Editing Siege of New Alexandria

{{Era|HCW}}
{{Ratings}}
{{battle
|prev = [[Battle of Viery]]<br/>[[Operation: UPPER CUT]]
|conc = [[Fall of Reach]]
|next = [[Battle of Aszod]]
|name = Siege of New Alexandria
|image = [[Image: HaloReach - Glassing.jpg|300px]]
|conflict = [[Human-Covenant War]]
|date = [[2552#August|August 18th - 23rd, 2552]]
|place = [[New Alexandria]], [[Eposz]], [[Reach]]
|result = ;Covenant strategic victory
*New Alexandria glassed
*Catherine-B320 killed
|side1 = [[United Nations Space Command]]
|side2 = [[Covenant Empire]]
|commanders1 = *[[Colonel]] [[Urban Holland]]
*[[Commander]] [[Carter-A259|Carter-A259]]
*[[Lieutenant Commander]] [[Catherine-B320]]†
*[[Lieutenant]] [[SPARTAN-B312]]
*[[Sergeant Major]] [[Duvall]]
|commanders2 = [[Sangheili Field Marshall|Unidentified Field Marshall]]
|forces1 = *[[UNSC Army]]
*[[UNSC Marine Corps]]
**[[Orbital Drop Shock Trooper]]s
***[[Bullfrogs]]
***[[105th Shock Division]]
***[[11th Marine Force Reconnaissance/ODST]]
*[[UNSC Navy]]
:*{{UNSCship|Stalwart Dawn}}
|forces2 = *[[Covenant Navy]]
**Four [[Covenant corvette|corvette]]s
**Two [[CCS-Class Battlecruiser]]s
*[[Covenant Army]]
|casual1 = *Catherine-B320
*Presumably heavy Army and ODST casualties
*Heavy civilian casualties
|casual2 = *Unknown, likely heavy
*At least one [[Covenant Corvette]] damaged
}}

{{Quote|I know we're losing. I want to know if we've lost.|[[Catherine-B320]]<ref name="New Alexandria">''Halo: Reach''', level ''[[New Alexandria (level)|New Alexandria]]''</ref>}}

The '''Siege of New Alexandria''' was a major engagement between the [[United Nations Space Command]] and the [[Covenant Empire|Covenant]] within the city of [[New Alexandria]] on [[Reach]] that occurred from [[2552#August|August 18th to August 23rd, 2552]]. Major evacuations of civilians took place during the battle. The raid ended with the [[glassing]] of the city.  At least 5,000 civilians and soldiers were successfully evacuated out of the city; however, hundreds more were killed as they tried to escape.<ref name="Exodus">'''Halo: Reach''', level ''[[Exodus]]''</ref><ref name="New Alexandria"/>

== Battle ==
Though the supercarrier ''[[Long Night of Solace]]'' had been destroyed by UNSC forces, the arrival of Covenant reinforcements in the [[Epsilon Eridani System]] ensured the initiative remained with the Covenant. On August 18, they dispatched a large [[Jiralhanae]]-led raiding force to the city of New Alexandria. Heavy fighting raged on the ground and many civilians were killed. Furthermore, the fighting in orbit had scattered the [[Epsilon Eridani Fleet]] and allowed the Covenant to support the ground operation in New Alexandria with naval forces.<ref name="Exodus"/>

===Evacuation effort===
[[File:Noble Six City.jpg|thumb|left|200px|SPARTAN-B312 arrives at New Alexandria.]]
By August 23, the situation in New Alexandria had reached crisis point. The battle had raged for five days, as the human defenders fought fiercely against the Covenant advance. However, the fight in orbit was going badly, and the Covenant managed to punch through the UNSC's orbital line and support the assault on New Alexandria with three corvettes, which dominated the sky over the city, turning the battle in the Covenant's favor. On the morning of August 23rd, [[SPARTAN-B312]] entered the city after surviving the destruction of ''Long Night of Solace''. The UNSC was attempting to evacuate civilians from Traxus Tower to the starport, but Covenant forces had blocked their efforts. UNSC troopers escorting a group of civilians were engaged by Jiralhanae forces when Noble Six intervened. Led by the Spartan, the troopers managed to overcome the Covenant opposition to secure an elevator leading to the cargo port and Traxus Tower. Before Noble Six could arrive, however, one of the Corvettes demolished the tower. A local executive landing pad provided the only accessible evacuation point, but the structure of the city made it difficult to reach. [[Orbital Drop Shock Trooper|ODST]] specialists, the "[[Bullfrogs]]", equipped with jet packs, were preparing to secure the executive landing pad when Noble Six arrived at the cargo port. The ODSTs accepted the help of the Spartan immediately, and the group began battling their way across the city. The elite team cut their way through the Covenant forces in possession of the landing pad and cleared the way for Pelicans to pick up evacuating civilians. 

A Falcon picked up Noble Six, and took off toward New Alexandria's harbor, with Noble Six providing fire support for engaged UNSC ground forces as they flew. Civilian evacuations were directed to the [[New Alexandria Starport]], where several large [[Unnamed civilian transport craft|civilian transports]] were conducting a large scale evacuation of 5,000 civilians. The Covenant, however, anticipated the move and deployed ground forces to capture the starport while a corvette took position overhead. With the [[UNSC frigate]] ''[[UNSC Stalwart Dawn|Stalwart Dawn]]'' unable to provide air support, one panicked transport pilot lifted off to avoid the Covenant ground troops, and the hovering corvette immediately shot the defenseless ship down. Drastic action was needed. If the UNSC forces could not drive off the corvette, the Covenant ground forces would eventually breach the starport landing bay and slaughter the refugees. If they ordered the transports to attempt escape, the corvette would simply destroy them. The UNSC's only chance of driving off the Covenant warship were two anti-aircraft missile batteries in Caracalla Park, but Covenant troops had captured the area. SPARTAN-B312 was deployed at the park to lead a counterattack.

[[Sergeant Major]] [[Duvall]], in charge of the evacuation efforts at the starport and the commander of troops at Caracalla park, requested that SPARTAN-B312 reactivate both missile batteries in [[Caracalla Park]]. With the missiles, Duvall hoped to distract the corvette for long enough so that the civilian transports could slip past and escape the city. The batteries were reactivated successfully, and the barrage of missiles badly damaged the corvette and forced it to retreat. With this threat removed, the transports launched immediately resulting in thousands of civilians escaping the besieged city.<ref name="Exodus"/>

===Nightfall===
{{quote|Look at this place. Used to be the crown jewel...not anymore.|Jun-A266 on the city's destruction<ref name="New Alexandria"/>}}
By nightfall on August 23rd, the situation had deteriorated further for the UNSC forces, as the Covenant had placed [[Covenant communications jammer|communication jammers]] on numerous buildings throughout the city, severing communications between the surviving UNSC troops and HIGHCOM. SPARTAN-B312, having rejoined [[Noble Team]], was tasked with destroying the jammers in spite of the now-overwhelming Covenant air superiority. Noble Six eliminated all three jammers and aided other UNSC troops trapped in the ruined city. However, two [[CCS-class Battlecruiser]]s arrived during this time and began glassing sections of the city. With the loss of the city now imminent, SPARTAN-B312 assisted in the final evacuation of the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]]'s headquarters, the [[Olympic Tower]], by providing air support against numerous anti-aircraft [[Shade]] turrets, and rejoined Noble Team inside the building. The team had a temporary reprieve while [[Catherine-B320]] attempted to link to SATCOM, and Jun-A266 surveyed the city. As discussion moved from [[Jorge-052]]'s sacrifice during UPPER CUT to the deteriorating situation on Reach, [[Colonel]] [[Urban Holland]] hailed the team on an open channel. Carter-A259, although risking detection by Covenant, answered the hail and received Holland's orders. As the two conversed, Jun-A266 observed Covenant vehicles vacating the area around the tower, alarming Emile-A239, who observed that the Covenant rarely retreated for no good reason. Suddenly, a massive radiation flare swept through the area, and resulting atomic excitement scrambled the communications signal between Carter and Holland. The reason for the Covenant ground evacuation and the radiation flare was made clear seconds later: one of the battlecruisers had moved into position over the area and opened fire, beginning to glass the sector. 

[[File:HaloReach - Fallen.png|thumb|right|250px|The ruins of New Alexandria three days after the city's destruction.]]
Noble Team fled for the elevators, hoping to escape to a fallout bunker underneath the building, while Carter informed the Spartans that they were being redeployed to [[Sword Base]] for a torch and burn operation. The elevator carrying Jun-A266, Carter-A259, and Emile-A239 arrived first and the three Spartans sprinted across an open area to get to the bunker. The elevator carrying [[Catherine-B320]] and SPARTAN-B312 arrived seconds later. As they moved to join the first three, a [[Sangheili]] sniper in a Phantom shot Catherine-B320 in the back of the head with a needle rifle. The round punched straight through helmet and head, exiting through her visor and killing her instantly. Noble Six took the fallen Spartan's pistol and returned fire, soon joined by the other three Spartans, but the Phantom simply flew off, and Noble Six dragged Kat's lifeless body into the fallout shelter as the doors sealed. Three days later, the survivors emerged from the bunker into the ruins of the blasted city, and were extracted by Pelican.<ref name="New Alexandria"/>

==UNSC forces==
===Military units===
====Army====
*[[1 Alpha]]
*[[4 Charlie]]
*[[7 Delta]]
*[[7 Charlie]]
*[[Evacuation Team 7]]
*[[Kilo 26]]
*[[Kilo 40]]
*[[Romeo Company]]
*[[Yankee 9]]

====Marine Corps====
*[[Bullfrogs]]
*[[105th Shock Division]]

====Airborne assets====
*{{UNSCShip|Stalwart Dawn}}
*[[Delta 15]] (Destroyed)
*[[6 Echo 2]] (Destroyed)
*[[7 Echo 3]]

===Personnel===
====Army====
*[[SPARTAN-B312]]
*[[Evacuation Dispatch]]
*[[Echo Dispatch]]
*[[Kilo Dispatch]]
*[[Duvall|Sergeant Major Duvall]]

====Marine Corps====
*[[Pete Stacker|Gunnery Sergeant Pete Stacker]]
*[[Edward Buck|Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck]]

====Navy====
*[[Carter-A259|SPARTAN-A259]]
*[[Catherine-B320|SPARTAN-B320]]

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo: Reach]]'' {{1st}}

==Sources==
<references/>

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