Editing Second Battle of Mombasa

{{Era|HCW}}
{{Newcontent}}
{{battle
|prev=
|conc=[[Battle of Earth]]
|next=
|name= Second Battle of Mombasa
|image= [[File:Time to Believe.jpg|300px]]
|conflict=[[Human-Covenant War]]
|date=November 2552 (seven days)
|place=[[Mombasa]], [[Kenya]], [[Earth]]
|result= Apparent UNSC victory
|side1= [[United Nations Space Command]]
|side2= [[Covenant]]
|commanders1=Unknown
|commanders2=Unidentified [[Jiralhanae Chieftain]]
|forces1= *[[UNSC Marine Corps]]
**[[77th Marine Regiment]]
**[[506th Tank Regiment]]
|forces2= *Ground forces
**[[Jiralhanae]]
**[[Mgalekgolo]]
**[[Unggoy]]
**[[Kig-Yar]]
|casual1=Unknown, probably heavy
|casual2=Unknown, probably heavy
}}

The '''Second Battle of Mombasa''' was a bloody [[seven]]-day engagement between the [[United Nations Space Command]] and the [[Covenant]] in the ruins of the city of [[New Mombasa]], [[Kenya]], on [[Earth]] in [[2552#November|November 2552]]. It took place in the weeks immediately after the [[Prophet of Regret]]'s retreat to [[Halo Array|Halo]] [[Installation 05]], lasting until [[SPARTAN-II program|Spartan]] [[John 117]]'s return to Earth aboard the [[Prophet of Truth]]'s [[Forerunner Dreadnought]]. The battle is depicted by the [[John-117 Monument]] in the [[Museum of Humanity]], completed in [[2610]].<ref name="mombasa">[http://halo3.com/believe/test/shell.html '''Halo 3.com:''' ''Believe'']</ref>

==Background==
On [[2552#October|October 20, 2552]], the [[Prophet of Regret]], having suffered heavy casualties during [[Fleet of Sacred Consecration|his forces]]' invasion of [[Mombasa]], entered [[Slipstream space|slipspace]] from within the city, unleashing a powerful explosion that caused great damage - heavy enough to sever the city's [[Mombasa Tether|space tether]], causing its catastrophic collapse onto the surrounding savanna. The remaining Covenant and UNSC ground forces surged forward into the city to secure whatever tactical advantage the ruins might have held. Elements from the [[77th Marine Regiment]] and the [[506th Tank Regiment]] battled furiously for the ruins, with snipers from both sides taking a heavy toll upon the enemy. After seven days of battle, the Marines were nearly beaten; however, John-117's arrival turned the tide in the UNSC's favor.

==Timeline==
===Battle for the landing zone===
The battle began on the outskirts of New Mombasa, where UNSC and Covenant forces engaged each other in a bitter fight for control of a landing zone. The UNSC never gained full control of it, always being pushed back by the Covenant whenever they seemed to secure it and vice versa.

===The northern bridge falls===
Despite a valiant defense by the Marines, they had no means to hold the bridge to the north. With [[Jiralhanae]] forces surging over it and hitting the Marines' vulnerable flanks, there was only one option remaining. At 14:00, the order came through to destroy the bridge, thus forcing the enemy down into the valley where UNSC trenches lay to slaughter the enemy with fire from elevated positions. However, this was not the case as the Covenant forces had already begun to surge down the trenches with the destruction of the bridge.

===The hill===
The defense of the hill was the most ferocious and bloody engagement of the battle; two thirds of the defending UNSC forces became casualties at this bottleneck. After the second bridge was destroyed, the trenches at the foot of the hill, despite a last-ditch defensive measure, came under heavy attack, garnering heavy Marine casualties.

===Snipers===
Snipers from both sides battled for control, with UNSC snipers fighting on one end of the destroyed southern bridge and Covenant [[Kig-Yar Sniper]]s halting Marines outside the landing zone before being routed by UNSC infantry and tanks.

===The 506th arrive===
Tasked with securing a road to the southern bridge span, the 506th Tank Regiment plowed forward, taking heavy casualties. Though outnumbered, they took their objective, leaving a path for the second wave of Marine infantry to follow.

===John-117's gambit===
At the top of the "hill" bottleneck, SPARTAN John-117 launched a gambit to retake the hill for the UNSC forces, by allowing himself to be captured by Jiralhanae forces there. As he was being held aloft by the [[Jiralhanae Chieftain]] in command of the attacking forces, John ignited a [[Type-1 Antipersonnel Grenade|plasma grenade]]. This presumably killed the chieftain, but also led to the belief that the Spartan had been killed; decades later, Marine survivors of the battle maintained that John had been killed.

==Notable UNSC combatants==
The following are UNSC servicemen who are featured notably in the John-117 Monument. Some of the survivors of the battle were interviewed during the filming of the ''[[Believe]]'' documentary, which details the battle and the sacrifice of John-117.
*'''[[Pawel Czernek]]'''- Now-Major Pawel Czernek was active for thirty years in the UNSC from [[2551]] to [[2581]]. By [[2610]] he is one of the few living survivors of the battle and [[Museum of Humanity]]. In the ''Believe'' documentary, he related his role in the battle, and that of John-117, while examining a diorama of the battle, part of which depicts his story.<ref name="Museum">[[Museum]]</ref>
*'''[[Ian Callahan]]'''- Callahan was captured by Kig-Yar during the battle. As he was about to be killed, he was rescued by  fellow Marine whose face he never saw.<ref name="Museum"/>
*'''[[James Dessen]]'''- Corporal James Dessen was posthumously awarded the [[UNSC Legion of Honor]] for his extraordinary bravery during the battle.<ref name="mombasa"/>
*'''[[Thomas P. Porter]]'''- Porter served as [[M808B Scorpion]] tank driver during the battle. In the ''Believe'' documentary, he discussed the experience of driving a tank during combat.<ref name="mombasa"/>
*'''[[Thomas Chang]]'''- Sergeant Chang was a veteran of numerous battles with the Covenant, including the [[Battle of Installation 04]], and successfully completed the task of securing a forward headquarters during the battle. He was killed during a Covenant air assault.<ref name="mombasa"/>   
*'''[[Jackson Law]]'''- Law was the sole survivor of a [[M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle|Warthog]] patrol during the battle. He sustained serious injuries when his Warthog was destroyed by Covenant plasma bombardment, which he describe in the documentary.<ref name="mombasa"/>   
*'''[[Sian Wong]]'''- Wong served as a sniper during the battle. Sustained severe burn injuries from a retaliatory [[Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft|Banshee]] strike, which he discussed in the documentary.<ref name="mombasa"/>   
*'''[[Russel Tinnier]]'''- Tinnier was assigned to the destroy the bridge, which proved critical in the early stages of the battle. He described the experience in ''Believe''.<ref name="mombasa"/>
*'''[[Thomas C. Meyer]]'''- Meyer used his rocket launcher to destroy the bridge alongside Tinnier. He was also interviewed for the documentary.<ref name="mombasa"/>   
*'''[[Emmanuel Lomax|Emmanuel "Emmet" Lomax]]'''- "Emmet" Lomax encountered SPARTAN John-117 after receiving four hours of sleep in a derelict building. He described the experience for the documentary.<ref name="mombasa"/>
*'''[[Caio Zanato]]'''- Zanato was the sole survivor of his squad; He was then promoted to the rank of [[Private First Class]], though he stated, ''"I got the job because I was the only one in my squad still alive."'' He was widely renowned for his driving ability.<ref name="mombasa"/>
*'''[[Niraj Shah]]''' - Shah was a sniper during the battle on the hill. During the filming of the ''Believe'' documentary, he guided the film crew around the spot where John-117 was allegedly killed.<ref name="mombasa"/>

==Production notes==
The Second Battle of Mombasa was portrayed in the ''[[Believe]]'' advertising campaign created by [[Microsoft Studios]] to promote ''Halo 3''. The game and subsequent media establish that John-117 never returned to Mombasa; instead, the distant city of [[Voi]] (around 140 kilometers northwest) serves as the primary battleground for control of [[the Portal]]. The fate of New Mombasa as depicted in the diorama was also later contradicted: ''Halo 3: ODST'' reveals that the city sustained rather minor damage during Regret's escape and was glassed hours later, and that a protracted battle never occurred in the city's ruins. However, the [[Museum of Humanity]] has since been canonized in the ''[[Halo: Reach Limited Edition|Limited]]'' and ''[[Halo: Reach Legendary Edition|Legendary Editions]]'' of ''[[Halo: Reach]]''. This may imply that the Second Battle of Mombasa was made as a coverup story by the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] to hide the discovy of the [[Portal at Voi]], and consecutive [[Battle of Installation 00]] from the civilians.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Halo3 panoramaA 001-1-.jpg|Marine fire teams defeat Covenant forces outside the landing zone.
File:Halo3 diorama 1352-1-.jpg|The Covenant advance is halted by the destruction of the northern bridge.
File:Halo3 panoramaC 001-1-.jpg|Marines fall under the relentless advance of the Covenant.
File:Halo3 diorama 0749-2-.jpg|The snipers of the 77th Marines pick off Covenant soldiers from their elevated position.
File:Halo3 panoramaB 006-1-.jpg|The 506th Tank Regiment arrives, relieving the beleaguered UNSC forces.
File:Halo3 panoramaD 001-1-.jpg|John-117 is triumphantly held aloft the Jiralhanae Chieftain
File:Halo3 panoramaA 096.jpg|The Marines of the 77th Regiment engage Jiralhanae forces.
</gallery>

==Sources==
<references/>

{{Human-Covenant War}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mombasa}}