Posted on 05 July 2013 at 20:33:46 GMT Having just reread Harold Coyle’s definitive novel, my brother and I decided to refight Team Yankee’s first engagement as found in chapters “Stand To”, “First Battle” and “Change of Mission”. This time we set it in 1989 as my US forces are M1A1s and Bradleys and gave the Soviets a whole motor rifle regiment instead of 2 disorganised and understrength battalions. TF 1/78’s mission was to hold. The Soviets mission was to push through the task force and cut the north south road behind them, acting as the anvil upon which the divisions hammer blow of 2 tank regiments would fall as it battled through the US brigades battalions to the north.
The US battalion had picked excellent defensive positions on the west side of a large, wide valley with a small stream running down the center. The only bridge over the stream was in a village in the center of the valley but it was shallow and easy to ford at various points. The road which ran through the village was fairly straight and ran from the Soviet edge in the east, to another village at the junction of the road behind the valley that was the soviet objective. Apart from a flat, clear clearing of about 200 meters where it was crossed by the road, the valley bluffs were heavily forested. From the US perspective looking East Team Bravo- a combined company with 2 Infantry and 1 of Tanks was on the far right flank and was the only company to the right of the gap in tree cover created by the road. Team Yankee, with 2 tank platoons and an infantry platoon, was deployed in the center, over watching the village. D company, a pure mechanised unit was deployed on the left flank while the battalion’s final company, C company was in reserve.
The Soviet attack began with HE barrage by 2 battalions of 122mm artillery and one of 155mm which fell to medium effect on Team Bravo. Then the Soviets began a limited advance with one motor rifle battalion south of the road and a motor rifle and tank regiment to the noth of the road. These units then took up covered positions overlooking the valley while the 3rd battalion advanced into the valley toward the village to probe the US lines and bait them into opening fire and revealing themselves.
The Americans initial volley, conducted by Teams Yankee and Bravo in coordination with an artillery barrage, was devastation and the advancing battalion was wiped out virtually to a man. However by opening fire the Americans gave away their positions and were engaged by the Soviets tank battalion and ATGW assets which destroyed 2 tanks of team Yankee’s 2nd platoon, including that of 2nd Lieutenant McAllister, necessitating the Company commander Cpt Sean Bannon and his XO to move forward and rally the platoon. In addition both of Team Yankee’s ITVs were destroyed along with several of Team Bravos Bradleys.
The motor rifle regiment resumed the advance with the south motor rifle battalion following the path of the first to seize the village while the northern battalion sought to take fords further downstream. Unwilling to suffer the fate of the first battalion , both units opted to advance dismounted but while this decreased their vulnerability to tank fire, it made them hugely susceptible to artillery, a battalion of which was duly called down by forward observes in the village and caused horrendous casualties.
The tank view across the valley continued and while the Soviets outnumber the US troops 2 to 1, a combination of improved fighting positions, accurate hard hitting firepower and hellfire missiles fired by supporting Apache gunships allowed the Americans to take the upper hand. However concentrated fire by the Russian made T-80s destroyed all 4 tanks in 2nd Platoon and although Cpt Bannon was unharmed, his XO 1st Lt Bob Uleski was killed and he was unable to access any radio to report back to battalion. Unable to contact the team and fearing a breakthrough the Task Force commander Col Reynolds called forward C company- the battalion reserve to support Team Yankee. Unfortunately this unit was very green and of dubious leadership and shortly after first contact pulled back into the forest from where they could neither shoot nor be shot at and for the remained of the battle refused to move from their position cited everything from soviet radio jamming to being bogged down as excuses for their inaction.
Knowing the northern motor rifle battalion, which was in the process of fording the stream, had a good chance at pushing through the gap where C Company should have been and breaking through, the previously unseen D company opened fire- with surprisingly little effect. The Soviet reaction was as brutal as it was effective. Firstly the regimental commander asked for and was given permission to use chemical weapons, which he employed in the form of a non-persistent nerve agent fired along with conventional explosives into D company’s positions. Second, any units still capable of resistance were hit by an airstrike and finally were mopped up by fire from the motor rifle battalion. D Company was decimated and played no further role in the battle.
The two remaining Soviet battalions advanced in a line abreast across the stream while under heavy artillery and small arms fire. When a company of BMPs tried to infiltrate through the gap between Team Bravo and Team Yankee they were quickly dispatched by TOW and Dragon missiles by Team Yankee’s Mechanised platoon holed up in a small farm complex under 2nd Lt Harding. Finally, having suffered between 1/2 and 2/3 losses these battalions too were halted and the Russians withdrew.
As the sun set the Soviet commander watched his battered regiment withdraw. He dammed them all: The Americans for fighting so hard, the divisional commander for sending his regiment when he should have sent a Tank regiment, his men for failing to push onward but most of all he damned himself. |