Three days in june, p.12
Three Days in June, page 12
I heard the clatter of automatic weapons in the western sector of the mountain. Franco told me: ‘We are being attacked!’ We came to combat positions and Cpl Roldan (HMG No. 1) informed me that his whole group was ready. I tried to make contact with Cpl Colemil, but he did not respond. Almost immediately the British artillery began to be unleashed, we (HMG No. 3) began to open fire on the column that was about to cross; we fired a stream of 12.7 tracer rounds, followed by the enemy returning gunfire.1
Cpl Lamas’ gun position is in the Third Bowl facing north; he may be firing at A Company, as from his location he cannot see 4 Platoon.
Cpl John Lewis, 22 yrs – 3 Section, 4 Platoon
We were about 100 metres out from the cover of the rocks, when there was a small explosion followed almost instantly by a scream. I heard over the radio that we were in a minefield, and I thought, Fuck me. I turned to LCpl John (Taff) Goreing and said, ‘For fuck’s sake, we’re in a minefield!’ By now, illumination flares had gone up, and small-arms fire and tracer were coming off the mountain and going over our heads. I shouted, ‘Right, we’re going to make for the rocks, get in single file and follow me and watch your step.’
CSM John Weeks, 35 yrs – B Company HQ
I dispatched Cpl Probets our medic to where the explosion had occurred to treat any wounded personnel, which was now evident by the screaming. The Argentine defenders were now awake and firing at us. We began zigzagging to a rocky escarpment for immediate cover. Most of the fire was ineffective, but pretty soon we began to receive effective fire from various Argentine positions. We gingerly started moving forward, myself, Sgt Pettinger, Captain McCracken and his FOO party and Sgt Fuller, followed by Major Argue and Captain Logan with the Company Signallers LCpl Daly, Pte Harding and Pte Cullen. Rounds seemed to be bouncing off the rocks in all directions. They must have been using night sights as we were pinned down in this position.
Cpl Phil Probets
CSM Johnny Weeks turned to me and said, ‘There you go, kid, off you go.’ I raced across to where the explosion had happened. When I got to the casualty I discovered it was Cpl Brian Milne. Pte Ron Duffy was with him. Brian was in extreme pain and I had to use my torch; I knew that I shouldn’t use it, but I had to; people began shouting at me to ‘turn that fucking torch off!’ but it was the only way I could determine his injuries and administer morphine. In truth, his leg was just hanging on. I didn’t want to upset Brian any more than I had to, so I put his shattered leg in an inflatable splint.
Pte Craig (Harry) Harrison
Ned Kelly said, ‘Right, get in double file, follow me and Alhaji.’ Sulle Alhaji led one file, and Ned led the other, saying, ‘Stay back, but watch where we put our feet.’ I thought at the time it was a very brave thing for them to do. I stayed behind Ned, grimly peering into the darkness to see where he had stepped.
Cpl Ned Kelly
I shouted to the rest of the section, ‘Keep your distance, and watch where we put our feet.’ I heard Lt Bickerdike shouting out, ‘No, we need to keep pushing forward [to the east].’ I turned and said, ‘I couldn’t give a fuck where you’re going, we’re going towards them fucking rocks.’ I didn’t give a fuck whether he came or not.
4.2 ‘The position was now ablaze’
Major Argue informs the CO that two of his call signs are in contact:
01.15hrs (zt): From C/S 29 to C/S 9: ‘Call Signs 2/1 and 2/2 in contact – northern edge of feature, sporadic small-arms fire one casualty anti-personnel mine, artillery now hitting Full Back hard.’
3 PARA HQ informs Brigade:
01.15hrs (zt): from C/S 0 to C/S 99: ‘Situation Report, A & B still advancing, B Coy hit mine, minor casualty.’
Pte Sulle Alhaji, 21 yrs – 2 Section, 4 Platoon
It was such a relief to reach the rocks. By now I could hear the sound of a .50 Calibre machine gun booming out in bursts of three and four rounds. It was going right over the top of us, streaks of green tracer flying off into the distance. With that and the flares lighting up everywhere, it was exciting and terrifying at the same time.
Pte Mark Eyles-Thomas, 17 yrs – 1 Section, 4 Platoon
My section was still lying on the ground. I turned to LCpl Keith Deslandes and asked him, ‘What the fuck are we going to do?’ and he replied, ‘Right, you lead on.’ So I picked myself up and began to walk slowly forward. I was terrified by the thought that every time I put my foot down I was going to lose a leg. I began to speed up. I just wanted to get clear of the minefield and find some cover. The rest of the section started shouting, ‘Fucking slow down.’ As they were following in my footsteps, I reluctantly slowed the pace, but when we were finally clear of the minefield all my section ran to various pieces of cover.
CSM John Weeks
We were joined by Pte Dickie Absolon. He was a D Company sniper and one of the best shots in the battalion. With his help we gradually began moving forward, but it was at a very slow pace. The rocks held a multitude of hiding places; I was constantly hearing the voices of commands being shouted by various NCOs, particularly Sgt John Ross and Cpl Stewart McLaughlin.
Pte Tony Barlow
When we reached the rocks, I remember watching Lt Bickerdike, Sgt McKay and Cpl Kelly having a heated discussion.
Lt Andrew Bickerdike
We began to reorganize at the rocks and return fire at various positions. We could hear Spanish being shouted everywhere but we couldn’t be sure ‘who was who’, as I couldn’t confirm where 5 Platoon were. I spoke to Sgt McKay, who said he had identified an enemy position, and he was going to fire a 66mm at it, which he did; the position was now ablaze, and we began moving forward.
Pte Tony Barlow
I helped Cpl Balmer as he fired the 84mm at a machine-gun position. The first round hit some rocks just in front of us and exploded; we then fired a second round but although it didn’t explode, it silenced the machine gun and we now began to push forward. I remember following Pte Sulle Alhaji through some rocks moving up towards the main ridge.
Cpl John Lewis
The first line of rocks were quite large, approximately 8–10 feet tall. On the other side of them, we could hear voices in both British and Spanish, also gunfire and explosions. There was a massive flash and an explosion from that area; it may have been 5 Platoon – they seemed to be in heavy contact.
LCpl Roger James
As more and more people gathered at the rock line, they started returning fire at positions on Mount Longdon. During this phase the sections were all mixed up; eventually the last man came out of the minefield and I moved up through the rocks to catch up with the rest of the platoon. They were in small groups returning fire at various enemy positions. I joined in the firing, and we began moving slowly forward. But we soon became pinned down by very accurate sniper fire.
Sgt John Pettinger
I was located with B Company HQ, and we were positioned between 4 and 5 Platoons; with me was Pte Mark (Zip) Hunt acting as a radio operator, Pte Richard (Dickie) Absolon, and Pte John (Jock) Wilson; we also had a civilian, Vernon Steen, who was acting as a guide. When Cpl Milne stood on the mine, my patrol along with B Company HQ headed in towards the north-west corner, skirmishing as we went. I remember Dickie Absolon firing a 66mm into a bunker which set it on fire, and we then all ran forward.
Pte Mark (Zip) Hunt – D Company attached to B Company HQ
I remember seeing Dickie Absolon fire a 66mm into a bunker, then a group of about ten or twelve of us consolidated among the rocks. There was a cave-type feature, and I remember seeing Captain Logan, the B Company 2ic in there. I was crouching with my back against the rocks watching CSM Johnny Weeks in heated discussion with Major Argue. There was loads of radio traffic going back and forth, small-arms fire all around us, and the noise of incoming Argentine artillery fire.
Captain McCracken RA reports progress to the Fire Direction Centre:
01.24hrs (zt): from C/S 41B: ‘Attack going well.’
Major Argue now informs the CO that all B Company call signs are in contact:
01.28hrs (zt): from C/S 29 to C/S 9: ‘All call signs in contact but making good progress for Full Back.’
Captain McCracken is busy calling in fire missions from the Fire Direction Centre:
01.29hrs (zt): from C/S 41B to C/S 29FDC: ‘ZU7920 objective taken out + 2 mortar positions.’
01.35hrs (zt): from C/S 41B to C/S 29FDC: ‘C/S 3 shot ZU7920.’ [C/S 3 = HMS Avenger]
Pte Sulle Alhaji
We all started slowly moving up towards the main ridge and returning fire at anything that fired at us. Dark figures were running about. I decided to only shoot at the green flashes because they were definitely Argentines. I’d got in close to some rocks for cover, when a body fell on me from above. I instinctively jumped back and fired a couple of rounds into it. I thought, Fucking hell, where did he come from? I was now gradually moving towards Route 2 where I could hear the voices of members of 5 Platoon.
Pte Mark Eyles-Thomas
Ahead of me I saw some peat banks where members of 1 Section had taken cover. Pte Jeff Logan shouted across to me, ‘Get over here.’ Alongside him was Pte John Wynne-Jones. We could hear 5 Platoon in contact ahead of us when suddenly there was a large white explosion in their area. I could hear Lt Bickerdike shouting, trying to reorganize the platoon and push forward. We decided to run fast and low for the cover of the rocks over to our right. We sprinted across and were glad to be back with the rest of 4 Platoon.
Cpl John Lewis
We could hear and see explosions coming from up on Routes 2 and 3, where 5 Platoon were heavily in contact. Thankfully, they had taken some of the attention away from us. However, we were taking fire from a large automatic weapon, and as we lay on the ground trying to see where it was coming from, chunks of earth were being ripped up around us.
Pte Craig (Harry) Harrison
In the rocky corridor running parallel to us, we could hear 5 Platoon on Route 2. They were in heavy contact, with lots of firing in both directions and grenade explosions. The noise was tremendous; fire-control orders were being shouted and then more semi-automatic fire. I could actually hear the 84mm teams shouting, ‘Loaded’ and ‘Stand by,’ followed by an explosion as the round was fired. They seemed to be right in the thick of it.
Pte Mark Eisler, 20 yrs – 2 Section, 4 Platoon
As we got nearer I could hear the voice of Pte Peter Hindmarsh from 5 Platoon, and I shouted, ‘4 Platoon coming in!’ We then met up with Cpl Bailey and Cpl McLaughlin. We stopped here for a moment and began to sort ourselves out. Then Lt Bickerdike and Sgt McKay got all the Section Commanders together and had a discussion about what to do next.
4.3 ‘Come on, lads, I’m fucking bullet-proof, follow me!’
At approximately 01.40hrs (zt), 4 Platoon have made contact with twelve members of 5 Platoon. These men will stay with 4 Platoon. So far only Cpl Milne and Pte Hindmarsh have been wounded from this group.
B Company HQ are still trying to push forward, although they are coming under machine-gun fire and accurate sniper fire.
Captain McCracken reports he is still under small-arms fire, but is now unsure of the ‘Forward Location of Own Troops’:
01.43hrs (zt): from C/S 41B to C/S 29FDC: ‘Still under small-arms fire and mortar fire FLOT still uncertain.’
01.43hrs (zt): from C/S 41B to C/S 29FDC: ‘Call Sign 3 finished ZU7920, 91 rounds; HE expended Z7920 + ZU7918 now unsafe.’
The registered targets are now unsafe due to the uncertainty of the forward locations of friendly troops: ZU7920 Full Back / ZU7918 northern side of Longdon just east of Fly Half.
Pte Mark Eyles-Thomas
We reached a rocky embankment and went firm while Lt Bickerdike and Sgt McKay spoke to all the 4 Platoon Section Commanders; also included were Lt Cox, Cpl McLaughlin and Cpl Bailey of 5 Platoon who had now linked up with us.
LCpl Colin Edwards
I was with Pte Terry Mulgrew, who like me had taken cover in another Argentine shit pit, and we now had used toilet paper stuck all over us. We crawled forward and took cover in some rocks. Tony McLarnon also joined us. There was an Argentine trench about 20 metres away, but with a built-up rock wall which made it really hard to get at them. I threw a couple of grenades, but they fell short. I remember Pte Mark (Boots) Meredith putting his helmet on the end of his rifle to attract fire. This worked, and we all returned fire. My SLR packed in so I picked up an Argentine FN and started returning fire with that. Eventually someone put an 84mm round into the bunker.
Pte Paul Hutchinson
Further east we could hear the noise of .50 Cal machine guns being fired at A Company. I sat and listened as Lt Bickerdike tried to keep the momentum going. He was constantly pushing 4 Platoon further east, shouting, ‘Come on, 4 Platoon, keep pushing forward, come on’, moving them along the embankment. Eventually they could get no further due to the weight of fire from a SF GPMG position that was firing down at them from high up in the rocks, just below Fly Half.
B Company OC Major Argue now informs the CO that 6 Platoon have taken casualties:
01.50hrs (zt): from C/S 29 to C/S 9: ‘Call Sign 2/3 has several casualties, enemy still firing from high ground, and still advancing and clearing.’
Pte Grant Grinham
There was a SF machine gun just below Fly Half, holding up the forward movement. We were told to climb high up into the rocks to see if we could overlook the gun position, but after quite a difficult climb we still couldn’t hit the gun team due to large rocks shielding them. We needed to try another way to attack it. This seemed to be the pattern all night; try one approach, get stuck, go around another way and try again. We seemed to be up, down, backwards and forwards all night. At times we weren’t sure if we had killed them, or they were just lying low, as some areas we thought we had cleared would suddenly open up again.
We moved back on to the lower ground and began to make our way along the front of the feature. As we crossed over an area of open ground we were engaged by the SF gun and were forced to ground by the sheer weight of fire. We were now really pinned down. It seemed only a matter of time before we would start taking casualties.
Cpl McLaughlin must have decided he’d had enough. He stood up in the middle of all this fire and opened his arms wide either side of him. His rifle was in his right hand, and he shouted to the section, ‘Come on, lads, I’m fucking bullet-proof, follow me!’ He ran forward towards the gunfire, followed by Pte Tony Kempster and then the rest of the section. It was totally beyond belief that someone would stand up like that, under such heavy fire, and lead us forward. It’s the bravest thing I’ve ever seen.
Pte Tony Kempster, 20 yrs – 2 Section, 5 Platoon
Suddenly I saw Scouse McLaughlin standing up! There was tracer going everywhere, and he looked at us and shouted, ‘Come on, lads, I’m fucking bullet-proof, follow me!’ I knew he wasn’t asking, he was telling us to follow him and I thought, Fucking hell! I got up and the whole section followed. Quite how we weren’t killed on that move I will never know. But, on that mountain, he was an inspiration.
At approximately 02.00hrs (zt), the Argentine SF position below Fly Half is firing away, and what seems to have happened next is that, as Cpl McLaughlin leads his men towards the gun position, a member of 6 Platoon who is completely unaware of 4 Platoon’s plight decides to drop a white phosphorus grenade down onto the SF machine-gun position, which is situated approximately 12 feet directly below him; and he decides to toss the grenade down into the machine-gun position, in his words, ‘To shut the noisy bastards up.’ This grenade sets one of the Argentine gun team completely ablaze and he and his colleague both scramble up to Fly Half and into the middle of 6 Platoon.
This now allows 4 Platoon to move forward further east, just forward of Fly Half. Cpl McLaughlin’s section will now go firm while 4 Platoon, who are to his left, move further east. Cpl Bailey, acting on his own initiative, has managed to crawl forward of 4 Platoon.
Cpl Ian Bailey
Pte Mark (Boots) Meredith and I crawled along the embankment, keeping as low as possible as red and green tracer was going everywhere, hitting rocks and ricocheting off in all directions. The noise was intense. Across to our right, high up on the ridge, was a .50 Cal firing in the direction of A Company. We then made our way back and told Lt Bickerdike and Sgt McKay about the .50 Cal, and after a brief discussion, it was decided by Lt Bickerdike that he and Sgt McKay would go forward and take a look for themselves, to see if there was a way to possibly outflank this position. But shortly after Lt Bickerdike moved off, he was shot.
4 Platoon have now advanced along Route 2, they are forward of Fly Half and are in the cover of a line of rocks just below the First Bowl. Ahead of them is an SF machine gun situated high on the ridge, also further east is at least one other SF machine gun, and two .50 Cal machine guns. The main direction of the machine-gun fire is towards A Company on Wing Forward. However, the riflemen who are defending the .50 Cal in the Third Bowl are armed with second-generation night sights and are aware of British forces advancing from the west, and are putting accurate small-arms fire down in the direction of 4 Platoon. Due to the location of the .50 Cal in the Third Bowl its arc of fire is almost directly to the north, due to rock formations on the left of the gun blocking its line of fire. There is also fire coming from assorted Argentines who are popping up everywhere and firing randomly.
