Editing Battle at Szurdok Ridge

{{Era|HCW}}

|conc=[[Battle of Tribute]]  

|next=[[Operation: UPPER CUT|Operation UPPERCUT‎]]

|place=[[Viery Territory]], [[Reach]]

|result='''Pyrrhic UNSC tactical victory'''

*Covenant ground forces repelled

'''Strategically indecisive'''

|side1=[[United Nations Space Command]]

|side2=[[Covenant]]

|commanders1=*[[Roland Freemont|ADM Roland Freemont]]

*[[Urban Holland|COL Urban Holland]]

*[[Carter-A259|CDR Carter-A259]]

*[[Francis Mallarde]]†

|forces1=*[[UNSC Army|Army]]

**[[8th Armored Brigade]]

**[[124th Infantry Brigade (Mechanized)|124th Mechanized Brigade]]

**[[Noble Team]]

**[[UH-144 Falcon]]s

**Hundreds of [[M808C Scorpion]]s

**Hundreds of [[M12 Chaingun Warthog]]s

**[[Epsilon Eridani Fleet]]

***{{UNSCShip|Grafton}}

***{{UNSCShip|Saratoga}}

**[[AMX-4]]

**[[Type-52 Phantom]]s

**At least 3 [[Type-47B Scarab]]s

**[[Type-26 Wraith]]s

*Three [[Type-47B Scarab]]s

*Two [[Type-38 Tyrant]]s

The '''Battle at Szurdok Ridge''',<ref>[http://halo.xbox.com/en-us/Universe/Detail/assault-on-the-stars-1/7fd16a33-7a93-4b99-9ebc-53217627d5d7 ''Halo Waypoint:'' Assault on the Stars 1]</ref> also known as the '''Szurdok Ridge offensive''',<ref>[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/vehicles/warthog ''Halo Waypoint'': Warthog]</ref> was a major engagement between the [[United Nations Space Command]] and the [[Covenant]] during the [[Fall of Reach]] in [[2552#August|August 2552]].<ref name="tip">''[[Halo: Reach]]'', campaign level, [[Tip of the Spear]]</ref>

On the night prior to the battle, [[SPARTAN program|Spartan]] [[Noble Team]], split into two splinter groups, [[Recon Team Alpha]] and [[Recon Team Bravo|Bravo]], conducted [[Mission to Szurdok Ridge|a reconnaissance mission]] at [[Szurdok Ridge]] to determine the Covenant force deployments in the area. They discovered a massive ground army amassing in the plain, with four {{Class|SDV|heavy corvette}}s hovering overhead.<ref>''Halo: Reach'', campaign level, [[Nightfall]]</ref>

The UNSC responded with a massive ground and air based counterattack the following morning. The overall goal of the UNSC was to blitz the Covenant strike force before the rest of the [[Covenant fleet]] arrived, preventing any solid Covenant foothold on Reach. The main target for the UNSC counterattack was to take out the [[Covenant spire|Covenant Spires]] located along the valley ridge. Upon attacking, UNSC did not yet know what the main purpose of the spires.<ref name="tip"/>

A massive UNSC strike force stormed the Viery plains towards the Covenant-occupied site, attempting to reclaim the land and eliminate all Covenant presence from Reach. The entire assault force was mechanized, as the lack of available cover on the plains prohibited an infantry assault. The UNSC thus resolved to close the distance with the Covenant and engage in an armored battle at close quarters. An advance wave of [[M12 Chaingun Warthog|Warthogs]], backed up by [[M808 Scorpion|Scorpion tanks]], as well as [[M274R Mongoose|Mongooses]], formed the ground component of the attack. Air support was provided by a mixture of [[UH-144 Falcon|Falcons]] and [[D77-TC Pelican|Pelicans]].  [[SPARTAN-B312|Six]] and [[Kat-B320]] led the ground attack, while [[Jorge-052]] and [[Carter-A259]] coordinated air support.<ref name="tip"/>

[[File:Reach TotS Bridge.jpg|thumb|left|The destroyed bridge.]]

As the UNSC force closed on the Covenant landing zone, the Covenant detected the incoming attack and opened fire, hammering the advancing UNSC force with long range [[plasma mortar]] fire, supplemented by [[Type-26 Banshee]]s, which performed strafing runs. Although the Covenant bombardment inflicted casualties, the UNSC was undeterred and continued the advance. During the charge, Kat detonated the [[Unidentified UNSC explosive|charge]] set on the [[stealth pylon]] by [[Jun-A266]]. Covenant heavy units, including three [[Type-47B Scarab]]s, moved to counterattack the UNSC force. A small group of Warthogs, including Noble Six and Kat, and supported by Falcons, split off from the main assault wave onto a ridge overlooking the main battleground; however,  a Wraith mortar shot destroyed a bridge over a large ravine that the group needed to cross to gain access to the ridgeline. Kat successfully managed to jump the gap, but the following Warthog was not so lucky, falling into the ravine below, and the Spartan's Warthog was destroyed by the crash. All of the preceding Warthogs were either destroyed by the destruction of the bridge, or by two [[Type-26 Shade]]s, which also forced the Falcons to withdraw.<ref name="tip"/>

[[File:Reach TotS Tyrant Overlook.jpg|thumb|left|A ''Tyrant'' anti-aircraft gun overlooking the field of battle.]]

The two Spartans took out the two nearby Covenant Shade emplacements, and cleared the way for a Pelican to deliver a [[M12R Rocket Warthog|Rocket Warthog]]. Covenant heavy anti-aircraft artillery, meanwhile, was preventing the UNSC from bringing heavy air support into play. A Covenant [[Type-38 Tyrant]] with a commanding view of the battlefield was inflicting casualties on the UNSC's airpower, so the two Spartans were assigned to destroy it. The two succeeded, clearing the skies for three [[GA-TL1 Longsword|Longswords]] that made a bombing run on the main Covenant force, destroying the three Scarabs serving as the linchpin of the Covenant defense. The strike punched a hole in the Covenant's lines, allowing UNSC Scorpions and Warthogs on the plains to advance upon the rest of the Covenant force. The {{Class|Paris|heavy frigate}}s {{UNSCShip|Grafton}} and {{UNSCShip|Saratoga}} also moved in on the battlefield, supporting ground units with their [[M910 point defense network|point defense guns]]. A Pelican placed a [[deployable bridge]] to replace a destroyed one near the AA gun, allowing Six and Kat to progress further towards the Covenant lines.<ref name="tip"/>

Six and Kat joined a group of Troopers assaulting a Covenant outpost located in a [[BXR Industries|BXR Mining]] facility. Here, they were forced to abandon their warthog, and press through the facility on foot. They cleared the outpost and killed the [[Sangheili Zealot|Zealot]] in command of it. Upon passing through the facility, the two Spartans advanced further, destroying a second AA gun. As a result, the UNSC gained air superiority over the battlefield and let the frigates advance closer to the [[Spire One|first Spire]]. After an LZ was cleared, a Pelican dropped off a squad to secure the area and Kat began to set up a forward observation post. ONI required up-close recon on the spires, and it was necessary to fly Noble Six the rest of the way. Jorge therefore picked up Six in a Falcon to fly him to the Spire through a Covenant-fortified canyon. The main UNSC ground force continued their advance, and Six supported them by using the Falcon's [[M460 Automatic Grenade Launcher|grenade launcher turret]]. The Falcon passed through the electromagnetic shields emitted by the Spire structure to drop off Jorge and Noble Six, but the shield disabled the Falcon, causing it to crash, and killing the crew; however, Jorge and Noble Six were able to make it out in one piece. The pair continued fighting their way into the structure, with Six managing to deactivate the structure's shielding system. Cleared of defenses, the UNSC called in a MAC strike executed by the ''Grafton'' to destroy the Spire.<ref name="tip"/>

ONI determined that the spires served as teleportation terminals, though what they were linked to was yet unrealized. With Nobles Five and Six evacuated by Carter's Falcon, ''Grafton'' moved in and destroyed the Spire with its [[Magnetic Accelerator Cannon|MAC]]. The disruption of the cloaking field revealed a new danger: a {{Class|CSO|supercarrier}}, the ''[[Long Night of Solace]]'', which had been holding position about a kilometer above the battlefield. The supercarrier dropped its active camouflage and opened fire, instantly destroying the ''Grafton'' with its ventral energy projector. Unable to compete with the sheer firepower of the Covenant warship, the UNSC retreated.<ref name="tip"/> The supercarrier then withdrew into Covenant-held space in orbit above Reach.

With the appearance of the supercarrier, the UNSC forces disengaged and fell back. The UNSC were unable to destroy the carrier as all their [[nuclear weapon]]s were either destroyed or unavailable. Covenant forces deployed from the supercarrier continued to harry UNSC forces on Reach until the launch of [[Operation: UPPER CUT]], which, utilizing a makeshift [[Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine#Atypical uses|slipspace bomb]], succeeded in destroying the ship at the cost of the {{UNSCShip|Savannah}} and its [[Savannah Actual|crew]], [[Jorge-052|one SPARTAN-II]], and a squad of [[YSS-1000 Sabre|Sabre]] pilots.<ref>''Halo: Reach'', campaign level, [[Long Night of Solace (level)|Long Night of Solace]]</ref>

File:Reach 5016777 Full.jpg|UNSC armored forces engage Covenant [[Type-47B Scarab|Scarab]]s in the valley.

File:HR-TotS-Tyrant-03.jpg|The Tyrant AA is destroyed.

File:Spire_MAC%27d.jpg|The ''Grafton'' destroys [[Spire One]].