Human-Covenant War | Halo

[Music] um [Music] the cessation of hostilities between the united earth government and what remained of the covenant occurred during a small ceremony on a hillside above the ruins of voy in east africa it was a simple makeshift commemoration centered mainly around the torn wing of a fallen dropship one decorated with a collection of names and photos of those lost that an era of such unrelenting scope and uncontrollable carnage would end in such an inauspicious manner perhaps is evidence of how little remained once the guns had fallen silent but no monument however grand it might be could ever properly convey the endless triumphs and tragedies of the human covenant war the outbreak of war coincided with the infamous declaration transmitted by the covenant's prophet of regret in 25 25 your destruction is the will of the gods and we are their instrument the origins of the conflict however were rooted in the foundation of the covenant itself a theocratic union of many different species the power of the covenant was built on a rigid and all-encompassing spiritual movement culminating in a kind of transcendence known as the great journey this religion was focused on the relics of the long extinct forerunners but their relationship to humanity once it was discovered by the covenant's high profits contradicted and invalidated many of the most sacred tenets at the core of the great journey the human race was incompatible with the covenant's religion and consequently the high prophets instigated a martial crusade to prevent mankind's relationship with the forerunners from ever becoming widely known the continued existence of the covenant was dependent on this ensuring that the war could only end in the complete destruction of either side with no room for any kind of surrender harvest a major agricultural center and the most distant colony administered by the united earth government became the first battleground in the war the initial engagements made evident the significant technological disparity between the covenant and united nations space command the ueg's principal military organization harvest would be retaken after a five-year campaign but unsc naval forces endured significantly disproportionate losses inflicted on them by covenant plasma weaponry and shielding technology terrestrial battlefields mitigated many of the covenant's qualitative advantages and these would be the only theaters in which unsc forces were not dependent on an overwhelming numerical superiority to achieve success [Music] from 2525 to 2535 the war expanded outwards from harvest encompassing dozens and then hundreds of worlds that constituted a region of space known to the ueg as its outer colonies the covenant rarely committed to planetary landings only doing so in special circumstances most notably when forerunner relics were present on the target world planetary campaigns in the model of harvest quickly became outliers within the greater conflict with the covenant instead utilizing a process known colloquially as glassing when ueg worlds without any religious or strategic significance were encountered by the covenant any orbital defenses or interstellar elements would be destroyed allowing for an intense and uninterrupted bombardment enormously powerful plasma lances fired from orbiting warships would methodically scour the surface of the world destroying the native ecosystem and rendering it completely lifeless the planets outer crust once cooled came to resemble obsidian or glass from which the process took its name [Music] year by year the total number of worlds glassed by the covenant steadily increased and their forces pushed deeper and deeper into ueg territory even on planets in which forerunner relics prevented the wholesale eradication of life orbital bombardment was still used to destroy sites of fierce unsc resistance even harvest once retaken was of little use to the united earth government and mainly a symbolic victory the inability of united nations space command to halt the siege of the outer colonies severely damaged its ability to continue the war the ueg economy and military-industrial complex was increasingly disrupted by resource shortages agricultural production in particular the economic cornerstone of the outer colonies plunged and food riots began to occur both in the surviving outer colonies and even across the comparatively well-off inner colonies the growing instability emboldened successionist and insurrectionist elements within the ueg further exacerbating the situation as civic infrastructure and civilian political leadership deteriorated the lines between the unsc and ueg began to fade creating the conditions for an emergency military government despite their overwhelming victories on the battlefield the effects of war on the covenant were similarly deleterious the logistical efforts required to complete the genocide of humanity were well beyond anything previously attempted and the strain on their military apparatus was significant unsc victories although rare also prove that the covenant was vulnerable and particularly susceptible to unexpected unorthodox strategies the martial spirit of humanity particularly in the face of terrible odds had also begun to impress the sangili a race that occupied a foundational role within the covenant's military hierarchy there was a growing consensus among the sangali leadership that humanity had earned an invitation to join the covenant and that the prophet's unilateral rejection of the idea might be a mistake [Music] by 2536 the covenant had crossed the loosely defined border between the ueg's inner and outer colonies bringing the war to a new stage this border had been envisioned by the unsc as a new more concentrated defensive perimeter that could be protected by naval forces quickly reinforced from neighboring systems sustained losses had rendered the strategy infeasible and the unsc was forced to largely abandon its outlying worlds no longer capable of countering the covenant on any front on the perimeter [Music] without the means for any sustained offensive action the unsc moved to retain the remaining strength in preparation for what was hoped might be a decisive battle this shifting doctrine was epitomized in an emergency priority order that came to be known as the coal protocol this was a directive that aimed to prevent the covenant from discovering the location of earth or any other core world between 2536 and 2551 the war fell into a cyclic pattern as the inner colonies were systematically exterminated the battle of sai appentis in 2543 was the largest naval engagement of the war at that point in a stunning unsc victory but failed to be decisive and not enough to affect the greater strategic situation the battle also resulted in the death of vice admiral preston cole one of the most prominent unsc officers of the war and considered the main architect of the few victories of harvest alfa oregay great bear and leonis minorus with a conventional victory unlikely desperate unsc planners became reliant on special operations to turn the tide of war these efforts were dominated by the office of naval intelligence which had subsumed rival organizations within the ueg until it exercised a near-complete monopoly over all intelligence gathering the assassination of covenant leadership and the destruction of command and control centers was heavily prioritized arguably the greatest success achieved through these measures was the destruction of the unyielding hierophant a mobile station supporting hundreds of starships even this success however only slowed the covenant's advance by 2552 the complete capitulation of the united earth government was considered imminent by both sides [Music] the fall of reach midway through the year eliminated the single most critical world within the unsc military industrial complex and the last fortified star system guarding the route to earth an emergency exodus was initiated transporting vital equipment and supplies from the solar system in a last-ditch attempt to prevent the complete eradication of human civilization [Music] a surprise victory over the covenant on a forerunner artifact their prophets named halo provided a valuable boost to unsc morale but did little to alleviate the threat to earth the ramifications of this victory however proved to be of absolute importance and likely the single most crucial moment of the war during the fighting on halo an infectious race of parasitic organisms was released and immediately became an exceptionally dangerous opponent to both covenant and unsc forces alike [Music] the battle of earth commenced in october of 2552 when a comparatively small covenant fleet entered the solar system as part of their ongoing search for forerunner artifacts initially unaware of the planet's significance even when the covenant learned they had found the ueg capital and homeworld this information was overshadowed by the extraordinary forerunner artifacts uncovered on the planet over several weeks the unsc home fleet was gradually wiped out by reinforced covenant forces but the true objective of the covenant leadership was a mysterious artifact known as the ark even as the battle raged on earth the covenant's hierarchy began to unravel through the machinations of a malevolent hive intelligence at the core of the flood high charity the covenant's holy capital was infected this coincided with an attempt by the remaining covenant leadership to replace the sangili with another client species the geraline who were less willing to question the crumbling veracity of the great journey the sangili saw this act as a violation of the principles the covenant had been founded upon igniting a civil war that would come to be known as the great schism despite the efforts of a newly established sangili unsc alliance the last remaining high profit of the covenant successfully activated a forerunner portal on earth that led to the ark around this massive installation the final battle of the war took place a desperate attempt to prevent the activation of the halo rings that were in fact a weapon meant to eradicate the flood by destroying all life in the galaxy heavily outnumbered yet experts in the loyalists own tactics alliance forces were able to inflict significant damage in orbit of the ark ultimately a war that had consumed the lives of tens of billions across the galaxy came down to the actions of a precious few on the ark john 1 17 a master chief petty officer within the unsc navy and thel varami a sangili commander appointed the title of arbiter to atone for his failure to stop john on halo prevented the firing sequence from initiating killed the last high profit and halted the spread of the flood with the covenant disintegrating their war against humanity was brought to a de facto conclusion without the guiding principles of the great journey and the tenets of the covenant broken its member races turned on one another the great schism escalated into a more general sangili jiralhanai war while various successor groups emerged each claiming to be the true inheritor of the covenant's legacy within the restored united earth government the insurrectionist elements that had laid dormant during the war resurfaced ultimately the conclusion of the war brought peace to either side but instead laid the seeds for future conflicts with the armistice so recently signed the effects of the war are still difficult to wholly determine even the question of which side emerged victorious is a subject of debate and often reframed as which side lost the least during the initial era of human exploration and expansion across the stars it was often stated that while the galaxy revealed few answers it was more than willing to provide more questions mysteries and secrets that defied understanding tempted primal instincts and led to war today the greatest most important question is what kind of future can emerge from the ashes of the human covenant war and what secrets might still remain [Music] in high command the template institute investigates the greatest battles conflicts and wars from across alternate worlds if you've enjoyed this video and would like to join the templin institute consider pledging to our patreon page along with increased security access you'll be able to vote in polls to determine future topics get custom wallpaper every week and receive some other exclusive awards [Music] [Music] you

Channel: The Templin Institute

Views: 165,793

Keywords: Templin, Institute, halo lore, halo 2, halo 3, battle of earth, battle for earth, human covenant war, unsc covenant war, halo war, covenant war, halo war explained, covenant human war, human covenant war explained, halo lore covenant, halo infinite, space battle, halo lore explained, covenant halo, unsc halo, unsc vs covenant, covenant war lore, explained, war breakdown, war, covenant war breakdown, halo explained, unsc war, united nations space command

Id: zziOWggxvvM

Length: 14min 29sec (869 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 10 2021

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