Earth: Difference between revisions

===Post-Great Purification===

===Rise of humanity===

[[World War II]] came to a close in [[1945]] with the first usage of human [[Nuclear weapon]]s at [[Japan|Nagasaki and Hirshima]].<ref name="encyctimeline">''[[Halo Encyclopedia (2009 edition)]]'', Timeline, p. 31</ref> The bomb at Hiroshima left a [[Wikipedia:Hiroshima Peace Memorial|domed structure]] still standing.{{Ref/Reuse|origins}}  

{{Main|Battle for Earth}}

{{Quote|The entire population of Earth was cut in half as the first battle of Earth began...|[[Halo Encyclopedia (2009 edition)]]{{Ref/Reuse|ENC}}}}

On [[2552#October|October 20, 2552]], the first Covenant forces entered the [[Sol system]]. A [[Fleet of Sacred Consecration|Covenant expeditionary force]] consisting of 13 [[Ket-pattern battlecruiser|battlecruisers]] and 2 [[CAS-class assault carrier|assault carriers]] arrived in system, first detected around [[Io]], the third largest moon of Jupiter.{{Ref/Reuse|BoE1}} After the existence of the Covenant presence was confirmed by probes, the UNSC forces went to full alert. The option was taken to wait for the Covenant forces to come to them rather than let [[Harper|Fleet Admiral Harper]] launch a counter attack. The Covenant began to work on punching a hole through the orbital defenses by taking out the stations in the battle cluster above the Mediterranean Sea via [[Antimatter charge|bombs]] planted by [[R'sisho-pattern Tick|boarding parties]].{{Ref/Reuse|BoE1}} After the Covenant fleet attempted to rush through the newly formed gap the [[Fifth Fleet|UNSC fleet]] annihilated them, destroying most of the Covenant battlecruisers but failing to destroy the assault carriers. One of the assault carriers, ''[[Day of Jubilation]]'', was successfully destroyed by [[SPARTAN-II Program|SPARTAN-II]] [[John-117]] but the other, ''[[Solemn Penance]]'' commanded by the [[Prophet of Regret|High Prophet of Regret]] arrived over the [[city]] of [[Mombasa]] in [[Kenya]] via [[slipspace]] and quickly [[Battle of Mombasa|assaulted]] it.{{Ref/Level|Id=BoE2|H2|[[Outskirts]]}}{{Ref/Game|Id=sscirc1arc2|ODST|Detail=Sadie's Story, Circle 1, Arc 2}}

The Covenant continued to assault the planet with even more additional [[Covenant fleet]]s arriving in the Sol system and their forces being deployed all across Earth in the following days and weeks, including at [[Mount Erebus]] and the sea floor off of the [[Yucatan Peninsula]].{{Ref/Novel|Id=goo203|Halo: Ghosts of Onyx|Page=203}} Additionally, [[human colonies]] in the Sol system such as [[Mars]] and [[Luna]] were attacked by the Covenant.{{Ref/Generic|Id=FTH|Heading=[[Halo Legendary Crate]]|Subheading=[[Halo Legendary Crate/Data Drops|Data Drop #2]]|Detail=[[:File:LC 002 Doc 1.jpg|First Twelve Hours]]}} The Covenant also attacked [[Sydney]], home of the UNSC Headquarters, [[HIGHCOM Facility Bravo-6]]. Fortunately, despite the enormous damage inflicted on the city and [[Australia]], the UNSC HQ survived completely unharmed, owing to its underground facilities.{{Ref/Book|Id=BattleofSydney|Book=[[Halo Encyclopedia (2009 edition)]]|Chapter=Earth|Detail=p. 284-285, (2009); p. 296-297 (2011 edition)}} By November, the population of Earth reduced to around 5 billion, initially around 10 billion before the Covenant invasion.{{Ref/Reuse|ENC}} When the [[Great Schism]] began on [[2552#November|November 3, 2552]], the Jiralhanae and [[Covenant separatists|now-casted out]] [[Sangheili]] forces turned each other as the Covenant civil war stretched from the human homeworld all the way back to [[Sanghelios]], with many  [[Fleet of Retribution|Sangheili]] subsequently allied with the UNSC.{{Ref/Reuse|Id=TGJ}} At the [[Centennial Orbital Elevator]] in [[Havana]], [[Cuba]], the Jiralhanae forces were [[Battle of Havana|stymied]] by the three [[SPARTAN-II Program|SPARTAN-II]]s of [[Blue Team]], who were [[Onyx Conflict|re-deployed]] to [[Onyx]] soon after.{{Ref/Novel|Id=onyx220|Halo: Ghosts of Onyx|Page=220}}

The bloodiest battles for the planet were fought in mid November when the Covenant now led by the Jiralhanae and the Prophet of Truth began to concentrate more of their forces on Earth shortly after UNSC's [[Battle of Mare Erythraeum|defeat]] on Mars,{{Ref/Comic|Id=Issue 3|Halo Uprising|Issue=[[Halo: Uprising Issue 3|#3]]}} and when a [[Truth's fleet#Further engagements|massive Covenant loyalist armada]], which include the Jiralhanae-led [[High Charity defense fleet]] remnants and many Covenant loyalist survivors from the [[Fall of High Charity]], arrived in the system.{{Ref/Reuse|Id=TGJ}} Despite the dramatic increase in Covenant deployments, the works of [[Colonel]] [[James Ackerson]] in the Battle of Mare Erythraeum helped buy UNSC ground forces on Earth precious time,{{Ref/Book|Id=ackerson|Book=[[Halo Encyclopedia (2009 edition)]]|Page=??}} as the [[UNSC Home Fleet|Home Fleet]] would engage in full force against the massive Covenant attack in high Earth orbit by the time that the [[Forerunner Dreadnought]] carrying the Prophet of Truth would jump to Earth on November 17.{{Ref/Level|Id=TGJ|H2|[[The Great Journey (level)|The Great Journey]]}} However, the vast majority of the numerically-inferior UNSC fleet despite the orbital defense platforms was completely destroyed by the Prophet of Truth's overwhelming fleet, only leaving a few ships remaining on the planet.{{Ref/Level|Id=Truthfleet|H3|Crow's Nest|Quote=The Prophet of Truth's ships breached the Lunar perimeter. Smashed what was left of the Home Fleet. Terrestrial casualties from the subsequent bombardment were... extreme.}} With the subsequent [[Orbital bombardment|bombardment]] from the Covenant, the enemy fleet wiped out most of the human presence of Earth.{{Ref/Reuse|Id=Truthfleet}} Immediately after the fall of Mars, [[Cleveland]], [[Ohio]] was hit in an attempt to find a [[Key of Osanalan|supposed Forerunner artifact]],{{Ref/Comic|Id=Issue 1|Halo Uprising|Issue=[[Halo: Uprising Issue 1|#1]]}} but this [[Battle of Cleveland|attack]] was repulsed through the efforts of ODST forces and the self-sacrifice of Colonel James Ackerson who finally managed to delay the Covenant from pressing their assault on Earth with his plans before the planet could be heavily [[glassing|glassed]].{{Ref/Comic|Id=Issue 4|Halo Uprising|Issue=[[Halo: Uprising Issue 4|#4]]}}{{Ref/Comic|Id=Issue 2|Halo Uprising|Issue=[[Halo: Uprising Issue 2|#2]]}} Shortly after, Earth population was swifty now only about 200 million.{{Ref/Game|Id=bestiarum|Halo 3|[[Bestiarum]]}}