Defense of Mars

Previous:	Battle of Installation 05; Fall of High Charity; Battle for the Control Room;
Concurrent:	Battle for Earth
Next:	Battle of Cleveland, Battle of Sector Six, Scramble onboard Forerunner Dreadnought
Battle of Mare Erythraeum
	File:Fleet of Furious Redemption.PNG
Conflict:	Human-Covenant War
Date:	Late October through November, 2552
Location:	Mare Erythraeum, Mars, Sol system
Outcome:	Covenant victory; UNSC forces on Mars crushed; Colonel Ackerson captured;
Details
Belligerents
United Nations Space Command	Covenant
Commanders
Colonel James Ackerson	Jiralhanae Shipmaster Lepidus
Strength
UNSC Army forces;	Fleet of Furious Redemption Triumphant Declaration; ;
Casualties
Unknown - presumably heavy	Unknown

The Battle of Mare Erythraeum was an engagement of the Human-Covenant War in late 2552 where UNSC Army forces led by Colonel James Ackerson fought the Covenant on Mare Erythraeum on the surface of Mars. It occurred simultaneously with the Covenant's prolonged invasion of Earth and resulted in a Covenant victory. After the UNSC's eventual defeat, the Covenant began to concentrate more of their forces on Earth,^[1] although Ackerson's work in this battle helped buy UNSC ground forces on Earth precious time.^[2] During or after the engagement, Colonel Ackerson was taken prisoner and taken aboard the CCS-class battlecruiser Triumphant Declaration.^[3]

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