wall, saving the main characters from being overwhelmed by World Eaters and allowing them to escape, before opening fire into the traitors and killing many of them, including 10,000 year old World Eaters veterans who fought at Terra! They finally kill it by flanking it. Punisher died, but it absolutely owned some of the galaxy's fiercest killers before it died.]]
** Then the Legion itself. [[spoiler: The Legion of the Damned arrive and absolutely destroy the traitors. Best example is the fate of Umbragg of the Brazen Flesh. By his own admission Umbragg has fought in every single major battle involving the World Eaters. He fought at Istvaan, Terra, Armaggeddon and many other battles. And one lone Damned Legionary comes up behind him and slits his throat, leaving him to bleed out in an alley. One of the galaxy's deadliest warriors died like a common thug in "a street so small and insignificant to the galaxy around it that it didn't even name a name.".]]
*** [[spoiler: The Legion don't stop there. They fill the city and slaughter the Cholercaust. Some scenes described are a World Eater Lord and his cultists being herded into an open space, only to be fried by the Legion's flamers; A traitor named Slorak the Undying empting an entire clip of ammo from his bolt pistol into the face of a Legionary, only to have his head cut in two; A traitor Techmarine being lured into a park and blown up by pre-placed grenades; Foresworn marines being lured into the catacombs beneath the city and actually being stalked and hunted one-by-one by the Damned Legionaries.]]
** Then there's Scout Omar. [[spoiler: During a mission outside the city Omar is ambushed and literally buried alive in a cultist horde after they force him into an open grave. He survives and makes it back to the city as the Cholercaust is siegeing it. Corpus-Captain Kersch rescues him, but Omar loses the lower half of his body to a gelatinous Daemon. That doesn't stop him from being a sniper spotter in the battle, and when his shooter is killed he takes the rifle and continues fighting. He is the last Excoriator to die, the bell tower he is firing on is swarmed by Furies. Even his death is awesome as Omar detonates the grenades he is wearing and takes the tower, and the Fury swarm, with him and the falling tower crushes a hell of a lot of cultists.]]
** And in space... [[spoiler: One lone ship is all that defends Certus Minor. They do better than anyone could have expected, taking down many ships with their sole lance cannon. But as they are being boarded a new ship appears. One that is actually visible in from the planet's surface, showing the massive size of the vessel. It then launches a single torpedo and destroys the Keeler Comet that the Cholercaust has been following, the comet was corrupted after passing through the Blood God's realm and had been travelling the galaxy for ten thousand years. And the Raptorous Rex destroyed it with a single torpedo. And then it goes on to annihilate the entire Chaos fleet which consists of hundreds of vessels.]]
** Let's not forget the main character,Corpus-Captain Kersh, The Scourge, [[spoiler: future Chapter Master of the Excoriators.]] He starts the book in stasis, suffering from debilitating nightmares and undergoes invasive brain surgery to stop him from being a drooling vegetable. Now, most of his brothers wouldn't be too bummed about leaving him to rot, so this procedure was only done because he was the only guy in the Chapter who might stand a chance at winning the Feast of Blades, a single combat tournament with no holds barred, and where the occasional death isn't uncommon. That's right, the guy goes from being comatose, straight into a series of brawls, with only a brief procedure bordering on lobotomy to prepare him for it. Obviously, he wins the tournament, reinforcing his reputation for being a ruthless bastard along the way, to the point where the final match is no longer a one-on one fight, but a three way showdown, because none of the other Chapters want to shame themselves by giving him a fair fight (although it ''was'' also a legitimate three-way tie in the first place). Oh, and he loses an eye in the early matches of the tournament. He's then offered the chance to replace it with bionic enhancements, but turns it down, because he feels the adjustment time might cost him a fight. So he just fills his empty eye socket with a ball bearing.
** When Imperial forces finally arrive to the planet, they find it completely devoid of any civilians and assume the worst... [[spoiler: and then an Inquisitor and a Chaplain see Kersh, the only and seriously wounded survivor they have found, reaching for a gravestone and chiming a little bell attached to it. They dont understand anything until they start hearing more and more bells sounding around because ''the entire population'' had been hidden inside the tombs and mausoleums before the battle and, after Kersh has given them the signal, they are now asking for help to be released again. As the recently arrived Inquisitor says: "The dead are rising, Santiarch. Miracles indeed."]]

* ''Helsreach'', another Space Marine Battles novel, has it's own fair share. Notable examples include [[spoiler: The death of the Godbreaker gargant. Two words: "Engine Kill"]]
* There's one moment in the Space Marine Battles novel ''Helsreach'', while the commanders of Armageddon's defense are meeting. Commissar Yarrick is talking about how Hades Hive won't survive the week, when a Captain of the Angels of Fire Space Marines Chapter steps up and says that they should try and defend it, because it was where the Ork invasion was broken sixty years ago. Yarrick is adamant in his decision, and the Astartes [[TooDumbToLive laughs at him, saying that he's underestimating them and that any Astartes in the room has more military experience than he does.]] Yarrick doesn't reply, doesn't say anything. He doesn't get angry, doesn't break down. He just ''stares'' at the Space Marine, until eventually the arrogant sap realizes he's goofed up and sits back down.

* The Astral Knights and a collection of other Chapters are trying and failing to breach the shields of the World Engine, a Death Star esque mobile fortress of the Necrons that has already glassed one planet and run roughshod over the Imperial response fleet. Everyone, even the ''Ultramarines'', are ready to throw in the towel and try to come back with more ships, but the Astral Knights? They deduce that the World Engine's void shields aren't powerful enough to take a massive impact, so they power up the engines of their battle barge and ''[[RammingAlwaysWorks ram the World Engine at full speed]], giving the Astral Knights an opening to deploy to the planet's surface and turn the tide of battle in favor of the Imperium.

!!The World Engine

* On a meta level, one dedicated fan has been adapting the Helsreach audiobook into animation, all by himself. Check it out, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D4jr-0_COg&list=PLSWAxTw0FAGxkkqmuroxMwN5LviaBosJ5 here]]

* When the Red Corsairs board the ''Dread Argent'', Prognosticator Brand ends up in a one-on-one duel with Huron Blackheart’s personal champion, the Chaos Sorcerer Taemar. When it becomes apparent that they’re too evenly matched, Brand takes a page out of [[Literature/LordOfTheRings Gandalf’s]] book and uses his force staff to shatter the floor, dropping them dozens of feet onto the bridge. Taemar hits the deck first, stunning him, and as Brand [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice drives his force staff into the sorcerer’s chest]] and channels psychic energy through it to blow Taemar apart, Brand telepathically says this to his foe:

* ''Legion of the Damned'', by Rob Sanders, is filled with these. The best is by far one word. [[spoiler: Punisher. The little Thunderfire cannon that could. When Khornate Daemons overrun the eastern flank of the city the Excoriators are defending Punisher was the only survivor and continued to hold them off, alone. It held off Khornate Daemons, Cultist Hordes and berserk Chaos Space Marines '''by itself'''. And it that wasn't enough when Zachariah Kersh, the protagonist, sends out a signal to fall back Punisher goes on a search-and-destroy mission through the city. Then it blows down a wall, saving the main characters from being overwhelmed by World Eaters and allowing them to escape, before opening fire into the traitors and killing many of them, including 10,000 year old World Eaters veterans who fought at Terra! They finally kill it by flanking it. Punisher died, but it absolutely owned some of the galaxy's fiercest killers before it died.]]

!!Malodrax

* The final battle inside the last xeno temple. Tohoran

** Let's not forget the main character,Corpus-Captain Kersh, The Scourge, [[spoiler: future Chapter Master of the Excoriators.]] He starts the book in stasis, suffering from debilitating nightmares and undergoes invasive brain surgery to stop him from being a drooling vegetable. Now, most of his brothers wouldn't be too bummed about leaving him to rot, so this procedure was only done because he was the only guy in the Chapter who might stand a chance at winning the Feast of Blades, a single combat tournament with no holds barred, and where the occasional death isn't uncommon. That's right, the guy goes from being comatose, straight into a series of brawls, with only a brief procedure bordering on lobotomy to prepare him for it. Obviously, he wins the tournament, reinforcing his reputation for being a ruthless bastard along the way, to the point where the final match is no longer a one-on one fight, but a three way showdown, because none of the other Chapters want to shame themselves by giving him a fair fight (although it ''was'' also a legitimate three-way tie in the first place). Oh, and he loses an eye in the early matches of the tournament. He's then offered the chance to replace it with bionic enhancements, but turns it down, because he feels the adjustment time might cost him a fight. So he just fills his empty eye socket with a ball bearing.

** Let's not forget the main character,Corpus-Captain Kersh, The Scourge, [[spoiler: future Chapter Master of the Excoriators.]] He starts the book in stasis, suffering from debilitating nightmares and undergoes invasive brain surgery to stop him from being a drooling vegetable. Now, most of his brothers wouldn't be too bummed about leaving him to rot, so this procedure was only done because he was the only guy in the Chapter who might stand a chance at winning the Feast of Blades, a single combat tournament with no holds barred, and where the occasional death isn't uncommon. That's right, the guy goes from being comatose, straight into a series of brawls, with only a brief procedure bordering on lobotomy to prepare him for it. Obviously, he wins the tournament, reinforcing his reputation for being a ruthless bastard along the way, to the point where the final match is no longer a one-on one fight, but a three way showdown, because none of the other Chapters want to shame themselves by giving him a fair fight. Oh, and he loses an eye in the early matches of the tournament. He's then offered the chance to replace it with bionic enhancements, but turns it down, because he feels the adjustment time might cost him a fight. So he just fills his empty eye socket with a ball bearing.