“I always thought our chapter master was hasty in promoting Vivant to a captaincy. Alas, my concerns were correct. Our campaign on Namatos is in shambles, and the blame squarely rests with our young captain. If I were not severely wounded, I would strip him of his command.”—Chaplain Allyr Numa, seriously wounded on Namatos

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After-Action Report, Beauce Region, Namatos
Events of 6 569 745.M41,
Colonel Vance Boyer, Intelligence Analyst
Astra Militarum, Ultima Segmentum

Background

In the early months of the Damocles Gulf Crusade, the 5th Company of the Knights of Altair Space Marine Chapter was tasked with ridding the rebellious world of Namatos of its Tau presence and bringing the planet into Imperial Compliance.

This proved a significant challenge, as Tau military forces were far greater than estimated, and the 5th Company found itself in a war against significant enemy forces.

By the third year of this military action, the 5th Company —left behind by the Crusade Fleet— had suffered a series of losses against the Tau, and with their numbers depleted, the Space Marines were forced to avoid large-scale battles and engage in a series of hit-and-run actions that improved the odds of success.

The Tau also had suffered greatly from this ongoing military action, all the more as the Crusade Fleet had cut off all hope of reinforcement or supply for the xenos. Both armies were on their last legs.

The assault begins

On 6 569 745.M41, Captain Martel Vivant ordered his remaining Astartes forces to begin an assault on an isolated force of Tau in the Beauce region, an agricultural center in the southern hemisphere of Namatos.

The attack was preceded by a 30-minute artillery barrage along a six-kilometer front that consisted of a mix of woods, meadows, and cropland.

 The attack targeted the Tau right flank, which was partially isolated from the main xeno force. Three tactical squads embarked on Rhino transports raced directly at a wooded ridge where the enemy had established its defensive position. The attack was supported by two Predator tanks and a Vanquisher siege tank.

Behind this force, Captain Vivant and his Command Squad followed in their own Rhino.

The Tau response was a flurry of fire from scores of pulse rifles, their fire aided by Pathfinder specialists who used laser sighting technology to ensure accuracy. Thankfully, the Tau lacked anti-armor weaponry, and 5th Company advanced unharmed.

Successful assault

The Space Marine vehicles raked the enemy-held ridge with primary and secondary weapons. Heavy bolter fire from the Rhinos, lascannon shots from the predators, and blasts from the Vanquisher’s demolisher cannon caused severe casualties. 

As this deadly fire continued, the Rhinos reached the base of the ridge, and scores of Space Marines, as well as Vivant and his command squad, disembarked and began their charge up the hill. 

Aided by their powerful pulse rifles, Tau Fire Warriors injured several Marines, but such fire was always met by counterfire from the advancing Astartes, whose steady advance and highly accurate fire surely had a disheartening impact on the xenos’ morale.

It took  less than five minutes to reduce the Tau firing line to half its numbers, and the xenos broke and began to flee, giving the Marines the opportunity to fire on targets now moving in the open. Very few of the enemy managed to survive and escape.

Threat from above

In nearly every battle fought against the Tau, Vivant had been plagued by an enemy aerial assault to his rear. He fully expected a repeat of this successful tactic during the fighting.

For this reason, another tactical squad was positioned alongside his armored force, ready to intercept any “deep strike” from the enemy. What’s more, the Astartes captain hoped that a rapid advance would make it more difficult for such an enemy attack to land with accuracy.

Vivant’s thinking was sound. From intercepted enemy communications, it was learned that the Tau commander, Sash’ui Mal’ka’ir, was forced to abort her first “deep strike” attempt on the Marines’ position, as the fast-moving Astartes vehicles made it difficult for her to determine an effective drop zone.

As the attack on the ridge came to its conclusion, however, Mal’ka’ir managed a second flight over the Marine position, and with the Imperial armor stopped to focus its fire on the ridge attack, an opportunity to land behind the Astartes’ tanks was possible.

It was a risky move. The tanks were adjacent to woods and hills, and it was possible her team of battle suits could suffer casualties if they drifted into the difficult terrain. Also, landing too far from the tanks would leave her team at risk of being destroyed by enemy fire before they could advance into effective fire range.

Click here to read Part 2 of this battle report.

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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.