Battle Group Leviathan

Battle Group Leviathan
Branch:	UNSC Navy
Type:	Battle group
Size:	48 vessels (as of July 18, 2552)
Engagements:	Battle of Sigma Octanus IV Fall of Reach
Commanders:	Vice Admiral Michael Stanforth

Battle Group Leviathan was a UNSC Naval battle group under the command of Vice Admiral Michael Stanforth. It was assigned to FLEETCOM Sector Three in 2552, by which time Stanforth had been reassigned from the commander of ONI Section Three to leading the battlegroup.

History

Sigma Octanus IV

UNSC Cradle and Battle Group Victory during the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV.

Main article: Battle of Sigma Octanus IV

Battle Group Leviathan participated in the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV on July 18, 2552. At 0300 hours on July 17, the Archimedes sensor outpost detected the arrival of a Covenant fleet on course to attack Sigma Octanus IV, prompting Commander Jacob Keyes, captain of UNSC Iroquois, to request aid in defending the planet from Leviathan's commander, Vice Admiral Stanforth. At this time, the larger Epsilon Eridani Fleet was on patrol in the Sigma Octanus system, allowing them to respond quickly, with Stanforth promising as many assets as he could provide. Due to the spread-out nature of the fleet, only Iroquois was on station to defend Sigma Octanus IV from the initial Covenant invasion force, successfully engaging four other warships in a manoeuvre later dubbed the Keyes Loop. Iroquois' actions prevented the destruction of Sigma Octanus IV, providing time for the Epsilon Eridani Fleet to rally in orbit and prepare for a larger second attack.

Battle Group Leviathan engaging the Second Fleet of Homogenous Clarity.

Around 2120 hours Military Standard Time, the Covenant's Second Fleet of Homogeneous Clarity emerged in the Sigma Octanus system, sounding the call for the Epsilon Eridani Fleet to begin their defence of the world. Stanforth rallied the fleed between Sigma Octanus IV and its moon Highpoint as to not leave the fleet trapped with its back against a metaphorical wall of the planet's gravity well. The admiral placed the fleet into a tightly-packed grid formation in the shape of a phalanx - an unorthodox placement as it left little room for manoeuvre once the enemy fleet fired their opening salvo. The refit station UNSC Cradle also joined the fleet, positioning itself above the main UNSC formation. Stanforth aimed to use the battle group to fire a single massed salvo at the Covenant fleet, coordinating firing solutions as to knock out the fleet's shields, before delivering a second salvo to kill the ships for good, akin to 17th century infantry tactics. After firing their first salvo, the Covenant fleet returned in kind, only for Stanforth to reveal the trick hidden up his sleeve - using the massive Cradle repair platform as a shield to block the plasma shots inbound toward the fleet and buy time for a second salvo to fire. Cradle's sacrifice was not in vain, and bought the time required to launch the second salvo before Stanforth gave permission for the fleet to break apart from its formation and begin to manually engage the eight remaining Covenant targets. Both fleets took heavy losses, ultimately bringing Battle Group Leviathan down to just nine operational vessels by the battle's conclusion including UNSC Leviathan and UNSC Iroquois. An after-action report of the battle group's status noted that over twenty ships were fully destroyed.

Reach

An Epoch-class carrier engaging the Fleet of Valiant Prudence's Varric-pattern heavy cruiser.

Main articles: Fall of Reach, Space engagements over Reach

During the battle over Sigma Octanus IV, UNSC Iroquois intercepted a transmission being sent to a Covenant stealth ship discretely orbiting the planet. As such, both Keyes and Stanforth were recalled to Reach for debriefing after the battle's conclusion. Stanforth brought half of the surviving battlegroup with him to Reach, arriving on August 1, 2552, in the midst of an ongoing naval campaign by the Fleet of Valiant Prudence. The other half of the battlegroup was left at Sigma Octanus to maintain readiness there in case the Covenant came back for a third round. while the remainder (including Iroquois) arrived on August 12. Between August 1 and August 14, Battle Group Leviathan engaged the Fleet of Valiant Prudence throughout the Epsilon Eridani system, fending off an attack against Site 17 - the site of a Forerunner artefact dig - located in the system's Oort cloud. The crew of Teller Station were able to evacuate an artefact from the station aboard UNSC Leviathan, which Stanforth planned to use to lure the Fleet of Valiant Prudence into an ambush over Reach itself. Supreme Commander Rho 'Barutamee, enraged at Site 17's self-destruction, ordered the Covenant fleet aggressively persue and take out Leviathan, though the cruiser was ultimately able to escape. Reinforcements from Reach's Epsilon Eridani Fleet were called in to fend off attacks by additional Covenant task forces aiming to intercept Leviathan, ultimately paving the way for Operation: LEFT JAB on August 14, 2552.

During Operation: LEFT JAB, Battle Group Leviathan coordinated with a simultaneous Operation: UPPER CUT being conducted by UNSC Savannah and Special Warfare Group Three. For LEFT JAB, Stanforth's battle group were tasked with engaging the Covenant and probing the defences of Valiant Prudence's flagship, the Sh'wada-pattern supercarrier Long Night of Solace, thinning its escort enough to allow a slipspace bomb to be planted near the ship and detonated, bringing it down.

When Iroquois returned to Reach on August 12, it unknowingly brought with it a Covenant spy probe that had been attached to it during the fighting over Sigma Octanus. This probe revealed the location of Reach to a combined armada led by the the Fleet of Particular Justice under Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee. On August 30, 2552, this armada attacked Reach in force, bringing to bear a total of 315 warships to engage the Epsilon Eridani Fleet, which included Battle Group Leviathan. During the fighting, Battle Group Leviathan pursued the remnants of the Fleet of Valiant Prudence, which had regathered its strength after the loss of Long Night of Solace under Shipmaster Kantar 'Utaralee. The remnants of Valiant Prudence had gathered near Reach's moon Turul and were engaged by Battle Group Leviathan on August 30. During the final, climactic, fighting on August 30, most of the battle group was destroyed as with much of the rest of the Epsilon Eridani Fleet. These losses included UNSC Leviathan, which went down in the fighting along with Vice Admiral Stanforth himself when the Covenant broke through the final line of defence, and UNSC Gettysburg, the latter of which lost its entire crew while it was docked intact at one of Reach's refit stations. Gettysburg was later salvaged in September 2552 and used to augment the captured light carrier Ascendant Justice for use in Operation: FIRST STRIKE. Gettysburg ultimately made it back to Earth with the survivors of the Reach campaign and Battle of Installation 04.

Composition

The composition of Battle Group Leviathan, during the Fall of Reach, as depicted in Halo: Fleet Battles.

As of the Battle of Sigma Octanus, July 18, 2552 48 ships 1 Marathon-class heavy cruiser UNSC Leviathan 2 carriers (presumably Epoch-class heavy carriers) 14 Halberd-class light destroyers UNSC Iroquois UNSC Lancelot 31 frigates UNSC Allegiance UNSC Gettysburg UNSC Fair Weather - destroyed in the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV, collided with a Covenant destroyer. 1 refit station UNSC Cradle

As of the Fall of Reach, August 30, 2552 29 ships 1 Epoch-class heavy carrier 4 Marathon-class heavy cruisers 24 Paris-class heavy frigates

List of appearances

• Halo: The Fall of Reach (First appearance)
• Halo: Reach
  • Dr. Halsey's personal journal (Mentioned only) (First identified)
• Halo: Fall of Reach
  • Covenant
• Halo: Fleet Battles