Battle of Pahhur

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Battle of Pahhur Part of Operation First Strike and the Defense of the Veil
A platoon of geth primes encroach on quarian positions during the Battle of Pahhur
Date:	22 April 1904 CE
Location:	Pahhur / Raann / Perseus Veil
Outcome:	Prryhic Quarian victory "Vital" intelligence gathered on geth capabilities. Beginning of active quarian-geth post-war hostilities Tactical Geth victory 1st FRB suffers nearly 70% total casualties Geth repulse quarian attack on Pahhur
Belligerents Migrant Fleet Geth Commanders Niro'Wumos Saf'Sen Unit D8000 Strength Migrant Fleet Marines 1st Force Reconnaissance Battalion 850 marines Heavy Fleet 2 Gelha-class light frigates 4 Dens'Fja-class combat pods Geth Army 300,000 geth troops 1,000 geth primes 700 geth colossi 700 geth armatures 8,000 geth juggernauts 17,000 geth destroyers 222,600 geth troopers 50,000 geth assault drones Geth Navy 4 geth light frigates Casualties 554 marines killed 1 frigate severely damaged 2 pods lost, 2 damaged 260 geth troopers killed 2 geth primes killed 6 assault drones destroyed 1 geth ship damaged

"The defeat at Pahhur was a humiliation. All it did was show the Council how inept we've become at fighting wars. I take full responsibility for this failure, and from it, I hope to learn much."

— Admiral Niro'Wumos vas Gaelazi, the first admiral of the Heavy Fleet.

The Battle of Pahhur was a brief engagement on the former quarian colony of Pahhur between the Migrant Fleet Marines and contingents of the Geth Army, and the first of three engagements early in the Quarian-geth conflict that became known pejoratively as "Niro's Blunders". Following their thorough defeat in the First Morning War several years before, the quarians initiated Operation First Strike as the preparatory phase of a retaliatory invasion to reclaim their lost home system and clusters. However, as it had been at least eight years since the war, the quarians had not encountered the geth since, and thus had no knowledge of their capabilities. In a risky strategy, the Migrant Fleet quickly formed a battalion of marines and formed a plan to raid one of their former colonies to gather information on geth force strength and whether their warfighting capability had improved since the war ended. They chose Pahhur, military intelligence estimating that geth forces would be minimal on the colony. As such, the plan was finalized and the operation began on April 22, 1904 CE.

What resulted was a military disaster. Not only was the 1st FRB going in completely blind, but once on the ground, it was revealed MFMI estimates on geth strength was grossly underestimated, with Pahhur having a garrison of 300,000 geth platforms at any given time. As it turned out, the geth had commissioned a platform production facility on the planet, allowing them to replenish their forces at a significant rate since the war. By the end, the battalion was forced to withdraw, which the geth allowed, with nearly 70% casualties. While a tactical failure, MFMI declared it a strategic success for the information gained on geth forces alone.