Siege of New Alexandria: Difference between revisions

:*{{UNSCship|Stalwart Dawn}}

The '''Siege of New Alexandria''' was a major engagement between the [[United Nations Space Command]] and the [[Covenant]] within the city of [[New Alexandria]] on [[Reach]] that occurred from [[2552#August|August 18th to August 23rd, 2552]]. Major evacuations of civilians took place as part of '''Operation: SWORD 52'''.<ref>'''[[Halo 5: Guardians Limited Edition]]''', ''Spartan Locke's Classified Orders''</ref> The raid ended with the [[glassing]] of the city.  At least 5,000 civilians and soldiers were successfully evacuated out of the city; however, hundreds more were killed as they tried to escape.<ref name="Exodus">'''Halo: Reach''', campaign level ''[[Exodus]]''</ref><ref name="New Alexandria"/>

By August 23, the situation in New Alexandria had reached crisis point. The battle had raged for five days, as the human defenders fought fiercely against the Covenant advance. However, the fight in orbit had scattered the UNSC fleet, and the Covenant managed to punch through the UNSC's orbital line and support the assault on New Alexandria with four {{Class|SDV|heavy corvette}}s, which dominated the sky over the city, turning the battle in the Covenant's favor. On the morning of August 23rd, [[SPARTAN-B312]] entered the city after surviving the destruction of ''Long Night of Solace''. The UNSC was attempting to evacuate civilians from Traxus Tower to the starport, but Covenant forces had blocked their efforts. UNSC troopers escorting a group of civilians were engaged by Jiralhanae forces when Noble Six intervened. Led by the Spartan, the troopers managed to overcome the Covenant opposition to secure an elevator leading to the cargo port and Traxus Tower. Before Noble Six could arrive, however, one of the Corvettes demolished the tower. A local executive landing pad provided the only accessible evacuation point, but the structure of the city made it difficult to reach. [[Orbital Drop Shock Trooper|ODST]] specialists, the "[[Bullfrogs]]", equipped with jet packs, were preparing to secure the executive landing pad when Noble Six arrived at the cargo port. The ODSTs accepted the help of the Spartan immediately, and the group began battling their way across the city. The elite team cut their way through the Covenant forces in possession of the landing pad and cleared the way for Pelicans to pick up evacuating civilians.  

By nightfall on August 23rd, the situation had deteriorated further for the UNSC forces, as the Covenant had placed [[Covenant communications jammer|communication jammers]] on numerous buildings throughout the city, severing communications between the surviving UNSC troops and HIGHCOM. SPARTAN-B312, having rejoined [[Noble Team]], was tasked with destroying the jammers in spite of the now-overwhelming Covenant air superiority. Noble Six eliminated all three jammers and aided other UNSC troops trapped in the ruined city. However, two [[CCS-class Battlecruiser]]s arrived during this time and began glassing sections of the city. With the loss of the city now imminent, SPARTAN-B312 assisted in the final evacuation of the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]]'s headquarters, the [[Olympic Tower]], by providing air support against numerous anti-aircraft [[Shade]] turrets, and rejoined Noble Team inside the building. The team had a temporary reprieve while [[Kat-B320]] attempted to link to SATCOM, and Jun-A266 surveyed the city. As discussion moved from [[Jorge-052]]'s sacrifice during UPPER CUT to the deteriorating situation on Reach, [[Colonel]] [[Urban Holland]] hailed the team on an open channel. Carter-A259, although risking detection by Covenant, answered the hail and received Holland's orders.

==Aftermath==