Battle of Lábatlan

The Battle of Lábatlan was one of the concluding engagements to the Fall of Reach, fought on the planet's surface on August 30th, 2552.
== Background ==
By the waning days of August, 2552, the Covenant had secured a stranglehold on the planet and had effectively ensured that there were only remained a handful of off-world extraction points remaining by August 30th. The three survivors of the Battle of Manassas, Theo-783, Victoria Theodorides and Eddie Salim, had arrived in Lábatlan late on August 29th, where the UNSC forces comprising of the Army's Boreas Company and the Marine Corps' GR Company had taken refuge. After successfully contacting the UNSC Ivory Coast, which was still engaged in orbit with the surviving forces of the Epsilon Eridani Fleet. The Ivory Coast made preparations to rescue the survivors at Lábatlan, however early on August 30th the Fleet of Particular Justice arrived and the vessel was recalled to Rally Point Zulu to join the defense. Shortly after, Covenant forces began to descend upon Lábatlan and the survivors were forced to fight until the Ivory Coast to got a chance to rescue them.
== Battle ==
=== Initial Assault ===
The first wave of Covenant forces consisted primarily of Phantom and Spirit dropships and light armour. The attack came as a surprise to the defending forces, especially since the Covenant had opted to deploy forces within Lábatlan itself instead of attacking from the outside, though the dug-in GR Company managed to hold the line while Boreas Company and the rest of the forces in the area defended the site's anti-aircraft batteries from repeated aerial assaults. The Covenant observed heavy casualties due to their relentless attacks on the batteries, which was a tactical mistake given the fact that the batteries were heavily defended. As a result, the Covenant's aerial forces would be crippled for the remainder of the battle, ensuring that the UNSC forces would primarily have to deal with the ground forces.
=== Reinforcements ===
While still unable to evacuate the survivors on the ground, the Ivory Coast was able to deploy Fireteam Uniform, an elite fireteam of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, alongside equipment that would aid in the defense such as explosives and ammunition. A renewed series of attacks begun as larger quantities of Covenant ground forces entered the area, the anti-aircraft batteries of Lábatlan dissuading the Covenant from landing within their range, forcing them to engage the UNSC at long range. Covenant ground forces took heavy casualties attempting to close the distance between their landing sites and the human survivors, however they managed to breach GR Company's defenses and rapidly captured a large portion of Lábatlan before Boreas Company and the other survivors managed to form a new line of defenses. Despite no longer having to engage the humans at long range, the Covenant still found it exceedingly difficult to advance as the UNSC fought tooth-and-nail for every inch of ground, and their numerical advantage dwindled in significance in the confined spaces.
=== Evacuation ===
In orbit, the Epsilon Eridani Fleet had been obliterated within minutes of engaging the Fleet of Particular Justice, and only a handful of vessels such as the Pillar of Autumn managed to survive, although damaged. The Ivory Coast was one such vessel, owing to it's captain's strategic genius and sheer luck. The engagement in space had become untenable, and it was clear that the IC had a small, and closing, window of opportunity to escape the battle if it wished to survive. Lábatlan did not have the facilities to support such a large vessel, and therefore an indirect evacuation was the only available option. Several pelicans were launched while the Ivory Coast begun to slingshot around the planet in order to rapidly retrieve the pelicans and escape in a short window of time.
On the ground, the Covenant had managed to obliterate Boreas company, and GR Company alongside the other survivors withdrew to the inner facilities at Lábatlan. At this point, a Scarab entered the battle and pinned down the UNSC forces which were attempting to fortify, though it was soon eliminated by Spartan-II Theo-783 and it's wreckage was used by GR Company as cover. The first of five pelicans arrived, however the Covenant had managed to neutralise several of the anti-aircraft batteries which allowed them to intercept and destroy it. With their position now unsuitable for evacuations, the survivors retreated to the north side of Lábatlan, though GR Company was almost completely wiped out in the process. The remainder of the pelicans arrived at this new evacuation point, which was still covered by AA batteries, but advancing Covenant ground forces ensured that the remainder of GR Company was killed before they could board the pelicans. The remaining survivors, Victoria Theodorides, Theo-783 and Eddie Salim alongside Fireteam Uniform managed to withdraw, many with extensive injuries, before the Covenant could destroy the last four pelicans. With the evacuations complete, the pelicans boarded the slingshotting Ivory Coast in low orbit which then evacuated to the planet of Tribute.
== Aftermath ==
The survivors of the Battle of Lábatlan, now aboard the UNSC Ivory Coast, were forced to participate in the Battle for Tribute as the planet had been under attack for over a week prior to their arrival. For eight days they were engaged with Covenant forces on the planet before the Ivory Coast was able to escape the system and eventually return to Earth.
Lábatlan itself was occupied by the Covenant and glassed shortly after, becoming another number in the list of locations that fell to the Covenant onslaught on Reach.