Warhammer 40k - Horus Heresy Novella - Tallarn: Executioner by John French

THE STORY
As one of the many staging grounds for the forces serving in the Great Crusade, the verdant world of Tallarn has long served as a transfer point for the personnel and war machines of the Imperial Army. Now, destroyed by a deadly virus-bomb attack launched by the battered Iron Warriors fleet, the entire world is reduced to a toxic wasteland where the survivors must fight to defend what little remains of their home. The remnants of the once mighty Jurnian 701st armoured regiment emerge from their underground shelters, and the opening movements of the Battle of Tallarn begin... even as more clandestine powers seek to manipulate events on both sides of the conflict.

READ IT BECAUSE
This novella tells the story of the opening of what will become the largest tank battle in Imperial history. This story includes a poignantly tragic glimpse at the paradise world of Tallarn, before the blow that turned the planet into a apocalyptic wasteland, and the grim conditions the survivors are faced with in the aftermath.