Battle of Harvest

"The enemy ship destroyed and 13 of ours obliterated. It did not bode well."

- Admiral Preston Cole The Second Battle of Harvest was a fought by the UNSC and the Covenant during the Human-Covenant War. It was the direct follow on to the First Battle of Harvest which resulted in the destruction of the Harvest colony and seizure of the planet by the Covenant. The UNSC carried the day with superior numbers and a last-minute tactical maneuver, but suffered heavy casualties.

Background
In early 2525, Harvest was attacked by the Covenant. The colony was destroyed with many colonists fleeing on freighters. A UNSC scout ship and two frigates were destroyed, and a destroyer heavily damaged, in an unsuccessful attempt to dislodge the single Covenant ship holding the planet.

A month after on November 1, a fleet of 40 warships was assembled to retake Harvest. It was led by Vice Admiral Preston Cole aboard the and was, at the time, the largest space war fleet ever assembled in human history.

The Battle
The UNSC fleet arrived at Harvest on March 1, 2526, and engaged the lone Covenant ship through a slingshot maneuver around the planet. Multiple ships, including the and the, were quickly destroyed. UNSC weapons, including nuclear ordnance, had very little effect on the enemy. Cole realized the enemy was using energy shields, like the one previously encountered at the Battle of Chi Ceti, and ordered the fleet to fire all of its weapons simultaneously at the target. This overwhelmed the shields and destroyed the Covenant vessel.

Aftermath
The UNSC victory came at the cost of thirteen warships. Cole realized the disparity between UNSC and enemy losses "did not bode well". However, ONI Section II propaganda exaggerated the victory to encourage recruitment; initially the foe was claimed to be an Insurrectionist weapon platform but this was later recanted. For their part, the Covenant celebrated the "Victory of Epsilon Indi" through fasting and prayer.

For the next five years, the Covenant would continuously try to take control of Harvest, searching for Forerunner artifacts on the planet. The UNSC was determined to hold the planet at all costs, resulting in the prolonged Harvest Campaign which would last until 2531 when the UNSC finally liberated the planet of the Covenant presence.

Personnel

 * Admiral Preston Cole

Warships

 * UNSC Austerlitz
 * UNSC Campo Grande
 * UNSC Constantinople
 * UNSC Excellence
 * UNSC Lowrentze
 * UNSC Maelstrom
 * UNSC Midway
 * UNSC Troy
 * UNSC Virginia Capes
 * UNSC Waterloo
 * UNSC Troy
 * UNSC Virginia Capes
 * UNSC Waterloo
 * UNSC Virginia Capes
 * UNSC Waterloo