Harvest campaign

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Previous:	Battle of Harvest
Concurrent:	Battle of Hat Yai Battle of Alpha Aurigae Battle of XI Boötis A Battle of the Great Bear Battle of Circinius IV
Next:	Battle for Arcadia
Harvest campaign
Conflict:	Human-Covenant War
Date:	2526 to early 2531
Location:	Harvest, Epsilon Indi system
Outcome:	Pyrrhic UNSC victory Harvest severely glassed in all but its northern regions Forerunner relic recovered Tactical control of Harvest gained Heavy UNSC casualties
Details Belligerents United Nations Space Command Covenant Commanders Vice Admiral Preston Cole Captain James Cutter Commander Orez Sergeant John Forge Prophet of Regret Arbiter Ripa 'Moramee Field Master Re'gish Wamik Thrallslayer Strength Third Fleet Battle Group D UNSC Spirit of Fire Recon Team Echo Recon Team India Fire Team Lima Fire Team November Tango 14 Tango 33 Bravo 029 Multiple Spartan-IIs UNSC Prophecy UNSC Say My Name Unidentified prowler Fleet of Glorious Interdiction Multiple Sinaris-pattern heavy destroyers Land forces Thousands of ground troops Numerous ground and air vehicles Casualties Heavy casualties; over half of the UNSC Navy's fighting strength UNSC Prophecy At least one unidentified Spartan-II Unknown number of Marines Heavy casualties At least one Sinaris-pattern heavy destroyer

"At first it was going well. Then setback after setback - loss after loss - made what was going to be a quick and decisive win into five years of hell."

— Captain James Cutter

The Harvest campaign, also known as the Liberation of Harvest or the Harvest Conflict, was a five-year-long campaign to retake the devastated UEG colony world of Harvest from the Covenant, beginning in 2526 and ending in early 2531.

Background

Contact with the Covenant

Main article: First Battle of Harvest

The UEG colony world of Harvest was founded in 2468 by colonists aboard the CAA Skidbladnir, and was one of the farthest colonies from Earth. By 2525, Harvest had become the major agricultural center of the UEG. However, during the same year, there were reports of an unidentified vessel near the planet, and all contact with Harvest ceased soon afterwards. Only several thousand civilians of the planet's population of 300,000 were evacuated; they told their rescuers of a nearly unstoppable alien ship.

The Colonial Military Authority assembled a battle group comprised of two frigates and a destroyer to investigate the disturbance. The battle group found most of the surface of Harvest reduced to molten glass. A large alien warship was found in orbit over Harvest; its crew transmitted a message in flawless English, calling themselves "the Covenant" and vowing the destruction of humanity. The ship opened fire with advanced energy weaponry and destroyed the two frigates, leaving the destroyer to escape, albeit heavily damaged.

UNSC counterattack

Main article: Battle of Harvest

In response to the disaster that befell the scouting group, the UNSC went to full alert and began mobilizing the largest fleet in UNSC naval history. However, they needed an experienced commander to lead it. They turned to Vice Admiral Preston J. Cole, a retired veteran of the Insurrection and a brilliant tactician. Cole reluctantly agreed and was promoted to full admiral.

When Cole's fleet of forty ships arrived at Harvest, they found the same, colossal ship in orbit. The Covenant ship immediately opened fire and began picking off Cole's ships one by one. Neither Magnetic Accelerator Cannons nor Shiva-class nuclear missiles had any effect on the alien energy shields and the fleet began to lose integrity. Cole had a last-minute tactical inspiration: he ordered the fleet to fire all its weapons simultaneously. This ploy won the battle at the cost of thirteen UNSC vessels.

Retaking Harvest

Early victories

Pelican dropships deploying troops on Harvest.

Despite Cole's pyrrhic victory, the Covenant began swarming the Outer Colonies and were determined to retake control of Harvest. The Prophet of Regret personally assigned Arbiter Ripa 'Moramee and the Fleet of Glorious Interdiction for this task.The Covenant sent more ships to Harvest and engaged UNSC forces on the surface as well as in space. The Covenant were clearly looking for something on the planet and would stop at nothing to find it. The UNSC continued to retaliate, with many engagements occurring in the planet's ruined cities.