The Battle of Nepheru – Gamador Campaign, 05.025.M42

As the Perseus Deeps campaign dragged into the height of 05.025.M42, the Tau Empire escalated its efforts to secure the strategic world of Gamador. With the Imperium’s Crusade under General Veers advancing steadily and threatening to undermine the Tau’s Perseus Expansion Sphere, the Ethereal Caste demanded a decisive victory. The target was the Necron-held city of Nepheru—an ancient and heavily fortified urban bastion deep within the desert wastes, reachable only from the tenuous Tau bridgehead established at Hasmaker.

The offensive was led by elements of the Dal’yth and Vior’la septs, combining highly mobile Hunter Cadres with precision orbital support. The strategy was clear: strike swiftly, bypass Necron strongpoints, and collapse their defensive network from the inside out. However, what followed was anything but swift.

The approach through the plains of Nepheru was immediately hampered by hidden monoliths, burrowing Canoptek constructs, and sudden counter-assaults by phased-in Necron units. Tau supply lines were harassed relentlessly, while Necron forces, displaying uncharacteristic tactical unpredictability, launched suicidal charges and teleportation ambushes.

As the fighting reached Nepheru’s outer walls, the campaign descended into a brutal and methodical grind. The Tau achieved numerous local victories, deploying Stormsurge units and Battlesuit Enclaves to devastating effect, but every advance was met with withering gauss fire and the uncanny resilience of Necron reanimation protocols. The sky turned to ash with the heat of plasma fire and the shimmer of shielding technology flickering under siege conditions.

After weeks of attrition, the Tau managed to breach Hasmaker and establish full control over its ancient industrial platforms. Yet the cost was enormous. Several cadres had to be withdrawn due to unsustainable losses. Crisis Suit commanders were lost in action, and even the elite Stealth Teams suffered disproportionately as Necron counter-adaptations blunted their technological edge.

Despite their tactical victory, the Tau were left bloodied, overstretched, and burdened with a pyrrhic gain. The capture of Hasmaker solidified their presence on Gamador, but the Necron grip on Nepheru itself remained unbroken.

The battle proved a grim reminder that the Gamador campaign would not be won by rapid manoeuvre or clean battles. It was a war of ancient attrition, fought in forgotten cities and silent tombs where even the Tau’s vaunted efficiency struggled against the timeless endurance of the Necron menace. And all the while, the shadow of the Crusade under General Veers loomed ever closer.