COLD STEEL (Hero soldier - UK)

The Mirror ^ | 8 December 2004

[traumer]

A HERO soldier who led a bloody bayonet charge on Iraqi rebels was yesterday recommended for a bravery award.

But Corporal Mark Byles, 34, insisted: "It was me or them.

"I don't believe I'm a hero. It was second nature. I'm just glad I did my job and did it well."

Mark was with his men from the 1st Battalion, Princess of Wales Royal Regiment - known as the Hampshire Tigers - when rebels fired rocket grenades at their armoured vehicle between Basra and Baghdad on May 14.

He ordered them to fix bayonets and led four men charging the drainage ditch the rebels were hiding in.

He said: "I slashed people, rifle butted them. I was punching and kicking. It was either me or them.

"It felt like I was in a dream. It didn't seem real.

"Anybody can pull a trigger from a distance but I got in close and personal."

Mark, from Portsmouth, who has a wife Becky, 33, and six-year-old son, added: "I got back to camp after six hours on the ground, covered in blood from head to toe.

"The first thing I did was pull out a photo of my family."

He went on: "I decided the best way to attack was a full frontal assault. It was my decision to fix bayonets and assault their position."

His men were "under the impression we were going to lie in our ditch, shoot them from a distance and the enemy would run away.

"I believe we caught the enemy on the hop and we had to take the fight to them."

In the trench Mark saw around a dozen armed Iraqis.

"The look on their faces was utter shock when five heavily armed men jumped in on them," he said. Mark killed three and took eight prisoners, holding them while under fire from another trench 75 yards away.

The Army estimates around 30 rebels died in both trenches but Mark's men were virtually unscathed.

He says he is still haunted by the faces of the men he killed. "The worst thing was collecting the dead, seeing the damage I did to those people. Lots of our guys were just 18 or 19 and I had to tell them to treat bodies like bits of meat, not human beings."

A report by his platoon commander Lt Ben Plenge, who recommended him for an award, says: "Corporal Byles showed immense professionalism under fire.

"He showed bravery in the face of the enemy and strong leadership qualities in leading a dangerous assault against a larger enemy position."

Mark denies he is a hero, insisting: "I have been a soldier for 13 years. I've done it time and again in training." He reckons he killed 15 to 20 rebels in his six months in Iraq.

The last was a man firing a machinegun at their HQ in Al Amarah, under siege for 24 days.

[Psycho_Bunny]

 

Damn. These boys were all out of bubble-gum.

God Bless Them All.

[marmar]

My hat is off to these Warriors......good read...

[prophetic]

I've never heard of a bayonet charge in this day & age!!!

Great going soldier!!

[Never2baCrat]

All this from the left wing Daily Mirror!

[Always A Marine]

Warms my heart. Other than the United States Marines, the Brits are the only soldiers left who take bayonet training seriously. The sight of a bayonet in skilled hands terrifies the enemy -- and then you kill him. Well done, Corporal Byles.

[TomGuy]

"The look on their faces was utter shock when five heavily armed men jumped in on them,"

I am sure the rebels were surprised.

The Hampshire Tigers deserve their own version of the Team America theme:

Audio link in RealPlayer format (caution, heavy profanity)

America, F**k Yeah! lyrics link.

[traumer]

"All this from the left wing Daily Mirror! "

YUP

[KoRn]

Good work!

[Always A Marine]

I've never heard of a bayonet charge in this day & age!!!

Ask the Argentines. The Brits used bayonets with great effect in the Falklands campaign, and word quickly spread among the panicked Argentines. When combat get in close quarters, bayonet fighting is an essential and rewarding skill.

[Travis McGee]

ping

[traumer]

I'd probably s%*# my pants first....

But Corporal Mark Byles, 34, insisted: "It was me or them.

[TooBusy]

Those old outdated bayonets seem to be quite effective

Bayonet Brits kill 35 rebels (Brits Go Hand To Hand 5 to 1)

OUTNUMBERED British soldiers killed 35 Iraqi attackers in the Army?s first bayonet charge since the Falklands War 22 years ago. The fearless Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders stormed rebel positions after being ambushed and pinned down.

Despite being outnumbered five to one, they suffered only three minor wounds in the hand-to-hand fighting near the city of Amara.

The battle erupted after Land Rovers carrying 20 Argylls came under attack on a highway.

After radioing for back-up, they fixed bayonets and charged at 100 rebels using tactics learned in drills.

Charge ... tactics from drills

When the fighting ended bodies lay all over the highway and more were floating in a nearby river. Nine rebels were captured.

An Army spokesman said: ?This was an intense engagement.?

The last bayonet charge was by the Scots Guards and the Paras against Argentinian positions.

[Toto_for_breakfast]

In addition to the bravery award, he needs an award for being a total badass.

[Nuzcruizer]

Just wait, some pantsy lefty will say that it was exessive use of force and call for an investigation.

[archy]

I've never heard of a bayonet charge in this day & age!!!

Great going soldier!!

Don't get around the Gurkhas much, do you? The use of cold steel still plays a place in modern combat, particularly at night, when the muzzle flash of an automatic weapon is a universal message in any language for *Throw grenades here....*

During a classic rescue mission in Afghanistan, the Tora-Bora caves to be more precise, two weeks ago involving SAS Soldiers, 4 were injured, and two SAS soldiers have been awarded the VC (Victoria Cross). It is the first for a long time, anyone to be awarded the medal and survived.This is the first awardings of the Cross in this Century, it is also the first time the Cross has been awarded to living members of the British forces. The two soldiers cannot be named due to their continued service within the Regiment or for the first time be let known to what they did to even earn it. The story of Cpl. Labalaba in Oman never received one for his courage because it is expected of all members to do the sam in that situation. However I can only point out that if two members of the SAS have received (first to receive in this millenium) this medal, their work must of been extraordinary. But, as it is stated no information will be realeased as of yet or in the near future. Congrats to the men and the Regiment.

An excerpt from "The Sun" description of the SAS' battle that won them their Victoria Crosses follows. Story goes that one of the *knives* involved was a Gurkha kukri:

"The SAS engaged in Hand-to-Hand fighting with al-Qaida fighters inside caves. They fought only with knives, killing enemy and rescuing colleagues."

-The Sunday Sun