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Bitter Springs Massacre

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The major in charge at the time made a bad call - he thought Bitter Springs was full of Great Khan raiders, so we surrounded the place. By the time any of us realized there were civilians down there - women and children - the shooting had already started.Major Dhatri

The Bitter Springs Massacre was an event that took place in the Mojave Wasteland about three years before the events of Fallout: New Vegas.[1][2]

Background

When the New California Republic arrived in the Mojave, the Great Khans considered them easy targets and raided their caravans, towns, and camps.[3] Members of the Great Khans agitated the situation, harassing members of the NCR and shooting at soldiers, civilians, and children.[4][5]

Intel led leaders within the NCR to believe a camp located at Bitter Springs was a gang hideout, and forces including the First Recon sharpshooters were sent there to engage from Camp Golf.[6] The sharpshooters were ordered to set up overlooking Red Pass from Coyote Tail Ridge, guarding the only escape route out of Bitter Springs, while the main force attacked from the front.[7][8] The NCR's main force was spotted too early and shooting began, resulting in members of the Great Khans fleeing through the canyon.[9]

Until this point, the NCR did not realize that Bitter Springs was a settlement inhabited by civilians, and First Recon were caught off guard by the individuals in the canyon consisting of women, children, the elderly, and the wounded.[9] The sharpshooters had previously been ordered to shoot on sight, but radioed to confirm their orders.[8][9] The major in charge of the NCR froze when he received this information and his subordinates were unable to understand the situation, confirming the order to fire, utilizing all available ammunition.[9][10] The resulting miscommunication resulted in the massacre of Great Khan non-combatants by the NCR.[11][12]

Notes

The events of the massacre are a topic in the promotional graphic novel, All Roads.

Appearances

The Bitter Springs Massacre is mentioned in Fallout: New Vegas.

Gallery

References

  1. Courier: "What incident?"
    Gilles: "About three years ago, this canyon was the main encampment for the Great Khans. NCR's 1st Recon tracked them here after a raid and made an attack. There was a communication mix-up that resulted in some noncombatants being killed. It was a tragic mistake, but we've done all we can to make amends."
    (Captain Gilles/Dialogue)
  2. Courier: "Any idea why a Great Khan would be so far from Red Rock Canyon?"
    Gilles: "About three years ago, NCR's 1st Recon launched an attack on the Khan encampment here. There was a communication mix-up that resulted in some noncombatants being killed. I guess he was still bitter about it. It was a tragic mistake, but we've done all we can to make amends."
    (Captain Gilles/Dialogue)
  3. Courier: "What happened at Bitter Springs?"
    Papa Khan: "When the NCR came to the Mojave, we thought they would be easy pickings. We raided their caravans, their towns, their camps - they couldn't stop us. At least, that's what we thought. They tracked us to Bitter Springs and surrounded us. When our children, our sick and old, fled through a nearby pass, the NCR gunned them down."
    Courier: "That doesn't sound like something the NCR would order."
    Papa Khan: "Oh, they claimed it was a miscommunication, but tell that to those who saw our families butchered. Tell it to the survivors who were banished here."
    (Papa Khan's dialogue)
  4. Courier: "You don't really mean that, do you?"
    Bitter-Root: "My dad, he got himself fucked up, every chance he got. Always started with folk for no reason. Hell, he was the one who taught me to shoot. You know how? By taking potshots at NCR. And not just soldiers. Civilians, too. Even kids."
    (Bitter-Root's dialogue)
  5. Courier: "Tell me about happened to them at Bitter Springs."
    Bitter-Root: "It was massacre. That's what a lot of NCR folk will tell you. Most of them feel plenty bad about what happened. But I was there. Saw it myself. I don't care what anybody says. The Khans asked for Bitter Springs. They wouldn't leave the NCR be. My damn parents, too. They were just as bad as the rest."
    (Bitter-Root's dialogue)
  6. Boone: "Hey. I thought some more about what you said. I think maybe you're right. Maybe I should go to Bitter Springs. I don't know what I'm hoping to find there."
    Courier: "What are we waiting for?"
    Craig Boone: "Tell the truth... I think this is exactly what I've been waiting for. This is the place. We got sent from Camp Golf, looking for some Khans who'd been making trouble with one of our settlements. I guess one of the settlers was connected, because we sent everything we had. We figured this was a gang hideout, but... they'd led us to their home."
    (Boone's dialogue)
  7. Courier: "What happened to your people?"
    Oscar Velasco: "The main force hit the canyon by surprise. While our warriors tried to hold them off, we sent our women, our children, our old through the Red Pass. NCR's First Recon Battalion was waiting for them on Coyote Tail Ridge. No Khan left alive, that was the order. My family...."
    (Oscar Velasco's dialogue)
  8. 8.0 8.1 Courier: "We can stay on Coyote Tail Ridge for the night."
    Craig Boone: "Canyon 37. That's what the NCR calls the pass down there. It was the Khans' only escape, so we set up here to guard it while the main force attacked from the front. Standing orders were to shoot on sight."
    (Boone's dialogue)
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Courier: "What happened?"
    Boone: "Main force got spotted too soon. We heard shooting. Then Khans started coming through Canyon 37 in bunches. It was all wrong, though. Women, kids, elderly. Wounded started coming through, too. We radioed to confirm our orders but command didn't get what we were seeing. They told us to shoot till we were out of ammo. So that's what we did."
    (Boone's dialogue)
  10. Courier: "You were at Bitter Springs, I'm told."
    Major Dhatri: "Yeah, I was there. I was Captain Dhatri, then. That whole situation was a mess and could easily have been avoided with good intel. The major in charge at the time made a bad call - he thought Bitter Springs was full of Great Khan raiders, so we surrounded the place. By the time any of us realized there were civilians down there - women and children - the shooting had already started. The major froze up at the news, and we couldn't get another word out of him. I took over and salvaged the situation as best I could. For my effort, I was promoted to major. Not quite the way I'd have wanted it."
    (Dhatri's dialogue)
  11. Courier: "What do you know about the Great Khans?"
    Bitter-Root: "Used to have a settlement up at Bitter Springs, 'til they pissed off NCR and got slaughtered for their trouble"
    (Bitter-Root's dialogue)
  12. Courier: "Must've been one hell of a miscommunication."
    Craig Boone: "Yeah, well. That's how they wrote it up in the report."
    Courier: "Sounded like more of a massacre."
    Craig Boone: "Yeah. I guess that'd be the word. We did what we were there to do. Lot of people got killed. That's war. Maybe looking back you'd do things differently, but that's not how it works."
    (Boone's dialogue)