Editing Harvest campaign

{{Era|HCW}}
{{Ratings}}

{{battle
|prev        = [[Second Battle of Harvest]]
|conc        = [[Battle of Hat Yai]], [[Battle of Alpha Aurigae]], [[Battle of XI Boötis A]], [[Battle of Eridanus II]], [[Battle of the Great Bear]]
|next        = [[First Battle of Arcadia]]
|name        = Harvest Campaign
|image       = [[File:Harvest Marines.jpg|350px|]]
|conflict    = [[Human-Covenant War]]
|date        = [[2526]] to [[2531#February|February 5th, 2531]]
|place       = [[Harvest]], [[Epsilon Indi System]]
|result      = Pyrrhic UNSC victory
*Harvest severely glassed in all but its northern regions.
*[[Forerunner]] [[Relic (Structure)|Relic]] recovered.
*Tactical control of Harvest gained.
*Heavy UNSC casualties.
|side1       = [[United Nations Space Command]]
|side2       = [[Covenant Empire]]
|commanders1 =
*[[Admiral]] [[Preston Jeremiah Cole|Preston Cole]]
*[[Captain (Navy)|Captain]] [[James Gregory Cutter]]
*[[Sergeant]] [[John Forge]]
*[[Commander (UNSC)|Commander]] [[Orez]]
|commanders2 =
*[[Prophet of Regret]]
*[[Arbiter]] [[Ripa 'Moramee]]
*[[Field Master]] [[Re'gish Wamik]]
|forces1     =
*Several UNSC warships
**{{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}}
***[[Fire Team Echo]]
***[[Fire Team India]]
***[[Fire Team Lima]]
***[[Fire Team November]]
***[[Tango 14]]
***[[Tango 33]]
***[[Bravo 29]]
***[[Harvest Campaign#Personnel|Multiple]] [[SPARTANs]]
**{{UNSCShip|Prophecy}}
**[[UNSC Prowler|ONI Prowler]]
|forces2     =
*Several Covenant warships
|casual1     =
*Heavy casualties
*''UNSC Prophecy''
|casual2     =
*Heavy casualties
*At least 1 [[Covenant Destroyer|Destroyer]]
}}

{{Quote|At first it was going well. Then setback after setback, and loss after loss, made what was going to be a quick and decisive win - into five years of hell.|[[Captain (Navy)|Captain]] [[James Gregory Cutter]]}}

'''The Harvest Campaign''',<ref>'''''[[Halo 3: ODST]]''''', ''[[Veronica Dare]] in-game character profile''</ref> also known as the '''Liberation of Harvest''',<ref>'''''Halo 3: ODST''''', ''[[Edward Buck]] in-game character profile''</ref> was a five year long campaign to retake the devastated [[United Nations Space Command|UNSC]] colony world of [[Harvest]] from the [[Covenant Empire|Covenant]], beginning in [[2526]] and ending on [[2531#February|February 5th, 2531]]. Similar in the manner of [[Operation: TREBUCHET]], the Harvest Campaign was a long, drawn out operation, rather than a single battle.<ref>'''''[[Halo Wars]]''''', ''[[Five Long Years Cinematic]]''</ref><ref name="wayP">'''[[Halo Waypoint]]''' - ''"The Secret Below Harvest" video''</ref>

==Background==
===Contact with the Covenant===
{{Main|First Battle of Harvest}}

The UNSC colony world of Harvest was founded in [[2468]] by colonists aboard the {{UNSCShip|Skidbladnir}}, and was one of the farthest colonies from [[Earth]]. By [[2525]], Harvest had become the major agricultural center of the UNSC. However, during the same year, there were reports of an [[Minor Transgression|unidentified vessel]] near the planet, and all contact with Harvest ceased soon afterward. Only several thousand [[civilian]]s were evacuated, telling of a nearly unstoppable alien ship.<ref>'''''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]'''''</ref>

The [[Colonial Military Administration]] assembled a [[Battlegroup 4|battle group]] comprised of two [[UNSC Frigate|frigates]] and a [[UNSC Destroyer|destroyer]] to investigate the disturbance. The battle group found most of the surface of Harvest [[glassing|reduced to molten glass]]. A large [[Covenant Battleship|alien battleship]] was found in orbit over Harvest, and its crew transmitted a message in flawless English, calling themselves "The Covenant" and vowing the destruction of Humanity. The ship opened fire with advanced [[plasma]] weaponry and destroyed the two frigates, leaving the destroyer to escape. albeit damaged.<ref name="Gen">'''''[[Halo Wars: Genesis]]'''''</ref><ref name="Cole">'''''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe|Halo - Evolutions]]''''': ''[[The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole]]''</ref>

===UNSC counter-attack===
{{Main|Second Battle of Harvest}}

In response to this, the UNSC went to full alert, and began mobilizing the largest fleet in UNSC naval history. However, they needed an experienced commander to lead it. They turned to [[Vice Admiral]] [[Preston Jeremiah Cole]], a retired veteran of the [[Insurrection]] and a brilliant tactician. Cole reluctantly agreed, and was promoted to full [[admiral]].<ref name="Gen"/><ref name="Cole"/>

When Cole's fleet of forty ships arrived at Harvest, they found the same, colossal ship in orbit. The Covenant ship immediately opened fire and began picking off Cole's ships one by one. Both [[Magnetic Accelerator Cannon]]s and [[Shiva-class Nuclear Missile|''Shiva''-class nuclear missiles]] had no effect on the alien energy shields and the fleet was began to lose integrity. Cole had a last-minute tactical inspiration: ordering the fleet to fire all its weapons simultaneously. This ploy won the battle at the cost of thirteen UNSC vessels.<ref name="Gen"/><ref name="Cole"/>  

==Retaking Harvest==
===Early victories===
[[File:Pelican on Harvest.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Pelicans reinforcing troops on Harvest.]]
Despite Cole's pyrrhic victory, the Covenant began swarming the [[Outer Colonies]] and were determined to retake control of Harvest. They sent more ships there and engaged UNSC forces on the surface as well as in space. The Covenant were clearly looking for something on the planet, and would stop at nothing to find it. The UNSC continued to retaliate, with most engagements occurring in the ruined cities of Harvest.<ref name="HW">'''''Halo Wars''''', ''levels [[Alpha Base (Level)|Alpha Base]], [[Relic Approach]], and [[Relic Interior]]''</ref><ref name="Home">'''''[[Halo Legends]]''''': ''[[Homecoming]]''</ref><ref name="wayP"/>

Eventually, the UNSC gained the upper hand on the ground and began to slowly push the Covenant back. It was soon assumed that victory was inevitable, with UNSC forces taking back most of what was left of the planet. These victories, along with Cole's original victory, were being broadcast across the colonies, as a sign of hope to boost morale.<ref name="Gen"/><ref name="Cole"/>

However, the Covenant still held a tremendous advantage in space and won numerous engagements against the few ships the UNSC could spare, as the majority of Cole's fleet was spread across the Outer Colonies.<ref name="HW"/>

===The Covenant strike back===
[[File:Covenant Destroyers Glass Harvest.jpg|250px|thumb|right|[[Covenant Destroyer|Covenant destroyers]] glass Harvest.]]
Following the Covenant's victories in space, their vessels began to glass even more of Harvest, killing helpless UNSC forces on the surface. More Covenant ships began to arrive at Harvest and deployed additional troops on the ground, eradicating almost all human presence on the planet. UNSC forces were battered, and forced to retreat across the planet, leaving the Covenant free to scour the planet for the [[Forerunner]] [[Relic (Structure)|artifact]] they sought.<ref name="HW"/><ref name="wayP"/> One such instance of the new Covenant retaliation killed two [[SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN-II]] supersoldiers, [[Daisy-023]] and [[Ralph-303]].<ref name="Home"/>

After Covenant forces led by [[Field Master]] [[Re'gish Wamik]] discovered a Forerunner structure under the ice, the [[Prophet of Regret]] sent [[Arbiter]] [[Ripa 'Moramee]] to lead an excavation operation and retrieve any significant artifacts.

In a last ditch attempt to remove the Covenant, the [[Marathon-class Cruiser|''Marathon''-class cruiser]] {{UNSCShip|Prophecy}} was sent to Harvest. The ''Prophecy'' managed to destroy several enemy ships, and set up a small [[Alpha Base (Harvest)|forward outpost]] on the ground. However, the ship was critically damaged and became stranded, with its reactor leaking lethal radiation. An [[Office of Naval Intelligence|ONI]] [[UNSC Prowler|Prowler]] was present in-system to witness the battle, but, in order to maintain stealth, made no attempt to evacuate any survivors from the ''Prophecy'' and jumped out of the system to inform [[Fleet Command|FLEETCOM]] instead.<ref name="Gen"/>

==Final liberation of Harvest==
On January 6th, 2531, while in a UNSC staging area in interstellar space, Admiral Cole received a message from [[Commander (UNSC)|Commander]] [[Orez]] of the Office of Naval Intelligence. Orez informed Cole that the ''Prophecy'' had repelled newly-arrived Covenant warships in the [[Epsilon Indi System]], and that there were survivors to be rescued. The {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}} was chosen by Cole due to its role as a support ship rather than a warship. The ''Spirit of Fire'', along with a frigate, arrived at the system on February 4th, 2531: three days after the ''Prophecy'''s crew sent their message.<ref name="Gen"/>

===Space battle===
Upon their arrival, [[Serina]], the ''Spirit of Fire''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s onboard [[Artificial Intelligence|artificial intelligence]], analyzed the ''Prophecy'' and reported that the ship's nuclear reactor was damaged and was releasing harmful doses of radiation throughout the ship. The ''Spirit of Fire'' attempted to draw the Covenant away from the ''Prophecy'' by using its MAC and [[HAVOK Nuclear Warhead|HAVOK nuclear warheads]] upon enemy craft. While it destroyed a number of dropships, they destroyed only one Covenant capital ship, as the rest gathered behind the ''Prophecy'' to avoid being fired upon.

[[File:Phantom and Pelican.png|thumb|250px|Fire Team Lima's Pelican heading towards the ''Prophecy''.]]
[[Fire Team Lima]], commanded by [[Sergeant]] [[John Forge]], was transported to the ship, but their [[Dropship 77-Troop Carrier|Pelican]] was fired upon and made a crash landing on the ''Prophecy''. The landing resulted in the death of [[Chris (Marine)|a Marine]] and forced the survivors to use torches to burn their way into the ''Prophecy''. The team split up, with Forge heading for the NAV room and the rest of Fire Team Lima searching for survivors. Serina noted to Forge that the ship's AI, "[[FitzGibbon]]", may act "peculiar" due to elevated radiation levels. Forge was initially denied access to the navigation room by FitzGibbon due to multiple counts of misconduct in the former's service record. After Forge reminded the AI of the Covenant boarders and stated that his actions were in compliance with the [[United Nations Space Command Emergency Priority Order 098831A-1|Cole Protocol]], FitzGibbon allowed the sergeant entrance into the navigation room to purge the data. FitzGibbon then activated a three-minute self destruct timer and informed Forge that his team was in Bay 2. Upon his arrival at Bay 2, the team quickly evacuated with some of the ''Prophecy'''s crew. After arriving back on the ''Spirit of Fire'', the survivors were taken to the Medical Bay, where Serina informed Forge that the radiation poisoning that the crew sustained was too severe and that they would certainly die.

After the threat in space was destroyed, the Office of Naval Intelligence kidnapped a civilian scientist, [[Ellen Anders]]. ONI wanted her to decipher a Covenant message written in [[List of Forerunner Symbols|Forerunner glyphs]]. Anders was then sent to the ''Spirit of Fire'' via the {{UNSCShip|Last Gleaming}}. Upon her investigation, she concluded that the message meant that "treasure"  was to be found, but was hidden. Shortly thereafter, Anders scanned the northern polar region of Harvest, concluding that there was a structure under the ice.<ref name="Gen"/>

===Ground battle===
[[File:Siege of Alpha Base.png|250px|thumb|right|Alpha Base under attack.]]
During the battle, [[Alpha Base (Harvest)|Alpha Base]] served as a staging point for Forge's reconnaissance patrol near the Forerunner structure in the northern polar region. In the early stages of the ground battle, Anders redirected a squadron of [[AV-14 Attack VTOL|AV-14 Hornets]] on their way to [[Rally Point Baker]] near Alpha Base to investigate activity readings on [[Quadrant 4]], where they discovered a significant concentration of Covenant forces. Sergeant Forge was sent to investigate further, but the Covenant had already moved on. During this time, Alpha Base was destroyed and was occupied by the Covenant while the UNSC forces in the area were scattered.

As a response, the ''Spirit of Fire'' sent UNSC reinforcements to retake the Alpha Base. Forge managed to rally survivors and recapture the area, destroying the Covenant presence with assistance from [[Shortsword-class Bomber|Shortsword bombers]]. The Marine forces then reestablished the base, from which Forge led an assault to capture [[Relic (Structure)|the Forerunner relic]] which had been excavated by the Covenant. As the UNSC forces approached the structure, the [[Prophet of Regret]] ordered the Arbiter to destroy the it in order to prevent it from falling into enemy hands. However, the UNSC managed to destroy the detonator in time, and push into the interior of the structure.

Upon capturing the structure, Anders opened a [[Holography|holographic]] map of nearby star systems. Several [[Sangheili]] disengaged their [[Active Camouflage|active camoflauge]] and attacked Forge's group. When Forge and his team were pinned down, two [[Grizzly|Grizzly tanks]] were deployed from the ''Spirit of Fire'' to help them escape. The Grizzly tanks cleared a path and led Forge and Professor Anders to waiting Pelican dropships to return to the ''Spirit of Fire'', while reinforcements from Alpha Base held off the Covenant.<ref name="HW"/>

==Aftermath==
The information gained by the Covenant from the Forerunner structure led them to the UNSC colony on [[Arcadia]]. Anders was drawn to the same planet after examining the artifact. The Covenant [[First Battle of Arcadia|attacked]] Arcadia on February 9th, 2531, closely followed by the ''Spirit of Fire''.

Overall, the entire campaign was one of the UNSC's earliest and greatest victories. Despite sustaining heavy casualties, the UNSC had managed to retake Harvest, which, although devastated, held important strategic value. The victory also boosted morale immensely across the colonies, proving that the Covenant were not invincible and could be beaten. However, as the Covenant began to destroy the Outer Colonies and move in on the [[Inner Colonies]], Harvest lost its strategic value, and the UNSC began pulling back to protect more important worlds such as [[Reach]] and [[Earth]].<ref name="HW"/>

==Participants==
===Personnel===
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
'''United Nations Space Command'''
*[[Admiral]] [[Preston Jeremiah Cole]]
*[[Captain (Navy)|Captain]] [[James Gregory Cutter]]
*[[Captain (Navy)|Captain]] [[Jenkins (Captain)|Jenkins]]
*[[Sergeant]] [[John Forge]]
*[[Sergeant]] [[Hauser]]
*[[Chris (Marine)|Chris]]
*[[Edward Buck]]
*[[Ellen Anders]]
*[[Serina]]
*[[FitzGibbon]]
*[[Daisy-023]]
*[[Keiichi-047]]
*[[John-117]]<ref>'''''Halo Legends''''': ''Homecoming'' developer commentary - [[Frank O'Connor]] confirms that John appears at the end of the episode.</ref>
*[[Ralph-303]]
*[[Unnamed Spartan (Harvest)|Unnamed Spartan]]
*[[Helena Roman]]
*[[Mac (Homecoming)|Mac]]
{{col-2}}
'''Covenant Empire'''
*[[Prophet of Regret]]
*[[Minister of Penance]]
*[[Arbiter]] [[Ripa 'Moramee]]
*[[Field Master]] [[Re'gish Wamik]]
*[[Weapons Master]] [[Sanj'ik]]
*[['Crolunee]]
*[[Je'ddak Zule]]
*[[Ustaf 'Nbekee]]
*[[Prisoner 0005849784A]]
{{col-end}}

==Sources==
<references/>

{{Human-Covenant War}}
[[Category:UNSC Victories]]
[[Category:Battles of the Human-Covenant War]]