Editing Bloody Tricentennial

==Overview==
The '''Bloody Tricentennial''' was the name given to a wave of terrorist attacks that struck across the [[Inner Sphere]] and in some [[Periphery]] nations in October [[3080]] and which is believed to have been orchestrated - and in many cases carried out - by the [[Word of Blake]] following the fall of [[Terra]] and the [[Word of Blake Protectorate]].<ref name="J:FRp20">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 20, "Bloody Tricentennial"</ref>

The name "Bloody Tricentennial" was coined for the attacks due to the belief that the various attacks were timed to coincide with the 300th anniversary of the appointment of [[Jerome Blake]] to the post of Minister of Communications in the last days of the [[Star League]] era. The significance of the date in the history of the formation of [[ComStar]] is such that the day was regarded as an important, even hallowed, occasion by the Word of Blake.<ref name="J:FRp20+"/> It was the media who began referring to the attacks as the Bloody Tricentennial, taking the name from a phrase issued during a taunting broadcast on Terra.<ref name="FM:3085p15">''Field Manual: 3085'', p. 15, "Chaos Concluded"</ref>

The nature of the attacks varied greatly, as did the level of damage inflicted. Some attacks were the work of individuals, whereas others were large-scale military assaults or attacks that devastated entire cities. Some incidents resulted in no casualties, often as a result of either poor planning and preparation on the part of the perpetrators to vigilant security on the part of governments or security forces. The targets chosen for the attacks varied greatly; while the military garrisons on a number of worlds were hit, attacks also struck at civilian targets such as schools, hospitals, factories and residential centers.<ref name="J:FRp20+"/> Nevertheless, upwards of fifty worlds saw incidents believed to be a part of the Bloody Tricentennial attacks which stretched over a two-month period from the initial attacks.<ref name="J:FRp61">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 61, "The Jihad In Review"</ref>

==Identified Attacks==
The nature and details of the various attacks varies from world to world. The list of affected worlds and the details of those attacks (where known) is as follows:

* [[Abbeville]] - A chemical agent of some kind was released in the town of LaBostrie in the early hours of the 12th of October, possibly prematurely, killing more than 400 people; while the attack killed more than a fifth of the town, the intended target may have been the planetary capital, Cottonport, of which LaBostrie was a suburb.<ref name="J:FRp20+">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 20, 22, "Hundreds Die In Chemical Attack On Abbeville"</ref>
* [[Aitutaki]]<ref name="J:FRp20+"/>
* [[Aix-la-Chapelle]] - Factory complexes on Aix-la-Chapelle were attacked by Blakist agents, but the robust construction of the factories defeated the Blakists' attempts to destroy them in the time available before the local militia could arrive.<ref name="FM:3085p37"/>
* [[Arboris]] - Cities and garrisons on Arboris were attacked by Blakist cells.<ref name="J:FRp20+"/>
* [[Avon]] - For two months the cities of Avon effectively ground to a halt; the Word of Blake had infiltrated two dozen agents onto Avon who managed to evade security forces and launch gas, bomb and sniper attacks on cities across the planet until they were finally caught.<ref name="FM:3085p123">''Field Manual: 3085'', p. 123, "Omicron Galaxy"</ref>
* [[Ballad II]] - One of two worlds within the [[Magistracy of Canopus]] to suffer from Bloody Tricentennial attacks, Blakist agents on Ballad II targeted the local militia academy before attacking other government buildings.<ref name="FM:3085p134">''Field Manual: 3085'', p. 134, "Magistracy of Canopus"</ref>
* [[Denebola]] - Cities and garrisons on Denebola were attacked by Blakist cells.<ref name="J:FRp20+"/>
* [[Firgrove]]<ref name="J:FRp20+"/>
* [[Goito]]<ref name="J:FRp113">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 113, "Clan Industry"</ref> - The [[Ghost Bear Dominion]] [[Dominion Facility Kappa-4|Kappa-4 manufacturing plant]] was destroyed by insurgents who used a pirate raid as a distraction to plant and detonate a nuclear device.<ref name="FM:3085p120">''Field Manual: 3085'', p. 120, "Theta Galaxy"</ref>
* [[Inarcs]]<ref name="J:FRp20+"/>
* [[Isesaki]]<ref name="J:FRp20+"/>
* [[Itabaiana]]<ref name="J:FRp20+"/> - The [[Clan Diamond Shark]] factory known as [[Clan Diamond Shark IndustriPlex-C|IndustriPlex-C]] was destroyed.<ref name="J:FRp113">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 113, "Clan Industry"</ref>
* [[Keystone]]<ref name="J:FRp20+"/>
* [[Loxley]]<ref name="J:FRp20+"/> - The mining facilities on Loxley suffered massive damage.<ref name="FM:3085p96">''Field Manual: 3085'', p. 96, "Coventry Province"</ref>
* [[Lyons]] - Alongside other damage, the planetary [[HPG]] was apparently destroyed.<ref name="J:FRp20+"/>
* [[Marduk]]<ref name="J:FRp20+"/> - while attempting to destroy a portion of the [[Victory Industries]] complex on Marduk, the Blakists detonated a poorly-placed nuclear weapon which failed to meet their initial objective of collapsing the complex into an underground crater, but which instead resulted in collapsed a huge swathe of jungle into a massive sinkhole and started a wildfire that devastated the ecosystem of the world and which drew almost the entire surviving population of the planet into emergency firefighting.<ref name="FM:3085p37">''Field Manual: 3085'', p. 37, "Blake's Last Gasp"</ref>
* [[Milton]] - Cities and garrisons on Milton were attacked by Blakist cells.<ref name="J:FRp20+"/>
* [[New Avalon]]<ref name="J:FRp20+"/> - BattleMech production throughout the [[Federated Suns]] was severely reduced because of the destruction of the [[Kaleidoscope Technology]] facility on New Avalon, the largest gyroscope manufacturing facility within the Federated Suns.<ref name="FM:3085p55">''Field Manual: 3085'', p. 55, "State of Readiness"</ref>
* [[Nykvarn]] - Blakist agents were discovered by an alert militia squad as the agents attempted to break into the [[Luthien Armor Works]] factory on Nykvarn; the militia attacked the Blakists without hesitation, resulting in a substantial conventional bomb exploding outside the factory perimeter and which inflicted heavy damage on a nearby civilian sector but much lighter damage on the factory.<ref name="FM:3085p37"/>
* [[Oliver]] - Cities and garrisons on Oliver were attacked by Blakist cells.<ref name="J:FRp20+"/>
* [[Palm]] - As with the other Magistracy world to be attacked, Blakist agents on Palm targeted the local militia academy before attacking other government buildings.<ref name="FM:3085p134"/>
* [[Pandora]]<ref name="J:FRp20+"/>
* [[Paulinus]] - The entire planetary government of Paulinus and the local militia were killed by Blakist agents who managed to escape without being identified after poisoning the water supply to several major cities.<ref name="FM:3085p143+"/>
* [[Recife]]<ref name="J:FRp20+"/>
* [[Savannah]] - The [[Technicron Manufacturing]] facility on Savannah is taken offline as a result of damage inflicted by Blakist attacks.<ref name="CGL:ATW1">[http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,31973.msg743305.html#msg743305 BattleTech Developer confirms the status of Technicron Manufacturing on Savannah in 3079.]</ref>
* [[Schuyler]] - Blakist agents managed to infiltrate far enough into the [[Wakazashi Enterprises]] factory on Schuyler to attack the [[22nd Dieron Regulars]] garrisoning the complex, but the 22nd responded swiftly and killed the infiltrators before they could sabotage the plant.<ref name="FM:3085p37"/>
* [[Sirius]] - Cities and garrisons on Sirius were attacked by Blakist cells.<ref name="J:FRp20+"/>
* [[Soul]] - Blakists were able to get into a factory complex on Soul and start a number of fires in an attempt to destroy the factory, but were ill-equipped for the icy conditions on the world, which prevented the fires from spreading, assisted factory workers in quickly dousing those fires that were set, and trapped the terrorists inside the complex until they were hunted down by the local militia.<ref name="FM:3085p37"/>
* [[Spencer]] - The remote [[Fronc Reaches]] world of Spencer was hit by a chemical weapon attack that killed 13,000 people.<ref name="FM:3085p147">''Field Manual: 3085'', p. 147, "Second Fronc Cuirassiers"</ref>
* [[Star's End]] - The shipyard captured from pirates in the Star's End system by forces from [[Clan Hell's Horses]] was destroyed, although intelligence indicates that the Hell's Horses were already in the process of abandoning the dilapidated facility.<ref name="J:FRp113"/>
* [[St. Ives]]<ref name="J:FRp20+"/>
* [[Terra]] - the former capital of the Word of Blake Protectorate, Terra was hit by multiple attacks of various kinds. [[BattleMech]] raids were reported on the continents of Asia and North America, including an attack in Seattle conducted by a single ''[[Flashman]]'' BattleMech that saw half of the city's commercial district destroyed, before the rogue 'Mech in [[TerraSec]] colors was cornered by security forces from the allied coalition; the pilot of the ''Flashman'' then destroyed his own 'Mech, destroying two coalition 'Mechs at the same time. While Europe and Australia did not suffer military raids, large-scale explosions tore through a number of manufacturing centers on both continents.<ref name="J:FRp20+"/>
* [[Thessalonika]] - The economic future of Thessalonika has been badly threatened; a pastoral world with little by way of industries other than a booming cattle industry, Thessalonika saw huge numbers of cattle infected by a virulent strain of foot-and-mouth disease that not only infected the cattle but which also became a dormant presence in much of the world's grasslands.<ref name="FM:3085p121">''Field Manual: 3085'', p. 121, "Tundra Galaxy"</ref>
* [[Thule]] - The Ghost Bear industrial facility Kappa-4 was destroyed, leaving the Ghost Bear Dominion with no source of ''Firemoth'' 'Mechs.<ref name="J:FRp113"/>
* [[Trondheimal]] - Blakist agents poisoning the water supply to several major cities on Trondheimal were found and killed by experienced forces from the [[Marian Hegemony|Marian Hegemony's]] [[IV Legio]], who had responded quickly to the first reports of seizures and deaths amongst the civilian population, limiting the death toll to 3,000 people, rather than the million or more who could potentially have been killed.<ref name="FM:3085p143+">''Field Manual: 3085'', p. 143-44, "IV Legio Comitatensis"</ref>
* [[Twycross]] - The [[Trellshire Heavy Industries]] plant was destroyed in a nuclear explosion intended to both destroy the factory and the garrisoning [[Clan Diamond Shark]] forces from [[Gamma Galaxy (Clan Diamond Shark)|Gamma Galaxy]] who had been lured to the plant by a series of earlier explosions.<ref name="FM:3085p115">''Field Manual: 3085'', p. 115, "Gamma Galaxy"</ref> The plant was initially described as having been heavily damaged.<ref name="J:FRp113"/>
* [[Umka]] - A wave of bombings devastated the commercial district of the city of Deep Hamilton during the early hours of the 12th of October, killing more than 1,200 people; this was followed by an explosion several hours later that intentionally breached the major dam near Deep Hamilton, flooding the city.<ref name="J:FRp19+">''Jihad: Final Reckoning'', p. 19-20, "Terrorists Flood Deep Hamilton"</ref>
* [[Unity]] - The [[Pesht Motors]] installation on Unity was the intended target of a Blakist cell, but the remote location of the factory forced the terrorists to approach through the wilderness, where they were discovered before they could penetrate the complex. The terrorists detonated their bomb in an attempt to start a forest wildfire, but the local plant life failed to produce a large conflagration.<ref name="FM:3085p37"/>

==Notes==
* The attack on the Technicron Manufacturing plant on Savannah during the Bloody Tricentennial was confirmed by the BattleTech Developer [[Øystein Tvedten]] via the Catalyst Game Labs Ask The Writers Forum.<ref name="CGL:ATW1"/>

{{Quote|Actually, not correct. It was still in the FWL in 3079, and as such if it had any working industry it would have been covered there.
Savannah attempted to declare independence in 3071, but was savagely suppressed by a WoB/Marik force in 3074, which put Technicron Manufacturing offline. It was further damaged during the Bloody Tricentenial and when the Republic forcefully annexed the world in 3080ish.

As such it was not operational in 3079, and hence was not included in Objectives: FWL.

With regards,<br>
Øystein<br>
Strategic Assistant|[http://bg.battletech.com/forums/index.php/topic,31973.msg743305.html#msg743305 Øystein Tvedten, 06 August 2013]}}

==References==
<references />

==Bibliography==
* ''[[Field Manual: 3085]]''
* ''[[Jihad: Final Reckoning]]''
* ''[[Icons of War]]''

[[Category: Atrocities]]