| abstract | - The Battle of New Jerusalem (also referred to as the Fall of Cyngus and New Jerusalem Campaign) was a major conflict during the Human-Covenant War fought between the UNSC Defense Force and the Covenant Empire. The Campaign lasted nearly the entire 2552 summer, becoming one of the worst battles in terms of casualties and destruction during the Human-Covenant War. The initial battle was fought between UNSC defensive forces and the Covenant invading force from June 12 to July 2 of 2552. Despite heavy initial causalities, the Covenant were victorious in their actions, having fought against local forces for over twenty days. During this time period, almost all of the planet's civilian population remained in hiding or fighting alongside the military for the majority of the three month campaign. Those who managed to escape attempted to reach other UNSC systems to report the attack, but failed to do so before the Covenant's victory in early July. Due to the loss of several Inner Colonies earlier that year, including the military stronghold of Reach, the UNSC High Command planned for a massive offensive mission to retake the colony and retrieve any survivors. A Rapid Reaction Picket consisting of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Force and UNSC Second Fleet was activated for immediate deployment. With forces numbering over 100,000 men and women, the UNSC launched it's main attack on the planet. On September 17, the UNSC Marine Corps 2nd and 15th Infantry Divisions led their attack on the planet's northern continents, the location of the main Covenant invasion force. During the conflict, air support was provided by the 1st Marine Division and the Air Force's 22nd Air Force. By September 20, nearly 80 percent of the civilian population had been successfully evacuated, although Marine forces had suffered extreme casualties. Shortly there after, Marine landing forces pulled out of the colony and returned to the UNSC fleet in orbit. Faced with heavy naval causalities and a near annihilation of terrestrial Marine forces, the UNSC launched several platoons of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers for a final stand on the planet's surface. Among these soldiers were a group of elite veteran shock troopers led by Marine Colonels Montgomery Teller and Felicia Sanderson. Although their initial mission was to retrieve and evacuate the remaining citizens of Mount Haven, a group of CMA veterans devised a plan to launch a major robbery of a nearby bank. As the Covenant forces approached the group, tensions grew between the humans, resulting in a firefight between previously allied personnel. The majority of the UNSC loyalists were killed, with the surviving member, Gage Yevgenny retreating on a Pelican dropship. Mid-flight he was shot down by friendly forces who claimed to have mistaken him for a Covenant banshee. The Pelican then proceeded to crash land in the hillside several miles outside Mount Haven. Within several minutes, a final UNSC dropship arrived, with orders to reinforce Yevgenny and his men. As the soldiers proceeded onto the battlefield, Marine recruit Jonas Daniels met up with the wounded Yevgenny, who planned a last stand against the Covenant forces by detonating a Shiva Nuclear Warhead. Daniels managed to evacuate the remaining civilians and military personnel, just as Yevgenny set off the nuclear device, eliminating the remaining Covenant forces.
|
