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Major Philip Neame's D Company then began the final assault from the western end of Wireless Ridge, under the cover of heavy fire from HMS Ambuscade's 4.5 inch gun, the light tanks, twelve 105 mm artillery pieces, several mortars and anti-tank rockets.

Major Philip Neame's D Company then began the final assault from the western end of Wireless Ridge, under the cover of heavy fire from HMS Ambuscade's 4.5 inch gun, the light tanks, twelve 105 mm artillery pieces, several mortars and anti-tank rockets.

In spite of the British Artillery's sustained barrage the remaining Argentinians put up resistance. Lieutenant-Colonel Omar Giménez had now barely 100 men left, including a signals platoon under the wounded Lieutenant Jorge Alberto Guidobono. The signallers were ordered to prepare for hand-to-hand combat. Guidobono shouted encouragement to his men. The signallers fought in little groups from boulders, shooting at enemy flashes and Private Graham Carter of 'D' Company, 2 PARA, came within a whisker of death:{{cquote|I had a bullet bounce off my helmet, then when our artillery shells came in on us, one landed 15 feet away-but thankfully was a dud. It could have killed at least three of us. <ref>The scars of War, Hugh McManners, p. 325, HarperCollins, 1993</ref>}}

In spite of the British Artillery's sustained barrage the remaining Argentinians put up resistance. Lieutenant-Colonel Omar Giménez had now barely 100 men left, including a signals platoon under the wounded Lieutenant Jorge Alberto Guidobono. The signallers were ordered to prepare for hand-to-hand combat. Guidobono shouted encouragement to his men. The signallers fought in little groups from boulders, shooting at enemy flashes.

D Company took the first half of the objective after a hard fight with Guidobono's signallers and 30 Argentinian paratroopers (armed with ten 7.62mm belt-fed machine-guns) under ''Subteniente'' Gustavo Alberto Aimara (wounded in action) from the Córdoba-based 2nd 'General Balcarce' Airborne Infantry Regiment<ref>«...habian llegado la noche anterior. Una sección de ametralladoras no es un elemento que figure en las organizaciones comunes, fue constituido a propósito para esta oportunidad: eran 30 hombres con diez ametralladoras. La puse a disposición de Jofre para reforzar el 7.»  Malvinas: Testimonio de Su Gobernador,  Mario Benjamín Menéndez, Carlos M. Túrolo, p. 278, Editorial Sudamericana, 1983 </ref>that had arrived in a Hercules C-130 transport on the night of June 11-12th.<ref>«In believing that Menendez could hold out for at least ten days and since the Air Bridge was still open, the Joint Operations Group authorized the continued piecemeal reinforcement of Army Group Falklands with the despatch of 2nd Airborne  Infantry Regiment. The weather and the speed of the British advance prevented its full deployment and only a platoon arrived in time to join 7th Infantry Regiment on Wireless Ridge.»  Nine Battles to Stanley,  Nick van der Bijl, p. 224, Leo Cooper, 1999</ref>Private  Guillermo Vélez recalls:{{cquote|They were guys from Córdoba, they had just arrived in the islands from Comodoro Rivadavia ... they had never heard a bomb, and they had been put there, in the middle of hell. We, theoretically, were going to receive, by radio, the orders. There were two signals, one to attack, and another to retreat, but in the middle of that mess we never received any order. We could not hear anything other than the bombs ... The A, B and C companies of the 7th had already retreated and we, as a result, ended up being the front line ... We were doing what we could; We could barely protect ourselves and occasionally answer the fire. We joined together in groups, and in front of us placed a defence line of MAG machine guns."<ref>Crónica Documental de las Malvinas: Testimonios y Documentos de la Guerra, Hugo Gambini, P. 885, Biblioteca de Redacción, 1982</ref>}}

D Company took the first half of the objective after a hard fight with Guidobono's signallers and 30 Argentinian paratroopers (armed with ten 7.62mm belt-fed machine-guns) under ''Subteniente'' Gustavo Alberto Aimara (wounded in action) from the Córdoba-based 2nd 'General Balcarce' Airborne Infantry Regiment<ref>«...habian llegado la noche anterior. Una sección de ametralladoras no es un elemento que figure en las organizaciones comunes, fue constituido a propósito para esta oportunidad: eran 30 hombres con diez ametralladoras. La puse a disposición de Jofre para reforzar el 7.»  Malvinas: Testimonio de Su Gobernador,  Mario Benjamín Menéndez, Carlos M. Túrolo, p. 278, Editorial Sudamericana, 1983 </ref>that had arrived in a Hercules C-130 transport on the night of June 11-12th.<ref>«In believing that Menendez could hold out for at least ten days and since the Air Bridge was still open, the Joint Operations Group authorized the continued piecemeal reinforcement of Army Group Falklands with the despatch of 2nd Airborne  Infantry Regiment. The weather and the speed of the British advance prevented its full deployment and only a platoon arrived in time to join 7th Infantry Regiment on Wireless Ridge.»  Nine Battles to Stanley,  Nick van der Bijl, p. 224, Leo Cooper, 1999</ref>Private  Guillermo Vélez recalls:{{cquote|They were guys from Córdoba, they had just arrived in the islands from Comodoro Rivadavia ... they had never heard a bomb, and they had been put there, in the middle of hell. We, theoretically, were going to receive, by radio, the orders. There were two signals, one to attack, and another to retreat, but in the middle of that mess we never received any order. We could not hear anything other than the bombs ... The A, B and C companies of the 7th had already retreated and we, as a result, ended up being the front line ... We were doing what we could; We could barely protect ourselves and occasionally answer the fire. We joined together in groups, and in front of us placed a defence line of MAG machine guns."<ref>Crónica Documental de las Malvinas: Testimonios y Documentos de la Guerra, Hugo Gambini, P. 885, Biblioteca de Redacción, 1982</ref>}}

Soon there was a lot of action going above and around Moody Brook. Major Oscar Ramón Jaimet's 'B' Company, from the 6th 'Mercedes' Mechanized Infantry Regiment, on the northern slopes of Tumbledown Mountain, were busy shooting at Major Philip Neame's men, and them too, shooting back at the Argentinians.

Soon there was a lot of action going above and around Moody Brook. Major Oscar Ramón Jaimet's 'B' Company, from the 6th 'Mercedes' Mechanized Infantry Regiment, on the northern slopes of Tumbledown Mountain, were busy shooting at Major Philip Neame's men, and them too, shooting back at the Argentinians.

Argentinian artillery responded vigorously and the Argentinian Land Forces Commander, Brigadier-General [[Oscar Luis Jofré]] sent Major Guillermo Rubén Berazay's A Company (3rd ''La Tablada'' Mechanized Infantry Regiment) west of Stanley Racecourse to counterattack. Private Patricio Pérez:{{cquote| I was carrying two rifles and I noticed that there was a sniper who was pinning me down. I wanted to come out of the rock and kill him but I couldn't because the firing was so intense. At that moment I heard somebody shout that he had seen the sniper. I came out, saw that he was leaning over the rock and shot at him and his gun fell silent. I saw him fall but I don't know whether he was wounded or dead. That kind of combat among the rocks is like a Western, but it all happens so fast that you don't quite realise what is going on ... What I felt at that moment was mostly hatred. I wanted revenge. I had forgotten fear by then, what sort of risk I was taking; the only thing I wanted to do, my obsession, was to avenge my fallen comrades. Whenever I saw one of my friends hit it was worse, it just made me want to continue fighting, it didn't matter for how long or at what cost. I didn't care about death at that time, the main thing was revenge ... We sent the wounded down and returned to the battle and fought on for four hours. Luckily after the surrender I found out that Horacio had survived. People greeted the surrender with relief. They were all crying. That wasn't how I reacted. I had been fighting for many hours and I was not prepared to give up my rifle until forced to do so. It's different for those who had been in actual combat. I couldn't give my rifle back until they took it away from me, and when I did give it back I made sure it was completely unusable.<ref>Speaking Out: Untold Stories from the Falklands War, Michael Bilton, Peter Kosminsky, p. 192, Andre Deutsch, 1989</ref>}}

Argentinian artillery responded vigorously and the Argentinian Land Forces Commander, Brigadier-General [[Oscar Luis Jofré]] sent Major Guillermo Rubén Berazay's A Company (3rd ''La Tablada'' Mechanized Infantry Regiment) west of Stanley Racecourse to counterattack. Private Horacio Benítez:{{cquote| I was behind a rock. They were shooting at me. Under the light of the star-shell I saw this guy and I shot at him. He must have been hit because I poured a whole magazine into him and he fell. But others were coming at me. I kept on shooting but they kept coming. Some who fell got up again and kept charging on, shooting at us. By this time they were all around me ... A sergeant was wounded. He shouted that he had been hit in the stomach. Another soldier was crying out for help but you couldn't help him. A grenade fell near him and it lifted him up in the air and he fell down again. He stood up and shouted: I'm hit, and he was swearing but he was still walking. He went round several soldiers and to one he said: I'm leaving you my rifle and to another: I'm leaving you my magazine, and then he started shouting: I'm leaving, I'm leaving, I'm leaving as if it was all over. As he was walking away he was hit by a phosphorus grenade; his clothes caught fire and he started screaming. But he was also lighting up our positions because he was like a human torch and we were waving him away so that he wouldn't show up our positions in the dark. At that moment we were not really interested whether he died or not. I had eight magazines with me but I had just run out of ammunition and had used all my grenades. I wasn't thinking straight any longer. The only thought in my head was to grab more ammunition and continue fighting. Something was forcing me to do it. Perhaps deep down I was even enjoying it because that's a primal instinct. I found more ammunition but as I was reloading I saw an English soldier in front of me. As I lifted my rifle I was shot in the head. I seemed to  fall in slow motion. I was left there. The shot had been deflected by the helmet and had hit me in the neck. I couldn't move my head but I could still think. I can remember wondering whether I still had my arms. I tried to move my legs and I realised I had all my limbs. I thought: I'm alive. I tried to crawl back. I couldn't stand ... Finally I passed out because I had lost so much blood. I couldn't move but I could still think. When we reached the command post they told the captain: Here's Benitez - he's dead. They wrapped me up in a blanket and put me on top of a pile of corpses. A sergeant came along, he was writing down the names of the dead. He was crying. I must have blinked or moved or something because he realised I was still alive. He pulled me out, they gave me some morphine and took me to hospital.<ref>Speaking Out: Untold Stories from the Falklands War, Michael Bilton, Peter Kosminsky, p. 189, Andre Deutsch, 1989</ref>}}

According to Private Horacio Benítez:{{cquote| I was behind a rock. They were shooting at me. Under the light of the star-shell I saw this guy and I shot at him. He must have been hit because I poured a whole magazine into him and he fell. But others were coming at me. I kept on shooting but they kept coming. Some who fell got up again and kept charging on, shooting at us. By this time they were all around me ... A sergeant was wounded. He shouted that he had been hit in the stomach. Another soldier was crying out for help but you couldn't help him. A grenade fell near him and it lifted him up in the air and he fell down again. He stood up and shouted: I'm hit, and he was swearing but he was still walking. He went round several soldiers and to one he said: I'm leaving you my rifle and to another: I'm leaving you my magazine, and then he started shouting: I'm leaving, I'm leaving, I'm leaving as if it was all over. As he was walking away he was hit by a phosphorus grenade; his clothes caught fire and he started screaming. But he was also lighting up our positions because he was like a human torch and we were waving him away so that he wouldn't show up our positions in the dark. At that moment we were not really interested whether he died or not. I had eight magazines with me but I had just run out of ammunition and had used all my grenades. I wasn't thinking straight any longer. The only thought in my head was to grab more ammunition and continue fighting. Something was forcing me to do it. Perhaps deep down I was even enjoying it because that's a primal instinct. I found more ammunition but as I was reloading I saw an English soldier in front of me. As I lifted my rifle I was shot in the head. I seemed to fall in slow motion. I was left there. The shot had been deflected by the helmet and had hit me in the neck. I couldn't move my head but I could still think. I can remember wondering whether I still had my arms. I tried to move my legs and I realised I had all my limbs. I thought: I'm alive. I tried to crawl back. I couldn't stand ... Finally I passed out because I had lost so much blood. I couldn't move but I could still think. When we reached the command post they told the captain: Here's Benitez - he's dead. They wrapped me up in a blanket and put me on top of a pile of corpses. A sergeant came along, he was writing down the names of the dead. He was crying. I must have blinked or moved or something because he realised I was still alive. He pulled me out, they gave me some morphine and took me to hospital.<ref>Speaking Out: Untold Stories from the Falklands War, Michael Bilton, Peter Kosminsky, p. 189, Andre Deutsch, 1989</ref>}}

According to Private Patricio Pérez:{{cquote| I was carrying two rifles and I noticed that there was a sniper who was pinning me down. I wanted to come out of the rock and kill him but I couldn't because the firing was so intense. At that moment I heard somebody shout that he had seen the sniper. I came out, saw that he was leaning over the rock and shot at him and his gun fell silent. I saw him fall but I don't know whether he was wounded or dead. That kind of combat among the rocks is like a Western, but it all happens so fast that you don't quite realise what is going on ... What I felt at that moment was mostly hatred. I wanted revenge. I had forgotten fear by then, what sort of risk I was taking; the only thing I wanted to do, my obsession, was to avenge my fallen comrades. Whenever I saw one of my friends hit it was worse, it just made me want to continue fighting, it didn't matter for how long or at what cost. I didn't care about death at that time, the main thing was revenge ... We sent the wounded down and returned to the battle and fought on for four hours. Luckily after the surrender I found out that Horacio had survived. People greeted the surrender with relief. They were all crying. That wasn't how I reacted. I had been fighting for many hours and I was not prepared to give up my rifle until forced to do so. It's different for those who had been in actual combat. I couldn't give my rifle back until they took it away from me, and when I did give it back I made sure it was completely unusable.<ref>Speaking Out: Untold Stories from the Falklands War, Michael Bilton, Peter Kosminsky, p. 192, Andre Deutsch, 1989</ref>}}

 

Private Graham Carter of 'D' Company, 2 PARA, came within a whisker of death in the close-quarter battle:{{cquote|I had a bullet bounce off my helmet, then when our artillery shells came in on us, one landed 15 feet away-but thankfully was a dud. It could have killed at least three of us. <ref>The scars of War, Hugh McManners, p. 325, HarperCollins, 1993</ref>}}

Major Neame's officers and NCOs rallied the exhausted Paras to capture the final part of their objective and in the face of heavy fire, the rifle platoons of 2d Lieutenant Carlos Javier Aristegui and Lieutenant Víctor Hugo Rodriguez-Pérez having run out of ammunition, broke and retreated, covered by supporting machine gun fire from the rifle platoon of Lieutenant Horacio Alejandro Mones-Ruiz.   

Major Neame's officers and NCOs rallied the exhausted Paras to capture the final part of their objective and in the face of heavy fire, the rifle platoons of 2d Lieutenant Carlos Javier Aristegui and Lieutenant Víctor Hugo Rodriguez-Pérez having run out of ammunition, broke and retreated, covered by supporting machine gun fire from the rifle platoon of Lieutenant Horacio Alejandro Mones-Ruiz.