AAR Task Force Narwick

[Guardsman]

Hi guys, this is my first attempt at an AAR. Thought I'd post what I've done so far and see what you think. Constructive critisism very welcome,

Regards, Darren

Mission 1.

1st Lt Chaney walked briskly from his Hummer to the small gathering of NCO’s from the scout platoon of which he was head. The look on his face gave away enough for the men under his charge to realise that this was the real thing.

“Right guys, we’ve been given the dubious honour of leading the drive across the border from Turkey into Northern Syria. Make no mistake, although Task Force Thunder has pulled enemy units south, there is still a lot of work to be done.”

Chaney pulled out his map and notes made from the briefing he had just returned from., and appraised his men of the plan.

“So, to summarize, we are going to use the road as our axis of advance, probing the enemy to establish their positions. C company will then move up to join us and clear out any resistance from the village and hill, before neutralizing the barracks. Any questions?”

The NCO’s looked at each other, weighing up whether their colleagues were as apprehensive about the coming engagement as they themselves were. Satisfied that the silence indicated that they all knew what was expected of them,

Chaney took the map and notes and said, “OK, time now is 0440hrs….”

“Don’t we know it!!” Interrupted Sgt Fuller, 1st Platoon’s leader and the senior NCO in the group. A ripple of laughter amongst them helped break some of the tension, but each man knew that this was going to be no milk run.

“As I was saying, before being rudely interrupted, it’s 0440hrs, we step off at 0535hrs. Weather is going to be warm and dry with a light Westerly breeze. Let’s do it to them before they do it to us. This is what we’ve trained for boys.”

The NCO’s returned to their respective platoons and vehicles and passed on the information given to them by 1st Lt Chaney. The next 55 minutes went by at a snails pace, men checking and rechecking their equipment, before finally they deployed at the line of departure.

The three scout teams and the HQ unit that made up the platoon deployed in a wooded area on a small hill about 100m to the right side of the road. Two M707 Humvee recon vehicles had pulled off to the right side of the road, along with a Bradley M3A3 CFV that had been sent along to bolster the platoon’s fire power should it run into trouble.

A crackle of static over the radio was followed by the order that the men had been anxiously waiting for. 0535hrs, time to move out. Cpl Harris in one of the M707’s was ordered to drive quickly across the road and establish a hull down position, scanning the village and barracks with the sophisticated surveillance gear that his vehicle was equipped with.

Meanwhile, 1st squad lead by Sgt Fuller was ordered to move slowly up to the crest of the wooded hill, to try and observe the enemy positions. In less than a minute, sporadic gun fire was coming from the 2 storey building at the left of the village. So much for the element of surprise!! It seemed the enemy had a better intelligence picture of where we were than we had of them. Luckily their ill-discipline had let them down, revealing their position to Cpl Cooper in his Bradley. A short burst of 25mm HE shells quickly silenced the unfortunate gunman.

As Cooper disengaged the infantry unit, he caught a glimpse of the top of a camouflaged bunker just to the left of the road. At the same moment, Harris reported that he had picked up a second bunker situated near to the barracks, adjacent to the road. Unable to engage either target effectively, Cooper ordered his driver to advance 40m along the right of the road. A clear shot appeared through the Bradley’s gunsight and a hail of 25mm slugs rip into the bunker 80m to it’s left. After 45 seconds of sustained fire, the roof of the bunker collapsed in a cloud of dust and debris.

During this time 1st, 2nd and 3rd squad had achieved positions on the ridge of the small hill, although their view of the town and barracks was somewhat obscured by the vegetation. 1st Lt Chaney had held himself back from the lip, trusting his men to report back any sightings.

Full of confidence now following his initial successes, Cooper ordered his vehicle to advance on the same course up the right side of the road to hunt for the next bunker reported by Harris.

At 0538hrs, just 3 minutes into the battle, the situation suddenly changed. The distinctive woosh and dust cloud of an RPG-7 was detected from the barracks area by Sgt Fuller. He watched helplessly as the round screamed towards Cooper’s Bradley. Thankfully, the round fell short, and the Bradley reversed back out of sight of the unseen enemy in the barracks.

The near miss, and the sight of the Americans retreating encouraged other concealed enemy units to engage the Bradley with RPG and what appeared to be recoilless rifle fire from the area of the village and hill beyond. The trees on the left side of the road offered the Bradley protection from these rounds, as it opened up on the second bunker that had come into view.

Adrenaline flowing through his body, Cooper was laughing hysterically down the vehicle intercom. He was like a man possessed, firing off bursts at the bunker, then adjusting his fire to a third strongpoint that had come into view. He was seemingly oblivious to the anti tank rounds that were impacting into the trees 15m to their left. The other occupant of the Bradley, the driver, Private Johnson was not so enthusiastic. He felt they were exposed and it was just a matter of time before they were hit.

“Coop’s, I think we should pull back a bit. C company will be here soon, and they can clear this place out. What do you say?”

“Ah c’mon Frank!! You got no balls!! There’s no way I’m gonna let those pukes from C company have all the fun! These Syrians couldn’t hit the side of a barn from 20 feet!! Chill out man.”

With that, more rounds spat out from the Bradley’s cannon and destroyed the third bunker. A couple of survivors dragging a machine gun, crawled from the twisted wreckage, and Cooper turned his attention to them instead.

Cpl Perez, decided that now was the right time for him to break cover and advance past the Bradley to assess the situation in his recon Humvee. After the initial onslaught he expected to find an enemy in retreat, having seen that they stood no chance against the might of the American Army. His initial optimism quickly dissolved, when AK fire started pinging against his vehicle.

“****!!!” shouted his driver, as a burst of fire pounded into the windshield causing it to spider web. Cooper, on seeing the plight of the Humvee, ordered Johnson to pull their vehicle forward to support.

“They need our help Frank, just edge forward slightly so I can get a bead on them. That’s good, I see them now, infantry on the first floor of that building in the….”

Cpl Cooper never saw the RPG round that had found it’s way through the trees on the right between the Bradley and the Barracks. He was killed instantly as a jet of molten metal screamed in through the right glacis of the turret, destroying the targeting systems contained inside, as well as the smoke dispensers.

Pvt Johnson slammed the Bradley into reverse, narrowly missing Perez’s Humvee in his haste to retreat out of harms way. Perez needed no encouragement, and he too reversed back to where they had initially started this engagement.

“Our job is done as far as I’m concerned!” He shouted to his driver. “We have found where they are, now it’s down to C company to clear ‘em out.”

1st Lt Chaney heard an unfamiliar voice over the radio. “He’s gone, he’s gone, I told him but he wouldn’t listen…..” Chaney called the unit asking him to identify himself. “This is Johnson, Coop’s is gone. My Brad is out of action.” Realising that without the heavy support of the Bradley, his scout platoon would be unable to advance any further, Chaney ordered his men to hold their positions and not engage, but observe the enemy positions.

At 0545hrs, less than 10 minutes since initial contact, Chaney was informed by his radio operator that 1st Platoon of C company had just arrived. Chaney took the handset and called Captain Butler, the CO of C company.

“Sir, we’ve been met by stiffer resistance than was first anticipated. The village, the hill behind and the barracks complex all house hostiles, and we’ve received fire from RPG’s and recoilless rifles.”

“Thanks for the heads up. We’ll take it from here. If your guys have got eyeball on the area, can they call in a mortar barrage to try and take out the trenches on the hills. Just to let you know, Major Crumin has come along to watch the show. He’ll join you on the hill shortly.”

Listening in on the conversation between the scout platoon and the company CO, Lt Wade of 1st platoon felt a knot of anticipation in his gut. He just wanted to get into the action and hoped that the nerves would be suppressed by years of training for this sort of thing. He was sat in Sgt Baird’s Bradley M2A3 IFV, alongside the late Cpl Cooper’s M3A3, which still had smoke billowing out of a saucer sized hole in the right of turret.

Shaking his attention away from the smouldering wreck, Wade began to issue orders to his men. They would advance in their Bradleys initially, assisted by Cpl Perez in his recon Humvee who would spot targets for them as they presented themselves, Meanwhile Sgt Fuller, from his position on the hill, would call in mortar fire on the trenches situated on the objective behind the village.

Almost immediately, Perez came under small arms fire from the building on the far left of the village again, and also from a small single story shack. Sgt Baird could see the rifle flashes coming from the buildings, and initially targeted the left hand structure with his cannon. This was ineffective, and he switched to his TOW missile controls, lined up the 2nd story of the building, and fired.

The TOW missile lept from the launcher on the left side of the turret, before it’s motor ignited, propelling it towards the house. The thin guidance wires reeling out behind it, allowing Baird to make minute adjustments during the missiles short flight time. He steered the warhead straight through the 2nd floor window, before it detonated inside the building. Without dwelling on the death and destruction he had caused, he quickly traversed the turret to the smaller shack, and fired the second TOW missile.

During this brief exchange, Sgt Evans and his 1st squad begin to deployed on foot into the trench to the left of the road, covering the village. As they leave the relative safety of their Bradley they begin to receive accurate fire from the top floor of the main barracks building. Sgt Madden in is IFV returns fire, with both the 25mm cannon and TOW missiles.

At 0550hrs Sgt Madden receives an order to make a headlong dash for the village and park behind one of the buildings to screen his vehicle from the enemy entrenched on the hill. It’s an uncomfortable ride for Sgt Miller and 1st platoon’s 3rd squad as they hurtle across the rough ground at over 30mph. Having reached the village, Miller orders his squad into the building. As they enter the ground floor, they come under fire from the 3 storey building across the street and the small single storey building to their right.

Sgt Parker, yet to be involved, saw his opportunity as 3rd squad reported the enemy positions. Taking careful aim with his TOW controls, he launched a missile straight into the small building, which collapsed upon impact, burying the enemy within.

3rd squad was then brought under fire from a 73mm recoilless rifle that was well protected in one of the trenches. Despite his best efforts, Miller’s men were soon pinned down, and he ordered them to take cover and await further units.

Sgt Parker realised that he could offer no help from his current position, took his Bradley towards the village, taking care not to stray into the sights of the recoilless rifle. As soon as the tracks stopped, the back door opened up and disgorged 2nd squad, led by Sgt McKenzie, into the trench adjacent to the village. As they were trying to get into position, shots began to ring out, and Cpl Mayer slumped backwards with a muffled cry, a 7.62mm round had ripped through his left shoulder. Cpl Stoner, also of 2nd Squad, received a minor injury to his face from a ricochet, as he lunged head first into the trench.

Sgt Miller had soon rallied his men, and took a three man team across the road and into the building that was housing the riflemen taking it’s toll on 2nd squad. Storming up on to the first floor, Miller found a lone gunner surrounded by his dead comrades. Without breaking stride Miller levelled his M4 and fired a three round burst into the back of the fanatical enemy soldier. The Syrian only became aware of Miller’s presence as the rounds tore into him.

The rest of Miller’s squad was again under fire from the barracks area. One soldier received a minor flesh wound, before another was less fortunate as an RPG exploded just outside the window, sending fist sized chunks of metal out in all directions. One such piece hit the rifleman in the left upper hip, just below his kevlar vest. The 19 year old stumbled before dropping to the floor, refusing to believe that he had been hit. His mates dragged him further into cover, before administering first aid to steam the flow of blood from the gaping wound.

Meanwhile, back near the trench, Cpl Mayer was writhing around in agony, yards from safety. In a moment of exceptional bravery, or utter madness, Sgt McKenzie took two men and ran out to assist Mayer. Despite being under fire, Mckenzie managed to get a field dressing onto the wound, and saved the mans life.

1st squad, back towards the start point, took up positions in the trench so they were able to engage the smaller buildings at the rear of the barracks complex. Using javelins, grenade launchers and small arms fire, they pounded the area for several minutes, although none of the men actually saw an enemy soldier.

Time was beginning to play on Capt Butler’s mind, conscious of the fact that he had only been given 45 minutes to achieve the objectives of capturing the hill and barracks. Knowing that “The Old Man” was watching from the hill to his left, Butler ordered an extra push by his troops to secure the ground that they had fought so hard for.

The rest of 3rd squad ran across the road and re joined with Sgt Miller, taking up firing positions on the 2nd floor overlooking the trenches on the hill. From there, the cover offered to the Syrians by the trench walls was lessened and accurate fire from Miller’s men soon started to have an effect. This, coupled with effective airburst mortar fire, was enough to clear the trench area of enemy.

At 0602 hrs Lt Wade and his HQ unit had arrived in their Bradley and entered the building on the far left of the village. Private Alvez, heavily burdened under the weight of the Javelin missile system he was lugging, was glad to be able to lighten his load by engaging a bunker. The missile hit its mark, the roof of the wooden structure no match for the warhead designed to punch through the armour of a main battle tank.

Way back near the jump off point, Cpl Harris was beginning to daydream in his M707, when his infrared detector picked up a vehicle in the distance. He increased the magnification, and his heart rate quickened as he saw the distinctive shape of a BRDM-2. Bristling with anti tank missiles, this thing could ruin C company’s day pretty quickly.

Sgt Madden, in his Bradley, reacted first to the report of the enemy AT asset. Ridiculed by his colleagues regarding his intimate knowledge of all things military, he realised that the BRDM was not a threat to him at all. Armed with the AT-3C missile, the minimum engagement range for the system was 500m, and he was well inside this. Calmly, he edge his vehicle around the building it was sheltering behind, and the armoured car loomed large in his aiming reticule. A short burst from the 25mm cannon caused the enemy vehicle to catch fire, a single crewman managing to escape before being engulfed.

Another Bradley commanded by Sgt Cox had left hooked around the hill to come in from the rear. As it crested the small mound, two more BRDM’s came into sight. Unable to do anything, and cursing their commander for sending them so far forward, the Syrians tried frantically to manoeuvre away from the Bradley that was already belching death towards them. Within seconds both vehicles were burning wrecks, none of the crews surviving the one sided contest.

Finally, at 0615hrs a white flag appeared from one of the small buildings on top of the hill. Twelve enemy soldiers in total emerged from cover, what little fight they had left in them had sapped away as they had watched the systematic destruction of the AT carriers. In total the enemy had 66 men killed, 41 wounded and 17 missing at a cost of 4 men wounded on the American side. Not a bad day’s work.

[ April 19, 2008, 08:21 AM: Message edited by: Guardsman ]

[bardosy]

Fantastic!!!

Great - personalized - work, dude!