View source for 200th Attack (Clan Ice Hellion)

{{infoBoxMilitaryCommand
| image = [[Image:Clan Ice Hellion.jpg|150px]]
| Designation = Two Hundredth Attack Cluster
| Formed = 
| Disbanded = [[3074]] (Disbanded)
| Previous Designation = 
| Nickname = Lithe Kill [[Keshik]]
| Affiliation = [[Clan Ice Hellion]]
| Parent Command = [[Beta Galaxy (Clan Ice Hellion)|Beta Galaxy]]
| Sub-Command = 
}}
The '''200th Attack Cluster''', also known as the '''Lithe Kill Keshik''',<ref name="TtS:BNp7">''Touring the Stars: Bone-Norman'', p. 7: "Bone-Norman"</ref> was a frontline military formation belonging to [[Clan Ice Hellion]]. The unit was noted for being commanded by saKhans of the Clan.<ref name=FM:Up72>''Field Manual: Updates'', p. 72: "Crusader Clans Deployment Table"</ref>

==History==
The [[Cluster]] acted as the command unit for Beta Galaxy. The Cluster took serious casualties in a [[Trial of Possession]] action against the [[4th Wolf Striker (Clan Wolf)|Fourth Wolf Striker]] [[Cluster]] in 3059.<ref name=FM:CRCp85>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 85</ref> 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 Hordwon|Eva]], would go on to earn a place in Vlad's [[Golden Keshik (Clan Wolf)|Golden Keshik]] and win the right to the [[Hordwon (Bloodname)|Hordwon]] [[Bloodname]].<ref name="TRO:3058Up164">''Technical Readout: 3058 Upgrade'', p. 164: "Hankyu"</ref><ref name="FM:CCp78">''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 78: "Wolf Trap"</ref> Later in 3059 the Cluster was stationed on Atreus, under the command of saKhan [[Sellen Cage]],<ref name=FM:CRCp153>''Field Manual: Crusader Clans'', p. 153</ref> but by 3067 the 200th had moved to [[Hoard]].<ref name=FM:CRCp85/>

=== The Wars of Reaving ===
In [[3070]] the Cluster moved to [[Nouveaux Paris]] with the rest of Beta Galaxy, arriving in September.<ref name=WoR55-6>''The Wars of Reaving'', pp. 55–56</ref> Mid-[[3071]] saw Beta together with [[Zeta Galaxy (Clan Ice Hellion)|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.<ref name=WoR69>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 69</ref>

Attacking the planet [[Bone-Norman]] in [[3071]], the 200th underestimated the resistance that the defending [[11th Provisional Garrison (Clan Jade Falcon)|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.<ref name="TtS:BNp7"/>

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 (ProtoMech)|Erinyes]]'' [[ProtoMech]]s 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.<ref name="TtS:BNp7"/>

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]].<ref name="TtS:BNp7"/>

The Cluster was effectively destroyed on [[Lackhove]] in November 3071.<ref>''Jihad Secrets: The Blake Documents'', p. 29</ref> 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.<ref name=WoR111>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 111</ref>

The warriors of the Cluster were absorbed into [[Clan Goliath Scorpion]] in [[3074]], this was the end of the unit.<ref name=WoR129>''The Wars of Reaving'', p. 129</ref>

==Officers==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! scope="col" width="220" style="background: #dedede;" | Rank
! scope="col" width="220" style="background: #dedede;" | Name
! scope="col" width="220" style="background: #dedede;" | Command
|-
| colspan="4" style="background: #efefef;" | '''Commanding Officers of the 200th Attack Cluster'''
|-
| saKhan||[[Weiland Cage]]||[[3059]]<ref name="TRO:3058Up164"/><ref name="FM:CCp78"/>
|-
| saKhan||[[Sellen Cage]]||3059<ref name=FM:CRCp85/>
|-
| saKhan||[[Connor Rood]]||[[3065]]<ref name=FM:Up72/><ref name="OP:IS">''Operation ICE STORM''</ref>
|-
|}

==Tactics==
Expert at setting ambushes.<ref name=FM:CRCp85/>

==Composition History==
===3059–3067===
'''200th Attack Cluster''' - Elite/Reliable<ref name=FM:CRCp85/><ref name=FM:Up72/>
* 4 [[Trinary|Trinaries]]

===3071–3073===
'''200th Attack Cluster'''<ref name=WoR111/>
* 6 Trinaries
* ''[[Rapacious (Individual Overlord-C-class DropShip)|Rapacious]]'', ''[[Overlord-C]]''-class transport [[DropShip]]<ref name="OP:IS"/>

==Notes==
* 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]] [[Osis' Pride|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==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Field Manual: Crusader Clans]]''
* ''[[Field Manual: Updates]]''
* ''[[Operation ICE STORM (novel)|Operation ICE STORM]]'' (Novel)
* ''[[Technical Readout: 3058 Upgrade]]''
* ''[[Touring the Stars: Bone-Norman]]''
* ''[[The Wars of Reaving]]''

[[Category:Clan Ice Hellion Commands|Attack, 200]]