200th Attack (Clan Ice Hellion)

Clan Ice Hellion.jpg
Two Hundredth Attack Cluster
Disbanded 3074 (Disbanded)
Nickname Lithe Kill Keshik
Affiliation Clan Ice Hellion
Parent Command Beta Galaxy

The 200th Attack Cluster, also known as the Lithe Kill Keshik,[1] was a frontline military formation belonging to Clan Ice Hellion. The unit was noted for being commanded by saKhans of the Clan.[2]

History[edit]

The Cluster acted as the command unit for Beta Galaxy. The Cluster took serious casualties in a Trial of Possession action against the Fourth Wolf Striker Cluster in 3059.[3] This trial was a part of the Harvest Trials, and Khan Asa Taney had arranged to have new freeborn warriors assigned as troops to the Lithe Kill Keshik, in an attempt to surprise Khan Vlad Ward. Nobody had anticipated how skilled the freeborns actually were, including Taney, saKhan Weiland Cage or Vlad Ward. Their performance convinced Vlad to reduce his claim on the entire Keshik, bargaining the Trial down to a more manageable Star-level trial, in which the five best freeborns from the Lithe Kill faced off against the five worst troops from the Fourth Wolf Striker, before the two surviving Ice Hellion pilots then faced Vlad himself. After winning the Trial, Vlad took a number of the Ice Hellion warriors as bondsmen, including those he had defeated; one of the freeborns captured, Eva, would go on to earn a place in Vlad's Golden Keshik and win the right to the Hordwon Bloodname.[4][5] Later in 3059 the Cluster was stationed on Atreus, under the command of saKhan Sellen Cage,[6] but by 3067 the 200th had moved to Hoard.[3]

The Wars of Reaving[edit]

In 3070 the Cluster moved to Nouveaux Paris with the rest of Beta Galaxy, arriving in September.[7] Mid-3071 saw Beta together with Zeta Galaxy form the secondary attack force under saKhan Connor Rood. This force moved against Clan Jade Falcon border worlds of the Falcon Occupation Zone, fighting in multiple systems.[8]

Attacking the planet Bone-Norman in 3071, the 200th underestimated the resistance that the defending Eleventh Provisional Garrison Cluster would offer to the Ice Hellion invasion. Operating under the command of Star Colonel Idris, the Eleventh knew that they wouldn't be able to defeat the 200th and would be heavily outnumbered; nevertheless, the Falcons were determined to tie down Connor Rood's forces for as long as possible, in the hopes that this would cause a delay to the overall Ice Hellion timetable for their invasion of the Jade Falcon Occupation Zone.[1]

Idris called for a Trial for control of Bone-Norman, and deliberately designated the entire of the Hapsburg continent as his Circle of Equals. This negated the Ice Hellion fast-strike tactics, by allowing the second-line Jade Falcon units to choose their own engagements, and to mount ambushes that didn't break zellbrigen, allowing them to draw the Trial out without forfeiting. For two weeks, the Jade Falcon forces led the 200th around Bone-Norman in a series of frustrating engagements until Rood decided that he had to expose himself to draw the Jade Falcon forces out. The result was a battle on the Red Stone Plains where each force attempted to spring a trap on the other; Rood instructed a subordinate to begin a general melee, a tactic that allowed him to bring in an additional Trinary of troops that hadn't been a part of his original bid, only for Idris to bring a formation of Erinyes ProtoMechs to augment his own forces. The ProtoMechs nearly killed Rood, breaking through his cockpit and burning him badly shortly before the Hellions were able to declare the Trial a victory for themselves.[1]

While the 200th did capture Bone-Norman, the world would remain an Ice Hellion holding for just a few weeks - the weak garrison force left behind after the 200th left were overwhelmed by the Falcon Guards.[1]

The Cluster was effectively destroyed on Lackhove in November 3071.[9] A few survivors followed The retreat of Beta Galaxy and SaKhan Rood. On the long trip back to the Homeworlds the saKhan re-formed the 200th Attack Cluster from survivors of Alpha, Beta and Zeta Prime Galaxies. By the end of 3072 the Cluster was six trinaries strong.[10]

The warriors of the Cluster were absorbed into Clan Goliath Scorpion in 3074, this was the end of the unit.[11]

Officers[edit]

Rank Name Command
Commanding Officers of the 200th Attack Cluster
saKhan Weiland Cage 3059[4][5]
saKhan Sellen Cage 3059[3]
saKhan Connor Rood 3065[2][12]

Tactics[edit]

Expert at setting ambushes.[3]

Composition History[edit]

3059–3067[edit]

200th Attack Cluster - Elite/Reliable[3][2]

3071–3073[edit]

200th Attack Cluster[10]

Notes[edit]

  • While never explicitly stated it is likely that the Cluster can trace its heritage and number back to the Star League's 200th Dragoon Regiment that had been commanded by the Clan's first Khan.
  • Give the Ice Hellion remnant under Connor Rood joined with the occupants of the Potemkin-class cruiser CSJ Osis' Pride during their journey back to the Homeworlds after the Ice Hellion defeat in the Clan Jade Falcon Occupation Zone, it is unknown how many of the six Trinaries mentioned in 3073 were made up of former Smoke Jaguar warriors.

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Touring the Stars: Bone-Norman, p. 7: "Bone-Norman"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Field Manual: Updates, p. 72: "Crusader Clans Deployment Table"
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Field Manual: Crusader Clans, p. 85
  4. 4.0 4.1 Technical Readout: 3058 Upgrade, p. 164: "Hankyu"
  5. 5.0 5.1 Field Manual: Crusader Clans, p. 78: "Wolf Trap"
  6. Field Manual: Crusader Clans, p. 153
  7. The Wars of Reaving, pp. 55–56
  8. The Wars of Reaving, p. 69
  9. Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents, p. 29
  10. 10.0 10.1 The Wars of Reaving, p. 111
  11. The Wars of Reaving, p. 129
  12. 12.0 12.1 Operation ICE STORM

Bibliography[edit]