Accelerating into battle, Task Force 1 catches the tail end of the Tau fleet before the xenos can reach the safety of an intervening asteroid field.

“Speakeman? What’s all this talk about a Tau naval force heading our way? Good. If the Tau want a fight with the Imperial Navy, let’s give it to them. Maybe I can show those idiots at fleet headquarters that I deserve to be an admiral.“—Commodore Gadea Hennard, commander of Fleet Corvus.

* * *

Imperial Voxcast (3 511 743.M41)—The Imperial Navy has repulsed an attack by Tau warships in the Sculptor System  and caused significant casualties to the xeno scum, according to a spokesperson for Fleet Corvus.

“On 3 509 743.M41, a task force led by Commodore Gadea Hennard intercepted 22 Tau warships on a course for the agri-moon  of Dar Sai,” Captain Marcus Speakeman announced in a news briefing broadcast from the fleet.

“After a battle that lasted approximately 25 Terran standard hours, the Tau withdrew after losing eight vessels: a cruiser, a light cruiser, and six escorts. The Imperial task force lost three destroyers and two frigates in the action, and five more escort ships were damaged to varying degrees. Three of these vessels have made sufficient repairs to reach orbit above Dar Sai under their own power.”

The battle was the first serious clash with the invading xeno navy in two years, since a strike cruiser of the Knights of Altair attacked a Tau naval force defending the Decora Mining Base. The base, located on the edge of the Decora Asteroid Belt, was seized by the xenos i n 738.M41.

After destroying nearly the entire Tau task force, the Space Marines boarded the mining base—and restored it to Imperial control.

Serious Threat

This most recent naval action was far larger, authorities said.

“Given the size of the Tau fleet, we believe the xenos were seeking to gain naval superiority over Dar Sai—and thus establish a blockade around the moon and deprive our ground forces of logistical support and reinforcement from the rest of the Imperium,” Speakeman said.

__________

Before the Tau could slip behind an asteroid field, Imperial forces brought the Tau fleet’s left flank under long-range fire.

Alas, Imperial fire was acutely inaccurate, and the xenos managed to destroy two frigates at the cost of only one of their own.

__________

The battle began at 02:17, when  Task Force 1—assigned to maintain an Imperial blockade over Dar Sai—identified the approach of the xeno fleet. The Imperial commander, Commodore Hennard, immediately ordered his warships to advance on the enemy.

“Determining that the Tau force, consisting of 22 warships, was on a course that would take them alongside a small asteroid field, the commodore ordered Task Force 1 to advance at all possible speed so as to strike at the xeno flank,” Speakeman said.

At 02:57,  a force of five Firestorm frigates and five destroyers reached the edge of the asteroid field and brought the xenos’ left flank under fire. Despite opening up with a considerable number of weapons batteries and prow lances, Imperial fire proved disappointing—with only a single Tau gunship being destroyed.

Adding insult to injury, return fire by the xenos managed to disable two Imperial Firestorm frigates.

__________

The Tau suffer a reverse when the Imperials isolate several Tau ships before they can gain the cover of the asteroid field.

Yet, despite being outnumbered two-to-one, the xenos inflict grievous casualties that offset their own heavy losses.

__________

Bloody Exchange

“At this point, several Tau ships turned to engage, while the remainder of the xeno fleet sought the safety of the asteroid field,” Speakeman said. “At the same time, nearly every ship in our task force came into range of the enemy, and the next two hours saw nearly 30 vessels exchange fire.”

The first major loss for the xenos came when two squadrons of escort ships charged at the xenos. A wave of torpedoes from five Cobra-class destroyers destroyed a Tau light cruiser, and lance strikes from Firestorm-class frigates severely damaged a xeno cruiser.

Long-range fire from  an Imperial grand cruiser, two cruisers, a light cruiser, and the newest addition to Fleet Corvus—a Retribution-class battleship—finished off the damaged cruise , and two additional escort squadrons of Firestorm frigates and Cobra destroyers swept the Tau’s flank and wiped out the remaining  xeno escorts..

The xenos fought with little regard for their own lives, Speakeman said. “Outnumbered and outgunned, they gave their lives to do what damage they could—and it was considerable. By the end of the exchange, two entire squadrons of smaller ships—five destroyers and three frigates—were disabled or destroyed.”

If you examine this pict, you will see the flaw in the Tau plan to maneuver behind the Imperial task force. In fighting the Tau rearguard, the Imperial cruisers were drawn away from the asteroid field. If the Tau continued to swing around, the Imperials would have room to maneuver—and turn to face the weakened xeno fleet head-on. That was the last thing the Tau commander wanted.

Xenos in Disarray

The fighting had now been under way for six hours, and by 08:49, it was apparent that the xenos’ battle plan was falling apart. In engaging the rear of the Tau fleet,  the Imperial capital ships had significantly hurt the Tau’s offensive capability and, as important, Task Force 1 had been distracted from their intention to chase after the main xeno force.

But this unintended result actually benefited the Imperials. The capital ships of the task force had maneuvered for battle and had moved away from the asteroid field, giving them more room to manuever.

Thus, if the Tau fleet continued to circle the asteroid field, the Imperials were far enough away that they could turn their ships to meet the Tau fleet head-on. The Tau had lost whatever advantage they’d sought.

As it was, the Tau commander was flummoxed. Unable to continue forward, he ordered the fleet to turn back and circle to starboard. Unfortunately, many ships in his fleet were older and less maneuverable. It would take precious time to turn and regroup into a battle-ready deployment.

With his fleet in disarray, the Tau commander ordered two Protector-class cruisers to fire a volley of torpedoes at the Imperial fleet in hopes to disorganizing a coordinated attack. But the Imperials responded by firing their own volley of torpedoes—and then launching bombers.

A Hopeless Mess

By 14:13, long-range sensors revealed the Tau fleet was abandoning its movement to circle the asteroid field, and the xenos were turning to starboard.

“We also realized the xeno fleet was very disorganized, with ships moving out of formation. Some ships were turning quickly, while others were struggling to keep up,” Speakeman said. “It was at this point Commodore Hennard ordered the task force to maneuver the intercept the new xeno heading.”

“Our more-maneuverable escorts moved toward the edge of the asteroid field, while the larger capital ships made larger turns from a distance,” he said. “The goal was for the entire task force to meet at specified point and attack the xenos with a united front.”

This took several hours, and as the Task Force 1 moved into position, the Tau fleet remained hopeless disorganized.

“The disarray of the xeno fleet offered us a significant advantage in battle,” Speakeman said. “The order was given to advance at all possible speed against the enemy.”

__________

Unable to get behind the Imperial task force, the Tau commander ordered his ships to turn sharply to starboard. The fleet becomes hopelessly disorganized.

Seeing his opportunity, Commodore Hennard ordered his task force forward. Unable to organize a credible defense, the Tau fled for their lives.

__________

Accepting the Inevitable

The Tau commander clearly saw his tactical situation deteriorating, Speakeman said.

“As our capital ships cleared the edge of the asteroid field, and our escort ships formed around us, the Tau were confronted with a dangerous attack in the works.” Speakeman said. “In fact, our senors reported a burst of vox transmissions throughout the xeno fleet. “

Two cruiser-class warships turned to face the Imperials and fired a sizable volley of torpedoes at the incoming capitals ships. The rest of the Tau fleet began to accelerate in whatever direction they were facing in hopes of escape.

Imperial ships gave chase but, after several hours, it was clear the xeno warships would reach Tau-held Media III before being brought to battle, Speakeman said.

“At this point, the chase was called off,” he concluded. “The Tau have built a number of powerful orbital defense platforms around the traitor planet, and Task Force 1 did not possess the resources to tackle the xeno fleet within gun range of the planet’s defenses. Also, rescue and salvage operations were under way to assist our damaged ships still floating near Dar Sai, and we still needed to maintain our blockade to prevent Tau forces on the agri-moon.”

— End Transmission —

TheGM: A  very satisfying battle. The Tau are not an easy foe, but Commodore Hennard is surprising me. He’s long been considered a fussy and mediocore commander whose rank is due more to seniority than ability,  (At least, that’s how I originally wrote up his background.)

But he actually has racked up a number of naval victories, and that’s the reason that he’s now got a Retribution-class battleship as a flagship. I’m beginning to wonder if he may finally achieve his long-sought dream of promotion to admiral. (I’m still not sure about that.)

The Tau had a fine plan. Alas, the Imperials were uncharacteristically aggressive, and some of the Tau ships moved sluggishly. That allowed the Imperials to fight a one-sided battle on the Tau left flank, and as the Imperials moved to deal with the enemy, they gave up their effort to chase the main fleet.

That was key. If all the Tau had advanced so the asteroids could screen them, the Imperials would have given chase, and the Tau plan might have worked. But the Imperials wandered from the asteroid field during the fighting and, in turning back, found themselves in the enviable position of being—barely—in a position that they could turn to face the Tau.

A bit of luck, there.  I guess the God-Emperor was watching.

—

The Corvus Cluster is a Warhammer 40K blog documenting our gaming adventures in the fantastical sci-fi universe of Games Workshop.