Pacification of Yatkusk

The Pacification of Yatkusk or the Yatkusk Massacre as it is also known was a skirmish that took place in the southern tip of the Northern Reach between the Alpha Clan and the forces of White Horse. Following the success of the battle a White Horse soldier was murdered by an Alpha Clan sympathizer sparking retaliatory killings and the town being destroyed. Awareness of the incident was swiftly repressed by White Horse which only made the public backlash even more severe.

Context
Nestled in the southern most province of the Northern Reach, the town of Yatkusk had long served as a way station for the Alpha Clan. During the height of the Shah Campaign the town saw considerable use as both a staging area and as a temporary hospice. As Alpha Clan interests moved elsewhere so did a large percentage of the garrison though it still served to house a large number of Alpha Clan families and support staff. By the time of the skirmish the town was simply defended by a single squad and local security forces.

Skirmish
As members of the White Horse 45th Motorized Rifles division were returning south from a mutant pacification they received word that some Dragoons had been spotted in the area. Despite their relatively light numbers and dwindling ammunition, their CO (Maj. Tomlin Franjic) ordered the company to investigate. Initial findings directed the soldiers to the town of Yatkusk. Major Franjic radioed division headquarters who confirmed that the town was a known Alpha Clan facility though no activity in recent years had prompted White Horse to overlook it.

Local citizens alerted the Dragoons stationed in the town of the approaching column and Sgt. Astrid Jethroth requested reinforcements from battalion HQ. None would reach Yatkusk in time and Sergeant Jethroth was ordered to hold the town at all costs, command hoping if they bloodied the enemy's nose enough they would leave the town alone.

Reorganizing his forces, Major Franjic ordered the company to attack the town, believing they might push the Dragoons back with such speed that Yatkusk could be captured with little resistance. It was not to be. Determined to follow battalion's orders, Sergeant Jethroth and her squad fought dogged defense which saw the fighting last for nearly two days. However by the morning of 27 May it was clear the Dragoons could not prevail especially given that the town's militia were already coordinating a surrender.

Aftermath
Hoping to spare the town of destruction the remaining Dragoons surrendered. Of the two that were left, one was heavily wounded and the other was shot accidentally when he capitulated. Major Franjic quickly moved the company into Yatkusk and commandeered the local hostel to serve as a field hospital. Hearing rumors that further Dragoons might be hiding with the town, Franjic ordered a handful of squads to move door to door, searching. During this task a scuffle occurred when one of the White Horse squads discovered an Alpha Clan Flag proudly displayed in one of the searched homes. Angered by this a White Horse soldier set the flag alight which resulted in a civilian being injured when she tried to put out the flames.

Razing of the town
That night, presumably in retaliation for burning the flag and hurting the woman who tried to extinguish it, a White Horse sentry was ambushed and stabbed to death. Franjic was awoken by this news and immediately ordered the execution of the surrendered Dragoon in their care. A group of soldiers dragged the injured Dragoon to the town square where they strung him up and shot him. Enraged by this, a small riot erupted, with citizens decrying the White Horse troops for murdering a captured enemy.

Reports state that Franjic was eager to return to bed and irritated that the locals would still side with the Dragoons despite being "liberated". One of his subordinates allegedly recorded him growling the following: "That's how it is, eh? Well fine!  Burn the whole fucking thing down!" Taking the apparent orders to heart all able-bodied White Horse soldiers were roused and dispatched to destroy the town. Fanning through the streets, troopers hurled phosphorous grenades into windows, setting homes alight. When angry and frightened citizens fled their homes or confronted the White Horse soldiers a rumored drunken NCO fired on them prompting other troops to do the same.

Hearing the shots, the commander of the company's pair of Lynx Light Tanks believed a firefight was taking place between lingering Dragoons and his comrades, despite no radio transmissions to support this. Taking the tanks he flanked the town and began systematically firing HE shells into any building he saw lights in. When his vehicles quickly ran out of these he ordered they switch to smoke and then brutally proceeded to machine gun anyone who exited the structures.

By morning most of the town was ash and rubble, only a small handful of buildings left intact. Those townspeople not killed had either fled into the wilderness or secreted themselves in cellars. After allegedly surveying the destruction proudly, Franjic ordered the company to leave Yatkusk and continue south.

Public Response
Reports of the destruction of Yatkusk were quickly hushed by White Horse command though they did release a statement saying that a unit of theirs had successfully pacified Alpha Clan guerrillas hiding in the town. It wasn't until a few months later when video surfaced on the net showcasing a White Horse soldier firing on screaming children that severe backlash began. This only gained more momentum when a further video was discovered, this one taken from citizen of Yatkusk as he tried to flee his burning home. The outcry was intense and Kingler Industries threatened to pull their support of White Horse.

In a move to save face, Major Franjic was brought before a military tribunal and subsequently hanged. Till the end Franjic believed he had done the right thing which made it easy for White Horse to place the blame entirely on him, despite the fact that his subordinates had actually carried out the atrocity.