Taros Campaign - Evacuation: After a week of stunned inactivity and grief the Tau turned their anger against the Imperial Guard regiments now falling back through the desert. Their defensive operations were replaced by a new offensive, aimed at shattering the Imperial Guard and ending the war swiftly. Shas’O R’myr set about reorganising his surviving Hunter Cadres for the offensive. The Imperial forces had been severely weakened but they were not defeated yet. With the Imperial Guard force in no shape to fight back, the evacuation of all the Emperor's forces on Taros was ordered at 718998.M41 by Lord Commander Gustavus. The campaign had lasted just ninety days since the first ships arrived in-system, but it had failed. Commissar-General Van Horcic was outraged by Gustavus' decision, but recognized that he had no hope of victory. The order stood. All that was left for him to do was quickly salvage what forces he could before they lost everything.With the Tau now on the offensive, the withdrawal of the Tallarn regiments soon became a rout. With the threat of Tau and Kroot forces now breathing down their neck, whether imagined or real, the Imperial Guardsmen fell back pell-mell towards the landing zones. What had been an army was in danger of becoming a disorganised rabble. The desert became a dumping ground as Guardsmen abandoned their vehicles and equipment. Hundreds of Chimera and Leman Russ Tank hulls littered the desert. Officers tried to impose order and keep their squads, platoons and companies together. Commissars warned that any man who had thrown away his weapon would be treated as a deserter and shot. Such rigid discipline helped, but still Guardsmen tossed away heavy weapons, mortar tubes, spare ammunition and grenades, anything that slowed them down. Long columns of marching men tramped south through the dry desert, as there were very few vehicles still running now. Rations and water canteens were the only prized items. Men rooted through the hulks of tanks and Chimeras in search of forgotten water cans and loaded canteen from the dead of previous battles. Tormented by thirst, the entire X Corp streamed south over ground it had fought to win. It was a broken army no longer capable of making a stand.With their enemy in full retreat the Tau could now extract the revenge they so desired. The Imperial Guard were easy pickings, and Barracudas and Tiger Sharks took off to further torment the retreating Guardsmen. Orcas landed combat teams who mercilessly ambushed the retreating Tallarn, slaughtering them and rounding up the survivors as prisoners. With the Tau now attacking and words of ambushes spreading, the retreat soon became a rout. After four days it was a shambles. Some officers tried to organise rearguards to fight the Tau and buy the escapees time. It was a hopeless gesture, and these ad-hoc rearguard units were wiped out in futile firefights. In the wake of the evacuation order, the Tau simply mopped up by taking thousands of men prisoner and marching them away to captivity. For many, capture was better than death under the merciless sun. Some stragglers made it through - most did not. To all intents and purposes four Tallarn regiments had ceased to exist. Of X Corp only the 331st Regiment had managed to make their withdrawal in good order, and thousands of them would be evacuated over the following days. The 114th Cadian regiment also fared well, with their Chimeras piled high with men as they raced southwards as far as their fuel would carry them, before abandoning their vehicles and marching the rest of the way. Most of the regiment made it, if not many of their Chimeras. The remaining Titans of Legio Ignatum also returned intact and, on Tech Magus Volta direct orders, were quickly whisked away to safety.A lucky few retreating units were quickly rescued. The surviving Valkyries of 23rd Elysian regiment were put to good use ferrying units back the landing zone. High-ranking officers, command units and Storm Trooper squads were given preference, but after these had all been rescued Tallarn infantry started to pile aboard the airborne carriers for a fast trip back to the landing zone. On arrival they joined the growing queues awaiting a chance to board a landing craft for the trip into orbit. The first stragglers on foot started to arrive at the landing zones at 752998.M41. The evacuation had been ongoing for eleven days, and much of the most important equipment and personnel had already been moved into orbit. The end was in sight, but the Tau had one last concerted attack to make.