Second Battle of New Mombasa
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This article contains apocryphal information of dubious canonicity. While not officially established as fully non-canonical, certain aspects of the subject may not be part of the official Halo canon. |
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| Second Battle of Mombasa | |||||||||||||||||||
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After October 21, 2552[1] (seven days)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||
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Apparent UNSC victory[3] | ||||||||||||||||||
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The Second Battle of Mombasa[3] was a bloody seven-day[2] engagement starting in October 2552 between the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant in the ruins and outskirts of the city of New Mombasa, Kenya, on Earth.[1] It took place after the initial Battle of Mombasa with the remains of the Mombasa Tether scattered across the battlefield.[5]
Background[edit]
Prelude[edit]
On October 20, 2552, the Prophet of Regret, having suffered heavy casualties during his forces' invasion of Mombasa, entered slipspace from within the city, unleashing a powerful explosion that caused great damage - heavy enough to sever the city's space tether, causing its catastrophic collapse onto the surrounding savanna.[6][7] The Covenant leadership held the area in great importance due to the presence of Special Operations Unggoy.[5]
Battle[edit]
Battle for the landing zone[edit]
In October 2552, the battle began on the outskirts of New Mombasa, where UNSC and Covenant forces engaged each other in a bitter fight for control of a landing zone. The UNSC never gained full control of it, always being pushed back by the Covenant whenever they seemed to secure it and vice versa.[5] Before heading into the battle Jake Courage stated, "‘I hate blood and I hate violence. So what possessed me to choose to be a war photographer? Because I’m drawn to heroes. I’m drawn to the selfless act of someone putting their own life on the line for the sake of humanity. Because amongst the horror and the madness, I like to think I can show that some good can come out of something so horrific.’".[1]
The UNSC forces status[edit]
The remaining Covenant and UNSC ground forces surged forward into the city to secure whatever tactical advantage the ruins might have held. Elements from the 77th Marine Regiment battled furiously for the ruins, with snipers from both sides taking a heavy toll upon the enemy.[5]
The northern bridge falls[edit]
Despite a valiant defense by the Marines, they had no means to hold the bridge to the north. With Jiralhanae forces surging over it and hitting the Marines' vulnerable flanks, there was only one option remaining. On a 14:00 during a day of the battle, the order came through to destroy the bridge, thus forcing the enemy down into the valley where UNSC trenches lay to slaughter the enemy with fire from elevated positions. However, this was not the case as the Covenant forces had already begun to surge down the trenches with the destruction of the bridge.[5]
The hill[edit]
The defense of the hill was the most ferocious and bloody engagement of the battle; two thirds of the defending UNSC forces became casualties at this bottleneck. After the second bridge was destroyed, the trenches at the foot of the hill, despite a last-ditch defensive measure, came under heavy attack, garnering heavy Marine casualties.[5]
Snipers[edit]
Snipers from both sides battled for control,