Editing Battle of Kamchatka

{{Status|Canon}}
{{Conjectural title}}
{{Battle infobox
|prev= [[Operation: ATHENA]]
|conc=
*[[Cortana Event]]
*[[Battle for Sanghelios]]
|next=[[Operation: BIRD IN HAND]]
|image=[[File:H5G Achievement IntoTheFire.png|300px]]
|conflict=[[Post-Covenant War conflicts]]
*[[Created uprising]]
|date=[[2558#October|October 2558]]{{Ref/Note|Id=Date|See [[#Production notes|production notes]]}}
|place=[[Kamchatka]], [[Caspar system]]
|result='''UNSC victory'''
*Dr. [[Catherine Halsey]] rescued{{Ref/Level|Id=osiris|H5G|Osiris (level)|Osiris}}
*[[Jul 'Mdama]] killed{{Ref/Reuse|osiris}}
*Remnants of [[Jul 'Mdama's Covenant|Covenant]] fleet routed
|side1=*{{Icon|UEG}} [[Unified Earth Government]]
**{{Icon|UNSC Post}} [[United Nations Space Command]]
|side2=*{{Icon|Mdama}} [[Jul 'Mdama's Covenant]]
|side3=*{{Icon|Forerunner}} [[Created]]
|commanders1=*{{Icon|Navy}} [[Captain|CAPT]] [[Thomas Lasky]]
*{{Icon|Spartan Ops}} [[Spartan Commander]] [[Sarah Palmer]]
|commanders2=*{{Icon|Mdama}} [[Supreme Commander]] [[Jul 'Mdama]]†
*{{Icon|Mdama}} [[Kitun 'Arach]]
|commanders3=*{{Icon|Forerunner}} [[Cortana]]
|forces1=*{{Icon|Navy}} [[Expeditionary Strike Group 1|ESG-1]]
**{{Icon|Navy}} {{UNSCShip|Infinity}}
**{{Icon|Navy}} At least one [[D79H Pelican]]
**{{Icon|Osiris}} [[Fireteam Osiris]]
|forces2=*{{Icon|Mdama}} At least 3 {{Pattern|Lursu|brigantine}}s
*{{Icon|Mdama}} At least 2 {{Pattern|Rwaru|carrack}}s{{Ref/Reuse|osiris}}
*{{Icon|Mdama}} At least 6 {{Pattern|Hekar Taa|blockade runner}}s
*{{Icon|Mdama}} At least 3 {{Pattern|R'sikosh|man o' war}}s
*{{Icon|Mdama}} One {{Pattern|Shuul'se|Kraken}}
*{{Icon|Mdama}} Many {{Pattern|Mikpramu|Phantom}}s
*{{Icon|Mdama}} Several {{Pattern|Nuro'k Xur|Spirit}}s
*{{Icon|Mdama}} Numerous {{Pattern|D'nomlhe|Banshee}}s
*{{Icon|Mdama}} Several {{Pattern|Kemu|Wraith}}s
*{{Icon|Mdama}} Dozens of {{Pattern|Karo'wark|Ghost}}s
*{{Icon|Mdama}} Numerous Covenant [[Lances]]
**{{Icon|Mdama}} [[Sangheili]]
**{{Icon|Mdama}} [[Unggoy]]
**{{Icon|Mdama}} [[Kig-Yar]]
|forces3=*{{Icon|Forerunner}} Several [[Particle cannon]]s
*{{Icon|Forerunner}} Several [[Phaeton|Phaeton gunship]]s
*{{Icon|Forerunner}} Several [[Promethean Crawler]]s
*{{Icon|Forerunner}} Several [[Promethean Knight]]s
*{{Icon|Forerunner}} Several [[Armiger Soldier]]s
|casual1=
|casual2=*[[Jul 'Mdama]]
*Scores of Covenant infantry forces
*Many Covenant vehicles
*At least one blockade runner
|casual3=*Multiple Promethean forces
}}
The '''Battle of [[Kamchatka]]''' was a three-way engagement fought in mid-October of [[2558]] between the [[United Nations Space Command]] (UNSC), [[Jul 'Mdama's Covenant]], and the [[Promethean]] forces of the [[Created]]. The battle was the culmination of a campaign fought throughout much of the previous two years which pitted the UNSC's [[Expeditionary Strike Group 1]], led by the flagship {{UNSCShip|Infinity}}, against 'Mdama as the two grappled for control of various [[Forerunner]] strategic artefacts.

The battle was notable due to the seismic shift it had in dislodging the power of the Covenant. Early in the battle the Prometheans originally placed under [[Jul 'Mdama]]'s command by the [[Ur-Didact]] rebelled against him, having been taken over by the Created.{{Ref/Site|Id=CF50Cal|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/canon-fodder-fifty-caliber|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Canon Fodder - Fifty Caliber|D=10|M=03|Y=2019|LocalArchive=https://archives.halopedia.org/waypoint/www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/canon-fodder-fifty-caliber.html}} This was followed with the assassination of Jul 'Mdama late in the engagement in a mission conducted by [[Fireteam Osiris]], a team of [[SPARTAN-IV program|SPARTAN-IVs]] deployed by UNSC ''Infinity''. The death of 'Mdama ultimately sealed the fate of the Covenant, which was later finalised in their [[Battle of Sunaion|final and decisive defeat]] in the [[Battle for Sanghelios]] weeks later. The battle also saw the successful extraction of Doctor [[Catherine Halsey]] back into UNSC hands, following her brief defection to 'Mdama's court earlier in the year.{{Ref/Reuse|osiris}}

For the UNSC, the battle was divided into two military [[operation]]s: '''Operation: ANCHORITE''' and '''Operation: DESINENCE''', the former consisting of the Expeditionary Strike Group's attack on the Covenant fleet assembled at Kamchatka, and the latter consisting of Osiris' assassination of 'Mdama and extraction of Halsey.{{Ref/Book|Id=OSFM11|OSFM|Page=11}}{{Ref/Book|Id=OSFM115|OSFM|Page=115}}

==Background==
===Ancient history===
Before the [[Great Purification]], Kamchatka was an [[Astroengineering|astroengineered]] [[Forerunner]] world, created to serve as a link to the galaxy-spanning network the [[Domain]].{{Ref/Site|Id=HW|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/locations/kamchatka|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Kamchatka|D=23|M=04|Y=2021|LocalArchive=https://archives.halopedia.org/waypoint/www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/locations/kamchatka.html}}

===Jul 'Mdama and his Covenant===
Throughout [[2558]], Jul 'Mdama and his Covenant were engaged in two separate ongoing wars against two main opponents: the UNSC and the [[Swords of Sanghelios]]. Between February and July of that year, the Covenant engaged in three major battles against the UNSC, each inflicting a string of defeats against them. These included the loss of the [[shield world]] [[Requiem]] in the [[Requiem Campaign]], a [[Battle of Oban|failed attempt]] to capture the [[Janus Key]] from the UNSC at [[Oban]], the [[Battle of Aktis IV]] and the beginning of an [[Sali 'Nyon's Covenant|internal schism]] led by [[Sali 'Nyon]], and [[Operation: ATHENA|a defeat]] at the [[Absolute Record]] that saw the end goal of Jul's conquest plucked from his grasp alongside the defection of a large portion of his army to Sali 'Nyon. Throughout these battles, 'Nyon was able to sap away much of Jul's authority by positioning himself as the "True Prophet", claiming that Jul did not truly believe in [[Covenant religion|the faith]] fuelling most of the Covenant and that he was a false leader.

Throughout these engagements, Jul came to heavily rely on his army of [[Promethean]]s for additional support, which had been gifted to him by the [[Ur-Didact]] a year prior during the [[Battle of Requiem]], alongside Jul's titlage as the "Hand of the Didact".{{Ref/Novel|Halo: Vertical Umbrage}} However as the year went on, Jul's authority over these Prometheans began to waver as the units themselves experienced glitches. After the [[durance]] of [[Promethean Knight]] [[TDS-009]] was examined by Doctor Halsey in the wake of its unstable behaviour in the Battle of Aktis IV, she surmised that the Knights created from the [[human]] population of [[New Phoenix]] who had [[New Phoenix Incident|been forcibly assimilated]] the year prior were inherently unstable bases for such an automaton, and that it would only be a matter of time until they too rebelled against Jul's control. Writing in [[Dr. Halsey's personal journal|her journal]] on July 22, she concluded that she would have to find a way to end her alliance of convenience sooner than expected. Around this time, the [[Strategos]] leading Jul's Prometheans also began to detect the presence of a rogue [[ancilla]] within the Prometheans' network; unbeknownst to it or anyone else, these were the early echoes of [[Cortana]]s attempts to take control of the [[Domain]], which would eventually allow her to wrest control of the Prometheans from Jul.{{Ref/Novel|Halo: The Machine Breaks}}

[[File:H5G-BattleofKamchatka.png|250px|thumb|left|A {{Pattern|Hekar Taa|blockade runner}} providing close support to ground forces.]]
Parallel to the UNSC effort, the [[Swords of Sanghelios]] were also engaged in a [[Blooding Years|large campaign]] against Jul 'Mdama's Covenant. Late in the year this culminated in a [[Battle of Hesduros|massive attack]] on [[Hesduros]], the Covenant's seat of power in the [[Aspero system]]. For the operation, the Swords' goal had been to decapitate the Covenant's leadership by killing 'Mdama. The warlord was ultimately able to escape the carnage, resulting in the Swords' destruction of Hesduros' infrastructure, forcing its abandonment.{{Ref/Novel|LoO|Chapter=5}}{{Ref/Book|HM|Page=193}} With 'Mdama now on the back foot, he began to relocate his remaining military assets to Kamchatka under the guidance of Doctor Halsey,{{Ref/Book|Id=enc22pg75|Enc22|Page=75}} who had detected the awakening of a long-dormant [[Lithos]] site on the world;{{Ref/Reuse|HW}} a gateway to the Domain built by the Forerunners. Halsey was seemingly aware that the awakening of the communications hub was the work of Cortana "mapping" the Forerunner network with various signal pings, though she was unable to discern what Cortana expected to find on Kamchatka.{{Ref/Game|H5G|Mission Intel|Detail=Halsey Research Notes 1/4}}

Jul hoped to use Kamchatka as a staging area for his Covenant{{Ref/Reuse|osfmp11}} and pillage the world for any valuable technology it may have, while Halsey hoped to use it as a ruse to draw UNSC ''Infinity'' in to extract her from Jul's camp.{{Ref/Book|Id=encpg359|Enc22|Page=359}} During the Covenant's brief occupation of the planet, Halsey was able to conduct some brief research of the Forerunner ruins present there, uncovering the symbol for a [[Guardian Custode]] buried beneath the ground,{{Ref/Game|H5G|Mission Intel|Detail=Halsey Research Notes 3/4}} though was frequently interrupted by the Covenant's insistence on ceremony.{{Ref/Game|H5G|Mission Intel|Detail=Halsey Research Notes 2/4}} Ultimately, the Covenant were able to find the Lithos site they sought, though also accidentally triggered a security mechanism in the site. While Halsey was able to disable the defence system, she could not do so in time, triggering the activation of Prometheans at the site and the beginning of the battle.{{Ref/Game|H5G|Mission Intel|Detail=Jul 'Mdama's Log}}{{Ref/Game|H5G|Mission Intel|Detail=Covenant Combat Orders 0283}}{{Ref/Reuse|encpg359}}
{{Clear|left}}
===UNSC plans===
Approximately three weeks before the battle, Dr. Halsey contacted the UNSC, warning of an [[Guardian emergences|incoming event]] caused by Cortana. However, the UNSC did not act upon that information immediately.{{Ref/Level|Id=blue team|H5G|Blue Team (level)|Blue Team}} By October 17, [[Guardian Custode]]s had awoken on two [[Human colonies|colony worlds]]; [[Ursa IV]] and [[Oban]], causing mass death and destruction there. This led to heightened tensions within the UNSC and an eagerness among the rank-and-file to take the fight to the enemy.{{Ref/Reuse|osfmp11}} By the time ''Infinity''{{'}}s combat operations on Kamchatka would begin, another three worlds would be hit: [[Adelaide]], [[Conrad's Point]], and [[Queen Anne VI]].{{Ref/Reuse|osiris}}

Analysts at the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] deemed that a strike on these forces at Caspar could potentially do substantial damage against the Covenant faction, and give the UNSC an edge.{{Ref/Reuse|osfmp7}} By [[2558#October|October 17, 2558]], plans were put in place to attack Jul's forces in the system as part of Operation: ANCHORITE,{{Ref/Book|Id=osfmp11|OSFM|Page=11}} and to retrieve Dr. Halsey as part of Operation: DESINENCE.{{Ref/Book|Id=osfmp115|OSFM|Page=115}} While ANCHORITE was known widely across the UNSC ''Infinity'' with it being part of a briefing letter,{{Ref/Reuse|osfmp11}} DESINENCE was not, with little information being discussed about it.{{Ref/Reuse|osfmp115}} Part of the overall attack plans included a second wave of forces deployed from the ''Infinity''.{{Ref/Book|Id=osfmp7|OSFM|Page=7}} The ''Infinity'' would also bring a complement of {{Class|Anlace|light frigate}}s as part of its assigned [[battle group]], [[Expeditionary Strike Group 1]].{{Ref/Site|Id=CFCalm|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/calm-in-the-storm|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Canon Fodder - Calm in the Storm|D=09|M=3|Y=2021}}

Expeditionary Strike Group 1 departed the [[Sol system]] between October 17-18,{{Ref/Reuse|osfmp7}} with Lasky expecting them to arrive at Kamchatka within the week to engage in combat operations immediately upon exiting [[Slipstream space|slipspace]].{{Ref/Reuse|osfmp11}}

==Battle==
[[File:H5G - KamchatkaBattle1.png|250px|thumb|An aerial battle overhead of Fireteam Osiris.{{Ref/Reuse|osiris}}]]
{{Quote|Fireteam Osiris, the light is green.|Jameson Locke to Osiris, prior to jumping into battle.{{Ref/Reuse|osiris}}}}
After the Covenant triggered the Forerunner site's defensive mechanisms, the Prometheans in Jul 'Mdama's army turned on their former-masters, now serving Cortana and the [[Created]].{{Ref/Reuse|CF50Cal}} When UNSC ''Infinity'' and her battle group exited [[Slipstream space|slipspace]] in the Caspar system some time between October 17-23,{{Ref/NoteReuse|Date}} they found the Covenant and Prometheans already in the midst of a pitched battle. ''Infinity'' took advantage of the chaos by beginning the planned Operation: DESINENCE, deploying [[Fireteam Osiris]], a [[SPARTAN-IV program|Spartan-IV]] special operations squad, to retrieve Halsey and assassinate [[Jul 'Mdama]] if possible. They were dropped from low orbit via [[D79H Pelican]] and landed amidst an enormous naval and ground battle between the Covenant and Prometheans. Jul 'Mdama's Covenant made little headway, with the constructs managing to bring down a {{Pattern|Hekar Taa|blockade runner}} and force a [[Shuul'se-pattern Kraken|Kraken]] walker to back off. The chaos from the Prometheans' rebellion provided Osiris cover from 'Mdama's Covenant, allowing them to sneak to the temple where 'Mdama and Halsey were stationed.{{Ref/Reuse|osiris}}

In the midst of the fighting, uncomfirmed reports indicate that Osiris formed a temporary truce with some of the local Covenant forces under the leadership of a [[Sangheili General]], [[Kitun 'Arach]]. As-claimed by the reports, the two stormed a Promethean position, fighting side-by-side against their mutual and more dangerous foe.{{Ref/Reuse|CF50Cal}}

After reaching the temple, Osiris attacked Jul's [[Sangheili Zealot|Zealot]] guards while Spartan [[Jameson Locke]] faced off against the [[Supreme Commander]] in melee combat. After a short fight, Locke was able to kill Jul with his [[combat knife]],{{Ref/Reuse|osiris}} an act which effectively doomed the Covenant to an eventual defeat. Fireteam Osiris then took custody of Dr. Halsey and brought her back to the ''Infinity'' to aid in the search for the Guardians.{{Ref/Reuse|osiris}}

==Aftermath==
{{Quote|no=two|Kelly-087|Fred-104|q1=There's chatter about Jul 'Mdama on Covenant comms. The new arrivals say he's dead.|q2=Somebody cut the head off the Covenant. Bravo.|[[Kelly-087]] and [[Frederic-104]] of [[Blue Team]] during [[Operation: BIRD IN HAND]].{{Ref/Reuse|blue team}}}}
The Battle of Kamchatka ultimately ended with a steadfast defeat for the Covenant; their leader was now dead, their fleet smashed by the UNSC, their salvage goals on the world lay unfulfilled, and the Prometheans had turned against them. What remained of the late-'Mdama's Covenant forces on rallied under a General who survived the battle, Kitun Arach. Kitun, now free to lead the Covenant as he saw fit, saw the war against humanity as a folly and was instead more interested in securing [[Sanghelios]] - an [[Battle for Sanghelios|ongoing struggle]] that the Covenant and its locally-aligned forces were already engaged in. As such, 'Arach rallied the Covenant to reinforce the assault on Sanghelios,{{Ref/Site|Id=CFHVH|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/canon-fodder-high-value-histories|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Canon Fodder - High-Value Histories|D=08|M=09|Y=2022}} with ships leaving the battle to spread the word of 'Mdama's death and the new directive to other, more distant outposts. Some of these ships arrived at a Covenant salvaging operation aboard the UNSC research station ''[[Argent Moon]]'' on July 23, though significant portions of these troops were killed in an [[Operation: BIRD IN HAND|asset-denial operation]] which saw [[Blue Team]] [[self-destruct]] the station to keep it out of Covenant hands. What remained of the Covenant fleet then proceeded to Sanghelios,{{Ref/Level|H5G|Swords of Sanghelios (level)|Swords of Sanghelios}} where they were ultimately defeated at the [[Battle of Sunaion]].{{Ref/Level|H5G|Battle of Sunaion (level)|Battle of Sunaion}}

The Guardian awakenings continued on a number of worlds across the [[Milky Way]] throughout the rest of October, culminating in the [[Created uprising]] on October 28.

==Participants==
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-2}}
===UEG===
====Military Personnel====
{| class="wikitable sortable " style="width: 75%;" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" border="0"
|-
! Branch
! Rank
! Name
! Status<!--This refers to their status after the battle, not their overall status-->
|-
|[[UNSC Navy]]
|[[Captain (Navy)|Captain]]
|[[Thomas Lasky]]
|Survived
|-
| rowspan="5" |[[Spartan Operations]]
|[[Spartan Commander]]
|[[Sarah Palmer]]
|Survived
|-
| rowspan="4" |Spartan
|[[Jameson Locke]]
|Survived
|-
|[[Olympia Vale]]
|Survived
|-
|[[Edward Buck]]
|Survived
|-
|[[Holly Tanaka]]
|Survived
|}
{{Col-2}}
===Jul 'Mdama's Covenant===
====Military Personnel====
{| class="wikitable sortable " style="width: 75%;" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="1" border="0"
|-
! Rank
! Name
! Status<!--This refers to their status after the battle, not their overall status-->
|-
|[[Supreme Commander]]
|[[Jul 'Mdama]]
|KIA
|-
|[[Sangheili General|General]]
|[[Kitun 'Arach]]
|Survived
|-
|Unknown
|[[Kibkib Yany]]
|KIA
|}
{{Col-end}}

==Production notes==
No specific date has ever been established for the Battle at Kamchatka, with the Prometheans turning on Jul some time prior to the events depicted in the [[Osiris (level)|first level]] of ''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]''. A date for ''Infinity''{{'}}s arrival and the start of the game can be estimated based on several contextual clues. On page 11 of ''[[Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual]]'', a letter from Captain Lasky to the crew of ''Infinity'' dated October 17 notes that the ship and its battlegroup are preparing to strike at Kamchatka within the week. On the level [[Blue Team (level)|Blue Team]] which is [https://web.archive.org/web/20210731132626/https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/vehicles/argent-moon officially dated] to October 23, Covenant forces arrive to relay news of the death of Jul 'Mdama to those aboard ''[[Argent Moon]]''. The presentation of this scene would seem to indicate that the Covenant ships in question had fled the battle fairly soon after 'Mdama's death and proceeded straight to ''Argent Moon'', thus likely placing the engagement on Kamchatka some time around October 22-23. Had much more time passed, it becomes questionable how the Covenant forces aboard ''Argent Moon'' had not already been informed of 'Mdama's death, alongside what the Covenant forces had been doing in the interim.

However, one major issue with this idea is found within ''Halo 5''{{'}}s opening cutscene, in which Captain Lasky states that within the previous 72 hours, five colonies had been attacked by the Guardians. The colonies listed on Lasky's readout include [[Ursa IV]], [[Oban]], [[Queen Anne VI]], [[Adelaide]], and [[Conrad's Point]]. However, Ursa IV and Oban were also included in Lasky's initial October 17 letter, meaning that by a strict reading of his words, the engagement on Kamchatka must have taken place between October 17 and October 20. However, it is equally possible to dismiss this as a semi-casual statement.

==Trivia==
*[[Halo Waypoint]]'s [[Canon Fodder]] article ''Fifty Caliber'' states that "unconfirmed reports" about the Battle of Kamchatka claim there might have been a temporary alliance between Fireteam Osiris and the Sangheili [[Kitun 'Arach]] of Jul's forces. This is a reference to the [[Enemy of my Enemy]] achievement, in which the player(s) can choose to save a [[Sangheili Warrior]] assaulting a hill against [[Armiger Soldier]]s, turning him from an enemy to an ally.{{Ref/Reuse|CF50Cal}} This was more formally canonised in the [[2022]] ''High-Value Histories'' Canon Fodder article, which further elucidated on 'Arach's background.{{Ref/Reuse|CFHVH}}
*The bodies and wreckages of [[Swords of Sanghelios]] soldiers and Banshees are scattered throughout the level [[Osiris (level)|Osiris]]. This is presumably a non-canon instance of asset reuse, with the models intended to represent dead and destroyed Covenant troops.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:H5G-Concept-Kamchata-Skyfall.jpg|Concept art of the battle for ''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]''.
File:H5GC-BansheesvsPhaetons.jpg|Concept art of the battle.
File:H5G Concept OsirisIntro1.jpg|Concept art of the battle.
File:H5G Concept OsirisIntro2.jpg|Concept art of the battle.
File:H5G Concept OsirisIntro3.jpg|Concept art of the battle.
File:H5G Concept OsirisIntro4.jpg|Concept art of the battle.
File:H5G Concept OsirisIntro5.jpg|Concept art of the battle.
File:H5G-Kamchatkadescent.png|Fireteam Osiris descends onto Kamchatka.
File:H5G-TanakaSMASH.gif|[[Holly Tanaka]] smashing through a boulder.
File:H5G-Valewrecking.gif|[[Olympia Vale]] attacking a Phantom.
File:H5G-KamchatkaCF.gif|Jameson Locke attacking Ghost pilots.
File:H5G-Rad.png|Fireteam Osiris avoids a crashing Sangheili blockade runner.
File:H5G-LockevsJul1.png|Locke prepares to stab Jul 'Mdama.
</gallery>

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo: Legacy of Onyx]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Bad Blood]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Battle Born]]''
**''[[Glassed (short story)|Glassed]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Empty Throne]]'' {{Im}}

==Notes==
{{Ref/Notes}}

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

{{Post-Covenant War conflicts}}
{{Created conflict}}