A Necron Doom Scythe prepares to strafe a recently landed Space Marine drop pods in a battle on Myopolis. The planet is one of the most threatened in the region by a xeno invasion.

With the start of a new year, it is the tradition of the Corvus Cluster to review and summarize the events of the previous 12 months.—TheGM

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The military situation in the Corvus Cluster over the past year can be described as “holding our own, but severely tested.”

A stalemate—or at least minimal losses—were reported on many of the largest battlefronts: the worlds of Dar Sai, Dozaria, Hegira, and Myopolis.

Almost all military reserves in the region are spent, as a significant number of Imperial Guard regiments and elements of half a dozen Space Marine Chapters were pulled from various military campaigns to participate in the Damocles Gulf Crusade, an expedition to invade the Tau Empire and exterminate this dangerous xeno species.

Whatever reserves were left have been allocated to the most challenged military fronts, notably Dozaria and Myopolis.

This summary of the events of 744.M41 is designed to offer a general overview of all the critical news of the past year. The hope is that it will provide a perspective about our corner of the galaxy and will serve as a useful background as readers hear the news of the coming year.

— Khrysdam Alrod, military scholar, Nguyen Naval Base

Tau mechanized units were indispensable in helping the xenos conquer Al’gel II.

Tau make gains in Al’gel System

As the Damocles Campaign fleet continues its journey into the Tau Empire, our military intelligence assets have been trying to gather information about Tau military operations in the Al’gel System.

The Tau Navy used orbital bombardments to break up ork troop concentrations, even as the attacks severely damaged the planet’s biosphere.

The Tau had learned quickly that their opponent was formidable, as their invasion of Al’gel II proceeded slowly and at great cost in casualties. It took nearly a decade to seize control of the largest continent of the planet, and only in recent months have Imperial officials learned that the Tau finally managed to conquer the rest of the planet.

That was a significant victory, as Al’gel II was the most populated and most militarily advanced planet in the system. Indeed, a year ago, an expedition to Al’gel I conquered that less-advanced and less-populated world in about a year.

Military analysts are not convinced, however, that the collapse of ork opposition in the inner planets of the Al’gel System is a sign that the Tau will soon subjugate the outer planets with ease. The Tau Navy has been engaging ork Freebooterz with increasing frequency, and it is inevitable that the continued bloodshed in the system will draw an increasing number of greenskins to the system.

The fighting is far from over.

Tanks of the Knights of Altair weave their way through the jungle as they pursue Tau troops on the planet of Namatos.

Damocles Crusade advancing

Since the Damocles Crusade fleet was launched in 742.M41, the Nguyen Naval Base, Belliose System, has received fewer and fewer reports of the crusade’s progress.

After cleansing several wayward Imperial planets of Tau influence on our side of the Damocles Gulf, the fleet has traveled farther and farther from the Corvus Cluster, and astropathic communications have been few and limited in information.

At the beginning of the year, Imperial officials did announce a short but uplifting report of entering the Tau-controlled Hydass System, where the crusade fleet routed a small Tau flotilla and exterminated approximately seven million xenos on a planet the Tau called Sy’l’kell.

No further word has been heard from the crusade fleet.

Hard-pressed by the Knights of Altair, Tau forces retreated into the equatorial jungle of Namatos.

Still, more good news was heard from the world of Namatos, where the 5th Company of the Knights of Altair Space Marine Chapter reported progress in their efforts to annihilate a Tau military force on the planet.

In its initial invasion of Namatos, the Knights met with severe opposition—and several military reverses—against the xenos. Stopping to regroup his troops, Captain Vivant of the 5th Company took the time to study the xenos’ tactical methodology and began a series of smaller offensive actions against the Tau with new tactics.

This approach reversed the Knights’ earlier failures and, after seizing the Tau-held town of Cellis, the Knights launched a larger offensive that drove part of the Tau army into one of the planet’s deserts and destroyed the xenos entirely.

After this victory, Vivant led his Astartes warrior to the planet’s Great Equatorial Forest and attacked the last major Tau concentration of troops. At the base of a dormant volcano called Mount Cthon,, Vivant cornered the xenos and, in a vicious battle, the Knights countered the previously successful Tau tactics and won a decisive victory.

In his last report, Vivant described the Tau fleeing in ignoble defeat, with the Knights of Altair following closely.

Elements of the 728th Cadian Regiment fought a fierce battle that blunted the Tau advance on the agri-moon of Dar Sai.

Stalemate on Dar Sai

The agri-moon of Dar Sai, in the beleaguered Sculptor System , remained in stalemate this past year.

The year began with the assassination of a prominent general of the Dar Sai Planetary Defense Force (PDF) by the Imperial traitor, Lecia Athena, a former menial who abandoned the Omao Plantation to sell her immortal soul to the moon’s Tau invaders.

The Tau (in yellow) attempted to crush the Imperial left flank at the Battle of Drax Hall, but a counterattack on the xenos’ right flank forced the enemy to retreat.

Beyond that sensational, if relatively minor, incident, the early months of 744.M41 saw military action limited to raids and reconnaissance missions. With Imperial reinforcements unavailable, and the Tau’s supply lines limited by patrolling Imperial Navy Ships over the planet, neither Imperial nor xeno generals had sufficient troops or supplies to launch a major offensive.

The first hint that this stalemate could end came on 3 166 744.M41, when a small detachment of depot troops were sent on a reconnaissance mission that ended in a fight with Kroot warriors that decisively defeated the poorly trained, combat-inexperienced Imperials.

This battle emphasized what most Imperial troops already knew: the avian auxiliary troops of the Tau are natural forest fighters. The battle became known as the Slaughter at Kroot Hill.

The only large battle of the year occurred some months later, when Tau Commander Swiftstrike decided to launch an attack through the Drax Hall Plantation, an agricultural center notable for its rolling hills of crops. This was one of the few routes through the primeval  forest that stood between the Tau and the strategically important port city of Malifax, and its terrain was particularly suited for the mechanized tactics preferred by the xenos.

Thanks be the Emperor, the local commander of that area, Major Stevrous Stark, learned from patrols of the xeno troop buildup and, in a risky move, he stripped troops from other parts of the line to reinforce the plantation. When the xenos struck, his troops fought valiantly and stymied the Tau attempt to break through Imperial lines.

Click here to read Part 2 of our Strategic Update.

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