Insurrectionist

The Insurrectionists, also known as insurgents and rebels, were groups of individuals rebelling against the Unified Earth Government, and the main enemy of the United Nations Space Command during the Insurrection, an undeclared civil war between the UNSC and numerous Insurrectionist factions. They were commonly called Innies by the UNSC Marines, a satirical name, as they actually "wanted out."

Background
Most insurrectionist movements stirred in the Outer Colonies in the late 25th century, where many colonists started to demand independence from the Earth government, which they considered to be oppressive and imperialistic. However, over the next two decades, the fighting spread to some of the Inner Colonies, particularly the Epsilon Eridani System, the heart of the UNSC military. At the early years of the Insurrection, the rebels used a variety of tactics to combat the UNSC, ranging from terrorist attacks to ship-to-ship combat.

A major insurrectionist terrorist attack occurred on Mamore in 2511, when rebels detonated a nuclear device in the Haven arcology, killing two million people and injuring 8.3 million. Starting in 2513, Operation: TREBUCHET was one of the largest and farthest reaching operations ever conducted in UNSC military history. It was devised in order to rid UNSC-controlled space of the insurrectionists once and for all, but was promptly abandoned following the beginning of the Human-Covenant War in 2525, when the Covenant rapidly became the main antagonist of the UNSC following its debut. Still, some insurrectionist movements including the United Rebel Front continued to live on, still causing problems for the UNSC and forcing them to fight a two-front war: one against the Covenant and one against the insurrectionists.

During the Human-Covenant War, insurrectionists from the Outer Colony of Madrigal colonized and inhabited the Rubble, a sophisticated asteroid habitat orbiting the gas giant Hesiod. In the Rubble, an uneasy truce existed between the humans and the Kig-yar who had originally helped the insurrectionists build the habitat. While the most of the Rubble's population were insurrectionists, the Rubble also protected most of the surviving civilian populace of Madrigal.

However, by 2552, most remaining insurrectionist factions had ceased active aggression against the UNSC in order to concentrate on surviving the seemingly unstoppable Covenant advance. Still, some rebel movements actively opposed the UNSC on worlds such as Harmony and Reach as late as 2552.

United Rebel Front
The United Rebel Front was the most significant insurrectionist organization. It was not a singular entity, but a confederation of numerous insurrectionist cells. It was led politically by a single head of state, while its military was run by a triumvirate of generals. One group, led by General Howard Graves, operated at Camp New Hope on the planet Victoria in the 111 Tauri System. This cell possessed an extensive paramilitary operation that featured commandos, armored personnel carriers, automated security drones, nuclear weapons, and discared high technology, such as antigravity plating. Howard was killed, and his cell destroyed, by SPARTAN Blue Team in 2531.

The most significant faction of the United Rebel Front was based in the Eridanus System. Their primary base was hidden inside an asteroid, Eridanus Secundus, which prevented the UNSC from finding them for many years. Until 2525, they were led by Colonel Robert Watts, the head of state and commander in chief of the URF. In 2525, a group of SPARTAN-IIs infiltrated the base and captured Colonel Watts, severely hampering the United Rebel Front's operations.

In 2552, a group of UNSC survivors from the Battle of Installation 04 and the Fall of Reach arrived in the Eridanus system aboard the /Ascendant Justice hybrid vessel. Vice Admiral Danforth Whitcomb requested repairs, threatening Governor Jacob Jiles with the destruction of his base; Jiles countered by aiming nuclear weapons at the vessel. However, the two soon revealed to one another that they had both been bluffing. Soon, a Covenant cruiser arrived in the system, though Cortana destroyed it with Ascendant Justice's sole functioning plasma torpedo turret. After the skirmish, Jiles issued repairs on the ship. However, more Covenant ships soon arrived and Whitcomb was forced to flee, leaving the rebels behind. It is most likely that Jiles and the rest of the Eridanus rebels were killed.

The Eridanus cell of the United Rebel Front utilized many vessel, including upgraded Pelican dropships, Mako-class Corvettes, and Chiroptera-class Stealth Vessels as an improvised fleet. Most of these vessels were acquired on the black market. The soldiers of the Eridanus cell were armed with MA3 Assault Rifles and HMG-38 and "Confetti Maker" machine guns.

Secessionist Union
The Secessionist Union was a small insurrection group on the planet, Harvest. Their leader, Jerald Mulkey Ander, was assassinated by Corporal Avery Johnson during Operation: KALEIDOSCOPE.

Unidentified rebel group
An unnamed rebel group operated against the UNSC on the planets Harvest and Arcadia, with possible influence on other colonies. The seal of this organization is of a stylized white fist on a red circle, and is found on nearly all of their units. They mainly used stolen technology from the UNSC.

Freedom and Liberation Party
The Freedom and Liberation Party was a terrorist group on Mamore. The group claimed responsibility for the Haven arcology bombing in 2511, and later demanded that the Colonial Military Administration leave the Eridanus sector.

Tactics
Different groups used different tactics.


 * The Insurrectionists of Epsilon Eridani preferred to use terrorist tactics, striking targets with explosives to sow fear and chaos in the region.


 * A common tactic was to use performance-enhancing drugs known as rumbledrugs that radically increased the subject's physical strength and pain tolerance, but would also cause irreversible physiological damage that would kill the user shortly after. Notably, they were used to combat the SPARTANs due to the temporary superhuman strength they granted.


 * Another prominent group focused more on space combat, capturing UNSC warships, such as the corvette Callisto and the frigate Bellicose, and turning them against the UNSC navy in bloody ship-to-ship duels throughout the Outer Colonies.

Notable Insurrectionists

 * Jerald Mulkey Ander
 * Peter Bonifacio
 * Badia Campbell
 * Lyrenne Castilla
 * Diego Esquival
 * Howard Graves
 * Jacob Jiles
 * Jason Kincaide
 * Partch
 * Soren-066

Trivia

 * In skirmish mode in Halo Wars, most empty bases and unoccupied Forerunner artifacts are occupied by insurrectionists. The player must defeat them to claim the area.
 * Jorge-052, though supportive of the concept of colonial self-rule, nevertheless condemned the insurrectionists, as he disagreed with their methods.
 * During the Battle of Psi Serpentis, insurrectionists actually helped Admiral Cole. During the battle, an insurrectionist fleet led by the Bellicose suddenly entered the battle and launched a blitzkrieg-style attack against the Covenant fleet, decimating it, then just as it appeared the insurrectionist fleet jumped right back into slipspace. Ironically, this was the same ship Cole engaged three times earlier in his career.

List of appearances

 * Halo Wars
 * Halo: Reach
 * Halo: The Fall of Reach
 * Halo: First Strike
 * Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
 * Halo: Contact Harvest
 * Halo: The Cole Protocol
 * Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe
 * Pariah
 * Midnight in the Heart of Midlothian
 * Dirt
 * The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole
 * Halo Legends
 * Origins

Related links

 * Frieden
 * Koslovics