Editing Battle of Visegrád

{{Status|Canon}}
{{Battle infobox
|prev= [[Battle of Sigma Octanus IV]]
|conc= 
|next= [[Battle of Sword Base]]
|name= '''Battle of Visegrád'''
|image=[[File:Enviro 02.jpg|300px]]
|conflict= [[Human-Covenant War]]
*[[Fall of Reach]]
|date= [[2552#July|July 23]]-[[2552#July|July 24, 2552]]
|place= [[Visegrád]], [[Reach]]
|result=
'''Tactical UNSC victory'''
*Discovery of [[Covenant]] presence on [[Reach]]
*Covenant repelled from the [[Visegrád Relay]]
*Recovery of Professor [[Laszlo Sorvad]]'s [[data module]] and "latchkey discovery" by [[Catherine-B320]]
*[[WINTER CONTINGENCY (protocol)|WINTER CONTINGENCY]] declared on Reach
'''Strategic Covenant victory'''
*Successful disabling of [[Visegrád Relay]]
*Potential recovery of [[ONI]] excavation data from the relay
|side1=[[File:Halopedia Era UNSC.png|25px]] [[United Nations Space Command]]
|side2=[[File:H5Covenant Logo2.png|25px]] [[Covenant]]
|commanders1=
*[[Urban Holland|COL Urban Holland]]
*[[Carter-A259|CDR Carter-A259]]
*[[Corporal]] [[Travis]]
|commanders2=*Unidentified [[Sangheili Field Marshal]]
|forces1=
*[[UNSC Army]]
**Army fireteams
***[[3 Charlie]]
**[[Special Warfare Group Three]]
***[[Noble Team]]
*[[UNSC Air Force]]
**Two [[UH-144 Falcon]]s
***''[[Charlie 1]]''
***''[[Charlie 2]]''
*1 [[Spade]]
|forces2=*[[Covenant military]]
**[[Devoted Sentries]]
***[[Unggoy]]
***[[Kig-Yar]]
****[[T'vaoan|Skirmishers]]
***[[Sangheili]]
**[[Type-25 Spirit]]s
**[[Type-26 Banshee]]s
|casual1=*Most Army troopers
|casual2=*Heavy
|civilian1= *Several local farmers
*Professor [[Laszlo Sorvad]]
|civilian2= *None
}}
{{Quote|Cheer up, big man: this whole valley just turned into a free-fire zone.|Emile-A329 to Jorge-052 upon the discovery of Covenant in Visegrád.}}
The '''Battle of Visegrád''' was a battle between UNSC forces and the [[Covenant]] in [[Visegrád]] on [[Reach]] in [[2552#July|July 2552]]. It also revealed the previously-unknown presence of the Covenant on Reach.
==Prelude==
On or prior to the night of [[2552#July|July 23, 2552]], the [[Covenant]] [[Fleet of Valiant Prudence]] arrived at the human [[Inner Colony]] of [[Reach]] undetected by its defending forces. A small strike force, including artifact-hunting [[Sangheili Zealot]]s from the [[Devoted Sentries]], was dispatched to the [[Visegrád Relay]] in [[Visegrád]] to cut off communications between Reach and other [[Unified Earth Government|UEG]] colonies. The [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] assumed that the communications blackout was caused by local [[Insurrectionist]]s; in response, [[Colonel]] [[Urban Holland]] dispatched several [[UNSC Army|Army]] fireteams to the relay. After losing contact with the troopers, [[SPARTAN Program|SPARTAN]] [[Noble Team]] was sent to investigate as the UNSC could not afford to have Reach cut off from the other colonies.{{Ref/Level|Id=NA|HR|Noble Actual}}

==Battle==
===Investigating suspicious activity===
[[Noble Team]] flew in to [[Visegrád]] using two [[UH-144 Falcon|Falcons]], but quickly discovered that their comms with command were being jammed by an unknown source. Detecting a [[distress beacon]] and spotting smoke, Noble landed near some houses a distance from the relay with [[Jun-A266]] ordered to remain in the Falcons to provide aerial overwatch. Investigating, Noble found the beacon hidden under a broken wooden pallet, a wrecked Warthog, blood smears and some possible plasma burns, but no sign of whoever set off the beacon or destroyed the Warthog or even explosives residue.

Noble continued their mission by pushing on towards the nearby smoke. Pushing through a house, the team made contact with a [[Hungarian]] farmer who [[Jorge-052]] questioned. The man revealed that he had heard screaming from his neighbors and gunshots which had ended around sunrise and that something in the fields had killed his son. As Noble tried to understand what the farmer had meant by "something" instead of "someone," Jun called in with news of picking up heat signatures in the structure east of them. Jorge ordered the farmer back inside while Noble continued on to investigate.{{Ref/Level|Id=WC|HR|Winter Contingency}}

===A terrible discovery===
Entering the structure, the team found several corpses, including Army troopers who had been tortured to death for information. Detecting movement, Noble continued on, only to discover that the enemy was [[Covenant]] and not [[Insurrectionist]]s as they had believed. Noble engaged the Covenant troops around the structure while ''[[Charlie 1]]'' shot down attacking [[Type-26 Banshee|Banshees]]. As Noble cleared out the enemy, a [[Type-25 Spirit|Spirit dropship]] deployed more troops across a bridge that were also taken out by the Spartans.

After winning the skirmish, Commander [[Carter-A259]] stated that they needed Kat at the relay immediately in order to warn [[Colonel]] [[Urban Holland|Holland]] of the Covenant threat. With Jun detecting more Covenant activity to the east, Noble crossed a creek and took out a squad of [[Sangheili Ultra]]s. Once the Covenant were cleared out, Carter ordered Kat and [[Emile-A239]] to leave for the relay in a Falcon while he, Jorge and [[SPARTAN-B312|Noble Six]] investigated more Covenant activity to the northeast.{{Ref/Reuse|Id=WC}}

===Rescue of the surviving troopers===
Boarding a nearby [[Spade|flatbed truck]], Carter, Jorge and Noble Six drove through the area, eliminating several Covenant patrols as they went. Detecting heat signatures in the structures around the area, Jun directed the three Spartans to those locations where they cleared the structures.

As the Spartans continued on, they received a distress call from [[Corporal]] [[Travis]] of [[3 Charlie]], a surviving Army fireteam. Despite Jun's protests that they had better things to do, Carter chose to check out the distress call rather than abandon the troopers to the Covenant to continue with their mission. Noble was able to locate the besieged troopers and Jun recalled ''[[Charlie 2]]'' for an evac. With Spirits dropping off Covenant reinforcements, Noble and the troopers held off the Covenant under heavy fire. Finally, the Covenant were repelled and the surviving troopers were evacuated by ''Charlie 2''.{{Ref/Reuse|Id=WC}}

===Battle at the relay===
With the troopers safe, Carter, Jorge and Noble Six boarded the other Falcon to continue the journey to [[Visegrád Relay|the relay]], the road to which had been taken out by the Covenant. Having reached the outpost, Kat reported that door was locked and flash-fried and while Kat was cutting through the door, it would take time.

Arriving at the relay, Carter, Six, Jorge and Jun discovered Kat and Emile under heavy attack by Covenant forces. The team was able to clear out the Covenant, but Kat needed more time to get inside. Spirit dropships began dropping Covenant reinforcements, forcing Noble to hold them off as Kat continued to cut through the door. Finally, Kat succeeded and Noble retreated inside the relay with the outer door closing and sealing out the Covenant in the courtyard.

Continuing into the relay, Noble found the corpse of Professor [[Laszlo Sorvad]] in the control room, [[Unidentified Army corporal|a wounded corporal]] and Professor Sorvad's traumatized daughter [[Sára Sorvad|Sára]]. While examining Professor Sorvad's corpse, Noble Six located a [[data module]] that was taken by Kat who discovered plasma damage to the relay's controls. As Jorge attempted to get answers from Sára, she revealed that there were more Covenant moments before a [[Sangheili Field Marshal]] and two [[Sangheili Zealot]]s attacked. The three Sangheili engaged in a brief battle with Noble Team before the Field Marshall fled on his own. The two Zealots were eventually able to escape by using the corporal as a hostage. Though Emile, who had been left to guard the outer door, requested permission to go after the Field Marshall who had blown past him, Carter refused and ordered him to continue to guard the entrance while Jorge and Noble Six cleared out the relay.

Chasing the Zealots, the two Spartans engaged several packs of [[Unggoy]] and [[Kig-Yar]] in the hallways. Despite the support of these additional Covenant troops, Jorge and Noble Six were able to kill the two Zealots and clear the relay of Covenant. However, the Field Marshall was able to escape and retreated with the remaining Covenant forces in the area.{{Ref/Reuse|Id=WC}}

==Aftermath==
After killing the last of the [[Covenant]], [[SPARTAN-B312|Noble Six]] reset a junction at the request of [[Catherine-B320]] who determined that the plasma damage to [[Visegrád Relay|the relay]] would cause it to need at least two weeks of repairs to get back online. However, by splicing into the main overland bundle, Kat was able to get [[Carter-A259]] a connection to [[Colonel]] [[Urban Holland]] while [[Jorge-052]] attempted to get answers from [[Sára Sorvad]] without success. Carter reported the presence of the Covenant on [[Reach]] to a horrified Holland and that the [[WINTER CONTINGENCY (protocol)|WINTER CONTINGENCY]] was now in effect.{{Ref/Reuse|Id=WC}}

Two days later, while en route to [[Battle of Sword Base|defend]] [[ONI]]'s [[SWORD Base]] from the Covenant, Kat attempted to access the information on the [[data module]] that she had recovered from Professor Sorvad's body. Alerted to the intrusion, Doctor [[Catherine Halsey]] explained to [[NOBLE Team]] after the battle that the Field Marshall and two Zealots they had encountered were [[Devoted Sentries|a specialized artifact-retrieval team]] that was most likely after the abundance of ONI excavation data held at the relay, data that they most likely got away with since the Field Marshall had escaped. However, Halsey revealed that the recovered data module contained a "latchkey discovery" made by Professor Sorvad before his death and took possession of the module from Kat.{{Ref/Level|Id=Sword|HR|ONI: Sword Base}} The data recovered from Visegrád would ultimately prove to be the key to decoding the data on the [[Forerunner]] [[Babd Catha Forerunner vessel|ship]] beneath SWORD Base.{{Ref/Level|Id=Package|HR|The Package}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:NobleteamWINTERCONTIGENCY.jpg|NOBLE Team finds the distress beacon from the missing army troopers.
File:HR CorpsesDiscovery.jpg|Carter-A259 discovers the corpses of civilians and the missing troopers.
File:HR NobleDefendsLZ.jpg|NOBLE Team battles with a Covenant lance after rescuing 3 Charlie.
File:HR EmileCoversKat.jpg|Kat-B320 finds a way to open the door into the relay while Emile-A239 watches for Covenant.
File:Reach "The Battle Begins"-Elite.png|The Devoted Sentries confronting NOBLE Team inside the outpost.
File:HR SixShootsZealot.jpg|Noble Six fires his assault rifle at a Sangheili Zealot inside the outpost.
</gallery>

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

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

{{Engagements in the Fall of Reach}}
[[Category:Engagements in the Fall of Reach|Visegrád]]
[[Category:Battles of the Human-Covenant War|Visegrád]]
[[Category:UNSC victories|Visegrád]]
[[Category:Covenant victories|Visegrád]]