Changes

==Harriet==

==Harriet==

To the south, Mount Harriet proved to be more formidable, being surrounded to the west and south by minefields.  3 Commando Brigade's last target for the night was alloted to 42 Royal Marine Commando Battalion (under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Nick Vaux).

To the south, Mount Harriet proved to be more formidable, being surrounded to the west and south by minefields.  3 Commando Brigade's last target for the night was alloted to 42 COMMANDO (under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Nick Vaux).

Under the cover of darkness of June 12, 42 Royal Marine Commando Battalion's 'Kilo' Company (under Captain Peter Babbington) "secretly crept" through First Lieutenant Carlos Alberto Arroyo's lines in the form of a frozen minefield and arrived at the eastern end of Mount Harriet by 2215 local time.  The 4th Regiment sentries; despite all preparations were caught by surprise.  The Royal Marine Commandos were magnificently trained at silent approach.

Under the cover of darkness of June 12, 42 COMMANDO's 'Kilo' Company (under Captain Peter Babbington) "secretly crept" through First Lieutenant Carlos Alberto Arroyo's lines in the form of a frozen minefield and arrived at the eastern end of Mount Harriet by 2215 local time.  The 4th Regiment sentries; despite all preparations were caught by surprise.  The Royal Marine Commandos were magnificently trained at silent approach.

The advance of 'K' Company, 42 Royal Marine Commando Battalion was made with dazzling rapidity. In vain Lieutenant-Colonel Diego Alejandro Soria called down on the eastern slopes the fire of the Argentinian Artillery knowing very well that the Heavy Mortar Platoon (under 2d Lieutenant Mario Héctor Juaréz) was positioned there.

The advance of 'K' Company, 42 Royal Marine Commando Battalion was made with dazzling rapidity. In vain Lieutenant-Colonel Diego Alejandro Soria called down on the eastern slopes the fire of the Argentinian Artillery knowing very well that the Heavy Mortar Platoon (under 2d Lieutenant Mario Héctor Juaréz) was positioned there.

So large were the column of dejected prisoners that it was obvious the strength on the eastern ridge had been greatly underestimated. Nevertheless, it was not all a pushover. Some Argentinian conscripts had fought with great tenacity. Private Daniel Jose Sanchez (wounded in action) from the Heavy Weapons Platoon had proved particularly courageous, causing the Royal Marine Commandos to dive for cover as he liberally sprayed them with fire with his Browning 12.7 millimetre heavy machinegun.  Sanchez ''"loved being in Malvinas"''.

So large were the column of dejected prisoners that it was obvious the strength on the eastern ridge had been greatly underestimated. Nevertheless, it was not all a pushover. Some Argentinian conscripts had fought with great tenacity. Private Daniel Jose Sanchez (wounded in action) from the Heavy Weapons Platoon had proved particularly courageous, causing the Royal Marine Commandos to dive for cover as he liberally sprayed them with fire with his Browning 12.7 millimetre heavy machinegun.  Sanchez ''"loved being in Malvinas"''.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant-Colonel Diego Soria hurriedly sent a 12th Regiment officer, Senior Lieutenant Ignacio Benjamín Gorriti, for reinforcements, to the 12th Regiment Reserve Platoon (under 2d Lieutenant Celestino Mosteirin) on the southern slopes of Mount Harriet. To Soria's credit, Senior Lieutenant Jorge Agustín Echeverria (the 4th Regiment's Intelligence officer) was able to move forward and establish a formidable defence line.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant-Colonel Diego Soria hurriedly sent a 12th Regiment officer, Senior Lieutenant Ignacio Benjamín Gorriti, for reinforcements, to the 12th Regiment Reserve Platoon (under 2d Lieutenant Celestino Mosteirin) on the southern slopes of Mount Harriet. To Soria's credit, Senior Lieutenant Jorge Agustín Echeverria (the 4th Regiment's Intelligence officer) was able to move forward and establish a new defence line.

It was while storming the Argentinian Reserve Platoon lying in wait to ambush 'Kilo' Company that Corporal Steven Newland had a brush with death when he was wounded in both legs. Despite his wounds, he still managed to stagger away and gain 42 Royal Marine Commando Battalion's aid post.

It was while storming the Argentinian Reserve Platoon lying in wait to ambush 'Kilo' Company that Corporal Steven Newland had a brush with death when he was wounded in both legs. Despite his wounds, he still managed to stagger away and gain 42 COMMANDO's aid post.

The close quarter combat is here described first-hand by Corporal Steven Newland:{{cquote|All the time we were lying there rounds were ricocheting  off the rocks at us and the cold was freezing our bollocks off.  On the radio I heard Sharkie talking to his boss.  He said 'we're pinned down by a sniper and we can't move.'  I thought  'Right, someone's got to go for this bastard.'  So I took off my 66 [millimetre bazooka] shells, got on the radio to our boss and said 'Wait there and I'll see what I can do'. I crawled around this mega-size boulder, climbed up a little steep bit, went over the top on my stomach, rolled into cover, crawled a bit further and looked around the corner of this rock, thinking that the sniper had to be there somewhere.  There was more than a sniper - there was half a platoon!  About ten of them were lying on a nice, flat, table-top rock overlooking our positions.  It was perfect for them.  They had a machinegun on the left and the rest of them were lined out with rifles.  Everytime one of ours tried to move forward, one of them would shoot at him, so to us it looked as if there was only one sniper who was keeping on the move.  They were waiting for us to break cover and try and clear this one sniper - then they would just waste us with their machinegun. I sat back behind this rock and whispered down my throat-microphone to Sharkie about what I'd found.  I told him to keep the lads there and I'd see what we could do. Then having made my mind up I picked up my SLR rifle, changed the magazine and put a fresh one on and slipped the safety catch off. I then looped the pin of one grenade onto one finger of my left hand and did the same with another. I was ready. So I thought 'Well, you've got to do something.'  I pulled one grenade, whack - straight onto the machinegun. Pulled the other, whack - straight at the Spics. I dodged back around the rock and heard the two bangs. As soon as they'd gone off I went in and anything that moved got three rounds. I don't know how many I shot, but they got a whole magazine. I went back round the corner of the rock, changed the magazine and I was about to go back and sort out anyone who was left, when Sharkie called on the net: 'Get out. We're putting two 66s in'  So I ran back down the hill, dived into this little hollow I'd seen on the way up.  Over the net I told him to 'Let it go!'. The 66s exploded and the next thing I heard was Sharkie on the radio again. He said 'It's clear. They've given up.  Go back to where you were and make sure they don't get out the back.' I went up by a different route and as I rounded this rock, I saw one of the guys that I'd hit.  I'd only got him in the shoulder but he'd gone down like the rest of them and in the dark, I'd automatically thought he was dead. But he was far from that, because as I came back round the corner, he just squeezed off a burst from his automatic rifle.  He must've realised he was going to die unless he got me first. I felt the bullets go into both my legs.  I thought 'Shit, the fucker's got me'. I was so angry, I fired 15 rounds into his head.<ref>War in Peace, Volume 10 Issue 112, Orbis Publishing Limited 1985</ref>}}

The close quarter combat is here described first-hand by Corporal Steven Newland:{{cquote|All the time we were lying there rounds were ricocheting  off the rocks at us and the cold was freezing our bollocks off.  On the radio I heard Sharkie talking to his boss.  He said 'we're pinned down by a sniper and we can't move.'  I thought  'Right, someone's got to go for this bastard.'  So I took off my 66 [millimetre bazooka] shells, got on the radio to our boss and said 'Wait there and I'll see what I can do'. I crawled around this mega-size boulder, climbed up a little steep bit, went over the top on my stomach, rolled into cover, crawled a bit further and looked around the corner of this rock, thinking that the sniper had to be there somewhere.  There was more than a sniper - there was half a platoon!  About ten of them were lying on a nice, flat, table-top rock overlooking our positions.  It was perfect for them.  They had a machinegun on the left and the rest of them were lined out with rifles.  Everytime one of ours tried to move forward, one of them would shoot at him, so to us it looked as if there was only one sniper who was keeping on the move.  They were waiting for us to break cover and try and clear this one sniper - then they would just waste us with their machinegun. I sat back behind this rock and whispered down my throat-microphone to Sharkie about what I'd found.  I told him to keep the lads there and I'd see what we could do. Then having made my mind up I picked up my SLR rifle, changed the magazine and put a fresh one on and slipped the safety catch off. I then looped the pin of one grenade onto one finger of my left hand and did the same with another. I was ready. So I thought 'Well, you've got to do something.'  I pulled one grenade, whack - straight onto the machinegun. Pulled the other, whack - straight at the Spics. I dodged back around the rock and heard the two bangs. As soon as they'd gone off I went in and anything that moved got three rounds. I don't know how many I shot, but they got a whole magazine. I went back round the corner of the rock, changed the magazine and I was about to go back and sort out anyone who was left, when Sharkie called on the net: 'Get out. We're putting two 66s in'  So I ran back down the hill, dived into this little hollow I'd seen on the way up.  Over the net I told him to 'Let it go!'. The 66s exploded and the next thing I heard was Sharkie on the radio again. He said 'It's clear. They've given up.  Go back to where you were and make sure they don't get out the back.' I went up by a different route and as I rounded this rock, I saw one of the guys that I'd hit.  I'd only got him in the shoulder but he'd gone down like the rest of them and in the dark, I'd automatically thought he was dead. But he was far from that, because as I came back round the corner, he just squeezed off a burst from his automatic rifle.  He must've realised he was going to die unless he got me first. I felt the bullets go into both my legs.  I thought 'Shit, the fucker's got me'. I was so angry, I fired 15 rounds into his head.<ref>War in Peace, Volume 10 Issue 112, Orbis Publishing Limited 1985</ref>}}

The fighting on Mount Harriet was fierce, casualties were heavy and passions ran high. Yet a sense of restraint existed in 42 Royal Marine Commando Battalion.

The fighting on Mount Harriet was fierce, casualties were heavy and passions ran high. Yet a sense of restraint existed in 42 Royal Marine Commando Battalion.

Meanwhile, to the southwest of Mount Harriet, the vanguard of 42 Royal Marine Commando Battalion's 'Lima' Company (under Captain David Wheen) had had a nasty moment when it stumbled onto the 3rd Infantry Brigade's Security Platoon, commanded by 2d Lieutenant Pablo Andres Oliva, entrenched on the southern approaches to Mount Harriet. The Argentinians with their MAG 7.62 belt-fed millimetre machineguns and FAL automatic rifles opened up on 'Lima' Company, spitting fire into the ranks. The weight of fire was incredible.  The attack of the Royal Marine Commandos faltered and disaster on a gigantic scale threatened to overwhelm Captain Wheen's company.

Meanwhile, to the southwest of Mount Harriet, the vanguard of 42 COMMANDO's 'Lima' Company (under Captain David Wheen) had had a nasty moment when it stumbled onto the 3rd Infantry Brigade's Security Platoon, commanded by 2d Lieutenant Pablo Andres Oliva, entrenched on the southern approaches to Mount Harriet. The Argentinians with their MAG 7.62 belt-fed millimetre machineguns and FAL automatic rifles opened up on 'Lima' Company, spitting fire into the ranks. The weight of fire was incredible.  The attack of the Royal Marine Commandos faltered and disaster on a gigantic scale threatened to overwhelm Captain Wheen's company.

Then quite unexpectedly, with a collective roar, the Royal Marine Commandos began to advance, firing magazine after magazine. To the profound disappointment of Lieutenant-Colonel Soria, Oliva's platoon that suffered four killed during their time on Harriet, could not halt the British onslaught.

Then quite unexpectedly, with a collective roar, the Royal Marine Commandos began to advance, firing magazine after magazine. To the profound disappointment of Lieutenant-Colonel Soria, Oliva's platoon that suffered four killed during their time on Harriet, could not halt the British onslaught.

Savage fighting ensued as 'Lima' Company encountered some of the stiffest opposition of the night in the form of 2d Lieutenant Eugenio Cesar Bruny's 2nd Platoon and Argentinian artillery fire. According to Brigadier Julian Thompson's book 'No Picnic', eleven Royal Marine Commandos fell wounded to the canisters spewed out by the Argentinian Artillery.

Savage fighting ensued as 'Lima' Company encountered some of the stiffest opposition of the night in the form of 2d Lieutenant Eugenio Cesar Bruny's 2nd Platoon (now under the command of platoon sergeant Mario José Valdez after Bruny had been wounded) and Argentinian artillery fire. According to Brigadier Julian Thompson's book 'No Picnic', eleven Royal Marine Commandos fell wounded to the canisters spewed out by the Argentinian Artillery.

Throughout the night most of the 4th Regiment B Company positions held, a young 12th Regiment NCO near the summit, Corporal Roberto Bacilio Baruzzo, continued to harass 'Lima' Company, wounding Lieutenant Julian Pusey, until he was blasted out by an 84 millimetre Carl Gustav anti-tank rocket and taken prisoner.

Throughout the night most of the 4th Regiment B Company positions held, a young 12th Regiment NCO near the summit, Corporal Roberto Bacilio Baruzzo, continued to harass 'Lima' Company, wounding Lieutenant Julian Pusey and others, until he was blasted out by an 84 millimetre Carl Gustav anti-tank rocket and taken prisoner.

The flickering flames from a burning Mercedes jeep cast a glow over the facade.  Visibility was poor owing to a heavy mist. Naval shelling which had been continuous added to the confusion. The Argentinian defence was unraveling.

The flickering flames from a burning Mercedes jeep cast a glow over the facade.  Visibility was poor owing to a heavy mist. Naval shelling which had been continuous added to the confusion. The Argentinian defence was unraveling.