Tirana Campaign

The Tirana Campaign, alternatively known as the Siege of Tirana, was a large system-wide campaign within the Tirana System during the . One of the opening actions of the , the Tirana Campaign was the second-longest continuous battle of the war, only outlasted by the grueling . Begun as a response to the recent battlefield successes at and during Operation: FLY SWATTER, the Fleet of Everlasting Entropy was tasked with capturing the resource-rich and strategically-salient system. Despite attempted secrecy in redeployment, prowlers discovered their force concentration and subsequently diverted UNSC forces to Tirana. 
The initial actions of the campaign were a series of fast-paced, brutal actions across the system, with both sides sustaining heavy casualties before the campaign transitioned into a low-intensity, stagnant conflict briefly interrupted by short periods of fierce battles and skirmishes. The Covenant's initial strategy of a lightning campaign was for naught, as they cycled further reinforcements into the meat-grinder. The UNSC likewise continued to resupply Tirana, hoping to use the system as a major chokepoint into the and a massive propaganda tool, to supplement and attract attention from the many UNSC defeats. The campaign would end with a whimper in late-2551, as the Covenant discovered other entrypoints into the Inner Core, through and - and subsequently withdrew entirely from Tirana. 
Despite the UNSC's success, the Tirana Campaign was a Pyrrhic victory for humanity - and ultimately did little to change the course of the war.
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==Background==
By 2542, it was plainly obvious that the UNSC was losing the war against the Covenant. With over 400 human colonies glassed by the turn of the decade, humanity was becoming desperate for any actions that could turn the tide, or at least prolong their struggle for as long as possible. And, in April of 2541, Rear Admiral provided the UNSC with an opportunity to achieve that very objective. Returning from operational exile after the failure of Operation: CORRIDOR in 2532, Harper had, with the backing of Vice Admiral , Officer Commanding Outer Colonies Sector, gathered a scratch force of heavy capital ships to undertake a deep-penetration raid into Covenant space.
The resulting Operation: LONG REACH was a stunning success, as Harper's force of twenty-three ships annihilated a Covenant repair depot and fifty-one mainline warships in the Terra Invicta System over the span of three hours. The operation was hailed as a huge success, and Harper and Hood were tasked with planning a far larger, longer duration campaign to be begun in early 2542. This operation was presented to UNSC in November of 2541, and was subsequently greenlit and codenamed FLY SWATTER. The operation would begin in April 2542, with Harper leading his composite, well-supplied and independent task forces from the front. In total, from FLY SWATTER's beginning until its end in December 2543, 114 UNSC vessels had destroyed over four-hundred Covenant warships, dozens of orbital stations and severely disrupted Covenant frontline operations, such as the Siege of the Atlas Moons.
Occurring concurrently to Operation: FLY SWATTER was the in 2543, where Vice Admiral and destroyed a Covenant fleet of three-hundred vessels above the gas giant of Viperidae, in exchange for seventy UNSC ships. In total, over seven-hundred warships were destroyed in these two operations, setting back the Covenant's operational timetable back by months, if not years. As a result, Covenant leadership demanded a change - in doctrine and leadership. As such, Grand Admiral , the commander-in-chief of the Divine Righteousness Extermination sector, was forced into exile, and replaced by a favourite of the , Fleetmaster . 
'Vadamee opted to concentrate his dwindled forces and search for a target that could act as a jump-off point for further operations, whilst being relatively undefended comparative to other UNSC fortress worlds. After two months of continuous reconnaissance, 'Vadamee would decide upon his target - the Undoubtable Refuge System, better known to humanity as Tirana.
Tirana, as of 2544, was the largest remaining human colony in the . Technically considered an Inner Colony, its position as a 'gateway' world between the two regions meant it was a major UNSC supply depot and refugee world as the Human-Covenant War began. By the 2540s, Tirana was a lynchpin of the UNSC's defence, and had direct slipspace routes to both and . Additionally, Tirana III, its moons and the other settlements in the system had a potent garrison of and units, along with its own designated defence fleet. However, these units had, over the course of many, many battles and the Atlas Moons Campaign, been stripped away and separated, leaving a scratch force in its place. It was these dilapidated defences that Covenant recon probes discovered, prompting 'Vadamee to order the newly-formed Fleet of Everlasting Entropy to prepare for battle.
Led by Fleetmaster Akro 'Navamee, the Fleet of Everlasting Entropy contained fifty-six warships, and had been martialing in the Heimdall System, before receiving 'Vadamee's order to make for Tirana. Unfortunately for 'Navamee, his movements had been under observation for months by the Office of Naval Intelligence's prowler Down In The Dungeon. This circumstance gave several weeks to react, pulling together an impromptu task force formed around the supercarrier Nelson.
Commanded by Rear Admiral Danforth Whitcomb, Battlegroup Nelson arrived at Tirana an estimated three days before 'Navamee and his fleet. This time allowed Whitcomb to coordinate with the local defence units to prepare an ambush, hiding the majority of his ships within Tirana V's asteroid belt. A small group of vessels, mostly unmanned freighters, were positioned near Tirana IV, to act as bait for the Covenant - bait that 'Navamee fell for hook, line and sinker.
==Campaign==
===Initial Actions - June 1944 ===
The Fleet of Everlasting Entropy entered the Tirana System on the 14th of June 2544, with 'Navamee ordering his ships to make for the unescorted cluster of vessels. The fleet made quick headway, destroying all ships, before turning as if to launch an invasion of Tirana IV, in what was looking to be an extremely swift victory for the Covenant. This, however, was when Whitcomb would spring his trap, with the UNSC routing 'Navamee's fleet between Tirana IV and Tirana V. Whitcomb's superior numbers, and support from Tirana IV's orbital defence platforms, allowed Battlegroup Nelson to rapidly begin sinking outlying Covenant vessels that were far enough away from the main body's protective bubble. Nine warships were lost within the first twenty minutes for just three of their UNSC counterparts, with many more gaining ever-increasing amounts of damage.
'Navamee was caught completely unawares, and began to panic as he realised if he didn't take drastic actions, he would lose his entire fleet. As such, thinking quickly, he would order his entire force to concentrate around his flagship, the carrier Indefatigable Courage. This process took another hour, with the Fleet of Everlasting Entropy losing a further eight ships as they reorganised. However, once 'Navamee had gathered his force, 'Navamee gave the order to "advance, review and route" - and the Fleet of Everlasting Entropy charged towards Battlegroup Nelson's 87th Destroyer Squadron, holding an area of the cordon closest to the LaGrange Point the Covenant had entered the system from.
This desperate gambit actually succeeded, as the 87th Destroyer Squadron was shattered and the Fleet of Everlasting Entropy escaped Whitcomb's cordon, with the resurgent and newly-reorganised Covenant force crashing down on the few ships that were unlucky enough to attempt to halt their escape. Rather than entirely fleeing the system, however, 'Navamee had other plans for his fleet, and so set a course for the dwarf planet of Epirus - a freezing, lonely ice-world home to three million miners and UNSC Army personnel. 'Navamee's plan was to subjugate Epirus, and transform it into a base for which he could launch further attacks on the UNSC in-system, forcing them into a war of attrition he believed he could win - if provided with the necessary forces and equipment to continue the fight. Whitcomb, despite the numbers advantage he retained, did not follow. His fleet was severely damaged, with many incapable of conducting combat operations. As such, he chose to fortify his position in the system, and wait for further reinforcements to arrive.
Category:Battles of the Human-Covenant War
Category:Battles
Category:Events