The Great War

The Great War, a name often applied to the Human-Covenant War, covers historical events during that conflict from 2525 up to its conclusion in 2552. As the war marked the intersection of the two civilizations' timelines, both human and Covenant-related events are listed; for prior events, Human history and Covenant history should be used. The Great War is followed by the Reconciliation Era, beginning in 2553.

To view all of the era pages, see Timeline.

2520s
The 2520s saw the beginning of the war, with the Covenant making massive advancements into human territory at a frantic pace in the first three years. Despite the UNSC's attempts to tie the Covenant down at Harvest, along with the successful counterattack of Operation: SILENT STORM, large swathes of colonies in FLEETCOM Sector 2 had been glassed by the end of the decade. While the invasion was at this point largely concentrated on Sector 2, there were also various incursions to the other sectors.

2525

 * May 14
 * The Ascension ceremony of the High Prophets of Truth, Mercy and Regret, the formal beginning of the Ninth Age of Reclamation, and the announcement of the holy war against humanity to the Covenant masses.


 * Early September or late August
 * Battle Group 4 arrives at Harvest and is immediately attacked by the then-unidentified Covenant . Only the CMA Hercules successfully escaped, and it spent several weeks returning to the UNSC base at Falaknuma.


 * October 24
 * The Hercules arrives at Falaknuma and informs the local UNSC Central Command what happened to Harvest.


 * October 26
 * CMA Endeavour engages a then-unidentified storm cutter in the uncharted CRT-99-LP system, although the attacker was quickly driven off.

2527

 * November
 * The Covenant's Fleet of Valorous Consecration attacks Harvest.


 * December 3
 * UNSC space forces are temporarily forced to evacuate the BS Indi system. However, their ground forces remain intact, and continued to resist Covenant invaders until the fleet returns.

2528

 * January 1
 * The Fleet of Valorous Consecration arrives at the 23 Librae system and begins attacking the nearby colony of Madrigal, after tracking the departure from Harvest.


 * January 16
 * While conducting mop-up operations, the Fleet of Valorous Consecration is attacked by Vice Admiral Preston Cole's Third Fleet, where they are soundly defeated. Unlike what Cole believes, the Covenant survivors did not slip back to Harvest. Instead, the fleet rallies, conducts repairs, and plans its next move.


 * January 28
 * The remnants of the Fleet of Valorous Consecration arrive at the 16 Librae system, beginning the Battle of New Tharsis.


 * February 4
 * Preston Cole's Third Fleet arrives at Harvest and fights to retake the system.

2530s
In the 2530s, the main front of the war gradually shifted from FLEETCOM Sector 1 to Sector 2 as new invasion routes were opened in the Orion-Eridanus region, though with the destruction of the K7-49 shipbuilding plant the front eventually died off, sparing some of the inner Orion-side colonies; without Operation: PROMETHEUS, Reach (and even Earth) may have been discovered over a decade earlier. By the end of the decade, the Covenant's push into Sector 4 began with the opening of the Pleiades Corridor.

2534

 * The enters service.

2535

 * The Cole Protocol, previously used by Admiral Cole's battle group and observed variously by miscellaneous fleet units, is codified as a formal UNSC doctrine.

2536

 * Operation: WORM BOX is put into action.

2537

 * The and  enter service.

2540s
The early to mid 2540s were marked by a decreasing operational tempo. There were fewer attacks, and the Covenant fleets were smaller. There was a hope on the UNSC side that the Covenant had exhausted their supply routes, or were possibly suffering from war fatigue. It was even thought that the battle of Psi Serpentis broke the Covenant's back. The Pleiades Corridor invasion route, which had been established in the late 2530s, began the Covenant's incursion into Sector 4, though battles also continued elsewhere, namely the inner Scorpius front in Sector 2. The refinery at Pegasi Delta was constructed soon after to push deeper into human territory, though its destruction in Operation: TORPEDO saw the end of the concerted push into the Sector 3 Outer Colonies in the Aquila-Sagittarius side and the redirection of the Covenant's attention toward the Inner Colonies. Against the UNSC's hopes, the Covenant's pace picked up in the later half of the decade, continuing up until late 2552.

2543

 * The enters service.

2547

 * The enters service.

June

 * Strauss' World is attacked and glassed by the Covenant, along with most lesser colonies and outposts in the Tau Ceti system.

August

 * August 30
 * The Fall of Reach begins as the Combined Fleet of Resplendent Immolation enters the Epsilon Eridani system.


 * The escapes Reach, with Cortana using plotting a jump to coordinates decrypted from a Forerunner artifact on Sigma Octanus IV. Taking note of the Autumn ' s jump solution, anomalous for a human ship, Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee breaks the Fleet of Particular Justice off the invasion force to pursue, entering the Autumn ' s slipspace wake within minutes.


 * Dr. Halsey and the Spartan-IIs of Red Team destroy CASTLE Base and head to the mining tunnels below, eventually coming across a network of Forerunner caverns.

September

 * September 5
 * The Combined Fleet of Righteous Purpose led by Imperial Admiral Xytan Jar 'Wattinree arrives in the Epsilon Eridani system, crushing remaining UNSC opposition.


 * UNSC fleet actions in the Reach Defense Coordination Zone conclude. This is often regarded as the formal end of the Battle for Reach, though guerrilla actions against the Covenant by smaller groups on the planet would continue for several weeks.


 * September 17
 * The Fleet of Particular Justice reaches the Soell system in advance of the Pillar of Autumn, boring out of slipspace far faster than the human ship. Thel 'Vadamee informs High Charity of the discovery of a Sacred Ring.


 * September 19
 * The conflict on Installation 04 begins as the Pillar of Autumn arrives in the Soell system and is immediately engaged by the Fleet of Particular Justice.


 * September 22
 * The Alpha Halo conflict ends with the ring's destruction by John-117.


 * The Ascendant Justice arrives at the Soell system as a vanguard from High Charity.


 * The Ascendant Justice is captured by John-117 and the other UNSC survivors from Installation 04. After a space battle against other Covenant ships, Cortana jumps the Ascendant Justice toward Reach.


 * September 23
 * The Ascendant Justice arrives at Reach. Dr. Halsey, Admiral Whitcomb and the survivors of SPARTAN-II Red Team are recovered from the ruins under CASTLE Base by the Alpha Halo survivors. Ascendant Justice couples itself with the damaged Gettysburg and flees Reach. Due to the influence of a Forerunner slipspace crystal recovered from under CASTLE Base, the ship is sent to an anomalous form of slipspace and veers off course during a battle against Covenant forces.


 * September 24
 * High Charity arrives in the Soell system. A cycle of mourning and solemn prayer is declared across the entire Covenant upon the sight of the shattered Sacred Ring.


 * September 27
 * The first contingent of the SPARTAN-III Gamma Company is deployed into combat.


 * September 29
 * The Ascendant Justice-Gettysburg arrives in the Eridanus system and receives repairs at the independent/rebel hideout Eridanus Secundus.

October

 * October 2
 * The Covenant repair and refit platform Unyielding Hierophant, gathering the Prophet of Truth's invasion fleet in the Tau Ceti system, is destroyed by the Spartan-IIs in Operation: FIRST STRIKE.


 * October 8
 * The UNSC Gettysburg arrives at Earth following Operation: FIRST STRIKE.


 * October 19
 * The Prophet of Regret's knowledge-priests unearth a Forerunner Lifeworker navigation device on one of the gas giant Hestia's moons. While garbled, the beacon mentions the Librarian, speaks of "the Cradle", and contains coordinates to a system not too distant. Believing the "Cradle" to be the Forerunners' fabled capital-world of Maethrillian, the Prophet orders his Fleet of Sacred Consecration to jump to the coordinates immediately that he may receive the honor of discovering what the Covenant have sought for millennia.


 * October 20
 * The Battle for Earth begins as the Prophet of Regret's Fleet of Sacred Consecration enters the Sol system. Regret is unaware of the human presence - although his shipmasters did warn him of it as a risk - and therefore unprepared for a military engagement against such a heavily-fortified world. However, a Luminary scan of Earth immediately reveals several Forerunner relics on the surface, including an enormous underground structure in East Africa. Ignoring his stewards and shipmasters, Regret orders his assault carrier, the Solemn Penance, to charge ahead past Earth's defenses to the megacity of New Mombasa.


 * The former Supreme Commander Thel 'Vadamee is branded with the Mark of Shame and shortly after appointed Arbiter by the Hierarchs. He is immediately dispatched to quell a faction of heretics based out of the Forerunner in Threshold's atmosphere.


 * High Charity's knowledge-priests extract the coordinates to Halo Installation 05 from a Forerunner wavespace beacon found on one of the shards of the shattered Installation 04. High Charity begins preparations for a jump. Mercy advises Truth to inform Regret of the development that they may rendezvous with the holy city at the new ring, and while initially hesitant, Truth has the navigation solution sent to Regret in a formal missive in which he also sharply rebukes Regret for his haste.


 * The Arbiter kills the heretic leader Sesa 'Refumee and recovers 343 Guilty Spark. He is extracted from the doomed gas refinery by Tartarus and returns to High Charity.


 * The Solemn Penance jumps toward Installation 05. By this point, most of Regret's forces on Earth have been crushed due to their insufficient numbers and unpreparedness against the military might of humanity's homeworld. Commander Miranda Keyes of the UNSC In Amber Clad follows the Solemn Penance into the slipspace rupture, while Lord Hood orders the prowler Dusk, the frigates Redoubtable and Paris, and corvette Coral Sea to follow the weakening slipspace wake. Entering the wake within minutes, the trailing UNSC ships are approximately a day behind the Solemn Penance, the In Amber Clad, and a decent chunk of New Mombasa.


 * Covertly incited by the Prophet of Truth's agents, a number of Jiralhanae among the Fleet of Sacred Consecration forces remaining on Earth stage an insurgency against the Sangheili. Caught by surprise, many Sangheili are killed during the fighting, though a number survive until the arrival of the Prophet of Truth's reinforcements later on.


 * Truth deploys the Jiralhanae-led Fleet of Tranquil Composure to Earth to pick up where Regret left off. While only a relatively small vanguard, the fleet is one of many waves to come in the next several weeks.


 * After extracting all teams prowling the Alpha Halo debris field and preparing the holy city for slipspace transit, High Charity and much of the holy city's retinue leave the Soell system, bound for the newly-found Delta Halo. The Fleet of Infinite Wonder is left behind to secure the debris field from both salvagers and the UNSC as well as to continue the study of both the broken ring and other Forerunner sites in the system.


 * Mere hours after Regret's departure, the Fleet of Tranquil Composure arrives at Earth and inserts Jiralhanae-led forces to the city of New Mombasa and surrounding regions.


 * October 21
 * In the early morning, many more Jiralhanae-commanded ships begin arriving at Earth to prepare the Kenyan Excession for the Prophet of Truth's arrival. Under Truth's orders, these ships and flotillas that continue to pour in over the coming weeks are to become the Combined Fleet of Igneous Ablution, the task force gathered for the occupation of Earth and Truth's eventual passage to the Ark.


 * October 23
 * Under orders from Truth, Xytan Jar 'Wattinree and most of the Combined Fleet of Righteous Purpose return to their base-world Joyous Exultation with plunder from Reach and across the Epsilon Eridani system. They are replaced as Epsilon Eridani's occupational force by the Jiralhanae-led Fleet of Boundless Wrath.

November

 * November 2
 * The Solemn Penance arrives at Installation 05, with the In Amber Clad following in its wake. Regret's troops land on the ring, with the Hierarch himself establishing himself in a Forerunner temple.


 * High Charity and the Second Fleet of Homogeneous Clarity arrive at Installation 05. With UNSC forces led by the Master Chief closing in on Regret's position, waves of Phantoms are immediately deployed to rescue the Hierarch. They are too late, however, as Regret is assassinated by the Master Chief. Even before Regret's death has been confirmed, the Prophet of Truth has the incoming Phantoms withdrawn and orders the shipmaster of the Solemn Penance to fire upon the temple in order to kill the "Demon". Plunged into the depths of the lake Regret's temple lay upon, the Master Chief is drawn into the clutches of the Gravemind.


 * Citing Regret's death as proof of the Sangheili's incompetence at protecting the Hierarchs, the Prophet of Truth orders the Changing of the Guard; the first step toward the replacement of the Sangheili, and the spark of the Great Schism.


 * November 3
 * The Great Schism begins.


 * The UNSC prowler Dusk arrives at Installation 05 on the In Amber Clad's tail to witness the Covenant ships turning on one another.


 * The Flood spreads throughout the surface of Delta Halo and infiltrates High Charity aboard the now-infested In Amber Clad.


 * The Prophet of Truth flees High Charity aboard the Anodyne Spirit, uncoupling the ancient keyship from High Charity's power grid for the first and last time. Unknown to Truth, the Master Chief has stowed away aboard the ship as it heads for Earth.


 * Within minutes of the keyship's departure, the UNSC Dusk enters slipspace bound for Earth, riding the Forerunner vessel's wake.


 * Most of the Sangheili High Councilors are ambushed and killed by the Jiralhanae while gathering for the consecration ceremony of the Sacred Icon in Delta Halo's control room, though a small number are kept prisoner.


 * On the surface of Installation 05, the Arbiter leads fellow Sangheili, Unggoy and Mgalekgolo in an uprising against the Jiralhanae, liberating several surviving Sangheili Councilors in the process. With the help of fellow Schismatics and Sergeant Major Avery Johnson, the Arbiter carves a path through Covenant loyalist resistance into Delta Halo's control room. The Arbiter confronts and kills Tartarus, while Commander Miranda Keyes stops the ring from firing at the last moment.


 * Schismatic forces led by Rtas 'Vadum capture the Jiralhanae-held cruiser Pious Inquisitor, holding position near the control room. Soon after, 'Vadum assumes command of the Sangheili-held Shadow of Intent, while the Arbiter, Keyes, and Johnson depart for Earth aboard the Pious Inquisitor. News of the truce with humanity is percolated throughout the Sangheili fleet.


 * Imperial Admiral Xytan Jar 'Wattinree summons prominent Sangheili leaders to Joyous Exultation in response to the Schism; the message reaches most factions within a day or two.


 * A few hours into the Schism, the cruiser Incorruptible under the command of Voro 'Mantakree departs Delta Halo for Xytan Jar 'Wattinree's summit at Joyous Exultation.


 * The Sangheili fleet establishes a quarantine around the Halo ring, glassing most of the surface to contain the Flood infestation. Under a tentative pact, the remaining Schismatics at Delta Halo organize their forces under a trio of fleet contingents: the Fleet of Retribution, the Fleet of Defiance and the Fleet of Deliverance, each with different primary responsibilities.


 * November 4
 * Now stranded on High Charity, Cortana begins broadcasting an emergency message to Earth, declaring hazard codes BANDERSNATCH and HYDRA, as well as recommending the UNSC to NOVA bomb Delta Halo.


 * The Flood-infested cruiser Indulgence of Conviction breaches the Schismatic fleet's quarantine of High Charity, headed for Earth as a vanguard. Unknown to the Gravemind, Cortana has managed to implant a message aboard warning the UNSC of the Flood's arrival. Most of the Fleet of Retribution gives chase while the Fleet of Defiance remains to quarantine High Charity. Several hours later, the Holy City itself follows suit. A small number of plagueships are deployed by the Gravemind across the galaxy on random vectors as contingencies to seed localized infestations; most of these are intercepted and are assumed to have been destroyed by Schismatic fleet elements.


 * November 8
 * The Prophet of Truth arrives in the Sol system aboard the Anodyne Spirit. While Truth's forces finish the excavation, soften up UNSC defenses, and secure the portal site, the Forerunner ship loops around Sol in a long elliptical orbit, retreating far into the outer system for days. The Master Chief attempts to unsuccessfully kill the Prophet, and is eventually trapped in a sealed section of the ship for several days.


 * November 9
 * Roused by the priming of the Halo Array, the local Sentinels on Onyx begin attacking the UNSC forces at Camp Currahee, effectively stranding them with the destruction of the UNSC Agincourt in orbit. By this point, only three Gamma Company teams remain on Onyx to compete for top honors; during the initial Sentinel attack, Team Gladius is wiped out by the Sentinels while Team Katana disappears into Zone 67, leaving only Team Saber, the Beta Company Spartans Lucy-B091, Tom-B292, SCPO Mendez and LCDR Ambrose, with most of Camp Currahee's other personnel slaughtered in the attack. SCPO Mendez declares emergency code BLOODY ARROW on the UNSC E-Band.


 * November 13
 * The Dusk returns to Sol following the Forerunner Dreadnought's slipspace wake.


 * November 14
 * Dr. Halsey and Kelly-087 arrive at Onyx aboard the stolen insurrectionist vessel Beatrice. They link up with the UNSC survivors at Camp Currahee and Halsey uses Cortana's emergency transmission, broadcast through the Covenant's wavecaster network, as a carrier wave for her own message to Earth, in which she requests that HIGHCOM send Spartans to procure strategic Forerunner technology from Onyx.


 * November 15
 * On Earth, Blue Team secures the Centennial Orbital Elevator in Havana. As they ascend the elevator, Fleet Admiral Terrence Hood receives Dr. Halsey's request for aid from Onyx. Blue Team captures the Covenant destroyer Bloodied Spirit and heads for Onyx, with the intent of capturing Forerunner technology. Lord Hood assigns Admiral Patterson's Battle Group Omicron to follow the Bloodied Spirit to assist the Spartans in their mission.


 * Aboard his flagship Sublime Transcendence orbiting the base-world Joyous Exultation, Xytan Jar 'Wattinree opens his summit with the Sangheili commanders who heeded his summons. The Imperial Admiral declares the creation of a new, Sangheili-led Covenant as well as his plans to deal with the Jiralhanae alpha-tribes through luring them into an ambush under the false pretense of a parley. Having intercepted Dr. Halsey's transmission, 'Wattinree has now-Fleetmaster Voro Nar 'Mantakree assigned to retrieve Forerunner relics from Onyx and prevent them from falling into human hands, while his own forces prepare for their trap against the Jiralhanae. Mere moments after 'Mantakree's fleet departs for Onyx, a NOVA bomb transported from Reach is accidentally triggered by Huragok aboard the Sublime Transcendence, atomizing the Imperial Admiral along with most of his followers, destroying a large portion of his fleet, and razing the surface of Joyous Exultation.


 * The Arbiter, SgtMaj Johnson and Commander Keyes, along with a vanguard of Schismatic forces including N'tho 'Sraom and Usze 'Taham, arrive at Earth aboard the Pious Inquisitor.


 * November 16
 * Blue Team arrives at Onyx aboard the Bloodied Spirit and soon link up with the UNSC survivors. Battle Group Omicron, including the prowler Dusk, follows in their wake. However, Voro Nar 'Mantakree's task force arrives at Onyx and engages the UNSC battle group, while the Spartans, Dr. Halsey and SCPO Mendez push further into the restricted Zone 67 and finally the bowels of Onyx itself. Pursued by 'Mantakree's forces to Onyx's core, the Spartans make a final stand around a slipspace portal with an uncertain destination. Lieutenant Commander Kurt Ambrose sacrifices himself to hold off the Covenant, detonating two FENRIS nuclear warheads to seal the entrance and eradicating the Covenant forces. As the portal closes, Onyx's surface unravels itself, revealing a foundational lattice composed of trillions of Sentinels making up the entire planet. The Sentinels form a defensive perimeter around the planet's heavily fortified core, obliterating 'Mantakree's fleet and prompting the Dusk to retreat back to Earth.


 * The Prophet of Truth commits all his ships into a final offensive in Earth's orbit, crushing what remains of UNSC opposition and launching devastating surface bombardments. Truth sends a final summons to his specifically hand-picked loyalist Jiralhanae Shipmasters to gather at Earth for the passage to the Ark. Other remaining Covenant loyalist forces are given orders to continue the fight against the Schismatics and humans within the galaxy.


 * At Joyous Exultation, the Jiralhanae fleets summoned to parley there defeat the Sangheili stragglers, thrown to disarray by the detonation of the NOVA bomb. Now in control of the system, the Jiralhanae warpacks spread throughout the Oarthen Threshold and nearby domains. The few Schismatic survivors in the Salia system are forced into a bitter retreat.


 * November 17
 * Now inside a Forerunner Dyson shell encased in a slipspace bubble in what was once Onyx, the survivors of the battle hold a memorial service for their fallen comrades. Immediately afterward, they move out to find a way outside the shield world and back to the UNSC.


 * With the Home Fleet smashed and the artifact nearly uncovered, the Forerunner Dreadnought enters Earth's atmosphere in the early hours of November 17, landing in the center of the Voi Excession. John-117 ejects from the ship using an airlock door as a heat shield upon re-entry. Making a rough landing in the East African jungles near Mount Kilimanjaro, he is tracked down and recovered the next morning. Taken to the base Crow's Nest, the Master Chief subsequently rallies Marine forces across the Tsavo Highway, intent on reaching the town of Voi.


 * The Battle of Voi takes place: The UNSC recaptures Voi from the Truth loyalists, allowing Admiral Hood to launch a direct assault on Truth's Forerunner ship resting at the center of the Voi Excession. Emerging unscathed by the attack, Truth's vessel activates the portal and flees within along with his fleet.


 * The Flood-infested cruiser Indulgence of Conviction slips into Earth's atmosphere, crashing in Voi. The Fleet of Retribution, commanded by Rtas 'Vadum, arrives at Earth in pursuit of the Flood ship.


 * John-117 recovers a message by Cortana within the Flood-controlled cruiser's wreckage.


 * The Fleet of Retribution, along with the UNSC frigates Forward Unto Dawn and Aegis Fate, follows Truth's fleet into the portal.


 * The prowler Thief in the Night is deployed into the portal shortly after the Fleet of Retribution's departure.


 * November 18
 * High Charity arrives in the Sol system. Rather than exiting slipspace at Earth as it may not survive the stresses of the maneuver, the city-station is able to tunnel directly into the Voi Portal using the Gravemind's vast computational capability. A number of plagueships and dispersal pods are deployed into the Sol system, particularly Mars, though they are quickly destroyed by the remains of the Home Fleet before they can begin self-sustaining infestations.

December

 * December 3
 * The remains of the Jiralhanae leadership on Earth are eliminated in Operation: MARSH FLASH.


 * December 9
 * The Dusk returns to Earth. Commander Lash subsequently gives an after-action report on the extraordinary events that transpired at Onyx.


 * December 29
 * Truth's fleet and the Fleet of Retribution arrive at the Ark. The Battle of the Ark begins.


 * While the Fleet of Retribution engages Truth's fleet in space, UNSC forces on the Ark capture the installation's Cartographer facility.


 * The UNSC Thief in the Night arrives at the Ark and proceeds to gather intelligence on the installation.


 * (Guardian Forest: UNSC and Schismatic forces activate the Ark's defenses in order to assist them in repelling Truth's forces.)


 * December 30
 * The Trident: The Schismatics and the UNSC on the Ark assault the Ark's Citadel and stop the Prophet of Truth from firing the rings. Truth is slain by the Arbiter.


 * The unfinished Installation 08 emerges from the Ark's foundry.


 * John-117 travels through the Flood-infested High Charity to rescue Cortana.


 * The remnants of the Fleet of Retribution, with the UNSC forces aboard, enter the portal and head for Earth. The Thief in the Night follows shortly after.


 * John-117, the Arbiter, SgtMaj Johnson and 343 Guilty Spark travel to the replacement Installation 04 in order to fire the ring and end the Flood threat once and for all. After initiating the ring's firing sequence, the Master Chief and the Arbiter escape the ring aboard the Forward Unto Dawn. Only the Arbiter makes it through as the portal collapses mid-transit due to the stresses of the Halo pulse, severing the Dawn in two and sending the aft half, with John-117 aboard, deep into unknown space. All Flood, and, presumably, all complex life on the Ark and its vicinity is presumed destroyed by the Halo effect. The replacement Halo ring is torn to pieces by its premature firing while the Ark suffers severe damage.


 * December 31
 * Codename: SURGEON files the report "Historical/Psychological Analysis of Cole, Preston J." aboard the UNSC Point of No Return in synchronous orbit over Luna.