Battle of Harvest: Difference between revisions

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"The enemy ship destroyed and 13 of ours obliterated. It did not bode well."

The Second Battle of Harvest was a fought by the UNSC and the Covenant during the Human-Covenant War. It was the direct follow on to the First Battle of Harvest which resulted in the destruction of the Harvest colony and seizure of the planet by the Covenant. The UNSC carried the day with superior numbers and a last-minute tactical maneuver, but suffered heavy casualties.

Background

Main article: First Battle of Harvest

In early 2525, Harvest was attacked by the Covenant. The colony was destroyed with many colonists fleeing on freighters. A UNSC scout ship and two frigates were destroyed, and a destroyer heavily damaged, in an unsuccessful attempt to dislodge the single Covenant ship holding the planet.

A month after on November 1, a fleet of 40 warships was assembled to retake Harvest. It was led by Vice Admiral Preston Cole aboard the UNSC Everest and was, at the time, the largest space war fleet ever assembled in human history.

The Battle

The UNSC fleet arrived at Harvest on March 1, 2526, and engaged the lone Covenant ship. Multiple ships, including the UNSC Sacramento and the UNSC Lance Held High, were quickly destroyed. UNSC weapons, including nuclear ordnance, had very little effect on the enemy. Cole realized the enemy was using energy shields, like the one previously encountered at the Battle of Chi Ceti, and ordered the fleet to fire all of its weapons simultaneously at the target. This overwhelmed the shields and destroyed the Covenant vessel.

Aftermath

The UNSC victory came at the cost of thirteen warships. Cole realized the disparity between UNSC and enemy losses "did not bode well". However, ONI Section II propaganda exaggerated the victory to encourage recruitment; initially the foe was claimed to be an Insurrectionist weapon platform but this was later recanted.

For their part, the Covenant celebrated the "Victory of Epsilon Indi" through fasting and prayer.^[2] The Covenant would attack Harvest again in 2531, leading to the Third Battle of Harvest, determined to claim the Forerunner artifact buried under Harvest's north pole.

Participants

UNSC

Personnel

Admiral Preston Cole

Warships

UNSC Austerlitz
UNSC Campo Grande
UNSC Constantinople
UNSC Excellence
UNSC Everest
UNSC Lance Held High
UNSC Lowrentze
UNSC Maelstrom
UNSC Midway
UNSC Sacramento
UNSC Tharsis
UNSC Troy
UNSC Virginia Capes
UNSC Waterloo

Sources

^ Halo Wars: Genesis
^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Timeline

Related Pages

[1] Halo Wars: Genesis

[Timeline-2] Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Timeline

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 *[[UNSC Navy]]
 **40 Warships<ref name="Halo E">[[Halo: Evolutions]]</ref>
-***10+ Halcyon-class Cruisers  {{class|Halcyon|Cruiser}}s
+***10+ {{class|Halcyon|Cruiser}}s
-***9+ UNSC Frigates
+***9+ [[UNSC Frigate|frigates]]
 **Fleet Command Cruiser {{UNSCShip|Everest}}
 |forces2=
@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 |casual1=
 *13 UNSC ships
-**[[UNSC Lance Held High]]
+**UNSC ''Austerlitz''
-**[[UNSC Sacramento]]
+**UNSC ''Campo Grande''
-**[[UNSC Tharsis]]
+**UNSC ''Constantinople''
-**UNSC Austerlitz
+**UNSC ''Excellence''
-**UNSC Midway
+**{{UNSCShip|Lance Held High}}
-**UNSC Campo Grande
+**UNSC ''Lowrentze''
-**UNSC Virginia Capes
+**UNSC ''Maelstrom''
-**UNSC Constantinople
+**UNSC ''Midway''
-**UNSC Troy
+**{{UNSCShip|Sacramento}}
-**UNSC Lowrentze
+**{{UNSCShip|Tharsis}}
-**UNSC Maelstrom
+**UNSC ''Troy''
-**UNSC Waterloo
+**UNSC ''Virginia Capes''
-**UNSC Excellence
+**UNSC ''Waterloo''
 |casual2=
 *Covenant Warship Destroyed.
 }}
 {{quote|The enemy ship destroyed and 13 of ours obliterated. It did not bode well.|[[Admiral]] [[Preston Cole]]}}<ref>[[Halo Wars: Genesis]]</ref>
-The '''Second Battle of Harvest''' was a massive [[UNSC]] operation to retake the glassed colony of [[Harvest]] from [[Covenant Empire|the Covenant]]. The orbital engagement was a human victory, but the single warship in orbit annihilated thirteen of Cole's ships. The battle was a close-matched one, and Cole only won due to his overwhelming numbers, and a last-minute tactical maneuver.
+The '''Second Battle of Harvest''' was a fought by the [[UNSC]] and the [[Covenant]] during the [[Human-Covenant War]]. It was the direct follow on to the [[First Battle of Harvest]] which resulted in the destruction of the [[Harvest]] colony and seizure of the planet by the Covenant. The UNSC carried the day with superior numbers and a last-minute tactical maneuver, but suffered heavy casualties.
 ==Background==
 {{main|First Battle of Harvest}}
-On February 3, [[2525]], the [[Tiara]] [[Space Elevator]] anchor station above Harvest detected the [[Covenant Cruiser]] ''[[Rapid Conversion]]'' on long-range [[Radar]]. An attempt to facilitate a peaceful meeting between the [[UNSC]] and the Covenant resulted in bloodshed after a nervous [[Unggoy]] killed a [[Colonial Militia|militiaman]] and so the [[First Battle of Harvest]] was ignited, which resulted in the planet being [[Glassing|glassed]] and over twenty thousand civilians killed as they tried to evacuate.
+In early [[2525]], [[Harvest]] was attacked by the Covenant. The colony was destroyed with many colonists fleeing on freighters. A UNSC scout ship and two frigates were destroyed, and a destroyer heavily damaged, in an unsuccessful attempt to dislodge the single Covenant ship holding the planet.
-After the cessation of communications from Harvest, the [[Colonial Military Administration]] sent the {{UNSCShip|Argo}}, a small scout ship, to investigate. On April 20th, [[2525]], the ''Argo'' arrived in the [[Epsilon Indi System]]. It sent a single confirmation message before ceasing communications. It was destroyed by a Covenant ship in orbit over Harvest. The [[Artificial Intelligence]] [[Mack]] tried to warn the ''Argo'', to no avail.
+A month after on November 1, a fleet of 40 warships was assembled to retake Harvest. It was led by [[Vice Admiral]] [[Preston Cole]] aboard the {{UNSCShip|Everest}} and was, at the time, the largest space war fleet ever assembled in human history.
-The [[Colonial Administration]] then sent a battlegroup of two [[UNSC Frigate]]s: (The {{UNSCShip|Arabia}} and the {{UNSCShip|Vostok}}) and one [[UNSC Destroyer]] (The {{UNSCShip|Heracles}}). The battlegroup was led by [[Captain (Navy)|Captain]] [[Maribeau Veredi]], the Captain of the ''Heracles''.
-The battlegroup arrived in the [[Epsilon Indi System]] on July 10th. Upon arriving in the system, the battlegroup encountered the same Covenant ship, what appeared to be a [[Covenant Supercarrier]]. Veredi followed UNSC first contact protocol perfectly. The Covenant ship sent a broadcast to the battlegroup, stating ''Your destruction is the will of the gods, and we are their instrument'' before opening fire on the ships. The battlegroup retaliated as best as it could, and one of the UNSC ships fired [[Archer Missile]]s and MAC rounds at the Covenant ship, which eliminated many of the missiles with [[Point Defense Laser]]s, and those missiles that managed to hit the ship were deflected by the ship's [[shield]]s. The ''Arabia'' and ''Vostok'' were destroyed by the Covenant ship's advanced laser weaponry, while the ''Heracles'' was heavily damaged. The ''Heracles'' retreated to [[Reach]], but due to the heavy damage it took, the ''Heracles'' took several weeks to get back to Reach.<ref>''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'' page 96-98</ref> The entire engagement lasted only fourteen seconds.<ref name="Halo E"/>
 ==The Battle==
-[[Vice Admiral]] [[Preston Cole]] was given the task of retaking Harvest. Cole's [[fleet]] of forty warships arrived at Harvest on March 1, 2526. Upon arrival, Cole's fleet then engaged the Covenant ship. It immediately took down multiple UNSC ships, including the {{UNSCShip|Sacramento}} and the {{UNSCShip|Lance Held High}}. The UNSC continued to fire upon the ship, but their nukes had no effect on it. Cole realized the ship was using energy shields, similar to [[Unrelenting|the one]] the UNSC had [[Battle of Chi Ceti|encountered]] earlier in the [[Chi Ceti System]]. As a last-minute tactical maneuver, Cole ordered all of his ships to fire all weapons at the Covenant ship at the same time. The combined force of the nuclear warheads and other weapons finally took down the ship's shields and obliterated it.
+The UNSC fleet arrived at Harvest on March 1, 2526, and engaged the lone Covenant ship. Multiple ships, including the {{UNSCShip|Sacramento}} and the {{UNSCShip|Lance Held High}}, were quickly destroyed. UNSC weapons, including [[Nuclear Weapon|nuclear ordnance]], had very little effect on the enemy. Cole realized the enemy was using energy shields, like the one previously encountered at the [[Battle of Chi Ceti]], and ordered the fleet to fire all of its weapons simultaneously at the target. This overwhelmed the shields and destroyed the Covenant vessel.
-Despite his superior numbers, Cole still lost thirteen ships.
 ==Aftermath==
-The battle was a victory for the UNSC, but a costly one at that. [[Office of Naval Intelligence|ONI Section II]] overplayed Cole's achievement in propaganda broadcasts to boost recruitment levels, but claimed that Cole had fought an [[Insurrectionist]] weapon platform instead. They later recanted their statement.
+The UNSC victory came at the cost of thirteen warships. Cole realized the disparity between UNSC and enemy losses "did not bode well". However, [[Office of Naval Intelligence|ONI Section II]] propaganda exaggerated the victory to encourage recruitment; initially the foe was claimed to be an [[Insurrectionist]] weapon platform but this was later recanted.
-The Covenant were not fazed by their defeat, and celebrated the "Victory of Epsilon Indi" through fasting and prayer.<ref name="Timeline"/> The Covenant would attack Harvest again in [[2531]], leading to the [[Third Battle of Harvest]], determined to claim the [[Forerunner]] [[Relic (Structure)|artifact]] buried under Harvest's north pole.
+For their part, the Covenant celebrated the "Victory of Epsilon Indi" through fasting and prayer.<ref name="Timeline"/> The Covenant would attack Harvest again in [[2531]], leading to the [[Third Battle of Harvest]], determined to claim the [[Forerunner]] [[Relic (Structure)|artifact]] buried under Harvest's north pole.
 ==Participants==
@@ Line 71: / Line 65: @@
 ===Warships===
-*[[UNSC Everest]]
+*UNSC ''Austerlitz''
-*[[UNSC Lance Held High]]
+*UNSC ''Campo Grande''
-*[[UNSC Sacramento]]
+*UNSC ''Constantinople''
-*[[UNSC Tharsis]]
+*UNSC ''Excellence''
-*UNSC Austerlitz
+*{{UNSCShip|Everest}}
-*UNSC Midway
+*{{UNSCShip|Lance Held High}}
-*UNSC Campo Grande
+*UNSC ''Lowrentze''
-*UNSC Virginia Capes
+*UNSC ''Maelstrom''
-*UNSC Constantinople
+*UNSC ''Midway''
-*UNSC Troy
+*{{UNSCShip|Sacramento}}
-*UNSC Lowrentze
+*{{UNSCShip|Tharsis}}
-*UNSC Maelstrom
+*UNSC ''Troy''
-*UNSC Waterloo
+*UNSC ''Virginia Capes''
-*UNSC Excellence
+*UNSC ''Waterloo''
-==Timeline==
-===[[2525]]===
-*'''February 3rd:''' [[Harvest]] detects a contact on its long range radar, and [[2525#23.2F02.2F2525|soon afterward]], all contact is lost with the planet. The [[UNSC]] scout ship ''[[Argo]]'' was sent to investigate the loss of communication.
-*'''April 20:''' The ''Argo'' arrives in-system and makes one confirmation transmission. No further reports are received.
-*'''October 7: '''A UNSC battle group consisting of one destroyer, the ''[[UNSC Heracles|Heracles]]'', under the command of [[Captain Veredi]] and two frigates the ''[[UNSC Arabia|Arabia]]'' and the ''[[UNSC Vostok|Vostok]]'' enters the [[Epsilon Indi|Harvest system]] and discovers that in some parts of the planet the surface has melted down to glass. This is later dubbed "[[glassing]]". In orbit around the remains of the colony world is a single alien ship, which proceeded to attack the battle group, destroying both ''Arabia'' and ''Vostok'' and badly damaging the ''Heracles''. Intercepted communications identify the enemy as "The Covenant". The message "Your destruction is the will of the Gods..and we are their instrument" is broadcast in perfect English.
-*'''November 1:''' Vice Admiral [[Preston Cole]] mobilizes the-then largest space fleet in Human history to retake Harvest.
-===2526===
-*'''March 1''': Admiral Cole's fleet engages the alien warship in orbit over the destroyed colony, scoring a victory, though the battle cost Cole thirteen ships. Only a last-minute tactical inspiration turned the tide of battle.
 ==Sources==