First Voldrad Crusade

The Voldrad Crusade was one of the larger political conflicts that occurred during the Nova Terra Interregnum of the 35th Millennium. It saw the High Lords of Terra attempt to bring the rebellious aristocrats of the Voldrad Alliance, based in the Ultima Segmentum, back into their fold. The confederated nobles had proclaimed independence from the Imperium and seized large swaths of territory in the Segmentum. In response, the Imperium dispatched a large expeditionary fleet from other parts of the galaxy.

On advice from Lord Admiral Artonin Reena, the supreme commander of the Voldrad Allied Forces, their political leader Duke Constantin Mecetti decided to abandon large numbers of systems after stealing all food products there and destroying any crops. As the Imperial forces advanced further into the Ultima Segmentum they were greeted by starving citizens who demanded food. When the expeditionary fleet's lines became thin, and the supply burden increased, the Allied Forces raided their convoys. Shortly after that they launched a massive counteroffensive against the overextended and increasingly exhausted Imperials.

The result was that most of the territory that the nobles had given up temporarily returned to their rule, while the devastated Imperial battlegroups were forced into full retreat in the face of the Voldrad Allied Forces onslaught. The failure of the Imperium to invade the aristocrats' holdings would buy them several more decades before the next assault, due to the outbreak of unrest throughout the rest of the galaxy. However, as a result of Duke Mecetti's death, this would be the only time the majority of the Allied Forces fought in unison and with effective coordination.