Editing Battle at Szurdok Ridge

{{Era|HCW}}

{{Ratings}}

|name=Battle of Viery

|image=[[File:HaloReach - Frigates.png|350px]]

|prev=[[Battle of Sigma Octanus IV]]

|conc=[[Fall of Reach]], [[Battle of Tribute]],

|next=[[Operation UPPERCUT‎]]

|date=[[2552#August|August 2552]]

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

|result=Pyrrhic UNSC victory

*Covenant ground forces successfully repelled

*Strategically insignificant, due to the appearance of ''Long Night of Solace'' and the subsequent destruction of forces in the surrounding area

|side1=[[United Nations Space Command]]

|side2=[[Covenant Empire]]

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

*[[Urban Holland|COL Urban Holland]]

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

|commanders2=*[[Thel 'Vadamee|Commander Thel 'Vadamee]]

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

:[[8th Armored Brigade]]

:[[34th Infantry Brigade]]

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

:[[Noble Team]]

*[[UNSC Marine Corps|Marine Corps]]

:[[12th Marine Regiment]]

:[[105th Marine Expeditionary Unit (SOC)]]

*[[UNSC Navy|Navy]]

:[[Epsilon Eridani Fleet]]

::{{UNSCShip|Grafton}}

::{{UNSCShip|Saratoga}}

|forces2=*[[Covenant Navy|Navy]]

:[[Fleet of Particular Justice]]

*[[Covenant Army]]

==Overview==

Spartan Noble Team discovered a large Covenant strike force the night prior, and the UNSC responded with a massive ground and air based counter attack the following morning.<ref name="tip"/> 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 foot hold on Reach.

The main target for the UNSC counter attack was to take out the [[Covenant Spire|Covenant Spires]] located along the valley ridge. It is important to note that the UNSC did not know what the main purpose of the spires were upon attacking. Noble Team led the attack on [[Spire One]], deactivating the EMP shield. This allowed the UNSC air support to destroy Spire One.<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 Warthogs, backed up by Scorpion tanks, formed the ground component of the attack. Air support was provided by a mixture of Falcons and Pelicans.  [[Noble Six|Six]] and [[Catherine-B320|Kat-B320]] led the ground attack, while [[Jorge-052]] and [[Carter-A259]] coordinated air support.

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 Banshee strafing runs. Although the Covenant bombardment inflicted casualties, the UNSC was undeterred and continued the advance. Covenant heavy units, including three [[Scarab]]s, moved to counterattack the UNSC force. A small group of Warthogs, led by Noble Six and Kat, split off from the main assault wave onto a ridge overlooking the main battleground, but 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 Warthog was destroyed by the crash. The two Spartans took out a nearby Covenant turret emplacement, and cleared the way for a Pelican to deliver a [[Rocket Warthog]]. Covenant heavy anti-aircraft artillery, meanwhile, was preventing the UNSC from bringing heavy air support into play. A Covenant [[Tyrant|Anti-Aircraft Gun]] 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 [[Longsword]]s 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 [[Scorpion]]s and Warthogs on the plains to advance upon the rest of the Covenant force. The [[UNSC Frigate|Frigates]] {{UNSCShip|Grafton}} and {{UNSCShip|Saratoga}} also moved in on the battlefield, supporting ground units with their autocannons. A [[Pelican]] placed a portable bridge to replace a destroyed one near the AA gun, allowing Six and Kat to progress further towards the Covenant lines.

Six and Kat joined a group of Troopers assaulting a Covenant outpost located in a [[BXR Mining]] facility. They cleared the outpost and killed the [[Zealot]] in command of it. Stealing a Covenant Revenant, the two Spartans advanced further, destroying a second AA gun, and the UNSC gained air superiority over the battlefield and letting the Frigates advance closer to the first Spire. Jorge 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 grenade launcher turrets. 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 everyone onboard but Jorge and Noble Six. 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 {{UNSCShip|Grafton}} to destroy the Spire.

ONI had discovered that the Spire served a dual purpose, serving as a teleportation terminal and projecting a cloaking field, but what the Spire was cloaking, and what its teleporter was linked to, was as yet unrealized. {{UNSCShip|Grafton}} moved in and destroyed the Spire. The disruption of the cloaking field revealed a new danger; a [[Covenant Supercarrier]] in low orbit above Reach. With its cloaking shield gone, the Supercarrier opened fire, instantly destroying the UNSC heavy frigate, ''Grafton'' with one of its energy projectors. Unable to compete with the sheer firepower of the Covenant warship, the UNSC fled. The Supercarrier retreated into Covenant held space in orbit above Reach, apparently unwilling to risk being pinned down by Reach's gravity well in its current position.

<gallery widths="160" captionalign="left">

File:UNSC Attack.jpg|UNSC ground forces charge a Covenant formation during the battle.

File:HaloReach - Frigates.png|The [[UNSC Grafton]] and [[UNSC Saratoga]] participates in the battle.

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

 

 

{{Human-Covenant War}}

[[Category:Battles of the Human-Covenant War]]