Here you go:
The Battle for Nimbosa
The Second Sphere Expansion
When Hive Fleet Kraken invaded Ultima Segmentum, Imperial Forces from across the length of the Eastern Fringe were diverted to meet this new threat. Sensing an opportunity to enlarge their empire while the Imperium was thus distracted, the Tau wasted no time in annexing a series of Imperial worlds along their border. Nimbosa was the most important of these worlds.
With the majority of Imperial Guard and Imperial Navy units redeployed to fight the Tyranid threat, the Tau landed a vast invasion force on Nimbosa. Commander Brightsword, the leader of the Tau, set about the systematic extermination of the populace. The only Imperial Guard force able to resist them was the Vostroyan Firstborn IX, who made their stand in the factory city of Polia. Serving under Graf Toschenko, the Firstborn knew their only hope was to hold out against the Tau long enough for reinforcements to arrive: something that could take weeks if not months to happen.
The manufactoria complex was a vast industrial zone with buildings that reached high into the skies. It consisted of scores of machine workshops, a labyrinth warren of Administratum archives spanning six city blocks, an Ecclesiarchal cathedral and the great manufactorum itself.
The Vostroyans wasted no time in digging in, establishing a series of strategic strongpoints from which they could hold off the Tau. Internal walls were knocked down to allow easy movement and industrial machinery was used to heap wreckage into makeshift barricades that blocked off streets. Several buildings were rigged with booby traps while a few deemed indefensible had anything of use scavenged from within before engineers loaded them with enough explosives to collapse them when the time came.
Ammunition was stockpiled in three key locations, and the great manufactoria was reinforced with flak board and support struts and a vox caster network linked it to the other positions. Toschenko and his officers used the manufactoria as their command centre and it wasn’t long before the Vostroyans began referring it as Toschenko’s ‘Fortress’.
Brightsword Strikes
When Brightswords’ force arrived he found the Imperial troops ready and waiting. Other, less impetuous Tau Commanders would have offered the enemy a chance to surrender, but Brightsword, a student of the aggressive Farsight, had no such desire and with aggression characteristic of the Vior’la he launched the attack. Shoals of Devilfish led the advance while Sky Rays and Hammerheads pounded the forward Imperial positions. Pathfinder teams rappelled down from their hovering transports and struggled through bloody firefights to secure the rooftops from the Vostroyans.
With a foothold secured, Brightsword hoped to bombard the imperial Guard into submission, but the walls of the cathedral and Toschenko’s ‘Fortress’ were too robust for the weapons he had on the ground. After several days of bombardment the Imperial forces showed no signs of surrender so, using the barrage as cover Brightsword implemented a variation of the Kauyon ‘patient hunter’ philosophy and sent teams of Kroot forward to flush out the Guardsmen. The Kroot were met with a hail of lasgun fire that tore into their ranks slowing their advance. But unerringly accurate shooting from Pathfinders armed with rail-rifles silenced the Imperial guns and eventually the Kroot fought their way inside the cathedral. Once inside the savage Kroot carnivore squads hacked into the Vostroyan defenders, devouring their victims as they went.
Counter Attack
Toschenko realised that his enemy was systematically cutting off one point of defence after another and eradicating it. There was no chance of victory unless he launched a counter-attack. Across the Vostroyan positions the order was given to rise up and assault the Tau. More than two thousand Vostroyans burst from their cover in the factory and charged down the cratered streets to the cathedral where their comrades were being exterminated. Vengeful they stormed the building, only to find the Kroot already in full fight, retreating in the face of their fury.
Buoyed by this apparent success, Toschenko and his men, backed by what tanks they had remaining, moved forward to engage several Tau units holding position in the machine workshops. As the Guardsmen stormed down the open streets they encountered only light resistance and their vanguard was only metres away from cover when Brightsword sprung his trap. Crisis Battlesuits on the rooftops fired down at the Guardsmen in the wide streets below. Tanks were blasted apart as seeker missiles guided by Pathfinder teams targeted their weaker rear armour and concealed Stealth teams armed with burst cannons blew entire infantry companies apart.
Toschenko’s Stand
At the forefront of the Vostroyan advance, Toschenko’s command squad was caught in the open and cut down in a blistering hail of fire. Rising, bloody and injured, from the dirt Graf Toschenko snatched up the regimental banner from the dead hands of its bearer and exhorted his men to fight to the last. As his remaining warriors rallied to him a monumental battle erupted. The Tau Fire Warriors, sensing their foe was beaten surged forth and lent pulse rifle fire to the fury of the battle and soon a swirling melee erupted in the streets.
Hundreds of Tau warriors died as the Imperial Guard hacked into them with bayonets and chainswords but in the end the Vostroyans had no chance. Leading his bodyguard to the front line, Commander Brightsword soared above his army and in a devastating volley killed Toschenko and all hope of Imperial victory.
When the Imperium was finally able to begin reconquering Nimbosa, Castellan Folker of the Black Templars despatched a force to reconnoitre the last known position of Toschenko and the Vostroyan Firstborn. Brother Lodhuvicus reported that the ruins of Polia were strewn with the remains of thousands of Imperial Guard, their weapons and wargear untouched. Within the shattered buildings of Polia itself, the Tau left no presence.
What is known is that the Imperial population of Nimbosa were so inspired by the Vostroyans sacrifice, that they refused to submit to the notion of the ‘Greater Good’. The Imperial Crusade sent to recapture Nimbosa comprised of elements of Black Templars, Imperial Fists as well as the Ultramarines 1st company. In the end the Imperial Forces were able to recapture the planet and destroy the Tau garrison.
Wooo that was a lot of typing.
Last edited by Ulysses S. Grant; December 01, 2010 at 10:00 AM.
Art //
It maybe me but it seems like alot of the battles between the Tau and Imperium where the Tau are victorious tends to be those where the Tau outnumber the Imperium.
Well from a military standpoint the Tau don't have the numbers the Imperium has. So unless they end a battle quickly they run the risk of it getting out of control and the Imperials gaining the upper hand. The best way for them to end battles quickly is to swarm the Imperium on a given world and try to overrun them quickly then rush in and reinforce the planet to make it unappealing to assail.
Thats exactly what happened during the Damocles campaign. Once the Imperium had sufficient numbers on the ground the battle devoved into a stalemate. Too bad the Commander didn't listen to the Ecclesiarch Cardinal and exterminatus the planet.
Art //
thats something ive always wondered, tbh.
with such superiority in space during damocles - why could orbital bombardment not be used to greater effect to smash what are, in the bigger picture, completely isolated tau units - and tau units destroyed hurt them far more than Imp guard units lost for the imperium.
The only reason they didn't is that the Tau earned the respect of the commander along with the Space Marines there. I think they wanted an honourable death for the Tau rather than exterminatus. That and the planet would have been a good base for further attacks against the Tau. Oh well too late now.
Art //
but that doesn't mean that they couldn't exterminatus the planet, they still could have set up a base there
Yeah I was looking at some of the other battles.
For the Taros Campaign, the Imperium was busy dealing with the 13th Black Crusade which literally sucked up all of the available manpower and resources so the Generals had to scrap what they had. That and the local PDF joined the Tau which made things harder.
Then in the Pavonis campaign, it was defended by the 4th Ultramarine Company along with the 44th Hussian which was understrength despite having a 1000 tanks and 17,000 men yet they were still outnumbered by the Tau.
I suppose it goes into the whole "strategic" mindset of the Tau in that they only fight in battles they know they can win.
I thought the Imperium was steamrolling their way until they hit a certain septh world in which it broke down into a stalemate?Thats exactly what happened during the Damocles campaign. Once the Imperium had sufficient numbers on the ground the battle devoved into a stalemate. Too bad the Commander didn't listen to the Ecclesiarch Cardinal and exterminatus the planet.
Last edited by nameless; December 01, 2010 at 06:05 PM.
It was until the Imperial Crusade reached Dal'yth. It was there that the Damocles Crusade had grounded to a halt. When the Tyranid threat reared it's ugly head their was a massive Imperial redeployment to meet it head on. A lot of Imperial troops were stranded in Tau space because they couldn't evacuate in time and the Crusade was abandoned with them left behind. The Tau gained a lot of Gue'Vesa after this they (Guardsmen) had no other choice, some submitted, some didn't.
It was more the Space Marines who thought so. Of course the Cardinal was a bit more like "destroy the xeno".
Art //
Well the Marines still wanted to fight even after the retreat was ordered. They were just opposed to the exterminatus. So i guess there is some honour there.
Art //
Chaos are marauders and pillagers. I see them as space mongols.
Art //
I'd like to see a source for this. Also, Samurai and Knight is the same thing. It's even the same word, just in a different language.
This. Not to say that Crusaders weren't pragmatists (and pillagers), but they were quite similar to 40k's SM or other Imperial troops - what with having a strong, often fanatical faith and so on. Not to mention being a major inspiration for some of the loyalist Space Marines.
Last edited by athanaric; December 01, 2010 at 07:11 PM.