Bring on William Wallace and the boys!
Posted on 05/28/2004 1:59:45 PM PDT by areafiftyone
Story in full: GEOFF Hoon, the Defence Secretary, yesterday ordered a 600-strong Scottish battlegroup to Iraq, stoking speculation that 3,000 more troops could be sent there after the handover of power on 30 June.
The MOD has been denying it intended to increase troop numbers in Iraq, and Mr Hoon insisted the rapid new deployments were simply "sensible adjustments". However, he failed to rule out further major British commitments as concerns grow that Iraq will turn ever more violent after an interim government takes over.
In particular, thousands of British troops could be deployed to secure the Shiite city of Najaf, which is currently outside the UK theatre of control, following the withdrawal of Spanish forces last month.
Mr Hoon said: "It remains the case that we, with our coalition partners, are considering the levels and disposition of forces required in Iraq in the months ahead, to support the sovereign interim government of Iraq through the process leading to the election of a transitional assembly and government early in 2005."
The Conservatives strongly criticised the return of the 1st Battalion Black Watch to Iraq after just one year.
Nicholas Soames, the shadow defence secretary, said the move smacked of an "astonishing manifestation of overstretch" and questioned whether the troops were adequately trained and kitted out with equipment suitable for desert conditions.
"It seems quite astonishing the first battalion the Defence Secretary chooses to deploy is the 1st Battalion Black Watch. He may realise the Black Watch fought through Telic One [the initial Iraq conflict] and have been back in England for less than a year," he said.
Mr Hoon replied: "The Black Watch have had appropriate training and they were the choice for that reason, given the requirements made by the general officer commanding.
"Those troops are available, they are trained for the job that they are required to do and I am confident they will be pleased to carry it out."
Mr Hoon told MPs an additional squadron of 170 troops from 36 Regiment Royal Engineers would be sent to repair damage to British positions after recent attacks.
The Black Watch will replace the 1st Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders when their tour of duty ends in July.
Mr Hoon said that would mean a net increase of 200 troops and was a response to the "continuing threat from violent groups in the area around Al Amarah". He also confirmed that 40 Commando Royal Marines had been put on standby if needed to replace troops engaged in training Iraqis to take over their security force.
Despite reservations about the choice of battalion, the Tories and Lib Dems backed the deployment, saying commanders should have the resources they need after an escalation in attacks on British forces.
Michael Howard, the Tory leader, said: "We support that. Our troops who are there are doing a very difficult and dangerous task and they are doing it magnificently. If they need help and if they need more reinforcements, we support that, and we agree with the government that we need to see it through."
Alright...the Ladies from Hell.
God Bless them!
Well, offhand I would say the bad guys in Iraq are really screwed now!
Semper Fi
The "Ladies From Hades"!!
Hope they've sharpened their bayonets, too, since those boys sure know how to do some pig-stickin'!!
"My name's John Mackenzie, I'm a master-at-arms
I carry my sword and my shield on my shoulder
I've fought every fight from the Don to the Danube
None braver, none better, none bolder
I've stood with Montrose and against him
I've battled with Swedes and with Danes
And I've carried the standard of many's the army
Through many's the bloody campaign
But now as I sit in the firelight it seems
There's a distant horizon to the sword buckle's gleam
Till a pull at the wine brings an old soldier's dream from afar
For the rovin' dies hard
WITH BAYONETS ATTACHED, THEY FINISHED OFF THE ENEMY WHO HAD NOT RUN AWAY..
May 21 2004
SCOTS TELL OF CHARGE
By Keith Mcleod And Michael Christie
SCOTS soldiers last night told how they launched a bayonet charge on Iraqi militiamen after hours of battle.
An Army insider last night gave the Record an insight into the bravery of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.
They were forced to use 'cold steel' as supplies of ammunition ran low.
Many of the militiamen turned and fled but the close-quarters fighting left around 20 rebels dead.
Thirty-five of Shia Moslem cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's followers died and two British troops were injured during the three-hour battle.
A senior Argylls officer said last night: 'After a fierce fight and with small amounts of ammo left, they put in a conventional left-flanking attack.
'With bayonets attached, they finished off the enemy who had not run off.'
It was the first time in 22 years the Army had used bayonets in action.
The last came when the Scots Guards stormed Argentinian positions during the Falklands War.
The battle developed following a distress call from a group of eight British soldiers last Friday.
The troops under the command of Major Adam Griffiths were surrounded on the notorious Route Six highway while en route to Camp Abu Naji in southern Iraq. Their LandRovers were riddled with bullets and they came under attack from rocket launchers and grenades.
But as a 30-strong platoon of Argylls responded to the SOS, the militia were getting reinforcements.
The men from the Stirlingshire-based regiment were forced to dig in and shoot back.
The Argylls were aided by a detachment of the Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment, who arrived at the scene in armoured Warrior vehicles.
More than 150 Iraqis were said to be involved in last week's battle. Military sources say the militiamen miscalculated the response from the original group of soldiers.
Last night, a source said: 'Morale is very good following this serious incident.
'The insurgents have been laying ambushes on Route Six one of the main roads between Basra and Baghdad for some time.
'Previously, the response from small British groups has been drive on. These militiamen were obviously expecting this to happen again.
'The enemy have been picking their targets, mainly two LandRovers with six to eight soldiers on board. With those odds, it is sometimes best to keep on going, but the attack was so sustained, the LandRovers stopped and returned fire.
'We now hope that these attacks on Route Six will stop, but we are taking nothing for granted.'
Intelligence gathered since the bayonet charge suggests it shocked the militia fighters, who expected the outnumbered Scots to flee.
The source added: 'The injuries received by our troops were shrapnel to the hand and shrapnel to the groin. Both of these casualties were as a result of rocket-propelled grenades fired at them.
'Both the injured guys are back with their units and doing fine.'
The Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment arrived on the scene in 37ton Warriors just as the Scots' ammo was getting low.
They found many Iraqi militia fleeing the bayonet charge.
Around 20 Iraqis who chose to stand and fight were killed by the troops of both regiments.
The Argylls' forebears formed The Thin Red Line which kept 25,000 Russians at bay at Balaclava during the Crimean War of the 1850s.
In 1967, Argylls commander Lieutenant-Colonel Colin Mitchell known as Mad Mitch stormed a rebel stronghold in Yemen.
Accompanied only by 15 pipers playing Scotland The Brave, he recaptured Crater Town, the commercial heart of Aden, which had been in enemy hands for two weeks.
The regiment has won 16 Victoria Crosses.
Make 'em carry haggis in there packs for in-field interrogations:
"Ach, laddie, yer gonna haffta talk, or I'll a be forced to make ye wear this like a pahn-ty!"
Oh thank you. I was looking for that post. These guys are truly amazing!
allright you asked for it.
the black watch,coming to a mosque near you.
Sorry about the formatting -- Every time I read that story I get excited. "Cold Steel"
I officially adore the Black Watch
They have an admirable history. They English didn't always use them wisely, but they have always been a proud and effective unit.
I am excited about this too. I couldn't wait to post this. I kept going back and forth to see if I did it correctly. Whooo hooo!
I like the way The Scotsman organizes its material.
If its not Scottish, its CRAP !!!!!!!!
Yea they have a pretty good website.
There was one episode in the early days of the Iraqi war last year, when an embedded reporter with the Black Watch was having a live reportage. I think it was on Sky News. They were on the outskirts of Basra clearing some bushes. Then all of a sudden they discovered a long lost tomb stobe. And it ended up being a memorial for a long lost grave yard for Black Watch soldier during World War One. Before you knew it, you had an amazingly moving bag pipe rendition of amazing graze by the Black Watch soldiers.
Those images (and sounds) will be with me till the day I sign out of this earth.
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