Battle of Harvest: Difference between revisions

***{{Class|Halcyon|light cruiser}}s<ref name="genesis">'''[[Halo Wars Genesis]]'''</ref>

Directly after the destruction of the [[Covenant super-destroyer|super-destroyer]], the [[battle group]] to veered away from the remains of the ship and begun searching for survivors of the thirteen [[UNSC]] ships lost in battle.<ref name="Harvest"/> With the loss of thirteen [[warship]]s in contrast to the [[Covenant]]'s one super-destroyer, Vice Admiral [[Preston Cole]] realized the disparity between UNSC and enemy losses "did not bode well". Regardless, the [[Office of Naval Intelligence|Office of Naval Intelligence's Section II]] propaganda exaggerated the victory to encourage recruitment; initially the foe was claimed to be an [[Insurrectionist]] weapon platform that had captured [[Harvest]]'s [[communications satellite]]s,<ref name="genesis"/> but this was later recanted. By [[2552]], the Battle of Harvest was recognized as a Pyrrhic UNSC victory.<ref name="he126"/> After the battle, Cole returned to [[Earth]] where he was promoted to admiral, at least publicly.<ref name="timeline"/><ref>'''[[Halo 3: ODST]]''', multiplayer level ''[[Alpha Site]]'s [[ONI memorial]]''</ref> The Covenant were undaunted by their defeat. The [[Prophet of Regret|High Prophet of Regret]] ordered for the "Victory of Epsilon Indi" to be celebrated through fasting and prayer; [[Kig-Yar]] and [[Unggoy]] food rations were eliminated for the following three work periods, while [[Sangheili]] and [[Jiralhanae]] were ordered to spend two rest periods in public prayer. Those who "failed their duty at the Victory" were publicly executed.<ref name="timeline"/>

After the battle, UNSC leadership eventually decided to reveal the Covenant to the public. After Cole's success at Harvest, ONI's [[Strategic Response Unit]] decided to put Cole in charge of a large majority of the [[UNSC Navy]] with the intention of using his as a scapegoat if the Covenant proved to be unstoppable.<ref name="genesis"/> Now hailed as the "Hero of Harvest",<ref>'''Halo: The Cole Protocol''', ''page 351''</ref> Cole proceeded to lead a series of naval engagements against the Covenant between [[2526]] and [[2532]], sometimes referred to as the "Cole Campaigns".<ref name="he458"/> As the Covenant continued to swarm the [[Outer Colonies]], they returned to Harvest later in 2526. The [[Harvest campaign]] begun as the UNSC attempted to permanently remove the Covenant from Harvest. Cole returned to Harvest, and his forces became entangled in a vicious siege as they continued to battle the Covenant in the five-year long campaign in the [[Epsilon Indi system]].<ref name="universe"/><ref name="HW">'''Halo Wars''', campaign level ''[[Alpha Base (level)|Alpha Base]]''</ref> After many years of fighting, the UNSC was able to eventually defeat the Covenant at Harvest for a second time.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 157'' (2010)</ref><ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 181'' (2010)</ref>