Posted on 09/28/2012 2:00:02 AM PDT by naturalman1975
Corporal Sean Jones, 25, of 1st Battalion The Princess of Wales's Regiment, "reversed a potentially dire situation" when his patrol came under attack in a carefully planned ambush in October last year.
The soldier, of Tern Hill near Market Drayton in Shropshire, was second-in-command of the patrol which was trying to draw out insurgents laying homemade bombs in Kakaran village, Helmand.
As the patrol moved through an open field it came under heavy and accurate small-arms fire from the north and east.
The father of two said: "We were about to wrap up the operation and head back to the checkpoint. We were crossing a ditch when the shooting started. I was just coming out of the ditch and most of the fire was coming at me. I hit the deck immediately.
"I have been shot at quite a few times and could tell the enemy was close. Gravel and dirt were flying up all around me from the bullets."
Caught in the killing zone and unable to advance into the hail of fire, the soldiers withdrew to the relative safety of the water-filled ditch to return fire but were trapped as the insurgents moved in to try to overwhelm their position.
"We had to react quickly," said Cpl Jones.
"There was something different about this. It was obviously a well-planned ambush and they overwhelmed us with fire from three points initially."
Firing a rocket at one of the insurgent positions, Cpl Jones ordered three of his men to fix bayonets before breaking cover and leading them across 80 metres of open ground raked by enemy fire.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
"As two of the soldiers provided fire support, Cpl Jones prepared a hand grenade for the final assault. He raced towards an alley and was about to throw the grenade but said he realised that the buildings were occupied so put the grenade away. But the speed, aggression and audacity of his response caused the insurgents to fall back in disarray."
I'm presuming by "occupied" they mean occupied by civilians. What a contrast to the scum he's fighting.
Brave man. Although initially, it had me thinking ‘Are the government cuts really that bad?’
Bravo, British soldiers.
Bravo, British soldiers.
The Brits should be very proud!
A bayonet charge over 80 METERS of open ground against a fixed firing position seems like poor tactics to me but sometimes you get lucky. Very glad it worked out well.
“L-shaped” ambush set-up at a natural obstacle (the ditch). Yeah, I’d say it was well-planned & coordinated.
Sometimes you just have to charge over such a distance, and when its not covered. An enormous risk, but there’s little or no alternative.
I know the British have bayonet charged in Iraq and Afghanistan. I wonder when the last US Army or USMC charge or even individual use of the bayonet was?.
“Sometimes you just have to charge over such a distance, and when its not covered. An enormous risk, but there’s little or no alternative.”
Air strike perhaps? It would seem preferable to let THEM cross the 80 meters of open ground to get to you rather than the other way round but maybe that’s just my ignorance of tactics. I know that under some circumstancee when you are caught in the open and the enemy is gathering for an attack it makes sense to attack first to scatter them. It doesnt sound like that was the case here. In the end if it worked it was the right call.
Maybe the charge was foolhardy. Maybe it was courageous. Maybe in the heat of a battle, the two are indistinguishable. But whether he was insane or brave, Cpl Sean needs a wheelbarrow to carry his clangers in.
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