Second Battle of Shanxi (Earth-5875)

"This first encounter with the aliens is a test—for them and us. So far we have failed that test. We have to show them that we cannot be so easily defeated. We have to win no matter the cost."

- - Vice Admiral Preston Cole

The Second Battle of Shanxi, also known as the Retaking of Shanxi, was a battle between the United Nations Space Command and the Covenant for the control of the Outer Colony Shanxi in the Epsilon Indi system, being the second engagement between the two forces during the First Contact War. After the loss of Shanxi to the Covenant in January 2525, Vice Admiral Preston Cole assembled a battle group to retake the planet and expel the Coenant invaders. The UNSC was able to win the battle, in pyrrhic battle that costed them most of their ships.

Not long after, Admiral Cole returned to the planet once more, commanding the Third Fleet to combat the Fleet of Glorious Interdiction of the Covenant in an extended battle over control of the planet once more.