Resistance

"The blow you struck at Nova Prospekt was taken as a signal, to begin the uprising." - Isaac Kleiner

The Resistance is a network of humans and Vortigaunts with the goal of removing the Combine and Wallace Breen from power.

The Resistance
The resistance has no command structure, however there are leaders. Eli Vance, Barney Calhoun, Arne Magnusson, and Alyx Vance are examples of resistance leaders. Gordon Freeman is a man of very high regard among resistance members.

Resistance members are not always guerrillas with weapons, they can also be mere citizens who aid or collaborate with the Resistance in some way.

The Resistance has a strongest presence on The Coast, where there are both resistance and Combine bases, and the two factions frequently spar with one another. Important coastal bases include Shorepoint, Bridge Point, New Little Odessa, and Lighthouse Point.

The Resistance also occupies (or occupied) a number of large bases and towns in the areas surrounding City 17; these include Ravenholm, Black Mesa East, and White Forest. Black Mesa East and Ravenholm were both discovered and destroyed by the Combine; a similar attempt was made upon White Forest but was repelled.

Resistance members who play active combat roles normally wear salvaged Civil Protection vests, green uniforms, or blue uniforms (in City 17).

History
The Resistance was formed shortly after the Seven Hour War in response to the Combine takeover. A loose band of guerillas, outlaws and spies dedicated to overthrowing the new world order, they were unable to take on the alien empire directly. So the Resistance instead worked at undermining it by infiltrating the ranks of Civil Protection, smuggling weaponry, setting up a sophisticated underground with bases at Ravenholm, Black Mesa East and White Forest, and by helping civilians escape the Combine controlled cities.

Many of the Resistance's key members are Black Mesa Personnel who survived the Black Mesa Incident and the events that took place afterward. Other key members are former officers of pre-Seven Hour War national armies (like colonel Odessa Cubbage) or seem to have become leaders due to useful knowledge or experience.

From its formation until the Combine War, the Resistance mostly operated underground, with safehouses, hidden bases and concealed supply caches in and around City 17. One of the few exceptions to this appears to have been The Coast, where the Resistance had sufficient strength to operate more openly, with a number bases and outposts, including Shorepoint, New Little Odessa, Bridge Point and Lighthouse Point. Operating from these positions, they regularly sparred with the Combine forces in the area. Over time, though, the Combine made significant inroads into the Coast, destroying many of the smaller outposts and condensing the spread out Resistance forces into larger groups at the main bases. Bridge Point was taken over and occupied, possibly due to the significance of the railway bridge beside it, which the Combine Razor Trains use.

Also around this time, Ravenholm, a secluded mining town connected to Black Mesa East, became one of the main Resistance settlements in the City 17 region, and was home to many escapees from City 17. Upon being discovered by the Combine, the town was subjected to a massive Headcrab Shell bombardment with only one known survivor. After this disaster, the passage between Ravenholm and Black Mesa East was sealed off.

While some small strikes took place against the Combine, most of the advances that the Resistance made during this time were minor; although the support they enjoyed from the citizen population was considerable, the Resistance had not the capability to attack the Combine openly. This changed with the return of Gordon Freeman, who thanks to his actions at Black Mesa had become to be a figure of legend among the Resistance. Shortly after his arrival in City 17, Gordon made contact with Resistance members Isaac Kleiner, Barney Calhoun, and Alyx Vance. After the teleporter meant to take him to the main base Black Mesa East malfunctioned, he was instead sent on his way through the Underground Railroad network to Black Mesa East. Meanwhile, the Combine, who learned of Gordon's presence when he was accidentally teleported to Dr. Breen's office, launched a citywide sweep to find him, cracking down on the Underground Railroad stations and flooding the tunnels and canals with Manhacks. With many safehouses and stations destroyed or discovered during the crackdown, the railroad disintegrated and most of its members were either killed or captured.

Although Combine forces pursued him every step of the way, Gordon managed to escape and made it to Black Mesa East. But shortly after his arrival it, too, was attacked and destroyed. Eli Vance and Judith Mossman were captured, while Gordon, Alyx Vance and Dog escaped.

Even despite these blows, the Resistance held together, and their hopes were gradually amplified by Freeman's feats against the Combine.

After escaping through Ravenholm, Freeman helped fight off a Combine raid on Shorepoint base and made contact with Alyx Vance. They had learned that Eli Vance and Judith Mossman had been taken to Nova Prospekt, and Alyx resolved to go there and rescue him. Gordon set out along the Coast to reach Nova Prospekt, helping to fend off an attack on New Little Odessa along the way. Finally, he reached Lighthouse Point and joined it's personnel in fighting off a determined Combine attack. Despite their efforts, the base was overwhelmed and presumably destroyed.

After reaching the Vortigaunt Camp, Freeman attacked Nova Prospekt with the help an army of Antlions and, once inside its train depot, met up with Alyx Vance, who slipped in by razor train. Fighting their way through the facility, they found both Eli and Judith, but discovered that Judith had betrayed the Resistance and had been working for the Combine. Alyx and Gordon capture Judith and rescue Eli, and intend to use the Combine's teleporter to teleport themselves to Dr. Kleiner's lab. Instead, Judith tricks them and teleports herself and Eli to the Citadel, leaving the two to hold out against scores of soldiers while the teleporter charges up the second time. They manage to teleport themselves to Dr. Kleiners lab, destroying the teleporter and the entire facility in the process. The destruction of Nova Prospekt was the first major victory for the Resistance, and it was taken as a signal to begin the uprising. The Resistance, who had previously only operated underground, engaged the Combine forces in open warfare, with many citizens joining their ranks. This marked the start of the Combine War.

Lasting over a week, The Battle of City 17 was a costly Resistance victory. The Citadel as well as City 17 were destroyed, cutting the Combine forces on Earth off from the rest of the empire. The remaining Resistance forces, having evacuated from City 17 before its destruction and regrouped at the White Forest base, began preparing for the after effects of the Citadel's destruction. The meltdown of the Citadel's core created a superportal, which the Combine would use to bring in huge reinforcements once it had grown big enough. To counter this threat, the Resistance prepared and fired a rocket carrying a satellite which, once in orbit, would close the superportal. The battle to protect the rocket during its launch was furious, but the Overwatch attack force was eventually beaten back by a small force led by Gordon Freeman. After the main force was defeated and as Gordon and Alyx Vance were preparing to leave for the arctic, two Combine Advisors made a surprise attack, during which Eli Vance was killed.

Meanwhile, Judith Mossman had discovered the Borealis, which carried Aperture Science technology. A debate raged over whether to destroy the ship or use its technology, and it is unknown which opinion won. Mossman was cut off by Hunter and Elite attacks, and her escort was killed, so Freeman and Alyx will probably journey to the Borealis through use of a helicopter to rescue Mossman and decide what to do with the technology.

The Underground Railroad
Citizens of City 17 who choose to escape to Black Mesa East, a very large resistance base, have a very hard time getting there. The only known path is through City 17's canal system, which is subject to frequent raids by Civil Protection officers, hoping to capture or kill any unfortunate refugees, as well as Xen wildlife such as Barnacles, headcrabs, and zombies. This is how the resistance Underground Railroad was formed.

Resistance members created the Underground, a series of safehouses that help resistance soldiers and Citizens escape to Black Mesa East. Using coordinated safehouses and radios, and an Airboat to lend to refugees. Unfortunately, while Gordon Freeman was moving through the Underground Railroad, most of the stations were tracked down and destroyed by the Combine Civil Protection. Members of the Underground Railroad include Joe and Matt.

Resistance technology
Possessing no means to mass manufacture weapons, the Resistance doesn't have standard issue weapons like the Combine forces do. They generally use anything they can find or scavenge from the enemy. The Resistance makes use of any resources they can find, often building things out of scrapped parts and making specialized equipment, such as the Crossbow and Gravity Gun, and vehicles, such as the Buggy, Muscle Car, and Airboat, by hand.

Behind the scenes

 * The Rebels were originally to consist of the soldiers lead by Captain Vance, the 'conscripts'. No citizen was to turn into a soldier and join the fight. Vance's forces were heavily equipped with tanks and other heavy weaponry.


 * According to some early sound files, it seems that the Half-Life 2 episode where Barney is pinned down by an Overwatch Sniper was to involve instead a platoon of Conscripts, lead by a particular officer, pinned down by a sniper equipped with a "bolt action rifle" and trying the reach Captain Vance's headquarters.

Trivia

 * Resistance members equipped with a SMG who are in proximity to a Pulse Rifle or Shotgun will drop their SMG and replace it with either of those weapons. The same goes with the RPG in "Follow Freeman"
 * Sometimes Rebels say silly stuff, like: "Sometimes I dream about cheese", "I can't get this tune out of my head", "I can't remember the last time I had a shower!" and "When this is all over, I'm gonna mate...".