A massive ork space station between Al’gel II and III was a tempting target for Tau military forces, but the dangers of fighting muscular orks in narrow station corridors eventually convinced senior Tau leaders against a boarding action.

“You will not find it difficult to prove that battles, campaigns, and even wars have been won or lost  primarily because of logistics.”—Unknown military scholar, M2.

* * *

Continued from Part 1 . . .

What next?

As the end of 745.M41 approached, Commander Broadsword and Admiral Lightning engaged in a weeks-long analysis of their military assets and the limits of their operational ambitions.

The most obvious target for future military operations was an attack on a 32-kilomter-in-diameter space station that orbited the system between Al’gel II and III. It was a geographically small target in comparison with the second-most-likely objective, the 10.204-kilometer-in-diameter planet of Al’gel III.

Yet both Broadsword and Lightning were hesitant to tackle the space station. Attempts to send surveillance drones to scan the hulk’s surface had failed, as the station proved well armed with defense weaponry.

For Lightning, the extensive defenses posed a significant risk for his shrinking fleet, especially when compared to the lack of orbiting defenses above the more primitive ork culture on Al’gel III.

Also, an attack on the space hulk required assaulting an airless surface, then forcing entry through possibly armored airlocks—a dire risk for any assaulting ground force.

What’s more, once inside, there were likely be tens of thousands of kilometers of narrow passageways, a huge and confusing maze that would negate the Tau’s advantages in firepower and greatly assist the fierce and muscular greenskins in their efforts to close into melee with Tau warriors.

It was no surprise that both commanders decided such an attack was doomed—and that Tau forces should target Al’gel III.

Although the ork space station was the target of a long-range bombardment effort, the Tau fleet eventually moved on to an invasion of Al’gel III.

Advance on Al’gel III

On 6 389 746.M41, 20 warships and 32 transports left orbit from Al’gel II and began their voyage to Al’gel III.

The fleet’s path was not direct. Its first target was the space station, where half the fleet circled the massive structure  and bombarded the surface with long-range weaponry. The goal was to draw out any warships that might be deployed in interior landing bays—and allow the combined fleet to face the threat immediately.

Numerous smaller voidcraft launched from airlocks on the statin, seeking to give battle with Tau warships. These proved less of a threat than anticipated, and the ork ships were destroyed without serious damage to the fleet.

Once the ork response was limited to smaller surface defense weaponry, with relatively poor accuracy and of little threat, a small squadron was left to observe the hulk from a distance, and the remainder of the fleet continued on to Al’gel III.

After a nearly three week journey, the fleet finally reached orbit over their intended target. Previous studies of the planet suggested the world was lightly populated (100 million to 350 million), and its technological advancement did not include space travel capability.

Tau ships target hanger bays and long-range defense lasers on the ork space station. After degrading the station’s ability for offensive action, the Tau fleet moved on.

That assessment appeared accurate, as there was no evidence of xeno spacecraft in orbit—nor signs of aircraft in the atmosphere. Feeling relatively secure, Admiral Lightning ordered a week-long bombardment of the surface with gravitic launchers, ion cannons, and rail guns.

The bombardment was halted two days early, as such severe damage was done that all all major population centers were in ruins, and the bombardment had thrown massive amounts of smoke, dust, and soil into the atmosphere and left orbital scanners unable to lock onto targets.

At this point, the fleet went on yellow alert and waited. With atmospheric conditions blocking sunlight, the Tau decided to allow the planet to cool to freezing temperatures that would result in widespread crop failures and, hopefully, widespread famine among the xeno population.

It would take at least two months, but the cold and lack of sunlight did, indeed,  lead to mass starvation and an ecological collapse that reduced the already devastated ork population—and greatly enhanced the success of future military operations once Commander Broadside chose to send his Fire Warriors to the surface.

The ground invasion of the planet would soon begin . . . .

—

TheGM: This is the first report on the Al’gel campaign in more than a year. With the news dominated by the Damocles Gulf Crusade, there simply hasn’t been time for me to turn my attention to the Tau v. ork fight.

That will change soon enough. The Damocles Crusade has ended with an armistice as both the Imperium and Tau realize the threat posed by the arrival of Hive Fleet Behemoth. 

But the Al’gel campaign is one of my favorites (actually all my campaigns are), and I look forward to exploring the campaign on Al’gel III (and some naval complications) in the coming weeks.

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