Battle at Szurdok Ridge

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Template:Battle The Battle of Viery was a major engagement between the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant Empire during the Fall of Reach in August 2552. ^[1]

Overview

Spartan Noble Team discovered a large Covenant strike force the night prior, and the UNSC responded with a massive ground and air based counter attack the following morning.^[1] The overall goal of the UNSC was to blitz the Covenant strike force before the rest of the Covenant Fleet arrived, preventing any solid Covenant foot hold on Reach.

The main target for the UNSC counter attack was to take out the Covenant Spires located along the valley ridge. It is important to note that the UNSC did not know what the main purpose of the spires were upon attacking. Noble Team led the attack on Spire One, deactivating the EMP shield. This allowed the UNSC air support to destroy Spire One.^[1]

The battle

A massive UNSC force stormed the Viery plains towards the Covenant-occupied site, attempting to reclaim the land and eliminate all Covenant presence from Reach. Spartan Noble Team assisted the UNSC assault, with Six and Kat-B320 via Warthog while Jorge-052 and Carter-A259 provided support from their Falcon.

The assault was soon confronted by heavy Covenant units, including three Scarabs, which officially initiated the Battle of Viery. Six and Kat avoided the onslaught by proceeding to their objective via bridge access, which was destroyed by Covenant mortars. Successfully making to the other side despite both warthogs being lost, the two Spartans took out the nearby turret emplacement and advanced to the nearby Covenant Anti-Aircraft Gun using a Rocket Warthog delivered by air support. They destroyed the AA gun, clearing the skies for three Longswords that made a bombing run on the main Covenant force. This attack destroyed the Scarabs, letting the UNSC Scorpions and Warthogs on the plains advance upon the rest of the Covenant force. The Frigates UNSC Grafton and UNSC Saratoga also moved in on the battlefield, supporting ground units with their autocannons. A Pelican placed a portable bridge to replace a destroyed one near the AA gun, allowing Six and Kat to progress further towards the Covenant lines.

Six and Kat joined a group of Troopers assaulting a Covenant outpost located in the BXR Mining facility. They cleared the outpost and killed the Zealot in command of it. The squad then destroyed a second AA gun, allowing UNSC Falcons to beat the Covenant Banshees for air superiority and letting the Frigates advance closer to the Spires. Jorge picked up Six in a falcon to fly him to the nearby Spire through a Covenant-fortified canyon. The main UNSC ground force had also advanced to the plain next to the canyon, and Six supported them by using the Falcon's grenade launcher turrets. With no other alternatives of entering the Spire site, the Falcon ran through the electromagnetic shields emitted by the Spire structure and crashlanded, killing everyone but Jorge and Noble Six. The pair continued fighting their way into the structure, with Six managing to deactivate the structure's shielding system. Cleared of defenses, the UNSC called in a MAC strike executed by the UNSC Grafton.

The spire's purpose was soon realized as a cloaking device for a Covenant Supercarrier in low orbit above Reach. Upon being discovered, the Covenant Supercarrier proceeded to obliterate the attacking UNSC forces, destroying the UNSC heavy frigate, Grafton with one of its energy projectors, and forcing Noble Team to retreat from the battlefield, the Supercarrier then retreated into Covenant held space in orbit above Reach.