24 NAVY NEWS, MAY 2009
“Marjah had been a safe haven for the enemy.
We have shattered that illusion – and more will follow.”
● Band of brothers... Silhouetted against the new day are men of X-Ray Company on patrol between Forward Operating Bases Robinson and Nolay
the local leaders were and how they looked after Thus began a three-day thrust, as the Royals Taleban positions – and faced fi erce opposition tow
marina Continued from page 23
the bazaar, the enemy spraying the area randomly
their communities. yomped, struck in the rear of Taleban positions, from the enemy, until the weight of allied ground str
with bullets, until an Apache gunship was called in
“Before our arrival, no-one knew what was here,” and forced the enemy to either fall back or turn and and air power told.
to neutralise the Taleban positions with its 30mm
said Lt Col Charlie Stickland, Commanding Offi cer fi ght, while the Leopards shelled enemy positions When the insurgent lines fi nally broke, they fl ed en
cannon.
42 Commando. “It was largely a blank map.” from the high ground. up the valley in pick-up trucks and on motorcycles…
With that, Khan Neshin had been cleared of the
“We’ve walked, fought and talked across a huge The result was some particularly fi erce fi ghting and into the arms, or rather roll cages, of the BRF in Dr
enemy and the men of 42 Commando could survey
area. We’ve drunk endless cups of tea with the with no true front line. its Jackals. so
their haul: raw opium, guns – including AK47s –
locals. We’ve achieved more than we could have “The tempo of the battle and the 360-degree The recce force had deliberately stayed out of the be
ammunition, RPGs, and two suicide bomber vests
imagined a month before.” nature of the close-quarters fi ghting brought out the fi ghting until now, waiting in a jump-off area to the fi re
ready for use. THE fi nal thrust of Blue Sword came not in
very best in the guys,” said 2Lt Sean Connolly in south-east of the Army assault, moving into position
With the Taleban dead or fl eeing across the the ‘green zone’, nor even in the Fish Hook
charge of 5 Troop, Kilo Company. in two villages – codenamed Dingo and Coyote – as ac
Helmand terrain, the troops set about restoring a region, but just over a dozen miles west of the
“Fighting from compound to compound with up the fundamentalists began to fl ee. in
semblance of law and order in this one-time lawless British headquarters at Lashkar Gah.
to 100kg of kit under constant – and accurate –
town. Earlier this year we reported on the Battle of Nad
enemy fi re, the commando ethos allowed the troop
ONE hundred and 50 miles to the north, at the
The Afghan troops and commandos sat down to E’Ali, to the northwest of Camp Bastion.
to decisively overmatch and defeat a determined
most remote of the various British strongpoints
all
shuras with village elders to discuss locals’ concerns A dozen miles southwest of Nad E’Ali lies Marjah,
enemy force.”
scattered around Helmand province, one weapon
for
and needs. Commando medics and dentists (after a district regarded by the insurgents as their safe
Lt Col Lister added: “This was a very successful
strikes fear into the foe.
Br
all, jaw-jaw is better than war-war) set up makeshift haven, a region where they could rally, train and equip
operation that demonstrated clearly to the enemy
Not an Apache. Not a Viking. Not a Jackal. Not a
mo
clinics to attend to the villagers’ health problems. their forces, where they could build up stockpiles of
that the task force continues to operate where and
Sea King. Not a Lynx. But a Dragon.
“If we can present a human face, an understanding weapons and trade drugs with seeming impunity.
when it chooses.
You’ll struggle to fi nd it in Jane’s. It’s the Taleban
the
of local culture, customs, and show that we are That, says Lt Col Al Lister, the Royals’ chief of
“Marjah had been a safe haven for the enemy. We
nickname for the Royal Marines’ 105mm gun.
Th
honourable warriors, the locals engage with us and operations in Helmand, is now a shattered illusion.
have shattered that illusion – and more will follow.”
The Royals’ gunners, 29 Commando Regiment
lov
RA, hauled one of their howitzers – in scenes
Co
respond positively,” said 42 Cdo’s Chief-of-Staff As with the assault to wrest control of Nad E’Ali AS THE men of 42 Commando were taking a reminiscent of the RN’s legendary fi eld gun run –
Maj Neil Willson. from the fundamentalists, the battle of Marjah was breather after their exertions during Blue Sword, to a rocky hilltop outside Musa Qaleh in northern
un
“They offer a degree of hospitality that is, frankly, an Anglo-Danish-Afghan affair. their comrades in the Brigade Reconnaissance Helmand.
Dr
humbling.” The Danes provided Leopard tanks, which lined Force were in action in the Snake’s Belly (again The peak of Roshan Tower, a couple of kilometers AF
With the men satisfi ed that Khan Neshin and up alongside RM Vikings, 500 green berets of 42 a name taken from the meanderings of the north of the regional centre, dominates the town of
environs were secure, they made the next ‘lunge’ Commando, British Army bomb disposal teams and Helmand River). and surrounding terrain. reg
of Blue Sword, striking west into the villages of the Afghans’ 205 Hero Corps. Kapcha Baz – Pashtu for Cobra Eagle – was a It took four days to get a gun from 8 (Alma) life
Malakhan and Taghaz, close to the border of As the armour mustered, Jungly Sea Kings ferried largely British and Afghan National Army thrust into Commando Battery to the top of the tower and
neighbouring Nimruz province. the green berets of Kilo Company, 42 Commando, a string of villages on the right bank of the Helmand prepare the peak as a gun platform, as gunners ba
This last sortie proved to be one of peace not war, and the Commando Reconnaissance Force to their River some 60 miles south of Garmsir. moved not merely the two-ton gun, but also its ma
with the emphasis on discovering the needs of the jump-off positions on the edge of Trikh Nawa – The Gurkhas and the Queen’s Dragoon Guards ammunition boxes, each weighing 100lbs. life
populace, what facilities they had and required, who half-way between Nad E’Ali and Marjah. advanced from the north of the belly against But once in place, the gun commanded the
● Two Jungly Sea Kings set down at a Forward
Operating Base in Sangin at dawn and (right) men of 42
Commando move through the drab ‘Fish Hook’ region
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