Earth Sustained Defence Campaign

The Earth Sustained Defence Campaign, also referred to as the Battle for Earth, was the single-largest planet-wide engagement of the . Part of the larger , the battle was fought on all seven continents between forces of the , the , and briefly the . Begun in October 2552 with the accidental discovery of Earth by a fleet commanded by the Covenant , the , the UNSC would scramble to oppose the Prophet's small force, which would run the gauntlet of numerous orbital defences and make landfall in the . Heavy fighting ensued in the area surrounding and , as further Covenant reinforcements arrived in-system and began to force the already-weakened UNSC naval forces back.
Covenant efforts would focus around East Africa, the and , however the devastation wrought by the Covenant presence would affect almost every nation on the planet. Fighting was fiercest around the cities of New Mombasa, , , and , as weeks of combat would force the UNSC forces to their breaking point. East Africa would be almost entirely occupied by forces directly led by the , which had excavated a large portion of land near New Mombasa to reveal a portal. Truth himself would arrive in late November in a . Covenant reinforcements would arrive sporadically over the next two weeks, as the remnants of the UNSC would undertake hit-and-run missions on Covenant vessels. 
The tide would turn on November 17th, as arrived at the Sol System to assist UNSC forces in battling Truth's loyalists. Truth and a large portion of his forces would subsequently activate the and fled into it, arriving at . After destroying a outbreak in New Mombasa, the separatists and a small UNSC force would follow Truth into the portal, beginning the . With their fleet gone, supplies dwindling and no chance of reinforcements, the remaining Covenant forces would be swiftly destroyed by the UNSC, with the last pocket holding out until the 3rd of December.
The Earth Sustained Defence Campaign was the penultimate battle of the war, and was won, with great cost, by the UNSC and their unlikely allies. With the conflict ended thanks to the actions of on The Ark, the UNSC could rebuild from its shattered remnants - rebuilding that would start on humanity's homeworld.
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==Background==
===Regret's Search===
Throughout the 2540s, despite the ongoing , a concerted effort had been made by the Covenant’s to find the fabled ‘Ancient Rings’, best known as the . This search was spearheaded by the the , who would personally lead exploration fleets in searching for the Forerunner creations when new information was revealed. The most important structure to the Covenant, however, was , where all seven Halo rings could be detonated from remotely.
In late 2551, a team from the dispatched by Regret would find a on the human colony of . Detailing two to unlock the contents of the decrypted artefact, in 2552 Regret would finally learn through the Luminary how to find the location of The Ark. The Luminary confirmed the existence of The Ark, and the location of a device that could activate a to the mega-structure, on the planet Erde-Tyrene. Little did Regret realise that the planet of Erde-Tyrene was in fact the homeworld of humanity, . 
Regret would immediately depart on the mission to Earth with all the ships at his disposal, some fifteen capital ships (two assault carriers and thirteen battlecruisers), even after the protestations of the fleet’s commander, . He would arrive in the system on the 20th of October, after a forward scout had engaged UNSC forces in-system on the . This scout, however, would never alert Regret to the presence of human forces, having been forced to fleet the system after suffering heavy damage. As such, Regret would enter into an engagement that neither he nor the UNSC were expecting.
===The Fall of Reach===
Before Regret had set off on his journey to Erde-Tyrene, the Covenant would discover the location of humanity’s most important colonial military and industrial hub – . Located by a Covenant Luminary fleet in July of 2552, a high-intensity ground campaign would be waged between the Covenant and UNSC, escalating when in early-August Covenant forces would be revealed to have a giant acting as their command-and-control base. An operation to destroy the supercarrier would be successful, however ultimately did little as a arrived to reinforce the Luminary fleet.
With priorities now shifting from counteroffensives to evacuation efforts, the UNSC would essentially trade lives for time as Covenant glassing efforts began in earnest. On the 30th of August, however, a dispatched by the Covenant , led by Fleetmaster , would reach Reach. Alerted to Reach’s existence via a Covenant that attached itself to a UNSC destroyer after the , ‘Vadamee’s fleet would sustain heavy casualties in subjugating the remaining UNSC defences. Ultimately, however, the Covenant would sweep aside human resistance and begin glassing operations, destroying the last bastion of UNSC defence before Earth. 
===Alpha Halo & FIRST STRIKE===
One of the ships to flee the destruction at Reach was the light cruiser . Led by Captain , he would be pursued by ‘Vadamee and a battlecruiser squadron of the , where, in the above the planet , they would find a Halo ring: . In actuality this was no accident, for the Pillar of Autumn’s AI, , had decrypted a data crystal providing the location of the Halo ring, and directed the Pillar of Autumn towards the Soell System as a result.
With the UNSC forces forced to abandon the cruiser, they would fight a protracted week-long battle against Covenant forces on the ring, fighting over the multiple and scattered across the surface of the ancient ring. However, the battle would reach new heights as the , an ancient parasitic group of bioforms was unleashed onto the ring, having escaped their containment. With the UNSC and Covenant at risk of being swarmed by the Flood’s growing power, supersoldier would detonate the now-crashed Pillar of Autumn’s to destroy the Halo and remove any chance of the Flood escaping. 
Escaping the destruction and joining with a holding other UNSC survivors, the Master Chief would lead them in a mission to capture a Covenant , that they would take to Reach, to search for any survivors. When in-system, they would rescue a group of SPARTAN-IIs and other personnel, before discovering the existence of a large Covenant fleet organised by the – for the purpose of conquering and glassing Earth. As part of Truth’s many plans to usurp the other High Prophet’s role in leading the Covenant, Truth had found the location of Earth, and assembled a fleet comprised of -led forces – the species Truth planned to replace the with as the military leaders of the Covenant.
In an operation known as , the commandeered Covenant command ship and a salvaged would be used to infiltrate the Covenant fleet, concentrated around a huge . With a force of SPARTANS overloading the space station’s , the resulting explosion would annihilate most of the surrounding ships, and remove the threat to Earth posed by Truth’s fleet. Arriving at Earth in early October, the remaining UNSC forces would alert to the resulting events of the past two months, accelerating UNSC defensive efforts as they knew the Covenant had learned Earth’s location. These efforts would bear fruit, and unintentionally prepare the UNSC for the accidental encounter they were to face on October 20th.
== First Phase==
===Regret's Arrival===
Regret’s command, the , would arrive in-system on the 20th October in between the planets of Earth and . Arriving just outside the range of the UNSC’s extremely fortified orbital defences, the fleet would sit idly for several minutes, due to the unexpected UNSC presence – it was said that Regret himself exclaimed when he saw the level of UNSC defences around Earth. Nevertheless, the shock would wear off quickly, and Fleetmaster ‘Salmutee would order his two assault carriers to disgorge dozens of to assault a specific group of platforms in the – the CAM Cluster (, & ). Incidentally, aboard Cairo Station was the commander of all UNSC forces, Fleet Admiral , along with John-117 and other heroes from the Fall of Reach and Battle of Installation 04.
These boarding craft would dodge the volley of fire aimed at them by the closed UNSC formation, the UNSC , under the tactical command of Admiral . Harper’s force of seventy-five cruisers and frigates would begin to advance on the Covenant fleet, only to be ordered back by Hood to protect the orbital stations. Squadrons of would tangle with Covenant , managing to destroy many but not all of the boarding craft. They would latch onto the Cairo, Malta and Athens Stations, with a stout UNSC defence slowing their progress.
Malta however would be the first to break, as the Covenant boarding party would successfully plant an in the depths of the station, before evacuating and allowing the bomb to detonate. This would be followed quickly by the Athens minutes later, and the Cairo would only be saved from destruction thanks to the efforts of John-117 and the AI Cortana. As this occurred, Regret’s fleet began to accelerate towards Earth, in what was an attempt to blow past the orbital defences and land troops on the surface. In a move prompted by the desperation to the situation, John-117 would take the disarmed Covenant anti-matter bomb and would leave Cairo Station with the device, guiding it through the void into the assault carrier . 
Its shields neutralised by a concentrated assault from the Fifth Fleet, and with a hole punctured through its hull by guided munitions from Longswords, John-117 would plant the bomb within the carrier and set the timer, narrowly escaping the ensuing explosion. The Day of Jubilation would shatter, pieces of its wreck being flung to the surface of Earth and into space. Boarding the frigate , the SPARTAN would be ferried to the surface along with many other UNSC vessels’ marine components, as despite the UNSC’s efforts Regret’s flagship, the , would breach the defences and begin disgorging troops on the surface of Earth, concentrated around a specific region – , .
===Landing Operations in East Africa===
Covenant forces would land in the capital province of the (EAP), due to the coordinates gleaned from the Meridian artefact. Whilst the prioritisation of the portal was Truth's obsession, 'Salmutee would follow the Prophet's orders due to the strategic and tactical logic it followed. New Mombasa was the location of a space elevator that, if captured, would allow for easy deployment of reinforcements, should they come. Furthermore, its central location on the globe would allow for secondary incursions to be made planetwide, after they had secured the region for their own operations. As such, the first units to land on the surface of Earth would be the Sangheili-led units of the 901st Heavy Decimation Army, elements of which had been involved at the Battle of Manassas during the Fall of Reach. These shock troops would make planetfall in a drop-pod assault on the New Mombasa International Airport, lightly defended by several companies of the East African Protectorate's National Militia.
Forcing the Militia forces back over the course of the early morning of the 20th of October, the 901st Heavy Decimation army would be fully transferred from the Solemn Penance to the ground, as the remaining Covenant battlecruisers in orbit used the hole in Earth's ODG to ferry down their own complements of soldiers and equipment. Hit-and-run attacks from the warships of the Home Fleet's elite 2nd Destroyer Squadron would result in many and cargo-lifters destroyed, however at great cost to the 2nd Destroyer Squadron, losing nine of their twelve vessels. 
At 0930 Eastern Africa Time, a localised counterattack would be launched at the international airport's West Terminals, by recently-arrived UNSC soldiers from Fort Victoria north of the city and the remainder of the EAP National Militia forces. Disjointed and ill-planned, the attack would bog down in heavy urban combat in the suburb of Likoni on the outskirts of the airport, as dug-in Covenant forces repulsed the UNSC attack for little cost. This failed counterattack would immediately be followed up by several probing attacks on UNSC positions in the suburbs, reversing what little gains the UNSC had made and further expanding the Covenant perimeter. Covenant lances were also deployed in the old city, supported by several ultra-heavy weapons platforms. These isolated pockets would delay the arrival of John-117 and other shipborne UNSC reinforcements, as they were forced to land in Old Mombasa and fight their way into the metropolis, lest they be shot down by the now-entrenched Covenant fortifications.
By late morning, the Covenant had made significant gains in both New and Old Mombasa, with New Mombasa's CBD and technological sector, the Kilindini Hills, becoming frontline suburbs. The main UNSC force in the city itself, the , had been decimated by the repeated Covenant offensives, sustaining over 50% casualties in a single day's fighting. Fighting reached new heights in the early afternoon, as desperate UNSC forces rushed into the city. Attempts to turn the high-rises of New Mombasa into fortress outposts similar to the battle for during the Fall of Reach would fail, as Covenant forces utilised to topple buildings and form suitable defensive positions, as the rubble blocked most of the main roads into New Mombasa from the north and northeast. 
Crucially, the destruction of these high-rise buildings cut off most routes of access to the for the UNSC, isolating a composite force of UNSC Army Rangers, ODSTs, marines and even in the . The orbital elevator would sustain severe damage to its base supports, thanks to Covenant artillery and UNSC counterbattery fire. Covenant forces, notably the 101st Salient Mobility Brigade, would attempt to destroy the UNSC force in the reserve, however impromptu defensive earthworks, and the release of dangerous predators from their exhibits in the reserve's enclosed zoo, would force the Covenant back to their starting lines with heavy casualties. Unfortunately, these battles would result in the deaths of much of the reserve's native wildlife, including the extinction of the Ethiopian Wolf. 
The afternoon saw a renewed effort by the UNSC to retake lost territory. With the collapse of Covenant efforts in Old Mombasa thanks to John-117's destruction of a command Scarab, UNSC forces isolated in Old Mombasa were able to flow into New Mombasa via the . Between 1230 and 1400 hours, over 25,000 UNSC personnel from the and would flow into the city, beginning a slow but steady offensive to retake ground. This was exacerbated by the seeming abandonment of first and second-line defensive positions by Covenant forces in the west of the CBD. The reason why would be discovered by the UNSC frigate , which detected the Solemn Penance rapidly moving away from the city. Not known to the UNSC was that Regret and his Stewards had decrypted from information gathered in several archaeological digsites, the location of yet another Halo installation. 
Recalling many of the forces to the Solemn Penance, Regret would open an in-atmosphere slipspace portal above New Mombasa. Pursued by the In Amber Clad and the warships , and , the four UNSC vessels would all enter the portal before it closed. The resulting shockwave severely damaged many buildings in New Mombasa, toppling several and further damaging the already-weakened space elevator's supports. An incoming ODST drop-pod assault from the cruiser would be disrupted and scattered by the portal, and most UNSC and Covenant aircraft airborne in the immediate vicinity would be destroyed. 
At this time, the UNSC's dominance in space was challenged yet again. Whilst most of the Fleet of Sacred Consecration had been destroyed in fierce combat around the now-shattered CAM Cluster, the UNSC Home Command had taken heavy casualties, with the Fifth Fleet entirely wiped out save for fifteen cruisers and frigates. At 1430 Greenwich Mean Time, twenty-two ships from the , survivors from , would exit slipspace in close proximity to the CAM Cluster. Under the command of , the Fleet of Inner Knowledge's warships would press the advantage their unexpected arrival gave them, depositing further troops in and around New Mombasa. Burrus's flagship, the carrier Teash's Will, and two battlecruisers, however, would travel under the Earth ODG and target the city of , in the . 
=== Second Wave Operations===
====North American Landings====
Burrus would lead elements of his Fra'shad Legion in landing at three key locations around Cleveland. Led there by reports from scout craft would indicate that the city was sitting above a Forerunner installation, and its position as the largest industrial zone in the URNA, bar , . He would settle the two battlecruisers east of the city, sending several battalions of infantry north to begin excavation efforts on the shores of , near . The majority of the Fra'shad Legion, some 40,000 , and Jiralhanae warriors, would in conjunction launch a mechanised offensive towards the industrial district centered around .
Defended by the recently-activated 23rd Ohio National Guard Division and the UNSC's , the latter of which was still rebuilding after the Fall of Reach, two hours of hard fighting would result in Solon falling to the Covenant offensive, with further probing attacks moving the frontline as far south as Akron. Covenant airstrikes would destroy many UNSC strongpoints surrounding Cleveland, and large military installations. The most significant loss was the destruction of the UNSC's Joint Base Medina, which housed the 29th Armoured Division and most of the Great Lakes Military Districts' heavy combat equipment.
 in Sydney, upon hearing of the Cleveland incursion, would order a general mobilisation of all UNSC forces in North and South America. General Taylor D. Maxwell, commander-in-chief of the , would also deploy ready-reserve forces to Cleveland from and , although these would not arrive until late in the evening of the 22nd. By that time, the Covenant beachhead in Ohio had expanded from Akron to , and several hours of heavy fighting had seen Covenant armoured spearheads enter into Cleveland's CBD, with staunch defence from and civilian militias holding the Fra'shad Legion back at after three separate attacks. 
Burrus would halt any advances at sunset on the 22nd, ordering that the temporary earthworks and defensive fortifications created during the day to be upgraded and expanded considerably. Throughout the night of the 22nd/23rd, plascrete and bunkers and pillboxes would be fabricated, along with drive-in vehicle slots for hull-down . Many suburbs and skyscrapers would be bulldozed to create new barricades or to make room for supply dumps, artillery batteries and makeshift landing strips for and . 
Two UNSC attacks would be launched in the night, one from within Cleveland towards , spearheaded by the 556th Mechanised Infantry Division. Elements of the 7th Marine Raider Regiment would be airdropped behind enemy lines via , sowing chaos and destroying key gun emplacements in the way of the 556th. Whilst they would make some headway along the I90 Highway, fierce losses when crossing the Newman Memorial Bridge would see the counteratttack completely stunted. The 7th Marine Raider Regiment would be almost entirely wiped out whilst attempting to cross back to UNSC lines, with a scant 87 soldiers surviving the operation. 
The second counterattack was far larger. Codenamed Operation: YELLOW CRUSADE, this offensive was targeted at cutting off Covenant forces in Akron from Cleveland. The narrow, five kilometre corridor along State Route 8 had been under constant stress thanks to UNSC aerial superiority, and probing actions by local Army reservists and National Guard members. The attack would be launched at 1900 local time from , led by the recently-arrived 90th 'Green Leaf' Marine Division from Dublin. Thanks to reconnaissance conducted by low-flying , YELLOW CRUSADE would hit a segment of the line manned exclusively by Unggoy footsoldiers, with minimal vehicle or Jiralhanae support. Shattering the line, the 90th's would race north along State Route 8, rolling up retreating Covenant forces. South, the 9th Ohio National Guard Division would push towards Akron, making considerable headway before being halted in the city's outskirts at 2130 by Covenant direct artillery fire. 
The 90th would halt their offensive at 0345 the next day, having pushed all the way to before recuperating. These attacks would lead to Burrus holding a war council with the Fra'shad Legion's top commanders in the early hours of the 23rd. Owing to the tenuous hold on the suburbs of Cleveland, and the far greater defensive fortifications in Akron that thus far hadn't been breached, Burrus would order for all forces in and around Cleveland to evacuate to Akron, where they would extend south and east, towards the . 
The evacuation would begin in earnest at 0520, with the Teash's Will providing heavy cover for the fleeing dropships and heavy-lifters. The two escorting battlecruisers, the United Penance and Sordid Destiny, were dispatched to Akron during the night, making use of a lull in the fighting and the UNSC's lack of heavy anti-aircraft capability in the area to escape. The UNSC did little to prevent these movements, as their forces had suffered heavy losses during Operation: YELLOW CRUSADE and other defensive actions around Cleveland. By 1100, all remaining Fra'shad Legion forces had arrived at Akron, and in the late afternoon several shaping operations would be conducted towards , followed by a general offensive. Owing to the weakened UNSC presence south of Akron, the town would fall in the late-afternoon, as the UNSC struggled to retake the initiative in Ohio. 
====Kenyan Operations====
Despite the recalling of ground forces in New Mombasa to the Solemn Penance, a large amount of Covenant forces still remained within the city. these forces would spend the night of the 20th/21st battling within the CBD and suburbs, with local UNSC counterattacks pushing back Sangheili-led forces from and back towards the International Airport. Desperate calls from the regional Sangheili commander, Blademaster Rota 'Daramee, for reinforcements fell on deaf ears, as Jiralhanae units retreated back towards , leaving many Sangheili encircled. This action served as a point of contention for Sangheili units still within the Covenant pocket, with brief firefights erupting between Sangheili and Jiralhanae units. Many UNSC commanders would take advantage of this, pushing the Covenant forces back along the southern frontline. In a quick, decisive act, 'Daramee would place demolitions charges along the Likoni and Liwatoni Bridges, detonating them prematurely as an armoured column from the 14th Marine Division raced towards the bridges. 
This act would halt the UNSC's advance towards Mombasa Island for a short time, however by 0032 on the 21st, the UNSC had recaptured the entirety of South Mombasa and Likoni from the Covenant forces. The tide would soon shift against the UNSC's brief seizing of the initiative, as the Covenant forces would reorganise and remerge as a coherent fighting force - mostly due to the execution of most Sangheili forces within the city. In what had begun as early as 1600 in the afternoon of the 20th, recently-arrived Jiralhanae from the Fleet of Inner Knowledge had begun a series of pogroms against Sangheili forces, executing the leaders and merging the remaining Unggoy and Kig-Yar into their own units. Many on the frontline had no knowledge of the occurrence, however as the skirmishes between the two warring species became more widespread - aided by the rumours that the Jiralhanae had left stranded Sangheili to die in New Mombasa's western suburbs - Sangheili forces began to turn their weapons against the Jiralhanae. The Sangheili began to dwindle rapidly, as they were outnumbered by the fresh Jiralhanae reinforcements, with the last pocket of Sangheili resistance remaining defiant until 0145, when the building they were sheltering in was brought down by anti-matter charges. Blademaster 'Daramee himself slew several dozen Jiralhanae, before he was defeated by Chieftain Malgus in single combat.
With the Sangheili forces within New Mombasa neutered, and the Jiralhanae cementing control, Chieftain Malgus would begin his own counteroffensive against the UNSC. Focusing several armoured battalions of the recently-arrived Tirra'la Legion around his western flank, at 0500 local time they would begin a push west towards and . Encountering little UNSC resistance due to dwindling local reserves, and the concentration of forces along the aptly-named defensive Southern Line, Covenant armoured columns broke through the light garrisons handily. Mazeras would fall into Jiralhanae hands by dawn of the 21st, however Mienzeni would remain uncaptured. Covenant columns were forced to divert around the town, with a garrison of 2500 paratroopers from the 67th Airborne Brigade holding the town, using everything at their disposal, including replica -era tanks taken from a collector's exhibit. 
Mienzeni would not fall until the 25th, however until that point the Covenant would continue to extend to the west - however with Mienzeni standing defiant, a new push began to the north, towards . The mechanized offensive met with little to no resistance, however despite this the Covenant were still in a hurry to expand as far as possible, despite no strategic objectives in the region. This was due to the directive from Chieftain Malgus, given to him personally by the Prophet of Truth, to clear out an extremely large area of Earth to begin excavation on the Forerunner portal. This was aided by Regret's forces having begun mining operations a day earlier, clearing out a portion of land between and . With the UNSC's western and northern flank collapsing, the few battlecruisers under Malgus' command began to use their excavation beams to clear out yet more land, slowly but surely chipping away at the Kenyan landscape until ancient metal was unearthed. 
Local UNSC command had all but collapsed by the morning of the 21st, with the local headquarters in Mombasa's destroyed by Covenant artillery fire and bombing raids. Most units were down to 50% combat effectives, and whilst Kenya was the most active theater in the Eastern Hemisphere, UEG officials were prohibiting the relocation of many other forces in fear of local attacks and offensives. UNSC Army General Taylor Maxwell had implored Lord Admiral Hood to invoke martial law, but Hood was unavailable, with communication between Cairo Station and Earth briefly severed by Covenant jamming. Subsequently, Taylor used what authority he did have to withdraw all UNSC forces from Mombasa to more defensible positions - mostly due to the inability to continue resupplying UNSC forces in the area. Covenant air superiority had taken a large toll on local UNSC air assets, and many roads and railheads had been destroyed. 
Evacuation efforts would begin by mid-morning, with all UNSC forces remaining in Mombasa withdrawing to the by noon. A consistent airlift of Pelican and Albatros dropships, covered by several squadrons of appropriated from the orbital defences, would allow for 39,000 marines and soldiers to escape, being airlifted to to establish forward positions for reinforcements promised by General Taylor. These reinforcements had been promised, but by 1300 Maxwell was still in arguments with local UEG politicians as to which forces would be appropriated. This debate would be cut short as Hood, finally back in communication with the UNSC, invoked martial law at 1230 Greenwich Mean Time, allowing Maxwell to direct the UNSC Army's 4th Area Defence Command from Sudan and Ethiopia down to the Kenyan Theatre. These forces would meet the Covenant at the city of , with flying columns of the Niria Legion having arrived at the undefended town earlier in the day. Garissa was a ghost town by the time the 6th Armoured Division had fought its way into the city, with mass graves and burial trenches littered around the area - the Covenant had engaged in a massacre not dissimilar to what was done to the town of Quezon on Reach. 
Buoyed by his newfound ability to direct units to ongoing campaigns unimpeded by civilian authorities, Maxwell ordered the UNSC Army's XXII Corps in Mozambique and Malawi to redeploy to Kenya, and to prepare for a counteroffensive to retake the UNSC's positions south of the city. However, pathfinder units of the 45th Ranger Regiment would be engaged in combat by Covenant forces in , south of the Kenyan-Tanzanian border. These Covenant units were unsupported and isolated, which allowed for UNSC units to encircle and destroy the units with relative ease - the march back to New Mombasa continued. 
The 22nd of October saw further UNSC successes in advancing to New Mombasa, as the XXII Corps began to attack as a composite force, driving back the relatively weak Saa'nal Legion along the coastline. Crossing back into Kenya, the XXII Corps found themselves halted at the town of , just fifty kilometres short of New Mombasa. There, dug-in Wraith mortar-tanks and the advent of Covenant air support forced the XXII Corps to attempt to encircle the town - this would be met with failure, as by 1400 the UNSC was forced back to their starting lines with heavy casualties. Further elements bypassed Msambweni, with the 12th Ranger Regiment and the 778th Armoured Brigade led the charge to New Mombasa. The 12th Rangers would reach Mbuguni by sunset of the 22nd, however Msambweni had still not fallen, and would not fall until 0650 on the 23rd. In the meantime, the UNSC position in Mbuguni and the recently-liberated suburbs of Likoni and Denyenye was reinforced by elements of the 65th Shock Troops Division and 332nd Infantry Division, which were quickly put to the test by a series of fierce and brutal trench raids conducted by Jiralhanae warpacks of the Niria Legion. Local Covenant commander, Chieftain Malgus, concerned that if he did not push further west he could be outflanked, would then order the most of forces at Mienzeni to bypass the town and converge on Voi - reinforcements were promised to follow soon after them. 
The 23rd and 24th saw stagnation in the south and north, as the Covenant held onto their gains and began to fortify their position - although the priority was not taking territory, but allowing for excavation operations to continue. The western theatre, however, was a flurry of activity. The UNSC had shifted fully half of their naval assets from Asia and Oceania to the East African coast, and sorties from the and Ragnar Lodbrok ran hundreds of sorties a day against Malgus' forces. These sorties, whilst effective in interrupting Covenant entrenching operations, were deadly to their pilots, as the Covenant put up a fierce resistance in the air and on the ground. Operations over New Mombasa were especially dangerous, with the 776th Interception Squadron taking 80% casualties in a single sortie over the Kenyan capital. Despite the intense aerial tempo, the only major battles at this time were the continued resistance of Mienzeni, and the largest tank battle of the campaign so far at Kajire - the 88th 'Black Hats' Armoured Division held off three separate attacks from the mechanised Golgot Legion, before retreating with only 34% combat effectiveness remaining. 
===Third Wave Reinforcements===
== Second Phase==
===Zealous Domination Offensive===
===Operation: STRAWBERRY FIELDS===
===Siege of HIGHCOM Bravo-Six===
===Battle for Quito===
==Third Phase==
=== The Great Schism===
===The Yangtze Floods===
===Destruction of the Antarctic Dams===
===Liberation of Sydney===
===Battle of London===
==Fourth Phase==
===Truth's Arrival===
===Operation: CHERRY TREE===
===Second Battle of Mombasa===
===Withdrawal & Containment===
==="Sink, Burn, Capture, Destroy. Let Nothing Pass."===
==Final Phase==
===Death Ride of the Wraiths===
===Battle of Hainan===
===Liberation of the Rockies===
===The Final Pockets===
==Aftermath==
Category:Battles
Category:Battles of the Human-Covenant War
Category:Events