Editing Battle of Reach

{{Ratings}}
{{Era|FOR|FS|H2}}
{{battle
|prev=[[Battle of Sigma Octanus IV]]
|conc=
|next=[[Battle of Installation 04]], [[Raid of Reach]]
|name=First Battle of Reach
|image=[[Image:Battle of Reach.jpg|middle]]
|conflict=[[Human-Covenant War]]
|date=August 30, 2552 - September 23, 2552 (UNSC forces scattered)
|place=[[Epsilon Eridani System]], above planet [[Reach]]
|result=Pyhrric Covenant Victory, Reach [[Glassing|mostly glassed]]
|battles=
|side1=[[United Nations Space Command]]
|side2=[[Covenant]]
|commanders1=*[[Admiral Roland Freemont]]†
|commanders2=*[[Arbiter (character)|Supreme Commander]] of the [[Fleet of Particular Justice]]
|forces1=*2 Fleets
**152 warships
***1 super carrier
***1 Carrier
***3 Cruisers
***Several dozen [[UNSC Destroyer|Destroyers]]
***[[UNSC Frigate|Frigates]]
***Corvettes
*20 [[Orbital Defense Platform]]s
*Platoon of [[Spartans]]
*[[Marines]]
|forces2=*[[Fleet of Particular Justice]]
**315 Covenant Ships<ref>''Includes the initial 314, the Supercruiser </ref>
***1 [[Covenant Supercruiser]]
*Legions of ground troops
|casual1=*Over 130 ships
**1 super carrier
*20 Super MAC Cannons
*Ground forces (estimated):
**5.7 million dead (5 million due to orbital bombardment)
**1.5 million wounded
**Numerous [[Spartan]]s
*Civilian (estimated):
**Unknown, but probably heavy due to the orbital bombardment
|casual2=*~262 ships
*Unknown number of ground troops (possibly heavy)
}}
The '''Battle of Reach''' was one of the largest and bloodiest engagements in the [[Human-Covenant War]]. It was fought between the [[United Nations Space Command|UNSC Defense Force]] and the [[Covenant]] in August 2552.

==Background==
Despite suffering a severe defeat at the [[Battle of Sigma Octanus IV]], the Covenant managed to place a tracking device on the {{UNSCShip|Iroquois}} and use it to find [[Human]] colony worlds. When the ''Iroquois'' returned to [[Reach]], the Human presence, and its extent on that world was disclosed and later revealed to the Covenant fleet. Ironically, the location of Reach was already known to the Covenant via a previously recovered [[Forerunner]] artifact which indicated that Reach was the location of yet another artifact.

Less than two months after the [[Battle of Sigma Octanus IV]], a large Covenant fleet converged on [[Reach]] to recover the artifact and cleanse the human presence. With horrendous casualties sustained by both sides, the Covenant eventually routed the defenders and proceeded to [[glass]] the planet with the exception of the [[Highland Mountains]] and [[CASTLE Base]], the location of the artifact.

The artifact itself, a crystal, would later escape Reach and be [[Operation: FIRST STRIKE|destroyed]], with only a few fragments falling into Covenant hands.<ref>[[Halo: First Strike]]</ref>.

==Timeline==

===August 30, 2552:===

*'''0447 Hours:''' The [[Remote Scanning Outpost]] ''[[Fermion]]'' detects incoming Covenant vessels. An emergency message is relayed to FLEETCOM. The Outpost then self-destructs per the Cole Protocol due to an unsecured science library and nearby Covenant forces.

*'''0500 Hours:''' A fleet of 314<ref>[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]], page 296</ref> Covenant vessels exits Slipspace on the edge of the system. 

*'''0517 Hours:''' [[Admiral Roland Freemont]] (FLEETCOM Sector One commander) issues a general order to all vessels in the [[Reach]], <includeonly></includeonly>Jericho, and [[Tantalus]] systems. All vessels and stations initiate the [[Cole Protocol]] and rush to rally point ZULU.

*'''0534 Hours:''' Covenant vessels make pinpoint [[Slipspace]] jumps attempting to destroy any incoming or outgoing human vessels before they can regroup. A [[Covenant Carrier]] targets the {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}} but is destroyed. 

*'''0545 Hours:''' The Covenant vessels begin a frontal assault. As the Covenant and Human fleets engage above Reach, it seems to be a stalemate, as Covenant ships take out UNSC ships, while the UNSC ships and [[MAC]] cannon take out an equal number. The first salvo by the UNSC vessels destroys a third of the remaining Covenant fleet. A previously unknown Covenant warship, called a ''[[Covenant Supercruiser|Supercruiser]]'' by [[Captain Keyes]], arrives and destroys several UNSC ships while outside weapons range.

*'''0558 Hours:''' Station Gamma Dockmaster [[AI]] [[Doppler]] is unable to implement the [[Cole Protocol]] on the {{UNSCShip|Circumference}}, an [[ONI]] prowler docked at [[Reach Station Gamma]], due to measures taken to maintain the secrecy of [[Operation: HYPODERMIC]]. Doppler sends priority message to FLEETCOM concerning this violation. Covenant intrusion software detects this oversight, and the Covenant deploy troops to seize the NAV database aboard the ''Circumference''.

*'''0616 Hours:''' The [[Spartan]] soldiers are dispatched from the ''Pillar of Autumn''. [[SPARTAN-117]], [[SPARTAN-058]], and [[Spartan-James]] form [[Blue Team]] and go aboard the Dock to destroy the ''Circumference'', while the remainder form [[Red Team]] and head to the surface of Reach to defend the power generators for the MAC guns. James goes MIA when a [[needler]] hits his [[T-PACK]] and propels him into space during combat. Blue Team continue through the station, rescuing [[Sergeant]] [[Johnson]], [[Private]] [[O'Brien]], [[Private Bisenti]], and [[Private]] [[Jenkins]] from [[Jackal]]s and [[Elite]]s.

*'''0620 Hours:''' The Covenant fleet retreats from the system after deploying dropships. The UNSC fleet fires on the ships, destroying many. Hundreds of boarding craft land on Reach. 

*'''0621 Hours:''' The boarding craft are landed and the armory is overrun and the Covenant fleet returns to the system. The then Covenant split their 150+ remaining ships. One fleet attacks the UNSC ships, while another takes out the MAC cannons and send in troops to land on Reach. The UNSC try to split their 50+ remaining forces to engage the Covenant, but there are too many platforms to cover and too many casualties. The Supercruiser continues to destroy UNSC ships, allowing the other ships to attack the MAC cannons. 

*'''0631 Hours:''' Red Team is shot down. They have no choice but to jump from the crashing [[Pelican]] and make a "hard landing" on the ground. Results in 4 dead and 6 seriously injured. 

*'''0637 Hours:''' The [[Spartan]] team on the ''Circumference'' mission returns to the ''Pillar of Autumn''. Only [[SPARTAN-117]] and clinically dead [[SPARTAN-058]] make it back, with [[Sergeant]] [[Johnson]], [[Private]] [[O'Brien]], [[Private Bisenti]], and [[Private]] [[Jenkins]].

*'''0647 Hours:''' The ''Pillar of Autumn'', pursued by a dozen Covenant vessels, retreats from the system, arriving at [[Installation 04]].

*'''0649 Hours:''' Red Team sets up defenses around [[ODG Facility A-331]]. 

*'''0711 Hours:''' [[SPARTAN-104]], [[SPARTAN-029]], and [[SPARTAN-087]] plant a nuclear warhead though the gravity lift in a landing Covenant cruiser, losing [[SPARTAN-029]] in the process.

*'''0720 Hours:''' The Covenant destroy [[ODG Facility A-331]] by aerial bombardment, though some [[Spartans]] escape. The surviving MAC guns are now offline and are quickly destroyed by plasma torpedos. Remaining [[UNSC]] vessels have no choice but to retreat. The Covenant warships are split into two groups: 5 ship teams that hunt down the surviving UNSC vessels and a group of ships that align themselves in formation and begin to glass [[Reach]].

==UNSC Forces==
===Space Assets===
:'''Carriers'''
:*{{UNSCShip|Musashi}}
:*{{UNSCShip|Trafalgar}}, [[UNSC Supercarrier|Supercarrier]] 
:'''Cruisers'''
:*{{UNSCShip|Dawn Under Heaven}}, {{Class|Halcyon|Cruiser|}}
:*{{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}}, {{Class|Halcyon|Cruiser|}}
:'''Destroyers'''
:*{{UNSCShip|Herodotus}}
:*{{UNSCShip|Iroquois}}
:*{{UNSCShip|Lancelot}}
:*{{UNSCShip|Minotaur}}
:*{{UNSCShip|Tharsis}}
:'''Frigates'''
:*{{UNSCShip|Euphrates}}
:*{{UNSCShip|Gettysburg}}
:*{{UNSCShip|Alliance}} Not known
:'''Prowlers'''
:*{{UNSCShip|Circumference}}
:'''Other/Unknown Type'''
:*{{UNSCShip|Basra}}
:*{{UNSCShip|Hannibal}}
:*[[Fermion|Remote Sensing Station ''Fermion'']]

===Personnel===
*[[Admiral Roland Freemont]]
*[[Admiral Whitcomb|Vice Admiral Danforth Whitcomb]]
*[[Captain Jacob Keyes]]

==Sources==
<references/>

[[Category:Covenant Victories]]