originally posted in:Halo Archive
The UNSC kept a defensive strategy for the first, probably ten years of war because they never encountered nothing like this before (obviously) and since the Covenant kept silent communications with the humans, the UNSC didn't how far and capable was the Covenant.
Also there are several info about the UNSC and ONI making their own theories that the Covenant was looking for something and that they were probably in their way and had no intention to fight them but just were in their way. Contact Harvest and Halo Wars was pretty much focus on this theories, until they found out that they were behind Forerunner technology.
I do agree that the Spartan II intervention slowed down the Covenant but weren't the solution to stop the war. Even when Dr. Halsey tells John about their plan to kidnap one of the Prophets, John see this like a waste of time.
In the Fall of Reach (the book) you can tell that the Covenant had control over the whole war, they just didn't put much effort because their loses weren't as great as the humans, note the massive scale invasion of their fleets. The Super MACS even obliterated several Covenant destroyers and Cruiser CLass and still they even didn't made a dent to their whole fleet.
Even later when the rest of the Spartans left Reach and later in the battle of the Unyielding Hierophant after the whole fleet that obliterated Reach got vaporised thanks for the Spartans and Admiral Danforth Whitcomb, even so, Truth says that was just a minor setback.
In the second battle of Earth even the Covenant fleet is smaller than when attacked Reach and Earth even more protected than Reach got almost obliterated. It wasn't thanks that Truth screwed up by removing the Elites from their power.
All in all, the Covenant always had the upper hand, even they had the luxury to have a civil war in the Great Schism and still travel to Earth later on and fight again in the Ark.
In no way I see the Covenant was in any disadvantage. Humans got lucky Truth got too corrupted in power, that he screwed himself.
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Just wanted to point out two things in your post: 1. The fleet massing at UH was not the same one as the one that attacked Reach. That fleet was nearly completely destroyed when Alpha Halo was destroyed. 2. The first Covenant fleet to arrive at Earth along with Regret got decimated in orbit. The fleet that later took out most of the Home Fleet was under Truth at the end of Halo 2 and was apparently considerably bigger.
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Edited by MastaSin: 2/26/2014 7:43:06 PMI don't remember where, but in Halo: Counter Strike they state that it's the same fleet that attacked Reach or it had the same size that attacked Reach, I don't remember which. The fleet of Regret wasn't in the first battle of Earth? If so, that fleet wasn't big either. I mean it was big not big enough in comparison to Truth's fleet or the one that attacked Reach.
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[quote]Halo: Counter Strike[/quote] Lol You mean First Strike?
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That one! LOL! I've read that book so looong ago I don't remember it's title! xD