This fanfiction article, Sol Campaign (Demons of Hope), was written by Lieutenant Davis. Please do not edit this fiction without the writer's permission. |
Sol Campaign (Demons of Hope) | |||||||||||||||||
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Conflict: |
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Date: |
October 20, 2552 - December 3, 2552 | ||||||||||||||||
Location: |
Sol System | ||||||||||||||||
Outcome: |
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The Sol Campaign, also known as the Battle for Earth and the Earth Sustained Defense Campaign, was the collective name for the large scale conflict that engulfed the Sol system at the end of the Human-Covenant War, stretching from October 20, to December 3, 2552. The campaign saw large-scale destruction and death throughout the Sol system, as well as the near defeat of the UNSC and destruction of Mankind. The second to last major battle of the war, the UNSC's victory over the Covenant forces ensured the survival of the human species.
Background[]
In the immediate aftermath of the Fall of Reach, UNSC High Command ordered all remaining naval forces back to Earth, forming the Home Fleet, the largest naval group in human history. In addition, millions of Army and Air Force personnel and their equipment were transferred to Earth and other colonies in the Sol System, leaving numerous colonies undefended. This decision was very harshly criticized by the UEG but was viewed as absolutely necessary by HIGHCOM, who saw the protection of Earth above all other concerns.
Of great concern to the UNSC was the loss of most of its Spartan assets at Reach. Spartans had been slowly trickling in since August, some considered missing at Reach, others for much longer, and some had never appeared in official materials before. While the UNSC either ignored it or attributed it to poor documentation, in reality these appearances were due to numerous classified ONI projects, such as Project DEMOPHILUS, the second class of the SPARTAN-II Program, and numerous SPARTAN-IIIs. UNSC forces were relieved with the arrival of Gamma Company just before the beginning of the battle.
With all these forces gathered in one system, Sol became a veritable fortress, with Earth being regarded as even more defended than Reach itself. Despite this, the UNSC would not be prepared for the Covenant's arrival. In fact, had it not been for the destruction of the Covenant battle station Unyielding Hierophant just before the campaign began, the UNSC forces would have likely been crushed within hours.