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Not in realspace however.

 Iron_Captain wrote:

Deadnight wrote:

 koooaei wrote:

 Furyou Miko wrote:
Something leaving atmosphere towards orbit is a sitting duck though.

So, for Tau to win, they need space superiority.

But fluffwise kroot might be superior to tau in space battles.

Warspheres are known for being very tough, but that's it. They're not fast, or manoeuvrable. The last time the kroot tried to make an empire on their own, the orks handed them their own back sides.

Kroot Warspheres are very fast compared to Tau spaceships. Anything with a Warp drive is fast compared to Tau spaceships.

Warp drive is no use in an actual battle, though. It can help get ships to where you want them faster (but then with warp travel they may never actually get there at all). Sure the Kroot can get to a planet faster than the Tau but the Tau planets have more than enough orbital defences to destroy a Kroot warsphere or hold for long enough for the Air caste to mobilise.

And once the battle is on the ground, the Tau win. Sure the Kroot are adept jungle fighters but the Tau could just burn down those jungles using the firestorm tactic which Farsight invented in one of his campaigns against the Orks.

 A Town Called Malus wrote:

 Iron_Captain wrote:

Deadnight wrote:

 koooaei wrote:

 Furyou Miko wrote:
Something leaving atmosphere towards orbit is a sitting duck though.

So, for Tau to win, they need space superiority.

But fluffwise kroot might be superior to tau in space battles.

Warspheres are known for being very tough, but that's it. They're not fast, or manoeuvrable. The last time the kroot tried to make an empire on their own, the orks handed them their own back sides.

Kroot Warspheres are very fast compared to Tau spaceships. Anything with a Warp drive is fast compared to Tau spaceships.

Warp drive is no use in an actual battle, though. It can help get ships to where you want them faster (but then with warp travel they may never actually get there at all). Sure the Kroot can get to a planet faster than the Tau but the Tau planets have more than enough orbital defences to destroy a Kroot warsphere or hold for long enough for the Air caste to mobilise.

And once the battle is on the ground, the Tau win. Sure the Kroot are adept jungle fighters but the Tau could just burn down those jungles using the firestorm tactic which Farsight invented in one of his campaigns against the Orks.

No, but getting there before the enemy does is kinda the whole point of guerilla warfare. The Kroot could strike vulnerable targets before the Tau could mobilise to defend. Infiltrating and blowing up Tau orbital supply bases should not be all that hard, even the Orks could do it. The Kroot could get to a Tau planet, land troops and get out again. Then the Kroot on the ground could wage a guerilla war there, which would cost the Tau too many resources to fight. Fighting the Kroot would leave the Tau vulnerable to Tyranids and the Imperium.
But as I said, the Tau are too pragmatic to let something like that happen. They would do whatever they can to keep the Kroot within their empire.

 Iron_Captain wrote:

No, but getting there before the enemy does is kinda the whole point of guerilla warfare. The Kroot could strike vulnerable targets before the Tau could mobilise to defend. Infiltrating and blowing up Tau orbital supply bases should not be all that hard, even the Orks could do it. The Kroot could get to a Tau planet, land troops and get out again. Then the Kroot on the ground could wage a guerilla war there, which would cost the Tau too many resources to fight. Fighting the Kroot would leave the Tau vulnerable to Tyranids and the Imperium.
But as I said, the Tau are too pragmatic to let something like that happen. They would do whatever they can to keep the Kroot within their empire.

Well, I don't think small guerilla campaigns would cost the Tau too much, actually. They would just use the application of overwhelming force concentrated on the Kroots locations, derived from scanning the planet. Once the Kroot are on the ground they're cut off. The warsphere can't hang around, the Tau fleet would annihilate it. So the Kroot wouldn't have any hope of evacuation. Then the Tau forces arrive, level the area the Kroot are in and exterminate them. There will be some commanders within the Fire Caste perfectly willing to use such violent and extreme measures to ensure total destruction of enemy forces (like Brightsword did against the IG in the Koloth Gorge Massacre).

A small Tau force, utilising the correct tactics and equipment, could bring down a much larger Kroot contingent without any real risk to personnel or equipment.

 A Town Called Malus wrote:

 Iron_Captain wrote:

No, but getting there before the enemy does is kinda the whole point of guerilla warfare. The Kroot could strike vulnerable targets before the Tau could mobilise to defend. Infiltrating and blowing up Tau orbital supply bases should not be all that hard, even the Orks could do it. The Kroot could get to a Tau planet, land troops and get out again. Then the Kroot on the ground could wage a guerilla war there, which would cost the Tau too many resources to fight. Fighting the Kroot would leave the Tau vulnerable to Tyranids and the Imperium.
But as I said, the Tau are too pragmatic to let something like that happen. They would do whatever they can to keep the Kroot within their empire.

Well, I don't think small guerilla campaigns would cost the Tau too much, actually. They would just use the application of overwhelming force concentrated on the Kroots locations, derived from scanning the planet. Once the Kroot are on the ground they're cut off. The warsphere can't hang around, the Tau fleet would annihilate it. So the Kroot wouldn't have any hope of evacuation. Then the Tau forces arrive, level the area the Kroot are in and exterminate them. There will be some commanders within the Fire Caste perfectly willing to use such violent and extreme measures to ensure total destruction of enemy forces (like Brightsword did against the IG in the Koloth Gorge Massacre).

A small Tau force, utilising the correct tactics and equipment, could bring down a much larger Kroot contingent without any real risk to personnel or equipment.

The Tau are now willing to exterminate their own planets and populations to defeat an enemy? With the small size of their empire, I don't think they can afford that.
Again, the Tau are not the Imperium. They are not dogmatic enough to let reason be blinded by their principles. They would negotiate rather than fight the Kroot. Again, a war with the Kroot would leave the Tau too weak to fend off Tyranid and Imperial invasions.

 Iron_Captain wrote:

Deadnight wrote:

 koooaei wrote:

 Furyou Miko wrote:
Something leaving atmosphere towards orbit is a sitting duck though.

So, for Tau to win, they need space superiority.

But fluffwise kroot might be superior to tau in space battles.

Warspheres are known for being very tough, but that's it. They're not fast, or manoeuvrable. The last time the kroot tried to make an empire on their own, the orks handed them their own back sides.

Kroot Warspheres are very fast compared to Tau spaceships. Anything with a Warp drive is fast compared to Tau spaceships.

Not.in realspace. Also, there's no indication how good Kroot warp capability is.

Aren't kroot said to be well accepted in Tau society? meaning they could probably roam around with tau civvies (or at least fire warriors) as one of the guys.

Tau really like the Kroot, and treat them with the same respect they treat each other. They simply cannot stomach the canibilism. I've also read that the Kroot are used as front line troops, and that they represent the bulk of Tau ground forces because they hold Tau lives more important so they spread them out more.

In the end, I believe the Tau really respect the Kroot as their favourite meat shield, so they treat them as brothers in battle. But as it's been clear, the Kroot think the Tau, and humans foolish. Of course, the level of kroot use is probably varied from sept to sept. ex. Kelshan most likely does not use ANY kroot.

NauticalKendall wrote:
Aren't kroot said to be well accepted in Tau society? meaning they could probably roam around with tau civvies (or at least fire warriors) as one of the guys.

Within a caste system probably no way in feth.

As well considering blue alien people. its probably a whole lot less "respect" as it is "part of the greater good". they dont complain about it so long as they are working together for the same goal.

Honestly, I think there are too many variables that you have to fill in yourself to be able to make any kind of decision as to who would win. How many kroot are there? How many Tau? How hard would it be for the kroot to "rebel" (e.g. are the tau looking out for rebellion and have they planned for it, or would it take them by surprise?)
Why are the kroot rebelling, and why has diplomacy failed? This is important because the reason behind the conflict will determine the scope of the resistance. As an example:

So far, the only real avarice I know of between the two races is the tau distaste for the kroot's eating of the dead. If the tau decided to ban this for the greater good, then I could see the kroot rebelling. The problem with this scenario is: Why wouldn't the kroot just leave for greener pastures? With options for more genetic diversity elsewhere I think the kroot would just leave. If the tau tried to prevent them from leaving then conflict could arise, but the kroot would just be trying to blast through the tau lines to get past them rather than conquer the tau.

I just looked at the kroot wiki page and noticed it says that the kroot can pick up customs and attitudes of some of the dead they eat. If they ate a bunch of dark eldar or tyranids then the kroot goal might be conquering or consuming the tau. If the goal is to conquer the tau, and the kroot could assassinate the tau leadership (a big if), then I think the kroot could have a good chance of winning. If the kroot aim to consume the tau, then I think the odds are significantly in the tau's favor to stop them.

 Iron_Captain wrote:

The Tau are now willing to exterminate their own planets and populations to defeat an enemy? With the small size of their empire, I don't think they can afford that.
Again, the Tau are not the Imperium. They are not dogmatic enough to let reason be blinded by their principles. They would negotiate rather than fight the Kroot. Again, a war with the Kroot would leave the Tau too weak to fend off Tyranid and Imperial invasions.

Yes. It should not shock you. If the greater good demands a small sacrifice, then the tau will do it willingly.

The zeist campaign.

The tau willingly sacrificed dozens of systems to a space Marine crusade as a feint for shadowsun's attack. Let that sink in.dozens of systems. Billions of tau. A feint.

In any case, we're talking about 'kroot getting there first' in the context of a war against the tau. Well, what are they striking? Tau worlds. Guess what's there already? Tau. Fire caste. They're already there, and waiting. And bear in mind, the kroot don't have heavy armour. Or vehicles. Thry don't have air support or artillery. Or satellites or communications arrays. Heck, the heaviest thing they can bring is a knarloc, and it's got a 5+ save! Their heavy support option in the old kroot codex was a punji trap - a pit with stakes in it. good luck assaulting any fortifications with that.

Literal use of the greater good. They are utilitarians after all.

Kroot would kill some Tau, eat them, then become susceptible to Ethereal brainwashing.

Poof, no more rebellion.

This entire premise is wrong, the Tau are aware of the Kroot's mercenary tendencies, page 12 of the 2001 codex, Fio'ui Bork'an Ulyr'ra ia definitely has suspicions or knows the Kroot do this and in later books it is flat out stated the Tau just ignore it. I would also like to take the side of the kroot. There are too many of them and the would win a guerrilla campaign.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 TranSpyre wrote:
Kroot would kill some Tau, eat them, then become susceptible to Ethereal brainwashing.

Poof, no more rebellion.

This assumes the Ethereal caste brainwashes the rest of the tau physiologically as opposed to psychologically. Since we have no answer as to how the Ethereal caste does its stuff other than "it works" we cannot assume anything.

Sorry if the reasons for fighting are off, several people mentioned it already. I was under the assumption that they didn't know about the kroot mercenaries much. I knew they had suspicions, and I thought the tau didn't exactly support the kroot not going all greater good. I will have to look into the background and relations for future reference, thanks for the information given though, even if the initial reason for fighting wasn't exactly plausible.

Deadnight wrote:

 Iron_Captain wrote:

The Tau are now willing to exterminate their own planets and populations to defeat an enemy? With the small size of their empire, I don't think they can afford that.
Again, the Tau are not the Imperium. They are not dogmatic enough to let reason be blinded by their principles. They would negotiate rather than fight the Kroot. Again, a war with the Kroot would leave the Tau too weak to fend off Tyranid and Imperial invasions.

Yes. It should not shock you. If the greater good demands a small sacrifice, then the tau will do it willingly.

The zeist campaign.

The tau willingly sacrificed dozens of systems to a space Marine crusade as a feint for shadowsun's attack. Let that sink in.dozens of systems. Billions of tau. A feint.

In any case, we're talking about 'kroot getting there first' in the context of a war against the tau. Well, what are they striking? Tau worlds. Guess what's there already? Tau. Fire caste. They're already there, and waiting. And bear in mind, the kroot don't have heavy armour. Or vehicles. Thry don't have air support or artillery. Or satellites or communications arrays. Heck, the heaviest thing they can bring is a knarloc, and it's got a 5+ save! Their heavy support option in the old kroot codex was a punji trap - a pit with stakes in it. good luck assaulting any fortifications with that.

I do not think the Kroot would aim to take over or conquer but rather to gain their own empire, i.e. secede. They just have to beat them to a standstill or make it too costly to fight them, which they are perfectly capable of doing. Most of the pro tau arguments are what one would see if i asked someone in 1765 who would win if the American colonies rebelled against the British empire or if you asked someone in 1960 what would happen if we fought in vietnam (we won that war for a while militarily, politics are what lost it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hqYGHZCJwk ). The kroot would never be dumb enough to go strait for T'au.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

2BlackJack1 wrote:
Sorry if the reasons for fighting are off, several people mentioned it already. I was under the assumption that they didn't know about the kroot mercenaries much. I knew they had suspicions, and I thought the tau didn't exactly support the kroot not going all greater good. I will have to look into the background and relations for future reference, thanks for the information given though, even if the initial reason for fighting wasn't exactly plausible.

Looking in used bookstores for older rule books is good, they often have valuable old forgotten fluff and valuable painting and terrain making tidbits.

2BlackJack1 wrote:
Sorry if the reasons for fighting are off, several people mentioned it already. I was under the assumption that they didn't know about the kroot mercenaries much. I knew they had suspicions, and I thought the tau didn't exactly support the kroot not going all greater good. I will have to look into the background and relations for future reference, thanks for the information given though, even if the initial reason for fighting wasn't exactly plausible.

I imagine kroot mercenaries make it easy to slip spies around the galaxy

2BlackJack1 wrote:
Sorry if the reasons for fighting are off, several people mentioned it already. I was under the assumption that they didn't know about the kroot mercenaries much. I knew they had suspicions, and I thought the tau didn't exactly support the kroot not going all greater good. I will have to look into the background and relations for future reference, thanks for the information given though, even if the initial reason for fighting wasn't exactly plausible.

Well, the reasoning doesn't have to be completely solid given the question being posed of who would win. All there needs to happen for rebellion would be if Aun'Va died and was replaced by a more conservative Ethereal Supreme who doesnt indulge in the Kroot's liberties.

Something pretty impirtant IMO: AFAIK, the only Kroot world mentioned in fluff is Pech. While there doubtlessly are kroot kindreds on other planets, I don't know of any other world like Pech, in regards to both population (most/all kroot) as well as the rumored hidden industry.

Now, if Pech really is the only center of Kroot civilization and tech, Tau could literally bomb the Kroot back to stone age in a single blow.

It's also debatable how united the kroot are. Even if one kroot warlord wanted to go to war wirh Tau, are there any guarantees most kindreds will follow him?

 The Home Nuggeteer wrote:

I do not think the Kroot would aim to take over or conquer but rather to gain their own empire, i.e. secede. They just have to beat them to a standstill or make it too costly to fight them, which they are perfectly capable of doing. Most of the pro tau arguments are what one would see if i asked someone in 1765 who would win if the American colonies rebelled against the British empire or if you asked someone in 1960 what would happen if we fought in vietnam (we won that war for a while militarily, politics are what lost it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hqYGHZCJwk ). The kroot would never be dumb enough to go strait for T'au.
.

You overestimate the kroot. The kroot enclaves are surrounded by the tau, seceding from the empire would be akin to Dakota seceding from the United states - guaranteed not to go very far. In any case. Why would they want it? They've got one hell of a paymaster on hand, and kroot aren't exactly chomping at the bit for 'empire'.

Secondly, read the fluff. Prior to meeting the tau, the kroot attempted an empire. Thry got their back sides handed to them on a plate by the orks who then invaded pech and brought the kroot to their knees, it was only tau intervention that saved them. Ever since, the kroot have turned their backs on 'that whole independence malarkey' and stuck with the 'old ways' thst served their ancestors so well.

Secondly, American war of independence and Vietnam. Both could have been won by the British and Americans respectfuly. In any case, neither is a fitting comparison as tau have spaceships and orbital supremacy and Star Trek levels of technology and a foe that is the galactic equivelant of 'next door' as opposed to the other side of the Galaxy. As well as the means, ability and will to conduct total war. Explain to me how the kroot would fight them to a standstill with their punji traps and knarlocs.

LordBlades wrote:
Something pretty impirtant IMO: AFAIK, the only Kroot world mentioned in fluff is Pech. While there doubtlessly are kroot kindreds on other planets, I don't know of any other world like Pech, in regards to both population (most/all kroot) as well as the rumored hidden industry.

Now, if Pech really is the only center of Kroot civilization and tech, Tau could literally bomb the Kroot back to stone age in a single blow.

It's also debatable how united the kroot are. Even if one kroot warlord wanted to go to war wirh Tau, are there any guarantees most kindreds will follow him?

I know for sure that while the other worlds aren't mentioned, on the FE star map, and Tau Empire star map they point out a few Kroot held worlds, as well as one or two Vespid.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I don't think they are all allied with Tau either, just the ones in Tau space. They are all likely aware of it, just I can't see Kroot across the Galaxy really caring all that much about what Aun'va says let alone even the ones in the Empire for that matter.

The Kroot have a larger footstep in 40k than the Tau.


Which is not hard to do. Again, the Tau were unable to conquer the Kroot conventionally. The fact there was a war in the first place says the Tau attempts at peaceful assimilation failed, the Kroot proving unwilling to join the greater good.


Should the Tau attempt to tighten their hold on the Kroot there would be another war. If the Tau had no other concerns they'd probably win despite being outnumbered (IMO. No numbers exist to my knowledge that give a definitive answer one way or another on comparative populations)

However, they have to worry about the IoM, their potentially renegade commander, Orks, and Nids.

My prediction? A renegotiated truce that leaves the Kroot in their current state of affairs.

 Scrabb wrote:
The Kroot have a larger footstep in 40k than the Tau.


Which is not hard to do. Again, the Tau were unable to conquer the Kroot conventionally. The fact there was a war in the first place says the Tau attempts at peaceful assimilation failed, the Kroot proving unwilling to join the greater good.


Should the Tau attempt to tighten their hold on the Kroot there would be another war. If the Tau had no other concerns they'd probably win despite being outnumbered (IMO. No numbers exist to my knowledge that give a definitive answer one way or another on comparative populations)

However, they have to worry about the IoM, their potentially renegade commander, Orks, and Nids.

My prediction? A renegotiated truce that leaves the Kroot in their current state of affairs.

Where did you get that the Tau had a war with the Kroot? The first contact they had was when they rescued the Kroot from an Ork Waaagh!

 A Town Called Malus wrote:


Where did you get that the Tau had a war with the Kroot? The first contact they had was when they rescued the Kroot from an Ork Waaagh!

Yeah, that's the second time in this thread there was citation of a conflict between the two.

Methinks some folks need to brush up on their Tau/Kroot lore. They've been friends since their initial contact, where the Tau just decided to observe them, then jumped in and assisted them to victory.

Unless I'm somehow out of the loop, and I did read the latest Dex earlier this year . . . but not many BL novels with these two species, admittedly.

I haven't heard of any previous major conflict with them either, just disgust at certain aspects of their culture.

Huh, my bad.

I guess that makes the Tau/Kroot relationship an anomaly of sorts.

Deadnight wrote:

 Iron_Captain wrote:

The Tau are now willing to exterminate their own planets and populations to defeat an enemy? With the small size of their empire, I don't think they can afford that.
Again, the Tau are not the Imperium. They are not dogmatic enough to let reason be blinded by their principles. They would negotiate rather than fight the Kroot. Again, a war with the Kroot would leave the Tau too weak to fend off Tyranid and Imperial invasions.

Yes. It should not shock you. If the greater good demands a small sacrifice, then the tau will do it willingly.

The zeist campaign.

The tau willingly sacrificed dozens of systems to a space Marine crusade as a feint for shadowsun's attack. Let that sink in.dozens of systems. Billions of tau. A feint.

The Tau don't even inhabit that many systems.
The Tau only inhabit a total of 21 planets/systems. (The Kroot have 3 worlds: Pech, Tawka and Seco).
The AM codex specifically mentions that the worlds reconquered by the Imperium in the Zeist Campaign were 'Tau-held' worlds. They were not actual Tau septs. Again, I highly doubt that the Tau would exterminate one of their septs just to eliminate a few Kroot guerillas.
What I get from reading the Tau codex is that unlike the Imperium at many times, the Tau Empire actually cares about its own citizens.

 Iron_Captain wrote:

Deadnight wrote:

 Iron_Captain wrote:

The Tau are now willing to exterminate their own planets and populations to defeat an enemy? With the small size of their empire, I don't think they can afford that.
Again, the Tau are not the Imperium. They are not dogmatic enough to let reason be blinded by their principles. They would negotiate rather than fight the Kroot. Again, a war with the Kroot would leave the Tau too weak to fend off Tyranid and Imperial invasions.

Yes. It should not shock you. If the greater good demands a small sacrifice, then the tau will do it willingly.

The zeist campaign.

The tau willingly sacrificed dozens of systems to a space Marine crusade as a feint for shadowsun's attack. Let that sink in.dozens of systems. Billions of tau. A feint.

The Tau don't even inhabit that many systems.
The Tau only inhabit a total of 21 planets/systems. (The Kroot have 3 worlds: Pech, Tawka and Seco).
The AM codex specifically mentions that the worlds reconquered by the Imperium in the Zeist Campaign were 'Tau-held' worlds. They were not actual Tau septs. Again, I highly doubt that the Tau would exterminate one of their septs just to eliminate a few Kroot guerillas.
What I get from reading the Tau codex is that unlike the Imperium at many times, the Tau Empire actually cares about its own citizens.

We are talking about the same Tau that would willingly plant bombs in their Battle Suits to trigger rather then running right?

The Tau are still about the Greater Good, if it's better to sacrifice yourself for Tau, then you will provide your life for Tau.

 ZebioLizard2 wrote:

 Iron_Captain wrote:

Deadnight wrote:

 Iron_Captain wrote:

The Tau are now willing to exterminate their own planets and populations to defeat an enemy? With the small size of their empire, I don't think they can afford that.
Again, the Tau are not the Imperium. They are not dogmatic enough to let reason be blinded by their principles. They would negotiate rather than fight the Kroot. Again, a war with the Kroot would leave the Tau too weak to fend off Tyranid and Imperial invasions.

Yes. It should not shock you. If the greater good demands a small sacrifice, then the tau will do it willingly.

The zeist campaign.

The tau willingly sacrificed dozens of systems to a space Marine crusade as a feint for shadowsun's attack. Let that sink in.dozens of systems. Billions of tau. A feint.

The Tau don't even inhabit that many systems.
The Tau only inhabit a total of 21 planets/systems. (The Kroot have 3 worlds: Pech, Tawka and Seco).
The AM codex specifically mentions that the worlds reconquered by the Imperium in the Zeist Campaign were 'Tau-held' worlds. They were not actual Tau septs. Again, I highly doubt that the Tau would exterminate one of their septs just to eliminate a few Kroot guerillas.
What I get from reading the Tau codex is that unlike the Imperium at many times, the Tau Empire actually cares about its own citizens.

We are talking about the same Tau that would willingly plant bombs in their Battle Suits to trigger rather then running right?

The Tau are still about the Greater Good, if it's better to sacrifice yourself for Tau, then you will provide your life for Tau.

There is quite a difference between military suicide bombers and blowing up an entire planet full of civilians.

 Iron_Captain wrote:

 ZebioLizard2 wrote:

 Iron_Captain wrote:

Deadnight wrote:

 Iron_Captain wrote:

The Tau are now willing to exterminate their own planets and populations to defeat an enemy? With the small size of their empire, I don't think they can afford that.
Again, the Tau are not the Imperium. They are not dogmatic enough to let reason be blinded by their principles. They would negotiate rather than fight the Kroot. Again, a war with the Kroot would leave the Tau too weak to fend off Tyranid and Imperial invasions.

Yes. It should not shock you. If the greater good demands a small sacrifice, then the tau will do it willingly.

The zeist campaign.

The tau willingly sacrificed dozens of systems to a space Marine crusade as a feint for shadowsun's attack. Let that sink in.dozens of systems. Billions of tau. A feint.

The Tau don't even inhabit that many systems.
The Tau only inhabit a total of 21 planets/systems. (The Kroot have 3 worlds: Pech, Tawka and Seco).
The AM codex specifically mentions that the worlds reconquered by the Imperium in the Zeist Campaign were 'Tau-held' worlds. They were not actual Tau septs. Again, I highly doubt that the Tau would exterminate one of their septs just to eliminate a few Kroot guerillas.
What I get from reading the Tau codex is that unlike the Imperium at many times, the Tau Empire actually cares about its own citizens.

We are talking about the same Tau that would willingly plant bombs in their Battle Suits to trigger rather then running right?

The Tau are still about the Greater Good, if it's better to sacrifice yourself for Tau, then you will provide your life for Tau.

There is quite a difference between military suicide bombers and blowing up an entire planet full of civilians.

It depends mostly, it's not going to be like the Imperium where an errant Inquisitor can simply say "Exterminatus!" And suddenly a few planets are gone before the bureaucracy discovers this. However they still will allow things to be sacrificed if they consider it militarily relevant.

Typically though they will try and get those citizens out there, but if there's a major risky chance and the benefit towards leaving them might ensure that many other planets are saved/taken they will sacrifice it.

 Iron_Captain wrote:

The Tau don't even inhabit that many systems.
The Tau only inhabit a total of 21 planets/systems. (The Kroot have 3 worlds: Pech, Tawka and Seco).
The AM codex specifically mentions that the worlds reconquered by the Imperium in the Zeist Campaign were 'Tau-held' worlds. They were not actual Tau septs. Again, I highly doubt that the Tau would exterminate one of their septs just to eliminate a few Kroot guerillas.
What I get from reading the Tau codex is that unlike the Imperium at many times, the Tau Empire actually cares about its own citizens.

The tau inhabit between 130 and 200 worlds at the start of the fourth sphere expansion. I've seen Sept translated both as 'system' and a group of inhabited systems (like an imperial sector). And it's not a case of one world = one sept.

Those tau held worlds were still voluntarily sacrificed to the imperials. Whether they were fully fledged, autonomous septs, or in the process of being 'assimilated' into the empire it's academic. The tau sacrificed dozens of systems to a massive space marine crusade, along with billions of tau in the process. This was just a feint.

Would they exterminate one of their septs to eliminate some guerrillas? Probably not. But as a piece trade as part of a bigger game? Sure. Why not. They don't seem to appreciate 'excessive force' to the same extent as some more notorious and zealous inquisitors.

And by the way, 'caring' about your citizens is one thing. The tau look after their own. Just remember too that even if they care, everyone is still expected to do their duty and see it as part of the greater good. 'Caring' just means that your role is appreciated, theirs isn't the casual brutality and mindless drudgery and inefficiency of the imperium system. A lowly fio'la or shas'la will probsbly be quietly accepting of their fate if the last shuttle left on a planet for evacuating civilians is earmarked for a few Aun, and those of 'el ranks and higher. The individual is merely a small cog of a far greater machine. 'It is for the greater good' they will say. Don't just listen to the por'hui propaganda machine. Look at the casualty lists coming in from the fronts....