Changes

The '''Zeist Campaign''' was a battle between the [[Imperium]] and the [[TauT'au]].

Tau expansionist activities had, in [[M41|997.M41]], begun to encroach on Imperial worlds, even annexing them on occasion. By 999, [[planetary governors governor]]s were calling for massive reinforcements to push back the Tau T'au forces, but with the attacks of [[Hive Fleet Leviathan]] and an increase in the attacks from the [[Maelstrom]], few were able to respond. One who could however, was [[Marneus Augustus Calgar|Marneus Calgar]]. He dispatched the [[Ultramarines]] [[2nd Company (Ultramarines)|2nd company ]] to the [[Zeist Sector]] to draw a line through which the Tau T'au would not be able to pass. Also, Calgar sent requests to other nearby [[chapter]]s for further assistance.{{Fn|1}}

When the Ultramarines arrived, they found numerous Imperial worlds abandoned and other heavily fortified to defend against the Tau lightning raids. [[Cato Sicarius]], [[Space Marine Captain|Captain]] of the 2nd company, attacked the [[Forge World]] [[Praetonis V]] to break the Tau T'au assault there and used this momentum to begin pushing the Tau back. Sicarius used the same tactics as the TauT'au, which were the most ideal tactics for Space Marines, rapid lightning strikes on weak positions to destabilise more heavily defended ones. Quickly, the Tau T'au expansion slowed and then stopped under the assaults. Eventually only the world of [[Augura]] remained in Tau hands.{{Fn|1}}

By this time, the Ultramarines were no longer the only Space Marine forces in the assault. Forces from the [[Night Watch]], [[Halo Dragons]], [[Silver Skulls]], [[Sable Swords]], [[Crimson Fists]], [[Iron Lords]], [[Aurora Chapter]], [[Eagle Warriors]] and the [[Knights of the Raven]], as well as many others, had all joined the Ultramarines in the attack on Augura. Despite the advanced technology, [[Battlesuit]]s and weaponry, the Tau T'au had no hope for defeating such a huge combined force of Space Marines. Augura's fortresses, shipyards and weapons factories were destroyed and the Tau T'au expansion ended with the Tau T'au falling back to protect more secure territory.{{Fn|1}}

It was later recognized that the retreating of Tau T'au retreat in this campaign was only a trick from the famous [[Commander Shadowsun]] , who claimed her victory elsewhere where there was not enough of the Imperium Imperial forces were weakened at that moment.{{Fn|2}}

*{{Endn|2}}: [[Codex: Tau Empire (7th Edition)]], pg. 42, — ''Relentless Expansion - War Across the Stars''[[Category:Events]]