Battle for New York

The Battle for New York, later referred to as Hoffman's Waterloo or the Liberation, is a large, pitched battle occurring in mitdown New York City and the surrounding boroughs between Mark Hoffman's vampire horde and a coalition of resistance fighters including the Nightstalkers, SHIELD, Task Force Gladius, and the 707th Special Operations Group.

Precursor to War
Occupying downtown New York City required an estimated three to five hundred thousand vampires of varying strains, assuming a one-hundred percent attrition rate of the city's population. Mark Hoffman recruited a number of vampire warlords to his cause, enabling him to significantly bolster his numbers early on. By enthralling Feral-strain vampires and preying largely on the city's underclass, Hoffman was able to amass a sizable force relatively undetected until a Nightstalker incursion into the Staten Island subway revealed his existence to the vampire hunters and Task Force Gladius. Following their withdrawal, Hoffman sought to strengthen his position by augmenting his personal power, leading the Nightstalkers into a series of diversionary battles against unaffiliated vampire lords while his emplaced army continued to grow in size.

Seeking to avoid combat against SHIELD and the Avengers, Hoffman personally oversaw a high-profile assault on a military base, drawing the Helicarrier away from New York City and allowing his armies to flood the city streets. A short-lived counteroffensive was mounted by the New York Police Department, but was thoroughly routed and all emergency services were rerouted to escort civilians outside of the occupied downtown area. The vampires began to torch Manhattan, producing a caustic atmosphere of smoke and ash that would later prevent the sun from destroying them outright.

Battle Lines
Word of the New York City situation reached SHIELD Director Nick Fury soon after the nature of the threat became apparent, but having already been tasked to assist Fort Miller, the Helicarrier retained its intended heading. This would prove serendipituous, as the Nightstalkers, Huskarls, and 707th S.O.G. were able to ascertain the vampire threat and provide an appropriate and essential briefing for SHIELD personnel after being extracted from Fort Miller. At approximately the same time, Microchip employed the Thunderhead combat walker to deny Hoffman's forces their attempted advance from Manhattan into Queens, enable civilians to make their exodus from the combat zone, and to allow U.S. Marines to establish a forward command post and triage center on the Queensboro Bridge. Expeditionary combat teams made limited forays into Manhattan, but were met with total interdiction on all fronts.

After eleven hours of occupation, New York saw the beginnings of its liberation. Microchip spearheaded an assault into Central Park, enabling Marine combat groups to establish a temporary firebase, referred to as Firebase Liberty. Liberty served as the primary staging area for SHIELD personnel, airdropped from the Helicarrier via Osprey transports. An AC-130 Spectre gunship was tasked to station as well, but was brought down by Subsider interception and lost in the Hudson River, as were dozens of Ospreys. Tony Stark, employing a refitted Mk. 1 heavy combat suit, led an aerial counteroffensive to allow more troops to land and expand their beachhead, while Frank Castle and James Rhodes utilized the Blackguard and War Machine suits to probe the hostile presence in Times Square.

With sufficient manpower to secure Central Park, SHIELD personnel began to launch patrols to clear surrounding streets and structures, while Castle assumed command of the 707th S.O.G. Huskarls, and Nightstalkers. Under the cover of heavy bombardment from the Thunderhead, Castle's combat group committed to a full offensive push into Times Square, which Hoffman and his lieutenants had occupied. The Seventh Sons and Huskarls engaged much of his defensive forces, while the Nightstalkers focused on his lieutenants. The ensuing skirmish resulted in the total destruction of Hoffman's command ranks, including Hoffman himself, but also the deaths of Ava Sullivan, Daniel Matthews, Mike King, Rogue, and Scarlet Rue, as well as the destruction of the Thunderhead.

Repercussions
The loss of tens of thousands of lives and millions of dollars in property left New York City a husk of its former self, though relief efforts headed by SHIELD served to dampen some of the damage. With no obvious recourse for explanation, a press conference affirmed the existence of vampires, with lengthy discourse on the subject by both Blade and Alaric Sunslayer. A memorial service was offered for the members of Castle's combat group, and Presidential pardons for all prior crimes were extended to Frank Castle, Amanda Young, and Jackie Estacado. During the ceremony, Castle was offered a SHIELD commission as Director of Asymmetric Warfare, but declined to take the position; Jackie also discovered the nature of Hoffman's resurrection and proposed that the same method be used to bring their fallen comrades back from death. This method failed, however, resulting in the Heart of Darkness campaign.