USCM Campaign 2nd Mission AAR

[souldierz]

2nd Mission-USMC Amphibious Assault into HAMIDIYAH

Designed by-Imperial Grunt

It's now 05h10,June 21

Mission, Plan, Commanders Intent-3rdPlt/Golf Company(Captain Goldstein) conducts an Amphibious assault across BLZ(Beach Landing Zone) White2 to extend the force beachhead line so heavy equipment can be brought in by LCAC's(Landing Craft Air Cushion) and LCU's(Landing Craft Utility), 3rdPlt/Fox Company(2nd Lieutenant Ezra) will be flown into the North to assault South in the AO(Area of Operation). USS Mason and a section of F-18s along with a Cobra who is escorting Fox Co to insertion will provide support. Additionally MSR Corvette is to be secured for main effort to the East. BLT(Beach Landing Zone) Objectives 2 and 3 must be seized to secure Beachhead line and MEU OBJ Bravo must be seized to secure MSR Corvette.

Enemy- Presumably the same 4th and 3rd CD Bn(Coastal Defence Battalion),low grade foot mobile infantry units, limit number of obsolete APCs and static tanks batteries. Artillery and mortars, limited quantities of older generation ATGMs and Reserve Units are forming blocking and ambush positions around HAMIDIYAH as an outer layer of Syrian defence plan.

Friendly 26th MEU(SOC)2ndBat/6th Marines(Lieutenant Colonel Oliver)

-Golf Co(Mech)HQ(Captain Goldstein)

-1stPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant McIntire)3xRifleSquad, 2xMG, 2x Smaw, 1xHQ

-2ndPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant Dixon) 3xRifleSquad, 2xMG, 2x Smaw, 1xHQ

-Attached to Golf Co are Forward Observer(Sergeant Moylan) and Javelin Team(Corporal Faller)

-3rd AAVPlt/Bcompany(2nd Lieutenant Galaway)with 8xAAV

-Scout/Sniper Plt(2nd Lieutenant MacDonald)1xSniper squad,1xHQ

-1stPltRecon/Bcompany(2ndLieutenant Riley)1xHQ2xReconSquad (Corp Poplowsky is still lightly wounded and the squad is still missing one man Corporal Mowstakis who was shot in the previous mission)

Fox Co(Helo)

-3rdPlt/Fox Co(2nd Lieutenant Ezra)

USS Mason for fire support

F-18s and Cobra for Air support

Terrain-Relatively flat farmland rising east from the shoreline. HAMIDIYAH is in the South West in the AO(area of operation) and a small dirt road travels North East from the North of HAMIDIYAH with a small waterway along side it, cutting off the North West corner of AO(area of operation) .

Weather-Overcast, Hazy but clear, no impact on ground operations.

Temperature-Warm

Ground Conditions-Very Dry

Wind-Light from West

Civilian Density-Heavy

Start time 05h10,June 21

Mission Begins, Time limit 1 Hour.

Between Missions

Between the hours of 03h00 and 05h10 a few more fire missions and air strikes were carried out to hit the remaining patrols and suspected enemy locations that were reported by 1st ReconPlt/B company(2ndLieutenant Riley) after the previous mission. A Few buildings were destroyed in HAMIDIYAH and shell holes from USS Mason fire support could be seen scattered around the Mosque area and along the dirt road leading North East, North from HAMIDIYAH. While the enemy were distracted with the Marine air and fire support raining down on them,1stReconPlt/Bcompany(2ndLieutenant Riley) took advantage of this and managed to get into the OPs 101 and 103. 1stReconPlt/Bcompany(2ndLieutenant Riley) was able to radio in many suspected enemy locations afterwards as they held their positions throughout the early morning. They remained hidden and continued to watch and report enemy movements until Golf Co(Captain Goldstein)landed at the beach. The Syrians have been reacting to the early mourning actions and are observed moving in a un coordinated manner . Most of the command teams have been killed and most of their communications and intelligence is compromised, it’s making coordinating efforts on the coast very difficult for the Syrians. At this stage the Syrians seem to be relying on the initiative of their officers to slow the 26th MEU(SOC)BTL2/6 Marines as other forces try to coordinate to set up in blocking and ambush positions.

05h10h-05h20

It still remains dark in the early mourning and the clouds cover the stars. 1stPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant McIntire) have 2ndSq/Ateam Sniper(Sgt McGonical) attached to their platoon and were tasked with moving and clearing the South end of HAMIDIYAH and securing the MSR Corvette. 2ndPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant Dixon) who has Scout/Sniper Plt HQ(2nd Lieutenant MacDonald) and Scout/Sniper Plt/Bteam(Corp Young) attached to them were tasked with securing the North end of HAMIDIYAH along the dirt road leading North East, North from HAMIDIYAH and to also protect 1stPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant McIntire) Northern flank. For the Platoons, the two MG teams and two SMAW teams in the platoons will merge and act as two separate combined weapons teams(1MG,1SMAW are in the Same tile, same room together), the rifle squads will break into teams and cover each other as they move from West to East through the town HAMIDIYAH in a double line formation. The rifle teams would act as the first line and the MG’s, SMAW and Sniper teams would act as the second line taking up positions on top floors in buildings and provided over watch. Golf Co(Mech)HQ(Captain Goldstein) with Forward Observer(Sergeant Moylan) and Javelin Team(Corporal Faller) were ordered to hold up in the North West compound in the AO (area of operation)and try to get eyes on the objectives on the East end of the AO to call in support and hit whatever threats they could see with Javelins. From OPs103 and 104, 1st ReconPlt/B Company(2ndLieutenant Riley) would continue to remain in position and recon and report any enemies they identify, except for 1stsq/1stRecPlt(Sgt Hollaway) who would pull back out of his open area at OP101 and attach himself to Golf Co(Mech)HQ(Captain Goldstein) and hold in the same compound under hard cover. It’s expected that Syrian artillery will be used in this hour since they now know about the assault taking place and the Commander wants the Marines to use hard cover and stay away from open areas as best they can, until it‘s clear that the Syrian artillery spotters have been neutralized. 3rd AAVPlt/Bco(2nd Lieutenant Galaway) is ordered to keep the vehicles behind the cover of houses in HAMIDIYAH and they will be used to support 1stPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant McIntire) and 2ndPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant Dixon) advance through HAMIDIYAH. The tactic was for the vehicles to be called forward to hammer any enemy locations in a scoot and shoot manner when needed. 3rd AAVPlt/Bcompany HQ(2nd Lieutenant Galaway) however will personally remain with Golf Co(Mech)HQ(Captain Goldstein) in the North West compound in the AO (area of operation).Fire support from the USS Mason was requested to hit an irrigation ditch in the North East of AO soon as the assault began. The Mosque will also be avoided to show the locals that despite the level of violence taking place, the local Culture is well respected and attempts to preserve important sites and prevent collateral damage of civilians is of the utmost importance and an extremely high priority for the 26th MEU(SOC)2ndBat/6th Marines(Lieutenant Colonel Oliver)as they continue their operations.

The routes the Platoons took throughout the mission.

As Golf Company(Captain Goldstein)started moving into positions, Syrian Artillery started to fall near 1stPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant McIntire) inside HAMIDIYAH as well as near OPs101 ,103 and 104, and the Golf platoons immediately took cover. If 1stSq/1stRecPlt(Sgt Hollaway) had stayed in the open at OP 101 they would have been killed instantly by the enemies artillery, but luckily they were well out of the kill zone as they pulled back to the North West compound and the Commanders caution proved to be a good decision. A HMG bunker was identified North in the AO by the dirt road leading North East, North from HAMIDIYAH and a static T-55 was identified at BLT OBJ 03. Javelin Team(Corporal Faller) engaged the bunker with 2 javelin missiles and even though they both scored direct hits, some of the bunkers occupants were still alive and the bunker remained active. Because of this, Forward Observer(Sergeant Moylan)has now requested Heavy Armour Quick strike fire support from the USS Mason on the HMG bunker. The Syrian artillery has finally ended, lasting about 4 minutes and 1stPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant McIntire) was now able to continue moving forward through HAMIDIYAH as planned. 60mm and 81mm Mortar fire support has now signalled they are ready and Forward Observer(Sergeant Moylan)takes advantage by requesting 81mm quick heavy linear personnel Airbursts on a irrigation ditch that’s suspected of having enemy in it near the bunker.60mm quick heavy linear personnel Airbursts are also requested to hit another irrigation ditch near BLT OBJ 03. Forward Observer(Sergeant Moylan) would then continue requesting Mortar fire support on other suspected irrigation ditch’s as time went on to make sure no enemy stayed hidden in them. A couple enemy locations were seen in some houses near the dirt road leading North East, North from HAMIDIYAH from Golf Co(Mech)HQ(Captain Goldstein) position. 3rd AAVPlt/Bcompany HQ(2nd Lieutenant Galaway) would hit the enemy positions with MK19 area fire from time to time with a shoot and scoot manoeuvre. The Syrians attempted to fire an RPG but came up short and paid the price for their efforts with a face full of MK fire. Javelin Team(Corporal Faller) after rearming with 2 more javelin missiles was able to successfully target and completely destroy the static T-55 with one javelin missile.

05h20-05h30

The fire mission requested on the bunker is now ending and it did not manage to destroy the bunker or its occupants. 3rd Plt/FoxCo/HQ(2nd Lieutenant Ezra) and 1stSq /3rdPlt/Fox Co(Sgt Connor) have been inserted by helo and have now arrived in the North end of the AO, near the dirt road leading into HAMIDIYAH. They found themselves 58meters North of the bunker and due to bad luck of bad timing, Team Leader(Corporal Innella) from 1stSq /3rdPlt/Fox Co(Sgt Connor) was lightly wounded from the last USS Mason fire support round that hit near the bunker. It narrowly missed 3rd Plt/FoxCo(2nd Lieutenant Ezra) area and they were lucky it was an Armour round or more damage could have been done. This could have been a severe and tragic blue on blue friendly fire moment in the opening phases of the invasion and more caution needs to be taken in order to avoid these moments. 3rd Plt/FoxCo(2nd Lieutenant Ezra) managed to move and get behind the HMG bunker to neutralized it by throwing a bunch of grenades at it and afterwards they managed to find cover in the craters caused by the fire support from USS Mason, and used the smoke and dust from the fire support strike to cover their movements. From there they will try to move to an irrigation ditch in an attempt to evade possible Syrian artillery that might have spotted them arriving in the AO. An AH-1W Cobra signalled he is on stand by for air support and Forward Observer(Sergeant Moylan) starts to request and direct the AH-1W Cobra to hit any targets of opportunity in the South East in the AO around MSR Corvette outside of HAMIDIYAH. Forward Observer(Sergeant Moylan) will also request 60mm linear smoke rounds in the open fields North East in the AO to help in concealing 3rd Plt/FoxCo(2nd Lieutenant Ezra) movements to their somewhat safer positions as they crawl to a an irrigation ditch. 81mm linear smoke rounds are also requested to land East just outside of HAMIDIYAH to conceal 1stPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant McIntire) and 2ndPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant Dixon) advance to the East end of HAMIDIYAH. The goal is to cut the view of any enemy outside HAMIDIYAH who can support the enemy positions inside HAMIDIYAH with firepower and with the smoke cover, 1stPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant McIntire) and 2ndPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant Dixon) would be able to concentrate on moving and clearing HAMIDIYAH without interference from enemy in the East. The goal was also to be able to move the Golf Platoons in positions on the East end of HAMIDIYAH under smoke cover where they will set up firing positions to be ready to engage whatever is East in the AO in force. This plan went somewhat well, but the smoke would later lift to early and before the Golf Platoons got near the East end of HAMIDIYAH. Forward Observer(Sergeant Moylan) would also call in fire support form USS Mason as well as 81mm heavy mortar fire to put direct fire on two separate buildings located at the two separate BLT OBJ 03 compounds where there’s suspected to be enemy. Forward Observer(Sergeant Moylan) will be very busy in this hour as they constantly call in support on the houses outside of HAMIDIYAH to the East.

Fox Company looking on as the objectives get hit with support assets.

05h30-05h40

As 1stPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant McIntire) was moving through the streets of HAMIDIYAH in the South, 1stSq/1stPlt/GolfCo(Sgt Crafts) got engaged with two enemy locations about 70 meters away inside some buildings. The enemy opened up with a burst of AK fire and 1st Sq/1stPlt/GolfCo(Sgt Crafts) responded immediately with a hell of gunfire of their own, completely overwhelming any enemy who dared to take a shot. The Marines accuracy and ferocity from their fire power in the urban setting was unmatched and as the enemy were getting pinned by heavy MG, small arms and grenade fire, the SMAW teams would put a few rockets into the enemies location, further silencing any more firing attempts from the enemy. 1st Sq/1stPlt/GolfCo(Sgt Crafts) would then assault one enemy location while area fire was put on the connecting houses to the rear of the enemy, denying them any retreat. 1st Sq/1stPlt/GolfCo(Sgt Crafts) was split into teams during this firefight and were able to successfully assault and neutralize one enemy position without any problems. They caught the Syrians with their heads down when they rushed into the building and quickly shot them before they could react to the sudden threat. 2ndSq/Ateam Sniper(Sgt McGonical) was also present during this firefight and would take the initiative and move up to assault the second enemy location simultaneously. The Syrians tried to flee out the back way as 2ndSq/Ateam Sniper(Sgt McGonical) would close in on them, but as they fled to the rear and into another connecting house, they ran into more Marine gun fire. One Syrian in a panic, ran out the back door and into the open where he was quickly gunned down and the other Syrian soldiers stayed and took cover in the house. 2ndSq/Ateam Sniper(Sgt McGonical) who was hot on their heals in pursuit behind them, burst through the door right after and before the Syrians had time to react or even understand what was going on, very smoothly, 2ndSq/Ateam Sniper(Sgt McGonical) cleared out the room giving the each Syrian soldier a burst of fire, laying them low to the ground. Upon further review and a quick search, it was identified that one Syrian squad was a Headquarters unit and the other a HQ unit for the Syrian Reserves.1stPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant McIntire) has neutralized the threats presented to them and continue to move East in HAMIDIYAH. At this point the rear elements 3rdSq/3rdplt/Fox Co(Sgt Whelchel) along with Javelin team(Sgt Valdez) and 2 SMAW teams(Corp Collins and Lance Corp Amatucci) of 3rd Plt/FoxCo(2nd Lieutenant Ezra) have been inserted by helo and have now arrived near the dirt road North of HAMIDIYAH in the AO. They will attempt to move East into an irrigation ditch using the wheat fields as cover to position themselves North of the Objectives, but some unknown enemy fire held them in place and they could not proceed. The Cobra is now engaging targets at this time along MSR Corvette with its cannon and while the sweep was progressing in HAMIDIYAH by the Golf platoons,1stPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant McIntire) ran into more resistance and 3rd Sq/1stPlt/Golf Co(Sgt Beall) took a casualty. 3rdSq/Cteam/1stPlt/GolfCo(Corp Hamel) was running from one house to the next to link up with their Squad when a Soldier(Private) was hit and fell to the ground severely wounded by unknown fire from the East in HAMIDIYAH. 9th AAV-7A1(Corp Savage) pulled out from behind a house and drove up to cover the downed Marine while 3rdSq/Cteam/1stPlt/GolfCo(Corp Hamel)halted and gave Buddy Aid and helped evacuate the downed Soldier(Private)from the open area. As they finished applying buddy aid, an RPG was launched from the East in HAMIDIYAH at 9th AAV-7A1(Corp Savage)from 80meters away and the RPG flew over top of the Marines and over the AAV narrowly missing the monstrous vehicle and landed on a house behind them. The Marines in turn identified the threat and launched a SMAW rocket in retaliation and proved who had the bigger and better weaponry in that situation silencing the hostiles for good. The USS Mason now signalled it had another gun ready and available for fire support and Forward Observer(Sergeant Moylan) would direct fire on a building in the BLT OBJ 02.

Enemy around the Objectives are getting pounded and the destruction is starting to show.

05h30-05h40

1stPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant McIntire) would eventually draw closer the to East end in HAMIDIYAH. 1stPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant McIntire) covered the area very well in their now one line formation and almost had their East end clear at this point in time ,but they would identify more resistance in the last string of buildings. While 2nd Sq/1stPlt/Golf Co(Sgt Bagby)moved and was area firing on one suspected house, a Syrian unit opened fire from another house 50meters away. A Soldier(Lance Corporal) was hit by the AK fire and laid wounded on the second floor at 2ndSq/Cteam/1stPlt/Golf Co(Corp Masconi) position.8th and 9th AAV-7A1 (Corp Fleming and Corp Savage) were present as the vehicles moved up to continue supporting the Marines in HAMIDIYAH, and while both fired back with MK19 fire destroying the houses wall on the floor the enemy were in as well as the enemy, 2ndSq/Cteam/1stPlt/Golf Co(Corp Masconi) was able to patch up the Soldier(Lance Corporal) safely with buddy aid and after some amount of time, Soldier(Lance Corporal) was ready and taken for medevac. Two F/A-18D Hornets have announced they are now ready for air support requests. Forward Observer(Sergeant Moylan) would direct one F/A-18D Hornet to bomb a building in one of the BLT OB 03 compounds(the other BLT OB 03 one house compound is destroyed) and the other F/A-18D Hornet was directed to hit any targets of opportunity in BLT OB 002 on the MRS Corvette.1stPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant McIntire) at this point have now completely cleared out their end of enemy in HAMIDIYAH after successfully assaulting two remaining houses with enemy in it. 3rd Sq/1stPlt/Golf Co(Sgt Beall) would be the ones who assaulted the enemy positions and In one of the houses it was discovered that there was an enemy MG team with two AT teams and a fierce and quick firefight took place as 3rd Sq/1stPlt/Golf Co(Sgt Beall) assaulted their position. A Soldier(Lance Corporal)was injured by a small explosion during the small brief firefight, but was declared healthy and fine and was capable of continuing on with the fight. One of the Syrian RPG teams tried to pull out the back way ,but Marines were in place covering the back and quickly shot them down and 3rd Sq/1stPlt/Golf Co(Sgt Beall) would successfully secure the two remaining houses of hostiles. At this point all air support and fire support are concentrated on all the objectives and the objectives are getting hammered very hard. 3rdPlt/Fox Co(2nd Lieutenant Ezra) is now at full strength with the arrival of the two MG teams(Sgt Perry and Corp Prior) along with 2ndSq/3rdPlt/Fox Co(Sgt Croteau).The reinforcements would link with the other Golf squads and move East in an attempt to get at BLT OB 03 from the North. As 4thSq/ MG Bteam/Fox Co(Corp Prior) was running East, Gunner(Lance Corporal) got nicked and wounded by what appeared to be enemy fire from a house close to 300meters away. Gunner(Lance Corporal) quickly bandaged his wound and was fine and continued with the fight. 3rdPlt/Fox Co(2nd Lieutenant Ezra)then began to area fire at the suspected house and the Golf rifle and heavy weapons teams tried to continue moving East in a bounding over watch fashion while shooting at the suspected enemy location. 2ndPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant Dixon) who was tasked to guard 1stPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant McIntire)North flank and to also clear the North end of HAMIDIYAH of all hostiles has finished his task without any wounds and casualties. The enemy who were discovered by 2ndPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant Dixon)as they moved were no match for the fierce firepower as well as the Marine assaults when using combined fire from Mgs,MK19s,Snipers,SMAW and Grenade Launchers. Most enemy fired the opening shots, but that would be all they would fire and they would be shot dead in seconds where they stand due to the swift reaction of 2ndPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant Dixon), who was able to very quickly hit the Syrian forces with every weapon he had simultaneously, completely devastating any enemy positions that were bold enough to present themselves. At this time Golf Co(Captain Goldstein) appears to have cleared all Syrian forces and hostile threats from HAMIDIYAH and are now facing the East end in the AO with full force and clear LOS in one big line.

Fox Company moving through the tall grass

05h40-06h06

Now with full support from Golf Co(Captain Goldstein) , 3rdPlt/Fox Co(2nd Lieutenant Ezra) continue to push East in an attempt to attack the objectives from the North. At this point they are tired and exhausted and have been making very slow progress due to random enemy fire holding them up. The objectives are still constantly put under pressure with heavy vehicle fire, plus air support that was continuously called in. The Syrians at this time were taking a thunderous pounding as their remaining positions were getting blown up in all kinds of ways. The Syrian defense was thinning out and being depleted much more quickly now and all that would remain is some Syrian troops scattered amongst the rubble of blown out buildings and would occasionally fire a few shots. 1stPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant McIntire) would then be ordered to move out of HAMIDIYAH and to cross the fields to the East on both sides of MSR Corvette on foot with AAV vehicle support beside them. They were ordered to move forward in order to secure BLT OBJ 02 on the MSR Corvette. 3rd AAVPlt/Bcompany(2nd Lieutenant Galaway) would then get the rest of the AAV’s to move to the East end of HAMIDIYAH and form a line,and they start advancing across the fields to the East. 3rdPlt/Fox Co(2nd Lieutenant Ezra) would continue to get held down by sporadic unknown enemy light fire as they tried to shift and flank on the objectives from the North. They would now have to hold and wait in the fields until 3rd AAVPlt/Bcompany(2nd Lieutenant Galaway) advanced East. As the Marines continued to move forward and mop up the remainder of the scattered enemy they discovered, the Syrians forces decided that they could no longer hold out a defense and found it best to Surrender with 3min and 17 sec left.

The 26th MEU(SOC)2nd Bat/6th Marines(Lieutenant Colonel Oliver)has now successfully cleared out HAMIDIYAH and pushed East to secured themselves a beach head. From here heavy equipment can now be brought in by LCAC's(Landing Craft Air Cushion) and LCU's(Landing Craft Utility) onto the secured Beach line in preparation for the missions and main push to HIMS that’s to come.

In this hour throughout this mission, it was confirmed that 159 Syrians forces were KIA and 62 were WIA, 40 Syrian troops surrendered 2 tanks along with other civilian type vehicles were destroyed and there are others unaccounted for.

For the 26th MEU(SOC), There were 2 WIA casualties from 1stPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant McIntire). A Soldier(Lance Corporal) from 2ndSq/1stPlt/Golf Co(Sgt Bagby) was hit by an AK bullet, but survived the wound and is stable on route to a hospital. A Soldier(Private) from 3rd Sq/1stPlt/Golf Co(Sgt Beall) was also later determined that he was hit by an AK bullet, but has also survived his wounds and is also in stable condition and on his way to hospital.1stPlt/Golf Co(2nd Lieutenant McIntire) also has a walking wounded, a Soldier (Lance Corporal) in 3rd Sq/1stPlt/Golf Co(Sgt Beall) was hit by shrapnel from an explosion, but is fine and cleared by the medics. Also 2ndSq/3rdPlt/Fox Co(Sgt Croteau) has a Soldier(Lance Corporal)who is a walking wounded and C Team Leader(Corporal Innella) is also a walking wounded giving 3rdPlt/Fox Co(2nd Lieutenant Ezra) 2 walking wounded troops who were patched up, cleared by the medics, and can continue on with the operation.

There were no fatalities in the clearing of HAMIDIYAH in the opening phases of the Amphibious assault and the Marines can be proud of what they accomplished, and for the quick action of applying buddy aid to the fellow Marines who were hit and went down.Now the preparation for a main thrust along MSR Corvette towards the HIMS gap and eventually to HIMS itself, can now proceed on schedule.