Bitter Springs Massacre The Bitter Springs Massacre is an event mentioned in the graphic novel " All Roads " and referenced many times throughout " " . Background . During " All Roads " and " Fallout : New Vegas " , it is revealed that the New California Republic , most notably the 1st Recon unit , massacred a large number of Great Khan women , children and the elderly at Bitter Springs . The NCR snipers set up on Coyote Tail Ridge and were ordered to fire until they had exhausted their ammunition on the retreating Khans . The stories differ greatly from character to character due to variations in personality and state of mind , as well as their level of involvement in the incident . The characters with dialogue in the game include Craig Boone , Manny Vargas , Papa Khan , Major Dhatri , Bitter - Root , Melissa Lewis and Oscar Velasco . Craig Boone ' s account . A number of Khans were tracked to Bitter Springs by the NCR many years ago , when the NCR were first expanding their role in the Mojave Wasteland . The NCR believed it to be the Khans ' base of operations , and sent a large detachment of troops to bring the raids to an end . At least one company of scout / snipers from the 1st Recon Battalion , Craig Boone included , were sent to cut off escape at Bitter Springs ' only other exit . Little did the NCR realize that Bitter Springs was primarily the home of Khan families , and not ( as NCR command believed ) a bastion of resistance . When the Khans were then pushed out , 1st Recon was ordered to fire on the ones retreating from the area . Radio contact with the NCR was sketchy at best , command not understanding that the situation involved unarmed people . Their superiors ordered them to " fire until you ' re out of ammunition . " 1st Recon obeyed and what happened at Bitter Springs has had a large psychological impact on Boone , motivating him to leave the New California Republic Army behind him . Chance ' s account . The history through the eyes of Chance differs from that of Boone , in that the NCR is portrayed as being just as brutal as Caesar ' s Legion when it comes to pursuing their political agenda for a given area . There was no miscommunication with command , and the NCR soldiers simply rode into the town and opened fire . 1st Recon is not seen at all during Chance ' s flashback . It had a significant psychological impact on Chance , driving him to the use of drugs and leaving him mute . Papa Khan ' s account . Papa Khan states that the Great Khans had been flouting the NCR ' s demands , carrying out raids under the assumption that NCR ' s threats of retaliation were simply bluffs . Tensions rose higher and eventually the NCR tracked what they believed was a large raiding party back to Bitter Springs . Having been harassed continuously by the Khans , the NCR was looking to settle a score and did not expect Bitter Springs to be anything but a raider camp . Fueled by anger and frustration , goaded by the Great Khan ' s audacity and lacking appropriate intel , NCR command ordered the attack on the settlement to disastrous consequence . Bitter Root ' s account . Bitter - Root account of the events differs drastically from that of other testimonies . As an ex - Great Khan , he had the chance to see the civilians involved in the massacre . He describes them ( including his parents , who were Great Khans ) as sadistic murderers who attacked civilians and NCR personnel for fun , and even his own father forced Bitter - Root to shoot NCR civilians while he was still a kid . His testimony depicts an image that shows the attack at Bitter Springs not so much as a massacre of civilians , but as a battle between superior NCR forces and poorly armed and organized Great - Khans raiders , where woman and elder were not as " unarmed " as most other accounts try to make it look like . But given his adoptive father ' s stance , it ' s possible that Bitter - Root ' s recollection is untrustworthy due to his youth at the time and Dhatri ' s own prejudice .