Editing Battle of Jericho VII

{{Status|Canon}}
{{Battle infobox
|name=Battle of Jericho VII
|image=
|prev=*[[Operation: SMOKING ACES]] <small>([[Insurrection]]) </small>
*[[Battle of Vodin]]
|conc=
|next=[[Battle of Charybdis IX]]
|conflict=[[Human-Covenant War]]
|date=[[2532]]{{Ref/Novel|Id=PRO|Halo: The Fall of Reach|Chapter=Prologue}}–[[2535|February 12, 2535]]
|place=[[Jericho VII]], [[Lambda Serpentis system]]
|result='''Covenant victory'''
*Jericho VII [[Glassing|glassed]] 
*Heavy Covenant ground casualties
|side1={{Icon|UNSC HCW}} [[United Nations Space Command]]
|side2={{Icon|Covenant FB}} [[Covenant]]
|commanders1=*[[Captain]] [[De Blanc]]
*[[Master Chief Petty Officer]] [[John-117]]
|commanders2=
|forces1=*Dozens of vessels
**2 [[UNSC carrier|carriers]]{{Ref/Novel|Id=for7|[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]|Page=7|Quote=In orbit, there were dozens of frigates, destroyers, and two massive carriers.}}
**Dozens of [[UNSC destroyer|destroyer]]s{{Ref/Reuse|for7}}
***{{UNSCShip|Resolute}}
**Dozens of [[UNSC frigate|frigate]]s{{Ref/Reuse|for7}}
*Platoon of [[SPARTAN-II program|Spartans]]
*[[UNSC Marine Corps]]
**[[105th Drop Jet Platoon]]
**Three divisions{{Ref/Novel|Halo: The Fall of Reach|Page=7|Quote=As predicted, the Spartans of Red, Blue, and Green teams—augmenting three divisions of battle-hardened UNSC Marines—had stalled a Covenant ground advance.}}
|forces2= *36 Covenant vessels{{Ref/Novel|Halo: The Fall of Reach|Page=8|Quote=Three dozen Covenant ships—big ones, destroyers and cruisers—winked into view in the system.}}
**[[Covenant destroyer]]s
**[[Covenant cruiser]]s
*[[Type-26 Banshee]]s
*{{Pattern|Mamua'uda|Shade}}s
*[[Unggoy]]
*[[Ik'novus]]{{Ref/Reuse|Target10}}
|casual1=
*Minor ground losses
**[[105th Drop Jet Platoon]]
*Heavy space losses
|casual2=
*Heavy ground losses
*Moderate space losses
}}
{{Quote|Four of [[SPARTAN-II program|us]] and a thousand of [[Unggoy|them]]? Piss poor odds for the little guys.|[[Kelly-087]]}}

The '''Battle of Jericho VII''' was an engagement fought between the [[United Nations Space Command]] and the [[Covenant]] between [[2532]]{{Ref/Reuse|PRO}} and [[2535|February 12, 2535]] on the human colony of [[Jericho VII]].

==Battle==
Covenant forces first attacked the planet in 2532, beginning a three year long battle.{{Ref/Reuse|PRO}} Some civilians, including orphans who would volunteer for the [[SPARTAN-III program]], managed to escape during that time.{{Ref/Reuse|PRO}} At some point during the battle, [[Ik'novus]] was part of a force that decimated several cities on the planet.{{Ref/Game|Id=Target10|HINF|[[High Value Target]] dossier, [[Ik'novus]]}}

===Operation: FALLEN WALLS===
Operation: FALLEN WALLS began on February 9, 2535.{{Ref/Book|Id=HOSFM|[[Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual]]|Page=82}} On the ground, [[Blue Team]] members: [[John-117|Blue-One]], [[Kelly-087|Two]], Three, Four, and Five massacred the Covenant troops. Blue Team's mission was to draw out the Covenant rear guard, so [[Red Team]] could slip behind their lines and plant a [[HAVOK Tactical Nuclear Weapon|HAVOK tactical nuke]], hoping to destroy the next Covenant ship that landed and dropped its [[energy shielding|shields]].{{Ref/Novel|Halo: The Fall of Reach|Page=2}} These few Spartans were able to kill hundreds of [[Unggoy]] and destroy [[Shade]] turrets with little difficulty, as well using the [[Theta Maneuver]] to neutralize their [[Type-26 Banshee]] air support, by using the [[fougasse]]s they had planted in case the Unggoy got out of hand.{{Ref/Reuse|PRO}} Meanwhile, [[Green Team]] was preventing a Covenant ground force advance on the planet.{{Ref/Book|[[Halo Encyclopedia (2011 edition)]]|Page=113}}

The three [[division]]s of the [[UNSC Marine Corps]] on the planet,{{Ref/Reuse|for7}} operating elsewhere, suffered minor casualties and easily accomplished their goals as well. However, the [[105th Drop Jet Platoon]] was slaughtered by a massive force of Unggoy. Blue Team swept through the area and avenged the platoon by killing hundreds of the Unggoy involved in that operation. All of the Spartan teams accomplished their missions and returned safely to the remaining fleet in a [[D77-TC Pelican|Pelican dropship]].{{Ref/Novel|Halo: The Fall of Reach|Page=20 (2010 edition)}}

Unfortunately, the UNSC fleet lost control of the space around Jericho VII after the three day battle with the [[Covenant fleet]]. However, [[De Blanc|Captain De Blanc]] was able to evacuate the Spartans aboard {{UNSCShip|Resolute}} before the enemy fleet began its [[glassing]] of the planet. Spartan-117 requested to watch the planet being glassed. He observed the assault for nearly an hour as Jericho VII was destroyed.{{Ref/Novel|Halo: The Fall of Reach|Page=22-23 (2010 edition)}} This would be the last time the UNSC would attempt to hold a colony while risking Spartans after losing orbital superiority.{{Ref/Reuse|HOSFM}}

==Aftermath==
The Battle of Jericho VII was notably the last attempt by the UNSC to hold colonies and deploy Spartans after losing orbital superiority.{{Ref/Reuse|HOSFM}}

Intelligence gained from the battle was utilized by [[Beweglichkeitsrüstungsysteme|Mobile Armament Systems]] in the creation of the [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor/C variant|CQB variant]] of the MJOLNIR armor.{{Ref/Book|[[Halo: The Essential Visual Guide]]|Page=39}} On [[2540|July 12, 2540]], five years after the battle, [[Operation: GUARDIAN LANCE]] was carried out to recover several pieces of Covenant equipment from the glasslands of the world. These specimens were later brought to [[SWORD Base]] on [[Reach]].{{Ref/Map|[[Halo: Reach]]|[[Sword Base]]}}

Some of the future [[SPARTAN-III]]s of [[SPARTAN-III Alpha Company|Alpha Company]] and Beta Company were orphaned in the battle.{{Ref/Novel|[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]|Page=70}} [[Jameson Locke]], a future [[SPARTAN-IV]] and an [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] agent, was also orphaned during this battle. He evacuated from Jericho VII only minutes before the Covenant glassed the planet.{{Ref/Site|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/characters/jameson-locke|SiteName=Halo Waypoint|PageName=Jameson Locke|D=14|M=05|Y=2022}}

==Non-canon and dubious canon appearances==
===Halo Interactive Strategy Game===
{{Main|Halo Interactive Strategy Game}}
{{Expand-section}}

===Silver Timeline===
{{Main|Silver Timeline}}
Operation: FALLEN WALLS took place in the Silver Timeline.{{Ref/Site|Id=Halsey's Computer|URL=https://halotheseries.tv/|Site=Halo: The Series|Page=Dr. Catherine Halsey's Computer|D=25|M=3|Y=2022|LocalArchive=Dr. Catherine Halsey's Computer‎}}

==Trivia==
*The conflict was the first battle to be depicted in the ''Halo'' series.
*Operation: FALLEN WALLS, the UNSC operation on Jericho VII, is a clear [[List of references to religion in the Halo series|reference]] to the [[Wikipedia:Battle of Jericho|biblical event]] in which the walls of [[Wikipedia:Jericho|Jericho]] fell after an attacking army marched around the city for [[seven]] days.

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo: The Flood]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]'' {{Im}}
*''[[Halo: Reach]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo Infinite]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Battle Born]]
**''[[Glassed|Glassed]]'' {{Mo}}

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources}}

{{Human-Covenant War}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jericho VII}}
[[Category:Covenant victories]]