Page 51 - MERCIAN Eagle 2019

7 Platoon
Cpl Deal-Long
The work ethic of the platoon has been extremely high over the past year deploying on numerous exercises in Cyprus, back in the UK on Salisbury Plain and Canada.
In Cyprus, the
platoon utilised the
challenging back
area of Episkopi
Garrison, working
from individual skills
through to platoon
and up to company level exercises.
The heat and conditions were testing and did not enable much down time
as the Company resorted to working
at night and planning operations in the day. The Platoon was also integrated to A (Grenadier) Company’s ORBAT and deployed on Ex WESSEX STORM attached to the ROYAL IRISH. Here we
learned a lot focusing on: FIBUA, FIWAF and on advancing to contact. The platoon excelled in this area and was selected as the break in force for the Brigades final
field however. Cpl Reeves, Lt Breen and I all attended Ex FROSTED BLADE alpine skiing in the French Alps. This was a unique experience and provided a great chance to bond with other members of the battalion who we do not always get an opportunity to work alongside.
The Platoon has had a very diverse year with Sgt Tivey attending and passing the Cold Weather Instructors’ course.
Pte Kosmider represented the Battalion at table tennis scoring in the top 10 in
the Infantry. We saw the promotion of LCpl Cooke to full Cpl taking command of 3 Section, Pte Craig was promoted to LCpl after passing the JNCO Cadre. We have also received three Kingsmen from 2nd Battalion the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment; Kgn Killeen, Kgn Mason and Kgn Smith who have all been an asset and have represented their regiment well.
attack.
Our major exercise
was in Canada,
Ex MAPLE RESOLVE. We were role playing as the enemy for a Canadian battlegroup. We learned a lot
about infantry defensive tactics and through hard work and endurance managed to become very proficient, proving a tough adversary for the Canadian armoured units. The Canadians were excellent hosts and we gained a strong bond with our allies through shared R&R.
The Platoon has not just been in the
we gained a strong bond with our allies
Ex MAPLE RESOLVE
Lt Bough
In May 2019 C (Kohima) Coy deployed on Exercise Maple Resolve in Canada. Maple Resolve is the biggest exercise in the Canadian Army and is conducted annually. C Coy were to be a part of “Task Force - Pale Rider”, a multinational task force consisting of French, British, American and Canadian Troops. The TF was to provide a realistic and capable peer level enemy to help facilitate the training of a Canadian Armoured Battlegroup.
The Coy deployed into a harbour area located in the very northern end of the training area. From here the Coy would be split, with 7Pl pushing forward to occupy a Pl defensive position to the south,
and 4Pl (the attached Royal Welsh contingent) being attached to an armoured Canadian call sign in the south west. 8Pl was to prepare the urban defences at Ashigli, a large town, assisted by a team of US Engineers. Upon completion of the initial actions the Coy was once again reunited.
A Canadian armoured call sign was brought in to support the Coy along with a Mechanised Pl of US Engineers. Final preparations were underway. The OC’s intent was simple, this battle would be fought street by street, building by building and room by room. The orders from the TF CO was that Ashigli was to be held
at all costs.
positions on the far-right hand side of the TF’s MDA. A huge
effort had been put into the defences, a 2-mile-long tank ditch, unbelievable amounts of razor wire, as well as fire trenches and minefields. The enemy attack was expected imminently. Artillery strikes began starting at around 2200 and continued throughout the night. As the troops occupied their positions in the early hours the artillery strikes began to intensify and the Coy suffered a heavy
The lead elements of the enemy began their attack at around 0700hrs. The Coy leading
the enemy assault was decimated within 2 hours, their vehicles destroyed by the AT assets, withdrawal routes cut off by the Mortar attachments, and dismounted troops destroyed by the Riflemen of C Coy.
this battle would be fought street by street, building by building and room by room
attrition rate bringing effectiveness down to around 40%. Critically the casualties sustained included the OC, 2IC, and Sect Comds across all the Platoons. With low manning states
and enemy armour now advancing, the Pl commanders made the decision to pull the remaining troops out of their fire trenches and amass them in various wood lines to the rear of the fire trenches. Their intentions being to
The next assault came at 1400hrs, this time a much larger enemy force supported by main battle tanks attacked the position from two directions. The Pls withdrew inside their respective buildings, closed all windows and doors to block out the light, fitted their night vision and waited for the enemy Infantry to begin clearing the buildings. This tactic led to a huge number of casualties being inflicted on the enemy dismounted troops, and in sheer frustration the enemy then changed their approach towards collateral damage and began to level buildings using artillery and the MBTs.
After a brief stint back in the harbour area C Coy was once again pushing south into the battlespace, this time to occupy defensive
ambush the dismounted enemy troops as they began clearing the trenches. This was initially successful, and a heavy number of casualties were inflicted on the enemy dismounts, however upon realising what had happened the supporting enemy LAV’s and MBT’s engaged the remaining troops of C Coy and within an hour the TF had been defeated.
The opportunity to take part in this exercise provided the troops and commanders of C Coy an invaluable training opportunity. It highlighted some key learning points as well as enabled the Coy to work as part of a multinational taskforce alongside some of Britain’s closest allies.
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
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