A mission with the Brits
Following the cringeworthy public utterances of the British hostages taken by Iran, Andrew Stuttaford links this story by combat-blogger Michael Yon, accompanying British soldiers of 5 platoon, 2nd Battalion “The Rifles” Battle Group on an operation in Basra. It’s some good stuff.
Stuttaford, who is posting this in reference to Ralph Peters’ strong criticism of British troops, picks out Yon’s final paragraph, where he praises the British soldiers highly. Aside from that, I find this very interesting:
The plan for Operation Arezzo was cleverly contrived. While Americans count on helicopter support for deliberate high-intensity combat here, the Brits were going into extremely hostile terrain, outnumbered, without helicopter support, relying instead upon timing, terrain, maneuverability, firepower, and sheer audacity.
In combat, luck can be a decisive factor, but Murphy’s Law remains in effect. For Operation Arezzo, the risks of something going catastrophically wrong were apparent at the outset. The soldiers in 5 Platoon had never conducted such an audacious operation—in broad daylight—but LTC Maciejewski intended to show the enemy that even in their strongest bastion, outnumbered British forces could strike into their heart and inflict heavy losses.
It’s not a business for the faint-hearted.
Yon is continuing to do some fascinating journalism.