Kentares Massacre

The Kentares Massacre occurred during an offensive thrust during the First Succession War by the Draconis Combine against the Federated Suns that began to stall on Kentares IV. Minoru Kurita, Coordinator of the Combine, landed on Kentares IV to oversee the re-establishment of a forward base of operations.

The Combine forces began to regain control of the planet during the summer of 2796, forcing the Davion defenders to a single continent. Outside the town of New Snowfield, Minoru was so taken with the scenery that he left his BattleMaster and traveled on foot, accompanied by a small number of troops. It was then that a sharpshooter from the 7th Crucis Lancers shot the Coordinator in the back, killing him. Since Minoru Kurita wore a standard DCMS uniform with colonel's insignia, the Federated Suns sniper didn't realize whom he had killed.

When Minoru's son Jinjiro learned of the assassination, he very calmly ordered that his forces "kill them all". For five months, the Kurita forces systematically murdered everyone they could find on the planet. Jinjiro himself oversaw several of the mass murders and at one point forbade the use of modern weapons, instead requiring his troops to use their katana (swords) to behead the victims.

In February of 2797, when Jinjiro left the planet behind, over 90 percent of the civilian population had been murdered. In total, the Kuritan forces massacred over 52 million people.

The ComStar representative on the planet transmitted (against ComStar's directives) information about the massacre. Before long, the entire Inner Sphere knew of Jinjiro's actions on Kentares IV. As a result of the atrocity, the Eridani Light Horse mercenary unit left the Combine's employ, resulting in a similar situation with their dependents.

The sniper who killed Minoru Kurita committed suicide after he realized that he was partially responsible for the Kentares Massacre.

Aftermath

The Massacre was a turning point in the First Succession War. Up until that point, the Federated Suns seemed almost on the verge of collapse. The Massacre rallied the population and the AFFS, who soon began pushing back against the invaders. Contributing to this reversal was the demoralization of the DCMS. Many officers recognized that the massacre was not considered honorable under bushido.

References

• Handbook: House Davion
• House Kurita (The Draconis Combine), pp. 55-56.
• House Davion (The Federated Suns), p. 62.

See Also

• Eridani Light Horse#First and Second Succession Wars