“Written into your gene-seed is a hatred of the xeno. It is a defining quality of your existence, as much a part of you as your two hearts and black carapace. So, when you go out to fight today, remember your purpose. Slay the xeno.“—Chaplain Allyr Numa, Knights of Altair Space Marine Chapter

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The Damocles Gulf Crusade reached the world of Namatos in early 742.M41, when the 5th Company of the Knights of Altair Space Marine Chapter was deployed to deal with what was thought to be a minor Tau military presence on the rebellious planet.

This conclusion proved utterly wrong. The Tau deliberately hid the vast majority of its 20,000 troops, leaving only four thousand detectable by orbital surveys. The result was that the 5th Company deployed to the planet without any Imperial Guard Support.

The Crusade Fleet then moved on to attack the next Tau-held world.

What followed was a string of defeats suffered by the noble Astartes as the true Tau strength made itself known. Yet, after nearly three years of fighting, Captain Vivant, commander of the 5th Company, managed to slowly whittle down the xenos and finally seize the initiative in this small, largely overlooked war.

The battle for Namatos had turned in the Imperium’s favor.

Yet, the Tau are a formidable opponent. And, on 6 157 745.M41, the Astartes and Tau met in an agricultural area of the southern hemisphere known as the Highland Rim. The Tau were determined to fight hard, and they did.

Battle plans

Concerned by the maneuverability of Tau aerial troops, Vivant adopted a conservative stance for his deployment. Most of his troops and armored assets were positioned on the east flank, grouped tightly together to defend against aerial drops to the flanks.

His intent was to wait until xeno air troops ran low of fuel and were forced to launch their attacks—or withdraw to distant airfields.

Once the Tau tipped their hand, Vivant intended to advance and turn the xenos’ east flank. To protect his west flank, the Astartes captain placed a Vindicator tank platoon and supporting Space Marines.

In the center, he deployed Predator tank and a squad of Marines in a Rhino. Their mission was to advance up the center yet be ready to redeploy to either flank as warranted.

The weakness of this plan, as noted by Chaplain Allyr Numa, was that the Space Marine force would delay its attack until mid-day, giving the initiative to the Tau in the first critical hours. The Marines were ordered to hold their position.

The Tau Commander, Shas’O Ksi’m’yen Nel’ur , otherwise known as Commander Strongblade, was well aware of Vivant’s hesitancy in previous battles, and she planned according. To the east, against the main Astartes force, she placed her infantry in woods and a small shanty town, intending to use the terrain to weather the Marines’ attack.

In the center, she placed a Riptide, positioned in some ruins that allowed the giant walker to support either flank as needed.

It was on the west flank that Strongblade saw her greatest chance for victory. There, she placed a number of Hammerhead tanks, a small contingent of Fire Warriors, and in the skies above, she waited herself in reserve with a bodyguard of Stealth Suits and a host of gun drones.

It was her hope to overwhelm the weaker west flank of the Imperials and then roll up the Astartes line.

Early fighting

While Vivant held his troops in a defensive posture, Strongblade went on the attack with a column of Hammerhead tanks, Devilfish transports, and Fire Warriors on foot advancing on the west flank.

Using cover as best they could, these troops advanced under the fire of the Space Marines’ Vindicator tank platoon.

Supporting Marines maintained a defensive position—to the individual Astartes’ frustration—in order to screen the Vindicators from a “Deep Strike” by xeno battle suits.

Alas for the Marines, the Tau Riptide in the center of the xeno lines found a gap in the intervening woods and brought one squad of Marines under fire. Fully half the squad was brought low by a projectile fired by the massive xeno battlesuit’s railgun, and the squad fell back into cover.

The west flank of the Marines now was largely pinned down, but Strongblade was not yet prepared to commit her entire reserve quite. In her mind, the longer that Vivant sat idle waiting for her to strike, the better for her plans.

She did order a large team of gun drones to land near the middle of the battlefield. She hoped it would support the coming fight on the west flank.

The drone drop didn’t go exactly to plan, scattering significantly and landing in a copse of woods. Three drones were lost as they struck trees in their descent. Still, the surviving drones recovered quickly and advanced to the edge of the woods and brought another Marine squad under fire.

Vivant’s delay ensured that troops on the east flank were safe, but Stormblade wanted to give the Space Marines something to worry about. She ordered a squad of Fire Warriors to advance out of the shanty town and seize a damaged ruin near the center of the Marines’ lines.

From there, she thought, they would distract the Marines and, if the humans advanced, the Fire Warriors could lock them down in a drawn-out gunfight.

Click here to read Part 2 of this battle.

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