Human-Covenant War: Difference between revisions

From that point on, the Covenant continued to attack and destroy the humans wherever they were found, using their [[Luminary|Luminaries]] to find human worlds. Though the UNSC forces fought bravely, their inferior technology and numbers meant that even a ''close'' victory was far from guaranteed. The Covenant, fighting a war of extermination, did not need to commit to full ground invasions except in special circumstances; their ships simply needed to destroy space-borne defenses and any other threats around the planet. They would then reduce the planet's surface to glass with orbital plasma bombardment. In general, human missiles and magnetic acceleration weapons were asymmetrically matched with Covenant energy shields and plasma weaponry. The few major victories achieved by the UNSC were usually due to tactical genius, extensive use of nuclear weapons, the rapid deployment of Spartan teams, or decisive ground engagements, where UNSC technology and skill outmatched covenant tactics . After just six years of combat, space battles with the Covenant had depleted the UNSC's nuclear stockpile to almost nothing in some sectors of space.<ref>'''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]''', ''page 34''</ref> For twenty-seven years, the Covenant whittled down the UNSC planet by planet. Despite this, the UNSC kept the war secret to the public in the first few months of the war.