Second Siege of the Atlas Moons

The Second Siege of the Atlas Moons was a prolonged battle between the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant in 2550 and lasted until the end of the Human-Covenant War on December 11th, 2552, around the moons of Atlas in the Valence system. While the moons were attacked by the Covenant, they were ultimately not glassed.
During the siege, Orbital Drop Shock Trooper Troy McCavins participated in the battle, being his first deployment. Seeing a great deal of fighting, the battle allowed him to realize the true horror of fighting the Covenant.
== Prelude ==
In 2538, the Covenant discovered and attacked the Atlas Moons but were repelled by UNSC Navy forces under the command of Danforth Whitcomb. The Covenant, not believing the planet capturable with their current force, left, hoping to return at a later date, but they would not return for over a decade as the war drew their attention elsewhere, leaving the Valence system alone.
After the inhabitants of the Atlas Moons tried to recover from the battle, they would see their work leveled again when the Covenant finally returned in 2550 to finish off the Atlas Moons,
== Battle ==
Having learned from their previous attack on the moons, the Covenant attempted a new use of tactics to break through the UNSC defenses, eventually landing troops on at least one of the moons, a frozen wasteland, and engaging UNSC marines on the surface. The situation eventually required Orbital Drop Shock Troopers to be deployed to the planets to push back the Covenant invaders, including Troy McCavins, who experienced the true horrors of fighting the Covenant. The UNSC presumably suffered heavy losses during this battle, with the Covenant partially glassing the moons during the battle.
By 2552, UNSC forces on the planet were still holding out, though several, including Troy, had been moved to Earth to participate in its defense against the colossal Covenant invasion there. The UNSC ultimately owed their success to the outbreak of the Great Schism, where Covenant command became fractured and the Sangheili-controlled forces on the planet ceased their assault, travelling to other parts of the galaxy to fight against the Prophets that had ordered their extinction.
Category:Battles
Category:Battles of the Human-Covenant War