The Fall of Reach in Orbit

Reach’s decisive battle is fought in orbit, where the UNSC commits major naval forces and twenty powerful orbital defense platforms against the Covenant invasion fleet. This episode examines why the planet’s MAC platforms make Reach exceptionally dangerous to attack and why those weapons depend on vulnerable surface infrastructure. Covenant ships entering their firing arcs can be destroyed by the enormous rounds, but the ODPs require power from fusion generators on the planet below. The Covenant therefore attacks the system as a whole: warships pressure the fleet in space while ground forces move against the generators supporting the orbital guns. Spartan teams are deployed to defend them as the naval battle becomes increasingly desperate. On August 30, the defensive network collapses under overwhelming pressure, and Reach falls despite extraordinary losses inflicted on the enemy. Humanity’s greatest fortress proves that even the strongest planetary defense can be dismantled if the attacker can break the connection between ground and orbit.