Posted on 05/18/2004 3:06:01 PM PDT by amakua
May 16, 2004 Go UK!!!!! First Bayonet Charge since the Falklands War British troops in Iraq perform their first bayonet charge since the Falklands War. 35 insurgents were killed, while only 3 British troops were wounded. Isn't it ironic that only a few days after Nick Berg was beheaded, that the same terrorist scum feel cold steel themselves. Turn about is fair play.
From Scotland on Sunday Paper
Argylls fight hand to hand in Iraq
BRIAN BRADY WESTMINSTER EDITOR
SCOTTISH troops fixed bayonets and fought hand to hand with a Shi’ite militia in southern Iraq in one of their fiercest clashes since the war was declared more than a year ago, it was reported last night.
Soldiers from the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders mounted what were described as "classic infantry assaults" on firing and mortar positions held by more than 100 fighters loyal to the outlawed cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, according to military sources.
At least 20 men from al-Sadr’s army were believed killed in more than three hours of fighting - the highest toll reported in any single incident involving British forces in the past 12 months.
Nine fighters were captured and three British soldiers injured, none seriously.
"It was very bloody and it was difficult to count all their dead," one source was quoted as saying. "There were bodies floating in the river."
The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders were drawn into the fighting when soldiers in two Land-Rovers were ambushed on Friday afternoon about 15 miles east of the city of Amara. The soldiers escaped, only to be ambushed a second time by a larger group of militia, armed with machine-guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars.
Reinforcements were summoned from the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment at a base nearby. "There was some pretty fierce hand-to-hand fighting with bayonets fixed," the source added. "There were some classic assaults on mortar positions held by the al-Sadr forces."
Official spokesman Major Ian Clooney confirmed the Mehdi army "took a pretty heavy knocking", but refused to specify tactics. "This was certainly an intense engagement," he added.
Now if we could just get these guys near Michael Moore and let them know that there are at least 20 bad guys hiding in the various folds and crevices of Moore.
You don't need soldiers, just send in the whalers.
Yeah, a VC was VERY hard to get -- six VCs from one engagement is a lot.
Paging the Macah Tribe, paging the Macah Tribe!
Close quarters response...
Heck, I say reconstitute the good old swordsmanship which was common right up to about 1900. I bet all the old prints to build US Army and Marines swords are still in archives. Seriously, it's cheap, effective and from a psy ops perspective, priceless.
The officer's sword is a copy of the very sword awarded to Lt. Pressley by the ruler of Tripoli after the Marines defeated the Barbary Pirates.
The spirit of the Bayonet---To kill
The spirit of the bayonet---to Kill
For those that may not know. Today's Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders is an amalgamation of the 91st and 93d Regiments of Foot. While the 91st had to endure, for a short period of time, wearing the trews of a lowland regiment in lieu of the kilt; the 93d were once and always a Highland regiment. They narrowly missed extinction during one of the various drawdowns of the British Army at the hands of various left wing governments, but have endured.
For a great tale of life in a Highland regiment, try to catch "Tunes of Glory" starring Alex Guinness and John Mills. A real classic.
My favorite on the subject is this little bit of old prose:
THE BAYONET
Donald Robert Perry, Marquis; [1914]
THE great guns slay from a league away, the death-bolts fly unseen,
And bellowing hill replies to hill, machine to brute machine,
But still in the end when the long lines bend and the battle hangs in doubt
They take to the steel in the same old way that their fathers fought it out--
It is man to man and breast to breast and eye to bloodshot eye
And the reach and twist of the thrusting wrist, as it was in the days gone by!
Along the shaken hills the guns their drumming thunder roll--
But the keen blades thrill with the lust to kill that leaps from the slayer's soul!
For hand and heart and living steel, one pulse of hate they feel.
Is your clan afraid of the naked blade? Does it flinch from the bitter steel?
Perish your dreams of conquest then, your swollen hopes and bold,
For empire dwells with the stabbing blade, as it did in the days of old!
The original Thin Red Line.
True. I once published an article where I noted the stand of the 93d at Balaklava as "The Thin Red Line" and was promptly chastised by some nitwit who pointed out that the original quote was "Thin Red Streak" . Technically correct, but the word Line much better conveys the sense of the deed.
A great romantic sentiment. But, I have to confess that when faced with the prospect of hand-to-hand combat, I bid the Anti-tank section load the 106 Recoiless Rifle with Beehive round and let fly. We were all quite pleased with the result.
Here they are, standing firm against the Russian cavalry, at the Battle of Balaclava.
Just a reminder that, both for us and for the British, there are far more occasions for pride in our troops than for shame.
Compare and contrast the conduct of soldiery, especially when well led and well trained, against that of the self-serving and sanctimonious media. In which institution would you desire your children/grandchildren to serve?
Not sure I catch your meaning. Hand-to-hand bayonet action with 2000 fatalities sounds like serious action, and like any medals would have been well-earned. I don't think the Kerry band-aid medals--especially the first one--are in the same league.
What I meant was that there were other, lesser British medals, more equivalent to Silver/Bronze Stars, say. The Victoria Cross was the highest, and reserved only for cases of truly exceptional bravery. Purple Hearts are in no way comparable.
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