Three Days in June, page 17
As I ran back I bumped into a couple of blokes who I didn’t recognize and said, ‘Who the fuck are you?’ They replied, ‘We’re A Company.’ I said, ‘I’m B Company, we’re all up in here.’ I took them up and into the First Bowl.
The bullet that hit Dominic cut a groove across the top of his skull.
Pte Tony Barlow
I remember Cpl McLaughlin storming past us with his pistol in one hand and his SLR in the other. He was furious; he had that look in his eye, as if someone’s going to get knocked out here. I thought, Fucking hell! There was an Argentine position above us, firing down at 5 Platoon. He single-handedly climbed up into the rocks, threw a grenade into it, then climbed into the position, fired a few rounds and yelled, ‘Two dead, one wounded.’ And I can only assume the Argentine moved for his weapon as Cpl McLaughlin fired a double tap and added, ‘Make that three dead.’
Lt Mark Cox
Somebody at the back of the line-up declared they were throwing a grenade and lobbed it. It landed right next to where Pte Steve Phillips and I were taking cover. There it was fizzing away on the peat; it had been too long in the air to kick away and too close to escape. I just crunched my body against the rocks to escape the worst of it. Luckily, it exploded upwards. We escaped without a scratch. I fumbled for my grenade, but I had bent the pin right back so it was difficult to open. I found the strength to squeeze open the pin of my grenade and lob it. It went right to the spot, and exploded. I moved further forward to another rock overlooking where the Argentines were.
I now had Pte Connery with me. I said I was going to fire my 66mm at the enemy position, and then we would simply overrun it. I fired the 66mm and we ran forwards, but there was no explosion. I believe now that we weren’t within arming range of the 66mm. It was simply a fast-moving piece of metal. However, the explosion made by firing it definitely helped us get up and go. Once onto the enemy position there were two enemy who were lying there, and another who was asking in broken English not to be killed, and saying that he believed in God.
I moved forward beyond the position, into the Second Bowl area and almost immediately came under fire; I felt a sting on my shoulder, which was accompanied by my ammunition pouches and water bottle flopping down. The strap on my webbing was separated. I stayed down, firing up at the rocks with my SLR. I shouted out that I’d been hit. I recovered myself and ran back to Connery. He and I then covered each other back to the First Bowl where we had originally started from.
Captain McCracken’s signaller reports:
06.53hrs zt): from C/S 41B to C/S 29FDC: ‘41B under fire taken one casualty.’
07.05hrs (zt): from C/S 41B to C/S 29FDC: ‘41B under sniper fire one dead.’
07.08hrs (zt): from C/S 41B to C/S 29FDC: ‘41B with 3 PARA using small-arms fire and 66mm’s.’
07.15hrs (zt): from C/S 41B to C/S 29FDC: ‘41B believes the sniper eliminated sending a section forward to check.’
3 PARA HQ asks the CO what’s happening:
07.25hrs (zt): from C/S 0 to C/S 9: ‘Send brief situation report for higher formation.’
07.25hrs (zt): from C/S 9 to C/S 0: ‘Roger: Call Sign 2 has sustained considerable casualties whilst taking its objective, Call Sign 1 will pass through and hopefully take Full Back by first light. There is fierce resistance on the feature and it is difficult to pinpoint the exact location of the enemy amongst the rocks.’
07.25hrs (zt): from C/S 0 to C/S 9: ‘Passed to Brigade.’
Pte Kevin Connery
I went forward with Lt Mark Cox into the Second Bowl, where in the chaos that followed I shot three Argentinians. I remember looking at Lt Cox holding his SLR with his bayonet fixed, and it seemed bigger than him. He was in a bit of shock, we then pepper-potted our way back along the sheep track.
Pte Grant Grinham
All of a sudden Cpl McLaughlin jumped up and ran towards the rocks. I thought, If he thinks it’s better over there, I’m going as well, so I jumped up and ran after him. Shortly after Cpl McLaughlin had reached the cover of the rocks, I jumped in beside him. I started talking to him, but he turned to me and said angrily, ‘Fucking shut up and watch our backs!’ So I did; we only seemed to have been there for a short while and then we received the order to withdraw. We began moving back in pairs and eventually got back to the First Bowl.
Cpl Domingo Lamas, Argentine Marine
I knew that HMG No. 1 was out of service. At some time during a break from fighting, I made my way to find it. The crew was not in place and they had moved the whole gun by hand, but without the M63 gun mount, to the location of gun No. 3. It was put into service, but the mechanism was damaged and made it impossible to use. During this stage of the battle came the two missing conscripts from the HMG No. 6, Jorge Maciel and Mario Zalazar, who crept into my position. The first one had been shot at close range. We had to conduct first aid, I told him to open his jacket. I inspected his back, which was very bad, he had lost a lot of blood, and it seemed to me that this was a bullet wound not shrapnel. We applied two PCIs [field dressings] I placed him among the rocks and covered him with blankets. One of the ammunition providers was appointed to look after him. He asked for water, and I think he had some idea of where he was and could recognize me.
The option of evacuation to the PUSO [first-aid post] at this time was not feasible for the situation that we were in; it would have required two men to leave who at that moment were very much needed, and I did not know if they would come back alive. I could hear the voices in English on the northern side. It made me appreciate that the enemy could be surrounding me and was nearby.6
Sgt John Ross
After about an hour there was no choice but to pull back. I started to get the lads to put some covering fire down to allow the guys up front to pass through us. It was clear to me, as it had been for the last hour, that we could not succeed with a direct attack on the position without blitzing it first. Lt Cox eventually returned with Kev Connery. I thought at one stage we had lost him. I heard the CO tell Major Argue that he was pulling B Company back and would be passing A Company through. The planning then started to mount a company attack with fire support on the position. I said to Scouse McLaughlin that we should’ve done that an hour ago and Scouse agreed.
Cpl Graham Heaton
CSM Johnny Weeks appeared and yelled, ‘I want everyone back to the First Bowl; we’re going to flatten the fucking place, again!’ We now began skirmishing back; I ran a short distance, stopped and turned around to provide covering fire. As I turned and dropped onto one knee, I saw green tracer coming towards me. It was two-, three-round bursts and two rounds of it hit me in my right leg. Pte Frank O’Regan was also shot in the left leg at the same time.
Pte Andy Steadman
As we were skirmishing back we suddenly came under fire, again! I managed to dive into an Argy shell scrape, and I noticed Frank O’Regan crawling along the sheep track towards me. I could tell he was in difficulty, so I jumped up and ran down, grabbed him by the collar and dragged him into cover. He told me he’d been hit in the leg, but it was still dark and I couldn’t see a thing. He was in pain and I asked him, ‘Have you got your morphine?’ But he groaned and said it was in his webbing back on the track, so I ran back down the track to retrieve it. I proceeded to give him the morphine jab and dressed his wound as best I could.
4.8 ‘It’s fucking hard, mate; you watch yourself’
The time is now approximately 07.45hrs (zt).
Pte Andy Stone
We were now taking fire from various directions; some came from further along the mountain and some came from the north-east. When John Goreing suddenly opened fire right next to my ear, it stunned me for a moment, but then I also began returning fire at the muzzle flashes. Then an Argentine wire-guided anti-tank missile was fired; it came rushing in and exploded on the rocks near the First Bowl.
Pte Duncan Daly
A guided missile went over our heads and the guidance wire draped over the top of us. We carried on moving back, and consolidated in First Bowl.
A Company starts to arrive at the First Bowl.
Sgt Manny Manfred, 30 yrs –1 Platoon, A Company
As I was coming from Wing Forward, members of B Company were withdrawing towards the First Bowl. I saw Cpl Graham Heaton, and then a burst of fire hit him in the leg. I helped with others to drag him up into the First Bowl, where someone began to treat him. I remember a medic shouting urgently, ‘Has anyone got a knife?’ I had an old clasp knife that I had had for years on a lanyard with a spliced knot. I quickly took it off and gave it to the medic. I never saw it again. I watched as one of them began cutting his denims open, to see what damage had been done.
Pte Craig (Harry) Harrison
The cry of ‘MEDIC!’ rang out and I thought, Not again, is this never going to end? We dragged Cpl Heaton into some cover, I cut his trouser open, and I saw his leg was badly damaged and he was having trouble breathing. I tried to give him morphine, but the top had broken off. I happened to turn, and I noticed a long line of A Company sat against the rock face, awaiting orders to move forward.
[These were A Company 2 Platoon.]
Captain Adrian Logan
I remember the CO saying, ‘We’ll bring A Company forward shortly; they will pass through your guys, and they will carry on and take the next feature.’ There seemed to be a mood of ‘Thank fuck for that, let’s have a brew and get the wounded sorted.’ We were still getting shelled but it was intermittent, and their fire seemed to be hitting further down on the eastern slope.
Pte Andy Stone
We just sat and rested in the darkness. Some of my friends from A Company came over and asked, ‘What’s it been like?’ I said, ‘It’s fucking hard, mate; you watch yourself.’ It was still pitch black and freezing. 2 Platoon, A Company was now given our remaining 66s and grenades. The rattle of machine-gun fire was deafening. I sat in a sort of numb silence just watching as a blur of people went back and forth shouting orders.
CSM John Weeks
During this phase, we now had the assistance of an extra medic, LCpl Chris Lovett from A Company, who came up to me and said in a courteous manner, ‘Sir, I understand you’ve got casualties. I’m a medic from A Company, can I help?’ I replied, ‘Yes, just get stuck in.’ He then attached himself to us, and gave us some much-needed help.
LCpl Colin Edwards
It was decided that artillery would once again flatten the Second and Third Bowl areas, which were only 50 or 60 metres away. The rounds came roaring in like express trains descending from the heavens. They were absolutely terrifying; the ground was shaking and the noise deafening.
I started to get a brew on and discovered that a bullet had passed through my water bottle. It was on the left side of my webbing, and on my right side another bullet had gone through one of my pouches. By now we were all absolutely shattered. Everyone looked tired, conversation was hushed, and we were mostly too tired to talk. People seemed to look older, and I don’t mind admitting that for a moment it was all too much.
Pte Tony Barlow
We began to sort ourselves out. I remember saying, ‘Fuck this, before I do anything, I’m having a brew.’ Someone said, ‘Yeah, Tony, that sounds like a fucking good idea, let’s have a brew.’ I was now down to my last ten rounds of ammunition. I remember watching Tony Bojko firing his GPMG up at the top of the First Bowl. The barrel of his gun was glowing red hot.
Sgt John Ross
Scouse McLaughlin came up to me and announced, ‘John, I’ve found the money.’ I grinned and asked, ‘What money?’ He replied, ‘Fucking thousands.’ It turned out that he’d been in a Quartermaster-type bunker and found a load of Argentine money. It was probably only 40 or 50 pounds, which we laughed about, and he said, ‘Tell you what, John, when we get into Stanley, we’ll rob the bank.’ I laughed and replied, ‘Fuck off, Scouse, who do you think we are? Kelly’s fucking Heroes?’ Scouse laughed and said, ‘John, it will be fucking chaos; they won’t have a clue who done it.’
LCpl Lenny Carver
They dragged me up the incline and into the First Bowl – with the size of me, I’m not sure how they got me up there, but that’s where I ended up. I remember Phil Probets asking, ‘Do you know where you’ve been hit?’ I replied, ‘I’ve been hit in the side, but my back is soaking wet, I think I’ve got a hole there as well.’ Phil said, ‘Right, okay.’ Then Chris Lovett joined us and said reassuringly, ‘All right, mate, don’t worry, you’re in safe hands now; we’ll sort you out; we can’t give you any morphine because you might be gut shot.’ Chris dealt with the wound to my side, then moved on to my back to deal with the exit wound. He then said, ‘Shit, that’s quite big.’ It felt like he had safety-pinned my back together. There was a wave of pain, which went right through my body, and I passed out.
Sgt John Ross
When A Company were preparing to leave the bowl, I gave the night-vision goggles that I’d found earlier in the .50 Cal bunker [No. 4] to Major Collett. Scouse McLaughlin then asked if he could go with A Company, but he was told to stay with B Company. I said, ‘Fucking hell, Scouse, haven’t you done enough? Come on, let’s sort ourselves out and get a brew on.’
At approximately 09.27hrs (zt), there is an incident involving a 105mm recoilless rifle located 2.8 kilometres away at the western end of Wireless Ridge. It has been suggested that Cpl Manuel Medina fired a single round towards the SF machine-gun line on Fly Half. From its location, the 105mm RCL team had a direct line of sight to 3 PARA’s machine-gun line. With the distance involved, they would have to use the weapons-spotter rifle to gauge the distance to the target. The main armament would have then been fired. They would have had to aim high, and the HEAT round would have been descending when it reached its target area of Fly Half.
The round passes through the gunline, just missing the CO and various senior personnel. It then plunges down the western slope impacting in the area of a three-man Milan Detachment, killing all three members. Just over 30 minutes after this incident, at approximately 10.00hrs (zt), there is an explosion in the First Bowl; it impacts on the western wall, killing LCpl Lovett. Shortly after this there is a second explosion, also on the west wall, which kills Cpl Wilson. I think the 105mm RCL may have been remanned as both HEAT rounds/missiles came from an easterly direction.
There have been reports that Cobra missiles may have been fired from Tumbledown, but it seems that these weapons have a guidance wire of two kilometres, and Tumbledown is approximately three kilometres away; the missiles would have gone ‘rogue’ after two kilometres. Another author has suggested a Strella missile, but it seems these missiles will not launch unless the weapon has a heat source to lock on to. But I am open to any suggestions.
A Company leaves the First Bowl at approximately 09.40hrs (zt):
09.40hrs (zt): from C/S 19 to C/S 9: ‘Call sign 1/2 has cleared and now manning the high ground.’
First light approximately 10.00hrs (zt).
Pte Tony Barlow
A Company had all left. I got a brew on with Simon Ward and Steve Playle, and tried to warm myself up. I cannot describe how bad I smelled; I was covered in shit. We were told to start digging in. Some of 5 Platoon were positioned around the edge of the First Bowl. I was with Pte Craig (Harry) Harrison. We had started to dig a shell scrape, but then Harry said, ‘I don’t like this position; it doesn’t feel right.’ So we moved to another location and started digging again. A short while later a shell landed exactly where our old position was going to be. It was now beginning to get light, and we noticed a pile of mortar shells by us, and I decided to move them. I was walking towards Captain Logan, who was standing by Chris Lovett. I was just about to ask him, ‘Sir, where do you want me to put these?’ when suddenly there was a massive explosion.
CSM John Weeks
There was an explosion in the bowl and the blast blew a lot of people over, including Pte Clarkson-Kearsley, the medics and me. There were quite a few of us that were concussed and deafened.
Cpl Phil Probets
I had just returned from the RAP, where I had picked up more medical supplies, drips, shell dressings, morphine, etc. I then headed towards the First Bowl to help with the wounded. When I entered the bowl I saw Chris Lovett, who was treating the wounded. I went over to assist with Graham Heaton when Chris Lovett asked me for a shell dressing. Then there was a terrific explosion.
Pte Duncan Daly
Chris Lovett was killed by the blast; it blew everyone over, including me. I saw Phil Probets pick himself up and run back over to where Chris Lovett lay, but he was dead. Phil was devastated; I put my arm around Phil and said, ‘Come on, mate, there’s nothing you can do now.’
Cpl Graham Heaton
I was receiving treatment from Chris Lovett when he said, ‘Graham, I’ll be back in a minute – I’m just going to get some shell dressings out of my Bergen.’ At that moment there was a huge flash, and an explosion. I opened my eyes and for a moment I couldn’t see, and I thought, Fucking hell, I’m blind! But as my vision cleared, Chris was gone and Captain Logan was leaning against a rock holding his arm and saying, ‘I’ve been hit.’ CSM Johnny Weeks picked himself off the floor and said, ‘What the fuck was that?’
