A suicide attack is an attack intended to kill others and inflict widespread damage, in which the attacker expects or intends to die in the process. This tactic is commonly, though not exclusively, used by Unggoy troops due to their cannon fodder status, and the general disregard for their morale by their Sangheili or Jiralhanae commanders.
Tactics
Suicide attacks have been used throughout human history. Japanese Kamikaze pilots were often assigned suicidal missions, during World War II. Suicide attacks have been used by many terrorist groups to instil fear to other people.
Various Insurrectionist groups have used suicidal tactics, including the use of "Rumbledrugs" which gave the user superhuman abilities but also caused irreversible physiological damage, often killing the user.[1] In addition, it was not unheard of for insurgents to sacrifice themselves in terrorist bombings.[2] The Spartan-III program was initiated to create expendable Spartan soldiers to combat the Covenant in high-risk, suicidal missions during the Human-Covenant War. Several of these missions include Operation: PROMETHEUS and Operation: TORPEDO, which both resulted in high Spartan-III casualties.[3][4]
In combat, Unggoy troops will sometimes enter a berserker rage, similar to that of the Jiralhanae, but instead will brandish a pair of ignited plasma grenades and rush the enemy. Additionally, the Covenant sometimes employed specialized units of Unggoy, called "suicide squads" by the UNSC, whose primary offensive tactic was to rush toward the enemy with a pair of ignited plasma grenades.[5]
Notable incidents
- A suicide bomber affiliated with the Freedom and Liberation Party loaded a commercial nuclear explosive along with several tons of scrap Cadmium into a rental truck before detonating it in the promenade of the Haven arcology. The blast killed two million people and injured a further 8.3 million.[6][7]
- In Casbah City, on Tribute, a female Insurrectionist detonated nearby bombs in a Jim Dandy's restaurant, killing herself. The bombing killed three Marines, and 38 civilians.[8]
- ODST Michael Baird ingested the deadly Rumbledrugs aboard the UNSC The Heart of Midlothian in order to gain the strength needed to combat boarding Covenant forces. At the bridge of the ship, he intentionally attacked the commanding Sangheili in order to get the alien to kill him. With no other humans onboard, the ship's AI, Mo Ye, was able to make the ship self-destruct to kill the Covenant forces and destroy the ship's navigation data.[1]
- Towards the end of the Battle of Mombasa, the Huragok were forced to don armor that would explode if it took too much damage, dispersing smaller charges in a wide radius.
- During the Battle of Onyx, suicide Unggoy were successfully deployed as a diversion to distract Spartan forces as a battalion of Sangheili make ready to attack the Core of Onyx.[9]
- During the Battle of Installation 00, pilots of Longsword fighters too damaged to return to their ships attempted to smash their fighters into enemy ships.[10]
- During the Battle of Draetheus V, numerous Unggoy suicide troops were used in an attempt to breach Faraday Base's wall.[11]
Gameplay
FPS games
Occasionally during combat in Halo 3 and all subsequent Halo first-person shooters, Grunts will enter a suicidal stage. If their leader is killed, Unggoy may sometimes activate two plasma grenades and rush to the player in an attempt to suicide-bomb them. Headshots can easily deal with these Kamikaze Unggoy if spotted quickly, but if in large numbers, or if the player does not notice them until too late, they can be a devastating force.
Halo Wars
Suicide Grunts appear as a special unit type in Halo Wars. They serve as the Arbiter's unique units, coming in squads of four. They resemble standard Grunts except for a large, transparent, cylinder-shaped methane tank replacing the standard, triangular tank. These Grunts seem to be one of the lowest ranks, considering the fact that they wield plasma pistols and commit suicide kamikaze-style. Their Y-ability consists of lighting their methane tanks and charging the enemy in a similar fashion to some Grunt Minors. Once the Grunts come in contact with the chosen enemy, they violently explode.
They can be upgraded to:
- "Zeal": Speed boost while in Suicide mode.
- "Defile": Suicide explosion does extra splash damage.
Spartan series
Grunts perform suicide attacks during certain scripted sequences in Halo: Spartan Assault and Halo: Spartan Strike, often attacking in large waves. As in the rest of the series, it is preferable to dispatch them from a distance with precision weaponry, particularly the M6H magnum (in both games) or the BR85HB battle rifle (in Spartan Strike).
Gallery
A suicidal Unggoy Minor brandishing twin plasma grenades
A swarm of suicidal Unggoy wielding plasma grenades
Several suicidal Unggoy preparing to rush the enemy
A group of suicidal SpecOps Unggoy attacking SPARTAN-B312
Concept art for an unused belt bomb in Halo 4
List of appearances
Sources
- ^ a b Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe, "Midnight in the Heart of Midlothian", page 92
- ^ Halo: Contact Harvest, page 14
- ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 83
- ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 21
- ^ Halo: Reach, campaign level, Exodus
- ^ Halo: Reach Limited Edition, Intersystem News: HAVEN TERROR BOMBING KILLS TWO MILLION
- ^ Halo: Reach, Dr. Halsey's personal journal
- ^ Halo: Contact Harvest, page 86
- ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 350
- ^ Halo 3, campaign level, The Ark
- ^ Halo: Spartan Assault, Siege of Faraday