Battle of Charnov Forest

The Battle of Charnov Forest was an engagement during the UNSC-GFS War between the and elements the Gilgamesh Free Army's 25th Infantry Regiment. After the rebel defeats at the Battle of Corley and Battle of Maizefield, those units in retreat were given orders to link up at the Gray Reservoir, up the Narrows River. While the GFS troops retreated as fast as possible while maintaining unit cohesion, there was still the very real possibility of an encirclement and destruction of a large number of the units making up the Free Army. However, as the GFS units were retreating along the coast and abutting Charnov Forest the only route that UNSC troops could take to fully encircle the retreating units was through a small cleared area of the forest, as the rest was impassable to vehicles, and would take infantry exponentially longer, denying the UNSC the ability to encircle the GFS units.
Realizing this, Colonel Irwin Hess, commander of the 23rd Infantry Regiment, stationed along the flank of the GFS units, detached one rifle battalion and most of the regiment's heavy weapons to hold the chokepoint in the forest until they either could not hold any longer, or until they were given the order to retreat once the GFS units were considered to be safe from encirclement. Without any idea how long they had until the UNSC would reach the chokepoint, the battalion moved as quickly as it could to prepare for the upcoming action. 
Under orders from the battalion's commander, the bridge across the Narrows River, which ran through the forest, was immediately blown as soon as it was crossed, leaving the battalion almost no escape. The remaining defenses were of a haphazard nature, with vehicles used as roadblocks, landmines hurriedly placed along the road, and troops stationed in quickly dug ditches or natural features that lent themselves to defense.
In the early hours of September 10th, the first advance UNSC units made contact with GFS troops. Already blocked by the makeshift roadblocks, the narrow road only became more clogged as UNSC vehicles ran over mines or were ambushed from the forest by GFS troops. For the next three days, UNSC troops consistently attempted to break through, each time to no avail, until finally, on September 13th, airpower diverted from the Battle of Peachbrook was finally allocated to the UNSC forces, which allowed them to destroy the remainder of the 2nd Battalion.
Category:Safe Havens