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The Imperium really wouldn't destroy a Tau a planet, as livable worlds are too valuable. And the Tau aren't good at holding land at any rate.

Better to send waves of men to their deaths than lose a planet you could grow many more generations on.

Kanluwen wrote:

Kilkrazy wrote:We know the Imperium can't even keep Chaos off Cadia.

They were doing just fine until the 13th Black Crusade, and even now the background indicates that the Imperium still dominates the space around Cadia and is currently setting up resupply points for the no less than HALF the planet that is occupied by Cadian regiments on the ground, after pushing the Chaos fleets back into the eye.

Or so Cadian Blood tells us.

In other words, the Imperium can't keep Chaos off Cadia.

Chaos is on some worlds in the Cadia system, but are being gradually kicked off and pushed back, that is the fact. (grind 'em down, the guard way). After Abby gets kicked in the gonads (which is obviously in the process, gw fluff stagnation ftw), the Imperium can shift it's attentions elsewhere. Like those blueballed buck-feeted communist losers for instance. Or perhaps the cockroaches from hell. Who knows!
And if the Tau piss the Eldar off, we all know the pointy ears will definately find some trick of the fates to pull and paste the Tau...

Kilkrazy wrote:

Kanluwen wrote:

Kilkrazy wrote:We know the Imperium can't even keep Chaos off Cadia.

They were doing just fine until the 13th Black Crusade, and even now the background indicates that the Imperium still dominates the space around Cadia and is currently setting up resupply points for the no less than HALF the planet that is occupied by Cadian regiments on the ground, after pushing the Chaos fleets back into the eye.

Or so Cadian Blood tells us.

In other words, the Imperium can't keep Chaos off Cadia.

Or Chaos can't keep the Imperium off Cadia!

But really, look at what came through for the 13th Black Crusade. I'm surprised that even HALF of Cadia is still under Imperial control.

From what I remember of the campaign results, Chaos got a strong bridgehead on Cadia but lost the space battle.

Clearly in such a situation, things become difficult for both sides in different ways.

While the Imperials would be able to stop all attempts at relief, they would not be able to simply bombard Cadia because it is a vital planet for their own defence.

A large enough Chaos force on the planet could be self-sustaining, helped by small amounts of supplies through warp gates or something.

Of course this situation remains a stalemate until either Chaos can build up a new attack from inside the EoT, or the Imperials bring enough reinforcements to Cadia to crush the enemy forces on the ground.

Kilkrazy wrote:From what I remember of the campaign results, Chaos got a strong bridgehead on Cadia but lost the space battle.

Clearly in such a situation, things become difficult for both sides in different ways.

While the Imperials would be able to stop all attempts at relief, they would not be able to simply bombard Cadia because it is a vital planet for their own defence.

A large enough Chaos force on the planet could be self-sustaining, helped by small amounts of supplies through warp gates or something.

Of course this situation remains a stalemate until either Chaos can build up a new attack from inside the EoT, or the Imperials bring enough reinforcements to Cadia to crush the enemy forces on the ground.

There's a simple solution to that dilemma. Simply wait a while, and the forces of different Chaos gods will get bored of the pretense of working together and attack each other instead. The Khornate ones are particularly liable to do this if there isn't blood being spilled.

The problem with this is that for the Imperium to actually get around to building a crusade fleet would take endless amounts of time and bureaucracy. An inquisitor would have a better chance at gathering a large force to assault the Tau and build up strength to continue assaulting into the territory. The Eye is taking up a large amount of the resources of the Imperium along with Hive Fleets.

I would think that the Orks would love to be involved with this as well since they have been battling Farsight on the outer reaches of the Tau Empire for quite a while.

Witchhunters and Deamonhunters could be involved as well since the Imperium pretty much considers the Ethereals to be deamons or pyshic witches because of their power to control the other Tau.

Most of the worlds on the edge of the empire actually try to profit off of the Tau as well and hide it from the Imperium. This is what the Taros Campaign was all about. All in all it was quite a battle but the Imperial Guard ended up retreating at the end of the fight (at least if I remember correctly). Still this had a large amount of forces contained with it but the Tau managed to hold the planet against a size able invasion force.

I would involve an Inquisitor Lord leading the Crusade against the Tau. I doubt a whole Space Marine Chapter would be involved but a division of one or more is completely appropriate. In the beginning a few platoons of guard would be possible with more troops coming as the battles ramp up and the Inquisitor gains territory and fame.

I think it's a little implausable to believe that the Imperium is going to wipe the Tau out. Not that they can, they surely can, but that they will.

The amount of Resources necesary to wipe them out would strip worlds attacking Nids. Sure, they would do it, then at the same time Cadia would fall, Ultramar would be overrun, and most of Segmentium pacificus would start getting eaten by the Hive Fleets.

Besides Tau operate as a block against the tyranids as well. One of the last things in the present Tau Codex is "The Empire Readies itself for war" against the tyranids.

Of all of the Alien forces out there, tau are the easiest to deal with, and the least. Besides, taking out the Tau would be easy. Simply do a silumltaneous assiassination of every ethereal. After that, game is over for the Tau.

No, could a crusade you are talking about with a single marine chapter and what not happen? Absolutely. But that isn't enough to break the Tau. I believe there were 12 chapters involved in the Damolceas gulf for instance. What your talking about would be a sector size conflict, and the Tau Empire is a lot bigger then a single Sector.

It is a basic principle of military strategy that you attack your strongest enemy first. The reason is, if you can't beat them you are screwed and you need your full strength to attack them.

The Tau are hardly a threat to the Empire, and the Empire is strongly distracted by all the other worse threats. Plus, as mentioned by Prodigalson, if the Empire manages to beat the Tau it just gets itself involved in another war with the Tyranids.

If we want to imagine a situation where the Empire has conclusively beaten Chaos and can mount a major campaign against the Tau, we should also imagine that the Tau will have improved their technology by leaps and bounds. It is supposed to be a core feature of the Tau. Since Tau technology is now fairly equal to Imperial, it stands to reason that with a couple of hundred years of rapid improvement it will be much better. The huge but antiquated Imperial forces might find themselves like the Mahdists at the Battle of Omdurman.

However all that is pointless speculation since GW will not advance the game's history.

But then it turns out Shadowbrand was disquised as the Space Marine Chapter Master

Jokes but that would make for one hell of a plot twist.
Or a Genestealer.

There was nowhere remotely NEAR an entire Chapter involved in Damocles. There were squads from three or four separate Chapters, but the Astartes presence didn't even amount to a Company, much less 12 Chapters.

If I'm remembering it right:
A few Terminator squads from the Imperial Fists, Tactical squads from the Fists, Scythes, and a Dark Angels successor Chapter, some Assault squads from the Raven Guard, and a large amount of Scouts from the aforementioned Chapters.

That's barely anything, compared to what they could throw at the Tau.

fluff wise the tau would be crushed by a huge sm crusade with guard, but with all the ordo xenos and other conflict with other races they dont have time for it and neither to the tau

besides a guardsman and a tau is a equal fight :L lol for the greater gak