The Buskin Disaster

Category:Battle
The Buskin Disaster otherwise known as The Buskin Crisis was a battle that was caused due to an attack by Only the Hated supported by troops from EO against a force of Church of Yelloman and United Commonwealth troops who were meeting with officials of the Kodiak Oblast. The resulting diplomatic crisis resulted in a large scale engagement between all of those involved, making it the largest battle since the events of the Battle of Kodiak and the Kodiak Civil War.
== Prelude ==
Buskin, a small community located Southeast of the Buskin Lake first came to prominence during the Kodiak Uprising as one of the first larger settlements to be liberated from Soviet control. It went on to became one of few consistent civilian population centers throughout most of post war Kodiak. A majority of inhabitants live on a small strip of land between Lake Catherine and Lake Louise to the North and South respectively, with smaller population centers being located further West.
During the Kodiak Uprising there was a small skirmish North of Buskin that caused a Soviet withdrawal from the area, marking it the largest settlement to have been liberated by the KCR. Refugees flocked to live there, constructing further rudimentary housing and inflating the population of the town. It became a thriving community for resource trading and saw little to no combat after that.
During the Kodiak Civil War there was a small scale engagement around Buskin, which was subsequently spared from combat after the OtH forces bypassed it. In the later stages of the Kodiak Civil War there was minimal occupation by Only the Hated troops, choosing to leave it as a peaceful ground to which civilians could flee.
The Fort Fides Agreement of 2007, among other things, declared that Buskin is to be a neutral ground, given its location at the crossroads of near
==The Buskin Crisis==
The name given to this beginning period of the Buskin Disaster is the Buskin Crisis, since it was a period of frantic diplomacy and rising tensions between the factions. It began on December 2nd 2014 and came to an end after the beginning of combat on December 17th. 
===UC-Yelloman and Oblast Summit - December 2nd ===
Michael Reed, the functioning diplomat of the Church of Yelloman met with Liam Murphy of the United Commonwealth in secret in the town of Buskin, each faction bringing no more than 10 men as bodyguards. They invited a representative of the Kodiak Oblast named Sergei Morozov and a small force of Oblast troops to Buskin in order to discuss mutually beneficial actions that could be taken against Only the Hated, the mutual enemy of all groups present. It was also a goal of the Yelloman delegates to get at the very least a pact of non-aggression between the Commonwealth and the Oblast. 
Morozov expressed his anxieties at collaborating with enemies of EO and how that would be detrimental towards Oblast-EO relations, but did agree with the sentiment that once Only the Hated was dealt with Kodiak would be better off. Reed informed him that they had to sign no official alliance, but attack when and where they all agree on. Morozov was inclined to agree but he once more refrained out of fear for EO reprisals. 
It was at this point that Stephen Lukes received word from scouts that there were Yelloman and Commonwealth troops inside of Buskin, at which point he decided an immediate attack was necessary. Johan Basel told him that this was likely a move by the United Commonwealth to expand their holdings from the airport towards the North. Lukes met with the commander of the EO forces attached to Anton, a man named Harvey Williams and requested he bring his company toward the attack on Buskin, seeing it as an opportunity to further diminish the United Commonwealth's influence. Williams committed 50 men from his company along with 70 from Only the Hated to form a company sized unit that would then march onto Buskin. Lukes accompanied by Williams spoke to the troops, informing them that would leave that night and attack Buskin tomorrow morning. Lukes sent Johan Basel to command the company in his place, as he must keep Anton under his guard in case the Church of Yelloman attacked. Williams went along with Basel and communicated with EO command via radio. The force departed from Anton at 11:00 PM.
=== Only the Hated Attacks - December 3rd ===
Basel and the joint force reached Buskin by 3:00 AM on the 3rd, before resting for a few hours in order to sweep through Buskin more effectively. At 6:00 AM, the EO and OtH squads entered Buskin and swept it for enemy resistance. They met resistance around the former weather service building, where the UC-Yelloman-Oblast summit was taking place. Williams received word from a squad leader that from the building voices were heard shouting "Oblast! We are not Yelloman, we are not Commonwealth!" Williams immediately ordered all EO troops to stand down and report to him.
Basel and the OtH squadrons completed a sweep of the city, pushing all Yelloman and Commonwealth sentries to the weather service building. Williams begged him to halt the advance, informing him that troops of the Kodiak Oblast were present. The orders were given and through the streets the troops shouted "cease fire! cease fire!" Williams accompanied by Basel approached the weather service building under white flag, requesting to meet with the officials inside. Morozov, Murphy and Reed stepped out, informing them that Oblast officials were meeting with representatives of the Church of Yelloman and United Commonwealth in neutral ground. Morozov informed Williams that a bullet had struck one of the other Oblast officials, and he was unsure whether it had been fired by EO or OtH troops. 
Williams anxiously reported to EO command via radio that EO troops accompanying OtH had accidentally engaged Oblast troops and injured an official. This report caused panic among EO command, who immediately reached out to the Kodiak Oblast. EO also sent Brigadier Cassidy along with further EO troops to Buskin in order to maintain control, as well as manage negotiations with the trapped delegates. 
Following the attack on Buskin, Commonwealth troops inside the airport were placed on high alert and deployed to the edge of their territory, with orders to sweep into Buskin if the situation turned worse. They reinforced the border and kept a watchful eye on Buskin, watching anxiously as EO helicopters landed troops inside Buskin. They also notified Prophet Robert Collins via radio of the situation, urging him to place troops on high alert for an attack on Anton, as well as if possible to raise a force to be sent to Buskin.
=== Escalation - December 4th ===
On the day following the attack, every force present began preparations for the escalation of the situation. Morozov radioed Oblast command to raise a force to move towards Buskin in order to rescue the trapped delegation, fearing an immediate attack by Only the Hated. Anton Vardayn greenlit this, and sent a force of 100 men West towards Buskin in order to facilitate the evacuation of the Oblast delegation.
Prophet Robert Collins informed Annette of the situation and a Yelloman force was raised, numbering around 70, as well as around 20 of Yelloman's Missionaries under Leon Mariana. This force departed from Fort Fides and moved towards Buskin. Meanwhile, Prophet Robert Collins mobilized the Army of the Sun to protect the Monaska Mountains, fearing an Only the Hated attack to be imminent. The Army of the East and the Army of the West were both allocated to the Western Monaska Mountains around Fort Fides. 
The United Commonwealth continued to ramp up their forces along the border of the airport, allocating artillery pieces and reinforcements to be ready for an immediate attack on Buskin. They spoke with Prophet Robert Collins, and both were ready to launch an all out attack on Buskin and Anton simultaneously in case fighting were to break out again. They made contact with the delegates inside Buskin, with Murphy telling them that the situation was unsteady and ready to explode at any moment.
EO flew further reinforcements into Buskin, mostly in order to ensure that OtH troops did not attack the Oblast troops. The EO troops fanned out across Buskin, establishing a perimeter, as well as a route for the evacuation of the delegates. In addition to this, Navis Mortis was on high alert and deployed close to the Kodiak airport in order to intimidate the Commonwealth troops. 
Only the Hated reacted severely to the escalation inside of Buskin. Stephen Lukes spoke to Johan Basel via radio and learned that the attack on Buskin had stalled, leaving the troops sitting idle inside of Buskin. He told Lukes that EO troops were interfering in an attack that could capture many valuable delegates from all of OtH's enemies. Lukes spoke to Harvey Williams via radio and asked that he stand down and retreat all EO forces from the area. Williams refused, stating that the situation was too delicate and a move such as that could not be made too hastily. 
=== Siege - December 5-9th ===
The following period of the Buskin Crisis follows a gradual build up of troops outside of Buskin as well as the negotiations inside. Brigadier Cassidy under cease fire spoke to the delegates, requesting that the Kodiak Oblast's delegates be let go and allowed to return to Kodiak City. The Commonwealth and Yelloman delegates refused this request, knowing that they would be killed or captured the second that the Oblast delegates left. Morozov and the Oblast delegates also refused evacuation until Oblast troops arrived to escort them, fearing an attack by Only the Hated. Brigadier Cassidy was shocked at the news that Oblast troops were advancing towards Buskin, since EO command had not been notified that the Oblast was sending troops.
As night fell on the 5th no agreements had been made, however further escalation occurred. Williams and Cassidy knew of the Commonwealth build up, but were cautious of the coming arrival of Oblast troops. The situation between the two forces would be very tense and possibly escalate into combat. Further complicating the situation was the presence of OtH troops who may engage the Oblast relief column.
The Yelloman and Commonwealth delegates informed Brigadier Cassidy once more on the 6th that it was out of the question for just the Oblast delegates to be released. A plan was proposed for all of the delegates to be evacuated East to Kodiak city by the Oblast troops, however the Yelloman and Commonwealth delegates were unsure of the treatment they would receive, with Murphy declaring that he would likely be arrested. Morozov told the other delegates that once the Oblast troops reached the outskirts of Buskin he would make contact and determine whether they would receive safe passage. Murphy reminded Morozov that the Oblast troops should not move too far South, in case the Commonwealth troops along the airport's border fear an attack and engage. Morozov told Murphy that the Oblast troops would not be foolish enough to wander into Commonwealth territory, and they had orders to halt near Genivieve Lake to the East of Buskin.
On the morning of the 7th Oblast troops had reached Genivieve Lake and set up positions for an attack if called upon to do so. They made contact with Morozov via a radio provided by present EO troops. The commander of the Oblast troops met with Cassidy and requested that they be released to him. Cassidy explained that the Oblast delegates refused on leaving the building without the other delegates. The commander informed Morozov that he would take the Yelloman and Commonwealth delegates into custody, at which point their release would be negotiated. This request was denied by the Yelloman and Commonwealth delegates, who now forced the Oblast delegates to stay put until a better agreement was reached.
By noon on the 7th, the Yelloman troops under Annette set up camp North of Lake Catherine, but were unable to make any contact with the trapped parties due to the hostilities between the church and EO. Instead Annette met with the Oblast company commander under flag of cease fire, asking him to contact Morozov and inform the Yelloman and Oblast delegates that church troops were now near Buskin. As news of the Yelloman troops' arrival spread, further anxieties were fueled amongst OtH and EO would saw the coming encirclement. Emphasis was placed upon keeping the path to Anton open, so that the sizeable force inside Buskin will not be cut off. 
In response to the arrival of Yelloman troops, Stephen Lukes sent further reinforcements to Buskin commanded by himself, as well as further troops to keep the road to Anton under control. He mustered a further 50 men and marched towards Buskin on the night of the 7th. His column marched through the night, narrowly missing a few Yelloman patrols and reaching Anton by 5:00 AM on the 8th. They began preparing defensive positions against the protests of EO who insisted that there would be no battle. Despite their claims that combat would not occur, EO troops were discretely told to survey positions for their defensive values as well as a withdrawal plan. In addition, Navis Mortis was under orders to begin shelling the Kodiak Airport if combat were to occur. This information was relayed to Commonwealth troops, in order to further dissuade them from taking any action. 
The arrival of further OtH reinforcements on the 8th influenced Prophet Robert Collins to take away some of the troops defending the Monaska Mountains to bring another 40 Yelloman troops to Buskin, seeing this as the moment where he could beat OtH and capture Stephen Lukes. Before departing from Fort Fides he told his troops "If combat should come, I want it to be known that there shall be a reward from Yelloman himself for whomever brings me the head of Stephen Lukes." The troops left the Monaska Mountains towards Buskin in high spirits, singing Church songs and stopping for photographs with the photographer Collins brought with him. 
After the arrival of the further Yelloman reinforcements to Buskin, the forces around Buskin were staggering. Inside Buskin there were 120 OtH troops and 80 EO troops, while outside there was at least 100 Kodiak Oblast troops, around 110 Yelloman troops and 200 Commonwealth troops. The odds stacked against the defenders of Buskin were staggering, leading EO to airlift in as many further reinforcements as they could spare, swelling the numbers of EO troops from 80 to 100, as well as commitments from EO aircraft for support should combat arrive. Amidst this tense atmosphere the EO officials pleaded with the delegates to reach a solution.
Harvey Williams and Brigadier Cassidy met with Murphy, Morozov and Reed just outside of the weather service building, negotiating for a peaceful resolution of the crisis inside Buskin. Williams maintained that EO troops had been there under the impression that there were no Oblast delegates present and that there was a hostile takeover of Buskin, and he had no issue with letting all parties return if it meant peace would be returned. Cassidy cut in stating that enemies of EO conspiring in neutral territory was still an infringement on the unsteady peace that existed across Kodiak. Morozov informed Cassidy that the meeting was one to discuss a tentative peace between the United Commonwealth and the Kodiak Oblast, a peace that was now unlikely due to the intervention of EO and OtH. This bitter note ended the meetings on the 8th, with a promise to return on the morning of the 9th to finally put an end to the crisis inside of Buskin.
On the morning of the 9th a meeting consisting of Morozov and his translator, Williams, Cassidy, Reed and Murphy took place. They discussed to no avail for a few hours but could all agree on wanting a peaceful resolution. When Murphy spotted an EO helicopter leaving Buskin from the road he asked Cassidy if it would be possible for EO to remove all of the delegates from Buskin via helicopter and land them in neutral ground, at which point they could all return to their points of origin. This plan was initially refused by Cassidy, but after Williams pleaded with Cassidy the plan was greenlit. However Cassidy could not allow them to land in neutral ground, and told Morozov in private that he and his party would be returned to Oblast territory, but the others would be taken into captivity. Not knowing about this secret agreement, Reed and Murphy said they would agree to this evacuation plan. All parties left the discussion with a concrete agreement, at 10 AM on the 10th of December, the delegates would be flown out of Buskin, at which point all forces would return to their points of origin under cease fire, thereby ensuring peace.
Already the plans seemed to be in doubt when Commonwealth troops were seen advancing past the Buskin River and closer to the town itself. These troops were met with Harvey Williams running toward them with a white flag, at which point he is claimed to have pleaded with them: "Please wait! Turn back now, peace is almost within our grasp! You have no idea what may happen next, there will be chaos and bloodshed. We are standing on the brink of the next war and if this war breaks out I fear none of us may make it out. Please, lay down your arms! Shoulder your rifles and leave this place and we may live another day!" The Commonwealth troops told him they were under orders to establish a defensive line outside of the airport to ensure that no attacks were made after the evacuation. Later in the day, Yelloman's Missionaries were alleged to have kidnapped a small group of civilians fleeing Buskin, further souring relations. As night fell the plans were still in motion for the safe evacuation.
== The Buskin Disaster ==
=== The Evacuation - December 10th ===
On the morning of the 10th tensions were incredibly high and nearly every force present was on standby. Prophet Robert Collins spent the morning making speeches and communicating with Commonwealth officials via radio. EO troops were clearing away any debris and further pushing away OtH troops to ensure nothing went wrong during the evacuation. The helicopter that would make the trip was given emergency safety checks to ensure there would be no possibility of a crash caused by mechanical error. Navis Mortis began moving away from Kodiak Airport after they received word from the Commonwealth that there were no anti-aircraft guns present to endanger the helicopter's flight. 
At 9:30 AM the helicopter departed from Navis Mortis and reached the sky above Buskin by 9:40, at which point it began making a descent while EO troops maintained a strict perimeter and escorted the delegates to the landing zone. Morozov thanked Williams and Cassidy for their help in ensuring peace, and chatted with Murphy and Reed about further meetings to establish better relations between their groups. The EO helicopter landed on the ground at 9:50 and switched off it's rotor to facilitate easy loading of passengers. They had plans to depart at 10 AM on the dot.
As the clock hit 10 AM, the helicopter started its rotor and ascended into the sky, initially moving towards Kodiak City. The EO troops inside Buskin cheered at the successful evacuation and began making plans for the withdrawal of their troops from Buskin and back to safer territory. The OtH troops were less enthusiastic though, with Johan Basel voicing his displeasure at having been left out of the negotiations. He told Cassidy that OtH is being treated like a junior partner, and worse was being handicapped by EO preventing their potential knockout blow of their rivals. Despite the tensions, all troops began preparations to withdraw back to the territory.
At just around 10:07 AM, Commonwealth sentries reported that they spotted the helicopter moving away from Kodiak City and instead towards the direction that Navis Mortis had moved the previous day. The Commonwealth commander, Charlie Rath radioed Robert Collins the following message:
"Those sons of bitches faked us out, they're turning away from Kodiak City and going towards their ship. Your man Reed is going to be taken in with Murphy, they fucking tricked us!"
At that moment, Robert Collins ordered all troops to move back towards Buskin, anticipating a battle. At 10:11 AM, Commonwealth artillery began pounding Buskin, causing severe casualties in the opening bombardment among the EO and OtH troops. Instantaneously, around 75 Commonwealth troops attacked to the Northwest, attempting to cut off Buskin. They engaged OtH troops who were guarding the road, but easily swept them aside. It was only as they met the EO troops along the perimeter that the attack stalled. A firefight broke out along the length of Rezanof road as further Commonwealth troops advanced.
Signaled by this, Yelloman troops rushed South past Lake Catherine, succeeding in pushing back the defenders on the perimeter and meeting the flanking Commonwealth troops. When a Yelloman company commander met with a Commonwealth officer, they both sent message to their leadership that the encirclement had been complete. All the while, Commonwealth artillery continued to pound Buskin, where a chaotic situation ensued. 
=== Bombardment ===
The Commonwealth bombardment succeeded in destroying much of the buildings in Buskin, which at the time were still occupied by civilians. Amidst the bloodshed, EO troops began frantically evacuating civilians towards the East where the Oblast troops where, informing the commander that refugees were on their way. A large portion of Buskin's population made the mad dash towards the Oblast troops, but a number of civilians were trapped inside Buskin. 
The bombardment did not cease until well after 12:00 PM, at which point the Commonwealth and Yelloman troops began their full assault on Buskin. The casualties from the bombardment have never been confirmed, but it is speculated that the sudden and violent barrage killed at least 30 OtH troops and 20 EO troops, with countless others injured. 
=== The Breakout ===
Brigadier Cassidy and Stephen Lukes who were both inside Buskin realized the doomed situation and began immediate plans for a breakout. They made the decision that a force would stay behind to give the illusion that Buskin was still being defended while the majority of the troops would breakout West towards Anton. Cassidy also made plans for his best troops to be evacuated via helicopter, but he feared being shot down by Commonwealth artillery. After weighing the options, Cassidy gathered the most experienced troops in Buskin and had a helicopter pick them up the edge of Lake Catherine. Cassidy and his men escaped Buskin by air, leaving about 50 EO troops to fight for survival inside Buskin.
Lukes and Williams gathered their troops in the West and began their assault at 12:30 PM, hitting the Commonwealth-Yelloman line hard and managing to break through after 15 minutes of fighting. At this point they began a desperate rush for Anton, fighting off Commonwealth and Yelloman troops. Lukes was personally involved in the fighting at a point nicknamed "Stuck Foot Creek" due to the muddy banks of the creek causing troops to slow down. In the fighting at this area, Lukes and his men fought off a Yelloman attack, one which was later speculated to have been carried out by Prophet Robert Collins and his personal guard. Lukes suffered a gunshot wound to the shoulder in the fighting, and is alleged to have killed two Yelloman soldiers in the fighting. Around 60 OtH troops made it across the Buskin River and would go on to make it all the way back to Anton, however the remaining 30-40 OtH troops were trapped inside of Buskin. They would be joined by about 20 EO troops who also did not make it in the breakout. The defense of Buskin was not left to at most 70 men, against a force of well over 300 Commonwealth and Yelloman troops. 
=== Skirmish between Oblast and Commonwealth Troops ===
As the Oblast troops were occupied evacuating civilians from Buskin, they met advancing Commonwealth troops and warned them to stay away from the road leading to Kodiak City, which was not obeyed by the Commonwealth troops. Soon the two forces began exchanging fire near Lake Louise. Around 4 Oblast troops were injured in the fighting and 1 Commonwealth troops was killed in the fighting. 
As the fighting dragged on the Commonwealth troops called for support from their mortars, leading to one mortar landing near a group of Oblast troops, killing 2 and injuring 5 others. This caused the Oblast troops to make a full retreat with all the civilians they already had under their protection, leaving the others to fend for themselves inside Buskin. The Commonwealth troops initially pursued, but were driven off in another engagement Genivieve Lake and instead swung West into Buskin.
=== The Advance on Buskin ===
By 1:00 PM all OtH and EO troops that could escape already had, leaving a force of 70 inside of Buskin to defend themselves. Among these was Johan Basel and Harvey Williams, who organized the defense to the best of their abilities. They decided to abandon all of Buskin besides the strip between Lake Catherine and Lake Louise, mistakenly leaving behind many civilians who were in still intact houses. These civilians would be captured by Yelloman troops and likely brought back to the Monaska Mountains for conversion. 
Commonwealth and Yelloman troops began a cautious assault on the Buskin strip, finding little success against the entrenched troops and engaging in an hour long firefight. Commonwealth troops carried out a limited bombardment of some positions along the strip, including one heavy bombardment of the Western entrance to the strip what was utilized by the Church of Yelloman for a ferocious attack. The Yelloman troops swept in amidst the bombardment and found the hunkered down defenders, killing many with bayonets or knives. This foothold would then be utilized by Yelloman troops to fire upon the other defenders.
Once the defenders had learned that the Yelloman troops were rapidly advancing on them they realized their position was hopeless, and thus made a desperate flight to the East in order to surrender to Commonwealth troops. The Commonwealth troops initially tried fighting them off, resulting in a desperate firefight in the East. However as the firefight dragged on to 2:30 PM, many OtH troops abandoned their positions and ran out with their arms up. A limited number of them were taken by the Commonwealth troops, while the rest were turned back into Buskin. These troops continued to fight on until 4:00 PM, at which point they ran out of ammunition. They once more attempted to surrender to Commonwealth troops, but were refused as the Commonwealth had their hands full with the civilians and prisoners they had already taken.
The Yelloman troops combed through the wreckage of the town and directed all civilians and prisoners to line up along the road with their hands up. Those who were with OtH were asked to identify themselves, with many refusing to do so. Prophet Robert Collins appeared before them, once more insisting that the OtH troops reveal themselves so that the innocent among them may continue living. The EO troops were taken off to the side by Yelloman's Missionaries, later being taken to The Hole were they were subjected to torture and attempts at conversion. 
== The Buskin Massacre ==
The final and most infamous episode from the Buskin Disaster is the Buskin Massacre perpetrated by the Church of Yelloman. The prisoners and civilians lined up along the road in Buskin were forced onto their knees at which point they were spoken to by Robert Collins. A full video of the events was recorded by a Commonwealth photographer, capturing Collins exact words:
"Citizens of Buskin.. and you Malthesians from Only the Hated. You are so fortunate that I am standing before you here, this means I have given you another chance. Your comrades that have already been killed, there is no possibility for salvation for them. You, however, can still be saved. Yelloman asks only that you ascend to our community, at which point we can begin to deprogram the hate and the lies your leaders have given you. You see, I do this out of love, I want to save all of you, but I recognize that not all of you can be saved. Some of you cannot swallow your pride, and must rather die than see the light. I ask those of you want salvation, please step to the right. Those of you that are lost in your ways, please gather in the old weather service building, we will sort out what to do with you from there."
Most present civilians chose to gather to the right and accepted conversion, but about 40 OtH fighters and a few civilians instead went to the weather building, believing they would just be taken prisoner. However they would instead be subjected to the most heinous act ever committed by the Church of Yelloman.
Robert Collins brought forth his personal guard, who threw molotov cocktails through the windows of the building. Further troops barred the doors for a few minutes, before allowing them to open and the people inside to desperately run out. They were met by nearly the entire Yelloman force brandishing bayonets, knives, machetes or clubs outside of the building. Those who didn't burn inside the building were subjected to the sadism of the Yelloman troops. Beheadings, disembowelments and lynchings were reported. The Yelloman perpetrators sang a church song as they killed, and after all the prisoners were slaughtered they posed for photographs with their corpses. This event would severely damage their relations with the Commonwealth, as many Commonwealth troops looked on in horror as the massacre was committed. 
Category:Battles
Category:Atrocities